I am indebted to Josh Katz for sending me to this (relatively) new Middle Eastern diner opened by ex-Ottolenghi/Nopi chefs. Josh is now officially the former head chef at the excellent Made in Camden. While I’m a little saddened that I can no longer eat his banana breads for brunch, I am eagerlloa waiting the arrival of his next project. The owners are husband and wife, Itamar Srulovich and Sarit Packer and if you google them, you’ll find dozens of Ottolenghi links, so Ottolenghi fans should probably rejoice. The cafe is shoe-box sized, open from 7.30am to 7pm (for the time being) with dinners (currently) offered as special one-offs. Decor is basic, the appearance of an honest, family run cafe. Itamar even appears to prepare food just behind the counter. Cakes are pushed up against the front window on display, just like Ottolenghi. Despite flying completely under the radar (no website but Itamar is active on Twitter as @honeyanco) , it already seems to have a strong following. It was very busy for Friday lunch, tables turned briskly with a steady stream of customers to fill newly vacated ones. The menu appears seasonal and well-priced. On my visit, starters include fresh peaches, goats cheese, salted almonds, regent’s park honey (£6) ; Ras al hanut beef cigar, yogurt & tomato sauce (£4). Mains were Chicken & Mint dumplings in yoghurt sauce,
I remember putting this cosy and dainty cafe on my list after reading LF’s detailed report nearly two years ago. It’s stayed there ever since as I can never seem to find time to visit anywhere just for cake. The owner Masayuki Hara is Japanese, but has spent a large slice of his career in London restaurants such as Le Gav, Cave at Caviar House, Corrigans before opening his cake & tea salon. The cakes mirror his background – French recipes with a spoonful of Japanese finesse. Coffee is from Monmouth, tea is imported from Sri Lanka, is exclusive to Lanka and probably what has inspired its name. There are two of these in town now, we visited the original in leafy Regents Park Road which is also home to Bryn William’s wonderfully low-key Odette’s. Chocolate Green Tea Gateau with vanilla ice cream, £3.60. Cor …dense, floury, moist, blue ribbon. The matcha flavour was pronounced, the chocolate less so. It wasn’t overly rich, but tremendously balanced instead, delicious. The vanilla ice cream was made in house, was probably very good, but all I remember was how good the cake was. Assiette of Dessert, £7.50. The cake selection is exhaustive and there was enough variety to compel me to try a bit of everything. I love anything with white chocolate, so I tried to negotiate some to go on the tasting
This will be brief as I do realise there is little value in writing up a two day special. As I’ve never eaten at any of Chang’s famous New York restaurants (yes, how embarrassing), this presented an opportunity to try his food. We were hoping see his classics and fortunately the £100pp 6 course surprise menu included some of his most-written about dishes. The meal stuttered with a couple of so-so dishes at the start, but quickly got better (and better) as it crept to the finish. The rice cakes were tasty and the Bo Ssam (with extra pork rib eye) was absolutely epic. No cereal milk ice cream or crack pie however, as we finished with Fergus’ Dr Henderson. Lovely all the same. Definitely delicious cooking. We drank a couple of glasses of wine and a glass of sake (recommended for the fish) each, and paid £276.75 for two. Expensive for what it was but then again most one-offs are. How long before Momofuku makes its way to London then? Pork Bun Mackerel, Masago & Mackerel Oil Eel Dashi, Peas & Samphire Spicy Rice Cakes, Shallots & Choi Sam Pork Shoulder & Ribeye, Kimchi, Lettuce, Oysters Did you enjoy reading this? You can subscribe to the Newsletter. Alternatively, you can subscribe to the RSS feed
