Most Londoners know of DSTRKT as an incredibly famous nightclub graced by A to Z list celebrities; however their restaurant is less well-known. If there are 2 things London diners have an aversion for, it would be going to basement restaurants and trusting a dining establishment inside a nightclub. It wasn’t surprising the few times I’ve visited DSTRKT’s restaurant over the years, it has always been relatively quiet.
You would suspect the owners would expect more passing trade, having spent £25 million pounds to set up the whole venue and spent further millions on a refurbishment recently. The two-tiered dining room is designed for people watching or to be seen with a gorgeous centrepiece lighting feature and the compulsory open kitchen in all top London restaurants.
The food offering at DSTRKT is solid if a tad generic with a strong Asian influence. Some dishes are pricey like 4 pieces of prawn tempura at £25, but there are better valued options available too.
We had some salted edamame to start off with and that always complements well with wine or craft beer. A large part of their menu involves sushi, so we tried their soft shell crab roll and their dragon roll. Both used well-sourced ingredients (crab and eel), although I would say it was slightly heavy-handed on the rice. If budget isn’t a concern, I would recommend trying their sashimi moriwase instead if you don’t want a dish with too much rice.
Crispy squid is a classic dish that is even prepared at gastropubs and their version here is carefully constructed. The pieces of squid are smaller and crunchier than typical versions, it is well-flavoured with sweet chilli sauce and has a citrusy zest from the lime.
Most of the dishes here are presented in a format which are great for sharing. For our main courses, we shared a rich-tasting truffle gnocchi which had cheddar espuma that made the dish a little lighter than similar preparations elsewhere and also flavoured with a hint of nutmeg. We also enjoyed premium pieces of Mediterranean sea bass fillet with a tomato salad. The skin was grilled until golden crispy, so that even fish skin avoiders will find it hard to resist.
The menu has been well constructed, so that you don’t necessarily need to have a heavy meal, but something light before moving on to their ever popular nightclub area.
baldwin@belowzerolondon.com