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September 28th, 2011 Category: Bistro (£ I think I was one of the first blogger (or even the very first?) to write about Zucca just a couple of weeks after it had opened and it was at the same time one of my first posts. I have to admit that this was by chance rather than culinary instinct. I used to live just around the corner and walked past this new Italian restaurant every day on my way to work and thought it looked nice. There we go. September 25th, 2011 Category: Bistro The Riding House Cafe, North of Oxford Circus, is one of the most enchanting places I have been to in a long time. As an all day restaurant it comprises of a more formal restaurant corner, large shared tables perfect for brunch and comfy sofas for the afternoon coffee or pre-dinner cocktail. The overall decor and the attention to detail is remarkable. The generous room shows a number of different textures such as stone, steel, wood and tiles and is filled with antique mismatched furniture interspersed with modern pieces. Wherever you look you can find charming accessories – a grandmother lamp, a weird statue or some other knickknack. Particularly thoughtful I found that they disguised the Dixon hand-dryer at the Ladies’ with a fake-antique metal cover.  Riding House Cafe So nothing but praise for the interior of The Riding House Cafe. I just wish they had put as much emphasis on the food as they had on their design. This seems to be a common problem also of the other 2 places by the same owner, namely The Garrison and Village East (both at Bermondsey Street). All three restaurants are pushing the boundaries regarding their design and concept, while staying on the too safe side with their food. The Riding House Cafe has just like everybody else at the moment embraced the small plate concept, serving 5 or 6 dishes each for 3, 4 or 5 pounds. Instead of entirely focusing on perfecting its ‘tapas’, it also offers a conventional menu with burgers, steak and fish and chips. We decided to stick with the small plates. The quality of the bread served is very often an omen for things to come and this proved true also for this occasion. Competitively priced for £1.5, the bread was unfortunately bland and starchy. The artichoke puree it came with was ok, but I have no urge to ever eat it again.  Bread selection, artichoke purée £1.5 @Riding House Cafe Our clear favourite was the most low-profile dish we had ordered, namely the roasted butternut squash with sage and chili (3.5). September 22nd, 2011 Category: Bistro+ (££-£££) I cannot believe that it took me so long to finally eat at Sushi of Shiori! This Japanese eatery has been on my to do list for the better part of 2 years and when I think of all the amazing sushi that I have missed by not trying it earlier… Sushi of Shiori serves among the best, if not the best, sushi I have ever had in London, particularly considering the value for money equation. Here everything is about quality of the food without the fuss: nothing of the sedate indulgence of Umu, Zuma‘s upscale party atmosphere or Nobu‘s elitism and patronizing staff. The place really doesn’t look like much from the outside and no one would expect a sophisticated sushi bar behind this facade in a little side street somewhere around Euston Station. Stepping through the door, you enter a tiny room with 2 tables, each with 2 seats (you might be able to fit another chair if you are slim) and 3 more seat at the sushi counter where you can watch the master in action. The head chef and owner has worked for the Michelin starred Umu before setting up his own little family venture with his lovely wife taking good care of the patrons.  The Master at Work @Sushi of Shiori I will not go too much into detail about each of the single nigiri that I have tried, most of which were of extraordinary quality. A very good option for Sushi of Shiori newbies is the Shiori Platter which for £19.50 for 8 pieces of nigiri and 3 hosomaki is incredible value for money. The sushi master probably got sick of observing people drowning his little works of art with the rice side in salty soy sauce thereby masking the subtle taste of the different toppings. So we are explained to use the little brush to brush only little soy sauce on the fish side of the nigiri.  Sushi Platter @Sushi of Shiori September 17th, 2011 Category: Bistro I will try to hold back and not spend 500 words telling you HOW bad the service was at the new Covent Garden Thai restaurants Suda Rice Bar (I went there in the soft opening period about a month ago after I had read the Skinny Bib’s review). I am terribly delayed with my restaurant posts, so the HORRIBLE service I experienced might have improved by now. I hope it has really, otherwise Suda Rice Bar won’t be around for much longer, let me tell you that much. Suda Rice Bar is one of these mixed restaurant/bar places which sometimes work but very often don’t…The interior is all about dark wood and little wood donkeys on the tables grazing on grass (see below). I spent the whole evening staring at them and wondering what the interior designer wanted to express. I still don’t know if I like them or not. They are certainly… ahmmm different?  grazing donkeys @Suda From the name I expected the menu to be very rice oriented , but in the end there were only 6 rice dishes on the menu, comparable to any other Thai restaurants. The menu does sound very interestingly though and there is certainly some divergence from the standard Thai fare on offer. This is hardly surprising considering that the masterminds behind Suda are the same people that are also involved with the high-end Thai restaurant chain Patara. Jumping on the small plate bandwagon, Suda Rice Bar also has a “small plate” section on the menu (they used to be called starters, right?). You will search in vain for greasy prawn toast or other fried monstrosities, but find light and creative fusion style dishes. The Crabmeat rolls (5.95) which were served drizzled with a sweet and tangy tamarind sauce were rather lovely. Less convincing was the pomelo salad (5.50). While the kaffir lime based sauce was gorgeous, I found it rather lazy to just dump some pieces of pomelo and some prawns on a plate without any additional ingredients. What about herbs? Chilli? Peanuts? Anything?? September 13th, 2011 Category: Budget (and there is a bar too which gets a very green light) I went to The Breakfast Club following a Twitter recommendation when I was looking for a decent restaurant/cafe/pub to eat, drink and gossip around Liverpool Street Station. It is surprisingly difficult to find a place in close proximity to the station that is not infested by investment bankers and alike, basically people wearing stilettos and suits. They make me feel intimidated as I can’t walk in stilettos and my only suit is gathering dust in my wardrobe. September 9th, 2011 Category: Haute Cuisine What better to do in the glamorous seaside town Saint Tropez than to visit a 2 Michelin starred restaurant beautifully set on the posh shores of the Cote D’Azur?  Residence de la Pinede The restaurant Vague Do’Or attached to the small hotel Residence de la Pinede is one of the 76 restaurants of France with 2 stars (25 have 3). I have been disappointed on several previous occasions by Michelin star restaurants in the UK, but was absolutely willing to give the recommendation by this very French restaurant rating system another try, this time in the land of its origin. September 6th, 2011 The Big Chill House is, as the name suggests, a chilled hang-out very close to King’s Cross/St. Pancras and just around the corner from the music and party venue The Scala. I have spend some relaxed afternoon there in the past, sipping cider on the roof terrace and enjoying the rare rays of English sun light but I have up until now never considered it as a breakfast venue. September 5th, 2011 Category: Le Budget I have been rather unlucky with Vietnamese restaurants in Soho:  I was not very convinced by the West End subsidiary of the the popular Hoxton Vietnamese Cay Tre and I was more than disappointed by the lack of authenticity at Pho in Soho. I was told Viet was the place to go when craving cheap and authentic Vietnamese in Soho, and, even though I liked Viet better than both Cay Tre and Pho (and it is without doubt the cheapest and most authentic of them three), I would not exactly rush back. |
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