The Clove Club

I was drawn to The Clove Club primarily because it appears on the World’s Top 100 Restaurants list — a distinction that always sparks my curiosity. From the moment I arrived, the team made a warm impression: they discreetly asked where I was visiting from and instantly shared it with the rest of the staff, which added a thoughtful, personal touch throughout the meal.
The interior is classic and somewhat minimalistic — almost sterile at moments — but the focus here is clearly on the food. The tasting menu I received differed slightly from the one displayed online; when I mentioned this, the team explained that some dishes were newly arrived ingredients intended for the evening service. As a gesture of hospitality, they offered to prepare their signature Raw Orkney Scallop — an exceptional act that set the tone for the entire lunch.
The opening amuse-bouche selection was subtle, even mild, with the foie gras bite standing out as the strongest element. Things escalated quickly from there: a beetroot gazpacho in granita form was refreshing and beautifully executed, followed by English sourdough with Scottish butter — simple, but well made.
Among the seafood courses, two dishes were particularly impressive. The lightly grilled wild Scottish tuna was tender and beautifully paired with its condiments, while the sardine sashimi glazed with chrysanthemum vinegar, served with a foamy sardine-and-whisky broth, introduced an unexpected and bold twist.
Then came the star:
Raw Orkney Scallop with black winter truffle, hazelnuts, clementine, smoked roe gel and chestnut mushrooms — passionate yet delicate, luxuriously fragrant, and without question the dish of the day. It was followed by Hazelwood-grilled line-caught squid with leeks and roulette pepper sauce, one of the most refined squid preparations I’ve ever tasted — sophisticated, confident, and richly layered.
Not all servers described the dishes with the same depth — some provided extensive detail, others only the basics — but all were sincere, warm, smiling, and exceptionally courteous.
The momentum continued with a beautifully prepared Cornish red mullet with rare citrus beurre blanc and rockfish sauce — a superb contrast of two sauces enveloping silky fish (a clear top-two dish). The Roast Maison Garat chicken with toasted hay sauce, shiitake, and Istrian white truffle demonstrated how indulgent and far from “ordinary” a chicken course can be.
The Aynhoe Park venison — accompanied by a standout venison sausage — offered lovely flavours and textures, though not the best venison I’ve ever had; still, the execution was impressive.
The dessert sequence brought playfulness:
Amalfi lemonade with fizzy lemon mousse and Kampot pepper ice cream was an excellent palate cleanser.
A warm potato mousse with caramel ice cream and black truffle was unique, unusual, and difficult to categorize — memorable in its own way.
In conclusion:
The Clove Club delivers an experience built around ingredients, craftsmanship, and quiet confidence. While some dishes are understated and the décor leans toward minimalism, the highlights are extraordinary, the staff are genuinely gracious, and certain plates — especially the Raw Orkney Scallop, the squid, and the red mullet — are world-class. A visit worthy of its Top 100 ranking, and one I’m glad I made.

Had a great lunch here. Top notch ingredients, creative preparations and amazing flavours. Service was friendly and attentive. The sommelière was very helpful. Would certainly come back when in London.

A lovely tasting menu with a few surprises along the way. The extra course of Scottish blue shell lobster was the most memorable, especially the curly noodles in lobster bisque in the 2nd serving. The portion size with the extra course was good.  In fact, most dishes were quite small and light, although understandable for a summer menu, the overall portion could be more generous throughout. The restaurant was situated inside the Shoreditch Town Hall but the interior design was not able to capture the classic elegance of the original architecture. It was more or less a typical London restaurant establishment. Service was prompt and friendly, with a minor error on the bill in the end that the more experienced server admitted the mistake right away and took it to rectify.

One of the best Birthday dinner experience I've ever had. Excellent service and the tasting menu full of flavours,balance,taste and colours!!! Thank you for making my experience unique.

My daughter and I had a wonderful meal. The wine and NA pairings were a great compliment to each dish. Stellar dining experience and top notch hospitality. Very much looking forward to returning.

We do not have separate utensils, [but only] for vegetarian or vegan, which are kept only for them. We are a small restaurant without the space to accommodate something like that. All items are thoroughly washed, sanitised and sterilised in between uses. On being notified that we have a Halal guest attending in a few days, I make steps to make sure the menu will work for them. We have a 6 or 9 course menu. With 6 course we have 1 meat course. With the 9 course it is 2 meat dishes. As I understand it, vegetarian and fish and shellfish dishes are permitted as Halal food. Hunted wild game is ok – wild venison or wild game birds. If necessary we will order Halal lamb for a Halal main course, and make a separate Halal gravy to be served with the meat, then roast the meat in a separate pan, rest, carve and serve. Please call and give notice well in advance for Halal. 

Order from The Clove Club Shoreditch