Tag Archives: London restaurants

Charlotte’s Bistro Review

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On Monday we visited Charlotte’s Bistro in Chiswick. It launched in 2010 following the success of its sister restaurant, Charlotte’s Place. Charlotte’s Place, in Ealing, has been around for twenty seven years and is one of our favourite restaurants so expectations were pretty high.

On entering Charlotte’s Bistro we were immediately struck by how different everything is to Charlotte’s Place. As Alex, the owner, tells us ‘we think of Charlotte’s Place as the mother and Charlotte’s Bistro as the daughter’. You can see exactly what he means, whilst Charlotte’s Place is more traditional Charlotte’s Bistro is modern and sleek. It has a stylish bar at the front followed by stairs leading to a raised area at the back where the restaurant is.

Our night starts at the bar with ‘gin school’. Something Charlotte’s Bistro is doing every Monday. Every week features a different Gin. This week it’s Caorunn (pronounced ka-roon), a delicious Scottish gin. We liked the gin and learnt so much we’ve decided to do an article on it. After a couple of excellent G&Ts we head to the raised area and our table. Both the bar and restaurant are packed, impressive as it’s a Monday, and there is a great atmosphere.

The menu is small, five starters and five mains, all the food is in season. I like that because you know a lot of focus has gone into the dishes. Our waitress is friendly, helpful and very knowledgeable. She helps us select a sublime wine. We start with the Dorset crab with pickled cucumber and toasted sourdough and a pressed middle white ham knuckle terrine and mustard mayonnaise.

Our starters arrive almost immediately. I start with the ham terrine. Presentation is excellent. The terrine is beautifully made and absolutely delicious the mustard mayonnaise is light and a perfect accompaniment. The toasted crouton like biscuits on the side are crunchy and a delight. All in all an brilliant starter.

But it gets even better when I try the Dorset crab. Wow! A truly exceptional dish. This dish exercised my salt taste buds in a way that I can’t remember happening before. It tastes of the saltiness of the sea but is beautifully balanced and delicate. The texture of the sourdough against the crab was delightful. The sauce with the crab was divine and the pickled cucumber works beautifully with the crab. We both agreed this was one of the best starters we’d ever had. Flawless.

With such incredible starters our taste buds were tingling and our expectations were sky high for the mains. The fish dish we choose is the silver mullet, with white beans, smoked bacon and preserved lemons. Our meat dish is the confit white pork belly, parsnip, curly kale and caramelised Braeburn apple.

The silver mullet was another great dish. Presentation was beautiful. The fish was perfectly cooked and the skin was deliciously crispy and salty. The combination of white bean, smoky bacon and mullet was extremely tasty. The sauce was excellent. The dish was perfectly seasoned again the saltiness of the dish was delightful.

The pork belly dish was also a truly exceptional dish. The pork was soft and tender, the crunchy, tasty and the perfectly textured crackling was an absolute delight. The parsnip puree was incredibly smooth and delicious. The caramelised Braeburn apple was a real triumph and worked beautifully with the pork. The kale a vegetable I am not usually a huge fan of was perfectly seasoned and was deliciously salty and added to the whole dish. Quite simply superb.

The portion of chunky chips I ordered on the side seems in hindsight an insult to the chef since they were wholly unnecessary. But the taste of one salty chip only serves to highlight the skill and subtly the chef has shown with saltiness in their other dishes.

Our puddings are the baileys and orange cheesecake and the warm almond and blackberry bakewell. The cheesecake was excellent and beautifully presented. Smooth, creamy, beautifully subtle with a tasty crumbly base. The orange sauce which surrounded it was delicious and the candied orange peel which topped it added an extra dimension. The warm almond and blackberry bakewell was for me the least exciting of all our dishes. The bakewell was good but a little sweet for me and I didn’t feel the salted caramel worked. That said my colleague really enjoyed it.

 

Overall this was a fantastic experience. From the gin school through to the food. A wonderful night. The food was truly exceptional. I’ve been fortunate to eat in many restaurants but few come close to this. The Dorset Crab and the Pork Belly dishes were outstanding. The restaurant is unpretentious and friendly which makes for a great atmosphere and it is brilliant value for money. It was not surprising that it was packed out on a Monday night. We will certainly be returning soon.

 

 

 

Monday to Saturday

Lunch 12pm-3pm    2 Courses £15.95 3 Courses £18.95

Dinner from 6pm     2 Courses £24.95 3 Courses £29.95

Sunday

All Day 12pm-9pm  Main Course £14.95 2 courses £19.95 3 courses £23.95

6 Turnham Green Terrace, London, London W4 1QP (Nearest tube Turnham Green it’s a two minute walk)

020 8742 3590

charlottes.co.uk/bistro/

 

Gillray’s Steakhouse and Bar Review

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Scallops with pea mash and bacon

See our first part on the bar here

When it comes time to dine we are led into the restaurant section of Gillrays. Chandeliers hang from the ceiling and Gillray’s caricatures hang on the wood panelled walls. Everything from the furnishings to the staff are very smart. The same quality and attention to detail we found in the bar continues here.

