The Clove Club: Where Modern British Cuisine Meets Celestial Innovation

A Stellar Revolution in Shoreditch

Housed in the grandeur of Shoreditch Town Hall, The Clove Club represents nothing less than a quiet revolution in British dining. From the moment you ascend the steps of this imposing civic building and enter through its deep blue door, there's a sense of having crossed a threshold into a different dimension of culinary experience – one where tradition and innovation orbit each other in perfect harmony.

I arrived on a drizzly Tuesday evening, the kind of quintessentially London weather that makes stepping into a warm restaurant all the more satisfying. The space itself strikes a delicate balance: the dining room retains architectural elements of its municipal past – high ceilings, large windows, original wood paneling – while introducing contemporary touches that soften the formality. The open kitchen, visible behind a sleek bar, pulses with quiet energy, a celestial workshop where chef Isaac McHale and his team craft their gastronomic constellations.

The Cosmic Dance of Tasting Menus

The Clove Club operates primarily on tasting menus – a shorter option and a more extensive journey. I opted for the full experience, beginning with their signature parade of snacks. This opening salvo reveals McHale's philosophy in miniature form: deep respect for British ingredients combined with technical prowess that elevates rather than obscures their natural qualities.

The famous buttermilk fried chicken with pine salt arrives presented in a nest of pine branches, a forest floor transplanted to the table. The contrast between the crisp, delicately spiced coating and the tender meat within creates a moment of sensory alignment – a perfect bite that seems to reset your expectations of what chicken can be. It's a dish that has become somewhat legendary in London's dining scene, yet remains genuinely exciting rather than merely Instagram-famous.

What followed was a carefully orchestrated progression of dishes that moved like celestial bodies across a planned trajectory – each with its own gravitational pull, yet part of a greater system. A raw Orkney scallop, sliced paper-thin and dressed with clementine, drops of horseradish cream, and tiny, crisp fragments of chicken skin demonstrated the kitchen's light touch with seafood. The combination created flavor waves that rippled across the palate – sweet, sharp, rich, and savory notes in cosmic balance.

Seasonal Constellations

The brilliance of The Clove Club lies partly in its attunement to Britain's seasonal rhythms. During my visit, game season was in full swing, showcased in a hauntingly good dish of roast grouse. The bird, perfectly aged and cooked to a precise medium-rare, came with a smoked beetroot purée, blackberries, and a sauce enriched with the bird's own liver. This was British cooking that understood its heritage while refusing to be constrained by it – cooking that respects the past while traveling confidently into the future.

A spectacular moment arrived with McHale's famous madai (Japanese sea bream) dish. The fish is aged for five days, allowing its flavor to develop depth and complexity. Served with a sauce made from its own grilled bones, violet artichokes, and buttermilk, it demonstrated how The Clove Club navigates global influences without losing its fundamentally British character. Like a star incorporating cosmic dust into its formation, McHale's cooking absorbs techniques and ideas from across the culinary universe while maintaining its distinct identity.

The Gravitational Pull of Detail

Throughout the meal, what impressed most was the thoughtfulness evident in every element. A bread course showcased a remarkable brown soda bread made with Guinness and treacle, served with house-cultured butter that had been aged for a week to develop a gentle tanginess. The butter was topped with a sprinkle of seaweed salt, connecting the experience to Britain's island character in a subtle, meaningful way.

Even the vegetable dishes exerted their own gravitational force. Heritage carrots, slow-roasted until their sweetness intensified to something approaching caramel, came with a smoked egg yolk sauce and fragments of crisp chicken skin – a dish that defied the conventional hierarchy that places meat above vegetables. This was galactic thinking – recognizing that in the culinary cosmos, a humble carrot can shine as brightly as any protein when treated with equivalent respect.

The Service: Celestial Navigation

The front-of-house team navigated our table's journey with precision and warmth. Our primary server, Emma, demonstrated encyclopedic knowledge of each dish's components without resorting to the robotic recitations that can plague fine dining establishments. When I asked about the provenance of a particularly delicious cheese, she not only named the producer but spoke about visiting the farm herself during a team educational trip. This personal connection to the ingredients permeated the service style, creating an atmosphere of genuine hospitality rather than performative formality.

The wine pairings, selected by head sommelier Alan, operated with similar intelligence. A particularly inspired match brought together that aged madai with a 2018 Jura Savagnin from Domaine des Marnes Blanches – the wine's oxidative notes and saline edge creating a resonance with the aged fish that amplified both elements. When I mentioned my interest in natural wines, our server thoughtfully suggested an off-pairing alternative for one course – a small gesture that demonstrated a restaurant listening to its guests rather than merely performing a script.

Celestial Sweetness

The dessert sequence began with a pre-dessert of sheep's milk yogurt snow with honeycomb and grated apple – a palate-refreshing interlude that recalibrated the senses for the sweet courses to follow. The main dessert featured forced Yorkshire rhubarb in multiple forms: poached, as a sorbet, and as a light foam, accompanied by a cream infused with toasted hay. The combination captured rhubarb's essential tension between tartness and sweetness while introducing subtle aromatic complexity through the hay infusion – like capturing the essence of a British spring field in dessert form.

Petit fours arrived in a wooden box, revealed with a flourish that released the aroma of warm madeleines. Alongside these classic French cakes came very British treacle tarts in miniature form, their deeply caramelized filling offset by a whisper of sea salt. This final act encapsulated The Clove Club's philosophy – European technique in service of British flavors, tradition in conversation with innovation.

The Value Constellation

At around £145 for the tasting menu (with wine pairings adding approximately £95), The Clove Club represents a significant investment. Yet in the cosmos of fine dining, particularly for a restaurant with two Michelin stars, the value proposition feels fair. The quality of ingredients, the technical skill on display, the thoughtfulness of service, and the unique vision being executed all justify the price point. This is destination dining that delivers a genuinely memorable experience rather than merely an expensive meal.

The Cosmic Verdict

On my personal Cosmic Flavor Scale, The Clove Club achieves a perfect 5/5 rating. What elevates it to this stellar status isn't simply technical excellence – though that is abundant – but rather its clear perspective on what modern British cuisine can be. McHale and his team have created a restaurant that feels both distinctly of its place and internationally relevant, rooted in tradition while remaining creatively adventurous.

In a dining landscape often pulled between slavish adherence to tradition and novelty for its own sake, The Clove Club has found its own gravitational center. It represents the best of contemporary British cooking – intelligent, creative, technically accomplished, and deeply connected to its culinary heritage without being imprisoned by it.

For the cosmic gastronaut charting a course through London's dining universe, The Clove Club isn't merely a stop along the way – it's a destination that rewards the journey with new perspectives on what British food has been, is now, and might yet become.

Visit The Clove Club for your next special occasion, and discover why this beacon of modern British cooking continues to shine so brightly in London's culinary cosmos.

Location

Cosmic Flavor Scale Rating: 5/5

Address

Shoreditch Town Hall, 380 Old Street, London EC1V 9LT

Get in touch