Central, East, News, Reviews

Exmouth Market Grind

The eighth joint from the Grind Group, Exmouth Market Grind is a masterclass in restaurant perfection.

I’ll set the scene – it’s Friday Night – you’re feeling thirsty and mischievous. You want somewhere you can sink a few expertly created cocktails AND line your stomach with small plates that satisfy but don’t put you to sleep. Long gone are the days you can go straight from work to a bar with no sustenance, we ALL know how that ends.

Well that’s exactly what you’ll get at Exmouth Market Grind – it’s the perfect ‘Friday Night’ destination (hell, any night will do). We LOVED the décor – their signature neon lighting (this time it says ‘Don’t just stare at it, eat it’) on white washed brick walls, with palms and a central bar felt fresh and inviting.

Exmouth Market Grind

Within five minutes we had an espresso martini in hand – winning. The soundtrack only fuelled our Friday night vibes – if you want to continue the party in your ears later, you can find them on Spotify.

Service was fab, the pretty all-girl gang we encountered wore simple grey sweatshirts and were friendly and unpretentious.

Exmouth Market Grind

The menu at Exmouth Market offers something different to the rest. Under the guidance of Kyle Boyce, former Executive Chef of the Soho House Group, you’ll find a selection of small & larger plates designed to be shared.

We started with slices of various tomatoes, deep fried in a light batter and spiked with a tart lemon – not something we’ve ever tried before but totally delicious. The chorizo-stuffed dates are a MUST order. Wrapped in pancetta on a splodge of yoghurt, we very nearly ordered a second portion. For something lighter that you’ll want to eat all summer long, the grilled octopus with shavings of fennel and tangy grapefruit is for you. Tender chicken thighs came with dissected skin, crisped up with a proper crunch. A larger plate, the lamb shank was a decent portion and fell of the bone in all its unctuous glory – the flavour pairing of sweet potato and cucumber raita was a dream.

Exmouth Market Grind - Octopus

There’s a cracking little selection of desserts but we’d recommend the hot apple crumble sundae which comes with a pot of orgasmically good toffee sauce.

This not-so-little-lot was surprisingly good value – expect to pay about £50 for the two of you (excluding drinks). No, really.

With not a bum dish to pass our lips, we didn’t really want to leave so carried on working our way through the cocktail menu. Known for their coffee, we had to try the Espresso Old Fashioned which was subtle and definitely worth a try if the straight up Old Fashioned is your tipple of choice. With tequila, lime and agave, the ‘Tommys’ will get the party started.

The Grind will also be dishing up brunch at the weekend so you could feasibly spend all weekend here.

Great value, fun vibes, unpretentious – for us Exmouth Market Grind has it all.

http://grind.co.uk/exmouthmarketgrind

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