5000. How do you even track that? Did they fill up three, four, ten books of names, numbers and dates? It is an insurmountable number, consider someone hanging by the phone to take 5000 calls in a continuous 24 hours period, which works out as 3.5 calls per minute, which translates to a pretty exhaustive day’s work. Yes that’s how many of you and I crashed the lines the day Pollen Street Social started taking reservations, and the last time it happened was… probably when Heston started picking lucky diners for his Dinner outfit at Knightsbridge. Such is anticipation of Jason Atherton’s debut solo venture. Oh it’s a golden era of restaurant openings alright, we thought 2010 was a crazy year for brilliant new players, 2011 has thus far been bigger, better and ever so highly produced. Mr Atherton’s new joint aims to bring his previously groundbreaking concepts at Maze to an unfussable, shrine of a dining room that (conceptually) wants to bring the sexy to social dining. Jason has a cult-like following, he was afterall, considered by many (me) to be Ramsay’s greatest protege. Adding fuel to the fire, PSS opened just in time to host a dinner for the visiting superchefs who were in town to find out how they ranked in the World’s 50 best ceremony (how Iggys managed to not only maintain but improve their position
I really like Leather Lane over lunch hours, because it converts into an electric street market, overflowing with people. It’s like a crack in the universe peering into an alternate world, where Holborn is cool, eclectic, and entirely down with the kids. It is especially special to me, because it’s also home to a very awetastic permanent mobile food cart, which – in my opinion – serves one of the best steak burritos in London. Mucholy hot if you get the burrito with hot salsa. Yowza. Lunchtimes in Leather Lane can get very cramped, extremely bustly and chocked full of life. Topless construction workers woo at passerbirds, women haggling over pashminas, and whatever garments that catches their eye. Legend has it that the Leather Lane street market has nearly 100 years of history. On the topic of history, London was once the capital of coffee sniffing accompanied by a good dose of gentlemanly debate. Affectionately, these coffeehouses were called Penny Universities, as it only costed patrons a penny to enter – referring to the total egalitarian nature of its clientele – which meant anyone from whatever societal class were able to exchange minds on whatever issues they wished to talk about. Of course, not very long ago, the very concept resurfaced when Square Mile roasters decided to create a pop-up brew bar, calling it the Penny University last year.
Hello Meat, I’m back. It’s been six months since I was last here. And my information gathering has returned the following: John had left the Josper to pursue new charcoaled pasteurs in Swindon… and is possibly back at Maddox St… , Dave S is still the smooth operator, and Goodman Mayfair is still ever overbooked. It remains my favourite place to go for a steak dinner in the city, and I am very glad to say the Josper grilled, charcoalised, blood filled sensteaktions are still my paramour. Food wise, sex wise, I mean, you know what I mean. Please excuse the vulgarity, it’s meat afterall. As per usual, I always request for a bespoke cut of meat, on the bone, and have it served sliced, and to be shared. I have since come up with a formula to figure out how much each table requires: Firstly, to figure out the weight you should order, apply Kang’s Standard Equation of Meat: 150 + 200 x (n1) + 300 x (n2) + 400 x (n3) replace n1, n2, n3 with number of persons who fall in the categories according to the key below : Key: 150 – weight of bone, n1 – number of ladies on table, n2 – number of gentlemen, n3 – number of men with impossibly large guts. eg: if table of three contains 2 ladies and a large
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,
Unless you have been living under the proverbial rock that requires abstination from evil things such as sex, alcohol and greasy chips, you would have otherwise heard about the gospel of The Meatwagon. Unfortunately, the wagon was stolen late last year, so in early 2011, Yianni Papoutsis – aka Blighty’s one true burger king – had reassigned his team at the first floor of a closed down pub, in New Cross Gate. The pub had offered its space, as it is in the middle of its refurbishment plans. Yianni’s intention is to be able to secure enough funds to get a new van to roll out for the summer. And thus, #MEATEASY was born. And it’s fucking brilliant. Very rough around the edges, but we don’t mind of course, because we love quirky and egalitarian, rage against the guerilla dives. Upon arrival, you are given a ticket, and then it’s a mad scramble to find a spare seat at the cramped space, as you study the menu scrawled across the wall. The first time I went was a Thursday night at 9, and we didn’t eat till 11. So we spent all our cash on the £7 cocktails and £3 beers. Rum swizzlers aplenty. But when the food arrived, oh my giddy Uncle Bob, it was certainly worth the long wait. As expected, the menu is not for vegetarians, their
