Tag Archives: restaurant
Lunch at Assiette Anglaise, Liverpool Road, N7
I had a fantastic lunch last week at Assiette Anglaise, a relatively new restaurant for Highbury and a welcome one indeed! It’s is a fine little neighbourhood brasserie which locals should be proud to call their own. Everybody else? This all day eatery’s only a short stroll away from Highbury and Islington Station (and is just about as close to Holloway Road and Caledonian Road stations too). The delighful meal I had was certainly worth the time I spent on public transport to get there. Continue reading
Bourbon Tasting Flights and a Steak of the Month at JW Steakhouse, Park Lane
JW Steakhouse at the Marriott’s Grosvenor House hotel has recently introduced a couple of brilliant new reasons to pay this fine dining establishment a visit post-haste: a series of four bourbon tasting flights and a Steak of the Month. Both these offers represent deliciously good news to be sure! However, what is perhaps even more deserving of me shouting about you making speedy beeline to enjoy is the simple fact that, as I discover during my dinner last night, everything else about this American style Steakhouse is fantastic too. Continue reading
Samphire Picking in the River Dart Estuary (Great British Chefs)
It’s low down dirty work gathering samphire. But that doesn’t mean it’s bad, just that you’ve got to get in the mud and squat, stoop, bend or crawl to pluck the tasty little stems from the earth. A trusty pair of Wellies are obligatory and, as I recently discovered, wearing kneepads would be a smart idea as well. Up until last week, picking samphire meant pointing to a container inside a deli counter and saying something along the lines of “May I please have 100 grams, please?”. Now, after accepting an invitation to Devon by Riverford Organic Farms to harvest wild samphire in the River Dart Estuary, I have a new appreciation for what goes into bringing this crisp and salty coastal treat to my London plate. Continue reading
Sunday Lunch: Paradise by Way of Kensal Green
I don’t want to give away too much about the fantastic dining room of Paradise by Way of Kensal Green. If you’ve never been, it’s worth a bit of uncertainly for the wonderful surprise of seeing the interiors for the first time. And, of course, if you have been then you know what I’m talking about. Nice place for a drink, eh? But have you tried the Sunday lunch? It’s full-on (and filling!) and as lovely as you might expect to enjoy in such a pleasant setting. Continue reading
New Reasons to Love an Old Favourite: Gourmet Burger Kitchen at the N1 Centre, Angel
Remember when Gourmet Burger Kitchen was virtually the only place in London where you could go for a halfway decent burger? I guess such a time really wasn’t all that long ago but it seems like ancient history given all the choice we have for burgers now. I reckon GBK deserves much of the credit (or should I say blame?) for creating the conditions that led to the burger mania that’s swept London these past couple of years. And now that a number from the recent onslaught of burger joints seem to have eclipsed GBK in popularity and success, is the beefy trendsetter still worth taking a bite out of? Yeah, I’d say so. Continue reading
New Restaurant Review: The Potato Merchant, Exmouth Market
The Potato Merchant, London’s first restaurant and grocer specialising in potatoes, has recently opened at Exmouth Market. I had a nice dinner there recently and thought the restaurant would be worth keeping in mind for locals looking for a thoughtful take on the UK’s favourite starchy staple. Continue reading
Mozzarella Month at Sartoria, Savile Row
The masterclass – conducted by Head Chef Lukas Pfaff and his mozzarella supplier, Andrea Livi of Bianca la Bufala – was a delicious opportunity to sample fresh and top of the line mozzarella di buffala along with a range of similar southern Italian cheeses such as smoky scamorza, proper pizza topper fiordilatte, and gorgeously creamy burrata. Continue reading
Colombian Chef Harry Sasson “Pops Up” at the Intercontinental London Park Lane (CheapOair)
