Selection of breads

21 Romilly Street was previously the home of Richard Corrigan’s Lindsay House, a restaurant that I enjoyed immensely and preferred much more than his current venture, Corrigan’s. But whilst I liked the food, I was never enamoured with the building itself. A 4-storey Soho townhouse, it is narrow and tiny. Lindsay House closed last May, and the site was taken over by Alexis Gauthier, who recently left his post as head chef at one Michelin starred Roussillon. I believe the reasons for the move are complex, but from what I could gather from our waiter, Alexis now becomes proprietor as well as chef. This is a serious move as he took his sommelier from Roussillon to Gauthier Soho as well.

The dining room is sparsely finished, and with the all-white walls, the space feels formal and stiff. I also found the acoustics ill-judged. Early on in the evening, with only 3 seated tables, the room was deadly quiet. This meant that S and I ended up whispering. Girlie gossip is not something that you necessarily want to share with strangers. Later on, when the restaurant became busier and noisier, we struggled to be heard.

(Continue reading her story…)

I liked the décor at Bob Bob Ricard, a self-billed deluxe diner. A throwback to 1930s glam, I adored the train carriage booth seating and the buttons which allowed you to call for the champagne. Nice! The marble columns and mosaic floor finish off the glamorous look.

But the décor was about all I liked about at the restaurant. My starter of scallop and shrimp pie, set in a scallop shell and topped with piped mash potato was beautifully presented. But the scallop was a bit fishy, suggesting that it wasn’t fresh. The accompanying cream sauce with mushrooms and shrimp was nice, although unpleasantly, there were bits of grit in it.

Scallop & shrimp pie

(Continue reading her story…)

There are some pretty exciting Australian chefs on the London scene right now, eg, Shane Osborn (Pied a Terre), David Thompson (Nahm), Skye Gyngell (Petersham Nurseries). Another is Brett Graham, who after opening The Ledbury at the age of 26, became the youngest Australian to ever win a Michelin star. This January saw Brett earn his second star, an achievement further capped when his sideline venture, The Harwood Arms, also won its first star. But then, Brett has always been on a steady climb. After arriving in London in 2000, he became a winner of the Young Chef of the Year award just two years later. Before The Ledbury, his time in London was spent working his way up to senior sous chef at The Square under Philip Howard.

For a two star restaurant, The Ledbury has one of the best value Sunday lunch menus around. Three courses from the a la carte menu costs only £40, with a similar menu in the evening being priced at £65. However, the only drawback of dining on Sundays (and Saturdays) is that Brett typically doesn’t cook during the weekends. Although, not having the head chef in action should, in principle, not make a difference.

Amuse bouche was a pomegranate macaroon with foie gras parfait and ginger crumbs. The parfait was creamy with the richness of the foie gras, and it married beautifully with the lightness of the macaroon. The touch of ginger added a nice zing to the combination.

Pomegranate macaroon with foie gras

(Continue reading her story…)

I have always thought highly of Richard Corrigan. I’ve been to his now closed Lindsay House and Bentley’s Oyster Bar and Grill and enjoyed them both. His style is big and bold, with lots of flavour, and it usually scores high on the comfort factor scale. So when I went to Corrigan’s Mayfair, I went with great expectations. This was the ‘replacement’ restaurant for Lindsay House which use to hold one Michelin star. In fact, when this place opened about a year and a half ago, there was much fanfare and great critical acclaim.

Well I’m not sure what happened between then and now, but my meal was riddled with disappointments. A starter of wood pigeon, soft boiled quail’s egg with sweet and sour onion (£15.50) turned out to be a terrine. Surely this should have been clearly stated on the menu? So while I was expecting a hot dish, I received a cold one instead. The terrine was only memorable for the fact that it was so heavily seasoned that the salt killed off any flavour.

Wood pigeon & soft boiled quail’s egg

(Continue reading her story…)

After several unsuccessful attempts, I finally managed to secure a reservation at Dean Street Townhouse! You couldn’t imagine my excitement. This restaurant has set the blogosphere alight, and I’ve been pretty keen to try it ever since it opened late last year. For those familiar with the Soho House Group (Houses include Soho House, Shoreditch House; restaurants include Cecconi’s, Cafe Boheme, Electric Brasserie), it’s pretty easy to picture how stylish it is. The restaurant is housed in an unmissable beautiful cream coloured Georgian building that seems to light up Dean Street. The interior doesn’t disappoint either, with its plush booth seating, red leather backed chairs, vintage chandeliers and a massive American-style bar that runs the length of the room. This place spells glam, and it’s been known to draw in the rich and famous!

