Outlaw protégé Tom Brown’s debut restaurant Cornerstone to open in Hackney Wick this April

Nathan Outlaw protégé Tom Brown is delighted to announce the launch of his debut restaurant, Cornerstone, which is set to open on Tuesday 24^th April. The 46-cover restaurant will showcase the chef’s own style of simple, clean and produce-driven cooking. Named after Brown’s favourite Arctic Monkeys track, Cornerstone will have a flexible and regularly changing menu dependent on what ingredients are available  – ensuring only the best of British produce is used.

Designed for sharing, dishes will be priced between £8 and £14, and will include the likes of Raw Mackerel with Lime Pickle, Coconut Yoghurt and Crispy Garlic; Marinated Squid Accompanied by Black Pudding, Blood Orange and a Brown Butter Dressing; Roast Cod Served with Café de Paris Hollandaise; Ox Tongue Served with Salt Cod, Tomatoes and Gremolata. And for dessert, you can get your hands on Cornerstone’s Pear Crumble with Earl Grey Ice-cream or Coffee Ice-cream Sandwich Served with a Banana, Pecan and Rum Sauce. British cheeses and home-made pickles will also be available.

The short international wine list comprises 22 bins, offering 12 varieties by the glass from £6 and bottles from £22 – with a focus on natural, organic and biodynamic labels to complement the menu. The selection has been carefully chosen by Brown and the team, who will work closely with suppliers to ensure it stays exciting and relevant. Home-infused cocktails are also available from £8.50, such as One for the Road (blood oranges, red vermouth, Dewar’s 12-year-old scotch and cherry) and Fireside (QuiQuiRiQui Mezcal, vine leaf syrup, egg whites and lemon). These will be served alongside a good selection of local craft beer – as well as bottled brews.

Cornerstone have also partnered up with Cornish distillery The Wrecking Coast to create a unique and bespoke gin, available exclusively to the restaurant. Cornerstone’s gin will be light and fresh with citrus tones, the perfect accompaniment to seafood. It has been distilled with cloudy apple juice from Polgoon Orchard in Cornwall – rather than with water – and contains botanicals such as juniper, coriander seeds, liquorice root, angelica root, Seville orange, lemon, lime and rose hip. The Cornerstone G&T (Cornerstone gin, apple, samphire and herbal tonic) will be the restaurant’s signature cocktail, priced at £8.50.

The interiors have been designed by East London-based architects Holland Harvey, who have used a minimal approach to materials and lighting to create a bright and elegant space with a comfortable informality. The kitchen will be situated in the centre of the restaurant and will double up as a counter-bar, seating 11 guests. There will also be additional touches personal to the chef, including a 5000-year-old oak table seating 10 guests, commissioned especially after being salvaged from a river in Croatia. The lounge area at the front of the restaurant will be furnished with high-back benches from Ercol – perfect for a pre or post-dinner drink.

Chef Brown commented: “I am thrilled to finally be opening Cornerstone. It feels like it has been in the pipeline for such a long time now, so being able to announce an opening date is very exciting. Watching the transition of the restaurant from design to actually being built is an incredible feeling – can’t wait to get cooking now.”

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For further information about Cornerstone, 3 Prince Edward Road Hackney Wick E9 5LX, visit their website here.