Nassau St locals may have noticed a new bumblebee yellow cafe at the top of South Frederick St. After four months in the making, Tiller and Grain opened on January 24th and my advice to you is to run there as fast as you can before their soon-to-be-famous roasted squash salad runs out.
Tiller and Grain is a small, bright and open cafe promising healthy, nutritious and delightful food. Owner Clair Dowling does not disappoint. Dowling trained in Dublin and London working with both Skye Gyngell and Yotam Ottolenghi along the way. Gyngell, who previously worked in Michelin-starred Petersham Nurseries and is now running her own glorious restaurant in London, offers seasonal, uncomplicated dishes with an emphasis on zero-waste cooking. Ottolenghi’s herby and aromatic Arabic delights are presented in his ever-popular Nopi, Rovi and Ottolenghi restaurants all over London. Luckily for us, both of their influences can be seen in their full colour and glory at Tiller and Grain.
There is no menu, instead you are greeted by the wonderful smells and smiles of the friendly staff who explain what’s on offer each day. Warming options include curried chickpeas and borlotti beans with fluffy yellow rice, or cauliflower and gorgonzola soup served with lightly pickled pears and raisins. The staff explain the wonderful display of big bowls laden with various salads – things like roasted squash with a spritzy mint and chilli yogurt dressing, romanesco salad with shavings of Serrano ham, or a simple perfectly flaked whole salmon. Luckily, you can have a bit of everything.
I’d like to be clear about one thing: the salads here are proper salads – no soggy cold tomatoes bulked out with iceberg lettuce and raw onion. In fact, very little lettuce at all and certainly no tomatoes since they’re not in season. Think more along the lines of perfectly roasted veg, nutty grains, fresh greens, zesty dressings and herbs galore. Is it too much to get this excited about salad? Wait until you have been there to judge me on that one.
The idea is simple, Dowling wants to really feed her customers. She takes great care in presenting something that is visually exciting and meticulously fresh. Her salads are sold and served within 20 minutes of being dressed, and the bowls are refreshed constantly to ensure no one misses out on any of the the good bits. Another important thing here too is that everyone will have a good lunch, regardless of their allergies or preferences. This means that vegetarian and vegan dishes are plentiful as well as options without grains and dairy, and since each dish is so carefully thought through, no one will feel as though they’re missing out on anything, especially not flavour.
The design of Tiller and Grain is clean and simple, very Wes Anderson-esque, and awash with lovely details like fresh wildflowers on each table, tactile crockery and bread served on brown paper. The staff are knowledgeable and chatty, and very enthusiastic about the food. Pop in and grab a sandwich on Bread Nation’s loaves, or escape the grey mizzle with a generous bowl of something and let the warm yellow of Tiller and Grain delight you.
