LoveLondon

I'm Moving

2010-01-23T17:39:00.003Z

Hello to all (or few) of you that visit this blog. I am moving to a new address. I can now be found at eatinguplondon.wordpress.com. I will be re jigging it over the next few weeks but do come and visit...

Village East

2009-11-08T12:21:00.002Z

Village East is a restaurant and bar on bermondsey street run by the people who own the Garrison. Populated mostly by fashionable looking 30 and 40 somethings it has a lively atmosphere, good (ie flattering) lighting and is deceptively large. The bar is at the front and also has a mezzanine level and the restaurant is at the back, again on two levels.
The waiting staff are efficient if not exactly warm and cuddly, which is probably exactly what you want from people serving you food. The place was busy in a Saturday night and the only minor irritation is the insistence on background music which I never really understand in restaurants.
The food was good, a fairly wide range of vegetarian stuff, including roast vegetable couscous with halloumi, artichoke salad with broad beans and peas, and roasted aubergine soup which we didn't have but which sounded lovely.
The food was well cooked, the veg fresh and not too oily and the green beans served with plenty of butter, which is the best way. In fact we had a vegetarian meal containing a huge variety of vegetables, which is not always the case when eating out.
We shared a starter, a main each, three sides and a beautiful crumble to finish. This, plus two glasses of reisling each came to £77, not cheap but to my mind good value for a decent meal, good wine and well lit, well designed surroundings.

The Milk Bar

2009-10-30T17:38:00.002Z

The Milk Bar is the sister coffee bar to Flat White, both are antiodean and both serve fantastic coffee, including a flat White. The Milk Bar is on Bateman street in soho and is small and generally busy with wooden tables and funky staff. As well as coffee they serve
lunch and brunch including a very good plate of scrambled eggs, which was just the right creamy consistency and a vegan carrot cake crammed with pumpkin seeds. Vegan cake is never as good as non vegan cake but this was a pretty good attempt. Lunch was £15 for 2 coffees, 2 scrambled eggs on toast and one piece of cake. Recommended.

Rosso Pommodorro

2009-10-28T20:52:00.001Z

We are back at Rosso Pommodorro in Covent garden and it is still delicious and still worth visiting. Huge and authentic pizzas with proper creamy, smoky mozarella and rich tomato sauce, great service, good wine and lots of Italians. Need I say more.

Test

2009-10-28T12:18:00.000Z

Hi, this is a test post from my phone. I am hoping to be able to blog whilst out eating, or having just eaten, so here goes...

-- Posted from my iPhone

And here is test picture from lunch at Yalla Yalla.

Saf

2009-09-26T10:34:00.009Z

Botanical cuisine is what Saf promises and it is exactly what is delivers. Don't come here if you don't like fruit or vegetables. Or if, like countless reviewers I have read, you insist on going on and on a out how much you like meat. Good for you. However, this is a vegan/raw food restaurant so it doesn't promise much in the way of meat. And also this, presumably is only one meal of many, so even if you love meat with an unsuual passion, missing it for one meal shouldn't be too difficult.

Now we have that out of the way, on to the restaruant itself: Saf originated in Istanbul and is a vegan/raw food restaurant. It looks good, and if you have been to many vegetarian restaurants you will know that this is unusual. When we arrived they seemed to have mislaid our booking, which could have been embarassing, but they found us another table with minimum fuss while we parked oursleves at the bar.

The cocktail bar is small but the cocktails are fresh and unusual, I had a Jasmine Pearl Martini with Jasmine tea infused vodka. How much of the jasmine tea infusion I could taste didn't really matter, it looked pretty and tasted even prettier. Joff had a Barber Shop Bourbon (pictured) adorned with cinnamon sprinkled apple slices. Given that the alcohol content was most likely quite high, both of these felt as if they were doing you good.

The menu references many 'real' dishes, another thing which seems to have snuck under the skin of some reviewers. How can you call something Lasagne and then not deliver lasagne. This is a raw food restaurant so you were never going to get lasagne. I imagine that naming things this way is necessarry, as vegan/raw food dishes don't really have names, not that people would recognise anyway and just typing a list of ingredients without naming them is probably taking things too far. Some of the dishes are hot (not many but a few) and this is clearly marked on the menu. Joff had all things hot and I had all things cold, and raw. To start I had vegetable maki, with parsnip rice, which was actually raw parsnip which sounds horrible but tastes, in this combination, stunning and intensely savoury. See what I mean about naming? Raw parsnip, bad, parsnip rice, good. Joff had dumplings which I didn't taste as they had mushrooms in them but he said were lovely and suitably mushroomy.

For a main course I had Raw Neat balls Spaghetti, which was a platefull of thinly grated vegetables in a lime, pomegrante and coraiander dressing with some rich and nutty (meat) balls. It was again delicious, nicer than it sounded, and incredibly fresh tasting. Instead of feeling weary and in need of a nap after I had eaten it I felt invigorated and ready for pudding (a raw apple crumbly thing with ice cream, which had a savoury edge and wasn't too sweet). Joff had a thai curry and rice, which was strange as he normally won't go near thai food. He liked it, I didn't taste it so I won't elaborate.

Service was good, food was delicious, atmosphere properly restaurant like, a good wine list and, no, I wasn't hungry afterwards. Yes, I would go back and yes, I heartily recommend it.

Costa Coffee, Heathrow Airport, Terminal 4

2009-08-30T17:48:00.003Z

We were saying goodbye to my Step son and his wife as they were emigrating to Israel and obviously after all that emotion, blended family dynamics etc, we were hungry. Terminal 4 is very small, Heathrow Airport is a food desert and the outlook was not promising. Costa Coffee was bascially the only option apart from a Wetherspoons pub, which isn't really an option at all.

So, since I am now reviewign pretty much everything I eat outside of the house (althoug there is a lot to catch up on) here it is: the egg sandwich was pretty decent, no foliage just egg and mayo on soft brown bread. A slice of carrot cake was large, sweet and sticky, and the coffee is only really drinkable if youhave an extra shot. Pretty basic but not terrible, and apart from the fact they tried to put Vanilla syrup in my coffee, not a complete disaster at all.

Parties

2009-08-20T17:06:00.004Z

The Garrison Pub on Bermondsey Street is a gastro pub, which we have stopped eating at as we have had too many dishes that were not properly cooked or that were cold. However, they have an excellent private room there which costs £50 to hire and which has a projector, space for 30 people, air conditioning and fantastic shabby chic decor. We had my Step son's leaving party there and it was an excellent venue. You can set it up however you like, we pre ordered some wine and then afterwards people fetched their drinks from the bar. You can order canapes but we (being cheapskates) made the bar menu available for people to order from if they wanted to. It was just right; chips, bruschetta, fishfinger sandwiches etc...I would heartily recomend it for a small party, film club or soireee type thing (which I beleive is popular again now).

I do not have a proper picture of the room so have posted one of Joff's head instead.

The Market Coffee House

2009-07-14T12:47:00.004Z

The Market Coffee House in Spitalfields is an old style cafe opposite Spitalfields Market. It is family owned and so has a little more character than many of the other chain establishments around this area. This character shows itself through the look of the place, all wooden furnture and nooks and crannies, including a lovel old tiled floor down in the basement where the loos are. The food itself sells itself as 'home made', freshly baked rolls with egg, sheese, ham etc, and an excellent bowl of hummus with a huge slice of bread. It is all fresh tasting and not too expensive (egg and cress roll £2.50). The cake counter is pretty irresistible, so far I recommend the banana cake, although it does have chocolate chips hidden in it which I count as a bonus but Joff sees as an ambush, and the individual bakewell tarts. the coffee is good and strong (I think they use Monmouth) and there is always somewhere to sit. I have only one quibble and that is the service; the servers themselves are all very decorative adn look as though they have been bought in bulk form an art School but there are a lot of them and it seems to take them a long time to do anything, which isn't helped by the fact that they all seem to do the same thing at once. No system! This doesn't ruin the place by any means and it is fast turning into my favourite lunch spot in the area. I read on their blog that they are opening a restaurant this year, which is good news.

Bob Bob Ricard?

2009-07-14T11:41:00.002Z

Has anyone been to Bob Bob Ricard? I would like to go and am keen to know what it is like. I am mainly attracted to the large variety of egg dishes on the menu, oh and the Champagne bell.

Comptoir Libonais

2009-05-31T18:25:00.006Z

Comptoir Libanais is a small chain of Lebanese cafe style restaurants, we visited the one in Wigmore Street but there is a branch in Westfield and one opening in Paddington soon. The food is available to eat in or take away and there is red bench style seating at the front and a few tables and chairs towards the back, the decor is chic and lively with black and white floor tiles and old Harissa tins to hold the cutlery. The staff are friendly, and even though the serving system is a little chaotic we were served fairly quickly.

