City Lemon Featured Food Blogger | 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?? Read more... (871 words,8 images,estimated 3:29 mins reading time) 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. Read more... (687 words,10 images,estimated 2:45 mins reading time) June 27th,2011 Category: Bistro (££-£££) I tremendously enjoyed some of the dishes I had at the Opera Tavern earlier this month and was therefore keen to try its two older siblings Salt Yard and Dehesa. All three restaurants serve a range of charcuterie and tapas-style dishes with strong Spanish and some Italian influence. While dishes like the pork and foie gras burger at the Opera Tavern were amongst the best things I have eaten in the past few months and showed signs of true genius,Salt Yard was a disappointment in comparison. All the non-cooked dishes such as Serano ham and cheese were highly enjoyable,but Salt Yard was let down by the dishes that required preparing.  Padron Pepper (4.25)
We nibbled some Padron Pepper (4.25) while choosing the wine and these were good and nicely seasoned,if a bit too oily for my liking. Read more... (622 words,8 images,estimated 2:29 mins reading time) June 25th,2011 Recently I really fancied ice cream. This must have had to do with the cold weather and the rain,as I am a very contrarian person. Whatever the reason was,I finally sampled 2 of the most talked about ice cream parlors in London which are Snog for the healthy option of frozen yogurt and Gelupo for Italian gelato. Read more... (666 words,9 images,estimated 2:40 mins reading time) SNOG (Chelsea,King’s Road)
- Category: Ice Cream
- Rating:6/10
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 11th,2011 Category: Bistro (££) I had a blind date meeting the lovely Skinny Bib for the first time at Tapas Brindisa. (Look at the Skinny Bib’s excellent write up here, I almost have nothing to add!) Unfortunately the food was not as pleasant as the company. Tapas Brindisa in Soho has just opened a couple of weeks ago (there was ‘Tierra Brindisa’before) and we went in the soft opening period with 20% off the food. Its older brother on the corner of Borough Market has been around what seems like forever and is always completely packed. I ate there once and was not as blown away by the food as many others. Mind you,Spanish is not my favourite cuisine and so I might need a little bit more then just ‘good’to convince me. Convinced I was not by new Tapas Brindisa. But let’s start with the some positive notes. I did love the space of the Soho joint which is bright with rustic wood furniture and direct view of the kitchen. We went on a sunny day and the room was bathed in beautiful light. 
But now the food. For me the highlight of the meal was the the Pan de Coca (3.50),basically pan con tomate which I couldn’t get enough of on my holiday in Catalonia. Toasted country bread is rubbed with garlic and ripe tomato and drizzled with olive oil. Yum! But in the end it’s just bread and doesn’t require a huge amount of cooking skill. I rather liked the Padron Peppers (3.50). Apart from the amazing colour,they were nicely seasoned and non-greasy. An excellent bar snack. I am glad my dinner companion insisted on the Iberico de Bellota Ham (22) which was lean and beautifully flavoured. Not cheap though! I am not a ham expert at all so I can’t judge if it REALLY was worth 22 pounds. I kind of doubt it though. Read more... (680 words,8 images,estimated 2:43 mins reading time) June 4th,2011 Category: Bistro Vietnamese Cuisine has a secure place in my top 5 cuisines in the world and I am a regular visitor of Little Vietnam in and around Kingsland Road. Cay Tre Soho is without doubt an interesting addition to the Soho dining scene,where Vietnamese restaurants are scarce. However,compared with my favourite Vietamese joints in the East End and also compared to the original Cay Tre in Old Street,I liked the food substantially less. Overall it didn’t deliver the fresh flavours and herb explosion that I find in my favourite Vietnamese eateries such as Song Que or Fernandez &Leluu Supperclub. We started with the Green Mango Salad (8.5) which came with dried shrimp and knotweed. I a sucker for Vietnamese salads but this one was rather mediocre. It didn’t taste as fresh,zingy and herby as better specimens of this kind. 
The Grilled Aubergine (6) however,despite being a particularly unattractive plate of food,was utterly delicious and for me the winner of the evening. The sweet taste of the aubergine together with the ground pork on the top worked so well with the flavour of the fish sauce. Very nice indeed and a must have if you like aubergine. Read more... (462 words,7 images,estimated 1:51 mins reading time) 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. Read more... (619 words,9 images,estimated 2:29 mins reading time) 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.  The certainly more exciting choice was the beautiful Wild mushrooms,endive,parmesan and balsamic tartine (9.95). (Beautiful in taste I mean,not so much in looks…). The mushrooms were very well prepared and wonderfully complemented by the coarse shavings of parmesan. Read more... (447 words,7 images,estimated 1:47 mins reading time)
April 28th,2011 Category: Bistro (££)  Sometimes it happens that,when you have finished writing a post,you press a wrong button and everything is lost. (why does the auto-save only work when you don’t need it I wonder…). This happened to me with my truly excellent Bocca Di Lupo post and I am writing it now again with significantly less enthusiasm I have to say. Despite my computer disability Bocca di Lupo deserves to be written up. I wanted to go there so many times already but never managed to get a table. This time however the queue in front of Spuntino was too long,so we moved on to Bocca Di Lupo located in a little Soho side street. After 20 odd minutes that we spent sipping prosecco and people watching we were finally seated at the bar. 
I like the atmosphere at Bocca Di Lupo very much. It is stylish and down to earth at the same time,the patrons being a good looking mixed crowd of post-theatre and pre-party diners. From the people at the reception to the waiting staff,everyone was very friendly,attentive and forthcoming.
As the name already promises,Bocca di Lupo serves Italian food. I thought I would know or at least be able to translate most Italian dishes but when looking at the menu I realised that I had still a lot to learn. There were quite a few dishes I had never heard of and had not the faintest idea what they could possibly consist of. Provenance is a big issue as it is also stated in the menu from which Italian region the respective dish originates from, I do really like the fact that you can order small and large portions of most dishes which makes the food at Bocca di Lupo ideal for sharing (or not sharing for that matter). It is not exactly cheap and some of the dishes (see below) are bordering on seriously overpriced,but there are enough dishes under 10 pounds to choose from that you can get away with a non-bank breaking bill when ordering carefully. Read more... (742 words,8 images,estimated 2:58 mins reading time) | Inspiring London Food BlogsFood Blogs around the WorldDesign,Fashion and Art Blogs |
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