Acme Fire Cult

Acme Fire Cult brings a smoky, spice-led sensibility to East London, drawing threads from the subcontinent and beyond. It is a kitchen where coal roast and grill meet curry-house comfort, weaving flavours like moilee, vadouvan and pistachio romesco into something distinctly modern yet warmly familiar.

Small plates set the tone with playful contrasts: Bombay mix and padron peppers with coconut sambol for a crisp, saline snap; pumpkin hummus lifted by toasted chickpea, cumin and ancho; and coal roast leeks dressed in pistachio romesco and rose for a fragrant flourish. The rhythm builds through hot bites such as Aslam’s butter cauliflower with pink onion and mint, and roast hipsi cabbage brightened by curry leaf, moilee and preserved lemon.

From there, the kitchen leans into deeper embers. Curries range from roast aubergine in Keralan curry with kismur to a half herb-fed chicken scented with vadouvan and coconut. The grill adds its own punctuation: a venison and pork seekh kebab with Roscoff onion and guajillo butter, and a monkfish skewer glossed with vadouvan butter, kumquat and fennel. Buttered naan bread and a cooling cucumber and kumquat raita round out the table.

To finish, think orange and dark chocolate ganache with pistachio halva and crème fraîche, or sticky toffee pudding with miso caramel. After-dinner cocktails and a considered whisky selection keep the glow alive. Book in, follow the spice, and let the coals do the talking.