Category: UK

Thai Marina – The Waterfront, Sovereign harbour

Another visit to the South coast to make the most of our Summer – Eastbourne this time.  Rather impressed actually. Eastbourne sea front is like a better kept Brighton. A short drive or a two miles walk along the coast path, heading south and you will reach Sovereign Harbour.

Sovereign Harbour is a huge rather attractive marina, which unfortunately seems to be somewhat lacking in bars and restaurants.  The rather small Waterfront complex is where the restaurants and bars are located, the  restaurant that looked the most interesting to us was called Thai Marina (only found out its name when we got the bill as the awning hides it and there was nothing on the menu but a logo as far as I could see).

This was a good find, I enjoyed their selection of Dim Sum and the dessert options though limited were good. I had a delicious coconut custard dish and my companion had an attractively presented coconut ice cream. Serving truffles with the Green Tea was also a nice touch.

Very relaxing, especially if like us, you get the weather and can sit out on the large terrace.

Marks out of 10 for Thai Marina during the day

Food 5.5

Service 5

Ambience 5

UPDATE : April 2011 – Made a return visit to Thai Marina, this time in the evening. I found the service to be particularly good. Too much lemon grass spoilt one of my companion’s dishes, but on the whole the food quality was well above average.  For my main course I ordered a Green Curry, which was not exactly as expected, much hotter with some red peppers and British Aubergines rather than Thai ones. However it worked, the sauce was delicious. It went well with the lovely fluffy coconut rice. The drinks/wine list was a surprise, it included a really good selection of spirits and several less common wines. We had a bottle of Picpoul De Pinet which complimented my curry beautifully.

UPDATE : May and August 2011 – Another two visits and another two very good meals. The Prawns and the Fish Cakes were perfect, I loved the Snow Crab with Wasabi dip and the Octopus I had was so tender that I managed to cut it easily with my spoon.  I also loved the vegetable carvings, they added that extra level of fun to the meal.

Marks out of 10 for Thai Marina in the Evening

Food 6.5

Service 6

Ambience 5

 

Simply Italian – another option

The Waterfront complex also houses a Simply Italian restaurant, this is part of a small chain of Italian Restaurants. It’s also worth a visit.  The Calzone I had was definitely better than anything Pizza Express can deliver and the pasta wasn’t bad either.

Marks out 10 for Simply Italian

Food 5

Service 5

Ambience 5

 

 

 

Gastronomica – Piemonte in Pimlico

Had breakfast at Gastronomica in Pimlico, a cafe/deli that advertises itself quite rightly as Piemonte in Pimlico.

Actually Gastronomica is a lot more that just this one cafe/deli. They have several market stalls (including one at Borough Market) and another couple of  cafes in Wapping and Manchester as well as a wholesale food business.

The cafe in the heart of Pimlico is not that pretty from the outside, as it is located in an unattractive red brick block of shops behind a rather garish red awning.

Inside it is much more attractive, the Cafe area consists of a couple of large wooden tables and a few smaller ones, surrounded by shelves of Italian Wine and cabinets full of wonderful meats and cheese. The menu is quite small, mainly Italian sandwiches, cheese and meat boards and salads, but everything looks really good.

My breakfast was just a simple ham and cheese tostado, served with a really good cup of coffee.  They also had a selection of cakes, which were inviting enough for me to want to make a return visit to try them along with another cup of that coffee. It’s always good to find an alternative to the ubiquitous Starbucks and Cafe Nero coffee shops.

This place captures the best of Italy. It’s very laid back, I particularly liked the way they went off menu to please a family that just wanted toast and jam for their kids. You definitely don’t see that in Starbucks.

UPDATE : January 2011, returned for coffee and cake, had a piece of strawberry and pannacotta cheese cake, and another cup of their great coffee.  I also bought some Delizia Mandorla (Almond Cakes) which are lovely with a glass of Amaretto.

Marks out of 10

Food 5

Service 5.2

Ambience 5.5

 

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The Sportsman – Fresh from the garden

The Sportsman in Whitstable is a destination restaurant, well a Michelin starred gastro pub with quite a reputation.  Do not even think about going there to eat without an advance reservation.

They pride themselves on their fresh ingredients. Everything is either from the garden out back or from nearby, its all about provenance here.  On the whole the pride is justified as the ingredients especially the fish and vegetables are really fresh and the cooking shows them off.

