Loading...
Village East
Milliners House171-173 Bermondsey St, London, SE1 3UW
The place itself is stylish and atmospheric, with two attractive bar areas. All the staff know what they’re doing and do it with a refreshing enthusiasm.
The food is up to a good restaurant quality standard, as opposed to the many pub/bars with cooks that are springing...
Reviews for Village East
0 found this helpful
Not really a gastro-pub, nor a restaurant or just a bar, it's a little different and has become one of our favourites. We've dined there three times recently and called in a couple of other times for a quick drink.
The place itself is stylish and atmospheric, with two attractive bar areas. All the staff know what they’re doing and do it with a refreshing enthusiasm.
The food is up to a good restaurant quality standard, as opposed to the many pub/bars with cooks that are springing up charging for food skills their staff don't possess. The food here has impressed us every time, regardless of whether we opted for a simple burger and (hurray for non-frozen) chips to the Sunday roast, lobster, guinea fowl or whatever else we’ve enjoyed sampling.
The Trusted Places Taste London card gives 2 people on a phone booking a 50% reduction on their food prices except for Fridays and Saturdays, which makes for excellent value. Can only comment on the beer and wine prices, which are normal enough.
And sympathetic as we of course are to the first reviewers grumble about it being a bit out of the way and a trail from London Bridge, it’s just walking distance for those of us who live around here mate!
1 found this helpful
This restaurant looks like a wine bar and has a busy buzzing vibe. It is owned by the same people as The Garrison down the road (my favourite pub/ casual restaurant). One of my gay friends recommended it to me as his favourite restaurant too. Food was simply out of this world.
For starters I had Scallops with roast pork belly which was melty and crunchy in all the right ways. For main My boyfriend and I shared a steak which was meant for two people. It was simply the best steak I've ever had, melting in the mouth. The wine was good and the service was polite and friendly.
If I could I'd eat there all the time but it isn't cheap so special occasions it is.
3 found this helpful
Sunday brunch with the girls was supposed to be at The Garrison, the gorgeous gastropub and sister establishment of Village East. Unfortunately I left it too late to book a table and they helpfully recommended their other stylish, oh so hip New York-style venture instead.
We arrived and had to wait in the bar on the upper level for our table - a little longer than anticipated - but just long enough to drool over the menu and be tempted by a £7.50 brunchtime bellini. Gosh. I guess my better judgement went out the window a bit because I was so excited about seeing proper American pancakes with maple syrup and bacon on the menu. They also offer some great Americana brunch staples - eggs benedict, florentine and also healthier options like fruit salad with yoghurt and granola, or fruit pancakes.
In the end we plumped for fish and chips (deliciously light batter, perfect thin-cut chips in a generous basket) and the garlicky wild mushrooms on toast with a roasted red pepper soup. Everyone seemed pleased with their choices, but more than that, we were won over by the stylish, light and airy dining room ( a mix of Scandinavian woodsy chic meets New York loft apartment, as described by our helpful waitress) and the sheer funkiness of the clientele. Drinks are certainly pricey, but the good value of the food and the easygoing vibe there on Sunday has made up my mind. It's definitely a place I'll be returning to for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a lazy midday mix of all three.
1 found this helpful
Village East is stylish, suave, poncy and my type of place. Webjam (my company) was virtually born there on wine-filled tuesday evenings over the past year so it's close to my heart.
Good food, drink and top staff. I'd thoroughly recommend it!
1 found this helpful
Nice bar, pricey but worth it, about a 10 minute walk from London Bridge.
0 found this helpful
Please note: Maximum of 2 people can dine using 1 Taste London card.
Village East is a stylish new bar and restaurant in the heart of a creative community, designed to complement the stark contrast of the two strikingly different adjoining buildings in which it is housed, one a listed warehouse and the other a contrasting glass apartment block.