Our table has wonderful panoramic views of the river Thames and London Eye. We are greeted by Paolo our friendly waiter who immediately puts us at ease despite the grand setting.

Surrey Duck Egg Salad

We are first served with the biggest Yorkshire pudding I have ever seen, which has cheddar cheese in it what a brilliant idea, why has it never been done before?) with horseradish sauce. Full marks for originality and taste.

For a starter I have scallops, with pea mash and bacon. A combination that really works. Everything is done perfectly and the bacon is crispy and is done to the perfect degree. My colleague has the Surrey duck egg salad with bacon and spinach. The poached eggs are perfectly cooked. The bacon is very crispy and excellent just as my bacon was. His only criticism was that there could have been a bit more bacon but the dish was a delight.

For my main I have sirloin steak, which comes with a portobello mushroom, topped with three cooked cherry tomatoes and a wide choice of sauces. I had the peppercorn sauce.

Sirloin steak (this picture doesn’t do it justice)

According to the menu the beef used is 35 day aged Yorkshire Hereford Cattle reared on the Duke of Devonshire’s Bolton Abbey Estate. The quality of the meat really shows and my steak is fantastic.

I greedily tucked into my delicious lamb rump before taking picture as you can see!

My partner deviates from the steaks and instead goes for the lamb rump which is equally good. He is given a generous portion of superb lamb, perfectly cooked.

Our meal was accompanied by an excellent bottle of Sauvignon Blanc

On the side, we had the parmesan and truffle chips, crispy and thick yet also light with the parmesan and hint of truffle they were superb. We both agreed they were some of the best chips we had ever had.

Warm Chocolate Pudding

Gillray’s Trifle

For dessert I had the warm chocolate pudding, which came with a marmalade ice-cream.

My colleague has the traditional sherry trifle, which Gillray’s is obviously proud of, since it takes up half the space on the dessert menu. It comes in a large jar. Paolo, our waiter, unscrews the jar and pours sherry into the trifle. A brilliant and fun experience. It tastes great too.

The service throughout was excellent. Our waiter, Paolo was friendly, professional and knowledgeable. Our food came at the perfect time and Paolo was always there when we wanted him.

This was a wonderful night and an incredible experience. It was hard to find fault  with any part of our evening. A lot of effort has clearly gone into the new look Gillrays and it shows. The staff throughout were brilliant and everything we were served from our cocktails through to our food was first class. There  aren’t many restaurants, with as good a food, in as good a location as this one. Make sure to insist on a window seat, when booking, as it will make all the difference and not all tables have a river view. You will be hard pressed to find better steaks in London. It will be an experience you will remember.

Food 10/10  Service 10/10  Atmosphere 10/10

London Marriott Hotel County Hall, Westminster Bridge Road, SE1 (020 7928 5200). Open daily 6.30am-10.30pm (7am Sat & Sun)

Spring into Easter Sunday with Lunch at Babylon

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Looking to banish winter blues and summon the spirit of the new season? Head straight to the award-winning Babylon Restaurant at The Roof Gardens in Kensington and treat the whole family to a memorable Easter.

To celebrate Easter Sunday, on the 8th April each guest will be treated to a complimentary Easter bunny rabbit shaped chocolate lollipop from a lucky dip. Each lollipop will have an envelope attached to it where guests will find out if they’re one of the lucky ones to win a fabulous mystery prize. Prizes will include 20% off your next Babylon booking, a year’s Club membership for the Private Members Club on the 6th floor, a VIP table for you and your friends in the Club to name but a few.

The delicious Easter menu offers a selection of favourite roast dishes including tender roasted Pork Belly with Bramley Apple Sauce or mouth-watering Roast Beef. All roast dishes are accompanied by sharing platters of seasonal vegetables and roast potatoes. With a menu bursting with equally enticing starters, vegetarian dishes, and indulgent desserts, the whole family will be catered for this Easter. Kids (and adults too!) will also be able to enjoy a visit from The Roof Garden’s very own magician Easter Bunny as they tuck in to a three course children’s menu priced at only £8.00.

The Babylon menu is priced at £26.00 for two courses and £29.00 for three courses. For reservations please call Babylon on 020 7368 3993 or visit Babylon@roofgardens.virgin.com

RIBA Restaurant Review.

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RIBA restaurant at art deco gem 66 Portland Place, London W1

 

I have had many a party at RIBA, it is a wonderful venue. I had never eaten at the restaurant before and was incredibly impressed by the food and the service. No one likes to eat alone so I went to review this restaurant with my friend, New Statesman columnist Nicholas Lezard.

 

The venue is bright and airy, in the summer you can eat outside. There is always a lot going on at RIBA.

 

What I ate.

