Sam & Sam Clark have opened their third restaurant.
Morito on Hackney Road is a new experience, but with similarities and references to its popular sister restaurant in Clerkenwell.
The husband and wife team opened Moro on Exmouth Market in 1997 bringing to London an array of exciting, new ingredients and flavours from the depths of Southern Spain to the mountains of North Africa. In 2010 they opened Morito next door, a tapas and meze bar in the same Moorish vein as Moro, but in little portions.
The new restaurant kitchen will be headed up by Samantha Clark and Marianna Love who is currently Head Chef at Moro. Marianna is a passionate and talented chef who will bring with her a wealth of knowledge from her time at Moro, as well as culinary influences from her Greek home and family restaurant business in Crete. Samuel Clark, who has been involved in setting up the new restaurant and developing the menu, will be permanently based at Moro, overseeing the kitchen.
Morito is open for breakfast, serving made-to-order Moroccan breads as part of the menu, followed by lunch and dinner of tapas dishes and larger family-style plates for the whole table. Samantha and Marianna have worked hard sourcing exceptional produce from southern Spain, Morocco, Turkey and Crete to feature in the new menus, some not yet available in London.
The new site has been designed in collaboration with Dillwyn Smith featuring a horseshoe shaped marble topped bar, inviting open kitchen and large windows allowing for a light and airy space. There will be signature Morito textures and colours, much loved in Exmouth Market, with new additions of handmade pottery (Samantha) and an array of plants (Samuel) linking the restaurant to nearby Columbia Road Flower Market.
“We are very excited to be opening a neighbourhood restaurant in an area close to our hearts; we lived just off Columbia Road for many years and have happy memories of our time there. The new Morito on Hackney Road will have some of the food and design elements of Moro and Morito are known for, but with some exciting differences: inventive dishes, new ingredients, all served up in a fresh, colourful space with Samantha and our head chef, Marianna at the helm.” Sam & Sam Clark