Category: LONDON-guide

Dinner at Le Cercle, Chelsea

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I quite often get asked whether I have many Swedish friends in London. I have a few, but I know them all from before I moved here. It is far more interesting to get to know people with different nationalities than my own, especially when I can fly home in 2 hrs.

One friend I know from secondary school back in Sweden, but who also lives around London at the moment, is Helena. When we last met up we had supper at a French place in Chelsea, conveniently located just a few minutes from Sloane Sq.

I read about Le Cercle in the Sloane Ranger mag Tatler, and I thought it was a new addition to the restaurant scene. Apparently it is not, however it is the sister restaurant of famous Club Gascon.

We both had the duck mini burger to start and it was very nice. The bread was a brioche and therefore really moise and both the duck meat and the condiments were full of flavour.

Helena had panfried halibut with creamy leek and crab civet as a main course. It tasted just as delicious as it looked.

I (always the carnivore) chose a suckling pig variation with little juicy cutlets, lovely belly with crisp crackling, jus and charred red onions and endive. Really nice!

Helena later had a coffee and we received the perfect size petit fours; marmalade and coffee macaron.

Le Cercle
1 Wilbraham Place
London SW1X 9AE

Dinner at Le Sacre Coeur, Islington

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When Laura’s mum and friend came to visit, I got the meet them together with Jess and Chris for supper at Le Sacre Ceour in Islington. It was Jess’s restaurant recommendation, and I have heard quite a lot about this place, so it was nice to finally go there for supper.

I can honestly say, that it looks a big scruffy from the outside, although very cosy with lots of candles. We sat down and shared a few bottles of their Blanc de Blanc and some starters.

 

 

Most of us chose mussels to start, and we had the choice of classic Moules Mariniere, another creamy version but with garlic and the tomato-ey Moules Provencale. I chose the classic mariniere and was really impressed with the quality of the mussels. They were really big and juicy and the creamy sauce was really nice too.

 

 

A few others had the baby squid in a spicy tomato sauce, so good they mopped up all the sauce with bread to enjoy every drop.

 

 

The maincourses were also good and most of them carb-heavy and comforting. Above is beef Wellington with pommes Anna which looked really nice and indulgent.

 

 

But the one who’s plate I was the most envious of was Laura’s mother who had lamb racks wrapped in puff pastry (halleluja) with potatoes au gratin and red cabbage.

 

 

I had an extremely tender and lovely rabbit casserole with potato mash. Really nice!

 

 

Jess and Laura had the dish Jess orders every time she goes here (and I think that’s pretty often); swordfish with a creamy white wine sauce. It looked really good and I would like to try it one day too.

 

Le Sacre Coeur
18 Theberton Street 
London N1 0QX
Tel: 020 7354 2618

 

Dinner at Bleeding Heart Bistro

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I work in London’a West End and know that area of Central London best when it comes to restaurant and bars. So it is nice to go for supper with friends who know different parts of town and can show you around a bit.

A restaurant one of my girl friends recommended, is the Bleeding Heart Bistro. Situated close together is a tavern, bistro and restaurant all within the Bleeding Heart Family.

I met Laura after work at the Tavern pub for a quick drink that I missed by being late and lost. Luckily I got a cab to take me in the right direction. I love that you can trust the cabbies when you’re iPhone doesn’t work…

We then went across the courtyard to the bistro and sat down. Our other friend Jess was joining too, but had to work late so Laura and I had a starter each and some bubbly while waiting for her.

Laura had sardines on toast. Beautiful salty sardines on a chunky slice of toasted farmhouse bread. I had a buttery flaky pissaladière; a pizza relative from the South of France wuth caramelized onions and anchovies.

When Jess arrived she quickly decided on the lobster, and so one should when having to work late!

Laura chose a Nicoise salad with a large piece of seared tuna.

I was feeling really hungry and had a ribeye steak cooked blue with chips and bearnaise sauce.

As you can see the food was fresh and well cooked, and it tasted lovely too. Despite this I still felt something was lacking. Maybe just something unspecified but ‘chef-ey’.

Although tastey and nicely presented the food available was simple and something I could easily make myself. Most other places serving simple food usually offers a twist of some kind to make it original and that was what I would have liked to see here as well.

With that said we still had a nice evening here and there is nothing wrong with the food. It could just be even better!

One thing I did object to, which is rather petty of me, I must admit, is the fact that we had crisp linen tablecloths and flimsy paper napkins. Surely, with linen table cloths you have linen napkins?!

Bleeding Heart Bistro
Bleeding Heart Yard, off Greville Street
Hatton Garden, London EC1N 8SJ

Dinner at Hawksmoor Guildhall

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My summer was rather packed with fun things, and while busy having fun, I didn’t have time to update you about everything. Like going to Hawksmoor for the first time and loving it. 

Linus, a friend from home whom I have known since secondary school, came to visit during the Olympics. When trying to decide where to go for supper one evening, I asked him what type of food he would like. The answer came quicky: – Meat.

