RESTAURANT FILE – Page 21

Dinner at Polpo, Soho

Published on October 16, 2014 by HannaLeave a comment

A few weeks ago my Uni friend Lena was in town and suggested meeting up on a Monday night. We hadn’t seen each other since we were actually at Uni in Lund in Sweden, several years ago, so it was lovely to see her again!

We met after work looked in some shops on Regent Street and Carnaby Street and as we walked past Polpo on Beak Street, we thought why not go there for dinner! It was a 45 minute wait for a table which we spend in the basement bar having a drink and catching up.

We were starving when we sat down and followed the waiter’s suggestion of three dishes each. It was actually too much food for us, but we enjoyed sampling it all.

The first dish (top picture) was a wonderful bruschetta with mozzarella, nectarine and pea shoots. Also the pizza bianco with prosciutto, rocket and parmesan (above) was very good!

We wanted something green to balance all the heavy food and without a simple green leaf salad on the menu we settled for the fennel salad with almonds which was really fresh!

The cuttlefish risotto with ink was absolutely fantastic. The terrible picture (it was dark and I used my iPhone) doesn’t do it justice at all. That and the bruschetta were the highlights of the evening!

The meatballs made from pork and beef in tomato sauce were soft and full of flavour and a reoccurring dish on the menu.

The lamb stew with tomato was also nice, but not as nice as the other dishes.

Polpo describes itself as a Venetian bàcaro; a simple restaurant serving rustic, well-cooked food. And that’s exactly what they do! And they do it very well. It’s cosy, a bit noisy and a nice atmosphere and there are plenty branches to choose from all around London.

Polpo Soho, 41 Beak Street, London W1F 9SB

Brunch at Idala Gård, Skåne, Sweden

Published on October 15, 2014 by HannaLeave a comment

September was filled with weddings for me. Two were in Britain and one at home in Sweden. All the weddings were great fun and when in Sweden for the weekend I wanted to do as much as possible. I got to have lunch and get ready for the wedding with four friends that later stayed over and the day after the wedding I went for an Italian themed brunch very locally, at Idala Gård.

The farm is very rustic and the restaurant’s interior is a mixture of old Swedish farmhouse furniture and Italian accents and the food has the same mixture of Italian and local influences.

The wines are all Italian so ordered a lovely Gavi di Gavi before filling our plates at the buffet. The cold spread was amazing, lots of nice charkuterie, pasta salads, hot and cold smoked salmon, eggs, even crayfish (love!), crostinis with rocket crème, Insalata Caprese with lovely mozzarella and so on.

The cheeses were great too! I ate a lot but preferred the cold nibbly bits to the cooked more substantial food, but I can assure that was very nice too as my dad sampled it all. The only hot dish I tried was a lovely mash with pancetta and rosemary.

There were three puddings to choose from so we chose one each and tried them all. The chocolate torte was dense and very chocolatey like it should be, the pannacotta was very smooth and the tiramisu almost perfect!

Strangely I was positively surprised. Although I have been here before – at an amazing wedding with great food for example – I didn’t expect the brunch to be this good. Maybe perhaps because brunches in general aren’t. But I am very happy Idala Gård is at my parents’ doorstep, I will definitely visit soon again.

Idala Gård, 231 91 Trelleborg, Sweden

Sushi Samba, The City – revisited

Published on October 13, 2014October 13, 2014 by HannaLeave a comment

One of my dear American friends, Erin, moved back to her beloved US or A at the end of August. I was away most of that month and I missed her leaving do so to be able to say goodbye properly we squeezed in one last dinner with two more friends, before she left. Since we wanted to give Erin a proper send-off we booked a nice restaurant I have only been to once before, and the other girls not at all; Sushi Samba.

Last time I came here I had a great time and really enjoyed the evening although the level of the food was a bit inconsistent.

We started our meal with a nice bottle of Sancerre and some plantain crisps and dip what we all enjoyed.

The sashimi was lovely too. I had the same as last time; yellowtail sashimi with yuzu and black truffle oil, and it was just as nice this time.