We treated ourselves to some Pol Roger Champagne and started on the tasting menu (something you need to pre book or alternatively you can order from the dishes on the blackboard by the bar). We started with some pork scratchings, and to quote “Steve” the chef, the Sportsman is a pub after all.  They were nothing like typical pub pork scratchings, they were delicious, as was the mustard, herring and soda bread they were served with.

We had a very nice salad (Salmagundy, which apparently means a salad made out of available ingredients), but the standout courses were the dover sole with seaweed butter and the turbot with smoked roe sauce.  Our conclusion was that the meal started well and that the fish dishes were excellent, but that the quality dipped with the 2nd lamb dish (some mash would have been nice) and the desserts (can chefs get over popping candy please).

We enjoyed the meal but I must say I wasn’t as wowed by it as some other reviewers.

Oh and we finished off the day with a nice jug of Pimms at Miles Cafe Culture in Ramsgate in case you were wondering.

 

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47 Mussel Row – Littlehampton

I am not keen on doing restaurant walk ins, have had too many disappointments. However sometimes you have no choice and occasionally you are lucky enough to find a gem. We were driving along the Sussex coastline, looking for somewhere suitable, we made a detour to check out Bognor Regis! – nothing looked interesting enough to even get out of the car, so we drove on to Littlehampton.  This was much better, with its large Victorian Houses overlooking the park and the sea, and its newer developments overlooking the River Arun and the golf course. There we found a nice looking bistro called 47 Mussel Row.

We ordered Mussels in batter with a garlic dip, good apart from a couple of mussels that were a bit gritty. This was followed by a lovely piece of Skate, which was perfectly cooked.

So as walk ins go, this was most definately one of my better experiences.

Marks out of 10

Food 5.4

Service 5

Ambience 4 (it was a quiet day)

 

Another good place to visit if your are in the area is Arundel, it is a lovely town and I would recommend taking a  30 minute stroll along the River to have drinks or lunch at the Black Rabbit Inn.

 

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Blueprint Cafe – focusing on the view

Had lunch at the Blueprint Cafe, it’s a hard location to beat.  They sat us at a great table by the window with a panoramic view of Tower Bridge and the Thames.  They also supplied a pair of binoculars, so the view is obviously a big attraction.

It’s been years since my last visit, and  the decor/style of the place has certainly changed. It’s a much more casual venue these days.

Food wise it was a bit hit and miss (more miss than hit).  The Razor clams I had were nothing special, too much lemon juice for my taste. The mackerel was a bit overcooked, but the pickled cucumbers with mustard and dill that accompanied it was delicious – click here for a recipe

For main course I had grilled leg of lamb with tomatoes and courgettes, the lamb was perfect (well apart from the fact there was not enough of it and there was a real glut of vegetables).  The meringue dessert was rather messy looking but tasted good, however the strawberry shortcake was less successful,  not my idea of shortcake. It was  more like oatcake, with cream and strawberries, basically rather dull.

So in conclusion, great view, OK food. I would make a return visit, but next time I will lower my expectations and focus on the view.

 

 

Update : April 2012 – The Blueprint Cafe has a new chef, Mark Jarvis. He has worked at Texture and spent some time working for Raymond Blanc.

 

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Toast – Food, Wine, Music and Polo!

Made the trek out to Ham Polo Club, to attend the 10th Anniversary Toast New Zealand Event.  It was a trek, 20 minutes on a very busy train to Richmond from Waterloo, another 20 minutes on a packed local bus – seemed like all the Kiwi’s in London were heading for the event. Then a long walk to get to the ticket office to pick up our complementary tickets (longer because we were wrongly directed to go to the VIP entrance).  We eventually got in, pretty much as the England v New Zealand Polo match was finishing.

There were just two rows of stalls, laid out in the best possible way to cause congestion. I would have been horrified if I had paid for my ticket – ticket  prices were between £20 and £150.   However there was live music and the weather was good.  We stayed for about two and a half hours, which was two hours longer than we would have, if we had not been lucky enough to grab a couple of seats at one of the tables next to the stands and have a few glasses of a rather lovely Pinot Noir from the Saveé Sea Vineyards.

The highlight of the day was actually the walk back from Ham to Richmond.  Next time I will just bring a picnic and find a good spot by the river.

This was a special one off Toast event, so not 100% typical, but based on my experience at this event and my friends experience at past Toast events.  I would not recommend them if you are seriously into Food and Wine.  Toast is really just somewhere to socialise with a group of friends and listen to the music, more a concert than a food event.

 

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