I have been wanting to go to Hawksmoor for ages and saw my chance, and managed to book a table for the following day. As most Londoners I expected London to be super busy during the Games, and thought it almost impossible to get a dinner reservation with short notice. This was not the case, however, when we got to the restaurant in the City on a Friday night it was far from full and the staff said that it was very quiet during the Olympics.

Once seated at our rustic dark wood table, both Linus and I couldn’t help but drool over the massive steak at the table next to us. It was a moment of ‘We’re having what he’s having’, after takling to the knowledgable waitress about the different cuts. Our neighbour had a Porterhouse steak, so we had one too, to share as it weighed in at 900 g.

We also had crispy delicious chips, the best bearnaise sauce I’ve ever had in a restaurant (and it was a generous portion too), fried portobello mushrooms and a bottle of red.

With that much meat we ate slowly to be able to really enjoy it and finish it.
We both really enjoyed this meal. The restaurant has a relaxed atmosphere, the grub is really good, the meat amazing (so full of flavour) and the staff both knowledable, pleasant and a little laid back.

There are plenty of steak restaurants in London and without trying them all, I think I can say that Hawksmoor is definitely up there with the best ones!

Hawksmoor Guildhall
10 Basinghall Stree
London EC2V 5BQ

London 2012 Olympics

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The Olympics have just finished, and I just must share some photos of this awesome experience with you. I got to cheer for my beloved Sweden in my favourite sport handball (we got silver in the end – brilliant), as well as see some hockey and the bronze game in handball. Two friends from home joined me as well, and it has just been amazing!

The Stratford entrance to the Olympic Park

The Mega Store

Danish handball fans

Sweden – Iceland in the group stage

One happy Sweden supporter (me)

Croatia/Hungary in the bronze medal game

Hix, Soho

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My friend Kristin, who I know from Uni back in Sweden, lives in London too, and we try to meet up once a month to catch up, enjoy good food and speak Swedish. The first time we met up we had oysters and pig’s trotters at Terroirs, so it is safe to say we’re both foodies.

My last week in London before going on holiday we had dinner at Hix, where we both enjoyed baked bone marrow.

We met straight after work and had time for a glass at Mark’s Bar in the basement at Hix before dining on the ground floor. The food is prepared in simple ways to enhance the fantastic produce. Seasonal food and local produce are definitely key words here.

I started off with a plate of girolles, just lightly fried in herb butter. The mushrooms were beautiful (and I should now, us Swedes take girolles seriously) and very enjoyable.

Kirstin chose sand eels with caper mayonnaise and received a huge plateful. I got to try them too, and they were definitely the best sand eels I’ve had.

Both Kristin and I chose hanger steak with baked bone marrow for mains. The meat was perfectly cooked (mine rare and Kristin’s medium-rare) and again the portions were huge. The bone marrow was mixed with a mustardy stuffing and baked in the bone and was absolutely wonderful. And a fun way to serve it too.

Although the portions were big we still ordered sides, which was totally unnecessary. I hardly touched my chips or Kristin her salad. We also got three sauces with the steak; a mint sauce, a hot mustardy sauce and both our favourites, the bearnaise sauce.

The food at Hix was delicious, but rather expensive. Absolutely worth it once in a while but when spending money in this price range I usually choose more complicated gourmet restaurants. This was my first time at Hix and although I thoroughly enjoyed it, I prefer St John in this restaurqnt category, but it is definitely a good thing that such a restaurant exists in Soho,

Bonus: Mark Hix’s recipe of the main course we had; hanger steak with baked bone marrow.

Amazing pizza at Santa Maria Pizzeria, Ealing

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I don’t remember exactly how I heard about these fab pizzas to begin with, but I think it was through Twitter. Then later I saw this article in the FT about the five best pizzerias in London. Since my friend Jenny lives in Ealing I made sure to tell her about this place before visiting her last weekend. But when we were strolling along looking for a lunch place it had slipped my mind, but suddenly we saw this cute little pizza place and I realised that is the one, and our lunch plans were sorted.

The pizzas looked amazing and we were starving, but it was hard to decide which pizza to go for; they all sounded lovely. In the end I chose one with buffalo mozzarella, mushrooms and truffle oil and it was amazing. Best pizza ever – hand on heart!

Jenny’s pizza was just as delicious (I know because I tried it), topped with prosciutto, parmesan, tomatoes and rocket. I struggle for words to describe it, that’s how good it is.

Once we had finished our meal and could lift our gaze from the plates we realised that the pizzeria looked really nice and cosy on the inside too. And everything they served was Italian. The wine, the sparkling water, the soft drinks and the icecream.

I have one last thing to say: GO!

The Botanist

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I met Jess and Laura for a spur of the moment drink on Friday that actually turned into a proper meal. We had some errands to do and then met up at The Botanist in Sloane Square after.

This busy bar and restaurant is always popular, but it was quite quiet in the dining room when we arrived, but it soon picked up.

We were pretty slow at ordering, too busy drinking Chapel Down sparkling wine and gossiping. But eventually we managed to decide on the starters.

Jess and Laura shared this smoked salmon with horseradish cream, Irish soda bread and lemon. Good produce and the girls were happy!