Amy is not a fan of sushi so had some nice beef incredibly crispy calamari – both very good.

We also had some Peruvian corn as a side to share. The kernels are bigger, lighter in colour and a bit chewier than regular corn. The taste also differs; it’s slightly less sweet but still very nice.

I couldn’t help but order the Sasa rolls, a real favourite of mine. They come two per portion so you don’t have to be greedy like me and have one portion to yourself. They are delicious but one per person is totally enough as they are quite filling! But absolutely lovely! Erin loved them too.

The sushi came out last as it takes a while to make but it was definitely worth the wait. Last time here it was actually the sushi that was a bit disappointing but I clearly ordered the wrong thing or the chef was having a bad day, because the sushi we had this time was marvellous! My favourite was the Sushi Samba roll (left) but the Sao Paulo and Yoyogi rolls (all on the platter) were great too!

It literally was our last evening together (sob) so we asked our kind waiter to take a photo of us to remember it by. And then we couldn’t help ourselves and took some silly selfies in front of the amazing lit-up tree on the terrace.

Sushisamba, Heron Tower, 110 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 4AY

Dinner at Evans & Peel Detective Agency, Earl’s Court

Published on October 8, 2014 by HannaLeave a comment

This place has been around for a while, I know, but my first visit was this summer. Amidst holidays, heavy work loads, birthdays etc. four girls managed to get together for some food and drinks. The place really look like a hardboiled PI’s office in the 30s in America and when stepping into Evans & Peel Detective Agency you’re greeted by a receptionist to whom you present your case. While you wait for the detective to do some background checks you’re welcome to wait in the bar/restaurant – the hidden room behind the reception.

The restaurant is dimly lit with candelabras on every table and the space gives off a prohibition era vibe. We started our evening with a bottle of prosecco, served in coupe glasses and then moved on to some food.

Two of the girls wanted to be healthy and thought salad and chips would even each other out whereas me and Amy couldn’t resist the sliders. We had three to share, a beef each, which was the best, and one chicken so share which was quite good too but not as good as the beef. We also had some chips (very good) and a creamy mac ‘n cheese (yum). The salad actually looked really good with crispy leaves and corn on the cob.

After dinner we settled on cocktails instead of pudding and we all had a different one. Mine was with elderflower and gin (I think), and it was delicious and not too sweet.

I really like this place; the 30s vibe goes through everything, the drinks are fun and different, the food good, the setting great and not to mention what a great idea it is!

Evans & Peel Detective Agency, 310c Earls Court Road W.8, London SW5 9BA

Dinner at Brasserie Kungliga Posten, Malmö, Sweden

Published on October 1, 2014October 1, 2014 by HannaLeave a comment

This is a delayed review since my Sweden visit in August when I visited the newish restaurant Brasserie Kungliga Posten in Malmö with a bunch of friends.

The restaurant is situated in what used to the an old post office but is now a swish brasserie instead. The interior is cosy with sofas as well as chairs to break up the large space, which works well.

When we visited in the height of summer, albeit on a Wednesday evening, the restaurant was fairly quiet, which actually surprised me as Swedes tent to eat out more when they have time off. The menu was very summery and simpler than the regular menu. The salmon tartar (above) was perfect summer food with cool and fresh flavours.

Also the mozzarella with tomato salad and toast was nice and fresh.

And the charkuterie board nice with pickled small onions, cornichons and four types of charkuterie.

The menu offered some smaller and some larger plate, without being divided into starters and mains, so some in the group had two starters or shared a starter and had a maincourse and the hungry ones had a starter and main, which worked really well.

Also the maincourses were nice; the cod (above) was perfectly cooked, the pork with Asian flavours really nice and the flank steak with bearnaise sauce and fries also really good.

But I wasn’t bawled over. Probably because I didn’t expect a summer menu. Everything our group sampled was cooked very well and the flavours were there, so we had a great evening, but as a foodie it was too close to what I cook myself at home.

So I look forward to visiting again and trying the regular menu and see what the kitchen can do. The summer menu definitely showed potential!

