Nathan Outlaw protégé, Tom Brown has opened his debut restaurant Cornerstone, located in Hackney Wick. The 46-cover restaurant showcases Tom’s own style of simple, clean and produce-driven cooking. Named after Tom’s favourite Arctic Monkeys track, Cornerstone offers a flexible and regularly changing menu dependent on what ingredients are available – ensuring only the best of British produce is used.
Designed for sharing, include: Raw mackerel with lime pickle, coconut yogurt and crispy garlic; Marinated squid accompanied by black pudding, blood orange and a brown butter dressing; Roast cod served with Café de Paris hollandaise; Ox tongue served with salt cod, tomatoes and gremolata; and for dessert Cornerstone’s pear crumble accompanied by Earl Grey ice-cream or Coffee ice-cream sandwich served with a banana, pecan and rum sauce. British cheeses and homemade pickles are also available.
The short international wine list comprises 22 bins, focus on natural, organic and biodynamic wines to complement the menu. The list has been carefully selected by Tom and the team who will work closely with suppliers to ensure the menu is kept exciting and relevant. Home infused cocktails are also available, such as ‘One For The Road’ (Blood oranges, Red vermouth, Dewar’s 12-year-old scotch, Cherry) and ‘Fireside’ (QuiQuiRiQui Mezcal, Vine Leaf syrup, Egg whites, Lemon). These will be served alongside a good selection of local craft beer and bottled beers.
Cornerstone have also partnered up with Cornish distillery, The Wrecking Coast to create a unique and bespoke gin available exclusively to the restaurant. Cornerstone’s gin is light and fresh with citrus tones, the perfect accompaniment to seafood. It has been distilled with cloudy apple juice from Polgoon Orchard in Cornwall rather than water and contains botanicals such as; Juniper, Coriander seeds; Liquorice root, Angelica root, Seville orange, Lemon, Lime and Rosehip. The Cornerstone G&T (Cornerstone gin, Apple, Samphire and Herbal Tonic) is the restaurant’s signature cocktail.
The interiors have been designed by East London based architects, Holland Harvey who have used a minimal approach to materials and lighting to create a bright and elegant space with a comfortable informality. The kitchen is situated in the centre of the restaurant and doubles up as a counter-bar,
seating 11 guests. There are also additional touches personal to Tom including a 5000-year-old oak table, seating 10 guests commissioned especially after being salvaged from a river in Croatia. The lounge area at the front of the restaurant is furnished with high back benches from Ercol – perfect for a pre or post dinner drink.
