REVIEW: Brunch at Rudies, Stoke Newington

Sunshine flavours in the heart of London? Yes, please!

The weather may have turned a little recently but that doesn't mean my cravings for vibrant flavours has abated. I haven't gone full-on winter just yet. Rudies in Stoke Newington is all about those incredible flavours. Inspired by the Caribbean and all the delicious goodness it has to offer, Rudies serves up the best jerk chicken, barbequed shrimps and taste bud tingling cocktails in old' East London.

We visited for a heart-warming brunch on a windy Saturday morning. I'm not an early riser, but in Stokey nothing is alive until at least 1pm. So when we sat down at 11:30 to an empty restaurant I wasn't surprised. By the time we left (quite drunk) at 2pm the restaurant was packed. We began with a cocktail of Portobello gin, cucumber and a whole lotta suave. The pretty presentation and elegantly twisted cucumber gave added sophistication to drinking before noon. 

Our starter was deep-fried calamari with an amazing green chilli dip. Although the tempura was falling to pieces, the meat inside was really juicy and fresh. The dip gave a really lively taste to each crisp of batter so I didn't mind so much that it fell to pieces. We also enjoyed a plate of ackee and salt fish bakes (classic, how could you not). Although it looks a little like scrambled egg, this national dish is the perfect mix of salty and savoury flavours with just a little sweetness from the bakes. The soft texture can be a little strange initially but the unusual flavours are a real delight for those who love Caribbean food.

For the main event, Alex went for a gut-busting half jerk chicken, lovingly rubbed in the finest spices and served up with a trio of ketchups. I loved the grey banana leaf ketchup which had so much sweetness to balance the fiery chilli. His chicken worked brilliantly with the skinny as you like sweet potato fries; perfectly crisp, sweet and soft in the middle - what more could you want? Well, except more of them. 



My main course was a trio of jumbo king shrimps in a garlicky butter served with a refreshing avocado, onion and tomato salad. The home-made festivals (or soft bread sticks) were a real treat but I wasn't sure how the two things went together. I would have also loved more meat on my plate as I was getting very jealous of Alex's 1/2 bird.

Overall, I would really enjoyed my visit to Rudie's but felt that I wanted a little more bang for my buck on the shrimps and calamari side. All the flavours were really impressive and I never felt let down - I guess I'm just a greedy bruncher. Also, once a month Rudies are hosting 'Stokey Nights' which run until 2am. Enjoy plenty of cocktails and a little Caribbean food to soak up all that good rum.

Thank you Rudies for hosting this review.

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