The idea is that you queue at the front to choose the mostly pre-pepared dishes and order drinks and then carry it to your table, unless you order cooked food and then a waiter brings it. The food is mostly mezze with a few main dishes and everything that we ate was beautifully fresh and tasty. The tabouleh was drenched in lemon juice, the hummus smooth and made with good, flavoursome oil and the Pitta was crisp and freshly toasted. Joff had mint tea made with fresh mint and I had an apple, ginger and mint juice which looked murky but tasted delicious and refreshing. salads are 33.30 for a small and £5.50 for a large, mezze are £3.30 and wraps £4.50. All dishes are perfect for sharing, which makes it basically pretty reasonable price ways and there are a range of foodstuffs such as Turkish Delight and Harissa to buy on the way out. All in all it makes a nice change for lunch or a casual dinner and I will definitely be going back. Oh, and Jonathan Meades was there too, which is a good sign, I think.

Dish Dash

2009-05-04T17:34:00.007Z

Dish Dash is a Persian restaurant in Balham. I don't often go to Balham and forget that it is actually not that far from me, and Dish Dash is definitely a reason to re visit.

It is a good local restaurant with friendly service, including a waiter from Belfast who everyone asks where he is from, assuming he is from Iran via Belfast, but he is actually from Belfast. The decor is pleasant and unremarkable, but with a relaxed feel. The menu contains things you may recognise from Turkish or Lebanese food but it tastes very different. Persian food, in my limited experience is more aromatic that it's Turkish counterparts, Falafel taste fragrant and subtly spiced as does the hummus. We ordered a mixture of meze priced between £3.50 and £4.50, including; Kookoo, a perisan omellette,Mirza, a lentil and aubergine dip, and Esfenaj, a mixture of spinach and chick peas adn the afore metnioned Falafel and Hummus. All were good, not oily as this type of food can sometimes be, all delicately spiced and, as I mentioned before, fragrant (although I couldn't tell you what the spices were). Oh, and we had Jewelled rice, which is a sticky persian rice with a heap of saffron on the top and which is probably my favourite dish in Dish Dash. To finish we shared three scoops of ice cream; Cardamon, Pistachio and Vanilla. Vanilla is Joff's choice I hasten to add. The cardamon and pistachio were absolutely delicious adn I urge you to order them if you visit.

The meal cost £30 for two, with plenty of food and a cocktail each. Don't order the cocktails they are average, go for wine or beer. A very good local restaurant and worth a short tube journey if you fancy something a little different with excellent vegetarian choices.

The Breakfast Club Soho

2009-04-25T17:09:00.006Z

The Breakfast Club is a bright yellow cafe on Poland street in Soho. Ther eis also a branc in Islington, but we visited the Soho one. It is named after the 80's film of the same name and of which I am very fond. The music also has a decidedly 80's feel, but in a good way.

Anyway, the food; they serve breakfast of course, at the weekend anyway and a few more lunchy things during the week. We had eggs, scrambled for Joff and fried for me. They also do pancakes, classic breakfasts, yoghurt and cereal, bagels and smoothies, toast etc.

The eggs were good, well I think the scrambled were good and mine were ok, but mostly because they both came with tomato chutney which I didn't pay a lot of attention to on the menu but which I couldn't avoid on the plate. The chutney had an incredibly overpowering vinegary smell that actually made my stomach lurch and I had to shove it to one side before I could tackle the egss. But that may be just me, Joff had no such problems, he didn't actually eat the cutney mind you but it didn't actually make him feel sick. Back to the eggs, they were nice enough (would have been better without chutney) and the toast was lovely thick slices of buttery granary. The coffee however was really very good, nice and strong and not too much milk. We had carrot cake to follow which was also excellent, actually tasted home made and the icing was delicious but not overpowering.

The eggs were £4.00 and the coffee £2.30, which is about right for Soho. The place has a good lively atmosphere, and the decor is laid back student style but without being too grungy. The clientele were youngish and trendy (not necessarily including us). I would go back and probably try the pancakes or the scrambled eggs, strictly no chutney, with lashings of coffee and carrot cake.

Breakfast at Cha Cha Moon

2009-04-19T14:59:00.006Z

I need to say before we start that I am not a fan of Chinese food. I went to Cha Cha Moon to meet friends and to check out the new breakfast menu, and it was free. So there we are.

Cha Cha Moon has just started serving Breakfast. We went to the one in Ganton Street. The first thing I noticed was how nice it was to be in Oxford street at 10 O'Clock on a Sunday morning. Most of the shops were closed and it was more or less deserted, excellent for window shopping and noticing that actually, some of those side streets are realy quite attractive when not stuffed with shoppers.

Ch Cha Moon is owned by Alan Yau, he of Wagamama, Yauatcha and Hakkasan. It is basically a noodle bar with a slick interior, comfortable bench seating, low lighting and very friendly staff. The food is very reasonably priced, both for breakfast and dinner. For breakfast the most expensive dish is £6 and most are below that. The menu is short and centres around asian style breakfast favourites, for example Salmon Porridge and Crispy Duck Breakfast Wrap. Both of which sound wrong to me but I think that it is my general aversion to the style of food rather than the food itself. One of my friends ordered the crispy duck wrap and it looked, and apparently was, very good. The duck was juicy but not greay and the wrap was toasted which made it look much more appetising than wraps usually do. The salmon in the Salmon Porridge was apparently well cooked and tasty but the porridge was swimming in cream and went largely uneaten.

I had a taste of Brioche french toast (£3.80) and a whole pancake with raspberry compote (££3.60), presumably on the menu for cowards like me. The Brioche French Toast was a little too sweet but looked soft and fluffy and the 2 year old I was with loved it. The Pancake was excellent, less sweet than the french toast, very good texture and savoury enough to offset the raspberries.

And now the eggs: normally as anyone who reads this blog may know I would order the eggs. They came in several styles, scrambled, fried and in a frittata. However, in keeping wth the rest of the menu they were not ordinary hens eggs but duck eggs. Duck eggs! Now call me squeamish but I have tried to eat duck eggs twice and both times have failed to eat more than a mouthful. In my opinion, and I realise that many will disagree, they smell and taste of fish, and I don't want that in an egg.

The coffee is good and served in attractive porcelain mugs without handles and the smoothies were unusual and tasty. I would recommend the more adventurous among you, or just those that like this type of food, to try it, if onyl once. The food is cheap and well presented. And if you feel like I do about this type of food, go, watch others eat duck eggs and order the pancake.

Maroush V

2009-04-18T08:47:00.006Z

Maroush is a chain of Lebanese restaurants, and we went to number five, on Vere Street just off Oxford street. It looks very grand from the outside but is rather more cafe like inside. There are two elements to the Maroush V experience; the food and the atmosphere.

The food is fresh and tasty, salads liberallly seasoned with lemon juice, falafel just cooked and perfectly crispy on the outside and the hummus has just the right amount of tahini in it. Obvioulsy we only ate vegetarian food but the meats certainly smelled good and from what I could gather by staring at other people's food, looked good too. It is all reasonably priced, apart from the wine, which is available but not the main feature, this being a Lebanese restaurant. We had to ask twice for the wine menu, the cheapest bottle was £18 and there were only a couple of those before it leapt up to £28 a bottle.

Which brings me to the atmosphere; when we arrived there were two couples there both eating studiously and saying not a word to each other. I am sure they were enjoying their food but they certainly didn't contribute to an atmosphere of jollity and frivolity, and I like a bit of that when I go out to eat. The waiters were helpful but grim faced and I was feeling a little uneasy until the rest of our party arrived and we made enough noise to drown out the misery.

I suppose people go there to eat, adn the food is absolutely worth going for, good, fresh, well seasoned food at about £15 per head. However, if you want something a little less functional than simply going, eating and leaving, I would take a couple of lively dining companions to break the silence.

Ottolenghi

2009-04-14T08:56:00.007Z

Ottolenghi is a strange beast, I refer to the Islington branch as it is the only one I have visited. I have been twice so far and am not sure I will go back. Both times we went before going to see a play at the Almeida (this time, Parlour Song, which we both thought was awful but which everyone else seemed to find hilarious) as it seemed to suit a pre theatre type dinner, what with it's cafe style tables and piles of food on the counters.

The decor is all white, the waiters attractive and clad in black. There are several long shared tables in the centre of the restaurant and other smaller, bookable tables around the side. The menu is divided into 'From the Counter' (cold) and 'From the Kitchen' (hot). From the Counter dishes cost between £6 and £8 and From the Kitchen cost about £10 on average. Dishes are 'for sharing' which means that they are small and you have to order a lot, they recommend about 3 each.

There is nothing wrong with this concept it is just that really what it means is cold food and hot food and I slightly resent the tarted up labels. Particularly as when you order a hot dish the waiter leans in and says 'that dish is From The Kitchen and will take a little longer, we will bring it when it is ready (ie not with the rest of the food) is that ok?'. And I suppose it is ok, it's just that what they mean is that they are going to cook it and bring it when it is cooked, which is what usually happens when you go to a restaurant.

