Top 10 coffee shops in London
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Saturday, April 25, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
The Nosh Bar London is Back and the Salt Beef is A1
The Nosh Bar was a well known salt beef bar at 39 Great Windmill Street, London, for over forty years, opening in 1944 by Phil Rabin and finally closing in the late eighties. It re-opened in 2009 after an absence of almost 20 years by the Jonas family.
I have to agree with food critic Dan Young who has specific domain expertise on Jewish Deli food "To describe the thick, moist, fat-glistening, hand-cut slices of cured salt beef as “tender” is to do their singularity an injustice."
Today I had not one but two Salt Beef Sandwiches on Rye for research purposes of course.
The meat was really outstanding ( sourced from Hensons ) as was the Rye Bread ( sourced from Gavins)
Carry on the good work lads and keep the quality up !
Saturday, April 18, 2009
O'Shea's my new Number 1 Butcher in London
Dermot O'Shea is descended from eight generations of Irish butchers. In 1998, he and his sons and daughter opened a butcher's shop in Brussels, which quickly became one of the most popular amongst the cognoscenti in the city supplying a very demanding epicurean audience. In 2006 he and his two sons opened his second shop in Knightsbridge, London. Cathal now runs the Butcher concession in Selfridges Food Hall whilst Darragh runs the premium Knightbridge shop.
He sells high-quality meat, including an outstanding grass-fed, barley finished Black Angus beef from South West Ireland and Perthshire in Scotland that provides perfect conditions for this breed that produces not only excellent "prime" cuts like sirloin and fillet but superb Onglet, Bavette and stewing classics like Cheek and Shin.
Just looking at this fine Beef not only shows the marbling but that it has been hung from between 30 to 60 days .
The Knightsbridge store also has outstanding organic and free range pork (Landrace)from Childhay Manor (Dorset) as well as excellent British Lamb from Yorkshire, Shetland and Wales depending on the season.
The Rosé Veal is sublime (Irish) full flavoured unlike the majority of pale Dutch Veal mostly found in the better butchers in London. It is how Veal should be i.e. a young animal as opposed to the Dutch produce that is treated like a Guantanamo Bay prisoner.
The shop also produces excellent homemade pies, pasties, hams , gammon bacon and sausages. There is often a scrum at lunch for the famous homemade baguette sandwiches.
Darragh runs a very serious premium business focused on excellence in terms of selection, correctly hanging and maturing their meats as well as clearly identifying their provenance.
I have had the pleasure of meeting Dermott and Darragh and it's clear within minutes that they are true artisans and this is a business committed to promoting excellence in gastronomy. Seems like the O'Shea's not only know their meat but also are well traveled and understand how different nationalities cook theirs.
Unfortunately during these tough economic times many of our top London Butchers are lowering their standards by mixing up their offerings with inferior and cheaper meats with very dodgy provenance.
For me O'Shea is now the leader of the pack in London leaving Lidgates, Allen's of Mayfair, Harrods, and Ginger Pig etc behind. This has all been achieved in 3 years.
Until further notice I will single source all my meat from this establishment.
11 Montpelier St.
London
SW7 1EX
Tel: 0207 581 7771
website
Saturday, April 04, 2009
Not bad for a chain
Rossopomodoro is a successful chain of Italian Restaurants promoting Neaplolitan food. It has many branches all over Italy and has now launched in the UK .
The chain has wood fired ovens and make good Neapolitan style pizzas using quality ingredients.
There are also good pasta dishes and salads.
I tend not to like chains especially those that feature "Italian" food like Strada , Ask , Bella Italia etc but Rossopomodoro manages to produce simple and consistent food using good ingredients.
The chain has wood fired ovens and make good Neapolitan style pizzas using quality ingredients.
There are also good pasta dishes and salads.
I tend not to like chains especially those that feature "Italian" food like Strada , Ask , Bella Italia etc but Rossopomodoro manages to produce simple and consistent food using good ingredients.
Friday, April 03, 2009
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Hibiscus in London
It is always difficult to move a restaurant within a city but to bring it down from Ludlow the little gastro hub in Shropshire is very brave indeed.
All I can say after eating there recently week is bravo Monsieur Bosi ! you and your wife have done a great job.
