Category: RESTAURANT FILE

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 Atmosfar, Malmo, Sweden

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My birthday this year was a Wednesday. Rather boring, but a good excuse to have bubbly mid-week. I was in Sweden on holiday and wanted to have supper with my closest family and best friend.

Mum, dad and I met at Emma (said best friend) and Claes’s for a class of bubbly and some nibbles, before walking to the restaurant of my choice; Atmosfär.

In general I am not very impressed with the restaurants in Malmo, but there are a few good ones, Atmosfar included. You can tell that they have a passion for food there, and on the walls hang lots of certifications.

The menu is not very long, but it doesn’t matter as you want to eat it all. They have smaller and bigger plates, but no proper maincourses, so you can mix and match the dishes how you like. This makes the atmosphere less stuffy and it is all about enjoying food.

We started with the fabulous ham (top photo), Jamon from Spain. It was melt-in-the-mouth fantastic and we all loved it. We also had some marinated olives, white wine and plenty of water as it was a really hot summer’s day.

There were also several baskets of bread and we ate and ate. I don’t want to think of how many loaves our table of five went through, but it kept on coming. The bread was airy and light in the middle and had a lovely buttery crust all around it. Addictive!

When we started with the smaller plates (not starters, mind you) both mother and I were very indecisive and ended up sharing two. The first one was the lovely scallops with crisp vegetable and a lovely jus.

The second plate was a Swedish all-time classic, a plate of caviar (löjrom), creme fraiche, chopped red onions, lemon and toast. Yum!

When it was time for the larger plates, the whole table settled for two varieties. I had this lovely lamb fillet with jus, fried button mushrooms and girolles and a thin thin crisp slice of bread. It was wonderful; meaty and light at the same time.

Dad among others had the beef with jus, chickpea creme and roasted tomatoes. Lovely as well and the meat was great produce.

We skipped pudding (had too much bread anyway) and went back to Emma and Claes’s to enjoy a cake my mother had made. After a slow walk and a good rest of course.

This restaurant never disappoints me (as Malmo restaurants often do). For being in Sweden the prices are very good, the produce and cooking amazing and the service and atmosphere good. It reminds me of smart casual restaurants in London, which definitely is a good thing.

Atmosfär
Fersens väg 4
Malmö

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

New York: Picnic from Bouchon Bakery and Magnolia Bakery

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One day when walking around Rockefeller Plaza I noticed the Bouchon Bakery and got really excited. I absolutely adore Thomas Keller and his cookbooks.

So when we wanted to have picnic in Central Park on our second to last day in New York, we went here to buy sandwiches and to the famous Magnolia Bakery fpr cupcakes and cookies.

Some Sundays the roads in Centeral Park are closed for car traffic so it is perfect to go here then. And as you can see, we were not exactly alone.

Picnic!

The sandwiches from Bouchon Bakery were delicious! Sour dough ciabattas filled with a moist chicken salad with apple and cranberries. Such a great sarnie!

Cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery. Red Velvet at the top and German Chocolate cupcakes underneath. I have to say it is hard for me to write this, but I was sooo  very disappointed with these cupcakes. The actual cake was a bit dryish and not exactly full of flavour, and the red velvet frosting tasted artificial with an after taste of margarine. The German chocolate topping was nicer (sticky syrup and shredded coconut) but far from amazing.

I just don’t understand how the Magnolia Bakery can be so popular with ordinary bakes like this?! I expected something more along the lines of British Hummingbird Bakery, but these were not even close to being that good. I actually think Tesco make nice cupcakes than Magnolia Bakery…

We also had some cookies from the bakery and thankfully they were a lot better than the cupcakes. Well, the chocolate chip cookie was average too, but the brown sugar cookies (left) were very nice.

New York: Lunch at Battery Gardens

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The first whole day in New York, when we went for our super long walk, we stopped for lunch in Battery Park. It is a lovely park just by the water front but there weren’t many food options. Mainly a few kiosks that only sold snacks and then the proper restaurant Battery Gardens. It could have been a real tourist trap, but I think it was a bit too expensive to be that, luckily.

We started off with a glass of white each, a Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, New Zeeland that was very refreshing.

We sat out on the patio underneath an umbrella and shading trees and it felt like a real oasis in the August heat. Really nice surroundings!

Claes had the spaghetti bolognese, and he was very pleased with it. It looks really good, don’t you think?!

I had a cobb salad with cold smoked salmon and roquefort, which was a great combination. It also came with a boiled egg in slices and avocado which made it more substantial. The only thing I thought odd was the bacon which I actually removed. I don’t know, salmon and bacon, does that work?

Emma also had a salad, with very succulent chicken confit and quinoa.

Happy campers!