I chose half a dozen escargots served in plenty of bubbling butter with garlic and parsley and bread to dip of course. Although they were served off the shell, the snails were big and juicy.

After another while we also managed to decide on the maincourses, after asking our lovely waitress a number of questions.

Laura chose a lovely fresh salad with the most amazing lemon dressing. The salad consisted of purple broccoli, peas, broadbeans, radishes, goat’s cheese curd and candied walnuts.

Jess and I chose half a grilled lobster each, with tarragon butter and chips. It was Friday after all. It was beautifully plated on a round wooden board and the tarragon butter came in a mini copper pot. The lobster was perfectly cooked and melted in your mouth, and worked pretty well with the Burgundy Chablis we had to drink.

Apart from the nice food, I really liked the ambiance and the professional staff. We were probably a bit annoying, asking lots of questions, but our waitress was friendly and professional and offered her personal opinion which we really appreciated.

The Botanist does classic uncomplicated dishes and swim somewhere in the waters between a gastro pub and restaurant, but they do it well. It is focus on good procude and good cooking as well as good front of house. I find it perfect for some wine and a bite to eat after a busy day at work which was just what we were there for.

Taste of London part II

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There were 40 restaurants represented at Taste of London, offering 3-4 dishes each, and I did my best to try as many dishes as possible.

The first dish was from Jason Atherton’s Pollen Street Social; avocado purée with crab and sweet corn mousse. Very nice, but the texture made it feel very heavy, so the small taster size portion was the perfect amount. I like that the dish seems simple, but still different. I mean, I would never dream of inventing sweet corn mousse.

Next up was La Gavroche‘s smoked salmon stuffed with ricotta and chives and served with a truffle sauce. Great produce, an easy dish to make but that truffle sauce just made it delicious.

The man behind La Gavroche; Michel Roux Jr, posed happily for photos. Here with a random girl.

One restaurant I was curious to try was Bar Boulud, from the team behind Daniel in NYC.

Their ‘hotdog’ with brioche bun, lamb merguez, sour cream, harissa and coriander was amazing and I can’t wait to sample more from their menu. This hotdog was also one of the most popular dishes at the festival.

Above is the spread that was available from Gordon Ramsay’s Savoy Grill.

I couldn’t resist the sirloin with mashed potatoes and café de Paris sauce. Pretty old school but delicious of course, although the steak was not the best I’ve ever had…

At Gordon Ramsay’s Maze I couldn’t resist this fun looking pudding;
pineapple and black pepper Bacardi slushy with raspberry jelly and vanilla yogurt. It was very refreshing and nice, although it didn’t seem that popular among others.

This pudding from Corner Room is amazing, and I have had it in the restaurant before. It is not supersweet and consists of many interesting elements; goat’s caramel, goat’s curd, crunchy biscuit, blueberries and shiso granita.

The last pudding was from Cinnamon Soho, Cinnamon Club’s newest edition. This mango and cardamom crème brulée was delicious with the little fruit salad on top although I did miss the caramelised sugar on top.

The festival offered lots of slowcooked meat and although I love it, I cook it al lot myself but it also feels more autumnal than summery, and I think that impacted the way I chose my sample dishes.

Taste of London part I

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I spent Saturday afternoon in Regent’s Park at the Taste of London festival. As most vendors were the same as on the Foodies Festival, I mainly looked at the different restaurants. Each restaurant (40 in total) offered 3-4 dishes where as one was usually a signature dish with more expensive ingredients.

I tried lots of dishes which I will tell you all about tomorrow, but there are still more I would like to mention.

Jamie Oliver and Adam Perry Lang’s Barbecoa, their meat restaurant in the City was very popular and their burger looked really good.

Opera Tavern were there with their mini burgers but I eat there often enough anyway, so no need to try it out here.

The cheap thai chain Busaba Eathai were there too, and I have eaten here enough times to know it is good.

The Savoy had both Gordon Ramsay’s Savoy Grill and the River Restauant represented.

Swedish cider from Rekorderlig Cider was there too, but I can’t understand why this sweet cider has become so popular in the UK at the moment as I prefer dry cider myself.

Of the more exotic vendors Trinidad and Tobago had dancers with sequins and feathers and there were a whole Thailand village.

Club Gascon won the best dish this year and it is pictured above. It was a cheesy and marmite-y spread served in a Marmite jar with thick slices of sourdough bread.

Heston Blumenthal had his Bray pub, Hinds Head here and although the food looked good it seemed very simple compared to most resturants and that is probably why I didn’t try it.

L’anima’s signature dish was fettucine with truffle which I would happily have tried if I wasn’t so full at this stage. The trends this year was definitely truffle, pork and slowcooked meat. No surprises there.

Every slot has different chefs speaking and during my Saturday afternoon slot it was among others Jason Atherton, trained by Gordon Ramsay and known for his London restaurant Pollen St Social. It was good fun listening to him. He prefers natural flavours and does not compromise on produce. He even told us how much everything cost. Also two lucky people from the audience got to cook with him!