Railroad

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today, i’m excited to share photos from a little shoot i did at Railroad, which has become one of my favorite spots in london.

Railroad is a café/bar/small event space in hackney and i recommend it all the time to friends in london. i stopped by one recent afternoon between lunch and dinner to shoot some photos and i had a chat with co-owners lizzie parle and matt doran, who opened Railroad in september 2010. both lizzie and matt cook at Railroad, though lizzie is the head chef. (yes, her brother is the super-talented stevie parle of the dock kitchen).

i first had dinner at Railroad in january and it was a cold, cold night. lizzie was cooking this cauliflower soup with yogurt and coriander, which i ordered to start. quite simply, it blew my mind. i talked about it for weeks afterwards, telling everyone who would listen about this incredible cauliflower soup. it was so simple but so deftly prepared, and i was hooked. i tried to reproduce it at home; while my effort was okay, it wasn’t the same. as it turns out, the recipe came from the casa moro cookbook. but this is exactly why i love Railroad – there is a sense of ease in the food, it’s like you’ve gone over to your friend’s flat for dinner (and your friend is hugely talented in the kitchen).

Railroad is unpretentious, comfortable, thoughtful, and considered. it doesn’t feel like other places i’ve visited in london or new york. and it’s the kind of food i want to eat, all of the time. they use carefully-sourced ingredients for everything and it makes a big difference (good quality olive oil, in-season vegetables, square mile coffee, nice anchovies, farm-fresh eggs, rustic bread, the list goes on). there’s a small menu and they are guided by whatever is inspiring them at the moment and what is currently in season. lizzie nicely incorporates middle-eastern spices and ingredients into many dishes – it’s refreshing. the coffee is fantastic (and it’s served in beautiful cups hand made by lizzie’s mom), the sweets and pastries are excellent: i had a blood orange tart in the winter that i’m still thinking about.

and as you can see from the photos above, it’s a neat space. simple, welcoming and familiar – a true neighborhood joint. actually, the space is almost disarming … you sit down and the cookbooks that lizzie is using to prepare dinner that night sit on the table in the corner; you can smell something delicious cooking right behind the counter. you enjoy an expertly-made flat white or sip a beer from kernel brewery. there’s a little bookshop that you can browse, there might be a spoken poetry event happening in the basement later that night. and then the food is served and you think to yourself: “damn, this is tasty.” it leaves an impression (clearly) and you’re bound to return again.

Railroad is located at 120-122 Morning Lane, Hackney London (E9 6LH).