Shoreditch’s Monsieur M

Part of the whole dining out experience is taking a menu and plumping for what you want to eat and drink. But more often than not, this A4 sheet or leather-bound tome can become a means of entrapment.

Unless you are quick and decisive with what you want, it can become a laborious process of narrowing down the various choices and vacilating between options. Then there are the economic constraints that make choosing something to eat that much more difficult. You want the chicken but you also want a dessert and that’s going to take you over budget. But then again you’re not entirely sure about the fish and you’re back at the start with the attending waiter glaring impatiently.

Thank heavens then for Monsieur M, the new Indochinese restaurant occupying Shoreditch Town Hall. The choices on offer number only four but this does not reflect a lack of ambition on the part of the eaterie. The purpose of this is to allow a rotation of three new dishes every day, each made with fresh ingredients.

Although the restaurant is set in a Victorian building, the interior could hardly be more removed from the stone columns that dominate the outside. The Indochinese influence extends to Buddhist statues and josticks, all set against red-painted walls.

After starting off with a pair of well-stocked vegetable rolls, my companion and I surveyed the menu to take our pick between the four options. It took us no longer than ten seconds to make our choices. I took the spicy chicken soup whilst my companion went for the Pad Kra Prao Gai (otherwise known as number two), which was chicken stir-fried with basil, red chilli and bamboo shoots and coming with a serving of aromatic rice.

My companion is a keen appreciator of Asian cuisine and also very chatty, so it was testament to the quality of the food that he was mostly silent other than to give the odd hum of satisfaction. As for myself, I was very impressed with the soup, not only for the size but its piquancy and deep flavour. Finishing off, we both had a pandan creme caramel, an Asian twist on an old favourite. Although it would have been good to have a little more of the flavour coming through, it was still very satisfying.

Most new restaurants fail because they are too ambitious in terms of their menu, their decor and their choice of food. So it was very gladdening to see a restaurant with a clear idea of what they are about, who do good quality food at a sensible price.

Monsieur M
Shoreditch Town Hall
380 Old Street
Shoreditch
EC1V 9LT

Tel: 020 7613 4094