Boundary, London: hotel and brasserie review

Sleep

Many hotels proudly shout about how individual their guest rooms are but the 17 bedrooms and suites here truly are distinct, each one inspired by a particular designer or design movement; take your pick from Mies van der Rohe, Charles & Ray Eames, Andree Putman and Eileen Gray. Most share a restful, simple colour palette and a restrained but very carefully curated collection of furniture. The Tang suite is an exception with its Chinese silk wallpaper and tassled green silk lampshades.

I plumped for the Priscilla Carluccio suite, a duplex with a large workspace and a fabulous pale grey carrara marble bathroom (fully stocked with smellies from local stores Aesop and Le Labo).

The hotel’s mid-afternoon delivery of a freshly baked brownie and a copy of the Evening Standard is a nice touch.

Eat

The revamped new Boundary brasserie and bar on the ground floor is a large light and airy indoor-outdoor space, with folding doors opening to tables on the street. A 20-metre zinc bar dominates the central space, with a mixture of bar stools, high tables and sofa seats for dining.

This central bar is responsible for producing the unique cocktail menu - with each drink named after one of the seven deadly sins, it was a struggle to pick just one. The ‘Pride’, a tall mix of white peach and rosemary Grey Goose, Myrtle, blackberries and hazelnut was impressively nutty throughout and well-balanced, whilst the ‘Gluttony’ was a tropical spin on an Aperol, with added passion fruit and calamansi. Perfect for dropping in for an after work drink.

The main menu is modern British with a gentle European twist - think a chilled and creamy burrata for a starter, whole roast chicken for two or hanger steak with a unique smoked béarnaise. There’s also an impressive focus on seafood, including Devon diver scallops and chalk stream trout. The grilled Cornish cod with classically salty sea vegetables was a generous cut of perfectly flaky fish, sitting in a creamy beurre blanc and finished with plenty of roe. The raspberry and lemon verbena knickerbocker glory was clearly the most popular dessert, with waiters carrying towering sundaes throughout the restaurant. It didn’t disappoint either, with layers of crunchy lime meringue, cream, ice cream and tangy raspberry coulis.

In summer, the Boundary Rooftop is the ideal spot to rise above the streetside hustle and sip cocktails as the sun sets over a slightly hushed, 360-degree view of London. It’s by no means out of bounds in winter, though, with its heaters, blankets and covered pergola; shelter under a string of fairy lights with a seasonal cocktail and a sharing plate of octopus and chorizo skewers, or fish or meat dishes cooked on a Robata grill. Or just head up after dinner and sit by the outdoor fireplace nursing a digestive glass of vielle prune.

Shop

Step out of the door and you’ll find yourself faced with one of the most efficient foodie shopping opportunities in London; Redchurch Street is lined, awning-to-awning, with independent food, fashion and design stores, restaurants and cafes.

Spend a morning trawling them, on the hunt for fig or aniseed candles at Le Labo, enamel omelette pans, rotary apple peelers and all manner of pared-down kitchenware at Labour and Wait, chic candleholders and tableware at Modern Society, fresh pasta to eat in or take-away at Burro e Salvia and the first London outpost of Mast Brothers, where you can take a factory tour, warm up with a hot chocolate (or an on-tap chocolate beer) or simply shop.

Beyond Boundary brasserie itself, Shoreditch isn’t exactly short on eating spots. Whether you fancy a classic ceviche with seabass, lime, tiger’s milk, coriander, lime and sweet potato at Andina, mallard with celeriac and quince at Lyle’s or a bacon naan roll at Dishoom you won’t have to walk for more than a minute to reach them. Then there’s the Rochelle Canteen at about double that distance for the likes of roast partridge with red cabbage and hedgerow jelly, and plenty more besides. Visit Shoreditch on an empty stomach, in other words.

Double rooms at Boundary start at £225, room-only (boundary.london). More info: visitlondon.com