Restaurant Elis review: an evening of exceeded expectations
Unexpected delights await at the second restaurant of Brazilian-born chef Rafael Cagali
In 2006, researchers demonstrated categorically that how something tastes is not determined by our taste buds alone. An experiment by researchers at the University of Wisconsin found there was a direct link between taste and expectation.
The experiment saw test subjects given three flavours of water. The first was mixed with quinine and marked with a minus; the second was just plain water with no symbols; and the third was water mixed with sugar that was marked with a plus.
Test subjects soon learned to associate positive with sweet and negative with bitter. But then the scientists started messing with them, delivering sweet drinks marked with a minuses and bitter ones marked with pluses. Overwhelmingly, subjects recorded confused responses mistaking flavours for one another because their expectation had failed to line up with their sensory experience.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It was with this in mind that The Week approached its review of Restaurant Elis in Bethnal Green, London, the second restaurant from Michelin star-winning Brazilian-born chef Rafael Cagali. The Observer’s Jay Rayner had just visited and delivered a lukewarm verdict (headline: “It was only fine, it wasn’t awful”), which had served to lower our expectations somewhat.
Yet in spite of – or even perhaps because of this – we found our visit to be overwhelmingly positive. Which makes us wonder quite what was going on here. Had our expectations been lowered only to be unexpectedly exceeded by what we encountered? Or were our taste buds simply in the ascendent on the day, refusing to be influenced by the negatives we had read?
The drinks and menu
Either way, our experience was definitely at odds with our anticipation. And it all began with the restaurant’s signature cocktail, always a good way to get a sense of what the restaurant believes its identity is. In this case the core ingredient itself was a hint of what was to come: cachaça, a form of cane juice spirit produced uniquely in Brazil.
If you have ever visited or lived in Brazil, much of what is on the menu might immediately trigger nostalgia. Many of the dishes are expositions or elaborations of national classics, from the pao de queijo that comes in the bread selection at the top of the menu, to the dulce de leite-filled doughnuts that end it.
The food
This reviewer has never been to Brazil, but the infectious enthusiasm of our patriotic waitress helped get my dining companion and me in the right mood. While we appreciated knowing that some of the dishes reminded our server of her grandmother’s cooking, they also spoke magnificently for themselves.
This was true of the porchetta tonnata we began with – roast pork seasoned with anchovies. And also for the churros pecorino which were deep-fried cheesy perfection. The crudo di Arctic Charr, prettily plated with red citrus, was, by contrast, fresh as you like.
The show-stopper of the small plates part of the meal, however, was definitely the veal battuta. Finely chopped raw beef intermingled with marrow and served stunningly in the bone, to be spooned onto crisp bread.
For our main course the crab with melting cherry tomatoes sat atop jet-black linguine (coloured with ash, apparently) was elegantly resolved. But the dish that took centre stage was the monkfish tail topped with edible flowers perched on a mixture of okra and haricot beans. It looked sublime and it was.
The verdict
Rayner’s main objection appeared to be cost. A guava crème caramel for £9 was too much, he said, which, certainly in the scheme of things this may be true given you can buy something like the same dish in the supermarket for about a pound. Yet this is a criticism that could be levelled at any restaurant, especially in London.
What you pay for when you go out is something slightly ineffable: quality of experience. You pay to have your expectations either met or, with a little luck, exceeded. And that we certainly did at Elis, thanks to the combination of our own taste buds and also – unexpectedly and invertedly – thanks to a fellow reviewer.
Arion McNicoll was a guest of Restaurant Elis. Town Hall Hotel, Patriot Square, London E2 9NF; restaurantelis.co.uk
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Arion McNicoll is a freelance writer at The Week Digital and was previously the UK website’s editor. He has also held senior editorial roles at CNN, The Times and The Sunday Times. Along with his writing work, he co-hosts “Today in History with The Retrospectors”, Rethink Audio’s flagship daily podcast, and is a regular panellist (and occasional stand-in host) on “The Week Unwrapped”. He is also a judge for The Publisher Podcast Awards.
-
'Good riddance to the televised presidential debate'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Caitlin Clark the No. 1 pick in bullish WNBA Draft
Speed Read As expected, she went to the Indiana Fever
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 16, 2024
Cartoons Tuesday's cartoons - sleepyhead, little people, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Tuck in to British fusion cuisine
The Week Recommends The trend for combining classics from two food cultures can result in dishes that are doubly delicious
By The Week UK Published
-
Three Chimneys restaurant and The House Over-By review: Skye's sumptuous rural hideaway
The Week Recommends The award-winning restaurant with rooms is well worth battling the elements to reach
By Jamie Timson, The Week UK Published
-
9 restaurants primed for spring dining
The Week Recommends Winter be gone. Appetites are ready for the warmer months.
By Scott Hocker, The Week US Published
-
Good-value restaurants for fine food on a budget
The Week Recommends From an 'immensely likeable' French bistro to a family-run pub in Essex
By The Week UK Published
-
The lasting changes of the post-pandemic dining era
The Explainer The newest of new normals
By Scott Hocker, The Week US Published
-
The Westbury Hotel review: stunning suites in charming Dublin
The Week Recommends This hotel is the perfect spot to while away a weekend in Ireland's capital
By Kaye O'Doherty Published
-
Drama movies 2024: new films out this year
In Depth Latest reviews include The Boys in the Boat, One Life and Tchaikovsky's Wife
By The Week UK Last updated
-
Best new hotels and places to stay in 2024
The Week Recommends Featuring stylish island resorts, historical properties and wilderness retreats
By The Week UK Last updated