RESTAURANT FILE – Page 2

Malmo: lunch at Kockeriet

Published on January 12, 2017January 12, 2017 by HannaLeave a comment

I’ve been wanting to try Tareq Taylor’s (a Swedish TV chef I adore) restaurant Kockeriet in Malmö and I finally did on the second day of the year. My London friends Nick and Janet were on a Scandinavian tour and when they stopped over in Malmö we met up here for lunch.

It was a really cold day so it was nice to step into the cosiness at the restaurant. The old exposed wooden beams and candles made it feel warm and welcoming. They had two lunch dishes to choose from (this is fairly common in Sweden, as the lunch menu changes daily); one meat and one vegetarian. Both seemed nice but all three of us decided on the meat option.

But first we got some lovely sourdough and whipped butter and water carafes that were refilled a few times. Good service!

The pork with soft celeriac, onions and a creamy sauce was both fresh and comforting and perfect on this cold January day. It was a lovely luncheon and I can’t wait to go back and try the evening menu (and great looking wine list!).

Kockeriet, Norra Vallgatan 28, 211 25 Malmö, Sweden

Malmo: Bibimbap at Namu

Published on January 10, 2017 by Hanna1 Comment

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There were plenty of lunches, fika and dinners with friends and family when I was back home in Sweden for Christmas and one day I got to try the fairly new Korean restaurant Namu for lunch with my friend Helena and her baby.

It was still pretty quiet in town this third day of the year but an early quiet lunch was perfect with a baby present.

The lunch menu at Namu was short but nice and consisted of three dishes; bibimbap with either beef bulgogi or tofu or a Korean wok. We both decided on the first option and very much enjoyed it!

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I had mine without kimchi and kale as my stomach can’t handle it, but it was still really nice. The creamy 63 degree egg made it feel rather luxurious for a weekday lunch and the flavour of the bulgogi was spot on. We also got a bowl of soup on arrival and coffee or tea is complementary for lunch. Can’t wait to try their dinner menu next time I’m in Malmö.

Namu, Landbygatan 5, 211 34 Malmö, Sweden

London: Restaurant Ours

Published on November 29, 2016November 29, 2016 by HannaLeave a comment

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One Friday night before it got cold out, I met up with Rowena after work for a drink at the bar at Restaurant Ours. We found some nice comfy bar chairs and just as we had ordered a glass of champagne each (to celebrate we survived the week!), the bartender asked if we wanted to eat and if so, he could find us a table. Sure, we thought, why not?!

We didn’t actually get a table, but the last two seats at the bar in the restaurant (not to be confused with the bar upstairs where we had drinks). We quickly decided we both wanted the lobster spaghetti (yum!) but to have starters as well.

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Ro had the excellent crab and apple starter, served IN an apple. It was a bit tricky to eat from but it’s a nice idea.

I had the steak tartare and enjoyed every single bite. It was almost as good as the one at Social Eating House, which is very high praise.

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After the starters we had a plate each of the creamy and delicious lobster spaghetti. Very enjoyable but I would have liked to see a bit more lobster meat.

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To finish off the meal we shared a bag of these light and fluffy salted caramel doughnuts. So good!

I really liked this place. The food is nice, the ambiance is great and so is the people watching. The service was good on the whole, although a little confused at times. Definitely a place to go on a buzzing Friday.

Restaurant Ours, 264 Brompton Rd, London SW3 2AS

London: Black Roe

Published on November 24, 2016 by HannaLeave a comment

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After the summer my friend Gaby gathered her closest friends to belatedly celebrate her 30th birthday with a dinner at Black Roe in Mayfair.

There were seven of us and as the food here is for sharing we divided ourselves into smaller groups, to make it easier to order.

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There were three of us in my group; Laura, Ro and me, and we shared all the dishes, except these oysters au gratin that only Laura and I had. If you like oysters, I highly recommend them – they were so nice we were scraping the sauce off the shell.

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Black Roe is mainly a poke restaurant (the trending Hawaiian fish dish) so we had their classic ahi poke (Hawaiian tuna with sesame soy marinade. So nice!

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Then we shared the sashimi salad which was also really nice but had a little too much dressing for my liking.

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Next up were the giant tempura prawns, served with coriander salsa and truffle aioli. I loved these!

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Then it was time for the pièce de résistance; whole lobster mac ‘n cheese and it was HEAVENLY. You have to have this if you go. Promise!

