Tenu - Finnish pop-up restaurant in London

I've been longing for a Finnish restaurant in London and even though Tenu was just a pop-up open for one month in December 2014, it was such a pleasure to see Brits being introduced to the delicacies of my home country. On the night we went, there were a lot of fellow Finns there too, and we spotted at least one famous chef sampling the Nordic fare.

The Englishman and I thoroughly enjoyed the Tenu house cocktail 

Antto Melasniemi, together with the artist Klaus Haapaniemi (who is most famous for his designs for Iittala ceramics), created a bit of Finland in Soho, in an intimate room near Leicester Square, a space that was previously occupied by an outpost of St John's Bread and Wine. 

I took my family, and we'd all been looking forward to having reindeer, but seeing the menu on the night, couldn't decide what to have. The Englishman suggested the 7 course tasting menu, and that was an excellent choice. I made one provision, however. I'd heard through the Finnish London Ex-pat grapevine that the sweetened potato bake (imelletty perunalaatikko) was to die for, so I wanted some of that on our menu. Son asked for reindeer, and when the friendly waitress promised us both we sat back and enjoying out Tenu gin cocktails with lingonberries, waited for our tastebuds to be taken back to Finland.

Tenu Gin Cocktail

And my goodness that - and more - is what happened. For me, the potato bake was the star of the show, and I had to stop myself from licking the dish clean. (I particularly loved the slightly burnt bits round the top of the dish). It took me right back to my childhood in Tampere. 

The salmon fish chowder with salmon roe was also excellent, as was the lingonberry granita for dessert. There were also two more fish courses, and some very tasty chicken liver with those beautifully fresh tasting lingonberries, in between.

Salmon fish chowder.

Reindeer with beetroot.

Sweet potato bake.

Lingonberry granita and liquorice brûlée.  

The whole experience of the meal was improved by the beautiful table coverings, china and decorations by Haapaniemi, who now has a shop in London on Redchurch Street, just a hop and a skip from Shoreditch House.

After our meal I decided to have a quick chat with the chef, Antto Melasniemi. I'd been watching him do the cooking in the open kitchen at the back of the restaurant, and wanted to thank him for the wonderful experience. When I told him my only wish was that Tenu would be permanent, and leant over the counter, I noticed that while chatting to me Antto was also caramelising a couple of liquorice creme brûlées with a blow torch. 'Oh,' I said and moved away, 'I'd better leave you to it!' In a typically understated Finnish way, Antto took a swig out of a martini glass with his free hand (it was nearly the end of the service and the pop-up) and said, 'No, it's fine.' (When a Finn says it's fine, he means that it is no problem at all - really - unlike a Brit who'd mean exactly the opposite...). I'm sure Antto's laid-back attitude to life is what made the pop-up such a relaxed, happy place.

Me with Antto Melasniemi

Please, please, please, Antto, make Tenu a permanent feature in London!           

Lunch at Brawn, London E2

The Englishman has been going on about this restaurant for a while now, and since today was the date of our second 28th anniversary (we got married twice, if you want to know why, go here), we thought a long, plentiful lunch would start the Jubilee double Bank Holiday weekend off with a swing.

Jubilee weekend outfit No 1:  jeans from H&m, French boots bought in Sweden, blouse Gap, Union Jack scarf  Gieves & Hawkes from Selfridges Wonder Room

We decided to go down to E2 early, taking the Overground to Hoxton, so that we could have a browse at the quirky little shops on Columbia Road. We very nearly bought a set of garden table and chairs from here, and did actually purchase some Union Jack ribbon for tomorrow's Thames pageant hat run from here.

But back to Brawn.

Selection of charcuterie, with brawn and pork rillette.

Cod with pea puree & tortellini.

Beetroot risoli with goat's cheese and Lamb's tongue with bean salad. 

Puddings: Chocolate Ganache with Creme Anglaise & Prailine and Panna Cotta  with Strawberries.

The food was excellent, although the lamb's tongue was too much for me. Not because it was tongue, but because it was lamb. I just don't like the taste. However, the  plate of charcuterie was absolutely wonderful and took me back to my home town Tampere, where my mother would buy brawn and (something like) pork rillette at the local covered market. The beetroot risoni was very filling and still quite refreshing. I would never have thought to combine pasta, beetroot and goat's cheese, but the dish worked really well. The cod was perfectly cooked, opaque in the centre, and the pea puree sweet and the pasta al dente. As for the puddings, you can see how good they were. Oh, I feel full just thinking of them!

At Brawn the dishes are supposed to be small, so they advise you to have at least two each. We found this was more than enough, although at the end we had to have an extra dish of different coloured tomatoes when some were delivered to a table next to ours. 'This is definitely the place for serious next-table-plate-envy,' The Englishman remarked. Indeed, when we were waiting for our puddings, I saw several dishes I could have easily chosen as well as the ones we'd just eaten. A restaurant to revisit, I think.

Brawn isn't too pricey either. Our bill for the five courses, plus two puddings, a bottle of house white and two double expressos came to little under £100-00. Believe me reader, that is good value for London.

As a bonus, Brawn is also only a hop and a skip away from Shoreditch House. We headed straight up to the pool bar on the roof, and as if by magic the sun came out. We had a lovely glass of Pimm's watching the younger (and thinner) patrons getting into their swimwear and plunging into the pool. Ah well, we were young'ons once too...

Brawn
49 Columbia Rd, Bethnal Green E2 7R 
Tel: 0207 7295629