Goddard & Gibbs, London E1: ‘It all feels very promising … until the food starts to arrive’ – restaurant review

Goddard & Gibbs, London E1: ‘The overall mood of the experience puzzles me.’ Photograph: Joanna Yee/The Guardian

Goddard & Gibbs, a laid-back, prettily staged, speciality fish restaurant, may lack a charming harbour view, but it does offer an exciting glimpse of east London nightlife. Inside, the place is a modern, airy, Santa Monica-style seafood brasserie, with large, luxurious booths for group eating, tasteful jazz music and fuzzy, flattering lighting. Outside, the post-6pm-on-a-Saturday high street is lairy, with police vans lining up to begin battle with shoeless mobs of vomiting bottomless brunchers.

Goddard & Gibbs’ oysters with shallot dressing: ‘Exactly how we’ve been eating them in the UK for the past 50 years.’ Photograph: Joanna Yee/The Guardian