The food is billed as British, and for starters I chose the scallops in the half shell (£10.50) which were juicy and succulent. They were covered with some finely chopped wild boar and ramson (wild garlic) that gave them a crispy finish. Lots of butter rounded off the ensemble, leaving the scallops exploding with rich, decadent, buttery overtones. However the presentation – two shells plonked on the plate with no additional garnishing – seemed dull.

Scallops in the half shell

(Continue reading her story…)

When Quo Vadis reopened in 2008 following a buyout and revamp by the famous restaurateur brothers, Sam and Eddie Hart (their other restaurants include Fino and Barrafina), it was virtually impossible to get a reservation. That distinction now belongs to Dean Street Townhouse, where despite numerous attempts to secure a booking, I have only ever been offered 6pm or 10pm timeslots. Two years on, and its much easier to get a table at Quo Vadis, so with any luck, in about two years time, I might actually get to have the pleasure of dining at Dean Street Townhouse.

Quo Vadis first opened its doors in 1926, and at one point it had the distinction of being Karl Marx’s workplace. Before the Hart Brothers took over the restaurant, it was part of the empire of Marco Pierre White, the chef who once held three Michelin stars but has fallen so spectacularly from grace that he is now a spokesman for Bernard Matthews.

The Edwardian building that is Quo Vadis has maintained much of its original charm. Art deco mirrors and elaborate art works, including a Damien Hirst, grace the walls. The furnishings are comfortable and elegant.

A starter of octopus, chorizo and artichoke salad (£8.50) was generously filled with the bite-sized pieces of soft octopus, hearty chorizo and tender artichoke. The dressing was light and pleasing, and overall, this was a lovely salad.

Octopus, chorizo and artichoke salad

(Continue reading her story…)

Note: Chefs Massimiliano Blasone and Marco Calenzo have now left the restaurant. Consequently this blog post may not reflect the current state of affairs at Apsleys.

Heinz Beck has the distinction of being the only chef in Rome to hold three Michelin stars with his restaurant La Pergola at the Rome Cavalieri Hilton. And Apsleys, at the Lanesborough Hotel on Hyde Park Corner, is the London offshoot of this internationally acclaimed, German-born, Italian-based chef. Apsleys opened about two years ago, and this year, it received Michelin acclaim when it earned its first star in January.

As befits a restaurant that is housed in a St Regis hotel, the Apsleys dining room is a statement in jaw-dropping art deco elegance. It exudes luxury, with three massive chandeliers holding centre stage as they dazzle in front of your eyes. The interior designer was none other than Adam Tihany, the internationally renowned restaurant and hotel designer. Pierre Gagnaire’s Sketch counts as one of his designs, and notable upcoming projects include the redesign of the Mandarin Oriental in Hyde Park which will feature the new Heston Blumenthal restaurant which will open this autumn.

Being an Italian restaurant, there are the usual antipasti, zuppe e primi and secondi courses on the menu. There is also a five course (£59; with matching wines – £89) and a seven course (£79; with matching wines – £119) tasting menu. The five course tasting is based on the seven course menu, but with no lobster starter and a choice between the sea bream and the venison courses rather than both.

We selected the five course menu which kicked off with a ‘Chef’s Surprise’ amuse bouche of an arancini (a rice ball coated with breadcrumbs which originates from Sicily), and a sweet pepper and courgette terrine. The arancini, which tasted like a deep fried risotto, was pleasant but unspectactular. The terrine was filled with natural sweetness and had a lovely soft texture.

Amuse bouche

(Continue reading her story…)

Japanese Restaurant Roka on Charlotte Street (there is a new branch in Canary Wharf) is one of those places where it can be really difficult to get a reservation, especially on those ‘going out’ nights like Friday. I’ve tried booking on a number of times, and on each occasion I was told it was full. But I managed to achieve the seemingly impossible task of getting a table when I discovered that there is a bar seating area called the sushi and robatayaki counter which is open to customers on a first-come-first-served-no-booking basis. It’s located right in front of the chefs who cook on the open grill, and the best time to go to ensure a counter seat seems to be before 7.30pm. So for those who want to eat at Roka and can’t get a reservation, this is the route to try.

In fact, when I turned up just after 7pm looking for a counter table, I managed to secure a table for 8pm.. This allowed time for a detour to the affiliated Shochu Lounge Bar in the basement area downstairs (shochu is a type of Japanese spirit, typically containing about 25% alcohol). They have an abundance of fabulous cocktails, a number of which contain shochu.

Black cod marinated in yuzu miso & hajikami

The food menu is full of choices, but it’s always hard to pass up on a black cod marinated in yuzu (a citrus fruit) miso and homemade hajikami (ginger pickled in vinegar) (£22.60). This was a lovely rendition of the classic ‘Nobu’ dish, with the cod being succulent and flaky. It oozed with lots of sweet, slightly sticky yuzu miso sauce.

(Continue reading her story…)