Wringer + Mangle's Second Restaurant Opens In Spitalfields

Wringer + Mangle's first venue has plenty going for it: solid brunch spot, warehouse-ish spaciousness and enough London Fields foot traffic to keep it busy at most hours.

They've chosen a Spitalfields site for their difficult second album. Most of the same elements are in place — similar prices, similar modern British menu, similar cafe-segueing-into-restaurant set up. It's got everything the first site has... apart from the people: Spitalfields isn't really residential, so we reckon a Wednesday evening shouldn't be far off one of their busiest times — on the walk there, surrounding bars and restaurants are heaving inside and spilling punters out onto the street.

W+M isn't there yet, which leaves the sprawling venue feeling a bit eerie. We're the only people in the restaurant. The couple of drinkers in the bar half disappear while we're still on starters, by the time we're getting ready to leave around 8.30pm, counters are being wiped down and glassware stacked away around us.

The venue's still finding its feet — service is friendly, but staff are not that familiar with the menus — and dishes are on the pricey side to be hit and miss: our vegetable tagine and fennel tart come with interesting touches, pickled blackberries adding some sharpness to the tart — but could do with stronger flavour in any direction.

But the good stuff: a starter of black pudding with scallops and bacon jam is salty, rich and moreish, and our plate of beetroot, tomato and whipped ricotta is simple and generous. The lighting's warm, the location's handy for stumbling home via Liverpool Street station afterwards, and the spaciousness will be a boon for groups and office outings. When it hits its stride, W+M mark II might be as hard to get a table in as its older sister venue.

Wringer + Mangle, 94 Middlesex Street, E1 7EZ.