The food itself is very good. As a vegetarian you are basically getting small plates of vegetables, but they are very well seasoned, inventively presented vegetables, green beans with chili jam, ricotta stuffed courgette flowers, griddled courgette with artichoke and black lentils. All delicious. However, there is also something unsatisfying about it all. Probably because it is well cooked, simple buffet/tapas style food presented as a 'concept'. And it is expensive for what it is. £8 for a plate of green beans, however delicious, seems like a lot.

I want to like Ottolenghi, which is why I went back, and I think I would like it better if they were a little more honest about what they were serving and presented themselves in a less earnest and aspirational way.

The Table

2009-04-09T08:54:00.006Z

The Table is a cafe at the bottom of an architects office on Southwark street (just behind The Tate), so as you would expect it is all clean lines and natural wood. The food has all the usual credentials, locallly sourced organic etc, which are now less likely to make a place remarkable. However the food here is good, very good in fact.

I know it will come as no surprise when I say that we go there to have eggs. This could mean that we have a monotonous diet or that eggs are a good benchmark with which to measure most restuarants, take your pick. Anyway we had eggs. So far I have had fried and scrambled and Joff has had poached and scrambled. All were excellent, the yokes runny in the fried eggs and the scrambled were perfectly creamy but not too runny. The bread, from an award winning bakery, is sliced thickly and seemingly toasted on a griddle pan which gives it a smoky, almost burnt flavour. Lovely. The ccoffee is good and the service friendly. As far as puddings go I have only had a slice of banana bread which had a toffee ish consistency and was much nicer than it looked.

The eggs cost £4 and the coffee is how much it usually costs in this type of place, which means I have forgotten but it didn't make me shout so it can't have been a lot. They are open 7 - 5 weekdays and 9 - 3 on weekends.

Supperclubs

2009-02-28T08:49:00.004Z

Joff and I had a discussion one evening, well over several evenings in fact, about the possibility of opening our front room to strangers and cooking them dinner. Or more accurately Joff would cook them dinner and I would boss him about and welcome people in. Our house is small so we figured we could probably only fit 4 people in happily. We would charge them only for the cost of ingredients and they would bring wine. Well, it seems we were not alone, apparently some food bloggers (notably Ms Marmitelover) are already doing it. Foodrambller was a guest in Ms Marmitelovers front room, otherwise known as The Underground Restaurant and writes about it here. The fact that there have been articles about it in both the Guradian and the Metro means it is sure to spread. We may even have a go, I will keep you posted. Meanwhile Iwould like to hear from anyone who has been to one, or if not, do you like the idea and would you go?

Joe's kitchen

2009-02-15T16:54:00.009Z

Joe's kitchen is an American diner style restaurant in borough, very close to the station. We go there mostly for convenience, it is nearish to the house and close to the gym, and it does eggs on toast and I like to eat eggs on toast for lunch at the weekend.

The atmosphere is warm and vibrant and the menu pretty much what you would expect:eggs, burgers, pancakes, breakfasts, french toast. The coffee is good and served in decent sized cups, the decor is self consciously 'homey', toys, books, cans of beans, jars of sweets on shelves, that kind of thing.

And now for the quibble, and it is a quibble rather than a reason not to go, because we do still keep going: the service. It is cheerful enough and solicitous enough but erratic doesn't come near to describing it. They take your order, the food is cooked and placed on the serving hatch (you can see through this to the kitchen) and there it sits, sometimes for what seems like 10 minutes. Waiting staff walk past it, sometimes even lean over it to talk to the kitchen staff, walk past it again, talk to other waiting staff, look at it, but only after an extraordinarily long time do they pick it up and bring it to you. This means it is often a little colder than it should be, although not quite as cold as it could be given the length of time it has been sitting there. It has now got to the point where I sit facing away from the kitchen, otherwise I become obsessed with watching the food sit on the hatch while people ignore it.

But we still keep coming back. This is because the food is actually fairly good, it is one of the few places near borough to eat (see previous posts Lunch in Borough Market 1 and 2) and because I am absurdly optimistic. The conclusiont to all this is that there is a market for good, simple lunch places in Borough and that if Joe's Kitchen got it's serving system sorted out it would be very good instead of ok.

Hare and Tortoise - Big Dish, Small Bill

2009-02-08T16:47:00.005Z

This is the first time I have visited a Hare and Tortoise, a chain of Japanes noodle restaurants. We went to the one in the Brunswick Centre in Bloomsbury, which is essentially a shopping centre and so not hugely atmospheric.

The restaurant itself is cafe like, wooden tables, no frills. I have only recently acquired a taste for Japanes food and being a vegetarian I am obviously limited in the range I have had. This said the Hare and Tortoise serves good and extraordinarily cheap food. I had ramen noodles, tofu, and green leafy vegetables in broth served in a vast bowl. I also had a starter of spring rolls with a delicously tangy sauce and shared a small jug of sake.

There were 3 of us, we each had a starter and a giant main course (along the same lines as the one I have just described) a small jug of Sake and 2 cokes. The bill came to £30. £30!! Unbelievable. I felt like a student. And there was so much food none of us could eat it all. And it tasted good, the tofu was covered in a very light batter so helld its texture in the broth, the greens were not overcooked and the noodles firm and more ish.

This is great recession food, I mean surely I am not expected to eat in every night. I shall be visiting the Hare and tortoise again and seeking out similar bargain restaurants, although I suspect this may be hard to beat.

Giraffe

2009-02-08T16:29:00.004Z

Giraffe is a ubiquitous chain that describes itself as both a 'family' and 'world food' restaurant. Normally all of those things would be enough to make my heart sink but I am fond of Giraffe. It is hearty, friendly (the waiting staff are almost too cheery) and the food is fresh and mostly tasty. It is a good place to go when you have seen or done something or are on the way to see or do something.

We ate here after seeing The Reader ( I liked it but then I liked the book and it meant I could waffle on about it for ages afterwards). I ordered somethign vegetarian but without the mushrooms which they then ran out of. This meant I ordered a Power food Salad and had to order chips, because you can't have salad without chips, not in winter. I was fairly disappointed ordering as it always seems like a last resort to order salad in restuarants. However I was pleasantly suprised; it was very good, with generous amounts of toasted seeds and cashews to add crunch, flavoursome but not overpowering dressing and no goat's chees, which is always a bonus. And the chips are lovely: thin, crispy and salty.

There is a good selection of wine, the atmosphere is lively and the food reasonably priced. It is the sort of place to go when you want to go somewhere nice and pretty safe, where most people will find something to eat, not high end but happy.

EV at home

2009-01-02T14:23:00.006Z

So, on New YEar's eve we decided not to go to the Real Greek after all (nothing personal). Instead Joff went to the deli at EV in Waterloo, EV is a chain of Turkish restaurants that includes Tas, and EV. The main restuarant is huge, set under the railway arches in Waterloo and does reasonably priced Turkish food, particularly good for vegetarians.

Next door is a bakery and delicatessen selling much of the food served in the restuaraunt as well as bags of dried fruit, beans, herbs etc. For our New YEar's Eve feast Joff bought hummus, tabouleh, peppers and aubergines in oil, slices of a cheese and spinach pie (like borek), turkish delight and baklava. delicious. We supplemented it with other things like more aubergine and falafel but it was dleicious and fresh, if filling.

Off to Giraffe, post cinema, later and will report back tomorrow.

Christmas and New Year

2008-12-30T15:13:00.005Z

We ate in over Christmas and since I don't do any of the cooking I don't really feel like I can blog about it. Although I do a lot of the eating. For the record we had Lasagne (veg) and then a Japanese style dish with rice noodles and tofu. Very nice.

As for eating out, we haven't done much of that recently but are plannign to go to the Real Greek for New year's eve, which is a little random but it is on the river, close to home and they do Gigantes beans, how could we resist?

Also, plan to have lunch in the V & A on new year's day so will report back on that too.

Le Pain Quotidien

2008-11-08T15:21:00.007Z

Le Pain Quotidien, which apparently means daily bread, is a Belgian chain consisting of a restaurant and bakery, based unsurprisingly around it's very high quality and correspondingly highly priced bread. The 'concept' is that there are long wooden tables in the centre of the restuarant around which everyone sits, ie you share a table. Although in the waterloo branch there are also a lot of smaller tables for the less european and more squeamish among us. The decor is all unvarnished wood and large wooden dressers selling jam and other such condiments.

