Restaurant Review: Bistro Bruno Loubet at the Zetter in Farringdon

I thought I had better blog my breakfast/ brunch at Bruno Loubet's new bistro at the Zetter this morning as otherwise I wouldn't be able to remember it.   It's not that I didn't enjoy it but just that I am not driven to go back there for lunch or dinner as I thought I would be.  It was a bit of a nothing of an experience.  In fact, my overwhelming feeling was that it was a wasted possibility of a visit to The Modern Pantry or the J&A Cafe which are both within a glimpse's distance.

Restaurant Review: Boho Mexica

I was going to do a discursive review of my experience at Hart & Fuggle a couple of weeks ago but then my cat died and Jen took me to Boho Mexica last night to console. The food was a revelation, the death of my cat appalling.

Restaurant Review: Pizza Express and Francesco Mazzei's "collaboration" with them

Pizza Express. Hmmm. Now I have reviewed a lot of pizza places recently and have found them all somewhat lacking. From Franco Manca in Brixton (here) to Pizza East (here) and Storey Deli (here) over in Shoreditch they are all a bit... well... disappointing. London as yet doesn't seem to have a trace of the pizza greatness that resides in NY or Italy. Even Turkey's pizza equivalent - lahmacun - is better served in this country in Green Lanes.

Now I know that another blogger - Young and Foodish (blog here) - has started a laudable project to educate people about good pizza in London but I have a slight suspicion that any pizza in London can only offer attempt and edifice. That said I have to disclaim I haven't been to one of his #PizzaTuesday nights and am super keen to try his recommendation of Datte Foco (as it does look rather good) but I otherwise remain sceptical that London can offer anything substantive in the worldwide pizza stakes. It just doesn't have the heritage you can find in Italy or the artisan and competitive passion you can find in NY. 

Restaurant Review: Galvin La Chapelle in Spitalfields

The first time I went to Galvin in Spitalfields I went to their Cafe de Luxe and ordered a la carte which was in effect like picking the ugly but demanding sister in the family.  It wasn't exactly bad but it wasn't a patch on the Bistro in Baker Street (and a touch pricey).  Review here.

The second time I went to Galvin in Spitalfields I went to Galvin La Chapelle and had the set menu.  This was a bit like going out with a twin but shortly thereafter realising that her (a la carte) sister not only had the looks but also the conversation, the personality and the charm. 

Galvin La Chapelle's setting is magnificent. La Chapelle is embedded in a Victorian hall which was built in the 1980s to be used by the Central Foundation School for Girls.  It has 19th century magnificance pouring out of its walls, its shaped brickwork and rafters.  In particular, there is one table which juts out above the dining room and seats 9-12 people (the  picture below was taken from there).  I feel that eating there would be like having haute cuisine on the prow of a boat.  One day soon I will reserve it for a suitably debauched meal with a bunch of friends. 

Who would have thought cooking for friends meant tearing it up with meatballs and beetroot?

If tomorrow was my last day on earth, I would steal a couple G5's, pick up my friends scattered across the planet, and drop them in London for the last supper. I'd probably serve something slightly different than what Jesus had on the menu, but the idea would be the same -one giant smash up, right?

Since moving to London, supper with friends has taken on a whole meaning for me. When this city leaves you crying out for community, there is nothing better than sharing a table with friends. Whether it's the weeknight impromptu invitation for one or the Saturday, five course saga for twelve, it's a weekly ritual that I now see myself doing until I can no longer lift a spatula.

Last night, I had the pleasure of cooking for Uyen (one half of Fernandez and Leluu). A bit nervous, as you never know how things will go down with a fellow foodie. The good news is that even with a bit of experimentation, I didn't make a complete ass of myself. It's still early, though. I'll reconsider if she suddenly stops returning my phone calls.

Starter: Beetroot Salad with Turnips, Fresh Dill, and Orange Goat Cream

Restaurant Review: The Table Cafe in Southwark

Let me start off by saying that my visit to the Table Cafe was accompanied by the best service I have had for as long as I can remember.  Quite frankly they could have served turd fritters and I would have still enjoyed it. 

But they didn't.

We wandered in late, on a Sunday at 5:00pm (they shut at 6:00pm on weekends).  This is when any sensible staff would have their eye on the clock and be grasping for a swift exit.  However, they were the reverse and this is not a 3* Michelin joint or somewhere where you expect or have paid to receive such a reception.  The friendly laid back nature of the staff reminded me more Momofuku Ko but at about $480 less a head.

