London – Page 14 – Scandelights

Brunch at Avenue, St James’s

Published on May 8, 2015 by HannaLeave a comment

Several Saturdays ago I met up with Sinead for a very lazy (and late) brunch at 2.30pm in the afternoon, a time that suits me perfectly when there’s unlimited prosecco.

Although brunch is almost a religion in the US and even more popular in my native Sweden than in the UK, London brunches are becoming increasingly popular. We went back to Avenue, where we had dinner a few weeks previously as we thought it would be a fun place for brunch, and it definitely was.

The other guests were in high spirits (maybe even literally due to that free-flowing prosecco) when we arrived and it was a mixture of smaller parties, hen dos and larger gatherings. It’s table service here (no buffets) and you can choose from the menu and then pay a set price for two or three dishes. We both started off with eggs (as it was at least my first meal of the day), I had eggs benedict and Sinead eggs florentine. Both really nice, although my slice, I mean slab, of ham was the biggest I’ve ever seen. After the savoury start we continued with amazing waffles with berries and yoghurt.

And then finishes off our brunch with something very sweet; an chocolate and vanilla icecream sundae. Really nice as well!

We really enjoyed our brunch here and the restaurant is perfect for that type of meal. But if I’m going to be picky (and I usually am) I would have liked some more fruit with the waffle and I still think they need to change the lights (or completely do up) the ladies room!

Avenue, 7-9 St James’s Street, London SW1A 1EE

Dinner at Avenue, St James’s

Published on March 31, 2015 by Hanna1 Comment

In my company we don’t have the tradition to go to the pub every Friday, so I tend to grab my after work drinks with friends rather than colleagues. A few weeks ago Sinead and I met up for a glass of vino at one of the pubs near her job. Although lots of the popular pubs are far from cosy it’s still really nice to grab a drink there with lots of other people celebrating the weekend. I love that atmosphere. But we soon left to have dinner at a restaurant nearby, Avenue in St James’s.

This place has been around for a while but for some reason we hadn’t been until now and we liked what we saw. The interior was very swanky and actually nicer than we had imagined. We were seated straight away and after having ordered a glass of bubbly we had a look at the menu. We ended up with the a’la carte put the very reasonably prised prix fixe menu looked good too.

I had a warming clam chowder to start. It was very thick and smooth with bits of potato and whole clams. Very satisfying!

Sinead had the crispy chicken tacos that were delicious too!

Our maincourses arrived the second our starter plates were cleared away. A bit too soon if you ask me; we were really struggling with our main courses because we didn’t get a breather. Sinead’s cod with chorizo crumbs and cannellini beans was delicious and a substantial portion.

As were my barbecued lamb racks with cucumber and herb yoghurt. Delicious though, great charred flavour and cooked perfectly as I wanted them (rare).

Avenue is part of D&D London, Sir Terence Conran’s restaurant empire, and although we were two very satisfied customers, there was room for improvement on some areas. The service was friendly and nice, but the fact that we didn’t even get five minutes to digest our first course means bad communication between the kitchen and service. And when we were served our main courses we thought they had forgotten one of our sides and were not told it was delayed until we waved down a waiter and asked. It may sound petty but I worked as a waitress when I was at university and it is not that difficult to get it right!

And then the loos. With such a nice and fancy interior in the restaurant you expect the same vibe in the ladies room. But no. It was just a corridor with white walls, cubicles on one side and basins on the other. With bad lighting and no hand cream. Even a regular pub has hand creams nowadays.

Avenue, 7-9 St James’s Street, London SW1A 1EE

Dinner at Rex & Mariano, Soho

Published on March 20, 2015 by HannaLeave a comment

It’s a few weeks ago now, that Daisy, Rowena and I had a lovely dinner at the fairly new addition to the Soho restaurant scene; Rex and Mariano.

This is a seafood restaurant with great produce but very reasonable prices. And they still have oysters, tartares, ceviche, prawns, mussels and plenty of fish.

The interior goes with the less is more price-setting. It’s simple and scaled back but still nice.

After being seated at our table, we’re told we order everything on the table’s iPad. The software is very easy to use and you can order one or a few things at the time. The waiters’ job is from here on in just to bring the food to the table and answer any questions from the diners. Very efficient!

Just like in many other restaurants, Rex & Mariano encourages sharing the dishes, which I also enjoy as it’s the best way to avoid food envy. Our first dish was burrata with tomatoes and balsamic vinegar. It was nice but not the creamiest burrata I’ve ever had.

We then had an oyster each, and they were really big and juicy. And delicious!

After that we shared this seabass ceviche with coriander, yuzu and red onions.