InterContinental London Park Lane is to host its very own pop-up version of chef Harry Sasson’s pioneering Bogotá restaurant, Club Colombia. Known as one of South America’s most celebrated Chefs, Harry and his team will take over the iconic London hotel’s Cookbook Cafe from 17th to the 25th of May to recreate his modern and refined approach to Colombian cuisine for a British audience. Continue reading
Tapas Recipe: Apple Crumble Crema Catalana by Jose Pizarro
A few weeks back I had the pleasure sampling the results of chef Jose Pizarro and Codorníu cava teaming up to create a series of “Great British Tapas”. You can read about that experience in my write up for Blue Tomato. I really enjoyed … Continue reading
Tapas Recipe: Beef and Pimentón Yorkshire Mini Puds by Jose Pizarro
A few weeks back I had the pleasure sampling the results of chef Jose Pizarro and Codorníu cava teaming up to create a series of “Great British Tapas”. You can read about that experience in my write up for Blue Tomato. I really enjoyed tasting … Continue reading
Tapas Recipe: Fish and Chips Tostados by Jose Pizarro
A few weeks back I had the pleasure sampling the results of chef Jose Pizarro and Codorníu cava teaming up to create a series of “Great British Tapas”. You can read about that experience in my write up for Blue Tomato. I really enjoyed tasting … Continue reading
Tapas Recipe: Shepherd’s Pie Croquetas by Jose Pizarro
A few weeks back I had the pleasure sampling the results of chef Jose Pizarro and Codorníu cava teaming up to create a series of “Great British Tapas”. You can read about that experience in my write up for Blue Tomato. I really enjoyed tasting … Continue reading
Tapas Recipe: Full English Sourdoughs by Jose Pizarro
A few weeks back I had the pleasure sampling the results of chef Jose Pizarro and Codorníu cava teaming up to create a series of “Great British Tapas”. You can read about that experience in my write up for Blue Tomato. I really enjoyed tasting … Continue reading
The Great British Tapas Project with José Pizarro and Codorníu (Blue Tomato)
With his eponymous and popular tapas bar and an equally adored sit-down restaurant (each just a minute’s walk away from the other on the trendy restaurant row that is Bermondsey Street), chef patron José Pizarro knows a thing or two about tapas and the British palate. Now, this master of the London tapa (before opening his own eateries, José was a chef at Eyre Brothers, Gaudi and Brindisa) has teamed up with cava brand, Codorníu, to add a Spanish twist to some of Britain’s most popular dishes – with the launch of the Great British Tapas project. Continue reading
So Impressed! Mozzarella & More, King’s Road SW3
Mozzarella & More is the newest outlet (and concept) from the Made in Italy restaurant group. One part trattoria, one part mozzarella bar and one part deli, M&M is located just a couple of doors down from the original Made in Italy restaurant. It’s also the only restaurant in London producing its own mozzarella. Continue reading
Clockjack Oven (Blue Tomato)
All in all, my lunch at Clockjack Oven was way better than I’d expected or even hoped – so satisfying, in fact, that I could definitely see myself craving for a repeat visit soon. Continue reading
Venerdi (Blue Tomato)
The pizzas coming out of the oven during my recent lunch at Venerdi were just those sort of ideal Neapolitan style pies: crisp outer crust with a slightly soupy interior. Nothing fancy. Just right. What I had for my lunch certainly met my palate’s preferences and exceeded my wishful expectations. If I’d had my Venerdi pizza while in Italy it wouldn’t have tasted out of place. Continue reading
Fantastic Free Range Rotisserie Chicken and More at Clockjack Oven, Soho
Clockjack Oven brings a supremely simple and savoury dining option to Soho with its free range rotisserie chicken and yummy back-to-basics menu. Continue reading
Venerdi, a Very Welcome New Pizzeria and Italian Restaurant on Chatsworth Road, E5
Not quite two months old, there’s nothing particularly fancy or especially novel about Venerdi (well, aside from the half of a Fiat 500 mortared into the restaurant’s interior back wall) – just a superb selection of pizzas, pastas and classic Italian comfort food dishes. The vibe is friendly, as are the servers and even the patrons (an all-ages cross section of pleasant local yocal types). Continue reading