When I think about spending big on meals, where multiple stars are involved, I think French, I think Japanese, I think miniscular gastronomy, water-bathed, raw and beetroot. Rarely does the thought of an expensive Italian meal ever cross my mind anymore these days. I put this down to the recent drive by like-minded restauranteurs in launching the lean and mean, baby River Cafes (and derivatives). As you are well aware, we’ve been loving the revolution in London-Italian dining, feeling the gastropubistro-fatigue. Come on admit it, you can’t get enough of a novel-thick grilled veal chop, dripping in wet bloody juice. Especially if it costs under £20. Yes, the Zuccas, Tinellos, Dock Kitchens, Bocca Di Lupos, Polpos, Tinellos and Trullos are good for Londoners. We have competed with one another in overbooking them to their fullest capacity, and we especially like the much slimmer bottomline, and delicious yet elegant recipes, built around fresh produce, which is the whole crust of Italian cuisine. At last, good Italian food has become democratic. Having said that, there is still a legacy of the old-world, grand but homely Italian restaurants, designated by (quite strictly) by region and the Michelin man, and the pre-crash prices. Give it a go, call L’Anima, or Locatelli or River Cafe or Murano, and then ring any of the above mentioned mid-priced super Italian cucinas. You are likely to secure a
At last. After months and years of hearsay and delay, Fergus Henderson and Trevor Gulliver’s newest project in the city is finally ready for you and I to throw our cash at it. The hotel occupies enviably concise address of Number One Leicester Square, where it was once Manzi’s seafood restaurant (which incidentally also had a hotel above it) that was, and I quote, as I lift this directly from St John Hotel’s website – Like most London folk Fergus and Trevor have memories of Manzi’s through the years and if it was to have a new life it seemed right that St. John should be the ones to do it. Through the years the building had developed its own extensions, corners and idiosyncracies, the truth was that it needed to be completely rebuilt and this is what has been done. As you know, I love all the Henderson restaurants. From the bare-bones original that started it all 17 years ago in a former smokehouse, St John in Smithfield, to the just bones Bread & Wine in Liverpool Street, and of course, Margot Henderson’s delightful (and I hope soon to be rescued) Canteen based inside the creative hub in Rochelle School at Arnold Circus. Pioneers in making offal sexy to plate up, and pioneers in the zen of the minimalistic approach to dining. And now the minimalistic approach to folded
Talk about being hidden away. Not only are Seoul Bakery based in a pocket of real estate behind The Centrepoint, which so few venture to, that going there is like remembering to clean behind your ears (unless if you happened to take a wrong turn, from the buzz of picking up your next Les Paul in Denmark St); This Korean cucina goes out of its way to mask the fact that they serve actual hot, savoury delicious and completely edible food. As if it weren’t enough, they appear to occupy half a shop connected to a hair salon (Azito). They also are not a bona fide bakery, as the name might suggest. Isn’t that just the coolest? And doncha just love it when you stumble across the weirdly, uniquely and dangerously indie-like caffes? It reminds me of the kind of hole in the wall cafe which I frequented during my time in Sydney. And while the indie-feel cafe movement is really only just starting up in London (hard to believe, we still ain’t over the non-committal pop-up phase yet), it is something which I think, we Londoners are beginning to totally crave now. Remember Rochelle Canteen? God I sure hope we did all we could to keep that little gem of a food haven open. We’ll hear soon in April. The space is minute, a rich tapestry consisting of apparently
