LONDON-guide – Page 11

Lunch at Bar Boulud, Knightsbridge

Published on August 17, 2014August 18, 2014 by HannaLeave a comment

Quite a while ago Sinead and I had a lovely long lunch at Bar Boulud in the Mandarin Oriental in Knightsbridge. It was raining so we thought we spend the day very appropriately with two courses each and some nice wine.

Sinead started with a couscous salad with herb sauce and vegetarian filo pastry parcels that was delicious, although big as a main course.

I chose the crab and had both crab mayonnaise on lettuce as well as fried soft shell crab with remoulade on my plate. Very tasty!

Sinead usuallu has the chicken dish on the menu wherever we go and this was a stellar classic with chicken breast, roast potatoes, green beans and tarragon jus.

I went for the burger that I had heard so much about. It was rumoured to be the best burger in London which I think is a bit ambitious but it was definitely a good burger. But nothing beat the truffled mashed potatoes I had on the side. Oh my, this was amazing! The mash was a proper buttery and fluffy puré and served with generous shavings of black truffle. Trust me when I say I will probably order it every time I go here.

Bar Boulud, Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park 66, Knightsbridge, London SW1X 7LA

Lunch at Burger & Lobster, Soho

Published on August 11, 2014August 1, 2014 by HannaLeave a comment

I have finally been to Burger & Lobster; one of the very many popular first come first serve restaurants in Soho with a limited menu.

The menu is very concise; you can choose between a burger, whole lobster or a lobster roll for £20 and they’re all served with fried and a salad.

I couldn’t resist the lobster and it was great. Perfectly cooked, finished under the grill and the claws were pre-cracked to make it easier to eat. The lemon and garlic butter was delicious too, the fries pretty standard and the salad really fresh.

The staff were friendly and supplied bibs, wet wipes and proper seafood tools. I really enjoyed this place and will definitely be back for the lobster. £20 is quite steep for a regular burger but it looked really good so I definitely want to try that too!

There are more restaurants than the one in Soho and the first Burger & Lobster is about to open in NYC so more than I seem to like this concept.

Burger & Lobster, 36 Dean Street, London W1D 4PS

Lunch at Barrafina, Covent Garden

Published on July 22, 2014 by HannaLeave a comment

Barrafina, one of London’s best tapas restaurants, have opened a second restaurant conveniently located two minutes away from my office and with more seating than in the original restaurant on Soho’s Frith Street.

The new restaurant also consists of a tapas bar with full view into the kitchen behind it so you interact with the chefs during your meal. I love that set up and the fact that this new restaurant is more spacious so if you’re waiting for a table you’re still comfortable.

I went here with two colleagues and we all had some input on what to order so it is a real mix. The first dish to arrive were the crab croquetas which were very nice!

The pan con tomato was also really nice and not too wet.

But the star of the show was definitely one of the day’s specials; langoustines with tarragon butter. They were absolutely delicious and cooked to perfection!

We also had the classix tortilla, which might not look very special but it is the best one I’ve ever had (including those in Spain). It was filled with plenty of caramelised onions and wonderfully creamy.

Grilled asparagus with Romesco sauce and pecorino was another delight.

As well as the incredibly simple yet perfectly executed salad of various tomatoes, fennel and avocado.

The food is simply prepared here but the produce is so good it would be wrong to serve it any other way!

Barrafina, 10 Adelaide Street, Covent Garden, London WC2N 4HZ

Dinner at the Providores, Marylebone

Published on July 16, 2014 by HannaLeave a comment

A little while ago Jess, Laura and I had a nice dinner at The Providores on Marylebone High Street, a restaurant that has been on my ‘To Eat’ list quite a while and now finally I got to try it. Restaurateur Peter Gordon who runs The Providores (and the Tapa Room on the ground floor as well as Kopapa in Covent Garden) is from New Zealand and therefore the menu is (in my Northern European context) quite eclectic with lots of Asian influences.

We all had three courses each, all savoury as I (and I guess the other ladies too) find it more exciting than sweets. Laura’s first course was the crab and coconut laksa with quail’s eggs and coriander (above) which she really enjoyed!

Jess had the dahl tempura inari pocket (basically a tempura parcel) with aubergine, spinach and ginger dressing which was also a delight.

My twice baked blue cheese soufflé with almond dukkah was rather large for a first course, but nice and airy in texture.

Both Jess and I then had the pan-fried scallops with celeriac puré, fennel, apple and radish salad and yuzu and Manuka honey dressing. Great flavours and my favourite dish of the evening!

While we enjoyed the scallops Laura had the seared yellowtail tuna with papaya, carrot, coriander, lime and chilli dressing and toasted nori sauce. Another great dish!

