I’ve no idea why it took me so long to visit The Bull & Last, a pub that falls in the category of one that is gifted with an overachieving kitchen, and incidentally, one which has largely won the praise of those who stalk restaurants as often as they do the interwebs. The pub looks genuinely enough, spacey and woody, with ornamental bull heads, and spread over two floors, I am certain it is fully endorsed by the residents as the designated local.

Service was friendly if a tad lazy, which ain’t a bad thing, since you know, it’s laid back and all. However, what I really want to focus on is how good I found the meal to be. I thought the cooking was really top of the range stuff. I mean if Harwood Arms has a star, and if Hand & Flowers also has a star, then perhaps B&L deserves one as well, because I think B&L’s recipes (and cooking by extension) might be better than the mentioned pubs, by quite a bit.

Homemade Charcuterie Board, £12
(Duck Prosciutto, Chicken Liver Parfait, Game Terrine, Rillettes, Pig’s Head, Pickles, Remoulade & Toast)

Look at this board of preserved meats, ain’t it wonderful? Doesn’t it look like a masterpiece? Say what you like about Boulud’s in-house charcuterie experts, but I think the Bull & Last team may very well best Gilles Verot’s if they were pitted in a head to head. Everything on this platter was fabulous. Deep, rich, salty preserved flavours, mushy, smooth textures, surprisingly, nothing was overly pungent, nor livery, the sweet chutneys, if memory serves, the mango in particular was nothing short of genius. The pigs head fritter was subtle muscle, if memory serves, with a touch of curry powder. Even the warm toast was good, and (again) if memory serves, I think it was a soda bread. It was so good I forgot to take notes. So good, that it probably fooled my brain to thinking there were more flavours than was actually in the food. A joy to eat really, a real joy.

Slow cooked ox cheeks, bone marrow, risotto. £16.50

and

Roast Cod, Tomato Ragu, Queen Scallops. £18.50

Let’s get the so-sos out of the way first, the triple cooked chips (£3.75) were no where near Blumenthal crispy cracklingness levels, they were a little too wet and too chunky for me. Good, but not genius.

Right. The rest of the meal, however, was pure fantasy.

The cheeks were magic. Just magic, the bone marrow tasted like it was seasoned or at least treated somehow, and it had this sort of peppery ragu like flavour, with a powdery mince texture. Mixed with the cheeks amped the meaty flavours to the max. It was just bloody brilliant. The risotto was just comfort food central. Soft flavours, smooth textures, porridgey, gloopy, hearty, it embraced all of the ox cheek’s volcanic meatiness. Whatever idea of ‘gastropub’ food we have, the potential of complex yet simple concoctions, modern day interpretations of what grub can taste like, this is everything we talk, hype and dream about.

Oh and the missus’ roast cod – fabulous too, silky flaky textures… and well, let’s stop the adulation eh.

…Note her body language, the impatience while I took photos, a sign that she couldn’t help but dig into these beautiful dishes of food…

We paid £53.75 for food, olives, half a pint of Stiegl and a house white. Well priced for the rather large portions we got, and you know what, I’m going to be back again very soon, and I am relishing the idea of doing a fuller follow-up to this review. The food was beautifully prepared, and so it’s a pleasure not only to photograph it, but obviously to eat something that tasted as good as it looked. It is my opinion that B&L is at the very top end of in terms of superpubs in London. I am certainly impressed on first impression. The pub has great neighbourly ambiance, I think the kitchen turns out pitch perfect cooking – I also think it’s even better than an old time favourite of mine, Great Queen Street – , overall it ticks alot of boxes, including the one that says ‘something special’. Keeper. Highly recommended.

The Gist of It

The Bull & Last
British £35pp.
168 Highgate Road NW5 1QS
Tel : 020 7267 3641
Tube : Gospel Oak

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Consider this as the side project. An epilogue of a visionary concept. A retelling of a story told from another point of view. The breakfast room for hotel guests. Yes, The Corner Room is the child of Nuno Mendes’ Viajante, both nestled within the zen like confines of the uber cool Townhall hotel in uber edgy Bethnal Green on the East end. A spin-off, an overflow room for those who don’t like the idea of advanced reservations at the ultra fantastic temple of modernist gastronomy downstairs.

Perhaps the best part of it all, is how low-key The Corner Room has been kept. There is no weblink or phone and therefore takes no reservations and is totally egalitarian, if you can find it.

You’ll have to go through the main hotel reception, instead of the reception to Viajante to find the easily find The Corner Room. If you take the latter route (which we did), you’ll be taken through the guts of the hotel, maze your way through the immaculate designs and occasionally peek into the beautifully designed rooms as they are being kept. The Townhall hotel is a marvelous hotel. It’s a work of wonder. It’s understated and because of this, it probably makes cooler than staying at say The Renaissance, whose goth granduer is a little bit of a overwhelming monstrosity.

When we did eventually find The Corner Room (unsurprisingly in a corner wing of the first floor) , we were greeted with a distinctly subtle and zen-likeroom. The colour coordination, eye catching and low key was just fabulous, I particular love the large windows, whatever period they are from, as well as the dangling lamps that decorate the wall. The room has character.

