Catching up!

Catching up – Dec/Jan

Meeting up with S, he chooses the one Italian option as opposed to four French ones.  This is Caraffini on Lower Sloane Street. There is an outside terrace, but that’s not suitable in December.

Inside is pretty much full. We get directed to a table, crammed in by a wine bucket, already full of other people’s wine. B complains, and reluctantly they do move it further away. And also we get our own wine bucket on the table for the Grillo at £38!

We say yes bread and olives, and then move on to starters. S has sardines, which look good; B has some odd pork rolls and I have prawns in garlic and chilli. For mains S has a very pink calves liver, B has scampi with asparagus, and I have lemon veal.

We go for some desserts – S had panna cotto and I have sgroppino (lemon sorbet, vodka and champagne).

Service has been good after the initial contretemps. As well as a second bottle of Grillo, we also a Barbera d’Alba at £48. 12.5% service takes to £340, but it has all been good.

 

We are staying at a hotel near St Pancras before an early start on a train to Bruges for Christmas. Having looked at the options, we settle on Supawan, a Thai place on the Caledonian Road. It’s pretty busy, so we get put into a smallish table sitting at 90 degrees. The décor is very unusual – not cliché Thai.

We order some prawn crackers while we order (large portion), along with Viognier at £35. For starters, we have grilled prawns on Betel leaves, with loads of tasty trimmings, ordering the extra portion as suggested to take it to two each. Excellent. Along with the inevitable soft-shell crab, quite meaty.

Main courses are stir-fried king prawns with lemongrass and garlic, and a spicy minced chicken dish, supported by a mound of jasmine rice.

All very good, with friendly service, but the prices did mount up. With a second bottle and 12.5% service we get up to £170, which seems a lot for a Thai.

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We meet up with E and J in Covent Garden for a visit to SushiSamba, and start off with edamame beans. The wine list escalates alarmingly – I manage to find a Vermintino for £49. We have a round of jumbo prawns, tuna ceviche, and soft shell crab roll. The J wants to order the trio of meats - rib-eye, chorizo, filet mignon – “Churrasco del Rio Grande”.  E has the mushroom dish.

We later have a bottle of red chosen by J who is insisting on paying, so I don’t know how much the bill came to – it won’t have been cheap.

Before heading off to Paris for a few days, we treat ourselves to a late lunch at Mem’s, our newish place locally. They do a 2 course fixed price lunch for £43, which like its predecessor has a limited range of dishes.

We’re offered canape drinks and an amuse bouche, both very nice. Their house Chenin Blanc is a very reasonable £28 a bottle.

I have the duck rillette (solid) and treat myself to a surf and turf for a £15 supplement. The “surf” is two large tiger prawns.  B has Bluefin Tuna tartare followed by venison loin.

I have a couple of glasses of Malbec (not so reasonable at £15 each), while B has another glass of Chenin.

All in all, £190 including 12.5% service, which has been fine – we are the only ones in there most of the time.

 

Meeting up with P&M. P wanted to go to the new Battersea Power station complex, so after some research we settled on Brindisa. It’s not as attractive a venue as the one in Richmond, though sitting outside in the summer it might be better.

We are there first, so get the better view. We order a white Rioja (Veltiver) for £36, which goes down well. B and I order the garlic prawns, chicken with mojo rojo (a red sauce from the Canaries), chorizo on toast with pepper and rocket (excellent) and Iberico pork cheeks with chocolate and rioja (very tender, but got cold quickly). P&M add more prawns, tortilla and patatas bravas. We also have bread.

We move on to a couple of desserts. P has the ice cream, while I go for the almond tart.

Four bottles in all, a slightly cheeky 13.5% service (it’s not been great) and that takes us just shy of £300 for the four of us. Not expensive, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

 

Before the theatre, we’ve chosen a Vietnamese place in Garrick Street called Com Viet. It’s nearly full on the ground floor, but we get a table by the window. There is a larger room downstairs, but they were still turning people away.

For starters we have soft shell crab (OK) and something called Com Viet Cha. This is minced pork and prawns, with mint and coriander leaves, that you wrap in dipped rice paper, which resembles a condom. Very messy, but the fresh herbs make it very tasty.

Mains are stewed pork belly (rather fatty to my taste, but B likes it) and wok-tossed duck breast with lemongrass and chilli. There a lot of wok-tossed options, a few seabass ones and not much else to choose from.

We have a bottle and two glasses of NZ SB (£51 together) – total £115 with 12.5% service.

B was pleased with it, but I thought the pork was a downside.

 

  

Late January

We’re in Kingston, house-hunting, and I’ve found a tapas bar near where we’re looking. So we head down an unattractive road and find the Pottery Bar, well off the beaten track. Not somewhere people just happen upon. And as it’s a mid-week lunch, we’re not surprised to find that, apart from a business meeting going on, we are the only ones in there.