You can almost expect Audrey Tautou to waltz through the front door of this cosy restaurant; hang her coat, and whip her beret onto the coat rack. With Piaf marching on in the background, your eyes follow her every move, as she sits herself down on the round corner table for two (except she’s by herself), briefly re-arrange the silverware, and as she settles to her comfort spot; she senses your longing gaze and looks up. At which point, you change focus and start making eyes with the French waitress, who is in the process of handing the menu to you. You hesitate to say merci, because you feel insecure with the language, but know that it might make the difference between a successful or failed connection. Anti-climatically, you end with a simple thank you. Ah the romance. Tucked away in the nether regions of Knightsbridge, an alley way connecting either side of Brompton road, is Knightsbridge Green, where a relatively new bistro, opened by a rather well-regarded chef, has made its home. The full name Chabrot Bistrot d’amis, for the friendly bistro, I believe quite aptly describes the cosy, comforting, Parisian ambiance. Particularly the Parisian bit. Thierry Laborde is the previously mentioned chef, who brings with him an all-star track record that includes time at heavyweight French restaurants namely Roux’s Le Gav and Ducasse’s Louis XV. And the atmosphere
What it must feel like to be Yotam Ottolenghi. Author of two likeable, innovative cook books; Owner of a string of likeable, innovative takeaway/café/restaurants, and the custodian of a weekly vegetarian column in Guardian. And women just love his food. There is something extremely likeable about the brand Yotam has created for himself. It’s like everything you imagined organic food – healthy, delicious and expensive – to be. There are four Ottolenghis’ dotted around London, and quite a startling 15 years or so it has been for the native Israeli philosophy major. In 1998, he who had come to Cordon Bleu in London to study food before going on to solidify his pastry experience in The Capital, The Kensington Place group (with Rowley Leigh) and then become head pastry man at Baker and Spice (which I believe is somehow tied to the origin of Gail’s). Eventually in 2002, he opened his first Ottolenghi and the rest is history, as they say. It has been a poster-child kind of success story, therefore the recent opening of his latest venture, Nopi (for North of Picaddily (circus)) is expected to be a high profile – amongst the obsessive gluttons – production that should have industry onlookers salivating with undulated respect. On the surface, Nopi looks like the latest and greatest Soho-based, egalitarian and super hip all-day diner, though this could not be further
These days, people naturally assume I take all my meals outside the comfort of the home; which is technically untrue, since I do eat home-cooked food at least during half the week; it is just that I’m not the one doing the cooking. That’s why she’s the better half, you see. While our usual go-to pizza service is the rather decent Lupa (especially with the 2 for 1.5 deal), we can’t afford eat to pizza every night – waist-wise – and there aren’t any formidable (decent yes, but not formidable) Indian or Chinese take-aways around Kilburn. I can’t remember how we first came across it, either via the Hungry House portal or ordering from the menu shoved through the front-door, but I do remember making the first visit there sometime during the winter break. The restaurant doesn’t look unlike any Thai restaurant, decent sized, fitting around 15 to 20 tables, rose wood, here, there, and an all Thai staff both friendly and neighborly. We’ve eaten at Bhan Thai a number of times, both sitting in and take-away, and with the reasonable, take-away friendly, market-competitive prices, and of course the decent food, I felt it deserved writing about. Kai Yang, £6.70 and Nau Nam Tok, £6.70. Kai Yang is de-boned chicken leg, marinated in sauces, spices and honey then grilled and served with sweet chilli sauce… resulting in tender pieces of
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
The most hotly anticipated London restaurant opening to date has finally opened for business. A quick trawl through the interwebs returns dozens of reviews, blog posts, photographs and genial hype. Expectedly, there is just no shortage of media (virtually and in print) coverage centred around Heston Blumenthal’s first foray into the queasy world of London fine dining. Blumenwho you say? Only one of (if not) the most highly regarded chefs in the universe, famous for his three michelin starred restaurant – The Fat Duck – in Bray, for his obsessively scientific approach in constructing recipes, for the TV show that plotted the reinvention of a road-side diner and for another TV show that had him recreate medieval feasts from myth, legend and history books. Even in post-meal, I have only read one complete review about Dinner (Gill’s), so as to keep my expectations as undiluted as possible. Besides, it was always either gonna win rave reviews or suffer major criticism; In this case, it is the former, a general feeling utter awe. We are barely into 2011, and there are already whispers that this is not only the best new restaurant opening in London this year, but potentially the greatest London restaurant ever created. I was extremely excited to visit this restaurant. Something uniquely in its own league. We are all Heston fans after all. There are four Heston Blumenthal
