| February 8th,2012  Wild Mushroom and Truffle Risotto @Almeida Category: Brasserie (£££) Almeida,a French brasserie just opposite the outstanding Almeida Theater,does a very good value pre-theatre menu:2 courses for 16 and 3 courses for 19 pounds. We went to see The House of Bernarda Alba,a Llorca play with a pure female cast, transferred from catholic Spain to rural Iran. I liked it a lot,while my boyfriend found it depressing and hated it. I suggest you believe me and go see it,it’s on until 10th of March. November 27th,2011  St. Emilion St Emilion,located about half an hour outside of the city of Bordeaux,must be one of the prettiest and most enchanting little towns in France,if not Europe. If you manage to ignore the fact that it doesn’t feel ‘real’ but a bit like a Wine Disney World for national and international tourists,you will very likely have a highly enjoyable time there.  very dangerous in high heels!  Place du Marche in St. Emilion 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. July 10th,2011 Category: Brasserie (£££) After having read No Reservation‘s raving review on Medlar,I hurried straight away to make a booking. And I am glad I did,as I liked almost everything about this new restaurant serving contemporary European food with strong French influence. Medlar is located on the non-posh end of King’s Road,close to World’s End,Vivian Westwood’s first shop opened in 1971. The location is the only communality between these two places:in comparison to Vivian Westwood who has been pushing boundaries for the past 40 years,Medlar feels pleasantly classic and the food as well as the atmosphere is of understated elegance. Medlar which has opened only in April is a joint project of Joe Mercer Nairne,who cooked for gourmet temples such as The Savoy Grill and Chez Bruce and David O’Connor who managed front of the house at Chez Bruce,The Square and The Ledbury. You have to admit,this does sound promising!  Medlar I have to start by mentioning the immaculate and polished service. In fact it was so perfect that it was almost too much and felt a bit awkward at times. I second another review where the author felt that the waiters almost started crying and looked positively depressed when you didn’t finish the food. In the end this speaks for the restaurant,it is a good sign if the waiters believe in the quality of the restaurant they are working for. It wouldn’t hurt though if they relaxed a little bit,I think it would put the diner at easy… For dinner there is only the option of a three course menu compris for very good value 38 pounds. (I kind of like places that force me to eat dessert which I tend to skip far too often…) June 23rd,2011 Category: Cafe (but an expensive one £££) On a sunny and warm afternoon in the middle of Covent Garden it is usually very difficult to get a table somewhere. Surprisingly not at Laduree,which might have to do with their rather astronomical prices for cakes,ice cream and of course its famous macaroons. Laduree is a French luxury tea room chain which has two more subsidiaries in London,the most famous being at Harrods.
June 19th,2011 Category: Haute Cuisine (££££) I took someone close to my heart for a birthday dinner at Galvin at Windows. I wanted a very special evening with romantic atmosphere (which I got),impeccable service (which I got),stunning views over London (I got them too) and excellent food (which I didn’t get). Who gave this place a Michelin star I wonder? Either there were larger sums of bribery involved,or Galvin at Windows just stopped putting any effort into their food after they had achieved their first star in 2010. There is of course always the discussion to which extent Michelin stars reflect the quality of the food in a restaurant,but it still hardly ever happened to me that a Michelin starred place served food that was actually bordering on bad. But let’s start with the things that I liked (because I am a nice blog): The views: The restaurant is located in the 28 floor of the Hilton Hotel on Park Lane with spectacular views over London. At least they would have been stunning if it hadn’t been for the apocalyptic downpour,but this is something I can’t really blame the restaurant for,can I.
The Ambiance: Some people don’t like restaurants in hotels and think it affects the atmosphere. In my opinion this is true to some extent as hotel restaurants are usually generic and lack any edge. Even though this applied to Galvin as well,I still enjoyed the bright and spacious room and of course the view. June 12th,2011 Category: Bistro Every restaurant that serves you 3 excellent courses for 19 pounds (Sun-Thu before 19:30) deserves a very honorable mention. If you get some added entertainment for another 5 pounds –that’s even better! This is the package you get at Bistroteque in Bethnal Green,located in a little side street just off Cambridge Heath Road. You have to pay some attention not to walk past the inconspicuous entryway,but when you have finally found your destination you are rewarded with a modern,bright and spacious dining room with high ceilings. Since I have moved to London I am a sucker for big open spaces. Compared to Vienna where I used to live before everything in London is so crammed together and I really miss the feeling of vastness and space. Certainly no reason for claustrophobia at Bistroteque.
There were a range of really attractive sounding dishes on the Prix Fix Menu,so no reason to order from the a la carte.
The Stichelton,Pear,Pine Nut,Chicory,Spinach starter turned out to be delicious. May 25th,2011 Category: Brasserie (£££) After having read formidable reviews about Chabrot in the Metro and the blog Cheese &Biscuit this restaurant was top on my list to try,particularly as I am always a bit at loss on where to go in Knightsbridge. I don’t like to be ripped off,you see. In the end,I was not as taken with Chabrot Marina and Chris. The food was good,but it was by no means exceptional and it didn’t leave any lasting impression. The main criticism I have though,is that I found it rather overpriced. Ok,we are talking Knightsbridge here,but the only fish main on the menu £29? To be fair,there were cheaper dishes to choose from,but I really wanted fish. £29 I may pay at a Michelin star place with amazing atmosphere and great reputation,not at something that calls itself bistro…(that’s the cheapskate in me,sorry) The atmosphere was positively remarked on by most reviews I read about this place. I assume most of the reviewers must have sat downstairs which did look nice upon entering. We were however led upstairs to an empty,drafty room and apart from the checked tablecloth,I didn’t feel much of a pleasant French flair I have to say.
Now there is one thing worth mentioning about Chabrot Bistro D’Amis. They do a Plat du Jour,I think from 6-7 pm and also for lunch. We got there at 7:30 and sadly missed it as it is very good value for money. The dish of the day,one glass of wine and a coffee for 17.50,this is such a bargain for Knightsbridge! I do have to come back for this. Back to the A La Carte menu. May 21st,2011 Category: Bistro Located just off the posh Walton Street on the boarder of Chelsea and Knightsbridge,Tartine is a pleasantly non-pretentious place in the heart of South Kensington. It has been around for almost 10 years and it is understandable why.Tartine is stylish,not budget breaking and friendly and offers a much needed contrast to the stuffy and overpriced etablissements its vicinity. And the food is lovely,the perfect place actually for a quick lunch. A tartine is a French slice of bread. At Tartine,they use freshly baked French sourdough bread (Poilâne) and serve it with a variety of toppings,either warm or cold. As someone who could never really get used to the bland and soggy English sandwich,I am very taken with both,tartine and Tartine. Which tartine to go for is a hard choice to make. Morrocan lamb and harrisa maybe,or shredded duck with plum sauce? Or choose something more French like the Goat’s cheese and grilled vegetables? We settled for the Italian option,Buffalo mozzarella,roasted tomatoes and pesto (9.50) served hot. I really enjoyed the crispy and warm bread with the melting buffalo mozzarella and plenty of flavoursome pesto.
March 24th,2011 Category: Bistro (££) If I don’t have time to look at blogs for restaurant recommendations,I tend to use Time Out for restaurant references. Time Out is about right most of the time and it is rare that I completely disagree with their review,but one of this rare occasions happened last weekend at My Dining Room in Fulham. I went there on Time Out’s recommendation whose reviewer experienced this restaurant as ‘friendly service and halfway house between relaxed pub and fancy restaurant:think gastropub turned chichi.’and awarded 4 out of 5 stars. | 
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