Burger Love

It's really tough to order a good burger. I have only had a few in my life that are really memorable. Zeitgeist in San Francisco is my favourite, but since that's not exactly an easy option, I have been trying to find a replacement. I will say, that after living in London, I really miss American burgers. Even the bad ones.

When I first moved here, I kept ordering burgers at pubs and kept being disappointed. After one bite, I would usually massacre the plate. At the end of my meal, a waiter would pick up a dissected, half eaten patty. A discarded bun that looked like a cat had gotten ahold of it. Random lettuce leaves tossed across the plate like an assortment of dirty socks and underpants. There was no evidence of respect. No commitment. I was never satisfied, and I wanted something more. I was a burger rapist.

Cafe Review: The Counter Cafe in Hackney Wick

I've mentioned The Counter Cafe before as it was one of my favourite places to go for brunch last summer. Until One Million Gold Stars blogged about her visit there on a cold winter's day (here) I had assumed it wouldn't be too welcoming in the depths of winter as it is located right on the edge of Hackney Wick in an exposed old industrial building that has as many holes as walls.

Day Whatever: Complete Fucking FAIL

While Tom has been a blogging fool, I have been in hiding. I retreated to a blogger's wasteland where there are no words to be found. The result of a failed challenge. Yes, folks you heard that right. A failed challenge. Basically I was doing so well. Sticking to my budget. Saving those pennies like a good girl. Well, I fell off the wagon. One hankering for nachos, and I was off to Waitrose faster than a crack whore can untie a baggie. I walked into the store that I had denied day after day and proudly put whatever I wanted into my basket. I knowingly committed gastro-financial suicide.

I blew my £10 budget for the final week in February by spending £21. 34 for one meal. One meal. Now for those of you who haven't had American nachos before, basically it's corn tortilla chips with a slop of melted cheese, ground beef, lettuce, tomatoes, a glob of sour cream, and if you are really lucky, those sliced black "olives" that come out of a can. Normally in a bar, this gut buster would probably cost you $7.00. I decided to make my own from scratch, but for $26.00 more than it should actually cost. Either these were going to be the best damn nachos of the century or perhaps I am an idiot.

Cafe Review: Taylor Street Baristas NEW branch on the corner of Old Broad Street and Threadneedle Street

After Time Out's revelation (here) in this week's issue that Gwilym Davies makes good coffee (who would have guessed that the World and UK Barista Champion 2009 does such a thing?) I thought it might be good to write something not completely obvious.*  Fortuitously Taylor Street Baristas complied.  Now despite working in walking distance of Nude Espresso, Pitch 42 on Whitecross Street, Dose Espresso and Prufrock Coffee at Present there is one place I go day in day out.**  Every week Taylor Street Baristas in New Street by Liverpool Street takes at least £22.00 off me.

Restaurant Review - Pizza East in Shoreditch

Pizza East has had its detractors, including me here, but yet I keep revisiting and I am trying to work out why.  

I went again last Friday for a quick work lunch and decided to concentrate and find out why I keep going back.

Restaurant Review - Bocca di Luppo in Soho

You know you are probably getting past it when one of your work colleagues proudly presents you with a set of brownies with "you r old" written in candles across them. Well I am and to ensure that the day after my 30th was suitably painful I put considerable effort in at Bistroteque getting drunk that night.  The relevance of this to my meal at Bocca di Lupo is that it rendered a meal I had been looking forward to into a dangerzone of nausea, depression, sweats and headaches. I am an idiot.

Every year my parents and I go out for a meal to celebrate my birthday.  I get to pick the venue.  This year I didn't even think twice and booked Bocca di Lupo.  Though I was only there for two courses it was a fantastic choice.  The venue is a slightly crowded Soho Italian which has that nice buzzy touch and was inevitably full of Italians lightly shouting and gesticulating.

Restaurant Review: Hackney Pearl in Hackney Wick

Jen and I have a peverse love of Hackney Wick. I think the reason is that it is the place that most reminds us of Brooklyn and the industrial emptiness of Greenpoint and Red Hook. Coupled with the fact that the Hackney Wick(ed) Art Festival is one of the best things to do in London we spent a lot of time there last summer wandering around visiting galleries and drifting around the canal.

That said, it is absolutely dead on the amenities front. There is the Wick Cafe and erm, The Counter Cafe, and a few pubs. You have to go all the way to Victoria Park Village again before you feel like you hit civilisation again. Still this is no bad thing as the desolation suits Hackney Wick well. Still it has always needed a nice urbanite destination for eating and drinking and on my last visit to Hackney Wick seems to have found it in the Hackney Pearl. My hairdresser, Mark at the excellent Whites on Whitecross Street, tipped me off on the Hackney Pearl and said it was a pretty cool new place to go up there. He was right.

