ST LEONARDS, LONDON EC2

A far cry from the grandeur and antiquity of chef-patrons Jackson Boxer and Andrew Clarke’s Brunswick House, St Leonards is a vast and under-dressed space in the grungy end of Shoreditch. Trees add a bit of life to the sparse, concrete-chic décor. Expect flavour combinations that you won’t have tried before and a lot of love for pork. There’s a dramatic log-fuelled open fire which produces small plates of flame-scorched margarita onions, with a tuna bone (yes, you read right) caramel – sweet, umami, sticky. There’s also an ice bar where oysters come natural, dressed or, with help from the hearth, flamed. Ours come warm from the fire with a lardo crumb – every bit as mind-blowing as you might imagine – but still not as good as the single cherrystone clam. It’s worth its eye-watering £9 price tag – sweet, chubby and drinking in its sichuan oil dressing and fine dice of coriander stalks. There’s plenty more worth ordering. Smoked eel and foie gras custard with pork rind is like the punk sister to an elegant and restrained chawanmushi. Sides, too, shouldn’t be shunned. Hispi cabbage – uncontested king brassica – is crowned with more pork fat and an XO crumb. Sprouting broccoli is slathered in delicious, dainty scraps of ham knuckle and aggressive smoked chilli. Desserts are no less ballsy, so don’t skip: the salted caramel and East India sherry tart with cardamom ice cream is the best thing on the menu. And, trust us, it’s got a lot of competition.