Mishkin's

Nice food and loads of Gin!
Would def come here again.

But would explore the menu more

Mishkins is the latest offering from Da Polpo people Richard Beatty and Russell Norman - a New York diner that's a "kinda Jewish deli with cocktails". It's jewish-ish, as 'Ish-kins' also serve eel, or pig based food.


Besides the non kosher factor, the menu is very comforting and takes me back to the delis of my youth. Brick Lane salt beef sandwiches, chicken soup with matzo balls and deep fried potato pancakes aka latkes (but only served with eel - hiss!).

I admit some of it is a bit pricier than if you head to a deli in Edgware, but it's more convenient, and despite dearly loving the elderly folk of Zone 5 this is a little bit of nicer atmosphere to hang out in.

You also get US diner food on the menu too - beef patties, meatloaf, milkshakes and best of all ...cocktails at a decent price, served in silver kiddish style cups. The cocktails mean I can see this being an all-rounder - suitable from brunch all the way to decadent late dinners and drinks.

Be warmed though - in authentic J-style this is not a place best for vegetarians although I think I did spy a vegetarian meatball slider (mini burger) on the list.

Mishkins is very welcoming with comfy booth seating, and cutlery in plastic trays with ketchup and mustard on the tables. Also it was not as expensive as I was expecting but I think there may be a soft launch on the prices with 50% off at the moment.

I ate the salt beef sandwich which was around £9, so obviously more money than Brick Lane, but they trim the fat off for you, and it comes with oodles of delicious salt beef. It's served on soda bread but I had to recreate the deli experience (also known as being difficult) and requested rye instead which they happily obliged. Gorgeous, but rather mustardy though - and had a few mustard nose pain moments. They also serve amazing lightly battered onion rings and chips. Can't decide which one to have? Get half and half instead. My friend ordered a creamy fish Knish dumpling covered in creamy sauce. We finished off with mmmmm-milkshakes - I would have greedily liked them to be larger but I was extremly full at that point, so perhaps E Mishkins knowns best here.

Our lovely waiter gleefully demonstrated the private booth at the back, a former BBC sound booth - sound proof and with an on air sign that lights up! The service was generally very good and friendly, any glitchess I witnessed (such as running out of a few key menu items) I am sure will be ironed out soon. I also made an idiot of myself over my change - and now I'm a little bit embarrassed going back but hopefully they will forget me soon, as I really want to return because Mishkins put the ish in delicio-ish.. (#PUNFAIL)

Mishkins is a Brooklyn-style hipster Jewish Deli that serves great cocktails---be sure get the cucumber Martini it goes great with the Matzoh Ball soup. Sure the drinks are stellar and atmosphere reeks of Williamsburg, but how is the food?

Well, my Matzoh Ball Soup was delicious and actually semi-authentic! The Salt Beef Sandwich was filled with some of the most tender fall-apart meat I've had in London (besting anything on Brick Lane), though truth be told I would have preferred a bagel to rye bread. My friend's Reuben looked rather authentic on crispy rye bread and overflowing with spiced pastrami.

Note the food is not Kosher in the slightest (that large Big Apple Hot Dog is full of pork and the Reuben has swiss cheese though a Reuben most certainly should). Nevertheless good cocktails and great semi-authentic Jewish fare makes Mishkins a must visit next time you're in Covent Garden.

Let's begin the New Year with a high FIVE (stars), with E Mishkin being the most fitting as my first review of the year. It very much caters for everything I expect to find in MY kind of restaurant, satisfying my tongue's craving for tantalizing stimulation.

Located on the streets of Convent Garden is Mishkin's. I came here for lunch without a reservation but came here early enough to beat the crowd! Its set up represents that of a quirky American diner yet retains its simplicity. It remains loyal to the theme of its fellow line of restaurants (such as Spuntino and Polpetto etc) and the staff were oh so hip and friendly. Now for the best bit... the food. I ordered All pork Big Apples dog, the 3oz steamed beef patty with onions and Swiss cheese, Severn and Wye lox beigel, Latkes, and Cod cheek popcorn as a side. I prefer to have a variety of dishes than one main dish, which this restaurant was able to offer. I wish I had a bottomless stomach as I would've ordered more! A good start to the New Year indeed!

The restaurant is a diner style layout. We had no booking, but they were able to accommodate us.

