Late summer catch-up

Noble Rot

Five of us fetched up at Noble Rot wine bar in Lamb’s Conduit St on a hot summer’s day.  As we were shown to our table at the back of this maze of a place, our eyes gradually became accustomed the gloom, such a contrast to the weather outside.  It’s a charming spot for a winter’s day, or perhaps an illicit assignation. 

 

We settled on a bottle of Picpoul (£22) from an extensive, but not cheap, wine list. The charming young waiter explained the specials to us, including Thai Stingray.  He was unclear whether it was a starter or a main course, and insisted it wasn’t fish – I think the kitchen had been teasing him.  So after some confusion we manage to order.  I had cod and samphire to start, a smallish portion, but nicely done; others had smoked eel gazpacho (interesting) and mackerel.

 

For mains I had venison haunch, others had turbot and the Stingray – skate of course.  Three bottles of wine and £4 for some (admittedly, nice) bread took the bill up to £260 including service – which perhaps felt a little steep for a wine bar.  But it was a welcoming venue and well-produced food, so worth a visit if you’re in the area.

 

Oka

In Kingly Court, off Regent Street, near Senor Ceviche which I’ve reviewed before, the two of us decide to try the “Pan-Asian” sushi bar, Oka, for lunch. It’s a small, basic place, but the staff were very helpful and welcoming, finding us a nice table by the window. Sauvignon Blanc was £25.50, for a very nice NZ Marlborough, again perhaps a bit steep. We first ordered the spider roll, tuna tataki and the beef fillet with chimichurri sauce.  All excellent.  We followed up with the tiger king prawns, marinated salmon and some rice – again all good.  At £128 (2 bottles of SB), it again wasn’t cheap for an unpretentious place, but very enjoyable nonetheless. Tough call whether I prefer Senor Ceviche, but a good option for a change.

 

Brasserie Vacherin

I’ve reviewed our local French restaurant before and the service has sometimes been a bit mixed, but as they had (and still have) a 15% off food offer, we thought we’d give it another go.  Their Viognier from Languedoc was £24.50, but there are cheaper options available.  For starter, B had the Atlantic prawns – a sizeable portion of good-sized prawns, with garlic and parsley – while I had the reliable tuna tartare with wasabi.  Mains were lemon sole and fillet of sea bass, both good, fresh and simply done. The discount amounted to a little over £8, so the total with service was a just over £100.

 

The Refinery

After some culture at Tate Modern (Georgia O’Keefe, as you ask), we settle on The Refinery in the Blue Fin building round the back for a late lunch.  It’s a huge barn of a place, in the “industrial chic” style, and although there was one group of office workers in, we felt quite alone in the big back area.  The waitress was friendly, but after asking us for our order before we were ready then went AWOL.  We had managed to order a bottle of Chenin at £17.95 though, so it wasn’t a complete disaster.

 

For starters we had a flabby chicken satay with no oomph, and some weird prawn lollipops. The mains were a bit better – my chargrilled tuna was cooked competently, and B’s coconut prawn curry had some flavour. But overall not somewhere we’d rush back to. £79 (just one bottle and two glasses) was a fair price perhaps, but maybe it’s more somewhere to go for a regular quick lunch rather than a destination in itself.

 

Ken Lo’s Memories of China

Meeting up with S and L, we go first to the Grosvenor Hotel at Victoria station for a cocktail in their swish bar.  We’ve thought about going to about Ken Lo’s famous restaurant for many years, but now we have finally got round to it.  For a Tuesday night, it’s nicely busy and buzzy without feeling stressful; service is charming and helpful.

 

We order the Viognier at £27, and then our starters: prawn dumplings (standard), courgettes with prawns (super), smoked chicken (just OK), and a scallops, prawn and chicken in black bean sauce (excellent).  Mains are monkfish with asparagus, double cooked pork (my choice – very nice), medallions of beef, French beans and Singapore noodles.  A good, but perhaps not sensational, selection.  Just two bottles of wine means we get away with just £190 for the four of us  (13% service charge for some reason), so it feels like good value.  Worth another visit.

 

Richoux, St John’s Wood

We were at Lord’s for the climax of the County Championship (Middlesex v Yorkshire), and take a break for lunch. The Lord’s Tavern is fully booked, so we make our way to St John’s Wood, and decide on Richoux, with seats outside in the late September sun.  It’s only a light lunch, but both my “elegant rarebit” (ie with bacon) and B’s steak salad are super; the house fries were good too. (Oddly, a lady at another table also ordered the salad and had something quite different which she wasn’t very happy with).  With a bottle of Trebbiano at £17, we come away paying £44, and feeling very content – and Middlesex ended up winning.

 

Mar I Terra

After more culture at Tate Modern (the Philippe Parreno exhibit in the Turbine Hall, with moving boards, flashing lights and ambient music – what’s that smell? BS) we look at Gordon Ramsay’s Union St café, but decide against. Instead we find this little tapas bar tucked out of the way by the railway line. It perhaps seats about 30, and there were a dozen or so in.

 

The Volteo white (Verdejo-Sauvignon) at £19.50 is sharp and interesting.  The waiter recommends five dishes between two, so after some dithering over the pork belly, we decide on chick peas and spinach,  garlic prawns, grilled sardines, chicken livers and the criollo sausage off the specials menu.  Very enjoyable – the prawns had a good kick of chilli, the sardines were fresh with the flesh coming off the bones easily,  the chicken livers very intense in sherry and the chick peas with cumin; the special sausage was tasty but a little chewy.

 

Two bottles of wine takes us up to £95, including service.  This is likely to become a regular after Tate Modern visits.