Acme Fire Cult, a new barbecue concept from chefs Andrew Clarke (Brunswick House and St Leonards) and Daniel Watkins (St Leonards), will open its first permanent restaurant at 40FT Brewery in Dalston, following a successful summer residency last year.
A collaboration with Steve Ryan of 40FT, Acme Fire Cult’s menu is an evolution of their London Fields Courtyard offering with a considered link between the food and drink.
The low waste menu will use beer brewing by-products to make ferments and sauces, such as the Acme ‘Marmite’, made from leftover beer yeast; ancho hot sauce made with beer-soaked chillis, and beer molasses made by reducing down the ‘first runnings’ to be drizzled on desserts.
Spent grain will be used for fermenting dish ingredients such as nukazuke pickles and to make dog biscuits.
The restaurant will have 10 beer taps pouring fresh beers, brewed on-site, that will be paired with dishes. Special edition beers will be brewed each month by 40FT, with ingredients that will later be used in cooking.
The first of these is Acme Dark Lager, a schwarzbier with a malt bill of chocolate and dark malts with subtle complexity from ancho chillies.
In addition to 40FT beers, there will be a concise wine list from Holly Willcocks (Noble Rot, now co-founder of Half Cut Market, Camden) and a cocktail menu to pair with the food with classic negronis and margaritas and beer-based cocktails.
Vegetables will be at the heart of the menu, alongside rare and native breed meat from regenerative farms like Lyon Hill Farm and Swaledale Butchers, plus dayboat fish from sustainable suppliers, such as Fin & Flounder and Bethnal Green Fish.
The seasonal menu will feature small plates such as monkfish char siu, grilled leeks and pistachio romesco, alongside beetroots with a sweet and sour dill dressing, beetroot purée, pickled blueberries and sorrel, which is cooked in the ‘first runnings’ of 40FT Brewery Sunset Hazy IPA.
The restaurant will be opposite the 40FT Brewery tap room, seating 50 covers inside and 60 outside on the covered and heated terrace, boasting a custom made grill and smoker.
Inside, the space is pared back and dark with industrial elements. A bar seats six, behind which pickles and ferments line the walls.
During March there will be a limited, outdoor only, teaser ‘First Fires’ menu available, with the full menu available from 1st April.
Andrew Clarke said: “Steve Ryan and I have been friends for a long time and I’ve previously cooked at the brewery as a guest chef. Daniel and I had been looking for a space for Acme in Hackney, and when the space at the yard facing 40FT came up, we had to seize it. The potential for the space is huge, and we want special events and guest chef dinners to become a big part of the offering.
“We’re really excited to be working with Steve and 40FT. The synergy of the beer brewing process and menu creation is central to what we’re doing at Acme and encompasses all aspects of the menu. We can’t wait for people to try it.”
The space will be open Wednesday – Sunday and is also available for private hire.
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