The menu looks good. It's a deli, so there are some good sandwich and slider options. The salt beef looks tempting, but I was feeling like fried chicken at the time. I got a side of onion rings too: a classic accompaniment. My wife was tempted by the mac & cheese and the beef slider. The solution: get the small version of each! She got a creaming soda to drink and I ordered half a pint of white beer.

The slider was just too big to eat as a burger, so I semi deconstructed it and ate with a knife and fork. The chicken is nice, but had a kind of batter like fish and chips. Combined with the onion rings, I was feeling a headache from too much battery coating and I couldn't finish the onion rings.

My wife chose the mac & cheese which had salt beef and Coleman's mustard. I think this would be nice as a small side, but it would be way too rich to have as a meal on its own. Even then, I was struggling to help my wife finish it off.

We left feeling full, but not completely satisfied. I think I needed a lie down! Maybe on another day and making different choices, it would have been better.

I'm a huge fan of Russell Norman's restaurants, so I really wanted to love Mishkin's. Sadly I felt a bit let down!

We went for the cod cheek popcorn - it was tasty, but nothing special to be honest. Portion was quite small too. My friend went for the hot dog, and I knew I was going to get the reuben from the moment I walked in. I've heard so much about this reuben sandwich and equally high expectations!

Don't get me wrong, the reuben was very good. Delicious. Just enough sauerkraut, the saltiness of the pastrami counters the acidity of the sauerkraut perfectly. Now my food took so long to arrive (30 minutes), and by the time I got my reuben it was cold! I was expecting a hot sandwich given that they're cooked to order - the melted cheese had started to toughen up again. Disappointing because I knew it would be even better if it was hot. My friend wasn't impressed with the hot dog - she ended up eating 1/4 of my sandwich!

Servers remind me of New York hipsters - similar to the Polpo/Spuntino staff which isn't surprising! I think I'll have to give Mishkin's another try soon just because they serve what's probably the best reuben in London!

Hello Yum.

Note: Its Jew-ish, NOT JEWISH. lets just be clear on that from the start, shall we?

Its freaking good food.

Their take on Latkas are awesome. Sure its not what my dad used to make when i was a kid, but you know what? it doesn't matter. its tasty and different. The Duck Hash? yummy and filling. and the cocktails? go down way easy.

The staff are like the rest of the Polpo group - friendly and personable. I've been twice and am curious to see how it evolves.

Heres to another great spot!

Delicious fake Jewish deli food
+ Menu of exclusively gin-based cocktails
+ Daily specials
+ Super cute server*
___________________
My new favourite restaurant


*He better be there next time, or I'm dropping a star.

This is the 2nd time I've been to Mishkins and I am utterly in love.

As another reviewer points out it's not entirely faithful to Jewish cuisine, and neither does it claim to be. That persnickety point aside it is bliss.

So far I've had: a Reuben, hot dog 'dragged through the garden', cod cheek popcorn, lamb and pistacchio meatballs, salt beef mac & cheese with colemans, and their soggy lemon cake.

The mac and cheese was perfect: everything one should be! Flavoursome, gooey, topped with breadcrumbs, and cheesy, obviously. The salt beef and mustard lifted it up from the ordinary stodgy mac and cheese and my dinner partner and I cleared the plate we shared in record time.

The staff are beautiful, funny, and know their menus inside out, even putting up with my dinner partner and I sending them away half a dozen times before we chose our mains.

My only problem was the pickles. The first time I came and had them they were perfect, half sweet, half sour, and crunchy as hell. The second they were a bit floppy and bland. Disappointing but the memory of the first will get me coming back again, promise.

Give it a go, just as long as you aren't expecting your Grandma's Jewish fare, then you'll be ok.

Great on appearances, but falls a little flat on the flavors. The highlight: Chopped liver appetizer was AMAZING. Spot on with texture, taste, and portion. I should have left after eating that and this place would have 5 stars. From there, the lowlights: the reuben looked like a reuben, but had overly sweet sauerkraut that confused the savory flavors of the salt-beef and cheese. The side of pickles was a mere garnish, rather than the full-on halved cucumber I would have expected. The mac and cheese had the perfect gooey texture, but inexplicably lacked any taste. I couldn't even taste any Coleman's mustard, and the salt beef was lost in the (albeit delightful) creamy cheese. Gin cocktail (gin sour) was ordered, since I had never had one before. I probably won't be having one again. Kitch and cocktails just doesn't seem to work.

Disclaimer: i'm jewish and a New Yorker, so maybe I was coming with a lot of food baggage, but deli is deli, right?