Elliott Kaye worked at kitchens that take themselves very seriously – Lyle’s, The French House, Leroy – before making his name with Norman’s café in north London. This reimagining of the greasy spoon turned a workaday stretch of Archway A-road into a destination for the fashion crowd – Burberry even took it over during London Fashion Week. Following the closure of Norman’s, Kaye is hoping to put another scruffy street on the food map, this time on the Hackney-Homerton border. Marrion’s, his first solo venture, is a local that is part cocktail bar, part wine bar and part bistro.
Wallpaper* dines at Marrion’s, London
The mood: Drinks, dinner or both
Kaye designed the interiors himself, with the Big Apple as his starting point. ‘We were drawn to the simplicity and intimacy of New York neighbourhood bars and diners, particularly the idea of a place where the distinction between drinking and dining is deliberately blurred,’ he says. ‘We wanted Marrion’s to feel as though it had always been part of the neighbourhood rather than like a newly opened restaurant trying to look new.’
The initial impression is beguilingly understated – red-topped two-seat tables on dark timber legs, cream walls and a pale tiled floor, plus standing tables fixed to the wall for drinkers – but it takes work to appear this effortless. The furniture was designed and made by Oscar Oliver Studio, down to the curved black bar, which doubles as an eating counter.
If the room is inspired by the US, the Marrion’s logo looks closer to home, borrowing from the lettering of Watney’s, the London brewer whose Red Barrel bitter was a pub staple in the 1960s and 70s. It all sounds too cool for school – staff are kitted out in uniforms from Danish brand Another Aspect – but the welcome couldn’t be any friendlier, including for dogs. The only art is a framed print of Vincenzo Campi’s ‘The Ricotta Eaters’, a 16th-century scene of grinning diners digging into a mound of fresh cheese – a reminder that a good night out has always been more about the company than the cooking.
The food: Old favourites, no fuss
Like the room, the cooking makes a virtue of simplicity. The menu is as short as the drinks list, and Kaye cooks it himself in a tiny kitchen at the back. Start with a glass of red vermouth served with a chunky wedge of lemon and an olive, alongside a bowl of fried olives in breadcrumbs speared with cocktail sticks.
The prawn cocktail is served New York-style, with five pink tails balanced on the rim of a martini glass above a dipping sauce flushed with the heat of horseradish and Tabasco. Devilled crab rarebit comes on a slice of toasted sourdough, cut down the middle so it’s easy to share, while the pork schnitzel Holstein is classically topped with fried egg, capers and long slivers of anchovies. Finish with banoffee pie under a swirl of cocoa-dusted whipped cream, as sweet as the intentions behind this place.
None of this is beyond the skill of a talented home cook, but that isn’t really the point. Marrion’s is a chilled-out, low-key hangout, the sort of place where you end up chatting to the next table or whoever is sitting beside you at the bar, and prices won’t break the bank. Most of the wine is natural, and there’s a monthly changing house martini among the cocktails. Sunday brunch is on the way, too, promising anchovy soldiers to dip into boiled eggs.
Marrion’s is located at 177 Morning Ln, London E9 6LH, United Kingdom