D’Gaf is a fusion of, fine dining restaurant, performance venue and community hub.
Based on the truest sense of what a ‘public house’ should be D’Gaf is alcohol-free so that it can be a truly universal community hub. The establishment aims to be a focal point that welcomes all members of the community regardless of age or beliefs.
A community hub that seeks to combine fine food, the open exchange of ideas and views, and live artistic and musical expression.
D'Gaf
Restaurant & Bar in Stratford
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Website
http://www.d-gaf.co.uk/
Opening Summary
Mon - Sun: 12:00 - 00:00
Mon - Sun: 12:00 - 00:00
Restaurant Facilities
Smoking Area
Big Screen TV
Children Welcome
Credit Cards Accepted
Live Music Played
Private Area
Outdoor Area
All In London Review
Ambitious public house with food and entertainment, but no alcohol
The main purpose of our visit is to eat, so we venture in to the venue, which used to be an Irish pub. Some old fixtures remain such as the grand wooden bar, but past this is a formal-looking dining area, with neatly arranged white table cloths and shiny cutlery on the tables. The menu is a jumble of cuisines; there’s Moroccan (tagine), Middle Eastern (falafels, lamb kebabs), and comfort food (lasagne, surf and turf, nachos). In keeping with the sign on the door - “this is an alcohol free zone” - we sample a tangy mojito mocktail and a gloopy mango smoothie; there are also non-alcoholic wines, milkshakes and hot drinks. The meal starts off well with the shrimp tempura, tasty tender prawns in a golden batter served with a garlicky yogurt dressing; in fact it is all rather satisfying - large falafel patties are crisp and herby and come with hummus and warm pitta bread, the lamb cutlets look a little on the dry side but far from it, they are in fact juicy and flavoursome. The desserts are wonderfully traditional: banoffee pie, sticky toffee pudding, chocolate brownie, you get the picture. The cheesecake is rich and looks homemade, even better is the Winter Apple Wonderland, essentially a mammoth portion of apple crumble with hot custard. It’s all moderately priced too, with starters around a fiver and mains averaging £9.
It may seem a little odd to top off a Middle East-inspired meal with crumble, but the hodgepodge menu is a little like D’Gaf itself. The décor is a mixture of Middle Eastern furnishings and urban touches, like the street art on the terrace. The stage, situated amidst the dining area, hosts spoken word performances, comedy, and even a magician on certain nights, plus there are flat screens on each of the three floors so that the performances are not missed wherever you are in the building. The aim is to create a “public house” in the truest sense of the phrase, drawing in the locals to eat, drink, socialise and catch a performance, however with the sheer number of standard, alcohol-serving pubs in the immediate vicinity they’ve certainly got their work cut out.
Reviewed by Leila
Published on Oct 10, 2011
Best For
Check out London's best alcohol-free bars!
You can still have a good time...
The acronym in the title stands for “don’t give a f*ck” (and check out their logo too which has a raised middle finger). Cheeky logos aside, this alcohol-free pub and restaurant opened in Stratford during the run-up to the 2012Olympic Games. It’s a community hub with an international menu, a shisha lounge, and a programme of events including spoken word and live music.
User Reviews
az_10
Oct 3, 2011
D'Gaf has a funky vibe to it. Real character. The food, mocktails, shisha... all highly recommended!
dannyg
Sep 30, 2011
This place is a little oasis in the frenetic world that is Stratford. Just over the road (and to the left a bit) from Maryland station we went for dinner and some great (surprise) live music. A friend recommended it to us and I cannot recommend it enough!!
It is essentially a pub, but with a massive twist, classy, sophisticated and very cool. The food is practically gourmet but for reasonable price! We turned up half way through an acoustic night and the live music was amazing, the atmosphere delicious and the staff so friendly that you thought you had just arrived at someone's house for a very special occasion.
Great for an evening meal out with friends.
It is essentially a pub, but with a massive twist, classy, sophisticated and very cool. The food is practically gourmet but for reasonable price! We turned up half way through an acoustic night and the live music was amazing, the atmosphere delicious and the staff so friendly that you thought you had just arrived at someone's house for a very special occasion.
Great for an evening meal out with friends.
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