Reunion party in central London

For an annual get-together of ex-housemates etc, we decided this year to try out Cinnamon Soho in Kingly Street, just off Regent Street and down from Carnaby Street. This is the second offshoot of the wonderful Cinnamon Club in the old Westminster Library, after Cinnamon Kitchen; hopefully rather more accessibly priced.

There were 12 of us this year, so we were put downstairs, so it’s hard to gauge the general atmosphere. We’ve gone early, at 6.30pm as we were asked to, and we have been told that we will be limited to two and a half hours. Over the evening downstairs filled up with other groups and one unfortunate couple. It’s an uninspiring room, but between us we create a lively ambience.

The charming lead waiter took the drinks order promptly, and continued to be responsive as we went through the evening.  We mainly drink the Colombard Sauvignon Blanc from Horgelus, South West, France at £21 a bottle. He didn’t rush us to order though, and in the end they didn’t worry about the time limit.

Unusually there were no papadum options to keep us going, so we quickly agreed to get three plates of the “balls” selection between us while we continued to work through the menu choices. The balls were Crab Cakes, Potato Bondas, Vegetable Shikampur, Spiced Game, and Bangla-Scotch Egg. The crab and the scotch egg were good and spicy, but the others a little indistinguishable.

The booking email had offered a limited choice, but on the night were given the full menu, which was pleasing and gave us plenty of interesting options. We each chose a starter and main. I had the burnt chilli chicken, Indo-Chinese style, which was excellent with a real fiery kick.  B had the stir-fried shrimp with curry leaf and black pepper which was delicious - the little pastry cases stuffed full of flavoursome shrimps.  Other starters chosen were Kingly Seekh Kebab wrapped in a naan bread, which looked rather filling but was pronounced lovely,  Bhangra Burger with three dips – actually three little burgers, and again a largish portion – and  Tandoori chicken leg with fennel & coriander.

My main course was “Laal maas”, described as “fiery Rajasthani Lamb curry”. The meat was in a rich sauce, and was melt in your mouth, but it was not as fiery as the chicken starter really.  B had the  seared duck breast with sesame tamarind sauce, another good dish.  Other choices included: spice crusted Hake with Colombo curry sauce (looked very good); smoked saddle of Cumbrian lamb, mint onion sauce (a popular choice, generally approved); and spiced chicken korma.  We also ordered  black lentils (not as good as elsewhere),  Tandoori aubergine crush (something of a mush),  stir-fried okra with dried mango (though the mango didn’t shine through), a caper kachumbar (which was very refreshing) and a selection of breads.

As well as ice creams and sorbets, the desserts we had were a tasty, if smallish, mango brulée, and a chocolate and cumin cake.

Eight bottles of wine helped the total up to £560 (including service), or over £46 a head which bearing in mind that one of our number was a 9-year old is not cheap. But for the quality of what we had in such a central location, we all came away happy and satisfied, and we would certainly try it again.

Two Easter meals - a Chipstead pub, and a Covent Garden brasserie

RETURN TO A COUNTRY PUB

Not being a parent, I have decided views on kids in pubs, none of them favourable. I appreciate that those of you who have decided to perpetuate the human race may feel it unfair to be limited in where you can take your little darlings, but the effect on the rest of us can be startling.

So it was on a recent revisit to the White Hart in Chipstead.  On Easter Saturday, we braved the flurries of snow to walk up the country lanes from the station, and were pleased to see the fire roaring, a good few people in chatting amiably and a convenient table awaiting us.  The pub has a cosy bar, an adjoining restaurant doing a very good holiday trade, and an outside patio, which unsurprisingly was not that popular that day.  The menu extends beyond the standard classic pub meals into more challenging offerings, but it doesn’t claim to be a “fine dining” experience.

It’s understandable that on a holiday weekend, families will gravitate to the White Hart – most, however were accommodated in the restaurant, leaving the bar to the drinkers and the child-free, as it should be.  Fortunately we’d just finished our meal (of which more below), when the genial calm and sense of well-being that good food and plenty of wine can induce was shattered by the arrival of a double family group – 2 sets of parents and four kids.  

The atmosphere was transformed instantly. Two of the kids squabbled over some toy;  one wailed and one whined.  The parents chatted as if the kids didn’t exist, neither responding to them nor restraining them.  All serenity had vanished,  as the volume increased. We rushed to finish our drinks and leave.

This was a shame, as we had just enjoyed a leisurely and high quality lunch, with smooth and amiable service.  Admittedly it was a tad on the pricy side – 2 scallops with pork belly and pea puree were £10, and the total soon rose to £86 before tip.  But the scallops were very good, as were the spicy crab cakes with tamarind mayonnaise we shared with them.  B’s main course of poached chicken salad (a “light bite”) was enlivened by the orange slices, though the chicken itself was a little ordinary. My main course was an unusual pheasant kiev. The garlic filling was not as runny as I’d have liked, but there was a good kick to it; the pheasant itself maybe a bit on the dry side, though the accompanying gravy coped with that.  The vegetable selection it came with was extensive: red cabbage, curly kale, broccoli, parsnips, sweet potato fondant and far more butternut squash than any sensible person could eat.

We’d enjoyed a bottle of Chilean Viognier with that, and started on a second to go with our cheese – chosen from a selection of 6, we had Ragstone goat’s cheese, Blackstick’s Blue and  Lincolnshire poacher, a crumbly cheddar.  All very warming, satisfying and pleasurable – until the assault on the senses which drove us away.

COVENT GARDEN STALWART

We’d only discovered PJ’s Bar and Grill in Wellington Street about 18 months ago, and had held a 21^st birthday party for K there last November which went very well. However it’s been a long-standing feature of the Covent Garden scene since 1982, and has an air of permanence and history, bolstered by the celebrity photos you pass on the way to the loos.

We’d been looking for somewhere for a late lunch or early dinner before going to Ronnie Scott’s, and PJ’s came up on lastminute.com with a 50% off food offer for London Restaurant fortnight – sorted.  We arrived ahead of our friends M&G, and had started in on the Argentinian Viognier  Triviento (£20) by the time they arrived.  Mid-afternoon of course it was hardly busy, but there were enough people in to make it feel alive.

The menu choice is not huge, but interesting;  the roasts and steaks were excluded from the offer.  B dithered between at least three different options per course, before settling on the ham hock terrine with crispy poached egg to start, as did Gerry.  The terrine was very meaty, the egg just runny, though perhaps not as much as it could have been.  M had the soup of the day, celeriac and something, which was good and warming.  I had the salt and pepper squid, which was excellent, coming with a spicy chilli sauce and a good array of finely chopped vegetables.

For main course, Gerry had the calves liver and bacon with mash, which disappeared from his plate with alacrity. B had the pan-roasted sea bass with calamari and sweet potatoes and was impressed with that too.  My pork belly was a fine example, with exemplary crackling (not too tooth-threatening, but interestingly crisp), and the meat flavoursome. Sadly, M’s choice of 8-hour braised rib of beef was less successful: lots of bone, and the meat very fatty.

We’d had a second bottle of Viognier, and M&G had each had a glass of La Chamiza Malbec  also from Argentina.  Overall we’d had an enjoyable time and were happy to pay the £176 including service. Then as we were leaving we suddenly realised we hadn’t received the 50% off offer, so queried it. The manageress was very apologetic and quickly re-calculated the bill, handing us the £43 rebate in cash.  So we left with a warm glow at what (at least for three of us) had been a really good value meal.