I have never eaten an evening meal there so can only comment on what I have had, which is two boiled eggs, fresh bread soldiers and a very aesthetically pleasing paper wrapped french butter pat accompanied by a vat of lovely coffee served in a bowl. Joff has also only had the same, several times. Call us unadvertourous but we know what we like...and we are vegetarians which probably serves us right. Still, I have seen people eating all sorts of things there and they all seemed happy. Service is friendly and the clientele unreletingly middle class, I have never seen so many little boys in faux hand knitted sweaters in my life, except in chiswick.

I like it there. The coffee is excellent, the eggs are fresh, the bread is perfect: crusty, chewy and fresh. There is also something immensely satisfying about cupping a large white bowlful of coffee in your hands. It is of course absurdly expensive if you allow yourself to think about it, which I suppose in these crunchy times you should do, £4 for boiled eggs and £3 for a large coffee. But if spending money on good quality food is what you like to do and you can still afford to do it I recommend you do it here.

Trees for Cities

2008-10-11T12:55:00.004Z

This is a late update but we completed the Treeathlon. It was a gorgeous day and there weren't too many runners which made for a relaxed atmosphere. Battersea Park is pretty and, importantly, flat. Joff ran with me this time so he coud be the pace person, I told him to keep an eye on the time as I wanted to do it in under 40 minutes adn then every time he looked at his watch I shouted that I was going as fast as I can and he could go on if he wanted. Which led me to the conclusion that I am a grumpy runner, I do not feel the wind in my hair and freedom driving me along, it feels like a hard slog, I look red and sweaty as opposed to lithe and athletic and it always feels like a long way. However, once finished I am excited enough that I didn't actually die doing it that it all seems worthwhile. In the end I managed to complete it in 34 and a bit minutes, which wasn't too bad, event though at one point I was being overtaken by some pretty elderly looking people.

And on to the food. We collected our Veggie brunches in their little brown paper bags, took them back to my mums, where we changed, and then promptly went out to lunch. Not that they didn't look nice but going out to lunch seemed like the thing to do. For the record the brunch consisted of a club sandwich with salad, egg and cheese. I think it was the egg and cheese that did it, I don't really see the point of egg and cheese, it's a bit like having pizza and chips. We went to Coffee Republic on the Kings road and had bagels, which they make at the counter and which were fresh and suitably chewy. The coffe there is good and strong, the surroundings seem a little faded but this meant there was room to sit down. I prefer the coffee here to most of the other coffee chains, except perhaps Cafe Nero, and you could do a lot worse than lunch on one of their bagels.

Running 5k

2008-09-14T08:58:00.004Z

Next weekend we are running 5k for a charity trees for cities, which is a tree planting charity. Please see the widgit on the right for details of my just giving sponsorship page. We are having a veggie brunch afterwards which I will tell you about when I have eaten it.

The Cut Bar and Restaurant

2008-09-13T09:02:00.002Z

The Cut Bar and Restaurant is attached to the Young Vic Theatre and is therefore mainly aimed at pre and post theatre eating and drinking. It is a large open space with outside tables and an upstairs Bar area and does become fairly noisy. Given that you are unlikely to come here for a quiet, romantic dinner the noise is not really a problem and lends the place a lively atmosphere.

The food is good and reasonable priced, it is not a wide menu but this means that it is quick to come to the table and what there is is high quality. Last night I had courgette and aubergine sandwich (burger style) and chips. We shared a large and very green salad with deliciously sharp dressing and a side dish of green beans and shallots. The courgette and aubergine were perfectly cooked, with just enough chargrilling to give them a smoky taste without obliterating the original vegetable. The chips were the best I have had for a long time, crispy outside and soft and fluffy in the middle. Joff finished with a scoop of apparently very good vanilla ice cream.

With two glasses of wine each the bill came to £42 pounds which I think is pretty good value. The service was efficient and friendly and the whole operation friendlier and more inviting than the basement restaurant at the Old Vic.

Toast

2008-09-13T08:58:00.002Z

I have been excellent toast this week, a rye and carraway seed loaf from De Gustibus in Borough Market. It has lasted all week and becomes crispy round the edges when toasted properly. I like it best with peanut butter.

Moti Mahal

2008-08-22T09:36:00.007Z

Moti Mahal is a modern Indian restaurant in Covent Garden's Great Queen Street. The restuarant started in India and has now expanded globally, the chef used to cook for the Indian Prime Minister apparently. The decor, with it's white interior, linen table cloths, fine table ware and wooden floors, is far removed from the more traditional Indian restaurants in the area, and the staff are smartly dressed and attentive, if a little formal and unsmiling. The clientele, on a thursday night when we visited, are mostly business types who look well fed and used to fine dining and the whole atmosphere seems, well, flashy.

Flashy is not necessarily a bad thing and we found ourselves ordering a glass of champagne and a Manhattan cocktail, not our usual drinks order for dinner. The service wa a little slow to start with but warmed up quickly, the drinks were good, although the Manhattan wasn't laced with quite enough Bourbon for Joff.

The food was very good indeed, we ordered two starters and both were fresh tasty and unusual, the Bhuney Aloo aur Mutter ki Tikki being the best, a stack of little potato cakes, stuffed with vegetables and served with a yoghurt and tamarind sauce. It was full of flavour, delicately cooked and beautifully presented. The main courses were of the same quality and although they looked small the food here is rich so we found ourselves very full at the end, I could only manage one out of four of the chocolates that came with the bill and I love chocolate (also my husband really dislikes it so I face no competition in the eating of it). Joff's main course was full of wonderful looking mushrooms and the other dishes used ingredients not often used in Indian cooking, well not in the restaurants I have visited anyway, for example wild boar and lamb chops. There are excellent vegetarian choices which means we cna both visit again without having to have the same thing, a peril of vegetarian dining.

we left full, happy and agreeing we would come again. It isn't cheap, the bill was £62 for two starters, two main courses, a side order of dal, a glass of champagne and a Manhattan. However, if you are looking for something different with smart surroundings and beautifully cooked food, this is the place to come. And if anyone ever suggests that you go on a blowout to The Red Fort suggest this instead.

The National Gallery cafe

2008-08-10T14:41:00.006Z

The National Cafe is the Peyton and Byrne venture inside the National Gallery, it has been there for a year or perhaps more but I visited for the first time last week. It is beautifully designed, a little like having a slap up lunch in a library or the dining room in an old country house. We visited the cafe, which is attached to the brasserie, which also looks good and may warrant a visit soon.

The centre piece of the cafe is a large dresser like table covered in cakes and pastries from which you help yourself, using a pleasingly old fashioned cake slice. The cakes are all homemade looking and unimpeded by wrapping of any sort, so the effect is that of visiting an enthusiastic Aunt's house for tea and being invited to help yourself to whatever you want, which cleverly allows you to forget you will actually have to pay for it when you reach the counter. The sandwiches are fresh and made with good dense bread, I had pitta bread, hummus and tomato and onion salad, all of which was lovely, the hummus tasting pleasingly tahini filled.

Once you have loaded your plates with cake and paid you can either sit at a table or perch on a stool at a bar which gives you a surprisingly entertaining view of the cake stand and allows you to watch other people loading their plates with cake. All in all it was a pleasing experience and I have already chosen three more types of cake to try which means I will need to go back at least three more times (the giant fig rolls look particularly exciting).

Rosso Pomodoro

2008-08-09T09:58:00.006Z

Rosso Pomodoro is an Italian chain of restaurants with a branch in Covent Garden. There is an important distinction from a chain of Italian restaurants and an Italian chain of restuarants, Rosso Pomodoro started life in Italy and there are branches in Milan, Rome and Naples as well as many other Italian cities and they now have 3 in London, which means that they pride themselves in providing authentic Italian food with quality ingredients. I realise that these phrases are over used and that most restaurants now claim to use quality ingredients, however Rosso Pomodoro also claims to be part of the slow food movement (10 of their dishes use slow food ingredients) which means that they use ingredients from producers who grow rare or threatened varieties of certain foods in a way that protects the environment and at a price that is fair to the grower. The rest of the food they use comes mainly from 6 trusted suppliers.

This all sounds very earnest and right on but actually translates into delicious, fresh, beautifully cooked food with it's roots in Naples. The tomatoes are exceptional and the olive oil is excellent. There is not a huge range of dishes but I think that this is one of their strengths, most dishes come, not surprisingly, with tomatoes in some form, the main choices being pasta, pizza and a few meat or fish dishes. This is presumably because they limit their ingredients to those that they consider to be top quality. Pasta is handmade, pizzas are cooked in a firewood oven and taste somehow unlike any other pizza I have had in this country service is friendly and efficient. the decor reflects the name and is mostly tomato red and white. On one recent visit someone in our party sent their pasta dish back as it was not very hot, it was immediately taken off the bill and she was offered anything else she might like free of charge.

Rosso Pomodoro is a good quality Italian restaurant with just enough of a difference to make it stand out from the sea of other pizza restaurants in the capital. It offers good vegetarian choices and the best tomatoes I have eaten in London.