 

Middle white pork belly

 

Black pudding, quince

 

Jerusalem artichoke and red onion fritters

 

Braised lentils, grilled artichoke hearts

soft poached egg

 

Baby leaf salad, cherry tomatoes, cucumber

 

White chocolate mousse

 

Dark chocolate honeycomb, gold leaf

 

What Nicholas ate:

 

Seared scallops

 

Leeks, candied hazelnuts, black olive powder

 

Braised Yorkshire venison

 

Sautéed girolles, truffled mash, redcurrants

 

Sticky toffee pudding

 

Clotted cream, butterscotch sauce

 

Curly kale, garlic butter

 

The starter comes on black, granite slabs, a touch that I found different and original. They are very good at presentation. My pork belly was done perfectly.

 

The food tasted like heaven, the fritters I had were absolutely delicious. The different consistency of the ingredients of my main meal worked brilliantly. I didn’t know lentils could taste so good. My egg was poached perfectly. The fritters were crispy, as all fritters should be. At first I wasn’t sure how all the ingredients would work together, but they do, beautifully.

 

I had a side salad with my main even though it wasn’t necessarily needed. The main was very filling. I liked that they put balsamic vinegar on my salad. The staff were also attentive and eager to please.

 

My white chocolate mousse was absolutely divine and was a visual treat too.

 

To drink I had port and coca cola. Nicholas had red wine and port.

 

RIBA is a good restaurant, the food is divine, the staff expert and the location incredibly up-market. I highly recommend. I will definitely be eating here again.

 

 

Londoners Life 9 by Phil Ryan

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Of all the London phenomenon I’ve chronicled recently, there is one that has been gathering pace. It’s called Business Change.

I’m suddenly more aware of the breathtaking and surprising speed that familiar haunts, restaurants and bars seem to be going out of business, closing down and then getting replaced by a new business. I only note it down now after a recent few trips into town that left me sad at the disappearance of quite a few of my regular haunts and drop in places. Cafes, book shops, restaurants and music equipment places all suddenly biting the dust. You head to an old familiar café hoping to get egg and chips and suddenly it’s a trendy new Japanese hairdressers decorated in black and silver with bright cartoon characters on the windows offering wakami face tugging and Nintendo hair stress with kodo roots and sea turtle mud. All very disconcerting.

I know it’s a recession year unfolding, but it’s very London in the way that there seems to have suddenly been a speedy pick up in the opening and closing rates of so many once great places. It’s as if the capital is sensing blood in the water. The old and sick are culled (sadly often by the chain groups) and the whole place seems to be getting blander and less original by comparison.

We all know that London constantly changes – just look at the sprawling developments in regeneration areas. Even bits of the new Stratford are starting to look quite pleasant. Actually, scratch that. It’s still a dump, but now with an inappropriate huge shopping centre and bits of Olympic nonsense being stuck around the place.But it’s funny how a couple of converted factories or hospitals reborn as apartments seems to immediately change the tone in an area – even if it’s only very surface to start with. Hackney and Battersea has enclaves and pockets of said new conversions but are both still struggling. So-called luxury developments can only achieve so much. The muggers just seem better read – now quoting Monica Ali and The Secret as they rob your wallet.

But the onward rush of change and the trend to new designer living has a lot to answer for. One of my prime examples is Paddington Basin. Now changed – from an admittedly smelly canal side dump – but changed to a monolithic mixed office and apartment, antiseptic, dystopian, concrete wasteland -replete with confusing enormous steel statues and various bits of naff looking public ‘heritage’ art.

As you enter, you find great grey pebble-dashed wind tunnels threading through various soulless glass and steel monoliths that abound the place, all giving it the charming air of a car park designed by Philip Starck, The Mad Hatter and Mr Angry. And the entire place is complete with faux cobbles and café canal side living (ie chain outlets sticking tables outside). Sadly, the whole place has slightly less atmosphere than Jupiter. You can see baffled canal side walkers leave little leafy and cute Little Venice and then turn up in what appears to be an architect’s giant scale model of dullness and concrete. “It’s all neat and clean and functional,” they tell me. But then so are abattoirs,  which it sort of gives the half air of being modelled on – only without the welcome death at the end after spending any time there. But that’s London. Changeville.

And if you needed more proof of changes, look no further than the past few year’s restaurant trends. Scores of Thai, Vietnamese, Mongol Grills and Pan Asian buffet places appearing and disappearing within a two-year period. Now it’s the Lebanese wave I’m noticing. They’re popping up everywhere. Nice, but generally overpriced. And often with the hookah pipes outside, gently wafting aromatic smoke down the street. And snapping at their heels, those very cool-looking Japanese places. All Zen and noodles with raw everything (just saving on the gas bill I’m guessing. Personally, I like my food cooked).

But don’t panic. There are still places that show no sign of seemingly changing one iota. South Kensington and its environs is a case in point. I had the dubious pleasure of being taken to a basement restaurant down that way last week. The prices? Unfeasibly high. The place? Packed to the rafters with an orderly line patiently waiting by the till area when we arrived. The noise levels? Slightly above that of runway one at Heathrow. And the food? Italian pizzas mainly – but disguised as high fashion cuisine. And then that bizarre welcome. Table for six? Yes, of course, but you’ll have to leave at 10.00 sharp (it was 8.00). The people with me seemed unsurprised. Didn’t they mind?, I asked. “No,” they chorused. “It’s a London thing.”