Category: New Openings

Art of Tapas – Hola!

It’s happened to me a few times, in that when I am not really looking I end up stumbling across something a bit special.

I was wandering through Tachbrook Street on a non market day, so it was pretty empty and I spotted Art of Tapas with its Miro inspired signage.  There were only two customers sitting by the counter, so after checking the menu a few times I thought yeah, I’ll give it a try.

The place has several “arty” touches – the specially designed kind of perching table outside with glass holders, the really “cute” hug me cushion, and as an extra bonus (which I am afraid could not be guaranteed on any other visit) one of the customers who was obviously a professional opera singer giving an informal audition to his companion – a stunning rendition of ava maria.

Off course I wasn’t there for the bonus entertainment, I wanted to try the food.   All the “arty” touches in the world would be not make me want to return to any restaurant.  However I will most definitely return to Art of Tapas, the food was very good.  I ordered a Spanish Omelette and a dish of Octopus legs, Chorizo and warm white bean salad.  The omelette was tasty,  light and fluffy, served with what at first seemed to be a bit too much lettuce and mayo.  However the lettuce was so fresh, I actually cleaned my plate.  The Octopus dish was also good, the beans nice and soft and the Octopus legs were perfect, not in the least bit chewy. Definitely much better than a similar dish I had a while back at Art of Tapas’s nearest geographical rival Goya.

The restaurant has only been open one month, and there are plans to have more seating outside for the summer, which will be great. I only hope that when this place gets busy (which I am sure it will) that they can continue to deliver food and service of the level I experienced on my first visit.  I also liked that when I asked for a glass of tap water, I got a large jug of iced water.

They have an excellent BYO Wine policy too,  £3.00 for one person, £5.00 for two or free if you add your wine to their Sangria – Nice!

 

UPDATE :  June 2013 – Outdoor seating is now provided.

 

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Bar Boulud – Busy! Buzzy! Burgers! (Closed)

There have been lots of recent reviews about Bar Boulud at the Mandarin Oriental. Most of them hightlighting just how quickly this restaurant found its feet.  Certainly on our visit, barely two weeks after opening, it was running very smoothly indeed. Especially when you consider just how busy it was.

The first thing that hits you when you sit down, is the level of service. There are a lot of staff both in the kitchen and in the dining room. It is actually quite entertaining to watch them skillfully almost dance around each other.

This is a great people watching venue. The Tables are very close together and there is an almost frantic buzz of activity and noise when the service is in full swing.

Bar Boulud menu combines French charcuterie and bistro cooking.  So to start we shared a small plate of charcuterie. The waiter made a point of explaining that all the Terrines were home made. It was certainly a good varied selection (although not the best charcuterie I have had in London,  Almeida does a really good charcuterie trolley which I thought had the edge on the Bar Boulud selection).  For the main course we tried the now famous “Frenchie” burger (a great burger almost as good as the one in Moovida – praise indeed) and a more traditional Steak frites.  The burger looked small but was perfectly cooked and actually very filling, as was the equally well cooked steak.

For dessert we choose the lightest dish on the menu, a sort of tropical fruit sundae with lovely moist coconut biscuits in it. It seemed to be the most popular dessert.

We ordered a la carte and had some expensive wines so our bill was over £100 for two people, but Bar Boulud can be more reasonable, the set menu for example is £20 for 3 courses.

My only criticism is that it was all a bit frantic…but then that’s what a busy bistro is. So do not expect a quiet lunch.

For more on Bar Boulud, see

UPDATE : July 2021 Closed

 

Zucca – a significant addition to Bermondsey’s burgeoning foodie scene (Closed)

The Evening Standard and Time Out reviewers really rated Zucca, a new Italian in Bermondsey – see Review of the Reviews

We tried it for Sunday lunch.

It is a modern take on a good Italian Trattoria, in that it is informal and makes no attempt to “tart up” the presentation of the dishes. Which are made from fresh ingredients and beautifully cooked.

For starters I had the Zucca Friters (Pumpkin in batter) and my companion had the Speck (juniper flavored ham) and Pigeon Crostini, both very nice but we had to make use of the olive oil provided with the bread to enhance them. Some pesto or a dip of some sort would have been ideal with my Friters.

There was small selection of  main courses, basically meat/fish with some greens, so if you want pasta you need to order as a separate course.  I ordered Pigeon, it was superb, tasty and moist – actually better than the Pigeon I had in Cibrèo in Florence which is a real compliment.

I would have liked to have tried the Amaretto tart for dessert but they had ran out, so we made do with some home made ice cream.

The wine list included several options by the glass and a range of reasonably priced bottles.

The marketing for Alfies a near neighbour to Zucca, describes Alfies as “a significant addition to Bermondsey’s burgeoning foodie scene”.  That description did not fit Alfies, but does most definately describe Zucca.