 The drinks list doesn’t include any Spanish wines, so we order the house white Trebbiano at £21.  The menu isn’t especially tapas either. We order steak salad off the specials board (bizarrely itemised as lamb shank on the bill) plus garlic prawns, and chorizo, chick peas and goats cheese, plus some bread with oil and balsamic to keep us going.

 Despite there being no-one else in the food – including the bread – takes an age to arrive.  When it comes the bread is lovely, slightly warm, crusty and a good sized portion, though rather they rather skimped on the oil and vinegar.   The prawns had a hit of chilli along with the garlic, and the chorizo/cheese combination worked well. The salad is a very large portion, with tender steak and nicely dressed leaves.

 The service is friendly, and we chat a bit – the waiter describes one of their dishes as “weird”. We have two more glasses of wine. The bill (with just 10% service) comes to £78. Nice enough place, but probably only if you are in the area - not worth the detour.

 With S&S we return to our favourite, Chez Bruce at Wandsworth Common. As usual, we meet in the nearby pub, The Hope, for a drink first.  Unusually, the pub is packed, with lots of family groups and kids – we don’t normally come on a Sunday. The pub menu looks quite good itself.

 Chez Bruce is busy too, but well-organised. We have a nice table in the window.  Friendly and efficient service as always, with their lovely parmesan biscuits and excellent bread to start.   The other three all have crispy, deep-fried poached egg to start – lovely. I have the trout ceviche, very fresh and clean

 For mains, two (including B of course) have duck breast with foie gras. S has roast cod with mushrooms. After asking about how it’s done, I decide to be adventurous and order the pig’s trotter, despite being a little alarmed at twice being told that the skin will be gelatinous!  It’s stuffed with chicken mousse and chopped sweetbreads – and really tasty. Luckily I start at the right end and don’t come to the tiny bones until the end.

 Desserts are ice cream (including salted caramel), pear, and yoghurt parfait that comes with something akin to polystyrene.

 We have three bottles of Chilean Viognier for £105, some water and a coffee.  The “3 course weekend lunch” is £48.50 – considerably more than what we usually pay mid-week.  But it remains undeniably good.  So the total comes to £340 for the four of us.

 Still house-hunting, but this time in Surbiton, we return to Hart’s Boatyard, our favourite pub by the river.  We get a nice table overlooking the river.  I fail to find our usual Rothschild Viognier on the wine list, so order a Gavi.  But when the waitress comes she has the Viognier – wrong, but right!   B has the steak salad – a regular choice – and I have the pork belly.  This is quite fatty, but it comes with a crispy bacon slice and some rather good pork cheeks. A second bottle of wine takes the bill to £76.

 Then for my birthday, we book a table for lunch at The French Table, also in Surbiton. We’d been once before and had a lovely 5-course set lunch.  We get as far as Clapham Junction to find all the trains from Waterloo cancelled.  We hang around for a bit, as the information board suggests there might soon be a train, but it gets later and later, so eventually we decide to go to Victoria, and I ring to cancel.  Apparently they’d had a lot of cancellations because of the trains – such a shame.

 At Victoria we decide to go the new(ish) branch of Sticks ‘n’ Sushi in the Nova complex. On arrival it doesn’t look very prepossessing, but we are shown upstairs where it is busier, buzzier and more attractive.  The tables are close together though, so we have to fight to hear each other over the job interview next door. We order the Chenin Blanc (£28) and some edamame beans while we work what to have.  We decide to order in two phases – sushi then sticks. So we begin with beef tataki, which comes with a good spicy dip,  crab croquettes that are hot and gooey, and  scallops kataifi topped with roe.  These are closely followed by duck in rice paper (with the same dip) and spicy tuna maki roll with ginger and wasabi.  All very tasty.  Then we order a second bottle and the sticks: scallop and bacon, spicy chicken, and lamb. Again all good - though the second bottle takes a while to arrive.   Good friendly service – the waiter chats to us a bit as we are the last ones in there at 3pm.  Total, including 12.5% service, is £135 – perhaps a bit much for what it was, but then it is my birthday.

Catching up since July

I’ve been a bit remiss these last months, but here is a quick summary of places visited in the second half of the year. I no longer have all the details of what everyone had, and not all the prices, but I still have the memories!

India Club, Strand:  threatened with closure because of re-development, this throw-back to the 60s/70s was granted a reprieve. It used to be a traditional haunt of our Varsity match group, so we went along to celebrate. The room is basic – though the tables are no longer secured to the floor.  Drinks are obtained from the bar on the floor below – don’t expect anything beyond a Kingfisher or gin. Starters are standards – samosa, onion bhaji, plus a remarkably dangerous chilli bhaji. Mains are also fairly standard - lamb, butter chicken, dhal, aloo sag - but with good portions of rice and breads.  At £30 a head, it’s great fun.

