Odette's

Odette's is an old establishment in Belsize park. The cuisine is what I call posh euro fusion; we had hand dived scallops, pork belly and apricot, Roasted wood pigeon, foie gras, pickled cherries, chocolate, vanilla salt for starters and Loin of welsh venison, beetroot, chestnut & venison pie and Roast saddle of rabbit, grain mustard gnocchi celery & carrot for mains. This all sounded very well but was served in rather small portions, slightly over salted. None the less the service was good and the ambience was perfect for those who are having an illicit affair and don't want to be spotted. To be fair I must say that the emptiness might have been due to our visit falling on a week day. I assume the Odette's gets busy on the weekend as it is a local establishment and locals like to eat out on weekends.

Jamie's at Westfield

Jamie Oliver's establishments never cease to amaze me with their low quality food. Ahh the pasta is to die for people say ... it's pasta, though possible it is yet hard to completely ruin a dish that is wheat in cheese surrounded by interesting condiments. At Jamie's in Westfield all our table took the baked fish in a bag due to the romantic homicidal sound of the dish. I tried everyone's at it was equally tasteless. How you can make something containing fennel and garlic seem mild like stilton, I do not know. What I do know is that I'm done giving Jamie second chances, he might put on a good show, me might alas even be a good cook himself but he does not know how to pick his stuff.

The Boundary

I am starting to think that Conran made restaurants are the only worthwhile eating establishments in London. Take the Boundary in Shoreditch for instance. Five stars for design and service and the freshest sea platter I've ever had, seaside towns included. It had everything from oysters to prawns to snails and mussels, served in abundance on a plate of ice. The bisque was heavenly rich and creamy, the bream and lamb had the strict austerity that come with the title of main dish and the excellent combination of flavours that one gladly pays 20 quid for. Needless to say there was a good wine selection and white was drink of the day.

Baltic

Baltic in Southwark has been the best surprise of the year. The menu boasts the best Eastern Europe has to offer and you can definitely tell they know what they're doing. Any vodka you choose from their large selection is served in style - icy, with a selection of pickles. Fresh brown bread went very well with slow cooked vegetable and pork stew. Blinis, aubergine caviar, Solianka, Bozbash, Golonka - all meaty eastern foods with deep, serious flavours where so filling , it left no room for desert.
Baltic reminds one of a modern, refurbished ex air plane hangar. The modern design fuses well with the age old east European cuisine.

ROAST

Overlooking borough market, Roast is always fully booked. Deservingly so. The spacious modern design is complemented by excellent cocktails and live music. The classic, British menu is picked from the freshest ingredients sourced from Borough market. There is a different theme every day and breakfasts are served every day except Sunday. Roast chicken with bread sauce and thyme melted in the mouth whereas Wicks' Manor pork belly with apple sauce and mash was rather on the heavy side but had lovely salty crackling. Pork patties were a disappointing starter while the scallops were perfectly cooked and seasoned. A cheddar platter concluded the meal and left us paralysed for a good half hour.
Roast is great but you must know what to order and if you're parsimonious you can't go.

Foreman's Fish

Amongst the debris of the Olympics site in Stratford, amidst brick warehouses and narrow roads stands Forman's Restaurant and Bar....... as featured in Masterchef.(There'd be no other way I could have found out about this god forsaken place). Forman's located on Fish Island (!) is not open everyday so it's always advisable to call first.
The menu is simple - fresh British produce and ofcourse Forman's salmon. I have mixed feelings about the food - it was very hit and miss. The brill was gorgeous while the sea bass didn't go well with the selected accoutrements. Smoked salmon didn't gain much from buckwheat blinis whereas the hot smoked eel went very well with potatoes and capers in Dijon dressing.
Forman's at the moment is great for discussing business with no distractions. Once the Olympics begin it is sure to be a hit with its excellent view of the site. However at the moment it needs a little tweaking of the menu and perhaps is not yet worth the commute to Fish Island for its own sake only.