The grilled red prawns with lemon, olive oil and sea salt were amazing! So simple but great produce.

Also the tuna tartare with avocado, chilli and lime was very nice.

But my favourite that evening was the mussles. We had them as a main with fries and tenderstem broccoli, and what I liked about this dish apart from the mussels being top quality (they were big, sweet and juicy), I loved the sauce. It wasn’t the usually creamy Mariniere type sauce, instead it was a light buttery emulsion.

After all of this I was quite happily full, but the girls fancied a pudding and enjoyed a lovely chocolate mousse with pistachios. The pudding menu wasn’t large and they all seemed to be prepared ahead of time, but they were still very nice. But you can tell the focus here is on the fish and seafood.

Because of the efficient ordering process on the iPad the service charge is as little as five or six percent, which also contributes to the value for money track this restaurant is already on.

Rex & Mariano, 2 St Anne’s Court, London W1F 0AZ

Barrafina Adeleide Street – revisited

Published on March 5, 2015 by HannaLeave a comment

Since Barrafina opened its second restaurant a two minute walk from where I work I’ve been there for lunch a few times. Last time I went with two colleagues and we had a lot of lovely food. So much that it was rather laborious to walk back to the office after lunch.

We started off with Jamon bellota and pan con tomato; actually one of the best pan con tomato I’ve had both in and outside of Spain. Perfect amount of garlic and the bread resists the wetness just enough.

Then we had these lovely crab croquetas.

And the tortilla with caramelized onions. So yum!

And extremely crispy smoked cod fritters with tartar sauce.

The fried artichokes was another favourite; so crispy and served with a lovely mayonnaise.

I can never resist the goat’s cheese stuffed courgette flowers with honey. Mmm…

And these ribs were delicious!! Good combination of salty and sweet in the sauce and the meat just fell off the bones. We also shared a pork belly with crackling and white beans with morcilla that I forgot to photograph, it was nice but the ribs were just amazing!

Although we were extremely full we couldn’t resist to share a plate of churros with cinnamon sugar and chocolate sauce. The perfect ending to a fabulous lunch!

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

London’s best burgers – a selection

Published on February 14, 2015February 12, 2015 by Hanna2 Comments

The fast food trend is here to stay it seems as more and more burger joints and restaurants offering American food establish themselves in London. I love a good burger and having sampled a few I thought I’d share with you my favourites.

There seems to be two types of burgers, one with a coarser ground beef that I like to call British or chunky, and one with thinner more finely ground patties that for me feels more American. I like both types but if I have to choose I prefer the thinner ones that usually comes two in a bun. They hold together better in my opinion and feels juicier (as long as they’re cooked right).

You find my favourites in each category below:

Thin patties;

Soho Diner – My absolute favourite. Nice bread, fresh condiments, perfect patties and perfectly melted cheese.
Sophie’s Steakhouse – Almost as nice as the ones at Soho Diner.The fries aren’t great but the burger is very good!
Meat Liquor – This used to be favourite before I discovered Soho Diner. They’re still a good contestant.
Honest Burger – Good beef and buns and wonderful rosemary fries.
Five Guys – Really good for being a chain. A bit messy though.

Coarser patties:

Tom’s Kitchen – Without a doubt the best coarser burger. Great seasoning, perfecty cooked. Nice chunky chips and plus points for making their own ketchup!
Bar Boulud – Also very good, but a bit crumbly.
Opera Tavern – The mini burgers with pork and foie gras are phenomenal!
Joe Allen – They only serve burgers for lunch, but they’re good. Just like their skin-on chips.
Byron – Another chain, with fresh burgers. I also recommend the courgette frites.

London weekend

Published on February 13, 2015 by HannaLeave a comment

The trip to Stockholm last weekend was so much fun. Emma and I stayed with Carina in her lovely flat and we got up to lots of fun things. Bubbly and pinxtos in the middle of the day, amazing dinner at Matbaren, a few drinks at Riche and on the Sunday we had the best brunch at Berns (reviews to come). We also talked a lot and danced to 80s tunes in Carina’s flat. Good times!

This weekend I’m staying in London. Tonight will be a chilled out affair and I can’t wait for a lie-in. I won’t celebrate Valentine’s day but going to party and then for a nice dinner with my friend Caroline. It will probably be us and lots of couples but that’s fine.

Happy weekend!

Dinner at Social Eating House, Soho

Published on February 11, 2015 by HannaLeave a comment

Jason Atherton has been busy opening restaurants the last few years with the additions of City Social, Little Social and Social Eating House to his earlier established Pollen Street Social.

