Jamie's Italian, London, Covent Garden

At the end of the London Fashion Weekend it seemed quite appropriate to get some food. To tell you the truth, my friend and I were heading for Dishoom in Covent Garden. But on seeing Jamie's Italy next door, we both thought that the prospect of some of Jamie's Italian cuisine sounded very exciting.

Charcuterie

I like Jamie Oliver. I like his cookbooks, I like his TV shows, I even like his magasine. So it follows that I would like his restaurant. Moreso, we all know he loves Italian food. So do I!

The first thing that I observed was how loud it was. Lots of children of course but still not a very relaxing atmosphere. The decor is a rustic one with lots boxes of 'produce' and charcuterie seeming quite tempting with an even more ingenious bread board. Quite a large and busy place but we were quickly led to an outside table as we requested. It looks like Jamie is trying to create the rustic Italian look complete with olive trees. I just don't know the last time they were watered, they seemed to be withering slightly. Anyway, how can a place be rustic when the address starts with Unit 33? Sitting down, despite the best efforts no doubt, it felt like part of a chain. Looking at the website, I realise there are so many branches that a chain is exactly what it is. Not a good sign in my book.

The menu is extensive. Lots of choice of bread and antipasti boards and plates. An interesting selection of both pasta dishes, which you can either have as a starter or a main and mains. I had the scallop and squid ink spaghetti and my friend had the bucatini carbonara-both as main courses.

My friend had asked our very pleasant waitress of the carbonara was served with alot of sauce and she was assured that's it was quite dry. It wasn't, I too thought that there was slightly too much cream.



Scallop and squid ink spaghetti



There was probably one scallop in the ink spaghetti, cut up in slices. The squid was small and there were also capers in the dish which I found did not go well with the pasta or the scallop. The delicate nature of the (few) slices of scallops seemed to be overwhelmed by the natural intensity of the capers. I also wasn't overjoyed by the combination of the scallop and squid. At £13.90, I think this was overpriced and certainly not what I would expect to pay at a place like this, which to me resembled Italian chain restaurants in London.

If I was to rate it, I would give it one star (out of five that is). The only positive comment I have to say, is about the service, the waitress was very friendly and polite and couldn't apologise enough when we said we hadn't enjoyed our meal.

To conclude, I still like Jamie Oliver and I'll still buy his books. But I don't like his restaurants. I can assure you, I won't be going back and I suggest you don't either.

We paid £33.55 for our meal and two glasses of wine. Service is not included in the bill

Jamie's Italian, Unit 33 10-12 Upper St Martin's Lane WC2H 9FB http://www.jamieoliver.com/italian/covent-garden

Made in Brasil, Camden Town, London NW1

Recently I haven't been a particularly good blogger with few new posts. I have a few recipes I would like to share, more reviews and so on. For a number of reasons I just haven't got round to it. To be fair to myself, work, and more importantly my boss (boss, if you are reading, take note), have kept me so busy that I have little energy left for anything else. On another note, I haven't been anywhere which has been notable enough, for whatever reason-which includes not being good, that I immediately want to inform my followers- yes all twelve if you- about.

Yesterday, after an extremely long and exhausting day, I was lucky enough that my friend agreed to a drink. It was a beatifelly warm day so we went to Camden Town. I obviously don't go there enough. The sheer number of people is quite overwhelming but very refreshing to see such a different crowd of people. It's true what they say, the world is a different place south of the river, so crossing that divide is always interesting.

First, I declared my wish for a drink and within moments, my desire for food. We sat at one of the numerous bars overlooking the Canal just by Camden Lock for a beer, in what was left of the rest of the sunny(ish) afternoon. I remembered of the Brazilian place I happened to go a few times for drinks so I suggested we try the food there.

