Lady’s Review of Lyle’s Restaurant in London

Today I want to bring you my review of Lyle’s restaurant in London. Serving seasonal British fare, this hip restaurant is a great place to dine in the UK capital.

Lyle’s Restaurant in London

Everything good about London is east these days. People in Hackney and London Fields are spoiled for choice with new bars and food trucks popping up every week. Over in Dalston, the streets overflow with trendy.

Even Shoreditch, the original east London hot spot, has managed to continue bringing London all things new and great without becoming a victim of its own success. One of those things is Lyle’s, a restaurant in the Tea Building.

I first came across Lyle’s a few months ago when I did a photo shoot with the chef, James Lowe, for Eater.

They sent me back a couple weeks ago to photograph the restaurant itself, a light-filled dining room with an open kitchen and simple design intended to keep things informal and let the food take the spotlight.

Dinner at Lyle’s Restaurant in London

But as much as I love photography, it’s the edible elements of Lyle’s that really interest me. So now I’m back for a third time to experience the restaurant from a culinary perspective.

The dinner menu is a set one, offering British cuisine from local suppliers and using all parts of the animal. There’s also a vegetarian option for those that prefer to keep all parts of the animal off their plates.

Omnivorous, my friend and I go for the regular menu, and soon a sharing plate of asparagus with walnut mayonnaise comes out.

I’m impressed by the freshness of the asparagus, which is cooked to just the right degree of softness with a hint of crunch. The mayo compliments it with a creamy, nutty flavor.

Next up are two tiny dishes with blood cake, damson, and chicory. It’s a new flavor for both of us, and I like the combination of sweet and bitter.

The Dover sole that follows has a beautiful consistency and richness, although it’s a bit fishy for my taste. More to my liking is a surprise course of gulls’ eggs, the yolks of which are divine.

The next dish is my favorite. The new season onions, ramson, and yogurt are packed with flavor, and make me want to find out where Lyle’s restaurant in London sources its produce and never eat from anywhere else.

The same is true of the chard that accompanies the mutton and the greens that are served with the cheese course.

I’m glad my friend and I have known each other our whole lives, because anyone else would have skewered my hand with their fork for trying to take more than my share.

The meal at Lyle’s restaurant in London ends with a rhubarb-and-custard dessert that gets us talking about why we didn’t eat more rhubarb growing up in California.

It has a great sweetness to it that’s nicely complimented by the creaminess of the custard. Again I find myself thankful for having a friend across the table who won’t douse me with the contents of her water glass for taking an extra spoonful.

Lyle’s Restaurant: The Verdict

The bill comes so quickly after we’re finished that we don’t have a chance to order tea or coffee, but the meal has been a success nonetheless. I like the simplicity of it all, from the decor to the food and atmosphere.

In a neighborhood that always makes me feel disastrously unhip, its lack of pretension is refreshing, too. Everything good about London is east these days, but some things are better than others. Lyle’s restaurant in London is one of them.

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