Hummus Galore

2008-07-26T08:15:00.002Z

Hummus Brothers is, unsurprisingly, a Hummus restaurant/cafe run by two brothers. I remember it opening on Wardour street and thinking, although I adore hummus, that it would never last, the menu would be too limiting and you can just buy a tub from the supermarket surely. How wrong I was. They have just opened their second branch in Holborn and deliver across the west end. I have passed it many times and it is always busy so last Saturday, after visiting Bar Italia, we decided to try it out, although it had clearly already proved itself a success.

It is a concept restaurant in so much as you chose a bowl, small or large, choose a topping to go on the hummus and a side dish if you want one. This is all explained by a cheerful waitress and service generally is quick and friendly. I had cherry tomatoes, onion and cucumber salad as a topping and Joff had tabbouleh and a hard boiled egg. The egg was an extremely strange colour but this didn't deter him and we both tucked in. It was good. And filling. The hummus was a nice consistency and you could taste the tahini, garlic and lemon sauce is served on the side for those who are squeamish about such things. It makes a decent alternative to a sandwich and would make a good, quick dinner before a film or show. You can add more sides to make it more substantial or go for a bigger bowl. It cost about £15 for two with two large glasses of apple juice. It is more or less opposite Just Falafs and has mostly shared seating but with more of a restaurant feel than the falafel bar.

Bar Italia

2008-07-20T08:56:00.004Z

Bar Italia, for those of you who have not yet visited, is a famous and long standing Italian coffee bar, with the emphasis on Italian. There are some tables outside which enable a good view of the comings and goings on Frith street and some stools inside so you can sit, feet dangling and listen to the waiters showing off. The coffee is good and strong, if not cheap (it cost £5 for two coffees yesterday). The place has been here for years and is open late, which means that many Londoners have a history associated with it, usually a well needed coffee after a late nights drinking. They also serve cakes and sandwiches, none of which i tasted, but which looked fresh enough. It makes a difference from the ubiquitous chains and the coffee really is good and strong enough to keep you ticking along for a day in town.

Running 10k

2008-07-13T15:41:00.002Z

Last Sunday we ran the British 10k. It was my first public run, unless you count slogging along the road occasionally or running on the treadmill at the gym, and I actually enjoyed it. It took me 1hr 15 minutes and I was stained a deep reddish purple but there is something exhilarating about being involved in large public events, as well as being able to run in the road past several key London landmarks. I may well do one again and it hasn't stopped me running at the gym so there must be something about it I like...afterwards we went here and ate chips.

Eat and Two Veg

2008-07-13T09:17:00.006Z

Eat and Two Veg is a vegetarian diner in Marylebone High Street, with the emphasis on diner. It is the diner styling of the restaurant that makes it so appealing. Most vegetarian restaurants, at least until recently, have either been cramped cafe style affairs for lunch or a hasty dinner, or pared down, austere temples to health that aren't that much fun. Eat and Two Veg is a proper restaurant with red leather (or perhaps leather 'style') booths, spacious seating and good, friendly service. The food does tend towards vegetarian versions of meat dishes, such as schnitzel, sausage and mash and burgers, which I know will put some people off. However it is perfectly good, if not high end, food and the vegetables themselves are fresh and nicely presented. The burgers are tasty, the chips crispy and my husband has enjoyed a range of 'fake' favourites such as hotpot and schnitzel and mash with watercress sauce. I know there is an argument against imitating meat dishes in vegetarian cooking but there is something comforting for a vegetarian in knowing you can choose anything from the menu and be served, good, nicely cooked food in relaxing and enjoyable surroundings. It may not sound like a lot to ask but it makes a welcome change to risotto or earnestly served bean salad and quiche.

Lunch in borough Market part 3

2008-06-07T14:26:00.004Z

We were again searching for somewhere to eat in Borough (had just been to the gym) and were marching down Borough high street towards Joe's Kitchen (more of this in another post). Walking past Taz, a good chain of Turkish restaurants, we noticed Taz cafe next door, empty- ish and inviting enough so we went in. They serve sandwiches with slightly off the wall fillings (Leek, spinach and yoghurt plus feta, olives and mint) as well as traditional Turkish pastries stuffed with cheese and spinach, falafel wraps and fresh looking salad plates. Service was friendly enough, the price was reasonable and the food good. I will definitely add this to the everso slightly expanding list of places to sit and eat in Borough. Oh and we had a piece of Baklava too which was fresh, buttery and dripping with honey... delicious.

Just Falafs

2008-05-17T08:55:00.006Z

is a falafel cafe in wardour street, sort of like Maoz but a little more upmarket,eg it has proper seating. You can choose between a 1,2 or 3 ball wrap (sounds alarming but is very tasty) and then have a choice of sauces, salads and relishes. It is good value for money, a 1 ball wrap costs abotu £2.50 and is much larger than you might expect. We arrived there having bickered our way around soho looking for the perfect lunchspot, having failed, and feeling tired, hungry and ratty, I led us into just falafs as a sort of last resort and was pleasantly surprised. We left feeling full up and happy. I would definitely go back.

Eggs VW style

2008-04-18T17:20:00.003Z

Having just come back from Dresden where we did a lot of eating I am now deviating from the London theme but sticking to the food theme. Hungry and looking for lunch on the one rainy day we had, we wandered into the famous (in Dresden) transparent VW car factory to look at the restaurant of ocurse and managed miraculously to get an egg sandwich. We had to ask for them to take out the ham and the cheese but eventually managed to get a delicious and pretty sandwich, my first in a car factory. We left without paying much attention to the cars but did admire all the glass and design (and the loos). If you are ever in Dresden and in need of an egg sandwich then the vW factory is the place to go.

The Larder

2008-04-09T20:37:00.005Z

The Larder is a restaurant, bar, bakers and shop all rolled into one glossy package. It is on st. John street in clerkenwell, an area already laden with bars and restaurants but this is a welcome addition. The bread is made ont he premises and is for sale to take home alongside other pastries. The meat and fish are all bought from trusted and named sources and there are good and unusual vegetarian options, for example, asparagus, poached egg and parmesan or vegetable paella. The food is rich and tasty and the portions generous, the service attentive and friendly without being manic. The place itself is all clean lines and mood lighting with an open kitchen, an arrangement I am becoming increasingly fond of.
our meal for two with two good glasses of wine came to £35 which I think is pretty reasonable for such good quality. We will absolutely be going back.

The Garrison

2008-03-27T20:15:00.003Z

The Garrison, which I have mentioned previously as being one of my favourites, is a gastro pub on Bermondsey street. It is still beautifully decorated and retains a good atmosphere, it is still a great place for a drink if you can get a table. However, having eaten there a couple of times recently, I think that the quality has slipped. Twice food has arrived cold and the cold dish has been taken away while Joff had either to eat his or wait for mine and leave his to go cold(i have to say that both times it was taken off the bill). The most recent visit was better, but even then the food was not quite as hot as it should have been and was ok rather than delicious. It all gives the appearance of having been assembled and heated up rather than actually having been cooked, if you see what I mean. Anyway, sadly, I will not be going back for a while and will instead be going to the superior Bermondsey Kitchen.

Royal Festival Hall

2008-03-24T18:18:00.006Z

Company of Cooks have installed themselves in the terrace cafe area at the Royal Festival Hall and have made it an excellent place for lunch. There is plenty of space, much of it with a riverside view, and the place has a light and airy feel to it. It is not really a formal lunching kind of place but a good lazy Sunday or
Saturday destination. Excellent sandwiches on good, dense, seedy bread or focaccia with hummus and roasted courgettes. The cake is excellent and unusual, including a lavender cake with a wonderfully subtle flavour or, for Easter, a good rich, fruity simnel cake with generous amounts of marzipan. They also do seasonal salads and soups. Well made coffee and quick service make it one of my current favourites.

Nordic Bakery

2008-03-22T09:33:00.006Z

The Nordic Bakery in Golden Square, is a relatively new Scandinavian bakery and coffee shop. It serves open sandwiches on dark rye bread (salmon tartare, egg and anchovy, cheese and gherkins) and, the real draw, warm, fresh and deeply enticing cinnamon buns. The interior, as you might expect, is clean and modern looking and yet, mainly because of the comforting and drool inducing smell of cinnamon and baking when you enter, it also immensely comforting. We escaped the hailstorm there and had tea in retro looking and oversized cups. The tea was perfectly brewed and reasonably priced, the smell was deeply delicious and the service friendly and efficient. In this part of London, tucked behind the generally overpriced and tacky Piccadilly, this is a rare find and i strongly you pay it a visit.

