April overview (3)

Final instalment of update on April:

BLACK AND BLUE, Borough Market
After wine-tasting at Vinopolis, we decided we needed somewhere with substantial meat for lunch, so Black and Blue fitted the bill. It was a sunny afternoon and the place was pretty full, but there was no trouble finding a table.

The waitresses were rather humourless, probably having been busy all lunch. I started with the foie gras pate and toast - a smallish but tasty portion. And we shared a Cote de Boeuf for main course. This was an excellently cooked piece of beef, which tasted super and was so melt in the mouth. Again with chips in a tin! After lunch we did manage to find a seat outside in the sun to finish our wine - a very pleasant afternoon! £110 for 2, so not cheap.


FISH AND GRILL, South End, Croydon
With H again we went to Malcolm John's restaurant on South End, not least because of the 25% off food voucher we'd collected from the South Croydon food festival. You can download this offer all through the summer. Unfortunately I wasn't feeling too good, so my judgment is flaky. I had the crab mayonnaise to start - a small portion but tasty, of both white meat and brown meat. My main course sirloin, chosen because it was 250g rather than the 350g rump, rather defeated. There was a lot of fat (easy to cut away), and gristle (less so). But they were fine with giving me a "doggy bag", and I was assured the next day that the meat did taste good. £160 for 3.


THE PHOENIX, Victoria
After the Sunday Times wine tasting, we departed from tradition and instead of a dim sum, went to the Phoenix, one of a new Geronimo chain of gastropubs. It was pretty full, and we were asked to move from the table we'd bagged because it was reserved. Interesting Saturday lunchtime demographic - mainly young locals it seemed - so quite a chummy atmosphere for a central London pub.

H had Eggs Benedict to start and I had chilli squid. The EB was huge - a main course in itself; the squid, not very chilli, but not rubbery either. For main B had strips of duck (small portion but good), H had a burger (excellent flavour, little fat - she shared it round as she was too full) and I had pork chop, also a sizeable portion, with some excellent crackling. Good value place for hungry people.


LE TERROIR, Charing Cross
Needing sustenance after the Lucian Freud exhibition, we tried Le Terroir. It has an unusual menu, of mainly small dishes, with just a couple of full meals. Fairly full, so we were lucky to get a seat by the window - inside it's a bit dark. We ordered and nibbled the very nice bread, waiting a bit for our wine. After a bit, B's steak tartare arrived, but there was no sign of my dish. At least her meal wasn't getting cold. It seemed an age before my grilled sardines with sultanas and pine nuts and (supposedly) capers arrived. An unusual combination, it was rather sweet and needed more than the one caper it came with. £55 for a snack lunch (one bottle) is maybe a bit steep, but it is an interesting place.