Mark and I paid a visit last Saturday for lunch, and were given their weekend brunch menu. There might be a more complete dinner menu, but we didn’t see it.

Taking the low profile approach extends to the purposefully woefully written menu, that easily looks like it was swiped from a greasy spoon, as if to serve as a surprise in an exercise of suppressing the genius that would be served. “House bacon, hash brown & egg” , “avocado on toast” , “smoked salmon & scrambled eggs”.

Salmon & eggs? Far from it, check this out:

Smoked salmon with polenta, avocado & hollandaise, £8.

The smell, the wonderful fragrance of brunch! The salmon, butter, eggs and polenta, all congealing and all an interplay of pillow soft textures, easily glides in to my system. Mmm, there is abit of the cutting edge cooking from downstairs creeping into the recipe here, a dash of avocado cream, a sting of a zesty hollandaise, the custardy poached eggs and paprika infused polenta cake. It’s as beautiful to look as, it was attractive to eat.

Poached eggs with chorizo and paprika potatoes, £8.

The roast filled, relaxant feel of the chorizo and potatoes was morning after breakfast sex for the palate, mmm..

Pork loin & Portuguese bread pudding, £12.

…but this was the one which we both thought was bloody fabulous, prompting my buddy Mark to gesture “This is seriously good food. No fucking around ain’t it, dude.”

The savoury bread pud was from the spring from which comfort food had sprung. Like a rosti soaking with oodles of tomato, peppers and rich umami savouriness. We were both certain the buttery tender pork loins were the result of a master of the dark arts of cooking sous-vide. The original idea of what makes gastronomy the joy it is; an endorphine promoting and necessary part of the day, a celebration of the fact that eating is to refuel life itself.

Mackerel with celeriac & bacon, £6.

The weakest dish of the service, this was flash over substance, and compared to the dishes that came before it, it was easily forgettable. Still for six quid, it was edible art.

Final bill, including a mimosa £7, a glass of bubbles £6 and fresh OJ £2.5 was £55.69 for two.

What I like about the cooking here, is the attention to the cooking. And I say this with all the love for gastronomy from the very depths of my belly : The cooking was very handsome.

Sometimes all that flash and cutting edge modernity can be distracting to an unprepared diner, and if you’re not one to ooh and ahh over the procession, it can be exhaustingly esoteric, thus a little confusing and there is a danger that Viajante’s high end stuff may bore the living daylights off your appetite. But that’s why The Corner Room is special. This unplugged version of Nuno’s mind-bending high end stuff, strikes a perfect chord with the palate, stripping away the noise, and allowing the natural ingredients and the well honed skills of the kitchen to really shine through. This is off the cuff jazz to the disciplined masterpiece of chamber music. And so, this is the alternate interpretation of the travelling chef’s genius. It’s as if the kitchen had laid bare the inner workings of its soul to the public, private nosh turned public, like the way the butcher’s filet became the public’s onglet.

The Corner Room is brilliant. It may even be more fantastic than big brother Viajante downstairs. It certainly is a wonderful brunch venue, and I suspect it will not stay hidden from you guys for very much longer. I love Nuno Mendes’ high end trickery, but I also highly enjoy his low-key flirtation of a stripped down performance.

I fully endorse The Corner room and I suggest you find the time to pay The Corner Room a visit, or perhaps two.

The Gist of It

The Corner Room
Hidden Genius £25pp
No reservations, no phone.
First Floor at The Town Hall Hotel
Patriot Square | E2 9NF
Tube : Bethnal Green

In this coner: Euan Ferguson for TO

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Kilburn is another story altogether however.

I’d already written about the lovely Salusbury pub before, and if you follow my twitter feed, you’ll note the weekly oyster popping at the Sunday farmers market, but I have always been itching to put something together regarding the two Italian cafes in Queen’s Park, which are both highly recommended, if you happen to be in the area.

Giorgio’s

The first candidate is situated on the corner of Salusbury Road. It used to be the grocery bit of Salusbury, and about this time last year, it was rechristened as Giorgios, and redecorated into a lazy corner cafe which served food throughout the day. The pizzas, bolognese arancinis and cannolis are all pretty good, though on this trip, we had arrived for brunch.

Swirly hot chocolate to get the day going..

… and a vegetarian fry up. Hmm, wasn’t quite so sure about those vegetarian sausages.

However, these bad boys – French toast with streaky bacon and maple syrup – were the stuff.

Finally this was a little concoction of mine. Ham, egg and melting cheese ‘breakfast sandwich’. I call it Le GBK. A truly awesome sandwich, trust me.

The salt beef sandwiches, ham baguettes and chicken escalopes are also quite formidable as well.

The Gist of It

Giorgio’s
Italian cafe, £15pp
56 Salusbury Road, NW6 6NN
Tube: Queen’s Park

Alimentari

Alimentari is probably more deli than cafe, away from the activity in Salusbury road, and on a rather less glamorous street on Kilburn Lane, but it is worth sitting down for coffee or breakfast for that matter.

Feast your eyes on this Italian breakfast for two, for £19!

