City Lemon Featured Food Blogger | May 8th,2012
 Australian Tartine @ Poilane Category: Bistro (££) 
The decision to give a very positive review to the all day breakfast/ tartine/French boulangerie place Cuisine de Bar by Poilane just off busy King’s Road is largely based on the fact that I am absolutely in love with their Australian Tartine (?£8.5). Ripe mashed avocado is generously layered onto a slice of deliciously fresh crisp artisan brown bread which has before been spread thinly with vegemite,the Australian version o f marmite. Together with the chilli flakes sprinkled on top,the result is an enticing mixture of salty and hot and creamy and I just absolutely love it. I think it’s the best hangover food ever,as it gives you everything you need to recover from having had one glass too many. Read more... (435 words,6 images,estimated 1:44 mins reading time) April 25th,2012  Beetroot Ravioli @ Bistro Bruno Loubet Category: Brasserie (£££)
Bistro Bruno Loubet is a distinctly French restaurant located in stylish boutique hotel The Zetter in the middle of the Golden Restaurant Triangle that is Clerkenwell/Farringdon (within a short walking distance you also find the excellent restaurants The Modern Pantry,St. John’s Restaurant,Vinoteca, North Road,Fox and Anchor and St. Ali). The dining room is bright and generous,the waiters as Gaelic as can be (ours looked and talked like taken straight out of a French movie actually) and the food is delicious. Read more... (606 words,7 images,estimated 2:25 mins reading time) March 15th,2012  Sardines on Toast @Bistro du Vin Category: Brasserie (£££) 
My dinner at Bistro du Vin has been a largely unpleasant experience and the food could be summarised with the two words “Dry”and “Bland“. On top of this,the service personnel was truly annoying (such as 3 waiters asking the same question within the space of 2 minutes and fake friendliness that seemed very insincere) and a waiting time of 45 minutes for the starter of the pre-theatre menu. Read more... (612 words,9 images,estimated 2:27 mins reading time) 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. Read more... (502 words,8 images,estimated 2:00 mins reading time) 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 Read more... (901 words,12 images,estimated 3:36 mins reading time) 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. Read more... (927 words,15 images,estimated 3:42 mins reading time) 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…) Read more... (1111 words,11 images,estimated 4:27 mins reading time) 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.  Read more... (403 words,6 images,estimated 1:37 mins reading time)
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. Read more... (874 words,14 images,estimated 3:30 mins reading time) 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. Read more... (620 words,10 images,estimated 2:29 mins reading time) | Inspiring London Food BlogsFood Blogs around the WorldDesign,Fashion and Art Blogs |
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