I’ve been looking at Parisian Foodblogs for places to eat since I’m going to be there this weekend, and kept longing a summary or list of the best restaurants/bistros/cafes to try; suddenly lists are such useful things. It’s given me motivation to do an update to my all time favourites list. Anyway, if you’re coming to visit London or just feeling peckish then here are ten personal favourites; a mix of cheap/expensive eateries suitable for all kinds of appetites…

1. St John (British) £40pp

Even though it has a michelin star, the prices have stayed surprisingly decent. Chef Fergus Henderson pioneers ‘nose to tail’ cooking so you’ll see alot of offals and lesser known cuts of meat on the menu. Its not a perfect restaurant and they are not into the latest in the wide world of molecular gastronomy. Instead what you’ll find is really good, really hearty Great British cooking. If Great British Cuisine is what you are after, this institution is a great ambassador. The bone marrow is to die for. Expect to spend £40 for three courses. Closest Tube Station is Farringdon.

2. Cambio De Tercio (Modern Spanish) £45pp

Reviewed in September 2008 I said: “I’ve left it to last. I love Cambio De Tercio. They tick all the right boxes for me. Spot on, zippy service, waiters who know their menu inside out and they make educated recommendations. A robust wine list consisting of the best Spanish Riojas, and one that spans all budgets. The decor that oozes flair, character and is relaxed, just a nice space to eat in.”

They serve modern Spanish food and everything is gently cooked, and cooked very well indeed. The dinner taster menu is £37, and I will admit that there are a couple of bump dishes, sometimes. But on the whole, it is a lovely little restaurant. It has a special place in my heart, it’s my personal favourite in London and I’ve had many a great meal. If I had to choose one to go back to again and again and again, Cambio would be it. She’s the one folks, she really is. Closest Tube Station is Gloucester Road.

3. Sushi Hiro (Sushi only, seriously) About £20 pp ….. £25 if you are greedy like me.

Reviewed in Nov 08 I said: “If you’ve always been curious about raw fish, then I wholeheartedly recommend you go here to get your introduction to the Japanese delight. For everybody else, you’ll remember why you love sushi all over again, it’s really that simple.”

Sushi Hiro is actually only a 15 train ride from my workplace, and needless to say, I’m a regular sushi bingeing junkie. This is one of the few places that I pop back into every now and again, and its because it just does slap bang perfect sushi on the cheap (relatively anyway). If you love Sushi and you live in London, just go already. Closest Tube Station is Ealing Common.

4. Dinings (Japanese) , £40pp

Reviewed in May 09 I said: “Unrestraint and free from pretension; Dinings is a mellow and comfortable restaurant where one can sample some ethereal Japanese fusion. Its not glamorous, nor is it cheap, there are some dishes which appear underwhelming and in comparison to some of the luminaries in Green Park – cooking is not as clinical. But what you get instead, is lovingly cooked food, a subtle rainbow of flavours and sushi that just tastes great. Folks, this restaurant is a little special and if you’ve never tried euro-japanese food before, then I suggest you try the epitome that is Dinings.”

If Sushi Hiro served hot food – it would be called Dinings. My love affair with Japanese food continues and this well-liked restaurant is excellent. Its a romanticised version of Nobu, bit like Renee in Jerry Maguire compared against Renee in Chicago. She ain’t special, she ain’t perfect but that’s why I love her. Cue Bruce Springsteen, Dinings had me at Wagyu tataki. Closest Tube Station is Edgeware Road.

5. Tayyabs (Pakistani) £15pp

It’s just beginning to get a few mixed reviews at the moment, but on my visit, it was pretty amazing. The sizzling dishes were colourfully spicy, yet they were skillfully balanced against a vibrant palette of herbs. I had a great time, and if nothing else, you eat like a king on a shoestring. Bear in mind, this place is almost always packed out, so you’ll need to either make reservations, or be prepared to queue for hours. BYO too. Not close to a tube station, but is near Shoreditch area.

6. Franco Manca (Pizza) £6 per pizza

When I was photographing the pizzas on my visit, one of the guests sitting on the opposite table looked at me and told me to go back to my ‘Pizza hut’ bosses to tell them that this is what ‘real’ pizza tastes like. Such is the fanfare that surrounds Franco Manca. Widely recognised as the best Pizza place in London, and deservedly so. If you even remotely like pizza, you’ll be glad you tried this place out. Closest tube station is Brixton.

7. Great Queen Street (British) £25pp

This great British gastropub is often forgotten about, but it serves lip smackingly able British food and it has great ambiance with a kind of lowly lit, family friendly pub atmosphere. You must try the crabs on toast here, it is simple yet stunning; their whole chicken roast is great for sharing and they rotate their menus on a daily basis. A gem in the city, and it is convenient in terms of its location in Covent Garden. Closest Tube station is Covent Garden.

8. The Ledbury (French) £25 set lunch , £50 lunch £60 dinner

Reviewed in March 09 I said: “I enjoyed the Brett Graham show, alot. I think the young Australian is chock full of talent and he rightly deserves his rising two star status. If he keeps up this standard of cooking, he will rocket all the way to the top.”