We made the short walk to Inverness Street and walked past the numerous bars/restaurants, which, by the way, all look equally interesting and walked into Made in Brasil.  The salsa music in the background, which together with the promise of food perked me up in what was for me a tiring Saturday otherwise.The decor is funkier than the outside would suggest with some low tables for drinks at the front, a bar which whose look promises wonderful cocktail and tables at the back. The courteous waitress led us to a table, by the window as we requested. It was quite early, 6pm, so we were two of only a handful of people there.

The drinks menu is extensive and has all sorts of lovely cocktails. It took longer to decide on drinks than on food. Almost always, I have wine with meals. This time I opted for a pineapple caipirinha. I've had a fair few cocktails in my life and only was this good, at £6.50 it is excellent value.



Pineapple Caipirinha


The menu consists of authentic Brazilian dishes. To be honest, I am not familiar with Brazilian cuisine so if anyone knows better you can verify this. However, I do know that halloumi is certainly not Brazilian which was one of the starters! But there was a good selections of both meat and fish dishes and a few vegetarian choices also.

To start, we settled on Lula 'a dore'- bread crumbed baby squid and the coxinha- chicken pastries. Both were straightforward dishes, the baby squid was a nicer version of calamari and the chicken pastries were what I would recognise as chicken croquettes. Although we happily ate them, I wouldn't say that these were out of the ordinary and quality that you would expect at the least.

Lula 'a dore'



Coxinha

I had the feijoada to continue. This is slow cooked mixed pork and black beans stew served with rice. The stew comes in a separate bowl which you add over the rice. As previously mentioned, I can't comment on how authentic the dishes are, or how true the flavours are to local brazilian cuisine, however I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed my meal. The portions were substantial and the stew was lovely with perfectly cooked pork.



Feijoado



My friend has the Virado a paulista: pork cutlet with poached egg and brown beans served with rice which was an equally substantial dish, and as tasty.

Over the course of our meal it started getting much busier, with people who seemed to know their brazilian food better than us. I have once been there after dinner when the music gets going and everyone is there not for the food but the cocktails. Whatever your 'usual' kind of place may be, you will enjoy this, with a mixed crowd and interesting people watching. The fashion sense is certainly different to that in south west London.

We ended our meal with alcoholic coffees which I recommend. The service is in fact very good which for some reason surprised me. I know I may be unfair here, but I was expecting typical run-down bar kind of service. Far from it. Although I wouldn't suggest you make a trip to Camden Town just to go here, if you are in Camden Town, then it's certainly on my list of recommendations. This place does get packed so if you want to sit down, get there early.

We paid £31pp incl service for two courses, a cocktail each and an alcoholic coffee each

Made in Brazil, 12 Inverness Street, Camden Town, London NW1 7HJ Tel: 020 7482 0777
http://made-in-brasil-bar.co.uk/

 

Le Relais de Venise, London, Marylebone W1

Last night I found myself in an extremely wet central London. After a drink my friend and I thought, as per usual, food. Where to? We were on Marylebone High Street and after walking for about 10 minutes in the rain, I remembered of this place that I went to about three years ago. All they serve is steak frites. Agreed, we headed to Le Relais de Venise.

Let me explain. All that is served here is a salad, a basic lettuce salad and then steak frites. Yes, that's it! We found it and already there was a long queue which went all the way round the corner. There were another 15 minutes to the evening opening- Sunday dinner starts at 6.30pm and people were waiting outside in the rain, just for steak frites. Did I mention? They don't take reservations so there are always long queues.

So. You would think that for people to be waiting in the rain for the place to open then it must be good. Very good.. Right? Sorry but I'll be frank and you can stop reading here if you want, here's the conclusion: wrong! Very wrong.

I guess there is a certain novelty to the fact that all that is served is salad and steak. Surely there must also be a novelty in queuing? I don't think so. Come on, we are no longer 18 waiting to get into a west end club.

