For a taste of nightclub dining, I recently tried Tamarai at their invitation. Billed as a pan-Asian restaurant and bar, it also morphs into a club at 11pm with a DJ and a 3am licence.

As befits a nightclub, the décor is dark and dimly lit with lots of well spaced plush seating. But it felt a little tired and probably could do with some refreshing.

Caramelised Szechuan pepper king prawns (£16) was seductively good for the fat, meaty and tasty jumbo-sized prawns. There wasn’t anything particularly Szechuanese about the dish, no real hint of heat or spiciness, but there was a lovely sweetness coming through from the caramelisation effect.

Caramelised Szechuan pepper king prawns

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Italian restaurant Zucca made waves when it first opened last year and no wonder. Not discounting the fact that the restaurant looks great, the prices are also staggeringly reasonable. The modern and stylish dining room is sleek and shiny, and backs onto the open plan kitchen where you can watch the chefs beavering away at their work.

The menu was neat and succinct, and sounded incredibly appetising with the touches of Italian authenticity running through it. Taglierini with peas and peashoots (£7 for a starter, £9 for a main) was cooked al dente. The peas had a nice crunchiness to them, and there was a lovely earthy freshness coming through from the peashoots. Finished with a touch of aromatic mint, the flavour of the dish was good, but it was also very rich as it had been finished with a heavy dose of butter.

Taglierini with peas & peashoots

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This restaurant has now closed.

5 Pollen Street is the brainchild of Head Chef Stefano Cavallini who had the distinction of being the first Italian chef to receive a Michelin star in 1995 for his restaurant ‘Stefano Cavallini at The Halkin’. This place is glamour personified with its art-deco inspired décor and luxurious surroundings. But this place was not cheap, and the privilege of sitting in this beautiful looking restaurant located just off Hanover Square in Mayfair came at a price.

The pasta in a stracci di pasta with rabbit ragout (£15) was nicely done and cooked al dente. The flavour of the rabbit ragout was pleasant and tasty, but it was also a little salty and slightly runny. My current benchmark for a good ragout is the pappardelle duck ragout at Enoteca Turi which, at £11.75, was outstanding. This rabbit ragout was decent, but on a comparative basis it didn’t achieve that same high standard as at Enoteca Turi. Furthermore, the presentation was dull, and at £15, the portion size was also small.

Stracci di pasta with rabbit ragout

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According to the Chor Bizarre website, every city in India has its own special “Chor Bazaar” which translates as “Thieves Market”. Apparently, all kinds of wares can be found at these markets, from furniture to fabrics, pearls to periodicals, carpets to cutlery, with some of these making their way to the market without the knowledge of their owners.

This sense of eclecticism thus forms the backdrop of the décor at Chor Bizarre, so named as a play on the words Chor Bazaar. There is an eclectic mix of items “where nothing matches but everything goes” at the restaurant, and the idea is based on a sense of “finery, frivolity and joie-de-vivre”.

The original Chor Bizarre opened in Dehli in 1990 and the London sibling opened in Mayfair in 1997. The menu is fun to read and includes a number of ‘playful starters’, ‘street’ snacks (chaat), tak-a-lak curries, tandooris and other dishes.

My wonderful sister (check out her blog Food Porn Nation) and I dined as a guest of Chor Bizarre. Purani dilli ki papri chaat (£6), a dish of crispy semolina and wheat biscuits, yoghurt, tamarind chutney, ginger and hot spices was delectable. The biscuits provided a crunchy texture to the lovely mixture of sweet chutney, cooling yoghurt and yummy spices. This was a lovely dish.

Purani dilli ki papri chaat

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Spuntino, another ‘tapas’ style small eats restaurant (gosh they are popping up everywhere in London), is the third offering by Russell Norman and Richard Beatty, the people behind the ever-so-popular ‘tapas’ small eat places Polpo and Polpetto. Venture number three has every reason to be as successful as its predecessors. This place, with its New York East Village speakeasy feel simply oozes cool. Its distress-tiled walls, low dangling lights and bar stool seating give it a raw, grungy feel. The frontage is non-descript as well with the restaurant’s name display being barely discernible. From the décor to the staff, this place is so cool it does not take reservations, have a phone number or a menu on their website.

As the restaurant doesn’t take reservations, one needs to queue. The layout is similar to Barrafina in the sense that you line up alongside the wall, during which time you can order snacks and drinks.

Our meal kicked off with some complimentary spicy popcorn made with chili. These were fantastic if a little greasy.

Spicy popcorn

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I recently went to a bloggers dinner with Greedy Diva and Gourmet Chick, and Gourmet Chick’s MR who was an honourable blogger for the evening. We went to Opera Tavern, not as guests of the restaurant, but as Aussies who love food and who just wanted to have a fun night out.

Opera Tavern is located in the heart of Covent Garden and has a prime spot close to the Opera House. The restaurant is relaxed and inviting with a light airy feel and specialises in Italian and Spanish influenced tapas. There is also a charcoal grill and headlining the grilled selection is the mini Ibérico pork and foie gras burger (£5.95) which was beautifully satisfying with its rich, fatty goodness. The bun was also enjoyable as it was light and airy. Overall this was a resounding success if a little salty.

Iberico pork & foie gras burger

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Chutney Mary is an up marketing Indian restaurant in Chelsea which focuses on Indian cooking from six different regions. The last time I went to Chutney Mary I tried the tasting menu for £45 which I enjoyed (to read that post click here). The service was polished and all around the food was very enjoyable although I had wanted a bit more spicing and a little more veg.

But the food was good enough to go warrant a another try and this time around I again went for the tasting menu (still priced at £45). A generous piece of nizami tandoori prawn chargrilled in roasted seasame, fresh dill and a Kerala white pepper marinade was resplendent with flavour. It had been cooked beautifully, and was moist, plump and juicy. The delicate hints of chilli thrown into the mix had been expertly judged. It was served with a wonderful blueberry chutney made with curry leaf, mustard and garam marsala which gave way to a zingy mix of complex flavours and spices.

Nizami tandoori prawn

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My last visit to St John saw us tucking into their roast suckling pig. It was all rather yummy, but I still maintain, as I did in that write up, that I cannot understand why this restaurant holds a place in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list (currently 41st). St John also has a Michelin star, another fact which I find beggars belief. It might serve head to tail cooking, but its hardly refined or technical cooking. It’s good for a pleasant dinner out, but that’s about it.

I was quite adventurous and went for the pig’s spleen (£7) which was served rolled with bacon. This was my first foray into spleen which was similar in taste to very strong liver. Not particularly enjoyable, its flavour was very powerful which necessitated lots of pickles. This was not a dish for the faint of heart.

Rolled pig's spleen & bacon

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