On my visit, the salt crusted ash roasted celeriac with truffle mayo was perhaps one of the tastiest things I’ve ever put in my mouth, and that says alot. The memory of the meal is still fresh in my mind. The bleeding edge of the michelin star. If you choose only one posh meal in London, forget the Ramsays, Corrigans or Olivers, and be prepared for Brett Graham. About a 10 minute walk from Westbourne Grove Tube Station.

9. Pearl Liang (Dim Sum) , About £15pp plus tea

Reviewed in April 09 I said: “Wonderful, simply wonderful dim sum and this has displaced the special place in my heart, which was previously occupied by Royal China. I must say, the prices here are very competitive, my bill, 9 dishes, plus service came to just under thirty squiddodles for two, most importantly, food is excellent – mostly it is characterised by lots of melt in your mouth sensations”

There are actually alot of nice places in London to get Dim Sum, and Pearl Liang is definitely one of them. The benchmark dishes in Har Gao, Shui Mai, Char Siu Bao, Cheung Fun and the eggtarts are all spot on. And they even do a £10 dim sum sample set which is not only great value, but is delicious too. This place is my Dim Sum place of choice at the moment. I would also try Royal China, and if my pockets were deeper, then I would go to Yauatcha, for the century egg congee. Closest Tube station is Paddington.

10. The Butcher’s Block at Hotel Malmaison (British) £45pp for three large courses

The Butcher’s Block is actually a private dining room situated in a hotel in the Farringdon area; the room is of course, free to book out and it can accomodate about six people. Not world shaking technical quality; instead they served very robust and classically delicious dishes. Great terrines, a HUGE roast rib of beef with all the trimmings and rice puddings so hearty, I was stuffed silly. This place is great for family events or a group of mates and for celebration. Closest Tube station is Farringdon.

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Dinings £40pp
22 Harcourt St W1H 4 020 7723 0666

To this day, I still think the best miso cod are the ones made in the Nobu Kitchen, particularly the Berkeley branch. Ex-Nobu Chef Tomonari Chiba has left the establishment to set up his own take on Japanese-Peruvian ponce cuisine. Comparisons are inevitable; is this Nobu on a budget (wasnt that called Ubon?) or could this possibly outshine the Matsushita institution? Lets find out.

Dining with Family

My brother is currently on assignment in London and his job descriptions entails an intensive course in touch-typing – a break from the usual spreadsheet staring I suppose. There is no such thing as good sushi in Reading (open to raging debate, I’m sure) ; and he’s been craving for the stuff ever since he moved there a year ago. He doesn’t quite like paying a hefty premium for his food, although he does enjoy a good scallop sashimi, and with the reputation Dinings has been gathering in the critiquecosphere and beyond – it was only a matter of time before I made my way here.

The restaurant is superbly snug and I wished we were seated upstairs on the sushi bar which gave me the impression that I could replicate the Kill Bill scene with Sonny Chiba slicing up some razor fresh sashimi. Alas, they led us downstairs to the incandescent lit basement and light brown furnishings. To my surprise, the basement feels quite nice. In the background, a familiar faux chicky jazz soundtrack is playing – probably a bespoke mix by a soundscape surgeon like Brian Eno or better yet – a Sakamoto mix. Whatever it was, I was glad to not see marble floors or stuck up supermodel waitresses of Nobu gloss. In its place were modest polished wooden tables and down to earth, chilled out staff in Converse.

So far so good.

We kicked off with a couple of taco chips, one stuffed with otoro (belly tuna woo!) and the other is king crab. The bite sized canapes were about £4 each. Folks, when you eventually get round to Dinings – please avoid this, its unnecessary fluff that was probably a result of the chef’s brainwashing at Michelin academy. Its a complete waste of cash.

Speaking of leftovers

The menu is pretty much a carbon copy of Nobus. New style sashimis, chargrilled meats, a variety of ‘hot tapas’ dishes and of course fancy sushi rolls. The difference however, is the inclusion of foie gras and truffle in some of the sushi rolls. One particular dish stood out: the wagyu beef roll with truffle for £12.50. It was either this, or the wagyu tataki. The waitress informed me that the roll, wasnt so much a roll but more like two sushi pieces, while the wagyu is a spread of beef. Hmm, spread of beef sounds alot better to me. I know that Nobu use Australian Wagyu and I was going to assume the same for Dinings; The waitress did tell me that it wasn’t from Japan, but she wouldn’t confirm where the beef was from. No matter, the first dish: Wagyu Tataki £12.50.

Yes. Yes. Yes. The tataki is perfectly rare, just lightly seared on the outside and the texture is not unlike a delicate silk pillow. The dish looks exactly like the Berkeley one – save for the degree of bbq-ness. At Berkeley, they’ve got a great big wood fire oven to smoke their food – hence the sizzling truffle cabbage steak – and also the amazing smoked wagyu tataki. Where the nobu tataki was sizzling, the Dinings one was subtle and mellow. The sauce was zingy and citrusy, with sweet soya sauce for taste and I think a dash of vinegar was in the mix as well. The heat from the shallots and garlic was a robust complement to the beefy flavour and like any good tataki, its all about the softness and this was the pinnacle. Soft pillows, oh the pillows.