In we went, convinced that this would be an excellent dining experience. The diners seemed to me to be in the vast majority tourists, certainly no locals from what I could gather. The decor that of a typical french bistrot where nothing has changed in the last 30 years. The waitresses dressed the part in a black uniform with the white aprons. We were presented with the menu and almost instantly the waitress came back for our order. We asked for two minutes and when she came back, she briefly explained the concept and asked how we would like our steak. My friend was promptly interrupted when he requested medium rare. No such choice, it's either medium or rare. Orders done together with a bottle of wine, our salad arrived. Lots of lettuce-my tortoise would have loved that- with some dressing and walnuts. Ok salad done. Our steak arrived.

Waitresses serving up



Steak frites (note: emphasis on the frites)



House red

To be fair it's very efficient. The waitresses serve up the slices of steak and sauce and more frites than I have ever seen before on a plate. If it was alive, the frites would have drowned the steak. Poor steak.. Steak was average. They do come back and serve you seconds, because apparently they keep it warm for you- I think we got another three (small) slices. And lots more frites, to drown the second round of steak-just in case. We debated on the sauce as we detected hints of curry. We asked the waitress and were advised that it's a 'secret' sauce. It's a sauce, not the invention of the century! Anyway, what can one say.

After all the frites we had we didn't need dessert, although there was a satisfactory selection. The bill arrived. The 'set' menu is £21 pp and our wine (house red) was £15. Including service we paid £32 each. Quite overpriced if you ask me. So if you are in the area and are tempted-don't. You're better off going to the fish and chip place accross the road.

Le Relais de Venise, 120 Marylebone Lane, London, W1U 2QG Tel: 020 7486 0878 http://www.relaisdevenise.com/

Dishoom, London, Covent Garden

Every so often you come across a place which is quite unique. Dishoom is one of those places. It's not unique for the food. Although the food is worth trying. It's unique because this is a Bombay cafe. Open all day, I have been back for brunch on two occasions. This is not local to me so my returning there says something. It's welcoming and relaxing. You could in fact spend hours reading the papers, drinking chai and having brunch, lunch or whatever meal you may choose during the day. For London I would say this is a refreshing take on Indian cuisine, not so much for the originality of the food but more for the refreshing aspect of the Indian dining experience. 

A great deal has been said and written about this place, So I'll keep this one short.

If you go for breakfast, I recommend the Bombay breakfast bake. Two eggs, baked on a lentil bhaji mash. I don't know if this may seem like a strange combination, but I can assure you it's  perfect start to a weekend.

The chicken roll, was nice but nothing spectacular, although the dessert of pineapple and black pepper crumble was more exciting.




Chicken roll

 

Pineapple and black pepper crumble

Although the service could have been more attentive; at times it seemed that the waitors were too busy entertaining each other, Dishoom is authentic in it's uniqueness. I don't know of any place quite like this in London. Then again, there are less than 30 left in Bombay.

Expect to pay around £15pp inlc chai

Dishoom, 12 Upper St. Martin’s Lane, London WC2H 9FB Tel: 020 7420 9320 http://www.dishoom.com/

Nopi, London W1, North of Piccadilly

Soho on a Saturday morning seems like a good idea on a week day when I am planning my weekend. Come Saturday, it's a different story altogether. The morning usually finds me running around doing weekend chores, feeding the tortoise and so on. All of a sudden I'm begrudging Soho and, being cynical, I'm wondering if Nopi, the newest Yotam Ottolenghi venture, will be worth the effort.

I arrive, promptly, may I add, to find Nopi on the outskirts of Soho, just North of Piccadilly Circus, hence the name. I walk in to find a place of fairly minimalist decor, clean white lines, white splash-back tiles on one wall and exposed brick work on the other painted white. Wooden tables, and reminders of a more kitsch era, with the brass lighting and bar elements prepare me for a relaxed yet elegant lunch. 

My lunch buddy was running late, so while waiting I ordered an espresso and I think in that time I memorised most of the menu which consists of Mediterranean dishes, divided in categories of veg, fish, meat and sweets. The menu recommends three savoury dishes per person and are designed to share. I took their word for it. Dessert should be extra, no?

