The Bee Menu
| 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. July 5th,2011 Category:Bar (££) I rarely do drinks/bar posts,this is not because I don’t drink (quite the opposite unfortunately) but because I know much less about mixology and wine than I know about food. In addition I tend to spend my limited funds on food rather than expensive drinks. The Hide Bar deserves to be mentioned here however. Not only because it is located in the new gourmet destination Bermondsey Street but also because I have had some of the best (and most reasonably priced) cocktails in London here and they do a mean Chili and Raspberry Martini! I recommend you pop by after you had some exceptional Italian food at Zucca,sampled the Tapas at Jose,enjoyed the seasonal British food at Magdalen or went for some cheap Thai at Suchard. I used to live just around the corner and this was the destination I would go for honest,inventive and high quality cocktails. While Village East on the South End of Bermondsey Street might be the more atmospheric bar in the area, The Hide Bar without doubt does the better cocktails.
The mixologists at The Hide Bar are taking their job extremely seriously. There is no messing about or cutting corners which might be at least part due to the fact that The Hide Bar is located just next to the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET),where most (all?) of the bar keepers are trained. June 6th,2011 Category: Brasserie (£££) (I was invited to Magdalen and my visit was therefore not anonymous but hopefully still unbiased!) When I read the email inviting me to sample the food at Magdalen on Tooley Street,SE1,my heart skipped a beat. I used to live just down the road of this restaurant when I was a student and on my way to work I would always read the menu and on my way back in the evening I would glance jealously at the diners. I was desperate to try it,I thought it looked great,but never had enough money at this stage of my life. Then I moved away and didn’t think about it anymore. Now,the invite.’Yes,I want to try it,thank you very much’. I prayed my expectations,which were rather high I have to say,would be met,and in fact they were even exceeded. Magdalen is a rare find in London. If Magdalen(a) was a woman,she would be a classy,sophisticated and modest lady. In restaurant terms this means high quality,extremely civilized and utterly unpretentious.
I really loved the simple but sophisticated food,the elegant atmosphere,the charming service and last but not least the nice selection of inexpensive wines. The only reason why I think Magdalen is not filled with people (it was half empty on a Saturday evening) is the fact that it is in the no man’s land between the posh Shad Thames,buzzing Bermondsey Street and London Bridge with its Borough Market. If you don’t happen to walk to work along Tooley Street,there is absolutely no reason for you to be there. So I assume,even though it’s only about 7 minutes walk from London Bridge,random customers are rare. But let me assure you,I have lived in this area for almost 5 years and have probably tried most restaurants and next to Zucca in Bermondsey Street,Magdalen is certainly your best choice here. The cooking here has a distinctly British influence. One of the specials was brawn and there were several other offal based dishes on the menu. I am not big on offal apart from everything that has to do with liver pate or terrine. That’s why I had to try one of the pre-starters,Chicken liver toast (1.50). Creamy,smooth and luscious chicken liver came on a crispy ciabatta,very delicious indeed. February 4th,2011 Category: Bistro (££) I would have never gone to Cafe Amisha if it wasn’t for my Italian friend at work. She is a very good cook herself and very critical about Italian restaurants,but this one,she said,served very decent food. Who would have thought this about a place called Cafe Amisha? You expect a grotty Indian take away,so I was still not convinced. But considering that it is 10 minutes by foot from where I live/ about 10 minutes also from Bermondsey Street and that it is 50% off on Taste London,I was willing to take a risk. December 29th,2010 Category: Bistro I am not going to give a good review to any Italian restaurant that serves me overcooked pasta,particularly when I request my pasta to be al dente. So if you don’t mind the state of your pasta you might enjoy Pizzeria La Lanterna. If you are,like me,a pasta snob,stay away. November 16th,2010 Category: Bistro I was so excited to learn that a new,decently priced gastro pub had opened South of Tower Bridge,about 10 min from where I live. And I was even more pleased when I read the review by Jay Rayner who really liked the food there. Now I finally made it to The Draft House and I have to disagree with good old Jay as I found the whole experience rather disappointing. August 19th,2010 Category:Brasserie We were actually trying to go to Zucca but they could not fit us in,so we ended up eating at Village East, a trendy cocktail bar/restaurant roughly opposite Zucca on Bermondsey Street. I like going there for cocktails actually,they do unusual combination with herbs (e.g. thyme,sage) and I love their gingerbread old fashioned. I had never eaten there before so it seemed a good idea to give it a try.
May 28th,2010 Category: Le Budget I really like SoBo. It is a pleasant little neighborhood cafe which has ever-changing art installations (at the moment they have colourful bikes on the wall,not quite my cup of tea but nevertheless kind of cool) and which is frequented by an interesting crowd –I am always surprised to see that people like this do actually live in my area… May 22nd,2010 Category: Bistro Bad bad experience,I am still annoyed thinking about my breakfast at Delfina which felt like being on a hidden camera TV show. Let me set the scene: It was Monday morning,around 8:30 ,not an unusual time to have breakfast. The restaurant was basically empty and remained empty (which in hindsight doesn’t surprise). Only a couple of people stopped for a take away coffee. The waitress:chatty,friendly,American,completely useless. | 
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