The austere profile and procurement gimmick should – on paper – make 10 Cases an instant hit which is keeping with current trends. But in reality, this restaurant is so deliberately lacking that the end result is nearly banal. Styled as a British Bistrot, it offers 10 reds and 10 whites at any time. Each wine is bought 10 cases at a time, and when they run out, presumably it would not be bought again. Every wine is offered by the glass, carafe and by bottle, so you could say this is a wine bar as well. The menu can only be read on the chalkboards nailed to the walls. Only the wine list is available on paper, hand written, suggesting everything is in constant rotation. The total number of the starters and mains do not exceed the digits on both hands. Foie Gras en Cocotte, £9.50 with 125ml 2007 Bordeaux Blanc, Ch Doisy-Daene, £9.00 Bordeaux clarets will drawn many sighs these days and it often overshadows the brilliant whites the Bordelais are capable of producing. I only recently sampled a white bordeaux from 2007 – a white Cos, at Sketch’s Lecture Room – and was intrigued by how well it was showing. Made from 100% Sauv Blanc, this dry white comes from a solid 2nd growth Sauternes producer who is better known for making beautiful pudding wines in good
And finally after months of false starts, the tapas restaurant named after the Basque’s capital of gastronomy has finally opened for business. And what big culinary boots it has chosen to fill, after all, San Sebastian is home to a trio of 3 star restaurants namely Akelarre, Martín Berasategui and (perhaps most famous of the lot) Arzak. However, Donostia isn’t set up to emulate the Basque’s high end reps, rather it pays homage to its classic cuisine of pintxos, pil pil cod, fizzy aperitifs and ham from Basque bred Kintoa pigs. Their hides rescued from extinction by Pierre Oteiza, a farmer from the French side of the region, and who was even awarded a medal for it. Embarrassingly my last visit to Barrafina was nearly 4 years ago, I’ve yet to try Fino and (while we are at it) I’ve never been to Donostia (the city) either! Instinct suggests that previous experience would be required to make any meaningful observations on how faithful the recipes are to the originals – for the authenticity aficionados – but I assure you that won’t be found in this blog post. So I approached the meal with naivety and a healthy appetite. And now to address the Harts Bros reference where Donostia’s headchef is Tomasz Baranski who has come over from years of manning the helm at Barrafina. This visit was on their 7th
I have been heavily anticipating the opening of 28-50′s new site in Marylebone Lane, by sommelier Xavier Rousset and chef Agnar Sverrisson of perennial Icelandic bib winner Texture fame, which has now turned into a fairly successful, well executed wine-bistro. Compared to the original Fetter Lane location, this is much more accessible (and strategic), personally a convenient bus ride from where I live. I made a hurried reservation for a table on opening day, speculating that it may be full up. It coincided with the Diamond Jubilee concert, and as we arrived for lunch, the restaurant were only entertaining a couple of retirees, presumably residents from the nearby Marylebone Village. My only visit to the original was almost two years ago, for Laissez Fare‘s leaving do, so can’t say its my usual haunt, but I did like it. The standard wine list is roughly 20 reds and 20 whites long, all available from half glasses (WELL more like 60% at 75ml per measure) to carafes and of course full bottles. The other list – collectors – is bottles only format, primarily consignments from private cellars. The 75ml format, as far as I know, was pioneered by 28-50, and they remain the only restaurant(s) I’ve come across to offer this measure, with an average price of £3 to £8 per 75ml. This is all very good of course, especially for a
This is my obligatory nod to the original pioneer that gave (London) street food the tremendous popularity it enjoys today. Helped by extensive blog/twitter exposure it has – to a certain extent – changed the way we eat out. It’s hard to imagine a time when the only way you could wrap your mitts around a Yianni Papoutsis burger was to follow his free roaming food truck as it toured around London. The theft of the original Meatwagon grounded the mobile trendsetter and inadvertently led to the creation of the prototype better known as #MEATEASY. By then, they’d already gained cult status, but their popularity soared to new heights (outside of ‘foodie’ circles) when they popped up in a pub (formerly Golsmiths Tavern, then New Cross House by Scott Collins) under refurbishment in New Cross last year (to make enough money to buy a new Meat Wagon). In doing so, they accidentally created the greatest London restaurant to have never existed. I put it down to the fact that it had an inimitable atmosphere that was altogether tatty, grotty, speakeasy-esque in a venue that was genuinely so. Most of all however, the pub kitchen allowed Yianni and team to churn out their fabulous products with great consistency, albeit at the cost of long cooking times. But it was without doubt that they had served some of the best chilli fries,