Red Fort

2008-03-16T15:33:00.006Z

Red Fort is an Indian restaurant on Dean Street. Sounds nice and simple, well it's a posh Indian restaurant on Dean street. One with a slightly intimidating but smart exterior and a man on the door. Starting to sound more complicated? Good. There is a bar downstairs that serves good cocktails and has slightly worryingly efficient service. But back to the restaurant, for an Indian restaurant it has a small selection of vegetarian food, no mains, but all vegetable dishes can be eaten as mains, fair enough. In fact I found it hard to tell whether the vegetable dishes were sides or mains and, when they came, what the difference was. And this is where the trouble starts, the food tasted good and the service was brisk and friendly enough but by the end of the meal, although we had all had a good time, one look at the bill left me feeling thoroughly ripped off. Joff had a mushroom dish as his main but it was served in the same dish as the side dishes and put on the table without an explanation, was it part of the table's side dishes or his main? As a result he had to grab it quickly before it was snaffled by someone else. My aubergines were good, spicy and stuffed with paneer and cashews, but absolutely tiny ( I guess I should have paid more attention the descriptor 'baby' on the menu). A selection of starters for everyone translated as everyone getting a plate each containing all of the starters - an expensive an unnecessary way of doing it as we had to give away all of our fish and meat starters and were left with a tiny patty and a mini veg kebab. with rice and bread for the table, again, (the table was very well fed) and water brought without the choice of tap, the bill came to an astounding £60 a head! i have been to a fair few expensive restaurants but this was undoubtedly the most expensive when you take into consideration what we actually got for our money. Oh and the bill for the water alone came to £ 40. We managed to have a good evening despite this and the bill was met with disbelief and good humour. However I will not be going back and I would advise others not to unless they are feeling extraordinarily flush. Next time i might try Amaya or Veeraswamy.

Dealer's Choice

2008-03-09T09:52:00.004Z

Dealer's Choice is a Patrick Marber play. Patrick Marber wrote Closer and the screenplay for Notes on a Scandal, for which he won an oscar nomination. Dealer's Choice has transferred from the Menier Chocolate factory and has had excellent reviews. It stars Roger Lloyd Pack (Trigger from Only Fools and Horses) and is directed by Samuel West.

We went to see it last night full of expectation. I like the Trafalgar Studios, steep seating which means there is no restricted view and some seats right on the stage where you can almost taste the actors sweat (if you really want value for money). The start was promising, a good set and funny dialogue, the characters a little stereotyped but plenty of room for them to develop. However after about half an hour the characters were stuck firmly in stereotype and the plot looming inevitable ahead, the possibilities for misunderstandings and betrayal laid out all too clearly.

The story was played out around a pivotal poker game, which happened in the second half, but by the time it started I felt as if I had seen it already. The game itself was supposed to draw out all the simmering tensions and father /son relationships within the 4 characters working in an unnamed restaurant. There were suggestions of the desperation and compulsive risk taking that may have made it more interesting but these were not developed enough. There was plenty of crying and teasing laughter but it all rang hollow, the crying in particular was entirely unconvincing, something which at this level of theatre is really not good enough. The long, tension building pauses were so devoid of tension that it seemed as if the actors had forgotten their lines. the ending was completely obvious from the start and roger Lloyd Packs attempts at sounding menacing meant him lowering his voice to a throaty growl devoid of any actual malice. Any threat of physical violence was staged badly so that hands raised in anger hovered uncertainly in the air, immediately dissipating the tension and making the threat seem fake.

I know it easier to slam a production than praise it but I was really hoping to enjoy this. However it seemed hopelessly dated, even though it was only written in 1995, and the acting could not save the script which was not funny enough or menacing enough to truly explore the relationships between the men, or to make us care about their blasted hopes and dreams.

Cafe Koha

2008-03-09T09:39:00.002Z

Cafe Koha is a wine bar and restaurant in the centre of London, st. Martin's court just behind Leicester square. I have been going there for years now but recently it has had a refit and now is more spacious and better designed, you no longer have to walk sideways to avoid bumping into tables.

It is a rare find in Soho as it is not a chain, not a pseudo club, not frighteningly crowded and they do not force you to eat if you don't want to. The wine list is good, the waiters friendly and if you find yourself getting peckish as you linger over your wine you may fancy the meditteranean platter at £6.95. Not enough for a meal but enough to take the edge off. The food on the rest of the menu is good but not spectacular, but that is not really the point. The point, as I see it, is that Koha is a refuge in Soho, a good meeting place, good for a glass or two before or after shopping, theatre or a film.It is calm, classy and welcoming, and you can't say that about most of the places around Leicester square tube station.

Lunch in Borough Market pt 2

2008-01-20T10:59:00.000Z

So it is true that it is difficult to sit down and eat lunch in Borough Market, a lot of standing up and shovelling down meat filled rolls goes on. Which is all well and good but we were looking for somewhere to sit and chat and recover from the rain. We tried the French Patisserie but were told we couldn't just have coffee but that we all had to eat, 'It is a patisserie' we were told rather snootily. So we decamped to shipp's tearooms and were welcomed with open arms, even told that they only did tea but we were welcome to go and buy a coffee and bring it in! Needless to say we didn't, we all had tea, served in retro little tea pots with floral china on freshly laundered table linen. It was fantastic and old fashioned but quite clearly styled that way, with china cups suspended from the ceiling and girls with rose bud complexions serving. Service was friendly, tea was delicious and the cakes were moist, buttery and everything that we hoped they would be. This all does not come cheaply, but then you are in Borough market so presumably you have already left your financial sense at the gates. I can't say exactly how much it cost because my Aunt kindly paid, but I did notice that she had to reach into her purse for an extra note when the bill came. However it is a great place, friendly, tasty, and extrememly well dressed.

Lunch in Borough Market

2008-01-19T10:19:00.000Z

is actually farily tricky if you don't want ot eat standing up, outside or in a pub. I may be picky but all I ask for is a nice sandwich, good coffee, fine cake and a seat to sit on with a roof over my head. I realise space is at a premium but I would pay extra on top of the extra I am already paying just to be able to sit in at, for example, Konditor and Cook. Anyway I am off there to meet my mother and aunt and to pick up some bread at DeGustibus. Will report back...

Groats

2008-01-12T20:07:00.000Z

Tonight we had groats made from oats. It was a risky shopping choice but we were feeling adventurous and it paid off. Joff cooked them while I occassionally tried to boss him around. He ignored me and the groats were really nice, cooked in water and with onions added they were soft on the outside but with a bit of bite, very comforting. Like barley but nicer. ANyway we had them with tofu burgery things, peas, broccoli, spring onions, red onion and a cucumber and sprout salad. Very vegtastic and I realise not everyone's cup of tea but it was delicious and meant that here was room for plum crumble afterwards...perfect.

Il Bordello

2007-11-03T16:38:00.000Z

I l Bordello is an Italian in wapping high street. It's name obviously refers to a whorehouse but it's interior does not really reflect this, unless it is a reference to the generosity of the portions! The food here is large, heaving with garlic and delicious. It is not high end or delicate but home cooked, old fashioned I talian, the extensive Pizza list does not contain goats cheese for example. It is medium priced, about £20 a head, but I would recommend skipping starters and pudding, leaving room fo rthe vast mains. Olives are good, again a generous amount and will do as a starter, they are served prawn cocktail in an ice cream sundae glass with cocktail stick with frilly bits of paper adroning them. They are also laced with garlic. I love this restaurant, but so do amny others so it is advisable to book, it also means that it is generally a fairly noisy, buzzy place, not necessarily the place for an intimate conversation. I generally find the waiters spectacularly grumpy but somehow it adds to the charm, which is not my usual angle on grumpy waiters, the warm adn lively atmosphere must somehow make up for it. Another tip, generally when I go here I have garlic leaking from every pore for several days afterwards so don't go with on a first date or when you may have to impress someone the next day.

Bermondsey Kitchen

2007-11-03T16:28:00.000Z

Bermondsey Kitchen is a restaurant, not surprisingly, in Bermondsey street. It is our local which is a blessing and a curse, mainly because it is so good but not cheap. Starters are around £6 and mains from £10 to £15 with excellent puddings at £6. The food is fantastic, often tasting so much better than it sounds on the page, a tabbouleh with toasted flat bread tasted sublime, with lots of fresh lemon and slivers of crispy, toasted flatbread buried in the tabbouleh. They generally have two vegetarian options all of which have been of high quality. We went there once and had home made raspberry ripple for pudding, somehting that my husband still talks and dreams about but which we have sadly not come across again. The waiters are friendly, the atmosphere warm and relaxing and the winelist good and in line with the food prices. A fantastic local restaurant and if I had to choose I would say that it just pips the Garrison in terms of food quality if not in decor.

De Gustibus

2007-07-16T14:26:00.000Z

De Gustibus is a breadshop in borough market, although breadshop is a little prosaic for such a place, they describe themselves as artisan bread makers, and so they are. I just bought a granary loaf there (yes it cost £2.50 but I have gone over the expensive bread threshold and there is no going back) and it smells and looks so delicious that I am already looking forward to tomorrow's breakfast. They specialise in bread as you would expect but they also had some very good looking sandwiches there and some hugely tempting chocolate brownies...next time.

