There’s a prawn toast revolution going on in London right now. No longer consigned to the stuff of grease-sodden paper takeaway bags or sharing starter platters down your local Chinese restaurant, now a host of the capital’s most exciting eateries are doing increasingly cheeky and experimental things to the humble combination of shrimp and carbs; dressing it up and deconstructing it into ever more seductive shapes that have made it an unlikely frontrunner for the city’s most playful plate.
At Jikoni in Marylebone, which describes itself as “a mixed heritage restaurant serving food inspired by Asia, The Middle East, East Africa and Britain”, their viral prawn toast scotch egg has become a word-of-mouth favourite – a soft-boiled quail’s egg encased in prawn meat and festooned with a mix of panko breadcrumb and crushed spicy prawn crackers. Hausu in Peckham serves theirs with an elevated mix of prawn and scallop while, down the road, 2025 new opening Lai Rai has already become known for its Chao Com: Vietnamese prawn lollipops that surround pork fat-infused mounds of prawn in crispy young rice.
It is to Bethnal Green, and the fittingly named Paradise Row, however, that we travel to reach an exemplary gem in the prawn toast crown. Founded by Chinese-Vietnamese chef Eric Wan (ex-of Dinner by Heston), Tempo only opened its doors last winter but is one of those special places that flies from Day One. I first visited a couple of weeks in and there were no early-doors hiccups, no feeling of a staff still trying to find their feet. A wine bar with a succinct menu of 10 plates (three snacks; four small; three large) and a few sides, they’ve done away with any of the fluff and narrowed their offering down to only the top tier - with a breezy, unflustered atmosphere to match.
It’s all killer, no filler; the equivalent of an album full of singles. And, amongst a menu that will leave you reminiscing on its mouthfuls of spicy braised aubergine, draped atop a bed of whipped tofu with a side of crisp, gnarly wontons for scooping, or XL prawns the size of your head, barbecued with a zingy citrus chilli glaze, it is their two-slab portion of shrimp toast that has swiftly claimed the Number One spot.
Tempo is not trying to rewrite the rulebook with their take on the classic. Though it looks more like a sando after a fight with a deep-fat fryer, its prawn mousse – spiked with chunks of prawn meat – spread in the middle of two fat slabs of golden bread rather than sat on top, the main elements are all there. Instead, it’s the perfect balance of texture and flavour that makes this a dish worth returning for. By encasing the shrimp on all sides, it retains its plumpness and moisture far more than usual. Each bite is all the right kinds of crisp on the outside and unctuous on the inside. Meanwhile, their MVP is a bright green chilli sauce, delicately piped onto the top of each piece, whose piquancy (a little citrus; a little – I would guess – coriander) offsets the richness below. On the side is a roll of finely sliced, translucent pickled daikon - another fresh note to level the balance.
There’s something incredibly confident about dishes this good coming from a place this relaxed and easy to spend time in. Tempo know what they do and they do it extremely well. The staff are friendly, their natural wine list starts at an accessible £9.50 per glass, while the menu is concise enough that, between three or four, you can forgo the conversations and order the whole thing. Do that, but make sure to ask for two of the shrimp toast – trust me, you won’t want to be sharing.
Tempo, 252 Paradise Row, E2 9LE