The original Phil Howard protege, Adam Byatt may have had his ups and downs through the years, but things certainly look like they are up and up in 2012. Trinity has turned into a well-oiled machine for six or so years since it opened, gathering a generally good reputation and turning into a local Clapham favourite. Known for the grounded classic cooking with a touch of modernity, overly generous portions and value driven pricing. In fact, things have gone so well that Adam is now on to his second restaurant (also in Clapham), Bistro Union. More of an everyday outfit of sensible British cooking in contrast to Trinity’s special occasion menu, as suggested by its name. Instead of bringing up the Hospital Club days, I’d rather like to talk about his cameo in a delightful book called Londoners : (with a really long subtitle). An album of stories cherry-picked from many hours of (taped) interviews conducted by its author Craig Taylor – a Canadian writer – who lives in London, aiming to weave an ‘oral history’ of London through the words of its residents. Careful editing has ensured the most compelling of stories had gone into the book to give a very human face and voice to London. Some are so hysterical that it can only be true. Adam participates as the humble working London chef, unsurprisingly as part of
“..surrounded by the greatest wines of the world..” The dining room is relatively small but is as intimidatingly as it is posh, as the website’s official photographs suggest. Built around the ‘wine salon’, the restaurant’s private room takes up to 8 people and is encased by temperature-controlled glass walls filled with some of the sommelier’s (Alex Gilbert) most prized bottles. All completely out of my spend range for this solo Friday lunch (or any meal for that matter). Indeed, all of the world’s most storied labels grace Alyn Williams’ wine list, and I feel it only apt to dedicate the following paragraph to this exceptionally procured cellar: All the 1st growth clarets feature, from average to exceptional years, including a ’90 Lafite. Beyond the formidable Pauillac region, an ’85 Haut-Brion (the sole non-pauillac 1st growth) is listed with a centurion ’82 vintage of La Mission as the proud emissaries of the great wines of Graves – arguably the most romantic of all Bordeaux wines. Cos, Palmer, Petrus represent St Estephe, Margaux and Pomerol. Glaring omissions may be the popular Pontet, the age-worthy monster Montrose and Graves underdog Chevalier Rouge, all three producing consistently fabulous wines in recent years. Personally, I was drawn to the millennium Figeac, the 2nd tier GCC from St Emillion …for £400, easily a 3x mark-up (Liv-Ex trading at £90-110/bottle in bond prices) and only just within
*Update 11 July 2012 – Latest is that Fred Smith will now ‘consult’ for the restaurant, and Ad Cod will install a new head chef to fill his void. Unsure what this means for the future of Fred’s burgers, so do call in advance to check before visiting.* This is my 3rd visit to the fabulous Admiral Codrington in as many months. By now, you’ll have heard about Fred Smith’s near obsessive detailed experiments in continuously honing his version of the perfect cheeseburger. In the last few weeks, he’s been causing tidal waves of instagram drool with diners tweeting his elusive specials: the double patty burger code named ‘The Double Stack’ and the other elusive animal : ‘The Chilli Burger’. Ironically, on both previous visits, I missed all the specials for dinner as depending on how busy the kitchen is, specials are (mostly) a lunch only option. Away from his Ad Cod stove, you might have already eaten the Fred Smith x Tom Byng collab on the latest Byron special called ‘The Chilli Queen’, set to run till early June. With green chilli, chipotle mayo, American cheese and a glazed bun (first debuted for the Uncle Sam) ; The burger is a sort of condensed version (for the 22 Byrons across town) of Fred’s original chilli burger. I was fortunate enough to be invited to a preview by Tom and