Marks out of 10

Food 6.3

Service 5

Ambience 5.9

UPDATE : Zucca has closed.

Eddie Gilberts – reasons to leave London? (Closed)

Will Eddie Gilberts do for Ramsgate what the Sportsman has done for Whitstable?

Does it give gourmets a good reason to leave London?

Well, it is most definitely a find, already fully booked weeks in advance, and serving up top notch food that puts a lot of London Restaurants too shame.

Getting there is really easy now too, 1 hour 16 minutes on the high speed train from St Pancras to Ramsgate then a 5 minutes taxi ride.

It is located on Ramsgates’ King Street. Not the most salubrious of locations as it is a few streets away from the more attractive harbour area. However as soon as you part the chainmail curtains at the entrance to the fishmongers on the ground floor you just know this place is a quality establishment.

To start we had the scallops and what is fast becoming Eddie Gilberts signature dish,  duck egg and smoked eel soldiers, both delicious. Then came the main courses, we went for the turbot and the cod with chorizo, another two stunning dishes.  All the dishes were well cooked with nicely balanced flavours. You do get the impression that you could choose anything on the menu and not be disappointed.

We were also pleasantly surprised by the quality and presentation of the desserts. The only weak spot if we were being picky was the limited choice of dessert wines, from an otherwise fairly impressive wine list.  The Trimbach Pinot Gris was a good match for the dishes we chose.

This restaurant deserves the plaudits it has received from the national press. We certainly plan to return.

Marks 7/10.

 

UPDATE : August 2011, added a few more pictures from a return visit.

UPDATE: May 2013 – Sad to hear that Eddie Gilberts is closed, see Thanet Gazette article.

 

 

 

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Alfie’s – what’s it all about! (Closed)

Didn’t like the name before I visited, didn’t like the food when I visited.  Then came the bill!, I certainly didn’t like that.

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Alfies at the Bermondsey Square Hotel is not cheap, we went shortly after it opened when they were doing an introductory 50% discount, even with the discount I felt completely ripped off.

For starters I had asparagus with egg (expecting a nice runny egg to dip the asparagus in – got a hard boiled egg and some horrid mushroom sauce).  Then it just got worse, more of the disgusting gravy with my next course, it wasn’t the mushroom sauce but something rather close in taste and consistency.

We ordered a bottle of Chablis for about £26, and like the food it was decidedly inferior, basically I can only describe it as plonk.

This place is way below the standards of the other restaurants in the area.  How it can be described as “a significant addition to Bermondsey’s burgeoning foodie scene”  or as “a place that champions fresh English dishes” is a joke.  I rather wonder if the people who wrote this “advertising copy” actually ate there!

Marks out of 10

Food 2

Service 4

Ambience 2

 

UPDATE December 2010 – Alfie’s now have a new chef;  not sure I can bring myself to go back though.

UPDATE January 2011 – In a few weeks time Masterchef Judge Gregg Wallace is opening a new restaurant in the Hotel, replacing Alfies, see Big Hospitality Artical for details.

UPDATE April 2012 – Have yet to read a positive review of the restaurant (Greggs Table).

UPDATE September 2012 – The Hotel and restaurant are currently being used for the reality show Hotel GB – have to say that the place seems to be more about PR than food.

 

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Harveys Fish Market, Oyster Bar & Restaurant – not the plaice to go!

Harveys of Ramsgate, part of Kent Inns of Distinction, is marketed as a dedicated seafood restaurant  using locally landed fish. A fabulous idea, in theory.

Celebrity TV chef John Burton-Race of the Michelin-starred New Angel in Dartmouth is connected with it, loosely I hope, based on the standards achieved here, both in terms off food and service.

I can not see this place, surviving  the winter. I certainly will not be returning or recommending this unjustifiably overpriced venue. Neither the food quality or the level of service matched the look of the venue. Bland Fish, and one of the worst deserts I have ever had (hard meringue!). Plates passed across my companion at the table, come on – anywhere that typically charges £20 for mains, needs to deliver something a bit special. Then there is the ambience issue,  sitting next to a large noisy table of 10 in a half empty restaurant is far from ideal. This is most definitely not my idea of “fine dining”.

Its pretension without the quality, delivering expensive badly cooked food. Just another “Faux Gourmet” experience.

They could have done so much more in this prime location overlooking Ramsgate Royal Harbour.

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UPDATE October 2009 : Made a return visit to Harveys after all, in light of comments and the award of an AA Rosette. For details see Harveys Fish Market, Oyster Bar & Restaurant – still not the plaice to go!.

UPDATE April 2010 – Back in Ramsgate, this time to try Eddie Gilberts. For details see Eddie Gilberts – reasons to leave London? (Eddie Gilberts 7, Harveys 2)

UPDATE October 2010 – About time!  Harveys is finally closed – RIP please! For more information see post from Isle One.

 

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