Served on a large platter, on it’s own four legs, as our table can’t hold it, and it also comes with ham croissants and two glasses of freshly squeezed orange juice as well. Yeah of course, one might say that this is nothing but good foraging, what with their range of Italian cheeses and cured meats, that one could easily whip this up in the comfort of one’s home. But nothing beats sitting in a relaxing cafe, with all of Sunday’s papers in one hand, and coffee in the other. Speaking of coffee, their special is a mocha with a double dose of melted chocolate.

And they sell pretty amazing white chocolate cannolis, and paninis can be loaded with whatever choice of cheese and meat they have in stock behind their cold counter.

The Gist of It

Alimentari
Italian cafe, £15pp
Tel :
Tube: Queen’s Park

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The reception for the Robot franchise, has been lukewarm, to say the least. Blogs can’t seem to get excited about either Tiny or Giant.

Nevertheless, I was still interested in visiting at least one of the two all day diners in town, mainly because they serve one of my childhood nostalgic puddings – the baked alaska. Oh I wet many a diaper watching a waiter set meringue on fire to the effervescence of evaporating alcohol, right by the table.

The food is Italian-American, and two restaurants that specialises in signature balls. Meatballs that is. But I didn’t get in any of the full menu action, instead I was looking for a place to brunch, on a sunny Saturday morning. Tiny Robot is situated along Westbourne Grove, and it sits on the ground floor, on top of a members only Starland Social Club in the basement, which is owned by The Rushmore Group.

Let me just start by saying that I really like the decor.

The space is actually quite small, with diner-style motifs, such as the green leather seats, washed out green tiled walls, aged wooden floors, and retro patterned enamel table tops. It’s great, it’s really comfortable inside. Bring on the coffee.

Rum & Vanilla milkshake, Filter coffee.

Woah, the rum was pretty stiff! Nice. I initially asked for a cappuccino, but changed it out to just a brew, since you know, one shouldn’t ever have too milk at 11 in the morning.

Cotechino Hash, £7.60

Which as the name suggests, involves chopped potato, arugula (which I checked on wiki that says it is rocket, so please don’t sue me for the misleading facts.), poached egg and salsa verde.

I like runny yolks, and this was pleasing. Viscous orange hued essence of chicken, smothering the hash absolutely worked its ways to my heart. The salsa was abit like a pesto, so the hash, tasted like a morning salad, of sorts. I liked it fine. I also ordered a bowl of Biroldo (£1.10) – the Italian black pudding as the lovely waitress described to us – which to my untrained palate, was like black pudding, except fluffier, and tasted like it was also laced with pesto.

Eggs Benedict, £7.30.

Ah, the acid test. The benedicts make or break brunch.

For such a big ticket encounter, I had commissioned the better half to carry out the very delicate operation of dissecting said benedict. She asked for a Royale – with smoked salmon – unsurprisingly.

The result, I am glad to annonce, was a smashing success. Especially with an side order of extra mushrooms. Really liked the dense, charred muffin, the hollandaise sauce was rich but not too thick, not sloppy and not too runny. And I think most of the water from the poached egg had been knocked out before plating up. Thick slices of smoked salmon, now appeared to be cooking under the egg was good. The better half totally approved.

Before you shoot me for my lack of taste, I just want to disclaimer you and say that I don’t know what the best brunch in London actually tastes like or actually is. What I can say however is that I had a hugely enjoyable, and relaxing time at Tiny Robot.

It’s in a nice enough neighbourhood, you can read all the weekend papers, and you can spread yourself all across a table for four, with your partner in crime. Service was smiley, careful and unintrusive. Batteries were recharged at a very effective rate, and the food was heartfully delicious. Hey it’s brunch, put away the knives and just enjoy the butter and carbs.

The bill came to £30.35, which doesn’t include the free of charge tap water, flavoured with huge thrusts of refreshing sliced cucumber in the jars.

Where was I? Oh yes, baked alaska and signature meatballs. I will be seen at Giant Robot, and watch in glee, for the waitress to set my meringue on fire, as she douses it with something a little stiff, and a little boozy.

The Gist of It

Tiny Robot
Brunch, American, £20pp
78 Westbourne Grove W2 5RT
Tel: 020 7065 6814
Tube: Notting Hill Gate

Reviews: The Scrag End ; Gourmet Chick ; The Pub Diaries ; meemalee’s Kitchen ; Eats, Drinks and Sleeps ; TimeOut London

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Camden doesn’t lack restaurants in number, it’s just most aren’t worth the detour. But things are changing. On the surface, one wouldn’t think this bar-café located at a gig venue – serving the purpose of tanking up visitors before any given performance – should suffer the unfortunate scrutiny of a blogger’s dour thoughts. However, after reading the Guy’s glowing review, which had cast the Roundhouse’s little known cafe as the most excellent over-performing underdog, I booked a table for a weekend lunch on Open Table. Off I trotted, on the route 31 toward Camden town.

As I entered the semi elliptical room, that followed the contours of the Roundhouse, I couldn’t shake the feeling as if I had walked into a university café, a waiting room ambiance, a departure lounge. At first, I was puzzled with how short the menu seemed. Baked eggs, spicy tomato with yoghurt. Pancakes with blueberry, American style with maple syrup. Grilled banana and chocolate bread. Fried egg, sweet spiced chickpeas, labneh, pangrattato and coriander. Not that it didn’t sound good, but I was actually after the creative, extended small plates menu. Which was not available for lunch over weekends.