Joan as Policewoman

2007-07-15T16:24:00.000Z

So we went to see Joan as Policewoman at the Shepherds bush Empire. And on a week night too. The EMpire is faded and but comforting and we always go up to the first tier so that we can go and sit down, particularly as Joan is not a moshing kind of girl. The first support act, Loney Deer, were from Sweden and were pretty good in a spangly sort of way, the second, whose name I think was Andrew Bird was not so good. He was interesting though, which can be a bit of a curse. He played many instruments and then somehow sampled them all together, layering them one on top of the other. This sounds quite good and it was to start with but it all began to feel a bit like bedroom experimentalism (if you see what I mean) and a tad dull. Then came Joan. She looked fab in a silver jumpsuit type outfit and hair all tousled like Chrissie Hynde but prettier. She was particularly strong on audience banter which gave it a good atmosphere, although there was a little pocket of people chatting at the back which was distracting, but not as distracting as the poeple 'ssshh'ing them. Her voice is superb; strong and with a good range, she sings likes she means it. The only slight negative was that the songs are uneven, and I found this on her album too. Someof them start promisingly and then meander a little or go on too long, although Eternal Flame is a real crowd pleaser. All in all it was pretty good, mainly because of her charisma and voice, but the songs themselves would not send me running to listen to more, which is a shame.

too much chatter?

2007-07-07T09:51:00.000Z

Recently went to a talk at the ICA by Andrew Keen who has written a controversial book called 'Cult of the Amateur'. Essentially Keen's argument centres around Web 2.0 (user driven sites such as facebook, blogging, twitter etc) adn the so called democratisation of the internet. He argues that this new media poses a threat to our cultural values and understanding, web 2.0 is responsible for the downfall of our newspapers and means that nayone can contribute to the mass of information which we all have acces to. THis may at first seem like a good thing, but is it really? Keen says not, Journalists and others are paid and valued because of their vast experience and knowledge of a specific subject whereas anyone can blog or contribute to Wiki. The hapless user is therefore unable to tell whether any of the information that they are soaking up is 'true' or worth ingesting. Does all of this endless stream of web based chatter actually add up to any sort of worthwhile conversation? Again Keen things, on the whole, not. Anyone can now send out their undigested thoughts into the ether and anyone else can pick it up and churn it back out as a fact. Worse still, those poeple who originally made a living by trading their opinions or reporting the news are now increasingly unable to do so. People expect this information for free. No one is in charge of monitoring the information that we have access to and mostly we are unaware who is behind the stuff that we read or download. It is this anonymity that he is partuclarly suspicious of, when we pick up the Telegraph we expect it to be right of centre, when we pick up the Guradian we expect it to be leftish. When we read a blog or find an unspecified news source who is writing it and what is their agenda? The argument that drives this debate on is partly an old one: who should decide what is worthwile and what isn't? Is this new wave of blogging and social networking the end of the old elite dictating what we believe and think? Or is it the breakdown of a valuable and trusted structure which is being replaced with an endless stream of chatter and trivial opinion?

I think that this is an interesting and valuable debate to be having but it is perhaps, in the end, a pointless one. This is happening, I am writing all of this on a blog after all, and most likely no one will read it, but all of this stuff is not going to go away. The debate we should be having is how to adapt to it. How will newspapaers survive and if they do what do we want them to look like? Does it matter that a large section of our news and information is written by amateurs? Will that old division between amatuer and professional still exist and ultimately does it matter?

Menier Chocolate Factory

2007-06-27T20:12:00.000Z

The Chocolate Factory is a converted chocolate factory in Southwark, near Tate Modern, which now houses a theatre, gallery and restaurant. I've visited twice now and never yet been to see a play... Last time we went it was for food. We were early and were directed to a cosy little sofa area behind the dining section to have drinks, which made a change from having to stand by the door or perch on an unfeasibly small chair at the front of the resaturant. The place has a good, warm atmosphere and the building itself is impressive, all wood floors, exposed brick and beams. The food was good, reasonably priced (about £18 a head with drinks), generous portions and tasty. Although we nearly all had veggie burgers so we hardly sampled the breadth of the menu but hey we liked it anyway. Not the most delicate of cooking but comforting and well cooked. The only minor complaint was that the full menu wasn't being served until 8, so we chose from a smaller version, whcih restricted choice somewhat. This may be something to do with the fact that this is primarily a theatre and so it didn't trouble me too much and I would definitely go again, may be even see a play while I was there.

veggie restaurant

2007-06-12T19:21:00.000Z

222 Veggie Vegan is a vegetarian (No!) restuarant near west Brompton tube. We went there last Friday for the first time. The food is great, fresh and not the usual veggie food trying to be meaty food, no vegetarian lasagne or fake sausages (although I do like those), except for a token burger. I had crispy pancakes with abrocolli and some kind of cheesy tofu filling, which I am doing a poor job of describing but which tasted good, not in small part due to an excellent rich tomato sauce. The puddings were delicious, we had banana and walnut cake with vanilla ice cream. All the food is home made, no heatng up or buying in and is reasonably priced. The only slightly less than rosy thing about it all was the decor. If you are familiar with veggie restaurants then you will know that there seems ot be a connection between veggie food and bare neutral walls, pine furniture, folksy easy listening music and overly tall, thin owl like waiting staff. Surely there must be an opening somewhere for a decadent vegetarian restuarant, all red velvet and purple walls. Who says you can't eat tofu whilst listeneing to pink floyd!?

Scotland

2007-06-03T19:48:00.000Z

We have just returned from a (very) small Island in Scotland, surrounded by impressive scenery, actual wildlife (cuckoos that sound just like cuckoos - if you see what I mean), plush accommodation and all very middle of nowhereish. Lovely. However it means two things: one, I am unable to write about the usual hanging around town things as I saw no one except family (and that is a whole other blog in itself) and did very little except walk and lounge, and two that although I had a fantastic time, I did in fact sigh a little sigh of relief when we arrived back amongst the concrete and the shops.

Also I have lost my phone to computer cable and can't transfer pictures which means that the visual aspect of this will be a lot less interesting until I find it.

Designers at the ICA

2007-05-27T09:41:00.000Z

We went to the ICA to see a design show/discussion, Joff's idea as he is doing a product design course. I was sort of interested and sort of dreading it. My dread was confirmed when we arrived for a 7 pm start only to sit for half an hour wathcing 2 (very young) blokes with deisgner head stubble, fiddling with their laptops. When one of them got out his phone and was playing with both at the same time I was ready to leave. Eventually they started and their communication skills matched my expectations, not good. However once they got round to showing their work it was a completely different story. The event is set up to showcase mainly digital designers and their pet projects, in other words the things they would like to be doing when they are not designing car ads. The presentations we saw ranged from a short film, an idea for a digital art display, an interactive table and a truly astounding car ad (yes I know, it was a car ad but it was amazing). All of the designers were men and all pretty much looked under 30 and all seemed to be running their own companies. Easy to knock, but the skill they displayed was really impressive, it involved hour upon hour of doing complicated things with computers which I inherently think of as dull and tedious, mainly becuase I don't have a hope in hell of understanding it, but the work they produced was very creative and changed my opinion of both computer geeks and designers.

Broadband

2007-05-20T20:52:00.000Z

After six months in the dial up wilderness I am back on broadband (hence the sudden burst of posts) and it is sooo good to be back.

Zodiac - it's a killer!

2007-05-20T20:42:00.000Z

The film Zodiac has had nothing less than 4 star reviews and so I was looking forward to seeing it with great excitment, however after 2 and a half hours of watching it my excitment had turned to head nodding boredom. I admit I was tired already and I do have a habit of falling asleep in films with anything less than ear drum shattering jaw dropping action (although I like to think of myself as an arthouse lover, I think I am naturally more of a blockbuster type). This is a film about the fruitless search for a serial killer, who may or may not have killed anything from 4 - 40 people. They don't find him. Which would havebeen ok if anything else actually happened, like character development or stuff like that, but no such luck. A disparate group of police (or cops as they say over there) pursue the Zodiac as he taunts them with a seemingly endless chain of letters and codes to break (nothing duller than watching someone crack a code on film - witness the DA Vinci Code). They start off obsessed and end up obsessed and fired. Yes, the detail is impressive, the look of it inviting and the first 2 murder scenes are pretty scary, but that is not enought to carry over 2 hours of mumbling, bumbling interminable searching.