THAI RICE

Just outside Maida Vale station is a gem of Thai food, simply known as Thai Rice. This cheerful establishments boasts strength reviving Tom Yum a beer cooling gadget with your meal. Great curries, stir fries and most impressive grilled prawn dishes. Any place that give 6 king prawns for £8 is worth the visit. It's no Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester but great if you're hungry and in the area of if you just want good thai with friends.

NUOCMAM

This tongue breaking name comes with a small modern restaurant in Great Portland street. Nuocmum is purportedly a cutting edge Japanese and Vietnamese fushion establishment revolutionsing London's dinning scene. In reality it is a small and modern, with a karaoke room for hire and a simple Asian menu of good value. Sushi was fresh, curry weak and pho lacked this oomph. On the whole it is a rather pleasant place to come for an unpretentious meal and friendly staff.

Meghna of Hampstead

Just like Meghna river falls into the bay of Bengal, Meghna restaurant falls into the stream of eating establishments flowing through Heath street in Hampstead. It is a smallish, cosy place, done up in classical décor of low lighting and long starched table cloths. Meghna specialises in grilling varieties of marinated meats and representative Indian favourites such as butter chicken, lamb Jalfrezi and Balti king prawn. The atmosphere is very relaxed and the prices reasonable. It's a good place to wind down at the end of the day, or take someone on a low key rendezvous.

Big in Japan - Sakenohana

A great selection of sakes and free seats can be found in Sakenohana near Green Park. One can guess from the name that the cuisine is japanese - sushi, donburi, rice and noodles. The portions aren't large, however they are quite filling. After a 10 piece sushi platter and beef and smoked eel donburi, served with pickles and miso, we felt absolutely full. The minimalistic, business orientated design, spanning over two floors leaves little in way of cosyness. Great place for a business meeting where you want something more than eating to get done. Bad place for a first date.

Apsley and Lanesborough

The old glamour or Lanesborough Hotel - the Ming dynasty vases, the heavy wooden chairs, not to mention the oak panelled library bar - is very well complemented by a slightly more modern looking Apsley Restaurant. The best thing about Apsley is its star chef Heinz Back, who bears no relation to the Heinz mayonnaise clan. The great thing about restaurants that have just one Michelin star is that they try harder! The bread was still warm, we got a complementary starter ensemble with Italian Prosecco on the side. The Italian staff where extra Mediterranean macho with heavy accents that added to the ambience. We had some signature Heinz dishes like Jerusalem artichoke purée with lobster and liquorice and mains of veal with wild mushrooms and roasted pigeon royal. I usually take sweet desserts but this time I attempted a savoury cheese selection. It was a good choice indeed as I was given some unusual Italian cheeses.

Loved the Apsley, loved the food, loved the bar and the cocktails. A must see for those lacking fear of aged, white, upper class males with bejewelled companions.

Notting Hill Beach Blanket

For the curious out there Beach Blanket Babylon or BBB is the longest running cultural satire musical of all times, born and bred in San Francisco. It's namesake in Notting Hill embraces the theme of pop culture on a chic, kitschy, opulent level. There is a lot to say about the design, but I will refrain from over verbosity and just state that it is indeed worth seeing. There is a lounge bar and a restaurant and the food is ... yes obviously overpriced but not bad in its essence. The gazpacho was very decent and the goats cheese tart had good strong flavours. The chicken was unmemorable but well cooked while seared tuna on chickpea purée, was indeed a marvellous idea, albeit of varying success as I would need a specialist to locate that purée on the premises of my plate. They should have said chickpea jus and left it at that. I liked that dessert and had space for it which was first. It was some sort of chocolate concoction that went down well will coffee.

Everybody must visit Beach Blanket Babylon, it is an exiting place, just don't come too hungry or too tight.