Can’t say I wasn’t a little bummed. I had my eye on such beautifully described dishes such as the Jerusalem artichokes, walnut and gorgonzola agresto, slow-roasted tomatoes. Lamb, prune and walnut koftas, pearl barley tabbouleh and green tahini. Momofuku pork Chinese bun, scallion, cucumber. The last is a David Chang recipe.

One might wonder about where all this urban fusion fare stems from; perhaps the chef is a former protege of Peter Gordon’s, but that would be too obvious. Instead, Chef Josh Katz was reportedly part of the Ottolenghi empire (back in the spotlight this year with Nopi), which explains the Mediterranean influence, and winded menu items.

Josh and interior designer Michael Sodeau are both men on a motivating mission. Both are North Londoners, they have turned this little project into an ambitious statement of intent to bring pack a seriously well-priced, yet refreshing menu to the area. Local produce seems to be at the heart of their operation. Fruit and veg are supplied by First Choice in New Covent Garden, fish from (the super pricy) James Knight mongers, Flour station for the dough and meat comes from Islington family butcher, Frank Godfrey.

Brunch. I get it now. This reduced menu is for the lazy late waking weekend wanderer.

Brunch

Pan-fried mackerel, grilled sourdough, blackened tomato passata, harissa mayonnaise, £8.50.

As this dish landed over on the better half’s side, we were both struck by how appetising it looked. Fresh and vibrant, it tasted even better, which was a wonderful surprise. A spicy, feisty salsa-like whipped sauce, dare I say, like a red guac, that went beautifully with the fishy mackerel. Ah, it must be the harissa, the Tunisian chilli paste, that also I believe, is a crucial ingredient in a bouillabaisse. The fish was warm, the bread was warmer, and crunchy, it was gorgeously hearty.

Wasabi apple coleslaw and Pearl barley tabbouleh, £2 each.

These two side dishes were comfort food supreme. The barley, rock salted, well oiled and cucumber gave way to a reminder that this sort of food was born along the coast and under the sun. The apple coleslaw was a refreshing change, swapping the gooey crunch of cabbage, for the fresh zest of shredded apples.

Seared steak sandwich, horseradish cream & balsamic red onion, £ 8.50

I strongly suspect they have used an onglet. Perhaps because of the way the meat curled when sliced, perhaps because they have chosen to cook this on the better side of medium rare, but also perhaps because it was both tender and chewy and oozed charry flavours all at the same time.

But mostly because grilled onglet is an item on the dinner menu too.

Lots of places struggle to get a steak sandwich right, let alone one done as well as this. Whole grilled onions, softly acidic, a subtle bite to the horseradish sauce, radiant and the entire dish is sweet, vinegary and toasty.

Along with a great cut, I felt it was creative and budget conscious. I felt that Josh is the sort of chef who knows how to squeeze the potential out of the available ingredients he has to work with. The only downside are those rather dull raw greens on the side, which were the only reminder that this was a modest café at a gig venue.

Grilled banana and chocolate bread, butter, £5.

Fragrant banana bread with swirls of melting chocolate, grilled to a warm, toasty, crunchy crisp and then smothered in creamy, melting, whipped butter. The crunchy crusts were the best bits. This was ridiculously wow. It transposed me to five year old me and reminded me of the sheer joy of a child’s obsession with sweet things.

After we finished, I peeked at what other tables were having, and wished I had a dump valve on my stomach, or perhaps an extra stomach. Everything else looked delicious, especially the eggs. If you were a Providores breakfast lover, you may like the sound of this too:

Baked eggs, spicy tomato sauce and lemon yoghurt/chorizo – £ 8/ £ 9
Two fried, scrambled or poached eggs and toast with;
- Grilled pancetta and slow roasted tomatoes – £ 7.50
- Grilled chorizo, red onion and feta – £ 8.50
Fried egg, sweet spiced chickpeas, labneh and coriander – £8.50

We finished with two coffees, the mocha in particular was really good, smoother and richer than the Tapped and Packed hot chocolate. All in all, for £33.30, it was great value for money.

I was so impressed that I decided to return for dinner a few hours later to try the full menu.

Dinner

Expectedly, during dinner, Made in Camden was the natural meet-up point for people waiting for their show to start.

Miso-marinated chicken wings, sesame seeds, jalapeno and grilled spring onion, £5.

Buttery wings with sprinkles of sesame and the taste of burnt miso. Mmmm, as good as the crispy wings from the local pizza takeaway, a compliment, with a kick of jalopeno.

Crisp sea bass, tahini, oregano, orange, sharon fruit, pine nuts, £9

The tahini was very nice and very light. Spring-time flavours of pinenuts and diced orange, gave it the Mediterranean feel. Fish was beautifully cooked, flaky and silky, sweet and savoury, the orange was the stand out ingredient here, it was redolent of orange cream popsicles.

Momofuku pork Chinese bun, scallion, cucumber, £5.

