Cub: Easy Tiger - Restaurant Review by Very Kerri
Diploma student and food blogger Kerri McGuinness visits Hoxton based restaurant Cub, brainchild of Mr Lyan and Silo's Doug McMaster, to give us an inside look at the unique dining experience on offer.
In 2013, as Londoners were sheepishly sipping gin-tonics and devilishly diving into speakeasy bars, Ryan Chetiyawardana (a.k.a Mr Lyan) opened White Lyan. Here we had a cocktail bar with an excellently priced drinks list, pre-batched tipples, oh, and no ice either. It was a game changer and acted as a base to magic up other concepts, like Dandelyan on the South Bank and coffee pop-up Black Lyan.
Today, you'll find Chetiyawardana's latest project Cub at the same spot in Hoxton where, naturally, drinks play a leading role. There's food, too! He's got Doug McMaster of Silo in Brighton on board and the vibe is all about bringing sustainability back, minus the faff. Having opened the UK's first zero-waste restaurant, McMaster is another creative force to be reckoned with and I'm excited about getting to know their baby, Cub.
“Cub is where food and drink become one.”
The fit out is retro diner with lots of yellow and is generally a lot warmer than its predecessor, White Lyan. The nine course menu will set you back £45 - no, I'm not missing a digit there. You see, Cub is where food and drink become one. Don't go if you're after a constant stream of gut-busting dishes, some courses are just drinks, but bloody good drinks at that. Krug Champagne and spiked herbs?
Meanwhile, an immaculately peeled yellow tomato is on a hot date with lemon verbena. A hyper-seasonal greengage and camomile vodka tipple comes alongside. Chervil, red apple and turbo whey brings not-so-welcome dessert vibes to the party early doors. Thankfully, I'm much more hospitable towards 'Shrooms on Shrooms'; a celebration of one of my favourite things from the earth, served both raw and cooked every which way.
Whilst a gin, banana, bitter orange and miso combo reads ghastly on paper, it is in fact delish in person. It's easy to overthink something but you can't judge until you try, and this was top dog. Yes, I'm still yearning for *THOSE* mushies, but the warm corn bread buns just have to win star dish. Comfort food, perfect texture and bread I can actually eat (read gluten free). We finish with Chetiyawardana's take on an espresso martini, licked with a generous helping of cognac, obvz.
If the jury's still out for you, please don't think for a second you're being short changed with the F&B hybrid menu, embrace little Cub and it will roar.
Five Very Kerri things about Cub
1. The Little Things (enter Still as F*** Water)
2. Sunshine yellow
3. Thinking differently
4. Ehh, Krug
5. And all the other 'drinkypoos'
By Kerri McGuinness
Visit VeryKerri.com | Twitter: @Kerrimcguinness | Instagram: @Kerrimcguinness
Learn more about Cub here: www.lyancub.com
If, like Kerri, you have a passion for writing about quality cuisine, you can learn more about the industry and develop your writing skills in our Food Writing course run by well-known food, drink and travel writer Andy Lynes.
You can also see how a great drink accompaniment can make a meal amazing with us in an afternoon of great food and perfect wine pairings in Wines from around The World with Amelia Singer.