The food is superb and original from the amuse bouche to a remarkable light chocolat tart infused with liquid choc and flavoured with indonesian basil.
Claude Bosi does remarkable things with vegetables somehow concentrating the flavours through pulverisation and blending with other compatible ingredients.
My one criticism is that the portions are slightly too small if you are going for 3-4 courses a la carte including cheese.
The wine list needs a bit of beefing up in terms of choice especially red and white Burgundy and a wider range of red Bordeaux to include some cru bourgeois and lesser grand cru classes' ( of at least 8 years of age)
As in Ludlow this is two star cooking and with some small changes this could become along with The Square and Pied a Terre a contender for a 3rd.
My experience here reminded me of another great French Chef who thrived in London - Pierre Koffman at Tante Claire (Royal Hospital Road) - the approach and philosophy is obviously different but the technical skill and execution from the kitchen was really impressive.
All I can say after eating there recently week is bravo Monsieur Bosi ! you and your wife have done a great job.
The food is superb and original from the amuse bouche to a remarkable light chocolat tart infused with liquid choc and flavoured with indonesian basil.
Claude Bosi does remarkable things with vegetables somehow concentrating the flavours through pulverisation and blending with other compatible ingredients.
My one criticism is that the portions are slightly too small if you are going for 3-4 courses a la carte including cheese.
The wine list needs a bit of beefing up in terms of choice especially red and white Burgundy and a wider range of red Bordeaux to include some cru bourgeois and lesser grand cru classes' ( of at least 8 years of age)
As in Ludlow this is two star cooking and with some small changes this could become along with The Square and Pied a Terre a contender for a 3rd.
My experience here reminded me of another great French Chef who thrived in London - Pierre Koffman at Tante Claire (Royal Hospital Road) - the approach and philosophy is obviously different but the technical skill and execution from the kitchen was really impressive.
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Thursday, March 26, 2009
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Sunday, March 22, 2009
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Friday, March 06, 2009
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Friday, February 27, 2009
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Friday, February 20, 2009
Freedom for Theo
I have gone on record to say that the River Cafe is vastly overrated and L"Anima is my current favourite Italian in London.
Well Theo Randall now has his own canvas to paint on free from Rosie and Ruthie !
I had a very good meal here last night as a guest of Subterranean.
We both started with the capelletti stuffed with slow roasted veal which was good to the standard found in an average restaurant in say Parma but nowhere near the delights of the Sorelle Picchi in that same fiar city or even an excellent Tortelli stuffed with osso buco a la Milanese that I onCe had a Locanda Locatelli full of flavour, a juicy runny meat and sauce stuffing.
My host had what he desribed as a superb grilled calves liver and I had a truly outstanding Vela Chop topped with porcini and slasa verde.
We shared some fried Zucchini that were good but not as good as those at L'Anima.
We both finished with a truly superb selection of deserts to share - homemade vanila ice cream , pana cotta , lemon tart and chocolate cake - all were really outstanding.
We drank a bottle of Frans Hass Pinot Grigio form Alto Adige and ended with a glass of Sweet Asti.
Perhaps because the retaurantis in a major international hotel it tries to please people with eclectic tastes hence some great Italian wines are conspicous by their absence eg. Passito di Pantelleria one of the worlds top dessert wines.
L'Anima remains my favourite Italian in London !
Well Theo Randall now has his own canvas to paint on free from Rosie and Ruthie !
I had a very good meal here last night as a guest of Subterranean.
We both started with the capelletti stuffed with slow roasted veal which was good to the standard found in an average restaurant in say Parma but nowhere near the delights of the Sorelle Picchi in that same fiar city or even an excellent Tortelli stuffed with osso buco a la Milanese that I onCe had a Locanda Locatelli full of flavour, a juicy runny meat and sauce stuffing.
My host had what he desribed as a superb grilled calves liver and I had a truly outstanding Vela Chop topped with porcini and slasa verde.
We shared some fried Zucchini that were good but not as good as those at L'Anima.
We both finished with a truly superb selection of deserts to share - homemade vanila ice cream , pana cotta , lemon tart and chocolate cake - all were really outstanding.
We drank a bottle of Frans Hass Pinot Grigio form Alto Adige and ended with a glass of Sweet Asti.