And finally, the momofoku recipe. Not unlike a Taiwanese pork pocket, sans the peanuts, and I thought this was quite well done. The bun was soft, sticky and sweet, and the pork was slithery, juicy and slow-cooked tender. Sweet bbq flavours, with fluttering fatty bits that brought extra flavour, and cucumbers for balance. It was good. I could easily have had two.

Earl grey brulee, prune puree, shortbread, £5.50.

For dessert, I chose the tea brulee. The brulee tasted like a melting earl grey ice cream, made with clotted cream, or perhaps even a concentrated, congealed cream tea, made into an egg-based custard. The prune paste was tremendous on its own.

I finished with a mocha, had a glass of Grenache and all in all was very satisfied with the bill, £34.43 plus service. Tremendous value for money.

A nod to the power of the local. This could serve as an example of what the standard of everyday, modern day urban city cafes could be about. It’s not expensive, it is not shackled by the long yawn of fine dining, it’s just delicious, hearty food , fit for nearly all ages. Imagine a future where every museum, local theatre, community leisure centre, and junior common room served to this standard.

I think Josh Katz is a brilliant chef. He has created an attractive menu, based on solid and varied recipes that make good use of allowing the quality of produce, to shine through.

I’m sure Josh will move to a bigger production someday, but until then, I’m glad I am able to jump on the route 31 on a wet and windy Saturday morning to tuck away his soul food and hot mocha, while watching the latest episode of glee on my iPad, over the free – and fast – wifi.

The Gist of It

Made in Camden
Fusion, brunch, cafe, bar and free wifi. £20pp
Chalk Farm Road NW1 8EH
Tel : 020 7424 8495
Tube: Chalkfarm

More photos on myflickr page.

Sound-Off : TO ; Londonist ; Foodepedia ; Islington Tribune

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This restaurant opened to rave reviews by gluttons across London in summer, staking their claim as the very first all day diner in London to be modeled after Bombay cafes. I’ve never been to Bombay, but those who have tried the genuine article (like Guy Dimond) say that Dishoom has got the decor and design down to the letter.

Irani cafes are now dwindling in their numbers in India. They were the stuff of egalitarian dreams in the sixties, but today they are a breed of eatery that is slowly being superseeded by contemporary establishments. Though their story of inception is a rather fascinating one, so goes the story of rags to riches. 19th century Zoroastrian Iranians migrated (source : Wiki where else) to then Mumbai (where a Zoroastrian community was gathering) in search of work. Irani cafes were one the result of those travellers’ stab at thriving in early 20th century Mumbai. They also brought with them Irani chai; milk tea supercharged with condensed milk.

I think Dishoom’s galore should start with the marvelous decor.

I especially loved the tall ceilings with well arranged dangly wires, hanging lamps and ceiling fans. The kitchen is fully exposed on one side, emanating the usual greenish kitchen glow, and the rest of the dining room feels big, polished, reflecting and marbly.

A tip of the hat to the interior designers whoever they may be. They have crafted a brilliant space, with the potential to tickle clientele, it is extremely comfortable sitting there, and would give a lot of Grand Cafe-types a run for its money.

I took the day off last Wednesday, and so it was one of the rare weekday mornings that I was free. So I decided to try Brunch at the all day menu at Dishoom, fully intending to snuggle into my seat for a couple of hours, and take the time to enjoy my new Garry Winogrand book.

Right then on to the food.

I ordered the spicy lamb chops (£9.20) , their signature black dhaal (£4.50) and Roomali Roti (£1.70). And drank freshly squeezed OJ (£2.90).

The lambchops were really great. The spiciness has been turned down a little, pomegranate seeds were a nice ornamental touch. The meat was charry and juicy, rich, vibrant flavours, and it paired well with the stretchy roti. I thought it could have done with just a tad more rubbing with oil, but otherwise it was deliciously floury, the bread did supremely well to absorb juices. I liked the dhaal, it wasn’t a skimpy watered down gravy, it was properly smothery and chock full of healthy lentils. Also on the mild side.

It’s not really a cafe, as they were rather quick to shoosh me out the door – albeit ever so delicately and with a smile – even when I had plonked my large A3 sized Winogrand on the marbled top. I was very comfortable in my seat, already slid back into it, feet almost very nearly up and stupidly refused a coffee, since I hadn’t yet finished the OJ, and I was still waiting for my Passionfruit and Ginger Gola Ice to melt. Moments later he put the bill on my table.

“Whenever you are ready.” Hmm, but clearly I wasn’t dude. Can you not see my unfinished dessert and drink, and my body language suggesting I love sitting in that seat so much, I wish to be glued there, at least for another 30 minutes? Check back skills fail. Leading me to conclude that perhaps it was clearly a misreading on my part; Dishoom was in fact an all day diner, and not a cafe. Table turning over Wednesday lunch hour was apparently important to their livelihood. I wasn’t too happy about being gently kicked out of the restaurant, especially one which I enjoyed.