Lunch buddy arrived about 20 minutes later. First things first. Bottle of prosecco. We finally decided on lunch. You know, I actually remember every single dish without having to look at the menu. Our lunch consisted of the following:
Shakshuka, a North African dish of braised eggs, peppers and tomatoes. The spices used, I detected turmeric, were beautifully balances and made this an excellent dish to start.
Courgette and manouri fritters. A Greek dish, for the Greeks reading this, they are kolokythokeftedes, and very good they were too.
Seabass with mussels and fennel pollen.
Chargrilled octopus. Perfectly cooked.
Rabbit pastilla. If I had to pick a favourite this would be it. The rich flavours of the succulent rabbit enveloped in the perfectly formed pastry.

Shakshuka

Courgette and manouri fritters

All the dishes were deliciously authentic. I was relieved to see that the main ingredients were always basic with no attempt to change them. This was done by way of the accompanying sauces which perfectly complimented the excellently done dishes.

My first impression was correct: relaxed yet elegant dining, with service to match, it was most definitely worth the effort. I am curious to go back one evening, to check out the vibe.

It's on the expensive end of the food scale, but you must go, the food is worth it. A walk around Soho on an early Saturday afternoon can be fun too-amongst other things, there are some interesting book shops!

The dishes are around £10-£12 each. Expect to pay around £40pp incl service, excluding drinks.

NOPI, 22 Warwick Street, London W1B 5NE, Tel: 020 7494 9585 www.nopi-restaurant.com

Square Tavern, commonly known as Strappos, Sotera Village, Cyprus

My (basic) research confirms that Sotera, a village in the Southeast corner of Cyprus, is indeed that: a village, with just over 1,500 residents. If anyone has more accurate information, please let me know. About a 15 minute drive away from the more lively, to say the least, Ayia Napa, this is a sleepy place, where some more authentic tavernas have opened up, attracting Greek-Cypriots and expats who either live, or are visiting the area and are looking for something more genuine and simple, off the beaten track.

The Square Tavern, also known as Strappos (after the owner) is predictably located in the main square, surrounded by the cafeneia, the local coffee shops. A family run restaurant, you are greeted by Louis, the owner's son, who is also the head chef. Eleni, his sister is the efficient waitress. Simple traditional decoration there are no airs and graces here. The open-plan kitchen gets top marks.

I don't think you can get a menu here. Louis comes along and asks what you would like. The food, typical of Cypriot cuisine, comprises of a choice of fish and grilled meats, souvlaki of course is a favourite and traditional dishes made on the day. You will have to ask what's available.


Traditional Cypriot: Grilled halloumi and lountza (smoked pork)





Cyprus potatoes make the best chips

Excellent value for money, the food is what Cypriot cuisine is all about, quantity without compromise on the quality. Highly recommended.

Expect to pay around €15pp (appr £13pp) without drinks.

Square Tavern, Sotera Village, Cyprus Tel: 00357 23 824859, 00357 99 605501

Bistrot Bruno Loubet, Clerkenwell London

Bistrot Bruno Loubet forms part of the funky Zetter Hotel. A very vibrant addition to what always seems to me a bit of hit and miss area in terms of the bars and restaurants. Then again, I don't know the area that well so I could be wrong.

I've been before and it is one of the places that do stand out for me. This time a friend from out of town was in London and was staying in the City so the Bistrot Bruno Loubet seemed like an obvious choice. Well located for the city yet far away for the mixed crowd to be relaxed and informal for a fun evening out.

There is a bar and an open kitchen and the decor is a very uplifting 70's theme. I had made the reservation on line, however when we arrived, promptly for 8pm may I add, they could not find it. Nonetheless the waitor gave us a table saying that it was not a problem. I was slightly concerned as I thought that it would be empty, making me think that the food was probably not as good as I remembered. I was wrong, within the next half hour the whole place was packed! This is still a very hip and happening place and looks the part as well-I want to believe that we did too!