Asia De Cuba

St Martin's Lane hotel houses an unusually well designed (for a hotel) fusion restaurant. When one thinks of fusion its usually amongst various Asian cuisines. Asia de Cuba takes this to a different level as you can guess from the name the dishes such as for example "Crab croquetas, jicama, mango, green apple and mirin infused slaw, roasted red pepper remoulade, chili ponzu dipping sauce". This very dish no matter how exiting it sounds tasted like crab and avocado salad with thousand islands sauce. No matter how intent I was on really liking Asia de Cuba I couldn't help but feel that the dishes, despite being quite nice, fell short of tasting as complicated and interesting as the descriptions promised. Nonetheless it is an interesting place to take a new acquaintance, has an great cocktails list and an intimate hotel bar next door. In addition it specialises in sharing platters so you do get to try a bit of everything without looking like you're playing William the Conqueror over your neighbors' plates.

To the Summerhouse

Open for the summer only, Summerhouse by the waterway is a great place to chill with a glass of Chardonnay over a fish dinner. The presentation of the dishes is thrilling to the eye - the popcorn shrimp and the salmon where a pleasure to eat and to behold. For the ichthyophobes there is the safety steak option just in case. Salmon and haddock fishcake with poached egg makes for a good late breakfast, swordfish with mango salsa and wasabi mayonnaise makes for a filling lunch. Peacefully located in little Venice, the Summerhouse is the best place to take in the brief, warm London evenings, you can relax at the bar with drinks and a selection of dips and sharers, or spend all day gossiping over watermelon platter and summer berry pudding with clotted cream.

Food Chains

It is not in my habit to review chains. But Dim t in Hampstead has struck a cord. Hampstead high street has a wide range of dinning establishments that look better than they taste and cost more than they are worth. Dim t surprised me. It was value for money - large portions and promotional offers. In addition it delivered consistently good food. Kyoto Udon soup, Dim sum, Coconut rice, aromatic duck all tasted great. The service was fast and the staff friendly. I haven't been to other Dim t's but this one is definitely worth a try.

Other chains are worth a mention - Wagamama only does good soup and desserts. The curries lack whim. Byron overcomplicates burgers and uses too much of something in the dressing, I wish I could figure out what. Pizza express if blue and that just kills any appetite - so great for those dieters out there. Chez Gerard has too much pomp and too little quality. Cafe Rouge is not bad at all for what it is. At Ask - and this has been agreed by many - either don't eat or have the Caesar salad which is nice. Itsu is overpriced but comfortable. Wasabi is a place I like to avoid . Burger king has better burgers than Mcdonalds because the former flame grill theirs while the latter does better breakfasts.

Heathrow's Roux

Jet lag aside there is nothing one wants more after landing than some culinary miracle to help wipe out that taste of airplane food. Therefore I was more than exited when I heard that the owner of legendary Gavroche in Mayfair - Albert Roux is opening a Brasserie at Sofitel, Heathrow. I was even worried my casual flight attire would be frowned up on. I was hungry. The journey through terminals would have been complicated had I not had a good guide. Sofitel inside was a boring as an accountant. I did not care - Brasserie Roux met me with a better designed seating area done up in a color known as mulberry burst. "It has to fit in with the rest of the hotel", I reconciled myself as I leafed through the menu. The latter was very regional French and had a lot of what I would call Catalan undertones. Hence the Gazpacho that I'd ordered as a starter. A simple dish the Gazpacho but very easy to get wrong. And they did. It was too sour and oily. I didn't think much of this until the main of duck leg on mash came. It was dry and boring like Sofitel. It was one of those dishes you'd get served by your friend's mother. You 'd eat it thankful for the fact that it's so uncomplicated and you don't need to spend stressful hours trying to forget that strange taste when she mixed up the spices in her ratatouille. Perhaps Mr. Roux does not fly from Heathrow often as he prefers the more budget airlines but perhaps he should take a look at Terminal 5 where at Ramsay's Plane Food manages to deliver the goods despite its remoteness from Mayfair and management.