All the food was very frash and nice, but what really made it such a nice lunch was the ambiance and stunning surroundings.

Battery Gardens Restaurant
Inside Battery Park ,  Opposite 17 State Street
On The Water,  New York, NY 10004

 

New York: Brunch at Norma’s

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When I ask my ex-New Yorker friend Caroline what she’s been up to at the weekend or when she’s been in New York, I always get the same answer: We went for brunch. So I understand that this is a big thing in the Big Apple. Located in the same hotel as Burger Joint, you find the restaurant Norma’s who offer of course, brunch.

We went to Norma’s at 09.05 in the morning, as we had a table booked for 9am, but it wasn’t ready until 15 minutes later. The staff was apologetic and we were not the only ones waiting. but when starving after a night out the day before, waiting was the last thing we wanted to do.

The waiter was then quick to offer us tea, coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice and a complimentary mini blueberry smoothie. We ordered our food and then the waiting began. It took the kitchen about 40 (!) minutes to get our food on the table. It was nothing complicated or something not on the menu, so we still wonder how it could take so long.

And for the kitchen to be backed up at 9 in the morning, that just shows that something isn’t right. The waiting staff was very apologetic, and quite embarrassed but it was out of their control.

The food was actually very good, but it couldn’t make up for the bad experience we had here. I really do hope it gets sorted out as Norma’s has great potential.

But back to the food. Emma’s granola with berries and yoghurt was a huge portion with the yoghurt on the side and lovely homemade granola. The boys had Belgian waffles that were huge, served with whipped cream, berries and a caramel sauce. I wanted something savoury first thing and had a breakfast quesadilla with crambled eggs, crispy bacon, cheese, avocado and salsa. Really yummy!

To summarize: greta food, good waiting staff, nice ambiance, but very slow kitchen and way too long to wait.

Norma’s
Le Parker Meridien Hotel
119 West 56th Street  
New York, NY 10019

New York: Dinner at Café Gitane, the Jane

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Café Gitane has a café in Nolita that seem to have reached cult status; everyone talks about it. But they also have an outpost in the Meat Packing District, in the Jane, a hotel just by the waterfront.

We had supper her one evening an enjoyed the nice food, cosy ambiance and nice company. The food was good, but lacked some wow factor, although some dishes were really good. But we all felt the food felt more like what you have for lunch than dinner.

We started with some nibbles to share, and they went down really well. They were simple dishes, but really good! The aioli gratinated focaccia was amazing (must try this at home) and the baked feta with tomatoes, olives and capers was really nice too.

We also had a fresh and a little zingy carrot salad to counteract the heavy cheese and bread. We were really pleased with the nibbles, it was more the maincourses that we were not completely in love with.

Linus and I chose the haché which was like a cottage pie. Nice but not wow.

Claes had a pasta gratin with serrano which looked nice, but also lacked a little oomph.

Emma’s chicken salad actually looked really nice and fresh. Perhaps they’re better at nibbles and small bites than proper mains..?

Emma and Claes decided to share a pudding, and Linus had one as well. I opted for a glass of Bailey’s instead as I was full. And the pudding they all chose was a monster. A delicious monster. A huge helping of chocolate bread pudding with an equally large serving of whipped cream. It was nice, very rich and way too big.

After supper we found a lounge area in the restaurant were we continued with drinks before heading to the nightclub in the same building.

I wasn’t as bawled over by Café Gitane as I expected to be, but it was still a lovely evening. it is perfect to go here for nibbles before a night out, but I would like them to improve their maincourses. But please keep the aioli focaccia just as it is! Yum!

Café Gitane  (MPD branch)
The Jane
113 Jane Street
New York, NY

New York: Great burgers at Burger Joint

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Going to NYC without having a burger is just not an option, so I did some research and although I found quite a few good ones, we only had time for one this time. Will save the others for next trip (there will be a next trip!).

The place we did have time for is called Burger Joint, a small restaurant within a glamorous hotel. The restaurant (not the rest of the hotel) has writing on the walls and feels quite grunge, reminding me of London’s MeatLiquor and MeatMarket.

The menu is very short and not very elaborate. You can choose a burger, witho or with out cheese, decide how you want it cooked and what toppings you like. They also have fries and drinks but that’s all.

I had a rare burger with cheese and the works( mayo, mustard, pickles – really nice, lettuce, tomato, onions etc), a coke and some fries.

The burgers weren’t massive ones, instead they were a good size and really tasty! The patty was juicy and full of flavour, the brioche style bun soft and buttery and that’s all you need really, apart from the toppings. The pickles were homemade and really nice and fresh, also very thin slices which I prefer. Hands down it was the best burger I’ve had.

Burger Joint
Le Parker Meridien Hotel
119 West 56th Street  
New York, NY 10019