The staff was friendly and helpful and the wine list very suitable for the type of restaurant it is!

Brasserie Kungliga Posten, Posthusplatsen 4, 211 20 Malmö

Dinner at Tom’s Kitchen, Chelsea

Published on September 24, 2014 by HannaLeave a comment

This review is actually since May (!) when my dear friends Maria, Daniel and their toddler Otto were in town. It was a lovely Saturday that we spent shopping along the Kings Road, which must have been torture for little Otto so we took him to a playground nearby where he could run around, go on the swings and play with other kids. The playground was absolutely packed with kids, from toddlers to young teens, and the volume high so after an hour or so us grown-ups were exhausted and were extremely happy to go for dinner.

I had booked us a table at Tom’s Kitchen, which I had been wanting to try for a while, because it is a very child-friendly restaurant. And sure thing, as soon as we were seated at the table Otto got a drawing book and crayons, it was also very accessible to the nappy change and place to leave the pram.

We intermediately liked the rustic interior with chunky wooden tables, open kitchen and black and white photos on the wall. The menu is similarly rustic with burgers, charkuterie boards and fish cakes to choose from.

We all had a burger each, with cheese. Daniel and I had the truffle chips (yum!) and Maria the regular chunky chips which were great too. Maria and I shared a caraff of red Rioja and Daniel had a pale ale to drink.

And the burger? It was ginormous and absolutely delicious! For me there are two types of burgers taking over London; the more American patty which is finely ground and thinner and the chunkier ground large patty British burger. This one belongs to the latter category and is the best chunky burger I’ve had. The seasoning was spot on and really enhanced the meat flavour. The bread, chips and condiments were also perfect, and I like it when a restaurant serves homemade ketchup.

The service was great too, although one waitress was a bit too friendly. Once the food was on the table we just wanted to dive right in, not chit-chat, but she was just trying to be nice so nothing to remark on really.

Tom’s Kitchen, 27 Cale Street, Chelsea, London SW3 3QP

Pinxtos and tapas in San Sebastian, Spain

Published on September 22, 2014 by HannaLeave a comment

Pinxtos are extremely popular in The Basque Region and in the Old Town of San Sebastian there are plenty of pinxtos bars to choose from, each with their own specialities.

Our first night in San Seb, after the Mugaritz lunch, Caroline and I were still very full around 10pm but we decided to ignore those signals and have a few pinxtos just because we wanted to. We started slowly with one each and a glass of wine. Carolien had the one with mini eels and I had the one with crab, mayonnase and smoked salmon.

After a little breather we had another one each. I couldn’t resist the jamon and Caroline had the grilled squid with ink. Two pinxtos each was definitley enough and I’m so glad we did as I loved the atmosphere in the Old Town bars. The place we went to this evening is called Ganbara, and one I was desperate to try because a famous Swedish TV chef went here with the owners of Arzak when he was visiting San Sebastian.

The second evening we did a proper pinxtos bar crawl, starting at Baztan. Caroline had the sausage wrapped in bacon and the morcilla (black pudding) with pickled peppers.

I had a yummy mini burger (great idea!) and cheesy courgette with ham.

Apparently you just throw your serviette on the floor after your meal, but I struggled to do that. It makes sense in a way; the bars are packed and the staff have enough to do collecting dirty plates and glasses that collecting napkins isn’t a priority and it is easy to just sweep the floor after service. But still…

Next we went to Casa Vergara where we had the local slightly sparkling wine Txacoli which we really enjoyed together with some pinxtos; mini eels in smoked salmon, anchovies and green pepper and a marinated mussel.

At Casa Alcalde next door to Casa Vergara, we had one last pinxto with morcilla, fried quail’s egg and baked cherry tomato. Yum!

We had a look at plenty more pinxtos bars and some places seemed better than others (the ones we went for). Some had piles of deep-fried whatever and didn’t appeal that much to us.

Our last day we went back to Ganbara and had lunch in the restaurant. We started with a plate of wonderful jamon and the local equivalent to padron peppers, these were less spicy, but tasted very similar otherwise.

