Disco Bistro EC4 at The Rising Sun

This is a bit late, but better late than never right? I went to Disco Bistro fairly shortly after its opening and was pretty excited to try out the new ideas from the kitchen team. Overall, I think I had a low to middling experience with some things being exception but generally a let down. Now I’m not the biggest fan of writing negative reviews, so I’ll keep this short.
The good stuff was the décor (kinda crazy but not overwhelming), the friendliness of the staff, and the friend chicken starter. All of that seemed to indicate an excellent night was to be had. Even sitting down at a very rickety table (which our waitress attempted to fix several times) wasn’t enough to put a damper on things.
The mains came out and I can’t say any of them were terrible, it was the general meh-​ness of it all that really stuck with me. I’ve stared at the pictures but I can’t quite recall any defining flavours. I remember my steak being adequate but desperately needing some seasoning and the peppercorn sauce being little more than lightly flavoured cream. The dishes selected by my friends were similarly okay and neither great or worthy of a mention due to their awfulness.
The drinks selection was limited but fine. I suppose the point I’m aiming for is that if anyone asked me how it was, I’d have gone «oh…it was nice». Now I don’t know about you, but if I’m going to shell out around £30 for dinner, I want more than nice. I want to be impressed or at the very least see evidence of an attempt to reach for greatness despite the epic fail. Just doing enough to be nice, well that isn’t very nice at all.

Chicken joy!
A while ago (possibly at a Unilocal event) the lovely Linzi mentioned that she really wanted to go and eat chicken at Disco Bistro… Now I had no idea what she was talking about, so of course I said she should count me in for whatever chicken-​joy she was talking about. I’m glad she let me get involved… this place was really fun and blooming yummy.
The venue is really quirky and fun (especially the horn chandelier! how cool is that!?) I did enjoy the food, but to be honest it wasn’t quite worth the price tag… at least not for my main course.
* Sticky fried chicken wings were addictive, sticky and looovely
* As Linzi mentioned the foie gras + bbq duck toast thing was amaaaazing
* I’m not sure why we ordered the cheese and crackers! They looked sort of pretty, but were a rip-​off when you think it is £5 for two teeny crackers and some squirty cheese!
* I tried the Pollack burger/​roll thing which sounded amazing… but just didn’t have much flavour. I had food envy for the philly cheesesteak and chicken rolls munched by the ladies next to me. They both let me try theirs… and I am pretty sure I would give disco bistro four stars if I had been smart enough to order one of those instead. Oops.
I might have to go back and order one of the other mains… then I assume I’ll be able to give an extra star (^^)

Ah yeaaaaah. Momma likes some fried chicken!
Ever since @DiscoBistroEC4 started showing up on Twitter, I knew I had to pay a visit. For a 6 month residency, they’ve taken over the top half of the lovely Rising Sun pub. It’s a great space upstairs, amazing chandelier made of brass band horns, low lighting and cool bus seat seating.
We were amped and ordered a round of sexy cocktails to start. Nothing mindblowing but decent. Then a round of starters, sticky chicken wings, the ‘Quack fiend’ bbq duck and foie gras on toast and ‘cheese crackers’. The wings were to die for, a sticky delicious sauce over a crispy coating. I was in heaven, till i tasted the duck and foie gras… is there higher than heaven? Cos this was incredible.
The ‘cheese crackers’ were a sad little affair, two crackers with some squirty cheese and ‘micro-​herbs’. 5 pounds, really?
On to the next! A round of chicken rolls, cheesesteak and pollock burger. My chicken roll was amazingness in a basket, the chicken was tender and delicious sitting on a bed of crispy bacon, avocado and spicy mayo. Sure, it ended up all over my face, but I didn’t care.
We were way too stuffed for dessert, but damn, it was worth it.

Quick glance:
+ quirky dishes
+ friendly staff
+ menu changes daily
— small portion for the price
The Disco Bistro has taken over the upstairs of the Rising Sun pub on Carter Lane. You can either enter the pub on Carter Lane entrance and through the door at the back to get upstairs, or enter directly via the Burgnon Street entrance.
Inside, the interior includes taxidermy squirrels and random signage that don’t really give a «disco» feel, but it’s certainly eccentric. The venue isn’t large, about 8 – 10 tables. To match the funky interior is an equally short and quirky list of dishes, which changes daily.
On the day my friend and I visited for lunch, we were compelled to try the bacon doughnuts with apple sauce to start. Interesting concept and the taste grew on me overtime, although with only three, small doughnut balls to share between us (at £5 for the plate) it did leave me wanting for more.
Next up, we had the «disco burger» and «crackled fish bun» at £10 per dish, both of which came with crinkled chips. Again, the dishes had a novel twist. For example, the «crackled fish bun» was described as «fried day boat Cornish fish, lettuce, lobster 1000 island, spicy crab mayo» was a battered fish served in soft white buns with a tingly sauce and popcorn sprinkled on the top for the «crackling» effect. Innovative and fun, but I couldn’t help feel that I was paying a premium for the quirkiness rather than quality of food. I would be hesitant to pay £18 for sirloin steak (price as at date we visited), particularly as it looked out of place alongside other items on the menu.
Overall, I say it’s a good place to visit and try out the food for a bit of a giggle with a friend, but not somewhere I would frequently visit.