Perhaps because the retaurantis in a major international hotel it tries to please people with eclectic tastes hence some great Italian wines are conspicous by their absence eg. Passito di Pantelleria one of the worlds top dessert wines.
L'Anima remains my favourite Italian in London !
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
Great Queen St
This is the sister restaurant to one of my favourite tables in London - The Anchor and Hope.
Everything is the same in terms of great bourgeois cooking and well chosen and resonably priced wines and beers.
Last night which was pretty cold I had a very light beetroot soup with sour cream and dill followed by a superb ox cheek stew with (real) chips followed by a sublime seville orange and almond tart served with a scoop of home made vanilla ice cream ! Outstanding !
The main difference with the Anchor is that you can book and of course the location is better if you work nearby or happen to be a Mason !
Everything is the same in terms of great bourgeois cooking and well chosen and resonably priced wines and beers.
Last night which was pretty cold I had a very light beetroot soup with sour cream and dill followed by a superb ox cheek stew with (real) chips followed by a sublime seville orange and almond tart served with a scoop of home made vanilla ice cream ! Outstanding !
The main difference with the Anchor is that you can book and of course the location is better if you work nearby or happen to be a Mason !
Sunday, January 25, 2009
The Holy War Mac v PC
Thanks to James Naughton in todays Observer for reminding us of the great piece written by Umberto Echo in 1994 on Mac v PC .
Catch you later just off to Mass !
Catch you later just off to Mass !
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Boca di Lupo , London
Ex Moro head Chef Jacob Kennedy has gone Pan Italian and is producing very well turned out Italian Regional classics (small and larger plates for most dishes) The menu describes each dish in English and the region it originates from.
The wine list is very well chosen with many of the great winemakers in Italy represented - however I was disapointed to see they had chosen Umberto Cesari's Sangiovesi di Romagna instead of his superb "Super Emiliano" - Liano a blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignion.
I need to work my way through the menu but today I had Tuna Tartare which had capers and pine nuts in the dressing followed by a risotto of bone marrow , barolo and radicchio di Treviso. The Tuna was delicate and fresh and a good way to wake the taste buds. I liked the Risotto but I'm yet to have a one in London that is as good as the ones I make myself at home or reach the heights found in good restaurants of all classes in Italy. I suspect there was a lack of flavour in the stock and an element of pre cooked rice so it was not cooked and stirred for 15-20 minutes from scratch.
I finished with some excellent well kept Tallegio served with fennel ,grapes and rose hip honey.
My guest had a lovely proscuitto crudo of lamb and some scallops with rocket followed by Sanguinaccio - asweet paté of pig's blood chocolate with sourdough bread which was actually very interesting if somewhat rich.
We shared some Puntarelle with anchovy with our mains and they were as good as I have eaten in Rome.
As I said I look forward to working my way through the menu especially Cotechino with lentils in balsamic vinegar
& bitter clementine mostarda Romagna ,Boiled beef with potatoes & salsa verde and Rustic pork & foie gras sausage
with farro & porcini.
The wine list is very well chosen with many of the great winemakers in Italy represented - however I was disapointed to see they had chosen Umberto Cesari's Sangiovesi di Romagna instead of his superb "Super Emiliano" - Liano a blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignion.
I need to work my way through the menu but today I had Tuna Tartare which had capers and pine nuts in the dressing followed by a risotto of bone marrow , barolo and radicchio di Treviso. The Tuna was delicate and fresh and a good way to wake the taste buds. I liked the Risotto but I'm yet to have a one in London that is as good as the ones I make myself at home or reach the heights found in good restaurants of all classes in Italy. I suspect there was a lack of flavour in the stock and an element of pre cooked rice so it was not cooked and stirred for 15-20 minutes from scratch.
I finished with some excellent well kept Tallegio served with fennel ,grapes and rose hip honey.
My guest had a lovely proscuitto crudo of lamb and some scallops with rocket followed by Sanguinaccio - asweet paté of pig's blood chocolate with sourdough bread which was actually very interesting if somewhat rich.
We shared some Puntarelle with anchovy with our mains and they were as good as I have eaten in Rome.
As I said I look forward to working my way through the menu especially Cotechino with lentils in balsamic vinegar
& bitter clementine mostarda Romagna ,Boiled beef with potatoes & salsa verde and Rustic pork & foie gras sausage
with farro & porcini.
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