| March 13th,2012  Beef Bulgogi @BiBimBap (6.95)
Category: Budget (£) Bibimbap is not only the famous Korean national dish,but also the name of a small Korean eatery in the midst of Soho. It is one of the places that,once discovered,you will keep coming back to for your quick,cheap,tasty and filling Korean fix. February 28th,2012  Borsh (5.50) Category: Bistro (££)
The visit to the small restaurant Tamada in St. John’s Wood was my first encounter with Georgian cuisine. Georgian,my lunch companion who has visited Georgia on many occasions told me,is one of the most interesting cuisines of all the states formerly comprising the USSR. It is rich in vegetables and influenced by Mediterranean,Europe and The Middle East. 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 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. August 24th,2011 Category: Le Budget I love Thai food:the chillies,the freshness,the wonderful herbs and spices amalgamating in simple but at the same time exceptionally flavoursome dishes. I have been to Thailand on three occasions and have eaten my way back and forth through the Thai menu,in fact I decided then that I could easily live on nothing but Thai food for the rest of my life. July 8th,2011 Category: Le Budget When we are talking very decent and cheap food options in Soho,Taro is very high up on my list. I have been going there for years when fancying some quick Japanese fix. Not exactly the place you would go for a romantic dinner,but great for shopping break or pre-theatre food. If I would work somewhere close to Taro,you would find me there all the time in my lunch breaks. Taro is not an expensive place to start with but incredible value for money are the lunch deals. One wouldn’t think that you can get a drink,a miso soup AND a bento box for below 7 pounds anywhere in London,let alone in the middle of tourist-ridden Soho. On my last visit I tried the chicken teryaki box (6.90) and I thoroughly enjoyed both the miso soup and the chicken.
June 14th,2011 Category:Le Budget (£) Tayyabs is a real London institution as it is the case for few other cheap ethnic haunts. Not far from Whitechapel Tube Station,this inconspicouus restaurant is tucked away in a little backstreet. That said,Tayyabs would be inconspicuous,if it wasn’t for the hordes of people patiently waiting in front for their share of Punjabi Pakistani food. Tayyabs was founded more than 30 years ago and has been growing from a local cafe to one of the places you have to visit in London before you die (or before you leave,which some people might argue is the same). It does not have an alcohol license and what adds to its incredible value is there is no corkage charge for bringing a bottle or two.
Finally it was my time to pay Tayyabs a visit. When you are disorganised enough to go on a Saturday evening like yours truly,be prepared to queue at least 30 minutes. Even though the turnover is high,there are a lot of people queuing too… As soon as we were seated we got served poppadoms with raw cucumber,onion and tomato and a selection of very tasty chutneys (mango,rajita and a tomato chili one),and this for free! I The menu is small and easily fits on one double-page –there is selection of tandoori dishes,some meat and fish curries and some vegetable dishes. Apparently the lamb chops (6) are a must at Tayyabs. They came sizzling hot (a portion consists of 4 chops) and full of wonderful flavours from the tandoori grill,unfortunately they were borderline to completely overdone. While I was not fully convinced about the reason for Tayyabs cult status after these chops,I was fully taken by the wonderful garlic naan (2) which was light,soft and fluffy with just the right amount of garlic. June 7th,2011 Category: Bistro Da Polpo in Covent Garden is the newest addition to the Polpo,Polpetto and Spuntino family of small/sharing plate eateries founded by the restaurateur Russell Norman. The concept is ingenious and has taken London by storm. No booking,bustling atmosphere,well prized small dishes to share and a different theme to each of the restaurants. While Spuntino serves fun and delicious American food,Polpo and Polpetto specialize on Venetian dishes. While there is overlap between the menus,Da Polpo has a clear focus on meatballs. I mean a restaurant for meatballs? How cool is this?
While I enjoyed the food,it was not a culinary epiphany. What makes da Polpo special and certainly will make me return,is the atmosphere. You wouldn’t go there for a romantic date but I don’t think there is a better place to catch up with your girlfriends while sisterly sharing the plates as they arrive one after the other and getting comfortably tipsy on aperol spritz,cocktails or the cheap but very decent house wine.
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. 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.
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