I’m not sure which I prefer better – I might say this one for pure mellowness.

The House Special

We followed up the excellent tataki with the House Special roll – another carbon copy of the Nobu menu. The stuffing is expertly matched salmon and tuna, with avocado and tamago (i think), the all important sushi rice is bouncy, temperate and silky. Finished off with a white radish wrap to liven things up – the sushi tasted excellent.

Next up was one from the chargrilled list. We really wanted the chargrilled razor clams but were told that they ran out, and so we went with Chargrilled King Crab and Avocadoes (£7) instead. Served in a little iron pan and smothered in avocadoes, mixing things up revealed fleshy chunks of the crab meat. The dish is warm and the avocadoes were buttery, so much flavour.

The fragrance of the crab meat dominated the palette, with chopped spring onions and a soya base, this dish really sizzled with serious chargrilled intentions. I even tasted the micro fish roe popping about in my mouth. Quite a simple dish which my brother thought was good, but not great; personally I enjoyed that it was a simple dish – fuss free and just some great tasting crabs.

The Iberico

The other place which I know that does great progressive fusion-sushi is Kobe Jones, or I should say, was Kobe Jones in Totenham Court Road. I believe they are quite famous in Australia and they serve their sushi with dollops of the kind of cream yuzu sauces. Really yummy. London needs more sushi bars like this, more Californian style cream sauces and cream cheese rolls, oversized una-hamamakis please.

Anyway, Chargrilled Iberico with spicy korean miso (£7) ,with some boiled rice. There was  lovely gradation of flavours within the miso sauce, from the sweet to the citrusy, and in between was a rainbow of fresh spices and I also detected hints of black bean. However, the sauce doesn’t overpower like bottled bbq, instead it was a sharply aromatic compliment to the strength of the pork. The meat was bouncy, yet rather tender. The smokiness was subdued and mellow – not unlike the beef, perhaps this was grilled on lower heat? Whatever the case, the mild sizzles were delightfully appetising – more rice please.

Roll me up

At the end of the pork, we were still feeling hungry. We need more sushi rolls.

First up. Toro, with shiso leaves (£8.90). It’s terribly expensive, but it was one of the best rolls I’ve had in recent memory. Premium Otoro, fatty, silky and moist – it didnt just melt, it dissolved in my mouth. The use of betel leaves is always welcomed, what with it’s minty fragrance – really helps to wipe the palette clean.

Next: £4.70 for Unagi with cucumber – now we’re talking, not quite rivalling the cheap £3.30 rolls at Sushi Hiro as yet – but £4.70 is still very competitive. The eel is really oily and creamy, lovely dominant eel flavours, it was a little warmish which upped the flavours even more – it was a little bit of unagi heaven and like the otoro, this roll also disintegrated on cue.

Brilliant, just brilliant.

I really do love Japanese food and I think Dinings is very good indeed. Bearing in mind, a meal here is not cheap at all – there were so many other things I wanted to order but I had to refrain myself, in fear that my bill would run into the triple digits. We chose to end the meal with the Green Tea Brulee and the sesame pannacotta, both priced at £5. The Macha brulee needed to be more custardy and also more sugary – but that’s just me and my sweet tooth. Similarly, the black sesame was rich in flavour, but I felt it needed more sugar in there – it’s quite a sober comparison to the majestic Nobu puddings of chocolate bento boxes and melting chocolate balls (seriously). In hindsight, I would have liked to swap the puddings for a couple more sushi rolls.

So – is it better than Nobu? Nope – but it’s close enough. There is no miso black cod on the menu, but there’s another version of the fish instead and the Chef’s food here is more Eurocentric than South American, which I think is rather nice. The flavours are definitely more subtle, more gentle and there are far less gimmicks on the menu – like a sakura in full bloom, gently beautiful and harmonic. The tiny restaurant benefits from a hidden away location and – I’m being romantic now – it adds to the restaurant’s mystique. Staff are very warm, if abit clueless about their menu.

Unrestraint and free from pretension; Dinings is a mellow and comfortable restaurant where one can sample some ethereal Japanese fusion. Its not glamorous, nor is it cheap, there are some dishes which appear underwhelming and in comparison to some of the luminaries in Green Park – cooking is not as clinical. But what you get instead, is lovingly cooked food, a subtle rainbow of flavours and sushi that just tastes great. Folks, this restaurant is a little special and if you’ve never tried euro-japanese food before, then I suggest you try the epitome that is Dinings.

The Gist of It.

Dinings £40pp
22 Harcourt St W1H 4 020 7723 0666
Verdict: Glorious sushi, and even more amazing are the chargrilled dishes and hot tapas. Subtle yet rich flavours and above all, appetising. An instant classic.

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