The menu is french. Inventive dishes varying from the more simple salmon tartare to the mauricette snails and meatballs for starters. Mains include a good selection of meat and fish dishes: summer fish cassoulet to rabbit tournedos.

If I am to describe the food. It's a case of old meets new. Traditional dishes which have had a makeover. And what a makeover.

I started with the snails and meatballs. Snails aren't really my favourite but I was feeling adventurous. The dish came with royale de champignon sauvage. What can I say. This was quite simply excellent. It's the kind of dish that comes with a twist but yet has a certain traditional heartiness to it. They waitor later informed me that the recipe came from the chef's mother. That would make sense. I then went on to have one of the daily specials: the veal kidneys with mash. I especially liked the zucchini fritti which accompanied it, which had an intense flavour of oregano. I think I have already mentioned that I was feeling adventurous. This was a particularly rich dish and possibly not to everyone's taste. Still. I liked it. I must also say that the portions are very generous. No need for side dishes here.


Veal Kidneys


After such rich courses I had ice cream and sorbet. Some interesting flavours including olive oil and lemon. For the chocoholics it's worth mentioning the chocolate delice. My friend had this and it was worth it.

Chocolate Delice with salted liquid fudge centre

The service was excellent: friendly, polite and efficient. For a cool place, I was very comfortable. I would recommend this place, for the quality (and quantity) of food and very good service I would say that it's also good value for money.

I'd like to see if the bar gets busy on a saturday night. I might just check it out!

NB: There is a reason why one should call to make a reservation, I pressed the 8am button when I was reserving online!

Expect to pay around £32pp for 3 courses excluding drinks and service

Bistrot Bruno Loubet, St John's Square, 86-88 Clerkenwell Road, London EC1M 5RJ Tel: 020 7324 4455 http://www.bistrotbrunoloubet.com/

Galapagos Foods, Battersea, London SW11

There are times that, much as I like to cook, I just can't be bothered. I don't want a big night out, I just want to have some good food, without any of the fuss. Being in this mood, on my way home I hopped off the bus and headed to Battersea High Street. I did have a place in mind from last Saturday when I tasted some of the wonderful pies at their stall in Northcote Road market: Galapagos Foods. Battersea High Street starts off (or ends-I'm not sure which) at the popular Battersea Square. A promising start with the bustling cafes and restaurants-the place to be when the sun is out. The high street is a mixture of and ambitious restaurant and a pub and the more old fashioned barbers and not-very-glamorous internet cafe. A perfect fusion of the diversity of the area.

I walked in to be greeted by the friendly owner, Elaine and her husband. On the walls you find souvenirs obviously from their travels. I noticed the aboriginal artefact on the wall to the Galapagos turtle mosaic. And then there are some products for sale like olive oil and tea. I looked around and I though the walls could do with some paint. On the other hand, I quite liked it. A very down to earth place. The sort that is hard to come by nowadays in London. They are obviously too busy thinking about the food.

The black board indicates a choice of courses comprising the set menu. The a la carte has a wide variety of dishes from all over the globe: from moroccan tagine to corsican beef casserole. I had the latter. It was served with penne and although I found the beef excellent, the accompaniment of penne was a bit boring. Saying this Elaine was very welcome to suggestions.

I was asked for if I wanted dessert. Being curious Elaine gave me a list (verbally) of 8 or 10. I'm not sure what I was more impressed by. The fact that there was such a big choice or that she remembered to list them all! Everything is made either by Elaine or by their chef. I had the walnut and ricotta cake. I have to say this was proper cake, moist but not too sweet.

At just under £20pp with a glass of wine for two courses, I would say it's a tad overpriced, but a small price to pay for such genuine food and the friendliness of the owners.