She (and Jess to I think…) then had the pan-fried gild-head bream with clams, coconut, tofu, aubergine, curry and coriander which also was lovely.

The smoked eel with samphire, sesam and nori salad, chilli furikake and ponzu tapioca I had as my last course was really nice although I was sceptic to the tapioca pearls to begin with, but they were nice and added little burts of flavour.

It was such a lovely evening that we ended up closing the restaurant and the High Street was empty by the time we stepped outside.

We really enjoyed the food and I like the concept of having more than one starter and although all dishes weren’t amazing they were all executed and interesting in their composition. The Providores is well worth a visit!

The Providores and Tapa Room,109 Marylebone High Street, London W1U 4RX

Henley Regatta

Published on July 15, 2014 by HannaLeave a comment

Two weekends ago my friend Laura and I went to Henley to watch the rowing regatta on the Sunday. I’ve been twice before but only on the big party day; the Saturday.

The Sunday was more chilled and civilised which was really nice. We had lunch, some wine, enjoyed the sun and watching the rowing finals.

We also got to see Gloriana, the royal barge The Queen got for her Diamond Jubilee two years ago. It’s quite epic!

Thanks Laura for a lovely day out!

Taste of London 2014

Published on June 19, 2014 by Hanna1 Comment

Last night was the preview of my favourite festival (on until Sunday); Taste of London in Regents Park. The sun was shining, the barbecue smoke was thick and there were plenty of great food to sample.

I’m not sure how I managed to eat as much as I did, but I thoroughly enjoyed most of it so it was completely worth it.

I started with Roka’s dumplings with black cod, crab and crayfish in a chilli dressing and they were great. The filling could have done with more seasoning because the dressing took over but it was still delicious.

At Club Gascon I had the truffled crackling duck egg which was absolutely amazing! One of my favourite dishes of the evening. The egg was nice and creamy, the truffle cream underneath absolutely delicious and the crackling gave a good crunch.

The clam chowder from Avenue was probably the poorest dish I tried. I liked the way it was served in a sourdough roll but it was completely under seasoned…

Ametsa with Arzak Instruction served different tapas and were really good at inviting people to their stall. I had the most amazing Jamon Iberico – best I’ve ever tasted – with fluffly bread cushions and tomato oil. Simple but excellent produce!

I had a Po Boy at Bar Boulud; a soft shell crab burger with Harissa mayo and cucumber and mint salad. It looked so nice random people stopped me and asked what it was and where it was from. Great flavours!

Before it was time for Massimo Bottura to go on stage in the Taste Theatre I caught the last minutes of the chefs at Honey & Co cooking a three course meal. It looked fantastic so I’m dying to try the restaurant and have a look in their cookbook which is being released today.

I also had a summer truffle risotto from Tartufo which was wonderfully creamy and tasted properly of truffle. I adore truffle and can’t wait to try this restaurant with plenty of truffle dishes on the menu. The tortellini was also very popular!

I also love burrata and pappa al pomodoro and L’Anima’s version with anchovies was great. Maybe not as amazing as Zucca’s but very close.

Then it was time for Massimo Bottura (three Michelin star chef and owner of Osteria Francescana) to take the stage. He explained how he came up with the two dishes he was cooking. That he likes to look in the past to create dishes for the future but that he doesn’t look at his grandmother’s cooking with nostalgia because then he would never change anything. Instead he takes the best from the past and creates it into something even better for the future. Massimo was absolutely charming and very passionate about his work – a joy to listen to!

Him and his sous chef cooked two dishes. One with a sous vide Italian sausage with a biscuit and a zabaione with Lambrusco and a deconstructed lasagne with a ragu with bone marrow but no tomato, thin dried and burnt pasta and a bechamel foam. Four happy people got to sample each dish but sadly I wasn’t one of them.

Monica Galetti was in the audience and got invited up to stage for some group pictures. Also Nuno Mendes was in the audience and he was one of the lucky ones who got to try the zabaione.

Before the next thing on my list I had a green tea sundae from Bone Daddies/Flesh & Buns. It was quite good and served with berries, honeycomb and marshmallows. I really like that it wasn’t too sweet.

I also tried sushi from Sake No Hana which I’ve been wanting to try and their spicy tuna roll was really nice and had a proper kick to it.

Then it was time to listen to Rene Redzepi from the world’s best restaurant at the moment; Noma in Copenhagen. He was also very passionate when he talked about fermentation for half an hour and was surprised time was up when he had finished.

The presenter at this Chef Skills Theatre was chef Valentine Warner but it was Rene who did most of the talking.

We also got to try a real umami bomb that Rene had brought with him, then he showed a video of Lars making the liquid. It was blended grasshoppers that had been fermented for six months. And it was really delicious! Tasted like a very strong soy sauce with a real deep flavour.

