I’m dreaming. This is a radical fantasy, the food is beyond excellent, the filtered water is free, a rainbow assortment of bread flows (freely too) all night long, with the startling choice of salted and unsalted Normandy butter on the table. All hail the new chieftain of Soho,
Somewhere along the way, I’d lost track of what it means to be a food blogger. I rode the chu-chu express along with the rest of the zeitgeist, squeezed my way to the front of the queue for a place at London’s trending restaurants, and had somehow forgotten about unearthing local gems
By now you’ll have tried and failed to book a table at Trullo, the latest budget conscious, laid-back, Italian inspired restaurant to open and to become over-subscribed, in London. Owned by Jordan Frieda, once the front of house at River Café, and chef Tim Siadatan,
I must confess, I feel pressure writing up my visit to L’Anima, because as you know, Francesco Mazzei’s Soul in the city is the gastronomic darling which has had critics, blogs and people who are generally interested in food, cooing in unison. As the consummate restaurant collector living
Ahh… smell the shit and seaweed in the air. That’s the smell of the fresh summer seaside breeze, the stench of highly oxygenic and smog-free air, something which I was assured time and again is duly absent in the vestiges of London. I hope you will forgive my brief absence from this blog, as I am still only just recovering from the holiday season gone by. I spent much of it being holed up in a caravan park in little known Kinghorn in Scottishland. I took in a wedding, took some photographs and had literally gone to The Dogs for a swift chew in Edinburgh, which coincidentally coincided with the Fringe fest. I feel compelled to share the view with you… So after haggis, nips, tatties and stovies at the wedding reception, I was duly informed by my lovely tweepers on twitter that there was resplendency to be had near the centrepoint in Edinburgh. It’s been four years since I was last in this town, and was glad to be received by the similar enchantingly cloudy skies that ruled over the street bagpipers. We had little time in Edinburgh, so we decided against the might of The Grain Store and opted for the stripped down, canteen splendour at the dogs. Yes, the name itself speaks of the eccentric nature that surrounds this venue – I will keep the dog jokes
A firm, yet genteel voice answered the phone. The line was horribly muffled as I struggled to pick out the vowels through the low, low bass. Fum.Fum.Sa.Sa. I think she said, in a deceptively Japanese accent. An awkward silence befell
Adam Byatt, the thinking man’s version of a celebrity chef, and owner of the much lauded Trinity restaurant, situated in leafy Clapham. Critics adore his work, for the invention, progression and enthusiasm he has brought to British cooking, and one expects no less
I have been itching to supersede my first Goodman post which I wrote last year with something that better reflects my feelings about the restaurant. I love my meat sweats obviously, and in the twelve months following the first visit, I’ve returned to many a fabulous meal at Goodman in Maddox Street. With the launch of their City branch, I thought this was the perfect opportunity to formally update position with Goodman
No doubt you will have read the multitude of pieces extolling the virtues of this greatest of London pubs. The pub’s shiny Michelin win, was both a surprise and a seal of approval that solidified its status as the epitome of pub grub in London. For the months that followed,
This is one restaurant where I have expended more of my earnings than any other. Before I started writing this blog, Cambio de Tercio was the pay day reward I gave myself at end of every month, it had always turned out to be a fantastic evening. It’s a great restaurant to say the least, my most frequented (aside from Byron) and it remains my favourite to this day. I’ve done all my celebrations here, with family and friends, the folks especially love it; In the seven (or so) years since I first visited, every meal was inspiring. I can think of no better place in town for a midweek solo affair, since the staff ooze uber-warmth, that you never feel lonely. It is probably the singular reason why I refuse to uproot from Gloucester Road
For a neighbourhood restaurant, this place sure has a history, not all of the good kind. While there are those of you who reminisce about the good old times, others have only scathing words to say about this Primrose Hill establishment, especially since Mark Powers took control of the reigns in 2006. I never had the pleasure of dining in its former mirror-walled iteration. Ownership however has since transferred to Bryn Williams, the Welsh prodigy who took the first season of GBM by storm with his winning turbot course for the Queen’s 80th. Floral patterns remain as wallpaper, the chairs are still of a yellow shade, and the carpets keep their garish green
Texture is the brainchild of Icelandic born Chef Agnar Sverrisson and French born sommolier Xavier Rousset. Butter and cream, I’m told, are not involved in the Icelandic-inspired recipes. Winner of a michelin star in 2010, Texture is one part of the ascendency of Nordic cuisine