Aside from the apparent faux pas, however, service was mostly lovely, frequency of incessant check backs was a little high, forcing me to engage several bouts of smile-chewing. Not cheap for Indian food, but considering it was Covent Garden, as well as the swish interior, the £20.70 (exclusive of service) bill for the solo brunch, seemed fair. Yes, in case you wondered, I put down a 10% tip.

I think Dishoom largely deserves the great exposure it has received so far. It is a great addition to Covent Garden, and it is an alternative to all the excellent egalitarian options in the general area. I wouldn’t hesitate taking big groups to the restaurant, food was adequately tasty, but ultimately, it was the decor that won me over.

The Gist.

Dishoom
Bombay Cafe £25pp
12 Upper St Martins Lane WC2H 9FB
Tel: 020 7420 9320
Tube: Covent Garden and Leicester Square

Kablewy! : Time Out London ; Hardens ; The Skinny Bib ; £31.75 ; R.W. ; Gourmet Chick ; Mr Foodie ; Kavey Eats ; Hungry in London

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The sheer volume of blogposts on Bob Bob Ricard throughout 2010 made the interwebs quite a homogeneous place to read about new things. For a moment in time, BBR was perhaps the trendiest all day, all-booth, Anglo diner in London, complete with champagne push buttons and a power outlet for the laptop wielding gastrophile. I’d imagine it is so you could blog about your meal, as you ate. I won’t do a full write-up on this well-liked restaurant in Soho, because you’ve probably read about it, but I will show you the photographs I took on my first (yes, my first) visit to the restaurant.

I avoided the circus when it rolled into town, and was perfectly happy to avoid altogether, but then Mark put together a very strong case for BBR (telling me it is the quintessential Soho diner), and he convinced me to have a go at it (preferably with ripped jeans and flip flops), with a rather impromptu, late Sunday lunch in the mid afternoon, so he could hand me some sausages stuffed with mushrooms, something he picked up from a recent visit to France.

And it was. The interior design was glamorous alright. Blue leather booths, polished brass, tiled floor, darkly lit, brown and very chic. Service came draped in a golden-hued tie, an off-pink blazer and an ear to ear smile. Mark has visited on more than one occasion, and service is a particular highlight at BBR, it seems. We felt comfortable indeed.

Finally, the food…oh gosh, the food was – surprisingly – brilliant. I ordered the (much raved about) Veal Holstein, with qualis eggs, anchovies, truffled mash, capers and ‘secret sauce’ (£21.50) , and was bowled over by how comforting this hearty, mushy, juicy dish was. Overseen by Chef James Walker, whom I must tip my hat to, who lays on English classics, with a touch of Russian flair – Probably a reflection of the owners Leonid Shutov and Richard Howarth. A slither of Mark’s juicy Chicken Kiev was equally pleasing. Onglets supplied by the excellent Irish butcher in Knightsbridge, O’Sheas are also on the menu, served with frites.

Going back to service, I think I might prefer BBR to The Wolseley, the latter more epic in Grand Cafe terms, and the former a little more egalitarian, a little funkier, equally vintage in style, but utterly modern in execution. It’s just a great brasserie, diner, cafe, place to hang out, and the all-welcoming attitude is a breathe of fresh air. If you still haven’t been, I think BBR is worth a try. Not cheap however, we paid £68.91 for two plates of food plus two glasses of wine (more if you are partial to Vodka and Caviar), but it’s worth it. Glad to say that BBR is actually a place I would revisit, and I suspect I will in 2011, or maybe during Boxing day sales, if it is open, and if I still have some change.

The Gist.

Bob Bob Ricard
Anglo-Russian All Day Diner, Vodka & Caviar, 40pp
1 Upper James Street, London, W1F 9DF
Tel: +44 (0)203 145 1000
Tube: Piccadilly Circus

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It has taken me about a year to visit Bea’s in Bloomsbury, but I’m glad I finally made it. This tour de force bakery, cake house, coffee & tea shop produces top notch sugary things from their massive kitchen on site on a daily basis. Needless to say, their cupcakes are superb, personally I quite enjoy the pillowy buttercream Bea uses, a uniquely ethereal texture, slicker than your usual icing. I really enjoyed the peanut butter cupcake I ordered.

The heart & soul behind this operation is none other that the super woman herself, Bea Vo. Notable Nobu alumnus, who had turned down the chance to head the pastry-works at Nobu (spot the Nobu cookbooks in her shop) for a shot at making a name for herself, which as of 2010, in my opinion, she has gracefully achieved. An inspirational story, in itself. I am led to believe that she spends half her life at her labour of love, and when you eventually visit and meet her, you’ll be glad to find she’s an energiser bunny of abundant joy – probably a sign of a woman who relishes every moment of working on what she is most passionate about.

Bea is slated to expand into the City soon, so things must be going well for the petite baker, critics, bloggers and women – in general – love her work.

This is one of the few times I feel there is no need to pontificate about the steadiness of cream. If you are yet to visit this cafe that looks as fabulous as the cakes sitting on the counter, then I believe you should put this on your list. Inside the shop, one can sip coffee at a table next to the open ended kitchen, read his raunchy novel (which has won numerous bad sex awards) and occasionally look up and watch the chefs scoop icing onto cake. Life could not be more perfect.

A photo essay for the girls.