For the maincourse Caroline had the trio of cod which was rather interesting but not amazing. The one with the brown sauce was less tasty but the other two were quite nice.

I had local gambas, big juicy prawns, that were fried and served with olive oil and lemon. Super simple and delicious!

We went back to Ganbara one more time before leaving for the airport. It was early evening and because they had just stopped serving lunch it was quite bare with pinxtos on the bar counter but we could order from the menu. The pig’s trotters with mash, above, was sadly not amazing. I love pig’s trotters but these were too fatty for my liking.

The croquetas with mushrooms and jamon were delicious though and so was the fried foie gras.

We finished off the meal with octopus and squid. I had the cold marinated octopus that I love, so soft and delicious and Caroline had the grilled squid with ink one last time. Despite a few let downs (the pig’s trotters and the cod) we loved Ganbara! All the other food we had here (and it was quite a lot) was great, the staff super friendly and the all the pinxtos super fresh!

Ganbara, San Jeronimo Kalea, 19, 20003 Donostia, Gipuzkoa, Spain

Baztan, Calle Puerto, 8, 20003 Donostia – San Sebastián, Spain

Casa Vergara, Kale Nagusia-Calle Mayor Kalea, 21, 20003 Donostia, Gipuzkoa, Spain

Casa Alcalde, Mayor Kalea, 19, 20003 Donostia, Gipuzkoa, Spain

Lunch at Rekondo, San Sebastian, Spain

Published on September 17, 2014October 1, 2014 by HannaLeave a comment

Our second day in San Sebastian we had a normal lunch (compared to the four hour feast the day before) at Rekondo.

It is a very cosy restaurant, especially the outside area where we were seated this glorious day.

It is also known for its large wine celler and huge wine list (as you can see it was a proper book!). We settled for a bottle of white Rioja which worked really well with our meal.

The amuse bouche was a cod croquetas each, lovely creamy on the inside and crisp on the outside. The cod flavour was quite subtle which I liked.

To try and balance the gigantic meal the day before both Caroline and I were drawn to the seafood, in hope that it would be fresh and light. It was indeed fresh but maybe not as light as we’d hoped – but delicious! Carolines prawn carpaccio was a little eccentric flavour wise with fruit, pomegranate seeds and guacemole but it was absolutely delicious. And quite large.

My lobster cocktail with scallops was also amazing. And huge! The lobster was perfectly cooked and great in flavour but was actually overshadowed by the big juicy raw scallops. They were the best scallops I’ve ever had. The pine nuts, olive powder and grassy olvie oil were the perfect accompaniments.

For the maincourse Caroline had a local speciality; kokotxas, fish cheeks served in a parsley sauce. It was a mild dish and the cheeks were very tender and almost silky in texture. Very good.

I had another local speciality, baked crab, which was amazing and incredibly rich.

We chose to share a cheese plate instead of having a sweet pudding and that was perfect to finish off the meal. The cheeses were very good, especially the Brie de Meaux, the Roquefort and a local creamy cheese made from ewe’s milk. The comté and Pecorino were quite good but the Morbier was quite dull.

We decided to slowly walk back down to town to help digest the food but also enjoy the beautiful surroundings.

I really liked this place and of course the food. The service was not perfect but I’ll still come back. Especially for those delicious scallops. And the wine list. You find Caroline’s write-up from the lunch here.

Rekondo, Igeldo Pasealekua, 57, 20008, San Sebastián, Gipuzkoa, Spain

24 course lunch at Mugaritz, San Sebastian, Spain

Published on September 16, 2014September 16, 2014 by Hanna4 Comments

The world’s sixth and eight best restaurants right now, are both located in San Sebastian in the north-east of Spain. On my visit to the region on the bank holiday in August my friend Caroline (as keen on nice restaurants as I am), we had a fabulous lunch at one of them; Mugaritz. We would have loved to go to Arzak too, but we’ll save that for next time.

