Peter Morrell and a friend enjoy punchy Caribbean flavours in this laid back eatery
Rudie’s Jamaican restaurant in Dalston has been a great success, cooking genuine food from the island and serving up killer rum and other cocktails. The good news is that Rudie’s has just opened another location to give the good folk in the City of London access to their unique flavours.
The new outlet is in the Shoreditch Boxpark, a stroll from Bishopsgate. This innovative concept uses re-purposed shipping containers to create spaces for food, fashion and art businesses. It’s chic, stylish and well placed in this buzzing design quarter.
Unlike Rudie’s in Dalston the Shoreditch branch has a more limited menu and you order from the counter before sitting in a communal eating space with rustic tables and benches. Your fellow diners are a lively mix of people who work in the offices and creative studios of the local area.
The menu comprises three combo boxes offering jerk chicken and pork, curried goat and a vegan selection, there are sharing jerk meat plates, burgers with a Caribbean twist and roti wraps.
Extras include rice and peas, plantain and sweet potato fries, flaky patties and some quite substantial dishes akin to starters like pork ribs and calamari.
My friend chose the peppered prawns from the starter section and a curried goat wrap. My selection was the beef flaky patty and the jerk chicken wrap.
Beverage wise there is a choice of soft drinks, rum both neat and in a punch, beers and wine. We decided on a glass of wine each.
Settled in to our seats we started to taste the food and it was delicious, my patty had soft, yielding pastry and the mince beef filling was subtly flavoured. My friend’s prawns, served with avocado were plentiful, meaty and very hot, and he did enjoy them albeit with slightly flushed cheeks.
Our wraps were both good, they were large and packed with a combination of meat and salad. The goat curry was mild and aromatic and the jerk flavouring of my chicken was precise and satisfying. One of the things we both liked a lot was the soft roti which had been well cooked with tasty brown speckling.
It was a coolish day when we were there and the food certainly warmed our souls and our bodies for the stroll back into the City.
In summary this was my first experience of Rudie’s food and it will not be my last. I could see why the food is Dalston has got its well deserved reputation and for a lunch the dining format in the Shoreditch branch was great fun.
Rudie’s
Boxpark Shoreditch
2-10 Bethnal Green Road
London E2 6GY
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