Homa - Stoke Newington (Revisited)

Alistair's Brasserie was one of my favourite restaurants in N16; it was the place we went to celebrate anniversaries, new jobs, or just because we wanted a good meal. Ever since Alistair's closed last year, I've been on the look out for a new local restaurant to fill the void and I think Homa might just fit the bill. After the delicious breakfast we ate there last year, we finally made it down there for what turned out to be a great meal.

Rye and white bread

Dinner started with a basket of homemade bread, generous slices of nutty rye and fluffy white bread served with olive oil. Followed swiftly by a squid and chorizo salad with potatoes and green beans in a light herb dressing. It was lovely to look at but even better to eat. Chris ordered buffalo mozzarella with caponata (a Sicilian aubergine dish) and a toasted garlic croute. The rich and creamy mozzarella worked perfectly with the sharpness of the caponata, a simple but delicious starter.

Slow cooked squid with chorizo, green beans & potatoes

Buffalo mozzarella with caponata

For our main course we both ordered the lamb cutlet which was served with a lamb potato cake and onion puree. The cutlet was juicy and pink in the middle and the potato cake was deliciously crispy on the outside, filled with creamy potato and meaty chunks of lamb. I loved the sweetness of the onion puree coupled with the lamb, it was one of the best main courses I've eaten in the last year.

Lamb shoulder potato cake with lamb cutlet & onion puree

For dessert I opted for a chocolate fondant, the light but intensely chocolaty sponge surrounded a fantastically gooey centre with a scoop of salted caramel ice cream on the side. Yum. Chris's treacle tart tasted more of ginger than treacle, but was tasty nonetheless. Chris loved the yogurt sorbet it was served with, but I think something creamier would have worked better.

Chocolate fondant with caramel ice cream

Treacle tart with yogurt sorbet

Overall, I was really impressed with the food. They use good quality ingredients which are skillfully prepared and beautifully presented. I think in the early days Homa had some issues with service, but from what I've seen during my two visits over the last few months these seem to have been rectified. The staff are friendly and attentive and despite being busy the food was well timed. We paid a very reasonable £45 each for three courses and a bottle of wine to share, I'm already looking forward to my next visit!