We more or less went straight from Bilbao airport, via the hotel, to the restaurant and as soon as we were seated at our table we were shown into the kitchen (amazing) where we also got to eat our first course.

It was a marshmallow made with pig’s blood. The very charismatic chef told us that pig’s blood has the similar properties to egg whites and can also thicken and be used for meringues and marshmallows. This marshmallow was flavoured with onions, pine nuts and black pepper and it was really good. And interesting.

One we got back to our table we had wine and water and also got a warm wet towel to have at hand as the first couple section of dishes should be eaten using only our hands.

The blue cheese round with anchovies (left) was actually a bit tame in flavour, I would have preferred a stronger flavour from both the cheese and the anchovies. The mussel with parmesan which was also lightly smoked was spot on though; so delicious.

Next up we had tendons. Not sure if it was from pork or beef, we realised quickly that the amount of information given about each course depended on the waiter. Some were confident in explaining it to us in detail in English were as some only sad a word or two. This was more interesting than tasty, fun texture though, much softer than I expected.

After that we were put to work. All the guests (about 40 per sitting) received a pestle and mortar at the same time and got to work their arm muscles turning the corn into a paste.

We were then given a square of jelly with herbs and flours that melted in the warm mortar and turned the rough paste into a smoother one. We then had a delicious dip to either eat with a spoon or dip the bread in.

It was fun to participate in something and the smell was amazing, just like the finished dip. It had several dimensions with different textures and lots of subtle flavours all coming together.

Next up was duck neck, cleverly illustrated by the special plate. It was crisp, a little sticky and very tasty.

We then had Chinese chives tempura with what I guess was a chickpea puré. Also very nice.

The eighth course was a soft soft dumpling topped with crispy Iberico pig skin and a chutney. I loved the difference in texture and the flavours were great.

Having finished a third of the menu we got a palate cleanser consisting of fresh chickpeas in their shells with sea salt and olive oil. Very fresh and light!

Next palate cleanser was very far from a sorbet, instead we had mud and dirt. The mud was made from pine nuts though and we got to dip this moss looking plant called deff in it. I especially liked the plant, which was very fresh and subtly fragrant on its own.

After the mud course we got proper cutlery and the first maincourse; tomato in a gelatinous broth. It was incredible! The tomato was quite firm but soft at the same time and the broth was very intense in flavour.

The ox cheeks with powdered sauerkraut were also very good The powder was interesting, while it tasted like sauerkraut the texture made the flavour dissolve quickly.

In the middle of the main courses we got to play a game with plastic knuckles. The winner received a little plate of caviar and I am very grateful Caroline wanted to share her winnings with me.

Airy bread with cream quite similar to clotted cream, but a bit sweeter, perfectly balanced the salty caviar. This was absolutely divine and one of my favourite courses. Bröd med grädde inte helt olik clotted cream i smak och konsistens, men dock sötare, gav perfekt balans till den salta kaviaren. En av mina favoriträtter helt klart. Helt makalöst gott!

Poached aubergine with white miso was more interesting than tasty, The texture of the aubergine was phenomenal; form but soft, but the miso was a bit too sweet and the herb on top very pungent and sharp and actually not very nice. Does anyone know what the herb is called?

The hake with milk pearls melted in the mouth and was fantastic. Very subtle in flavour (I actually couldn’t taste the white asparagus) and the fish was cooked to absolute perfection. A joy to eat.

This dish doesn’t look very appetizing but it was a fun take on surf and turf. Underneath the crisp chicken skin was a catalan cream with lobster. Like a savoury creme brulée – love it.

The next course was just amazing! It was definitely the best steak tartar I’ve ever tasted. The meat was incredibly soft and tender, the caviar was a fun (and delicious) contrast and the pickled mini onions added the perfect amount of acidity. Perfection!

The maincourse was eucalyptus smoked lamb loin with its wool. The wool was soft and the meat perfectly cooked but with quite a strong smokey flavour, so it worked well as the last course.

The first pudding was stracciatella with sheets of dark chocolate. Not my favourite, I liked the chocolate but not the cream.

