Catching up - February

Apologies to regular readers, things have been hectic recently, so I'm only now catching up on February. March to follow over the weekend.

After a show at Soho Theatre with M&G, we decide to try out the Dishoom in Upper St Martin’s Lane.  But when we get there, there’s a huge queue outside, which is not for us thank you. Apparently you can book for 6 or more, but otherwise you have to take your chances in the cold and rain. After a quick look around we decide to schlep back to Dean St and go to the Red Fort, which  I’ve been wanting  to try for some time.  

The Red Fort is busy but they find us a table easily enough.  The wine list has a huge selection of French wines by region, plus several from around the world -  but it is a little pricey, with only a few under £30. The El Supremo Argentinan Malbec I order (£25) is sold out, so I go for the Chilean Falerina Carmenere (£29) – and very good it turns out to be too.

B chooses “Pocha Hera Jhinga”  - marinated spiced king prawns in a crispy batter – to start, while M,G and I share a starter selection advertised for 2. The selection comprises tandoori prawns, salmon tikka, scallops, tandoori chicken , spinach patties & stuffed mushrooms – and is more than ample for the three of us.  All very good indeed.

The mains carry on the high quality you’d expect of the place. M tries the spiced roast rabbit, which is very moist and full of flavour. B goes with the chicken tikka – very large pieces, nicely spiced. G has the Welsh lamb biryani, served in a sealed pot. And I have the Hyderabadi bhuna lamb.  We accompany these with bhindi, dhal and 2 extra pilau rice. Everything is lovely – there’s only one thing: the portions are huge, twice the size (and twice the price) they need to be. They happily put the remnants into doggy bags for us to take away – and B&I have them for an excellent lunch the following day.

Service is prompt and efficient – pleasingly unmemorable. We only have the two bottles of wine, but the bill comes up to £250. Excellent food, but more modest portions would  have been preferable. Certainly a great place to go if you’re feeling hungry!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meeting up for lunch with friend D on a day due a bus strike, we decide to stick close to Waterloo, and head down past the Old Vic to the Waterloo Bar and Kitchen. We have booked, but that was rather a waste of time as there is only one other table in on a damp Monday lunchtime and the place is rather lacking atmosphere. The staff are cheerful and attentive though. 

 We choose a reasonably priced South African Chenin Blanc – Journeymaker (£18.95) – from a list that, while nowhere near Red Fort prices, wasn’t especially cheap. For starters, D chooses the prawns off the specials board, and checks that they come already peeled - which they can do. B has the squid with chorizo, cooked just right, and I have a small starter portion of pork belly with very thin crackling.

For mains B has the seabass fillet, a modest portion but with a good crispy skin. D’s roast chicken with leeks and mushroom looks a little ordinary, while my haddock with soft boiled egg is very salty. Unusually for us – must be D’s influence – we have desserts too: three scoops of ice cream for B to her personal selection, a rich and gooey chocolate brownie for D, but a rather flabby crème brulee for me.

 We had three bottle of the Chenin, and with 12.5% service the total comes to £180, surprisingly close per head to the Red Fort. But then we had dessert and twice as much wine per head - though no leftovers for lunch the next day!