A last minute decision led me to a supper club this evening at Hummus Bros, run in partnership with Fat Gay Vegan and Asparagasm. Food and beer always takes precedence over, well, most things (including much needed R&R), so obviously it made sense to be there.
The beer
Kate, the food magician behind the ever popular Asparagasm dining events, recently launched her first bottled beer, which took first place in the London Vegan Beer Fest 2014 vote for favourite beer. And that's no surprise since it's one of the most drinkable beers I've tasted in recent times. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to move beyond lager but doesn't fancy the hoppy bite of many ales (it's smooth without being sweet and packs a mouthful of fruity flavour).
On hand this evening to discuss the finer details of production and ingredients in her new pale ale, it's very evident Kate is passionate about what she creates. She's an inspirational woman who not only crafts her own beer, but also runs a fine dining vegan supper club and is the proprietor of a pub. She's someone to watch on the vegan scene.
The food
The smoky BBQ aubergine was the highlight, a dish of chunky roasted aubergine topped with hummus and stirred through with flecks of fresh bell pepper. Think chunky baba ghanouj. I'm a sucker for aubergine in general, but when it comes to the smoked flavour imparted by oven roasting I will break your face to get the first bite.
Next out was a large hummus bowl with guacamole and tabouleh salad with jalapeño. I'm not sure what happened to the chilies, but if they were in there I didn't taste them. Another thing I didn't taste was the devil food cucumber that featured in the ingredient list, and that's a good thing. Congratulations to anyone who can serve that fiercely evil vegetable to me in any form but pickled in a way that makes it consumable.
Hummus Bros creates a smooth and thick hummus crowned with a variety of toppings. My previous visit to the eatery several years ago left me unimpressed, but I found the combination of freshly baked pita bread and their take on the classic Middle Eastern dip to be much better this time around. The falafel that came alongside was nice and citrusy, a complement to the very rich tahini strong hummus. The only component I wasn't taken on was the guacamole, a tough condiment to conjur in a land of OMFG HOW CAN AVOCADOS BE SO BAD HERE.
Go to Hummus Bros if...
- You like fresh and straightforward comfort food with Middle Eastern Flavours.
- Mezze sounds like a great idea, but actually you'd like it in just one or two bowls for a quick but tasty and filling meal.
- You like pita bread that would not injure you if it hit you in the face when thrown from across the room (which is what I imagine would happen if someone threw supermarket pita at my face from across the room). I guess I mean you like freshly baked bread.
- You favour a decadent change from the everyday hummus you pick up in shops.
All in all it was a good night, and I would return. Worth noting is the fact that Hummus Bros in Exmouth Market has a BYO license (although none of their other locations do).