No doubt you’ve already heard about Ceviche, the first of a trio of Peruvian restaurants to open in London this year. Started by Martin Morales, Brit with half a Peruvian heritage, he gave up a notable music career (According to Xanthe, he signed KT Tursntall and launched iTunes in Europe!) to plug a gaping hole in the market. Which he reckons will be nicely filled with an introduction to raw seafood cold cooked in tiger’s milk. Apart from the fusion dishes at Nobu, I’ve never eaten Peruvian food. This cuisine has always been written about as the next big thing (Monocle did a nice spread last year), partly given its unique history of diverse cultural influences, one can argue that Peruvian is a true expression of fusion food. Given the decades the Nobu restaurants have spent in the (international) limelight , Peru hasn’t really taken off as a must visit destination for gastro-tourist. The cuisine’s foremost ambassador is Gastón Acurio. By wikipedia’s account, he is a bit of a legend in his native Peru. His name is attached to No.35 on the 2012 World Best 50 , but it diffuses down to a diverse portfolio of operations which include a hamburger bar, a Peruvian-Chinese restaurant, a hotel and even a ‘gastronomic’ university. I’m most intrigued by the mention of his roast chicken franchise, La Pollada. Might it come on British
I have asserted in the past that Bryn Williams is the most underrated chef in Britain, and that I’ve wanted to return to his restaurant, Odette’s to delve deeper in his cooking, beyond the GBM dish that sent his career into overdrive. Perhaps it is because his restaurant is in a tucked away location (in Primrose Hill) , and that it’s a little old fashion which is probably why it doesn’t receive the same kind of attention which centrally located counterparts may enjoy. Odette’s has also been in the same spot since ’78, albeit changing ownership many times over the years, before Vince Power took over the reigns in 2006 and lured the young chef away from the clutches of the Galvin Brothers. Bryn has since bought the restaurant out, and has been Chef Patron since late 2008. If those walls could speak. I just think there such romance to Odette’s. You can’t beat heritage (no matter how patchy) and I think history is embodies the ideals of a neighbourhood restaurant. Food is part skill, but also part nostalgia. White bread, ketchup and bashed fillet steak with black pepper might not be ‘gourmet’ but the smell of pan-fried steak always takes me back to my childhood Sunday lunches. The ambiance (and by extension the leafy neighbourhood locale of sleepy cafes & pet shops) is cocooned and cosy but most of
Rob & David’s eponymous restaurant has only just toasted its ten year anniversary. A decade and a bit, largely recognised as one of a handful of institutions of Iberian cooking in the business. Not forgetting the Eyre Brother’s first effort, The Eagle, which has already entered the annals of culinary legend. It predates the rise of the Brindisas and – in certain respects – is seen to have nurtured its growth. After all, Jose Pizarro did spend his first years in London with this fine establishment. The restaurant celebrates cooking from the Iberian peninsula, with the roots established in Portuguese cooking. Perhaps due in no small part to David’s upbringing in Mozambique, a former Portuguese colony. Today, there are many luminous representatives of Iberian cooking in the city, dare I say, that Spanish cooking has hit a high level of consistency. Whatever formula that may be applied to running successful Spanish restaurants which appeal to Londoners, has been perfected. Copita, Salt Yard, Jose/Pizarro and even the post-Pizarro Brindisas just to name a few of the current crop of small plate leaders all produce lovely food. Progress is inevitable, but I believe there’s always a sense of romance when visiting restaurants with a bit of history. The Alpine cabin ambiance does remind me a little of Pizarro – Slick yet down to earth, with a long bar which entertains a more