Rene also showed us mouldy rye bread, but with a good white mould. As we were all geeks in the audience he sent it around so we could smell and touch it.

What a great evening!

Dinner at The Sand’s End, Fulham

Published on June 11, 2014 by HannaLeave a comment

On Thursday when Maria and Daniel had dropped their bags off at the hotel I took them to my local pub for dinner. Little Otto was awake a little in the beginning and although the pub didn’t have any high chairs it was no problem bringing him into the restaurant. After some bread Daniel took him for a walk and in the meantime Maria and I enjoyed some wine and delicious food.

My perfectly grilled plaice with clams, seaweed butter, fennel puré, samphire and pickled cucumber was utterly delicious. The flavours worked really well together and the seaweed butter was amazing.

Both Maria and Daniel had the fried cornish cod (also perfectly cooked), ‘nduja risotto, salted almonds, aoili and pecorino. They absolutely loved it and the blurry picture above hardly does it justice, sorry about that!

My main course was fantastic but not super filling and not in the mood for something sweet I decided on a starter instead. The foie gras and chicken liver parfait with a thin layer of white wine jelly served with toasted brioche was also delicious.

Daniel, also not completely full was in the mood for pudding and had the chocolate crémeux with caramel ice cream, olive oil and barley. Divine!

Last time I had dinner here was probably more than a year ago and I remember it being nice but nowhere near this good. Trust me, I will be back shortly to sample the rest of the menu… and maybe have that plaice again.

The Sand’s End, 135-137 Stephendale Road, London SW6 2PR

Dinner at Sophie’s Steakhouse, Chelsea

Published on June 4, 2014June 4, 2014 by HannaLeave a comment

The Saturday evening when Emma was visiting we were quite tired after a full town of walking, shopping and eating but after having had some champagne at home we had the energy to go out for dinner. We wanted something low key and near home and opted for Sophie’s Steakhouse on the Fulham Road.

There is another Sophie’s in Covent Garden and although working around there I haven’t been there either.

As you can’t book a table we were put on the list for one and then hung out in the bar drinking strawberry daiquiris.

Once seated at the table water and this wooden board with salami arrived, perfect for two starving girls. We finished it pretty quickly and then got a second one – they must go through A LOT of salami here!

The menu is of course centred around meat and mainly steak but we tried their burgers that were amazing. Sadly the fried weren’t as good. They were crisp and nice texture-wise just not great in taste.

But the burgers were just delicious, so we were happy anyway! After our late dinner we realised we wanted to go dancing and just walked down the street to Maggie’s.

Such a great evening!

Sophie’s Steakhouse, 311-313 Fulham Road, London SW10 9QH

Lunch at Jackson + Rye, Soho

Published on June 2, 2014 by HannaLeave a comment

When my bestie Emma came to visit a few weekends ago we walked around Covent Garden and Carnaby street on the Saturday and when we were hungry I thought it would be a good idea to check out Jackson + Rye that I had heard so much about.

We liked the place immediately! The vibe is very New York; casual but nice. The all day menu offers American food but is very varied containing sandwiches and salads as well as egg dishes and proper main courses.

Emma has a bagel with cream cheese, rocket and smoked salmon which was fresh and nice.

I had the shrimp roll in brioche bun with mushy avocado and spicy sauce. Really nice and substantial but still lighter than a regular burger. We had some rosé to drink and managed to avoid the rain (it had stopped when we stepped out again) so we were very happy here!

Jackson + Rye, 56 Wardour Street, London W1D 4JG

Lunch at Le Poule au Pot, Pimlico

Published on May 28, 2014 by HannaLeave a comment

The first bank holiday weekend in May was sunny and lovely (so not the case this past one!) so Gaby and I had lunch outside in Pimlico. Le Poule au Pot is a charming French bistro with a rather dark and messy, yet very charming, interior whilst the outdoor seating is cosy with wooden tables and plants. The food is classic French bistro food and one can chose between the a’la carte menu or a set two or three course menu. We had the set menu, two courses each, and got plenty of food. Gaby had the salmon terrine with toasted bread to start and it was nice and fresh! I love the crockery too, so pretty. My chicken liver mousse with cornichons and toast was really nice and smooth and the portion quite large. For our maincourses we both had the steak frites with bearnaise sauce and it was really nice! My meat was slightly overcooked but very tender and the fries nice and crispy. The bearnaise sauce was a little on the runny side but great in flavour.

This is one of those classic places I like to seek refuge at once in a while, I guess to contrast modern restaurant and gourmet food. Less is more here, it’s classic French fare, cooked well and without fuss. But that combined with either the cosy interior inside or the nice tables outside it is enough.

Le Poule au Pot, 231 Ebury Street, London SW1W 8UT