Another old East London pub has been reworked into a modern venue serving cocktails and Italian food.
The Elephant’s Head, a former Victorian boozer, has been reborn as Elephant Hackney and is the work of Rum Kitchen founder Stevie Thomas and former Manteca sous Francesco Sarvonio.
Sarvonio, Napoli-born, has put together a menu of dishes from the Italian south, with a focus on Neapolitan pizzas (between £12 and £18).
Alongside the pizzas, the up-and-coming chef will be serving the likes of ox cheek croquettes with anchovy mayo, grilled squid with peppers and salsa verde, mozzarella with tomato carpaccio, fried courgette flowers with honey and seafood pastas.
Prices are promising: small plates are around £10 and the most expensive item on the menu is a rib-eye steak at £29.
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Thomas, who is also managing director of the Jam House in Birmingham – a jazz parlour and restaurant founded by Jools Holland – has taken inspiration from east London’s “cinematic past” in building the venue.
The pub’s crown jewel is a 25-year-old skylight salvaged from a former East End cinema, while the name harks back to an enormous elephant head that once hung in Hackney Pavilion nearby.
David Shrigley prints adorn the walls alongside vintage Italian posters and cocktails include spicy margaritas, espresso martinis, gin fizzes and Negronis.
As for beers on tap, there’s a custom Grolsch – nice to see it back on draught – Peroni and local beers from Five Points.
Elephant Hackney will open on July 9 at 43 Lower Clapton Road, E5 0NS; elephanthackney.com