Cafe Review: Pitch 42 at Whitecross Street

It is strange that despite having blogged about numerous flat whites I have had around London (Exchange Coffee, Fernandez & Wells, The Counter Cafe, The Espresso Room, Nude Espresso, Scooterworks, Taste of Bitter Love, Foxcroft & Ginger, Market Coffee House, Gwilym's Columbia Road coffee stall and Fleet Street River Bakery - PHEW) I have not actually blogged about the place that got me into flat whites.

About 3 years ago I moved in with a friend on Old Street and my walk to work took me straight down Whitecross Street.  It was already a world apart from my first visit to Whitecross Street 12 years ago on an early trip to the Barbican.  Back then it was a ghetto and very different from its gentrified street market ways today. However, even three years ago it was a bit more rough and tumble.  And then Gwilym Davies opened a coffee cart which I couldn't help but pass on my way to work.

Restaurant Review: J&A Cafe in Clerkenwell

J&A Cafe poses a large problem for me. When I wake up on a Saturday morning and turn left to walk off for brunch I used to uneringly aim for The Modern Pantry as it is refined fusion excellence (review here). However, J&A Cafe is 100m closer and great in a plainer way.

J&A is hidden just off Farringdon Road. It is everything I like about living in the City of London (emphasis on City). A small back alley which you can dink down and discover something unique and hidden. The place itself is the kind of space which makes you think "that would make a beautiful flat" and has great open industrial windows wrapped around the dinning room. It is also obviously independent which is especially nice in the franchise sodden world of central London eating.

Cafe Review: Exchange Coffee and the Sausage Man in Lewisham

I have unilaterally decided that there is no one else as dedicated as me in the search for something new in London.  Last weekend involved traipsing around the Docklands to go to The Counter Cafe and its new offshoot (here) and this weekend involved waking up at 9:00am to cycle with some diversions via Blackheath, Greenwich and Wapping 21 miles to Exchange Coffee in Lewisham.

I mean, when we met Neil and Lynsey (a bit about them on their blog here) and they asked where we had cycled from, we said The Barbican, even they said "why didn't you go to Dose Espresso".

Cafe Review: Fernandez & Wells Cafe on Beak Street in Soho

Fernandez & Wells is a Soho classic. This place used to be part of my perfect work day when I worked on that side of town. And I miss it: go to Triyoga Soho for a lunchtime class, then swing via here to get the perfect takeaway coffee and sandwich to munch in Golden Square with all of the medya types.

Despite the plethora of other coffee shops in Soho this remains one of my stalwarts. Whilst in winter I may favour the Nordic Bakery for their cinnamon buns when they are fresh out of the oven F&W lures you back with spot on coffee and snacks.

Cafe Review: Bea's of Bloomsbury in Holborn

Last time I went to Bea's I had a horrible experience. It just all went wrong, from the service to the cupcakes. That said Bea did exactly what she should do, she emailed me afterwards, apologised and offered me free cupcakes. That almost won me round but it was all still a little too fresh for me to try again.

However, it was always apparent that my experience was not the one people normally had. Every other review was gushing, every other cupcake devotee noted the moistness of the offerings.

Restaurant Review: New World in Chinatown

Every now and then you make a brutal food error. New World last weekend was that for me. Chinatown has always been a bit risky for dim sum and I would normally divert straight to Yauatcha and have a pitch perfect meal. However, this time we wanted something cheap and fast.

New World has been a Chinatown resident longer than I have been alive. It is a behemoth of a place and what is most disappointing it is that, well, the food is a let down.

Cafe Review: The Counter Cafe's offshoot Feijoa/ Container Cafe by the Olympic Park in the "View Tube"

Every now and then you discover something new. Last summer whilst bumping around Hackney Wick I saw a small handwritten sign feebly advertising a "cafe" over one of the bridges by the canal. Out of heat desperation we followed it and stumbled across The Counter Cafe (of which One Million Gold Stars has recently done a great post on here and I my review is here). The Counter was and is in the middle of nowhere. Nestled next to desolate strip of new builds off a canal in Hackney Wick. I rushed home and thought, "great I'll be the first to review this on Yelp". Then I noticed some dastardly people had already found it and it was over Qype and Tipped. Damn.