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Lastly we had the smoky lamb racks which were amazing as well!

I really enjoyed our dinner here and will definitely be back for more of that lobster mac ‘n cheese (and oysters, poke and lamb racks…). It’s not a cheap place but the portions are large so when you share it works out really reasonably. This amount of food was enough for three hungry girls, if that’s of any help.

Black Roe, 4 Mill St, Mayfair, London W1S 2AX

Eating NYC: brunch at Upland

Published on October 4, 2016 by HannaLeave a comment

New York is the brunch capital of the world (at least in my opinion, I have no facts to back this up), and so of course Sinead and I booked a brunch in a new great place while we were there. My friend Marie-Louise recommended Upland and we were very happy with the suggestion.

I liked the place straight away. The decor was relaxed yet classy and had a definite New York vibe I can’t really describe in words, but I think you know what I mean.

The food was lovely too. I had an amazing frittata topped with roasted garlic mayonnaise, espalette and chives.

Sinead had two eggs any style (in this case poached) with bacon, fried potatoes and sourdough. It was definitely enough to sustain us shopping for the rest of the afternoon.

Upland, 345 Park Ave S, New York, NY 10010

Eating NYC: Emilio’s Ballato

Published on September 26, 2016September 26, 2016 by HannaLeave a comment

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When my friend Sinead and I arrived in New York, all we had booked was the flights and the first hotel. It was easily the most unplanned trip I’ve ever been on, but it was fun to try to travel like this (it was so last minute and we were so busy we didn’t have time to plan beforehand) and also strangely liberating.

Our first night in the city we had dinner quite late, without booking and just tried our luck at Emilio’s Ballato, an Italian restaurant food writer Diana Henry recommended in her New York special in The Telegraph.

The interior was charmingly dishevelled in a New York sort of way and we could tell the guests were enjoying themselves; drinking wine, sharing both stories and food. We shared a bottle of wine and dove straight into the starters as they arrived just a few minutes after the waiter had taken our order. Sinead had this huge portion of crispy, warm calamari and was almost too full for the next course.

My starter, baked clams with breadcrumbs, parsley, butter and a little garlic, was a lot smaller but just as nice.

We both chose pasta for the main course; Sinead had the excellent Pnne all’Arrabbiata…

…while I enjoyed spaghetti with a summery ‘raw’ tomato sauce. It was all really nice and well-cooked but not outstanding. But despite this, I really liked the place. It all comes together as one really nice experience; the food, the ambiance, the interior, the staff.

Emilio’s Ballato, 55 E Houston St, New York, NY 10012

Pudding at Paté Paté, Copenhagen

Published on September 19, 2016September 27, 2016 by HannaLeave a comment

After our underwhelming dinner at Kødbyens Fiskebar, we wanted to have pudding elsewhere and decided on invitingly cosy Paté Paté that we walked past on our way to the other restaurant.

Even though we just wanted dessert and a drink the staff was really welcoming and took good care of us, so our moods immediately elevated and we had a nice evening.

Maria chose a Pavlovaesque dessert, which was really nice – just enormous! Daniel had the über-chocolately cake thoroughly recommended by our waiter and it was absolutely lovely. I decided to go for savoury instead and had the cheese plate which was also very satisfactory.

What a difference between these two restaurants! The first one with staff as cold as the interior and inferior cooking, the second warm and friendly and easy, but lovely, food. We obviously should have come to Paté Paté to begin with and can’t wait to come back for a whole meal.

Paté Paté, Slagterboderne 1, 1716 København, Denmark

Dinner in Copenhagen’s meatpacking district

Published on September 15, 2016September 15, 2016 by Hanna1 Comment

A standing tradition for when I go home to Sweden in the summer, is to spend a day in Copenhagen with my dear friends Maria and Daniel. We’ve done this countless time, and seem to be perfecting the ideal day. Nowadays we always have lunch at Torvehallerna (a wonderfully modern food market just 10 minutes away from the central pedestrian street), usually a few pinxtos at Tapa del Toro and Danish smørrebrød at Hallernes. After lunch we usually have coffee somewhere and decide what we want to do. This year we went shopping for a bit, had coffee and then decided to go for dinner in Kødbyen (Meatpacking district), a for us new area.

I had heard a lot of good things about a fish restaurant called Kødbyens Fiskebar so we decided to have dinner there.

