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125 Stoke Newington Church Street
Hackney
Stoke Newington
London
N16

In an increasingly extravagant world where people pay for frozen water and go out for breakfast, Barracuda
offers a refreshing change. Their Pacific Rim cuisine is becoming increasingly popular (as the
reviews in the restaurant window will tell you), so gobble it up now before everyone discovers this little
haven of excellent food, drink and music! The warm reception offered by the restaurant owners
ensures that from the moment you walk through the door you are going to have an enjoyable time here. A quick glance at the menu reveals immediately that you are
going to have serious difficulties making your food choice but that, reassuringly, it is not going to cost
you the earth. Once you have completed this almost impossible task ( I find that going with a big group
of people who each choose different things is the only way to solve this problem),
you can guarantee a wine that will complement even the most diverse or obscure of food choices.

Before you even encounter the menu problem you have to choose whereabouts you are going to sit. Barracuda has a choice of sitting upstairs in the restaurant or in
the cosy jazz basement. Upstairs you can sit comfortably listening to some relaxing music, sipping
your wine and watching the hustle and bustle that is Stoke Newington Church Street pass the window. If
however, you opt for the basement (which many people do not know exists) you can sit in front of the fire
in this gently lit cocoon and forget that real life exists; until closing time anyway.

My personal choice is always to sit downstairs, where Teng, the restaurant owner, will serve you drinks all
night and the food, that is cooked by his wife, will be passed down in the lift. Live Jazz music plays down
here virtually every weekend and offers another dimension to a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

Booking is advisable, especially if you wish to sit in the basement. A number of professional jazz singers
play here, as well as up and coming musicians from the local area who use Barracuda as a forum for some of their work. Phone up and ask who’s playing beforehand and, be warned, if Ian Shaw’s playing book well in advance.

Order a bottle of dry white and start with the paper
prawns and I guarantee you won’t go wrong.