The best things the CODE team ate on the week restaurants reopened

From Hackney Road to Hop & Roll, here is everything the CODE team loved on the week restaurants reopened.

John Flavier at Fin & Flounder

From a gazebo pitched up outside Fin and Flounder on Broadway Market, John Javier has been in residence knocking out a menu of creative and ridiculously delicious seafood dishes. The scallop butty caught my eye on Instagram: a brioche bun filled with deep fried wild Orkney scallops smothered in curry sauce with a fried egg, burger cheese and pickles. Incredibly messy to eat but so worth it. A handsome lobster thermidor was less messy but just as good in its own sweet and tender way. I would be back in the long queue for more except the residency has sadly come to an end now.
Chloë Hamilton, head of partners & members

Smoking Goat

Deciding where to have your first meal back in the capital after a year away is no mean feat, so I decided to just stroll around and see what happened. Smoking Goat quickly came calling, and luckily it had a free table ready and waiting. The food matched the atmosphere of a buzzy Shoreditch, and even the simplest of dishes (stir fried glass noodles & egg) were taken to a whole new level. Not one to order salad at a restaurant, I have to admit the Northern Thai salad with shrimp was a real highlight, as well as the aubergine with winter tomato nam tok. Where to next? It’s nice to be spoilt for choice.
Harriet Prior, staff writer

COMO Garden

For the first night of indoor dining, I was at COMO Garden, in a space that ironically felt like an outdoor terrace. Sat beneath an olive tree and ivy draped walls I felt the all the pleasure of eating alfresco without the blustery wind, rain, hail and storms that have made outdoor dining not so pleasant as of late. Sipping a glass of rose we enjoyed a delicious selection of Italian small plates including confit artichokes and parmesan and fontina Arancini that had to be the knockouts for me.
Molly Wade, memberships manager

Banquist x Theo Randall

As we begin the long-awaited end of our exile from indoor dining there’s been a lot of debate as to whether meal kits are here to stay. I for one cannot wait to be back in the buzz of a restaurant full of individuals sharing tales born out of a life returning to some semblance of normality. However, with friends moving out of town and a new arrival on the way in the Autumn, I am acutely aware that dining out isn’t always an option, even for those who love it the most. Theo Randall’s meal kit via Banquist turned out to be a particularly fine example of when it works oh so well – fresh tagliatelle, beef tagliata and an Amalfi lemon tart with mascarpone crema to die for.
Will Lake, COO

Cafe Biltmore

We’ve seen many a restaurant adopt outside space to their advantage over the past month and Cafe Biltmore did just that using the outdoor lobby space of the Mayfair hotel. Jason Atherton has tweaked his offering here following the past year with more of a focus towards classic grill dishes, with the kitchen overseen by chef Paul Walsh. However, chef Walsh will still have a small part of the restaurant dedicated towards more Michelin dining.
Adam Hyman, founder

Hop & Roll

Sri Lankan street food maestros Hop & Roll now offer ‘hoppers kits’ – the traditional Sri Lankan bowl shaped pancake made from rice flour. We got all the bits we needed to create 20 hoppers, with a recipe card to accompany and guide you along the way. The kit included a hopper pan, a specialist spatula and all the bits you need to fill them with delicious spicy curry and sambol. I felt a real sense of achievement in creating something so aesthetically pleasing (and delicious)! You can also find Hop & Roll at Venn Street market on Clapham Common once a month. 
Tom Pilgrim, partners & members

Four Legs at The Compton Arms

Four Legs was the first place I booked when reopening was announced so it’s been a long old wait for that table. Obviously it was worth it. As well as deep fried new potatoes and the cheeseburger as my staple order, there was seabass crudo and rhubarb – dish of bright pink and green – and then a plate of charred pork belly with a red thai curry sauce. With a pint of Guinness on the side it was perfection.
Chloë Hamilton, head of partners & members

To read more of the best things the CODE team ate this week, click here