The lemon sorbet in edible lemon skin was a pure delight. Fresh lemon flavour and amazing texture. Loved it!

We read cronuts on the menu and got very excited but instead of the croissant dnut hybrid we got cronut shaped airy biscuits. I think they may have been made with rice starch, and flavoured with chocolate and caramel. Nice and different but not incredible.

The least sweet desert was a grilled green fig injected with marine preserve made with sea urchin. Such a fun and different combination and very very tasty.

The last pudding was a warm and crisp little cigar filled with custard. We also got to grate sugar on them using the rocks in the table decoration (which was pure sugar). Both fun and delicious!

After are long lunch we went outside and got even more treats with our coffee. A whole tower of petit fours. We didn’t exactly need them but we still managed to eat them, we’re such troopers.

The tower had seven compartments that each represented one of the seven cardinal sins. As you can see above, I forgot to take a picture of one of them, but the ones I remembered were chocolate coins covered with chocolate dirt, candied ginger dipped in cocoa, chocolate covered corn kernels, white chocolate with rose cream and dark chocolate with caramel.

I was incredibly happy (and extremely full) after this meal. It was such an experience! Some dishes were absolutely delicious and others more interesting in texture or techniques used but I loved the whole experience. I also like the relaxed atmosphere and the fun elements of making our own dip and playing the knuckle game. The service was good but not flawless, which I would have expected. Sometimes dishes were stacking up on the table and if one of us went to the restroom (which is needed during a four hour lunch) they had already put out the next course before we got back to the table.

With that said, it was still incredible. It was so fun to see the kitchen and experience this type of cooking, and Caroline and I had a blast! And I still dream of some of the dishes.

Mugaritz, Aldura Aldea, 20, 20100 Errenteria, Gipuzkoa, Spain

Wonderful Skåne!

Published on September 4, 2014 by HannaLeave a comment

I hope you don’t mind me paraphrasing Denmark’s slogan (Wondeful Denmark), but I find it suitable since Skåne (the most southern region in Sweden) was in fact Danish until 1658.

Anyway, this part of Sweden is where I was born, and although I love London I love coming home to my dear Skåne too. Usually I spend time on the beach in the summer but the weather was just as bad as in the UK (grey, rainy and windy) so I had to occupy myself differently. It was a lot of lunch and fika and excursions to countryside shops and similar.

One Saturday my parents and I drove to the beautiful Österlen, the eastern part of Skåne, where we had fika (coffee and pastries) at Olof Viktors, looked at boats in Skillinge Harbour and went to various antiques shops. We also stopped by Gunnarshögs Gård just before closing to buy some of their wonderful cold-pressed rapeseed oil.

One day I met up with a childhood friend at the fish restaurant Johan P, now also located at Malmö Central station, for a prawn sandwich on Danish rye bread. We were hoping to try Saltimporten Canteen, but we were too late to get a table. Next time.

Another day, when Carina and I were on our to the beach, we stopped at Märtas in Höllviken for a egg and prawn salad sandwich and enjoyed it outside in basking sunshine. Half an hour later when we reached the beach it was cloudy and cold again.

The sandwich was great though, and the shop/café really cute.

My last Sunday in Skåne I went to the annual antiques fair at Katrinetorp, like most people. It was incredibly popular, probably partly because of the torrential rain. I bet IKEA was busy too!

For lunch I met up with my bestie Emma at the festival in town; Malmöfestivalen but it was an anticlimax walking around in the rain with soaked shoes. I quickly decided on a langos with sourcream, caviar and red onions while Emma had a chicken wrap.

Another day with seriously bad weather (I so picked the wrong week and a half to go) Therèse and I were about to have lunch at the harbour in Smygehamn, the most southern point in the country, but it was so windy we got a takeaway instead. At the fish smokery they have lovely individual sandwich cakes with seafood. They’re quite creamy but really good.

As you can see I got my seafood sandwich fix during this trip, it’s something very Scandinavian that I can certainly miss in London, although there are a few places offering a decent prawn sandwich there too.