Fernandez & Leluu Supper Club

I’ve been to a lot of London supper clubs, but F&L remain my absolute favourite. Loads of new ones keep popping up where the food is pretty mediocre. But F&L really do know how to cook up a storm! It’s excellent value and with around 6 – 8 courses of completely delicious food, you definitely leave feeling full and happy. In fact they’re so lovely, I even asked them to do the catering for my party last year which was a massive success. I can’t rate them enough and if you only go to one supper club in your life, then make sure it’s Fernandez & Leluu. Nuff said!

Hello… come in… have a glass of wine… take the weight off your feet… have some delicious pork belly with rice noodles… more wine… hello random stranger how are you… now seared beef soup… another glass… seared beef (again) and chips and peanuts and green things… this cava going down well… pork cakes, tasty… catfish… somebody just ran out to get MORE wine… coconut sorbet… no more wine thanks, oh go one then… whoa it’s 12am! I’ve got work tomorrow, now where did I put my house keys?

Fernandez and Leluu — Pics @ The London Foodie
Uyen and Simon set up Fernandez & Leluu (F&L) about 3 months ago at their delightful flat in Hackney. Before starting her supper club and possibly because of my write up on Banh Mi, Uyen, who is Vietnamese became a follower of The London Foodie. I have, since then, corresponded with her whilst following her Supper Club venture with great interest and admiration.
I was lucky enough to meet them a few days ago at their Miss Saigon Evening — it was like meeting a «pen-​friend» (if such things still exist), someone I felt I knew reasonably well but had never met.
Uyen and Simon were charming and very welcoming — as «front-​of-​house», Uyen had more time and opportunity to talk to her guests while Simon was in the kitchen helped by Uyen’s mother. Uyen and Simon make up a great partnership — from completely different backgrounds (Vietnamese and Spanish), their cooking style reflects their cosmopolitan origins and sophistication. Their beautiful flat has an understated elegance about it, the casual but chic look of its furniture and décor adding to the experience at F&L.
The evening was sold out, and soon their living room was filled with a trendy crowd, mostly in their 20s and 30s, chatting excitedly over their bottles of wine and in great anticipation of the 7 courses that were to follow.
Soon enough, our first course was served — «Bi Cuon» (summer rolls of egg, cured pork, shredded pork skin, with mint, coriander and lettuce). Summer rolls is one of my favourite starters in any Vietnamese restaurant in London or Vietnam, and I order it every time.
F&L’s summer rolls bore no resemblance to the usual fare that I had tasted so far — they cleverly substituted the vermicelli with shredded pork skin, and used cured pork meat instead of the blander prawns that are so commonly used. An egg omelette was also used together with herbs and lettuce. The combination of flavours was sensational and the accompanying sauce — sweet, sour and slightly hot was perfect.
The «Banh Bao Dep» (clear prawn tapioca dumplings) served with «Phan Thiet» sweet & hot fish sauce was another exceptional dish. The tapioca wrapping was deliciously light, its silken texture contrasting beautifully with the meaty prawns. The «Phan Thiet» sauce was also complex, complimenting the simple flavours of the dish well.
The third course was «Goi Ga» (shredded chicken, coriander and lime salad served with prawn crackers). Similar to a Thai or Laotion laap, this dish was again packed with flavours while being very refreshing. A great dish to share around.
F&L’s «Cha Gio Nem» (woven spring rolls with prawns, pork, black fungus and vermicelli) was also excellent. I don’t normally get excited about spring rolls but F&L’s had obviously been freshly made on the premises. They tasted delicious and were a cut above anything I had ever eaten in Asian restaurants. Uyen has recently posted her own spring roll recipe at their Fernandez & Leluu’s blog which I am now dying to try out.
I am a real sucker for slow cooked meats and rich stews — I love tagines, koureshs, and casseroles of any kind. Our next course, «Thit Heo Trung Kho» (braised ham & quail egg in fish sauce and coconut juice) was another fine example of such a dish. The meat was exquisitely tender and tasted sweet from the coconut juice and spices, and was nicely complemented by the quail eggs. It was served with rice and stir fried morning glory.
The «Banh Canh» (Udon noodle soup with dill fish cakes) was delicate and soothing. The homemade fish cakes had been flavoured with dill and were utterly delicious.
For pudding, we were served «Che Chuoi» (banana with tapioca in coconut milk). The tapioca pearls had a pleasantly soft texture soaking up the banana and coconut milk flavours. It was a light and elegant dessert which I would love to try again.
We were also served Vietnamese coffee «Ca Phe Sua Da» (Vietnamese weasel coffee with condensed milk). I was never a fan of this, having tried it a few times in Vietnam, but to my surprise, F&L’s version was strongly flavoured and not overly sweet. This was the perfect way to finish an exceptional meal.
I have already been to a few supper clubs, but undoubtedly Fernandez & Leluu and The Loft by Nuno Mendes, are the top two by a long way in my opinion. Unlike The Loft where the suggested donation is £115 per person, L&F’s £30 price tag appears very moderate for this level of sophistication and consistency. I have booked again for the 18^th December for their White Christmas evening, and am really looking forward to this.
Verdict — sophisticated cuisine by delightful couple Uyen and Simon @ £30 a head plus tips. A great value supper club serving outstanding food in charming apartment in East London. BYOB with no corkage charge. One of the best London supper clubs, and highly recommended.