It is the first venture by independent partnership Village London Ltd, owned by Adam White and Clive Watson, both part-founding owners of award-winning ´gastropub´, The Garrison. Head Chef is Martin Caws formerly of Balham Kitchen and Bar, MPW´s Mirabelle and with Tom Aikens at Pied a Terre.
The Modern European menu offers accessible food, designed to reach many different tastes and wants. It is based on modern European styles coupled with some further reaching influences and dishes are fresh, colourful and flavoursome.
Starters include: Deep fried soft shell crabs with watermelon and wasabi Sauce; Sautéed foie gras with miso; Confit rabbit with celeriac pureé, cucumber ribbons and pistachio; Poached lobster Russian salad, water vinaigrette & ocean trout caviar; Gazpacho Andaluz.
Main dishes include: Chateaubriand with green beans, chateau potatoes and béarnaise (for sharing); Grilled lobster and chips; Onions stuffed with apple and smoked cheddar served with sweet tomato fondue and crème fraîche; Roasted monkfish tail with chives and ginger, basil coulis and lentils; Guinea fowl breast, grilled polenta, confit vine tomatoes & tapenade sauce.
Village East has a considerable wine list of around 130 bins, taken from all over the new and old world. There are some interesting and far reaching choices, including selections from major wine producing regions of France as well as representatives from Lebanon and some unexpected New World options such as an Envejecido en Bodega, a 1993 Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon.
Cocktails are also a big focus at Village East, many illustrating a rejuvenation of old classics with a contemporary twist. Liquors have been carefully chosen across a number of suppliers and result in a bar stocked with many unusual names and flavours. There is strong emphasis on using high quality products to prepare innovative cocktails with often unique tastes. Signature drinks include the Pensacola Margarita, which is tequila infused with burnt orange peel with quince liqueur, vanilla sugar, lime juice and a dash of Grand Marnier.
Designed by Adam White & Clive Watson, Village East is an extensive and useable space, combining the style of a New York brasserie with both industrial and Scandinavian design influences. The décor is fundamentally a contrasting mix of raw materials – concrete, timber, brick, steel and white fire-clay – that will, over time, age organically to create an intriguingly different space.
Two dining areas, linked by an integral theatre kitchen, both offer the same menu but dining experiences differ depending on where the customer is seated. The modern and somewhat industrial ´canteen´ area is a busier and more bustling restaurant, contrasting with the slightly more formal and softer-tone of the dining room in the listed part of the venue.
Likewise, the buzzing cocktail bar in the new building, with its concrete floors and bold white fire-clay bar, leads through to the much more relaxed, lower-lit lounge in the original warehouse structure.
Furniture throughout Village East is a combination of Eames-inspired seating and deep lounge banquettes. Bespoke touches bring continuity of design through the bars and dining areas, evident in striking light fittings, seating and table design – four round tables in the dining room are made from the wood of salvaged school chemistry-lab benches!
1 found this helpful
Nice place, more aimed at wine drinking types as they had a wide selection of them. But it's nice, its got a restaurant area (can't comment on the food as didn't go near it, but the seating area seemed nice). . Oh and they had these really nice swivel chairs which were like something out of the 70's (I just needed the lava lamp!)The toilets had nice hand wash and moisturiser too. Review is 2stars as it took me a while to walk there from London Bridge.
-
-
Tourist AttractionsWe visited the tower of London in the summer holidays last year. We... -
Tea & Coffee MerchantsIf you are browsing at Borough Market or wandering about in Covent Garden... -
Museums & Art GalleriesModern Art has found a home! The Tate Modern is a stunning space with... -
More Restaurants:
Restaurants in Bermondsey
- Bermondsey British Restaurants
- Bermondsey Italian Restaurants
- Bermondsey Restaurant & Bar
- Bermondsey Indian Restaurants
- Bermondsey Asian Restaurants
- Bermondsey Oriental Restaurants
- Bermondsey Brasserie Restaurants
- Bermondsey American Restaurants
