It’s been a busy couple of weeks, with trips to several new
places and some old favourites re-visited.
G&S are down staying with us, so after the compulsory
trip to our favourite local Vietnamese, Cat
Ba Island, the next day we decide to go to Dishoom in Upper St Martin’s Lane. We’d tried to get in before but not been
able to face the queue, so we think around 4pm on a Sunday afternoon should be
OK. I go ahead to grab a spot in the
queue. As I approach it doesn’t look too bad, but when I ask the chap how long
the wait will be, he says an hour! And 30 minutes before we even get inside to
wait at the bar!! I don’t think so.
So we decide on Chinatown for dim sum. Our previous
favourite, Harbour City, has been taken over by New Loon Fung, but they too are
full, with a half-hour wait. So we go round to Lisle street and into Imperial
China. This is an attractive place,
tucked away in a courtyard, approached by a little bridge over a stream, by a
waterfall and a pond full of huge koi carp. Chinese lanterns complete the look.
The dim sum is a fairly standard selection of dumplings and
rolls. But they are fresh, spicy and hot. Service is friendly (for Chinatown!) and
efficient. With three bottles of wine it comes to £180 for four.
Next day the four of us went to Chez Bruce, probably our
“go-to” favourite. The set lunch is £32 for 3 courses, which is very good
value, though B was not impressed with a £6 supplement for the venison that
both she and S had as main. The parmesan crisps were excellent as usual, and
the service still very friendly and unstuffy, but we had a surprisingly long
wait for our starters. My selection was duck tagliettelle (wonderful!) followed
by sea bream, and then their super
vanilla créme brûlée . Wines at £26 for Viognier, £28 for Syrah (both Chilean).
Total £287. Afterwards reflected on the fact that normally Michelin-starred
places give you an amuse bouche, but apart from the parmesan crisps, there was
nothing at Chez Bruce. Still, it remains
up there for us.
B has booked us, with T&K, into House of Hô after the Tesco wine tasting
at Olympia. It’s only at the last minute we realise that it is not the place in
Old Compton St we had been to before (which has now closed), but in Percy
Street, Fitzrovia, on the site of Bam
Bou, which we used to like.
There is an attractively priced set brunch menu available on
a Saturday, but instead we decide to choose from the a la carte. The menu is predominantly starters, sushi and
sashimi, with just a few mains, so we treat it basically as dim sum. The waiter explains that some of the dishes
come with just three pieces, and offers us the chance to make them up to four
to share. I wonder if this is a sly
trick to make more money, but to be fair when the bill comes the extra piece is
charged pro rata. We have some edamame beans in chilli while we decide what to
order.
First up come the skewered spicy prawns, and the chicken
dumplings. The prawns have a good flavour, though are not that spicy, and the
dumplings good but nothing special. Next come the duck spring roll (very good),
and “imperial roll” (large) and some crab and prawn croquettes (excellent). Then the Vietnamese scotch egg (interesting),
duck and watermelon salad (quite large and tasty), and spare ribs (falling off the bone)
arrive. We discuss whether we are full
and decide we can manage some more. We order another duck spring roll and some prawn
dumplings (good but more standard) for three of us, while K has a dessert –
Asian banana crumble, which she says is wonderful.
Service has been good and attentive, and the place gradually
filled up towards 4pm, giving it some atmosphere – the décor is not as dramatic
as Bam Bou used to be. Three bottles of
Chilean SB at £28 each takes the bill up to just over £200 – given the quality
of what we had, and how full we feel that seems pretty good.
M&G are generously taking us out for lunch, on behalf of
M’s late mother, at the Michelin-starred Clove Club in Shoreditch – not an
Indian as many people assumed. We have a
drink first in a quirky Shepherd Neame pub – the Prince Arthur – with a very
chatty barman, who insists we look at the upstairs bar before we leave. There
is a real fire, candles, and a strange mix of Regency cartoons and Gonzo prints
on the walls.