This review starts off with an admission of faulty judgement and ends with drunken meal joy.
A picky Parisian friend was bringing his new girlfriend over to London for the weekend so my girlfriend (a picky New Yorker) and I offered to arrange the meals for them. It began with a standardly brilliant breakfast at The Modern Pantry at which I found out his girlfriend was (i) Parisian (ii) liked champagne (iii) wanted to go clubbing in West London and (iv) liked champagne. At this stage I got nervous as for Saturday night I had booked Fernandez & Leluu’s supper club in London Fields.
On re examining the menu they posted online I started to get really nervous; frogs’ legs (for French people?!?), a Vietnamese inspired menu with pineapple and catfish thrown together. Was this going to be an unholy mess? Was the new girlfriend going to demand champagne and the soothing (boring) streets of West London?
Fortunately for me, I was completely and utterly wrong. It transpires that Fernandez & Leluu are both far better cooks than me (and most venues in London) and far far better at considering innovative flavour pairings than I (oh, and can cook frogs’ legs well enough to wow a French person).
In a true over reviewing style, I’ll start at the beginning and fade out towards the end (as that is when my enjoyment of the meal interfered with my memory).
Course 1 — Hot Sweet Sour Soup With Catfish, Tomatoes, Pineapple & Beansprouts. As soon as I tasted this I relaxed. Not only could L&F cook, they could cook with a leftfield bent and still pull it off. As good as many of the equivalents I have had in Vietnam.
Course 2 — Frogs Legs Terriyaki w/​Vietnamese Parsley & Sweet Basil Seed Cocktail. This is when you realised that F&L had a visual background in photography. The sweet basil seed cocktail made you squirm with how akin it was to frog spawn.
Course 3 — Vietnamese Spring Rolls With Pork, King Prawns, Black Fungus & Glass Noodles. Have you ever tried to make spring rolls? I have, I failed brutally. So do most restaurants and they ship them in frozen. These were nearly as good as Song Que’s on Kingsland Road. Apparently they stayed up until 1 or 2 am the night before making them.
Course 4 — Cubed Tuna Sashimi With Soya Sauce, Ginger & Spring Onions & Ferdie Chips. I cannot overstate how good the chips were. Indeed, I could get histrionic about them. Combine that with sashimi from Steve Hatt and you know not only can these guys cook, they can source (as Steve Hatt is one of only two places you can properly get sashimi grade fish in London). You also realise this is an endeavour of love, as Steve Hatt is the gold leaf and ultramarine of quality fish and comes at the same price.
Course 5 — Seared Peppered Fillet Of Beef With Sugar Snap Peas, Cucumber Salad & Kabocha Squash Salad With Satsuma, Sake, Soya & Mirin Dressing. Perfectly seared, perfectly seasoned, perfectly dressed.
Course 6 — Red Curry With Chicken & Butternut Squash Served w/​Steamed Rice. This was the point my Parisian friend glazed over and after 6 courses still asked for more.
Course 7 — Matcha Green Tea Ice Cream With Ginger Biscuits. Sublime.
Well what can I say, when we stumbled out of there at 12:30/ 1:00 we were converts. I am organising my next visit right now. The only thing I regret is not bringing enough money for a bigger tip as though they don’t ask for a tip (in fact I think they actually seemed to forget to ask most people for their «donation» for the super club at all) food like this deserves praise and reward. Indeed, food like this with an atmosphere of such charm, warmth and friendliness almost makes you want to give the hostess a bottle of champagne on walking in (which my Parisian friends would have no doubt agreed with).
To not appear like a fanboy I have to pick out the «bad» bits of the meal. Well… there were a few delays so it was a leisurely meal (not something that matters to me and I would rather that than a curtailed kerplow of an experience) and there was, by the end, a rather loud drunk person at my table. Unfortunately that turned out to be me.
Price — £not quite sure but between 20 and 30 but it deserves more