to celebrate so many of you guys checking peanutbuttered (a big thank-you by the way we really appreciate the support!) andrea suggested we celebrate with dinner at hackney’s new restaurant lardo – i’m oh so glad she did.

if you are into meat then you need to check this place out. the menu is made up of lots of italian-style small plates, pizzas and a couple of main dishes. we wanted to try everything, of course we did, so decided on ordering most of the small plates and seeing how we got on.

we enjoyed cured loin and peach, cannellini, a hummus-like bean dip and pappa al pomodoro, a tomato bread soup and the cuttlefish. andrea got very overexcited because burrata, a fresh Italian cheese made with mozeralla and cream, was on the menu, so we ordered some of that too. 

while i am now familiar with the dishes i must admit i had to ask the waitress to explain what most of the dishes were but she was more than happy to talk us through the menu. seeing as we were celebrating we opted for a bottle of prosecco, i rarely, if ever, say no to some bubbles. we waited for our food to arrive with rumbling tummies and a glass of fizz in hand.

the restaurant is warm and welcoming decorated in an industrial shabby-chic style. exposed brick and plaster, industrial lighting and shelves packed with produce. the kitchen is open plan, i’m so nosey i just love seeing what is going on, and sitting in the centre of the food hub is a shiny mirror ball-style pizza oven.

our food came when ready and i was more than impressed with the meat and the cuttlefish dishes in particular. after gorging ourselves, we practically licked the bowls clean, we found ourselves too full to indulge in a main dish, or a pizza.

we did however manage to squeeze in a desert and enjoyed a cream and strawberry dish with almonds.

andrea got chatting to a group of men behind us, the meat club, who had ordered vast quantities of flesh along with a healthy serving of red wine. the gang are part of a gentleman’s club that meets every month to sample the best meat at different restaurants. what a very good idea indeed.

to get to the toilets in the building we found ourselves walking through an art gallery so we stopped off to take some snaps of the interesting pieces on display.

back in the restaurant we sought out the owner who said she has been blown away by the popularity of the place but hoped when the hype died down lardo would become a favourite local restaurant. with andrea close by i’m sure she will be making regular visits and i have to say i’m rather jealous not to be lucky enough to have it on my doorstep too.