Then on to the restaurant at Shoreditch Town Hall. It has a bar
at the front but we get shown in to the main room at the back. There is a huge brigade of staff, outnumbering
the diners by two to one. The chef
featured recently as “young chef of the year” in the Observer food review – and
looks about 14.
We opt for the five-course tasting menu at £65 (rather than
the nine-course one!), with the complementary wine pairing at £50. But we start
with some kir, champagne and a Bourbon cocktail. We did though decide against the extra
scallops course at £18.
The meal starts with a selection of “snacks” - iced beetroot
with crème fraiche, crab tartlet (lovely), haggis balls (in a sweetish brioche-like
bun, not as peppery as you might expect) and fried chicken in pine needles (“an
up-market KFC” – much nicer).
The first course of the meal proper was tartare of hake which
came with an Alsace Pinot from a magnum. The hake is an interesting idea but
doesn’t taste of a great deal. Next up
is a soup course – three of us have opted out of the oysters. Again, not that special.
The cod with beetroot and fermented cabbage was more of a
success - firm, tasty fish and some intriguing accompaniments. I also liked the “main course” venison loin
and venison sausage, though B was less impressed.
We then opted for one portion of the extra cheese selection,
which came with a Sauterne and a fino sherry.
Dessert courses were a delicate layered cream and ice cream
pot, and a rather sturdy tarte tatin – more
of an English apple tart really, but good all the same.
Service was friendly and with such a big staff very
efficient. The sommelier was chatty and knowledgeable. Of the other customers, two were Silicon
roundabout hipsters eating alone, four slightly older business types (still
with beards), and a pair of elderly gentlemen.
As I said M&G were very generously treating us, so I
don’t know the exact cost, but it must have been seriously expensive. It had been a great experience, but at those
prices I doubt we will rush back.
Meeting up with ex-BT colleagues,
S and L, we decide to go to Shepherd Market for lunch. Interesting French colonial African pictures
on the walls. Buzzy little place, with a
strange porcelain head on one table – “watching over us” said the waiter.
L has the orecchiette with tomato
and broccoli, and S the Atlantic cod (which looked like a small portion). I go for the duck breast with Lyonnaise
potatoes off the specials board – very good.
As S is off to a meeting we just have the one bottle of Chilean SB at
£21. Just under £30 a head in total
including service. Not a “wow” place but pretty sound and handy to know of if
you’re in the area (though of course there is plenty of choice around there).
K has stayed over with us after
the party yesterday, so we go with her to King’s Cross to see her off back
home. Pancras Square, round the back of the station, now has quite a range of
eateries, but we settle on Drake and Morgan.
It turns out to be a huge place,
done out in industrial chic, with exposed pipework. It is pretty busy as we fetch up about 1.30pm
on Sunday, but we have booked so that’s OK. We are shown to our table, miles
away down the far end of the restaurant, overlooked by a huge picture of a
grumpy cow.
Despite the waitress being
attentive, our drinks take a while to arrive – Chenin Blanc (£18) and ginger
smoothie for K. For starters (which do
arrive quickly) we have crispy squid (quite spicy) and ham croquettes (nice
crispy exterior, but rather gooey insides).
I had seen a Thai green coconut
curry (with either chicken or prawns) on the website menu, but they’re not
there on the day – maybe because it’s a Sunday, with roasts. K orders the Waygu burger, but is told they’ve
sold out, so she settles for a cheeseburger instead – very dense and filling. B
has gone for a starter Cobb salad with chicken as main – specifically making it
clear that she didn’t want a larger one. When it comes it is huge, but to be
fair they only charge us for a small one - it would be far too much as a
starter. I have the tuna with ginger and soy sauce, plus some chips – very good
and pink, but a bit cold.
K has an espresso martini to
follow, while we have a couple more glasses of wine. £135 for three of us (2 bottles of wine)
seems good value.
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