Note: We ordered afternoon tea set with scones, cupcakes, assorted marshmallows and meringues for £9.90.

Even more photographs from Bea’s on my flickr stream.

The Gist of It

Bea’s of Bloomsbury
Sweets, cakes, coffee & tea £7pp
44 Theobald’s Road London WC1X 8NW
Tel: 0207 242 8330
Tube: Chancery Lane

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All text and photography on this blogpost is copyright and belongs to Kang Leong, LondonEater.com. If you repost this without my permission, bad things will happen. So please don’t do it.

In my never ending quest to eat everything, I am fortunately saddled with a curiosity for all manner of restaurants. Take Jack’s for example. Situated next to the farmer’s market in Queens Park (where Cillian Murphy can frequently be seen) , I’ve walked out with a beef burger in hand (superbly grilled by one of the meat mongers) still wanting to try a Jack’s burger while munching on the home-made wholesome farmer’s burger. I’m not a glutton am I?

Let’s google that.

Glutton : “Person who is devoted to eating and drinking to excess.” (Princeton)

I prefer this one:

“One who eats voraciously, or to excess; a gormandizer; One who gluts himself; A carnivorous mammal (Gulo gulo), of the family Mustelidæ, about the size of a large badger. It was formerly believed to be inordinately voracious, whence the name; the wolverine…” (Wiktionary)

And so it turns out, I am a glutton, who frequently gluts himself, or at least thinks about voracious gormadizing alot. I have good reason to constantly keep this neighbourhood cafe at the back of my mind, and mainly it is to do with a sign they used to hang outside their door which read “Wagyu Burger”. That sign is no longer there. Very recently, the cafe has undergone a refurbishment which extends the once modest cafe into a modest cafe, with a dining area. Complete with black leather booth seats, and brick walls, business looks better than ever, as this place is constantly packed out. The new dining space is connected to the old cafe via what appears to be a tunnel lit by blue lights. At either side of this limbo land, cabinets and waitresses pop in and out from it. Pop. Or so it seemed anyway. So now we’re in (yes, we’re in). The menu is all day breakfast on one side; steak chips & lambshanks on the reverse and a whole host of greasy sandwiches, with your choice of bread, oh and malted milkshakes. So Byron ain’t the only boys in town who do A&W ice-cream floats, because I just found another. It’s the every greasy spoon I thought it was gonna be, dirty cutlery sans wagyu burgers.

Anyway, I ordered a malted peanut butter & banana milkshake to start. £3.75, it was huge, served in an oversized steel cup (ala GBK) and featuring crunchy peanut bits in the smooth, cold ice cream puddle. Yummy, I like malted things.

Conducting ‘research’ (or as some would say, ‘cheating’) for this piece led me to believe that the origins of the Jack’s burger recipe is American. I have no true experience of the American Hamburger, except to channel interpretations of it from my familiarity with ‘American diners’ in various Asian countries. Today, I’m channelling an old ‘American’ restaurant from my childhood days called Red Wing. The restaurant (no longer exists) was based in the oil town of Seria in Brunei which (still) has an economy that literally runs on oil & gas. If memory serves me correctly, Red Wing was a place for the old cowboys (applied liberally) from Halliburton to gather for a warm meal after a hard day’s slogging it out in the rigs, and it was here that baby Kang came across the curious case of the coleslaw. Ok back to the Jack’s home-made burger. Let’s get the bad bits out of the way first: that burger is overcooked, thinly cut (comparable to Burger King thickness) and dry. So why not write it off, right? Not yet, because everything else about the burger was actually rather good. The bun was toasted till crusty and I’m certain (even though the other half disagrees) that it had been flavoured with fresh garlic, giving it a tingling bite. The coleslaw was sort of yogurty and tasted (for want of a better term) fresh. We stuffed the good stuff into the burger, and it produced a really interesting garlicy and then creamy concoction of flavours, which instantly took me back to 1989, and back to Red Wing. This is about as close to A&W as one can get in London, and maybe its just nostalgia but I remember burgers tasting alot different, much more muscular (like this) back in 1989 as opposed to the progressive movement of gourmet burgers today… or maybe that’s just the carnivorous badger in me getting carried away.

I initially wanted to try the corned beef hash (with two fried eggs) but they had run out at 3.30pm on a Sunday, so I settled for ‘the Yank’ instead.

Further ‘research’ led me to study the diverse landscape of breakfast in America, specifically pancakes. To be honest, I felt a little queasy just reading this selection off the menu: eggs, bacon, french toast, syrup… blech, and this was the cheaper option. The other heftier double yank (oh gosh, I can’t even remember the name of the item) had pancakes AND french toast on the same plate. Yup, just as I expected this protein explosion was a little too much for me to handle. I could just about do the fried bread and bacon, even bravely spreading the syrup on the bread, but once I broke the white of the eggs, and the golden yolks slowly seeping into the sweetened bacon – that was the last straw, the voracious wolverine quivered, and seriously considered turning vegequarian.

In the end though, I was rather glad I gave Jack’s a try, I’d still go back to put my heart at risk and try the corned beef hash (for all the right reasons), and I almost forgot to mention the weird melange of music which played in the background; Bouncing from Jamiraquai to Borcelli. Interestingly enough, I felt abit like an extra in a Tarantino movie and in a funky kinda way, it all worked.