Ah …Easter weekend. We drove all the way to the Sidmouth coast, to marvel at the bronze cliffs, seagulls and took in other bits of Devon (like Beer) while we were there too. Aside from M.Caines’ iron grip on Exeter dining (We did eat at his restaurant at ABode Exeter, but not worthy of a write-up imho) , we were on the look out for something decidedly local. I couldn’t secure a last minute booking at La Petite Maison nor did we try a Rick Stein chippy, but instead we made time for this well-regarded humble fish & chip shop located on premises at Darts Farm in Topsham. Curiously the farm is a set of modern looking buildings which hosts an Cotswold outdoors shop as well as an AGA outlet. It certainly looks more like the facade of a leisure centre than a traditional farm. Started initially by Roland Dart 40 odd years ago as a small hut selling produce to the locals, it’s now morphed into a major food hub in Devon. I suppose if Wholefoods were to expand their influence, Darts Farm would be the ideal candidate to mount a take-over. Inside, the main shop floor sells local produce, a local (award-winning) butcher and a cider & ale corner. I do regret not picking up a bottle of aged cider brandy! The Fish Shed is very modest, literally
aka Kang’s Living Restaurant Guide version 4. Released to the wild in April 2012. Read V3, V2 and V1. This list is put together to record the restaurants I love and would revisit. No guide is ever definitive, and this one is far from it. It is as transitional as the restaurants which rise and fall through the years. I do however hope you’ll find this (quarterly to bi-annual update) useful and a pleasant read in planning your next meal in the city. This list is organised into the following categories : Personal Favourites ; British ; Special Occasions ; Easy Occasions ; Asia ; Coffee and Else Classy restaurants, Institutions and ‘Fine Dining’ : £60 – £100 pp Bistros, Wine Bars, Gastropubs : £45 pp Post-Polpo, Tapas, Diners : £20 to £40 pp Burgers £7 to £20 There couldn’t be a wider spread of choice to dine out these days. The relentless rate of ‘quality’ restaurant openings seems to have slowed down in 2012. Generally speaking, I feel that newer restaurants are headed toward better value for money rather than to challenge for macaroons. Le Critics Marina O’Loughlin for Metro Fay Maschler for Evening Standard AA Gill for The Sunday Times Jay Rayner for the Observer Guy and team at TimeOut London Restaurant Bloggers Miss GT and Mr B at Gourmet Traveller Critical Couple XXX at Bellaphon The Epicurean
I have resisted Roti Chai for several months now, it’s right opposite Selfridges, conveniently located, if you shop on Oxford Street often. I think the interior design does it no favours. The colourful theatre-land of over-sized repros of food brands (meant to evoke nostalgia I’m guessing) gives the impression that this a prototype for a upcoming franchise. Then I had dinner with a few weeks earlier with the venerable former food blogger Helen WFG and her hubby the enigmatically blurry Garson Byer who both gushed about the fantastic happenings in the kitchens of Roti Chai. Fantastic and a little bombastic. Reviews and word of mouth suggest a thriving returning clientele because of its supposed authenticity and obvious quality cooking. The restaurant is split into two discreet operations under the same roof: Upstairs aka The Street Kichen; a lighter, faster and presumably cheaper menu is available and open all day. Down in the basement dubbed The Dining Room, the interiors are somewhere in between a lounge bar and Bob Bob Ricard, with marble replaced by wooden floors. Less finger food, more elaborate sounding dishes from the regions and is only open for dinner. Two kitchens, two head chefs, two restaurants in one. I visited for a Saturday lunch, and obviously ate upstairs. The missus opted for a virgin cocktail and I drank Mongoose lager for the very first time. Certainly extra
“The change is more than skin-deep” – First words you’ll read on the newly revamped Tom Aikens website. Words from a chef (or franchise I should say) who seeks a fresh break from his past. One which has always had a question mark hanging over it. From his accidental searing of a sous chef with a hot knife to the more recent financial woes which involving the way he had gone into administration, and the fate of the debt owed to small scale (presumably angry) suppliers using a pre-pack administration / phoenix insolvency process. Effectively this allowed him to carry on business as usual, free of debt but burdened with a slightly sullied reputation. On the other hand, Aikens was one of Koffman’s original group of proteges (and then installed as head chef) when Le Tante Claire won 3 stars, and he was one of the youngest chefs in his day to gain (retain) 2 ** during his time as head chef at Pied de Terre. It is undeniable that he has real talent in cooking, invariably met with universal praise. In late 2011, his eponymous restaurant closed for refurb, reopening earlier this year with a new outlook on (what appears) all fronts. In the process, Tom had lost his star, which probably might be a good thing for this reputation rebuilding campaign. For all the time he’s been cooking