Perhaps it has aspirations toward becoming the Ding Tai Fung of Europe, what with the copycat white walls, chefs folding xia long bao behind glass panels. Full marks for ambiance and kudos for trying to emulate a franchise which has perfected the delivery of consistently good XLBs. Unfortunately, we’re closer to Chinatown, London, than we are to Tienmu,Taipei, and sadly that makes for a more than wary customer in me. I cannot say I’m not glad to see Dumplings’ Legend take over from the ageing and overly torrid Lee Ho Fook – a champion way before my time, but probably because of Warren Zevon’s singing rather than for its Michelin winning ways – which in its twilight years, churned out some of the worst Chinese food I can remember. Though usually applied to restaurants with rip-off prices, my dad branded it a ‘black store’ (as in blacklisted, banned, do no enter, nuclear wastage) anyway. Unconfirmed reports and to my best guesstimations suggest that the owners of Dumplings’ Legend also own the Leongs Legends restaurants, as well as Empress of Sichuan. So at the very least, some semblance of quality can be expected. I take the general view that LL and LL Continues (for the overspill of customers) are two of the ‘best’ dim sum restaurants in Chinatown, which says very little of the tremendously bad quality of Chinatown restaurants these
Let me just reiterate, if you don’t already know this : Cambio de Tercio has been my favourite London restaurant for many years, and in 2011, it remains my favourite. I had written exhaustive love letters in the past, expressing my true feelings regarding the superb work of CdT. I shant preach to the converted… but I could not help not sharing the photographs of my most recent meal at this fabulous restaurant. On this occasion, snapshots of – in my opinion – their strongest dishes. Needless to say, I found little to criticise, I love the food, the presentation, the balance of flavours, the attention to temperature and texture, and especially the boisterous service. You may or may not know this, but I am travelling in South East Asia as I write this. I do plan to update the site as frequently as the 3G connection will permit while out here. 30C night and day baby. Deconstructed omellette ‘El Bulli’ Recipe. Like whipped potato, with cream, sugar and eggs. I never had the pleasure to try the El Bulli version, but this was cool. Foie gras, muscat jelly and bitter chocolate. The foie gras was sweet and smooth, emphasised by the chocolate and then brought to life with the sting of the jelly. We liked this, but a tad too sweet to start, almost like a savoury creme brulee
Rarely do you come across new openings with a breezier philosophy than Kopapa. The website describes a modest and friendly outlook, also evident from the moment I picked up the phone to book a table, to the eventual visit. Pitched as a cafe & restaurant, this is Peter Gordon’s latest project in London; The New Zealander chef, widely respected as the one true genius of fusion cuisine. His double storied Providores & Tapa Room – high end restaurant upstairs, all day diner/cafe downstairs, based in Marylebone High Street – is a stunner. Especially for breakfast. While I’m not the biggest fan of his adaptation of Changa’s Turkish eggs recipe (poached, yoghurt and hot chilli butter over it), the rest of the breakfast menu – in my opinion – is award winning stuff, for its sheer variety and edibility. So now that he has expanded his operations to an even more central location, it was only natural for critics and blogs to follow his development closely. When I saw a copy of the menu, I was only too happy to see that he had brought over the grazing mentality with him to his new all day diner. The menu is filled with reasonably priced sharing plates, platters, hot soup and larger fish & meat dishes, if one should be so obliged. If you’ve never seen a Peter Gordon menu, be prepared