Eight (baat) is phonetically similar to fortune (faat) or “about to hit the motherload” more like and is significant if you’re Chinese[1. The significance of 8 in Chinese Culture]. Chinese being a culture which has an insurmountable archive of superstitions and a belief system that links fortune to being fortunate. Lady luck is not a bad thing to have on your side, Rob Green could do with some. People will go to great lengths to associate themselves with the number 8. Like bidding for a mobile phone number, car license plate detail, the house number, the more 8′s and multiple 8′s – my brother’s mobile number ends with triple 8s – in one’s life, the more prosperous one’s life might turn out to be. So it is believed. Imagine my delight when I saw the number 88 stamped across one of the giant red pillars outside My Old Place. It’s like winning the lottery, yes… just a number indeed, but if superstition was anything to go by, it would appear to be working. The modest restaurant has garnered gleeful reviews[2. Matt Norman reviews My Old Place] online, the Guardian critics especially love it, but more than that, the layman raves about this place too. The word amongst the various social circles (Facebook mostly) is that My Old Place is one of London’s finest Szechuan restaurants, Taiwanese people in London especially
Atari-Ya are primarily fishmongers who specialise in importing sashimi-grade fish and are said to supply some of the highest profile Japanese restaurants in London, including Umu and Nobu. They also own sushi-bars. Do they keep the best for themselves? Let’s find out
I have been a runaway train wreck with my commentary lately, neglecting to edit myself. Jay Rayner called it ‘a bad case of blogorreah’ and I can’t say I disagree. Chop, chop, 574 words. Starting with Sedap, Malaysian in East London
Daniel Boulud. Three Michelin Stars. Twelve restaurants. French. Celebrated. Now in London. We were all witnesses when the internet welcomed the meritable chef’s European debut with open arms. Time for us to consider Bar Boulud
When I grow up, I want to roam the twenty regions of Italy to discover all the local specialities, so intertwined with the nation’s culture and history. Pesto made with Ligurian basil, a hearty Milanese ossobucco from Lombardy, sip wine in a Venetian baccaro, visit the factories which produce Parmigiano Reggiano in Parma and if I am fortunate, be taken on a hunt for white truffles in Tuscany. For all my fantasies, I have never been to Italy and I concede that I actually know very little about the intricacies of this most well-documented of European cuisines. Italian is one that enchants and mystifies, one that is entirely romantic, familiar and wholesome
This will be my third visit to Eastside Inn, which is hands down my favourite restaurant in London. There is much fire in Bjorn van der Horst’s sauces. Though the restaurant’s history is short, it has undergone significant changes of late changing from a Restaurant-with-a-Bistro to a Bistro-with-a-lounge-bar. My love affair with ESI continues. Here we go again
Oh the sun, the sun. I spent most of last week in Norway, and happily returned to a gloriously sticky London on Friday, feeling utterly like a tourist in my very own city. There could be no better than now to loaf around in a restaurant designed for oysters slurping and scoffing seared slabs of beef. My first visit to a Mark Hix restaurant
It wasn’t long ago when pizza was simply a decision of who to call to coincide with prime-time TV. I am referring to the myriad of takeaway menus regularly shoved through the front door of course. I’d always pick the one which sold Haagen Daz ice creams. Pizza being about as far away from pretension and debate as can be, pizza being the ultimate comfort food. These days, it’s a phenomenon unto itself, our critics and bloggers are making startling discoveries, holding aloft neighborhood gems that have somehow managed to stay hidden for decades. Ahem, just to add fuel to the fire, my local hidden gem would be Da Mario’s, my favourite are their house special the ‘Pizza Diana’, once rumoured to be Princess D’s favourite haunt (hence Pizza D) and an atrocity it had not been more widely ‘discovered’ as yet. Being such a common food, it isn’t surprising to see so much commentary and especially such heated opinion regarding the humble pizza, after all, it’s quite rare to find someone not ever experiencing this dish in one form or another. At least not in London
…in my dreams, they are delivered through sealed message tubes passed directly from the Arzak...
It’s not that I don’t like ‘high end’ Chinese food, it’s just that I...
All signs indicate that we are about to witness the second emergence of ramen in London; But this...
Happy new year! So how are we all finding 2013 so far? All good I hope, and I also hope you made...
Last year was definitely exciting with the number of new openings, pop-ups going permanent,...
It gives me great pleasure to write about my favourite Japanese restaurant in London, recently...
UPDATE – JAN 2013. *Ben Spalding & Nathan Holmes have left John Salt. Neil Rankin now...
UPDATE – JAN 2013. *Ben Spalding has left John Salt. Neil Rankin now runs the kitchen over...
You might have heard the name Yoshihiro Murata lately as he and Alan Yau have just opened Chrysan...
About 7 years ago, I lived directly above what is now Eric and Didier Garnier’s eponymous...