Paramount

What is open late and does breakfasts? What has a view of BOTH the City and Canary Warf? What used to be an all members bar and is now open to the public? Paramount Restaurant and Bar on top of Center Point. That's right, finally that beacon of tube for the weekend drunkards has become something more than an orientation point by night and an egg holder crying for the recycle bin by day. Center point has finally become a lighthouse for the stylish and food loving public. Paramount boasts a 360 degree, unadultered view of London and a decent chef partial to the good old British menu. There are old classics amongst the starters like a tuna nicoise or a shellfish platter, with something more interesting like haddock and lentil chowder with lemon oil and roquefort souffle with beetroot and aged balsamic. The mains are unpretentious and wholesome, if not somewhat boring. The bouillabaisse and the trio of pork were very good indeed but sank into the limelight in comparison to such exiting cocktail concoctions as Dark Chooclate and Fig Manhattan or roast pineapple and chilli Margharita . Paramount is and excellent casual establishment with surprisingly reasonable prices and excellent personel.

Wapping Project

Little does one expect to find a place of culinary and cultural delight in East London. This is however one of those old "dont judge a book by its cover" tales. Wapping is a dignified, swanky area on the river, quite akin to the trendy refurbished warehouse appartments one finds in London Bridge. Amongst them is a converted hydraulic power station that houses the Wapping Project. An exhibition space with a restaurant and cocktail bar. The Wapping project is definetely an extensive conversation piece - be it the design, the location or the neighbours (one of the oldest bankside pubs located on an old execution spot). The cocktails blew me away - the classics were well performed and honey vodka based mixes delighted the palate and excited the senses. In a mild sense of ubriation I was delighted by the simple down to business composition of the menu. There was something to satisfy every taste in the fushion of starters of roast quail with peach, chicory and walnut or chilled papaya, cucumber and mint soup. The mains were unmistakeably British with an Andalusian twist. Roast pork loin with paprika potatoes and chorizo and Brecon lamb with sweet onion cake were discarded in favour of roast duck on mash. Everything was cooked to perfection and presented beautifully. However the portion size and the combination of ingredients fell a little bit short. Be as it may but the drinks, the desserts and the overall ambience of the place have made it one of my current favourites. Wapping project provides and excellent setting to get toghether and celebrate with friends.

London's Skylon

Named after the famous grasshopper - like sculpture that adorned the South bank in the 70s Skylon restaurant at the Royal festival hall, does justice to its famous namesake.
This place is as close to perfection as can be - there is a gorgeous view on the Thames, impeccable service and great opening hours (till 1am). The menu was simple and innovative. The tartare of trout was succulent and refreshing. The venison carpaccio went surprisingly well with beetroot and hazelnut. Poached ox cheeks with aromatic consomme were soft and well seasoned while the coffee and cardamon infused rack of lamb produced bags of flavour! All the food was very tastefully presented, especially the deserts, my panettone with custard heart and kirsch ice cream was as fun to eat as it was to look at. Skylon is not the cheapest place in the world but if you want a guaranteed good time, you should try it.

Seen the Zeen?

I first heard of Zeen on the legendary Masterchef show. The contestants had to do their apprenticeship there. Located on Drummond street amongst numerous Indian restaurants Zeen really proves that there's more to Indian food that Sainsbury's curry. Zeen food looked great on television, but I was not prepared for the design or the space itself - very modern and casual. Perhaps it is not a place for a romantic meal but rather a great business lunch venue or a casual friends' meeting place.
I must say it is definitely the best Indian cuisine I have tried so far in London. We had spicy jumbo prawns , rich lamb pattice, marinated chicken bits and fragrant duck.. just for starters. Everything was perfectly seasoned and had just the right amount of hotness - the kind that makes you weep and be thankful for the bottomless glass of water that the staff helpfully feel up at regular intervals. For mains we went for the Zeen platter and the whole cooked pomfret which is a type of ocean fish with a very unique, particular flavor. It is hard to describe Indian cuisine, I will suffice to say that it was flavoursome and we ate everything! There is a vegetarian menu as well as a meat one. Zeen has definitely lived up to it's reputation.