Remember back in 2008, there was a little known wine bar, in Charing Cross called Terroirs? You know the one I’m talking about. It garnered gushing reviews from all four corners, everybody showed up to the party, and everybody thought it was pretty amazing. Well, get ready for the second coming, because they’re back! The people behind Terroirs recently extended their operations, this time into East London. Opened – by my best guesstimations – in Nov/Dec 2010, it has already been lauded by our capital’s favourite critics and blogs (scroll down for the usual links); Needless to say, the reports are largely positive, but perhaps it is a resolution of sorts for the food media, as it appears the hype machine has been spinning a much more reserved message about Brawn (the “good but not great” line); As opposed to an emotive, balls out love fest. I, au contraire, am more than happy to hype it up. I loved my visit. It was fabulous, it is fabulous, it definitely shares DNA with the older sibling, Terroirs, a good thing of course, and I think I prefer the younger and sleeker Brawn. Firstly, its location is set deep within the (apparently) historically rich part of East London, in Columbia road, that morphs into a famous flower market on Sundays. Which I’ve never been to, as I (must admit) do not endear
It was probably the most intriguing restaurant opening last year. It generated a polarising reception, ranging from those who hailed Nuno Mendes’ travelling fusion food as groundbreaking to others who thought it a purely self indulgent public experiment, injected with an unhealthy dose of pretense. When I visited last summer,
On paper, this two month old wine bar in Fulham road reads like a winner. A laid back, well decked out bistro atmosphere, a dedicated and extensive wine list and a grazing Anglo-French menu, with fancy charcuterie made in-house and otherwise sourced from artisans in Beaujolais. The Henry Root, like Brawn, are derivatives of the hugely popular Terroirs wine bar in Charing Cross, all three openings have been choreographed by the same group of people. [Update: Nope this statement is not true. The Henry Root is not associated with Terroirs or Brawn at all. My bad, folks. People at Terroirs contacted me to let me know.] At the start of 2011, it looks as if the sharing plates cum wine bar revolution is coming back into vogue. With a bang. Brawn is still high on my list, but I had decided to visit The Henry Root first because it’s much closer to me than the former. Food is prepared by Sang Nguyen who packs premier league experience stinting previously at Orrery, Maze and Le Gav. I googled but failed to turn up on Finn the win guy’s background. But I’m sure it is on equal footing to Sang’s. I really like the decor. It is completely open plan, from the receiving bar, that stretches deeply all the way into the kitchen, visible to diners and skylit. All very clean, comfortable,
If ever there was a restaurant synonymous with the term institution, that restaurant could well be Zafferano. Entering its sixteenth year of service, it is regarded by all of us, as one of the key purveyors of high Italian cuisine, in London. It boasts a fancy postcode, the single macaron from the Bib, as well as about a dozen or so blogposts showering praise upon it. It even has a name – Zafferano for Saffron – that echoes its maturing charm. This restaurant appears to have become impervious to the trendy competition of younger restaurants, yet to establish the sort of loyal patronage that Zafferano has the distinct honour of having. It is about as proper as it gets. As Mr Blyde once put it, Zafferano is indeed an important restaurant not only to indulge yourself, but for a ’rounded’ education in classical Italian cuisine (in London (short of a protracted trip to Italy)) to satisfy one’s experiences in benchmarking what is supposedly the best the cuisine has to offer (in London). This is likely one of the few restaurants to make return visits not for the sake of novelty, but to return because the food is genuinely fantastic. The main man in the hot seat, is the long time head chef Andy Needham who has been with the restaurant (at least to my knowledge) since its beginning days. Previous
Kang L. says: Bunface - damn, that bad huh? Haha, whats wrong with the nose?? Gotta smell that stuff man! You're p...
bunface says: it feels a little like you're trying to be one of those guys who knows abou wine without the experti...
bunface says: maybe rethink this segment Kang. It's not the most interesting read mate...
A Prologue The first of a new series of posts I intend to write on a weekly basis. Not reviews per...
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Ah Norway. Good times. I spent some time in Haugesund a couple of years ago, for work, and I will...
I have asserted in the past that Bryn Williams is the most underrated chef in Britain, and that...
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aka Kang’s Living Restaurant Guide version 4. Released to the wild in April 2012. Read V3, V2...
