Papi, London E8: “A good restaurant” – restaurant review | Grace Dent on restaurants

If you haven't had the opportunity to visit Papi in any of his previous incarnations, in the guise of the Hot 4 U pop-up, well, I can't really resent you. After all, life made it very difficult to eat out at the time, and you were most likely looking sadly at an NHS Covid app and wondering if that ping meant another full nine days of baked bean Brevilles, or you had just given up on "the outdoors" altogether.

But that's when Hot 4 U was trying to shake things up in eastern London with a series of temporary engagements at pubs such as The Prince Arthur in Shoreditch and The Haggerston at E8, serving marmite butter glazed buns, beef tartare with blackberry umeboshi and tongue of beef with seaweed and tzatziki. Then again, maybe you wouldn't have gone to Hot 4 U regardless of the pandemic, because it just sounded a little gory. And it really is: they've done foie gras-wrapped Mini Magnums, shichimi chicken biceps, and an ever-changing wine list that includes Fleur Godart's 2020 Male Tears, part of the Cuvées wine series. Activists taking a stand against sexism, racism and homophobia.

In fact, for anyone over 28, a quick shufti on Matthew Scott's menu and the Charlie Carr's wine selection will likely provoke an "old man shouts cloud" reaction. The wording of Hot 4 U's menu was chaotic, while the mood was dreamy and a bit revolutionary. It was as if these people had never heard of a nice simple dinner or a morning party. There was also a Fergus Henderson spirit about Hot 4 U, with his non-loathing and honesty about ingredients; even he, however, stopped short of serving Pom-Bears garum or whiskey bone marrow sledges. The dessert offering was no exception either, with vodka watermelon and various nostalgic custard dishes topped with hundreds and thousands. Porcupine with Cheese and Pineapple has never been on a Henderson menu and, frankly, the St John's experience has always been poorer for the o...