The Gist of It

Jacks Cafe official site
101 Salusbury Road
London NW6 6NH
Tel: 020 7624 8925
Tube: Queen’s Park

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Fridays are always exciting for me, partly because the sun usually decides to come out to play, and also partly because I can put my work hat away come midday. We had planned to see the superspy movie of the decade based on dolphins, but hadn’t thought of lunch yet. That was until the enigmatic supercharz came to our rescue with Fay Maschler’s brilliant piece regarding the latest secret gastro project to hit the smoke.

Here’s what I know so far : Dock Kitchen was started up by Stevie Parle and Joseph Trivelli, the former, a River Cafe alumnus and the main man in the kitchen; the latter still currently at River Cafe. Not the average trendy living room restaurateur I suppose what with the pedigree. Dock Kitchen is a part of their moveable restaurant project which made its debut at The Dock exhibition for the London Design Festival. It has since evolved to become more of a permanent fixture at the Portebello dock, serving lunch on most days and special suppers on selected nights.

We had to buzz to get through to the gated property – a double storey glass encased building of slick lines and bold typography. All very uber artful to my non-designer trained eye. At the entrance, we were greeted by the open kitchen-cum-reception-cum-cake-table-top. The rest of the venue looks abit like a stripped down exhibition space with elemental aspects of bricks, metal and glass working oversized pumpkins as table decoration. It doesn’t really feel like a pop-up to be honest, but more like a stripped down cafe, very relaxing.

The menus are A4 inkjet prints – all very low key – finished with inventive copywriting skills. I was fooled into thinking the choice of ‘Aranciata’, fizzy orange was some sort of special mocktail, but no, its just a fizzy canned drink. Hmm, I’m oh so gullible. The food menu is short, sweet and to the point. Six dishes for the starters/main and five choices for puds. Between the three of us, we chose most of what’s available, except for the wild seabass over roast potatoes and white wine (for 2 at £30).

First dish: Dhal with tomatoes and curry leaves, mustard leaves and chappati bread (£6.5)

Ah, I probably should mention that the menu reads like the chef’s greatest hits from around the world – kind of refreshing. So we poked the dhal paste but the feedback was cold and blobby like mud. We had to send it back to warm and melt, but what came back wasn’t really much better. The mushy paste was missing flavour in spite of it carrying abit of a spiciness. The fine grain texture while good was uninteresting. The chappati bread tasted like undercooked flour, just forgettable and the entire dish felt lethargic to me. C’mon, we’re a nation which knows our dhal well and it’s not suppose to taste like this. Next.

Next: Dorset Crab on Buttery Toast £10, we ordered two… how can you not order two crabs on toast.

Now we’re talking. The crabs were fresh, flossy, juicy and tasted of the sea. I was pulling bits of shell out from the crab – like the chef’s way of saying fresh produce, hand made, yeah. Layered on top of tenderly moisten fennels and a fat slice of bread with a chunk of butter on top, I could eat three of these. I gobbled one, and watched the girls finish the rest, with envy.

Mains: Rabbit biryani – Farmed French rabbit slow cooked with tomato and ginger with cardamom Himalayan basmati rice £15.

Oh yes. This was another winner. The dish was very fragrant, a mellow spiciness – like the gastronomical equivalent of fresh laundry. The rice was amazingly fluffy, cotton-like, and just the slightest touch of spice hitting the back of my throat. The dollop of crème fraiche created an appetizing citrusy contrast to the dish, this was another which I could eat again and again. The rabbit tasted like chicken to me, although some bits were liver-like, mildly seasoned, simple comfort food beautifully cooked.

Finally: Two small red mullet roasted with tomatoes and wild fennel leaves with Florence fennel slowly cooked with olive oil and garlic (£16).

And the umami monster strikes again. The fish are beautifully presented, very smart in the way they kind of sit up on the plate hugging a cluster of roast vegetables. Fresh & flaky, the fishiness was expertly masked with the juices from the roasts. This rustic combo was very comforting and it was like being invited to try out new recipes at the home of a successful chef who cooks for the pure unadulterated love of food.

I know a lot of chefs who would relish the chance to work on these sorts of personal projects. Not have to worry about the bottom line but to simply cook to their heart’s content. A very positive experience. Not the cheapest lunch but not entirely expensive either. Not the largest of servings, but not paltry. Most of all, food was delish and the stripped down nature was a welcomed change to unnecessary grandeur. Dock kitchen gracefully carried out their minimalist approach. It is a wonderful venue and I think London needs more of these type of cafés/brasseries/insert your own moniker/chilled out eateries which just wants to fill yer tummies without the ceremony.

I really heart out loud, and it is always a pleasure eating with Charz, I owe you a burger (or two) for this one. Go visit already.

The Gist of It

Dock Kitchen Offical site
£20-£40 pp
Portobello Dock
342 Ladbroke Grove
W10 5AH
Tel: 02089621610
Nearest Tube: Ladbroke Grove

More photographs of Dock Kitchen here.

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