I am too tender in age to have lived through the days when Conran restaurants were the pride of the industry. Those glory days are no more than urban legend as told by the doyens amongst food writers… some of whom have exhausted equal column inches in slagging off the same restaurants dreamed up by the original Design Entrepreneur. I’ve wanted to write about the radio initiative of Tyler Brule’s pioneering (and my favourite) print magazine, Monocle 24 for some time now. I love it so much; it has become an integral part of my gym routine. There are 12 radio shows, my favourites are The Menu, The Entrepreneurs and Section D. In this particular winter special, Section D managed an interview with Sir Terrance, who spoke about his Habitat days as well as his career high in striking a tie-up with M&S. It meant he got to sell his furniture to the masses, as opposed to being niche. Or to paraphrase – how distribution of his designs were democratised. Alongside his entrepreneurial adventures in home furnishings, Conran’s expansive brasserie empire grew to include The Orrery, Bluebird, Coq d’Argent, Pont de la Tour as well as Bibendum at the Michelin House in Chelsea. Eventually he sold up to the D&D group which now operates this group of restaurants. The owners Des Gunewardena and David Loewi are both ex-Conran. Conran’s legacy
Sometimes, it seems like all I eat these days are burgers. Ohh.. that yellow, is that *gasp* american cheese? Hah. Yeah it looks great doesn’t it? 8oz Cheeseburger with Chips, £15. It looks dangerously risky for a medium rare, which is to say, it satisfied expectations for those of us who like burgers to be bloody. I don’t really want to open up another debate on this issue, but personally I feel that a rarer patty has better texture, juicier (or less dry I should say) and has better flavour than something more cooked. This is indeed a pretty good burger. Actually, it’s better than good, it’s probably one of the best burgers in town (yes I know, every other burger place seems to be somebody’s ‘the best’ these days). Pople, Young, Burgerac and Bellaphon have roundly praised the burger, and after this visit, I can only echo their opinion. Those guys really do tell a more eloquent story about the technicalities of why this patty is so good, but for what its worth, I think the resultant product is quite special. On Burgerac, Fred Smith explains that his patty is ‘blended’ from 50% rib cap, 25% chuck and 25% of trimmed fat plus some other little bits. The beef are supplied by Darragh O’Shea , cuts are dry-aged in house prior to mincing. The impression I get is that
Perfection is a state of mind, especially so when it comes to restaurants. But perfection was all that I could think of this very meal as I negotiated the last spoonfuls of blueberry cheesecake sundae. It was simply one of the very best Saturday pub lunches I’d ever had. Bull & Last are entering their 4th year of service, now firmly established as a landmark and a local favourite for Hampstead Village residents. I went there sometime last year, and I was so bedazzled by the quality of the cooking, I vowed to return to try more. This 2nd visit had only reinforced my perceptions of the gastropub. Their home-made charcuterie platter is probably best in London, possibly rivalled only by Bar Boulud’s own French smorgasbord equivalent. Somehow I had managed to get a table within 2 hours notice, last Saturday for lunch, so off we went to this idyllic part of North London. For me, the restored aged interiors of stuffed bull heads, stuffed foxes, wood panel floors and walls made for a cosy place to sip beer, especially when the sun shines. Split over two levels, the pub is expansive, the walls feel like they are layered with history just underneath the paint, proud, loud, cosy and a conducive family environment. A quintessential pub. The dining room upstairs is just as big but a little tidier, with smaller
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