Galapagos Foods, 169 Battersea High Street, London SW11 3JS Tel: 020 8488 4989 www.galapagosfoods.co.uk

Opera Tavern, Covent Garden, London

I'm not a fan of Covent Garden. Saying this it doesn't mean that there aren't good reasons to go there. The Royal Opera House, home to the Royal Opera and the Royal Ballet is a beautiful building. If you happen to be there for a performance there is something quite glamorous about it. It's not that you can't find any good restaurants or bars. However, the likelihood is that you will find, at best, something average and at worst a tourist trap.

One weekend, a friend and I both had friends visiting from abroad. I heard a few positive comments about the Opera Tavern and seeing as we had overseas guests, thought that it would probably be a good opportunity to visit covent garden.

We found the Opera Tavern conveniently located a short walk from the Royal Opera House. The wooden decor makes it very welcoming, and the bar area looks ideal for a casual dinner. We were led to a relatively empty upstairs dining room, despite the fact that this was Sunday lunch.

The menu comprises of Spanish tapas, sharing dishes. Again I'm not very fond of tapas. I find the portions are usually too small for say four people to share. And unlike other cuisines designed to share, tapas usually involve small dishes where you are effectively cutting a tiny portion. I feel that, although the cuisine is well represented, the culture isn't. This is food designed to accompany wine. Not the other way round.

Stuffed courgettes

The menu is diverse and there are dishes for every taste. We had a selection. I remember the courgettes stuffed with goat's cheese. Essentially the courgette flowers were stuffed and the were indeed good. However I thought only the flowers should be served, the courgettes did not add anything to the flavour and detracted from the delicate texture of the flower. The carcuterie and cheese dishes are all very good. Overall the quality and presentation was good although nothing spectacular that really stood out.

On to the desserts. I was pleasantly surprised. The flavours and texture were perfectly balanced and if you do visit, then desserts are a must. I did feel slightly let down when the waitress was not sure why the desserts were so go and suggested that perhaps the chef on duty that day was the dessert chef. What sort of a response is that? Does that mean that normally desserts aren't as good? That would be a shame. I am hoping that this not the case.



Poached Italian Meringues



Bitter Chocolate Sorbet with Espresso Granita

Warm Hazelnut Cake with Lemon Thyme Ice Cream

The service was average (as evidences previously!). I suppose on a busier day I would expect to find some foodies enjoying the wine with a couple of dishes-the wine list is a good one- and other than that probably a covent garden going crowd. Overall, I would rate it at a 3 out of 5. If you are in the area it is probably one of the better places to go. However I wouldn't recommend you go out of your way for a meal here.

Expect to pay around £20pp excl drink.

Opera Tavern, 23 Catherine Street, London, WC2B 5JS Tel: 0207 836 3680 http://www.operatavern.co.uk/

The Scene, King's Road, London SW10

This is the ground floor restaurant to The Summerhouse. Two reasons I wanted to go. It's the ground floor and it is a short bus journey from home.This former pub has now been redone as an American style diner with a cinema theme. The open kitchen has a screen above like the outdoor of a cinema with a bar on the opposite end and some sofas in one of the corners for a relaxing coffee or alcoholic beverage.

I went on a Saturday and found it not too busy with a local crowd. I suspect not too many people would make their way to this part of the King's road for a burger.

My friend and I shared starters. We had the popcorn shrimp (4.95) and artichoke and spinach dip (£5.50). Both substantial starters and perfectly executed. I continued with the soft shell crab po-boy (£11). The crab was very good, perfectly crispy although the ciabatta was stale.





Pop corn shrimp



Artichoke and Spinach dip

Soft Shell Crab Po Boy

What did stand out was the service which was excellent. Our waitress always ensured, very discretely, that our wine glasses were topped up.

The Scene, 459 King's Road, London, SW10 0RL, Tel: 020 3362 3362 http://www.theworldsend.co/

Hint: Try and make your reservation through toptable follow link there are usually offers, 30% or 50% off food depending on time of day.