The Villian of Villandry

Just like two in one shampoo and conditioner the Villandry food store, bakery, restaurant and bar is a great idea that doesn't really work. It has a beautiful store with gourmet french groceries adjoined to a wooden clad french restaurant with an ambitious wine menu.
We came in a large group and had the french onion and mushroom soups for starters. The presentation was good, the taste - boringly fine, it lacked a certain zest I so admire in french cuisine. The restaurant was not busy but we had to wait for forty minutes for our mains, which were simple in execution as they were mussels in white wine sauce. After I complained the mains were delivered within minutes. I am worried - were they standing ready for half an hour - all forgotten in a begone corner of the kitchen or is the chef a lazy whizkid that when reminded whipped up three mains in five minutes.
I would shop in the Villandry if I lived nearby and Waitrose didn't do online delivery and I would probably eat there again if I found myself desperately hungry on Great Portland street, but I wouldn't recommend anyone taking time off to see it.

Aquatic fushion

Aqua off Regent Street spreads itself amongst the top three floors of an ex department store, whose name I cannot recall. There is Aqua Kyoto with Asian cuisine, Aqua Nueva for tapas, and a champagne bar called Aqua Spirit.
We concentrated on Aqua Kyoto. The venue is great, unusually large for London, with excellent lighting and layout. There is a large smoking terrace with a view of a dome which looks like St Paul's. The atmosphere was great, very anachronistic. It's a very good place to visit with a group of friends before going off to party. The food - very average. We tried most of the things on the menu - the lobster, the cod, sushi rolls, mussel udon, clam miso, shrimp tempura. Only thing worth mentioning is the black cod which had a pleasant sweet sauce. The desserts fared a bit better - chocolate fondant, green tea ice cream, sake poached pear. What I will always remember though is the fried sesame ice cream.

Le Gavroche

What can I say? Le Gavroche is the first Micheline restaurant I've been to that merits its two stars. It can be found off Park Lane and has this grandiose air that tells tales of better times that is so prevalent to some areas of Piccadilly and Mayfair.
I first heard of this place while watching masterchef the professionals, hosted by Michael Roux JR - its current head chef and owner. Roux inherited the restaurant from his dad who was an Uber Chef of the seventies and gave the establishment its reputation.
Everything pleased me about Gavroche, the old school grandeur ambiance without the uncomfortable snobbery usually found in such establishments. The service was quick, I don't know the prices as ladies get a blank menu. I was in casual wear but that was a faux pas as men wore dinner jackets and some ladies had glamorous evening wear. In addition, Gavroche customises all their merchandise so in between courses I had fun looking at hand painted plates and chef-figured cutlery.
Cheese souffle was faultless and satisfying while cooked oysters had a pleasant texture and a refreshing sauce. French food has fascinating, intricate names but one does not always have the patience for them; for main we had lamb and fish stew. The lamb was faultless but what I want to recommend is the stew - the bisque was just right, a feat chefs rarely get as they usually put way to much salt. Passion fruit souffle ended the meal - I was quite full by then but I'm glad I'd tried it. Needless to say the wine selection was a vast as it was varied. Gavroche is definitely an establishment that would brighten any one's day.

What's at Steak?

Goodman's is well known for its steak. Got top reviews. It looks like a stylish pub. The staff is great - its unusual to mention service before food but here I must make an exception - despite the place being full, service was quick and the people working there must know a thing or two about customer service.
There was a very varied starter menu - something for everyone. I had the lobster bisque which was a bit too salty and as a main with my steak some creamed spinach with Gruyere which was also a bit salty and a bit fatty. Having said that, my criticism ends here. Steaks we wanted - steaks we got - great, t bone, sirloin, fillet - all the cuts were thick and juicy and melted under the knife like butter. What you see is what you get. I liked what I saw and tasted!
Warm chocolate fondant with ice cream was very heard to take inn after the hearty meal but it was worth it as it was a perfect combination of unctuous chocolate flavours and and texture.
When you visit Goodman's I suggest you leave the vegetarians at home and order some good red with your steak.