Mar I Terra describes itself as “contemporary Spanish tapas”.  We’ve been before in the evening, but on this lunchtime visit after the Picasso exhibition at the Tate, we sit outside in the garden which is very pleasant.  Chilli prawns, crab-stuffed peppers, chicken livers, chorizo and morcilla with beans, chick peas are all good. Bill (with probably two bottles) comes to £92. Excellent – definitely recommend it if you are in the area. On a second visit in the early evening a couple of months later we have garlic prawns, sardines, chicken livers, beef, beans and jambon, chick peas (£75).

Guiseppe’s in Borough High Street has become B’s “go-to” restaurant. We went just the two of us first to research it, then as a group of 6, and then B went again with 4 other ex-colleagues. It’s as  clichéd as an Italian can be, short of candles in Chianti bottles. There are specials on the blackboard and all the traditional dishes you can remember.  Starters have included bresaola, scallops, prawns, calamari. Mains, spaghetti “My Way” (under a photo of Frank), veal Holstein, chicken Milanese with penne arrabiatta.  Good choice of Italian wines; generally around £50-£70 a head. Fine, convenient, but not sophisticated.

Ivy Market Grill . There are loads of Ivy spin-off places now, some of which have had unflatteringly reviews, but I think this in Covent Garden may have been the first one when the original restaurant closed for refurbishment for a while.  We went one lunchtime with S&L, and were sat next to Nicholas Lyndhurst (though he did ask to be moved!).  I had steak tartare followed by sea bass fillets and the bill came to £105 for the two of us. A very good experience. B went back again and that was good too.

Babur Brasserie I have reviewed before, but it remains worth the visit to Honor Oak Park.  Regional dishes feature strongly – this is no ordinary curry house. My meal this time was prawns and gourd to start followed by rabbit. At £106 for two this is good value.

The Oxo Tower Brasserie is a good place for a celebration. This time it was J’s 30^th, and there were 16 of us, on two tables of 8 with good river views. It’s not cheap though, and the wine does make the bill mount up. I had grilled crispy squid followed by chicken breast in a herb sauce and a tart.

Sticks ‘n’ Sushi, Wimbledon has rather less charm than its Covent Garden sister, the room being bigger and more open, with several refectory style tables, but has the same interesting menu and would be a nice reliable place to have on your doorstep. After the usual spicy edamame beans, we had beef tataki, crab croquettes, crudities and miso. Then shrimp rolls, crispy chicken rolls, duck breast and scallop and bacon sticks. With two bottles this is good value for £109

Chez Bruce:   I’ve reported on it several times, but it is still a reliable favourite for a good lunch. The parmesan crisps are still gorgeous and the atmosphere and service top-class. This time I had fishcakes with boquerones, followed by calf’s liver and then a caramel crisp. The set lunch price means this comes to £150 with a good amount of wine (though you have to hunt through the wine list to keep the cost down).

A Wong in Victoria has been around for a while, but though we’ve tried a couple of times we’ve not been able to get into this Michelin starred Chinese. So with S&L we book one evening and take on the challenging menu. It’s hard to decide how much to order, and I think in the end we were a bit conservative  for 4 Choices between us were prawn cracker, crab and prawn fritter;  duck and pancakes, lamb slider; kung pao chicken with peanuts, waygu beef, pork belly, “gold fish” dumplings, abalone, rice. £150 for two with not a lot of wine. Not yet convinced, but worth another try.

Our local tapas bar has been closed for refurbishment, but its sister, Las Fuentes in Selsdon was P&M’s choice for a birthday celebration for around 16 people. B and I had wild boar skewer, kidneys, chorizo, gambas pil pil and mussels. As good as the Purley version, with similar ambience.

After wine tasting we need something to soak up the alcohol, so twice in quick succession we go with T&K to Dim T in Victoria.  Each time we begin with beef wontons, chicken gyoza, edamame beans and various dim sum. The first time we go round again on the dim sum, but on the second visit we move on to firecracker prawns, special chicken stir-fry, chilli beef, pad thai, and Singapore noodles. It’s a big place, so generally no need to book. Coincidentally it cost £80 each time.

My colleagues organise a “round the world” series of lunches and this time we are in Jamaica at Cotton’s, Curtain Rd.   It’s a fairly basic place (though another outlet in Vauxhall is rather smarter) and being a “rum shack” does a good line in cocktails. I have the trio of vegetarian fritters followed by a lunchtime special of oxtail and bean stew with boiled rice. With one cocktail and a modest amount of wine my bill was £25.

Imperial China in Chinatown has become a regular dim sum place. After a wine tasting over in the City, we fetch up and order soft-shell crab followed by steamed king prawns, fillet beef and Singapore noodles. All for £100.

Masala Zone, Covent Garden  is another good place for a celebration, with lots of space and side rooms,  so we fetch up there for our housemate Christmas gathering. The Rajasthani  puppets dangling from the ceiling give it a great atmosphere, and despite the time of year we get good service too. There are 12 of us – any more and you have to have the set menu, but we are allowed to order individually. I have Delhi samosa, followed by Coondapur Duck, black dhal, spinach and steamed rice. With a good amount of wine this is £100 for two.  It would be interesting to try as a couple.

 

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.