Out of the new editions I have only been to Little Social, but a few weeks ago I went to Social Eating House in Soho for dinner with a friend from home I haven’t seen in ages. It was so much fun and since we’re both foodies we thoroughly enjoyed the food as well!

Both starters were amazing! My smoked Angus steak tartare (above) was to die for. Lovely flavours, amazing meat and loved the toppings that added different textures. Oh and the egg cream was delicious too!

Mattias basically had a cheese fondue on a plate with warm Vacherin Mont d’Or, croutons, ham, chicory and boiled new potatoes. Utterly delicious!

The main courses were also really nice. This slowcooked venison with date jam, kale, brazil nuts and goat’s cheese was delicious but the lamb was even better. V

The lamb loin from Kent with neck confit, miso caramel, aubergine and mint yoghurt was pure perfection! Especially the confit was to die for and the whole combination of flavours was spot on!

We were too full for a proper pudding (the portions here were certainly substantial) but we couldn’t resist some sorbets and icecreams. Mattias had the coconut (which tasted a bit like Malibu) and mixed berry, which was really nice. The mango sorbet I had was really good and the yoghurt icecream was nice too.

I’m a big fan of chef Atherton and his restaurants. Both I’ve been too have a very high standard of both food, wine and service. The ambiance is nice and relaxed too which is a plus. It’s just very well done. All of it.

Social Eating House, 58 Poland Street, Soho, London W1F 7NR

Dinner at Magdalen, London Bridge

Published on January 31, 2015January 29, 2015 by HannaLeave a comment

There are definitely holes in my London knowledge of restaurants and I really appreciate when friends introduce me to new places. I had never heard of Magdalen near London before a friend took me there, as it’s not an area I usually frequent but Magdalen was a good find; a really cosy neighbourhood bistro.

We started with potted crab with toasted sourdough. Simple and very nice!

For my mains I chose the pan-fried cod with leek, little beans and clams in a creamy delicious sauce. Very satisfying with subtle flavours.

The pork belly with seriously crispy crackling, lentils and green beans was equally nice. I can honestly say that London Bridge is not one of my favourite areas in London, but having this restaurant in your neighbourhood is a little bit tempting.

Magdalen, 152 Tooley Street, London SE1 2TU

Dinner at Honest Burger, Camden

Published on January 28, 2015 by HannaLeave a comment

After a night in a Camden pub celebrating my friend Amy’s birthday the birthday girl craved a good burger and a few of us were quick to join her at Honest Burger. In my quest to find London’s best burger I’ve heard great things about Honest Burger and was very excited to try it!

The Camden branch was almost empty when we got there, as it was late and they were about to close, but we were greeted and served immediately. I chose the cheeseburger with cheddar which – like all their burgers – came with delicious rosemary salted fries. The burger was really nice with a great relish, wonderful brioche bun and a really good patty! It gets a high score but in my very subjective competition, Soho Diner is still number one.

Honest Burger, Unit 34a, Camden Lock Place London NW1 8AF

Dinner at Asia de Cuba, Covent Garden

Published on December 10, 2014 by HannaLeave a comment

A few weeks ago Karin, Niklas and their friend Ania and I had dinner at Asia de Cuba, a fusion restaurant serving Asian Cuban food served on plates to share.

The starters appealed to us more than the main courses so we shared a bunch of those, starting with some ceviche. The one with kingfish, curry and passion fruit (above) was nice but my favourite was the prawn, snapper and confit watermelon ceviche. Both were served with enormous prawn crackers and plantain crisps.

We also shared a crispy spring onion pancake topped with smoked salmon which was delicious! One of my favourite dishes that evening.

The Asian noodle box with Cuban vegetables and mushrooms was alright, but nothing special. A dish I actually could have done without.

The tuna tartar on crispy wontons was, on the contrary, another favourite!

Spiny lobster served with palm cajou hearts (whatever that is, Google couldn’t help me) and a spicy sauce. It was nice but not wow.

Confit duck leg on lettuce with hoisin sauce was a take on crispy aromatic duck that was really nice.

So far, we were happy guests (despite the draft from the air con) and we were looking forward to the desserts that were carried in on large platters to share but we were utterly disappointed. Our giant banana split looked quite impressive, but the brownie was really floury, the vanilla ice cream all icy and the biscuits not very nice. The bananas, chocolate ice cream and store-bought mini marshmallows were all fine, but I expect more from a restaurant cooking savoury food this well – like them having a decent pastry chef.

Oh, and I forgot to mention the cream. It was really sweet and probably from a can. Poor.

Asia de Cuba, 45 St. Martin’s Lane, London, WC2N 4HX