It started well, with us getting seated straight away without having a reservation. And the oysters Daniel and I had to start were lovely as was the fried cod bites with carrot purée. The service was a bit so-so, but they were busy so we didn’t think more of it.

But as the dinner progressed it got worse and worse. Our main courses were not nice at all. The fish ‘n chips was mediocre and the remoulade it came with was pretty awful. My halibut with kohlrabi, cucumber and sheep’s yoghurt looked great but was incredibly bland. The service also got worse and in the end we just decided to have pudding somewhere else and try to salvage the evening that way.

I really don’t like to get disappointed when I eat out. Sure, everyone can have a bad day but this was something else. Maybe they were too busy? Maybe the chef was new? Whatever the reason I hope this was a blip because we were all was seriously underwhelmed.As much as I don’t like giving a negative review, this is our experience and if we’d known the food to be like this we would never had come here.

Kødbyens Fiskebar, Flæsketorvet 100, 1711 København V, Denmark

Great lunch at Hörte Brygga, Southern Sweden

Published on September 8, 2016September 8, 2016 by HannaLeave a comment

Living abroad, I sometimes find it hard to keep up with things both here in London and back home in Sweden. I miss out on parties, christenings and other gatherings. And restaurants, actually. It’s obviously just the food blogger in me who feels deprived of that, especially as I have all the great restaurants in London on my doorstep. But, when I left Malmö the area wasn’t this booming. So much has happened in the eight years I’ve lived abroad and it’s difficult trying to keep up with everything the few weeks I come home to visit.

That’s why it took me two whole years (yep, they opened already in 2014) to visit Hörte Brygga, by the little harbour in Hörte on road 9 between Trelleborg and Ystad. Basically everyone I know have been by now, including my parents’ friends. But that’s OK, this is definitely a place for everyone, not just foodies. The restaurant has a super relaxed and friendly atmosphere but at the same time the staff is thorough, efficient and keeps a high standard. (Yes, it ticks all the boxes).

I arrived here one windy day in August to have lunch with my parents. While we decided on what to have (the lunch option of smoked fish) and drink (wine for mummy and I, a soft drinks for daddy who was driving) and paid, the basket with the food was prepared and ready for us to take to the table straight away. Oh, how I love the Swedish efficiency!

Unpacking our basket at the table inside it felt like having a picnic and we could examine everything we were having; three types of sauces, three types of pickled, the smoked fish (both cod and mackerel), bread and butter.

Everything was very good and the food was smoked just right (i.e. not too much). We loved the sauces, and the pickled radish (?) cut through the fat and the smoked flavour of the fish perfectly.

We all really liked the place and can’t wait to go back. It’s a great concept and it’s executed very well. I can’t wait to come here for dinner one summer’s evening and sit outside watching the sea as I tuck into good food and wine with my friends.

Hörte Brygga, Hörte Hamn, Dybäck 465, 274 54 Skivarp, Sweden

Breakfast at The Wolseley

Published on June 21, 2016June 21, 2016 by Hanna2 Comments

Despite having lived in London for 8 years now (yep, time flies) I haven’t had the pleasure to eat breakfast at The Wolseley until this year. Bad planning on my part, obviously. But at least I’ve been there for several lunches, dinners and afternoon tea. But there is something special about breakfast in this fabulous art deco space with perfect eggs and perfect service. If you fancy reading up on the subject (and get the recipes), I highly recommend A.A. Gill’s book Breakfast at The Wolseley, it’s very good.

For me, this is the ultimate breakfast experience because it’s so different from having breakfast in your own kitchen. There are lots of waiters and they’re there to pour water, take your order, serve the food and fetch you whatever you want. Their attentive and efficient and together with the perfectly executed food it makes it such a special experience.

I had breakfast here with two of my best friends from Sweden when they were visiting. We needed some morning luxury and thoroughly enjoyed our breakfast here with Eggs Florentine (spinach, poached egg and hollandaise sauce on a toasted English muffin) and an excellent bagel with cream cheese and smoked salmon.

We also enjoyed cappuccinos and freshly squeezed orange juice, and to finish this lovely basket of pastries. My favourite was the plain croissant, wonderfully buttery and flaky. If you also need this breakfast experience in your live (you do), I urge you to book a table well in advance as it’s a very popular weekend treat.

The Wolseley, 160 Piccadilly, London W1J 9EB