A Matter of Life and Death

2007-05-19T14:38:00.000Z

A Matter of Life and death is currently on at the National and is an adaptation of the Powell and Pressburger film of the same name. The play is done in association with Kneehigh Theatre
and as a result is a blend of music, physical theatre and circus style aerobatics. It is a story of a2nd workd war pilot who falls in love with a young, attractive radio operator called June, just before he falls to his death. The dead man who is due to 'collect' him and take him 'upstairs' fails to do so and he lives, only to meet and fall in love agian with June. The conundrum then is whether he should die as he was supposed to or be spared to pursue true love. The play ends with a trial to decide his fate. It is generally exciting and innovative, using an impressive team of actors to sing, dance, dangle from harnesses, ride bicycles round the stage and literally play with fire. None of this is done simply for effect and the atmosphere created is one of a distorted tiem and shifting reality. The only off note is sounded by the decision to use the end trial to give a stream of polemic about the random and awful nature of war, and the idiocy of being spared simply for love. The women of Dresden appear to plead their case as they have also lost loved ones, an addition for a modern audience who presumably can now consider the position of the bombed German citizens , which may have been unthinkable in 1946 when the film was made. However, this rams a point home too forcibly and unnecessarily, sounding clumsy when the rest of the production is so spot on.

Coffee@bermondsey street

2007-05-19T14:29:00.000Z

is a coffee shop done in 'bermondsey street' style, which means it is almost all organic (presumably inluding the staff) decorated in breeze blocks, coloured concrete and bits of lego, has wireless internet access and advertises oats milk! Having said that I actually really like it, the food is good (flalafel wraps, houmus and spinach ciabatta, good cake) the coffee strong and the staff a little floaty but generally pleasing. There are copious free papers lying about and you can access the internet on some dinky little computers at the back if you don't have your own teeny weeny notebook to use.

Imli

2007-03-24T20:17:00.000Z

advertises itself as Indian tapas, which basically means that it isIndian food, although in the modern sense of the phrase, in small portions. This means you can taste a wide variety of dishes or have to order a lot depeneding on your point of view...It also means that you can order things like a bulgar wheat and yellow bean salad alongside more traditional dishes such as samosas, which in my opinion is a refreshing alternative but to some may be an unforgivable transgression. Anyhow, we ordered six dishes plus a pudding and 2 glasses of wine and it came to £32 and was very tasty. We had to queue for 15 minutes but it was worth it - good value, good fod and a bubbly atmosphere, but may be too risky for lovers of a good old chicken tikka masala. Oh and they do decent vegetarian dishes too.

The Garrison

2007-03-18T10:07:00.000Z

The Garrison is a gastro pub on Bermondsey street, a street bristling with gastro pubs. The Garrison is decorated in what can only be described as shabby chic style, with the emphasis on chic, tassled lampshades, wall paper and distressed wooden tables with mismatched chairs. Perfect for city dwellers who want a country pub but can't be bothered to go to the country. The food is good and hearty but not cheap (about £10 for a main course) with good vegetarian options. Service is friendly and the atmosphere relaxing. It is always busy and tables are nearly always reserved but you can often occupy a table before its reservation time so the earlier you go the better. Recommended, but only if you like the whole gastro pub thing.

Veggie sandwich special of the week

2007-02-16T09:03:00.000Z

at Pret is egg mayonaisse, baby spinach and sun dried/blushed/tickled tomatoes, on granary bread. Lovely, creamy egg mayo, tangy tomatoes and spinach was fresh. Egg has a tendency to flop out and tomatoes drop onto your lap so tuck in a napkin!

An Endangered Restaurant

2007-02-16T08:51:00.000Z

Valentine's dinner at the Neal Street restaurant on...Neal street. It is basically the posh flagship restaurant of the Carluccio chain. And when I say posh I mean that it is also expensive (over £40 a head) but very delicious food - Italian meat, fish and pasta with the most enourmous olives you will have ever seen and the oiliest, saltiest bread, yum. Anyway, we had a great dinner, service was excellent and not too sickeningly Valentine-ish. The main point being, if I could get to it, that the restaurant is closing on March 17th due to the building being redeveloped, so if you want to spend some money and eat some good Italian food in smart surroundings, do it quickly (and eat a smalllunch as it is very filling). Ah yes also it is particularly famous for its mushrooms, so if you are a funghi fan then you really had better go before it shuts.

Going to Borough Market

2007-02-04T20:45:00.000Z

is very crowded and also very expensive but somehow it doesn't seem to matter if you pay £7 for dried figs, you can convince yourself they are the best dried figs you have ever eaten, and perhaps they are. The food all looks delicious as you glimpse it through the throng and there are so many free samples you can almost cobble together a free lunch, starter, main course and a variety of desserts, albeit all in tiny morsels. Best days, ie more food and more people, are Friday and Saturday, still going strong at 4pm.

Coffe, Cake and Kink

2007-01-28T20:46:00.000Z

London's only (so they say) kinky coffee shop. They sell coffee, tea, cake and erotica and pride themselves on being risque. In fact the atmosphere is more like having tea at a strangely comforting Aunt's house and the tea comes in generous pots which are more than enough for one. The service is solicitous and the cake delicious.

Bread

2007-01-27T10:33:00.000Z

The bagel bakery on Brick lane has excellent Chola and rye bread. It is open at all hours, meaning that you can buy a soft, fresh, crusty loaf of rye bread with carraway seeds at 10.30 at night - if you wish to.

Boating

2007-01-20T22:16:00.000Z

Todays activity...going to lunch by boat. caught a boat from Masthouse pier to St. Katherine's Dock and walked over Tower Bridge to the design museum. The boat goes by Canary warf and has great views as you approach Tower Bridge. You can take this boat all the way to Savoy Pier, past Tate Modern and London Bridge.

good cake

2007-01-13T18:15:00.001Z

Tate modern members bar has good sandwiches, salads and excellent cake (pictured), particularly carrot. Also does strong coffee and has a fantastic view, seats outside when the weather is better. They open late on Fridays and maybe saturdays (check) and is the perfect place for a glass of wine after work overlooking the city and facing St. Pauls. You have to be a member (my membership has currently lapsed) which isn't cheap ( about £60 a year) but you also get free entrance to all of the exhibitions and private views (for an extra 20 quid).
Tate modern also does art.

toilets

2007-01-12T22:47:00.000Z

anybody needing the loo whilst out and about should visit the ICA on the Mall. There is a fee to go to the exhibits or the bar but the clean, well furnished toilets are right by the entrance and free! The exhibitions are sometimes a little bare, incuding the high profile BEcks Futures but they do have some interesting talks and the odd juicy film preview. If you are not a member then you can buy a day membership which is basically a ticket to whiever event you go and see plus access to the bar...and more toilets.

Running in the rain

2007-01-06T11:47:00.000Z

Just been for a run in the misty rain. I was relctant and needed to be coaxed but it was excellent - very bracing! running route was along the river from Island gardens towards sth Quay and back along the road. Was very picturesque, including the noisy and smoky Tate and Lyle factory.
see route not long but long enough for me.

Ray's Jazz cafe

2007-01-01T20:23:00.000Z

Ray's is part of Foyles book shop on the Charing cross road, you go in through a separate entrance and up some stairs. It is a jazz music shop and cafe. I don't like Jazz ( I know, I know, all music is Jazz and you shouldn't label good music, blah, blah, blah... I still don't like it) but I do like the cafe. Narrow wooden tables, large pot plants, trendy, nerdy looking types on tiny laptops at the benches by the windows, good sandwiches, great coffee and excellent cake. The service is slow but you just have to go with it. The toasted paninis are really good, particularly the cheese, tomato and rosemary, they do a tasty humous and roasted pepper wrap and the coffee is good and strong, not like a milky bedtime drink. It can be difficult to find a table but get there early enough and it shouldn't be too tricky.

Pret a manger

2007-01-01T19:52:00.000Z

Although the design museum does superior sandwich and cakes, clearly you may actually be in a different part of town nd need another option. Pret is good value, fresh food with a wide variety of options, particularly for veggies with their veggie special each week. I particularly recommend the egg mayo and roasted tomato baguette or the posh cheddar and pickle. The cakes are not so good though, small and wrapped in plastic. The coffee is good, though not as good as at the design museum but is the best chain place for lunch when generally roaming around london.

More lunching

2007-01-01T19:45:00.000Z

Not so good, for any type of sandwich at all, is Starbucks. It is expensive, the egg ones taste vinegary and the cheese ones have slimy mayonaisse thickly coating the cheese. The coffee is okish but more milk than coffee.

Lunch

2006-12-31T09:19:00.000Z

Best for egg sandwiches....the design museum in southwark. Nice dense bread and egg with good mayo and most likely butter. Also does an excellent stem ginger cake. I can't comment on the exhibitions as I last went to one years ago. There is an entrance fee and the exhibitions sometimes look a little dry.
There is a fantastic view of London down towards Tower bridge and beyond, in summer you can choose one of their brightly coloured child style chairs and eat outside. However, one warning, this lunch, although delicious , is not cheap.