Tayer and Elementary

Twisted fusion with an Asian flair

Eel, potato, truffle, lettuce

Tayer and Elementary is a brand new food and drinks concept by top bartender Alex Kratena and chef Zijun Meng. The place is not your typical bar or restaurant setting. The front of the venue is an all-day coffee bar with pre-mixed cocktails and snacks. However, the real magic is behind the coffee bar, with a stylish and modern cocktail bar taking central space, along with a kitchen counter, which serves only 4 people at a time. Chef Meng offers a blind 5-course tasting menu at £60 for each dinner service, no menu and guests would know what are in for till the dishes are ready in front of them.

The infamous pork sandwich

Mackerel, coriander, seaweed

Chef Meng at work

For my dinner visit, I encountered some of the most unusual and existing cooking in London, things that were totally new to me. The hogget was served similar to beef tartar but on a whole new level. it came with egg yolk, mustard, and scallop roe, everything lifted up the umami taste of the hogget, and the olive oil holds up together wonderfully. The star dish of the evening of a piece of pork neck with steamed daikon. The meat was seasoned perfectly, very tender and I enjoyed the mild sweet earthy tone of the raddish combination. For me, it was a classic Cantonese dish "pork skin and daikon" but taken into the next level, which offered me both the feeling of comfort food and extremely creative at the same time, a rarity.

Hoggets, scallop roe, egg, barleys

Pork neck, daikon, shiso, wild garlic, capers

Smoked cream, berries, black mint

For my meal, lots of Asian produces were used, some Chinese and Japanese elements, along with great use of local, top quality British ingredients. It was such a fun and special experience, so refreshing to see new ideas in London as I lately, I noticed so many new openings are just recycling old ideas but with a marketing message to con consumers on how edgy and innovative they are. Last but not least, the drink pairing was just as good, lots of fantastic cocktails, none of the cocktails I tried has a fancy presentation, what matters is the drink itself, all exceptionally crafted. 



Food 3.5/5


Average cost without drinks and services:
£60

152 Old St, London EC1V 9BW

https://tayer-elementary.com/