Month: September 2011

José – third time lucky

For me it was a case of third time lucky, as we finally managed to get a seat in José (José Pizarro’s tiny Tapas bar in Bermondsey Street). We did this by choosing a non standard time though – 2 o’clock on a Monday!  It was worth it.  Excellent service and some pretty superior Tapas dishes, better I have to say than Tapas bars we have tried in Spain, including Alberto Adrià’s  famous (and now closed) Inopia in Barcelona.

We ordered some delicious Tomato bread, Patatas Bravas, Lamb Albondigas, Hake, Lentils and Chorizo with a couple glasses of wine.  Then for dessert we had a  juicy soft pear poached in red wine and a dish of cold rice pudding – divine.  We thought the bill might be excessive as it is very easy to keep ordering Tapas dishes without realising just how much the costs are mounting up. However we were pleasantly surprised at how reasonable our lovely lunch was.  £25 a head for  two glasses of wine, two coffees and seven Tapas dishes isn’t bad for London.

We’ll be back.

Marks out of 10

Food 7.1

Service 7

Ambience 7

UPDATE 21/12/12 – Made a return visit and sat at the bar to enjoy some delicious Croquetas, Hake, Chorizo al Vino and take in the buzz.  Just as good as our first visit.

 

 

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La Trompette – treating ourselves in Chiswick

Made a return visit after a gap of a couple of years to La Trompette in Chiswick.  The area was livelier than I remembered, lots more interesting shops and restaurants.

The weather was good so the full length windows were open to effectively extend the restaurant into the outside space.

We had a very relaxing meal, with good food and friendly service in very pleasant surroundings. This is very much the sort of place where you can enjoy indulging in the wine list and taking your time over the cheese board.

Out of all the Nigel Platts-Martins restaurants we have been too, this one is actually our least favorite, not that there is anything wrong with it. It is still a very good restaurant, it’s just that  The Glasshouse, Chez Bruce and The Ledbury are better. So if you are in the area this would be a real treat, but I still prefer to make the trip out to Wandsworth for Chez Bruce or Notting Hill for The Ledbury.

Marks out of 10

Food 6.9

Service  7

Ambience 7

 

 

UPDATE: April 2013 – La Trompette has been refurbished since our last visit, it now has a more spacious dining room, private dining facilities and a new kitchen. There is also a new Head Chef – Rob Weston.

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What’s is No Expert doing next?

Well, we are working our way slowly through our Wish list, with visits to Bob Bob Ricard and the oh so famous Sketch, which should be interesting!

Sketch won a No Expert award for the worst restaurant web site a while back, but they have completely revamped it now.  The new one is much easier to navigate, but still a bit OTT and not exactly easy on the eyes, as you will see if you click on this link.

We are also trying out a new place at Londons Vertical Gateway or Battersea Heliport as it is better known. It’s called Patrisey. I am sure it won’t be in the same league (food wise) as the two restaurants I have just mentioned – It has a VIEW and from experience we have found that the better the view the worse the food tends to be.  Here’s hoping it’s one of the exceptions to that unwritten rule 😉

There is a bit of a Russian Theme here with Bob Bob Ricard off course and the fact that Sketch and Hotel Verta (where Patrisey is located) look like the sort of venues where you might spot the odd Russian Oligarch.

Banana Tree – branching out in Soho

I am a bit wary about invitations to review restaurants. It’s a bit of a dilemma for a food blogger in that not paying for a meal can color your judgement or you feel bad about being negative. Before I accept I tend to check other reviews first to see if there is generally a positive vibe about the place and indeed if it looks interesting enough to write about.  The Banana Tree opening a new flagship branch in Wardour Street in the heart of Soho certainly looked interesting as their Oriental Market style Kitchen is a great concept and the chain of restaurants has had lots of positive reviews.

We went at Sunday lunchtime (one of their quietest times I was told on the phone when making my reservation and again on arrival), so we missed out on the real buzz this place would have when busier.  However there are advantages to visiting restaurants at quiet times. You get the pick of the tables, the kitchen and waiting staff  tend to be less stressed.  More people arrived while we were having lunch, so although it was not buzzing we did get a idea of the type of clientele that were attracted to the restaurant.  “Young and Cosmopolitan” would be my description.

The restaurant with its distinctive Urban Chic design focuses on food from the Indochina region and the menu is certainly inviting with some appetising sounding dishes. We tried quite a few of the starters and shared some main courses. The Aubergine with Aromatic Caramel sauce was by far the most interesting  of the dishes we sampled – nice flavour combinations.  The self assembly Vietnamese lettuce wrap with spiced lamb didn’t work for us, it was a bit dry and we felt it was missing something to bind the ingredients together – although the pickled vegetables were nice.  The other dishes we tried were not really that memorable – no standout flavours and normally I would not order something like Pad Thai when there are other more interesting dishes on the menu, but it’s a good one for comparison purposes – I have had a lot of Pad Thai. The Banana Tree Pad Thai was unfortunately bland and lukewarm.  A description that could equally be applied to some of the other dishes we tried as well.

Wardour Street is a tough location for a restaurant, there is a lot of competition.  They have a nice concept here, the staff are very friendly and attentive, but alas the food (on our visit) did not live up to the promise of the menu.

 

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