What’s coming Next?

Christmas holidays of course. This is the time of year where it’s often difficult to find that special meal. Either the restaurant you want is fully booked, or it’s just doing a boring and overpriced Christmas Menu or it’s closed for the holidays. However over the last few years we have found that if you look carefully and book with enough advance notice you can still find some gems around the Christmas season.

This year we have chosen two very different but highly acclaimed restaurants that we have not visited yet :-

One of this years shining stars, it is run by an ex-Chez Bruce team, so it has quite a pedigree to go with its newly acquired Michelin Star and its string of stellar reviews.

Simon Rogan’s famous London Pop-up (an off shot of L’Enclume)

Click here to view some of the amazing dishes that come out of the Kitchen.

We are also returning to a couple of favorites:-

  • Jose – Best Tapas in London!

Can’t wait 😉

 

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Bob Bob Ricard – Fantasy Diner!

To the uninitiated a visit to Bob Bob Ricard in Soho is a bit like walking into one of those Carlsberg adverts, you know the ones about the Flat, the Hotel and the Bank.  Well BBR is a Diner and if Carlsberg did Diners this would be it.

It’s all booths. But instead of the Chrome, Plastic and Formica you’d expect its all  Brass, Leather and Marble.  The menu includes quite a bit of “Diner” type food and drink – Burgers, Ice Cream Sundaes, Milkshakes and Lemonade etc,  along with some more extravagant items, like the selection of Caviar and the Beef Wellington with Truffle gravy.  The impression we had was that BBR could have been the dream of a child of Soviet Russia imagining the glamour of an American Diner. It’s completely OTT, but in a good way (I have since discovered it’s actual design is based on an Edwardian Train – Time Out described the design as “working within a loose theme of Orient Express meets American diner”, which sounds about right to me).

We had a fairly mixed selection of dishes. We started with the Herring, Egg and Beetroot salad which was delicious and the Eggs Benedict. Then I had the Poached Salmon with Cucumber, Dill and Mustard along with a side order of New Potatoes. My companion went down the “Diner” route by ordering a Cheese Burger  & Fries complete with a Kraft Cheese slice topping (not the best Burger he’d had, after all we have been to Bar Boulud, but it was fine). I finished by indulging my sweet tooth and ordered the plate of BBR cakes.  A small section of cakes that also forms the top layer of the Afternoon Tea cake stand and my companion ordered some ice cream.  Peanut Butter and Banana, Salted Caramel (one he would not recommend unless you like it very salty) and Valrhona Chocolate.

We accompanied all of this with Champagne of course.  Bob Bob Ricard does have the famous Champagne button after all (although on our visit the restaurant was not busy and the service was efficient enough not to need it). The nicely chilled glasses of Pol Roger Champagne certainly succeeded in pushing our bill up beyond “Diner” prices though.

Our visit was during a quiet lunch time and I have to admit I would like to have seen the place in full swing in the evening, although I suspect that would seriously damage my bank balance. That Champagne button is a dangerous thing!

 

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Broadstairs Food Festival – Going Medieval at the Seaside

After the Real Food Festival in London, we thought it would be interesting to highlight an out of town festival in the seaside resort of Broadstairs.  Broadstairs Food Festival or Food Fayre as it is also known is an annual event and this year had over 100 stalls showcasing Kent produce. I visited on the third day of the Fayre, it was fairly busy when I arrived mid-morning, but by the afternoon it was packed with visitors sampling the free wares.

There was lots of English Wine, Flavoured Cider, Cheese and Chutney on display, along with the obligatory burger stands, which in this instance at least included local butchers selling venison burgers and wild boar and venison sausages.

Kent restaurants like the The Ambrette (Rye and Margate) and The Siam Kitchen (Broadstairs) were also represented and I couldn’t miss O’re the Moon the award winning Kent fudge company’s display of  Scottish Tablet (not sure where that fits in as traditional Kent produce, but as a Scot I am not complaining).

The highlight of the day though had to be the Medieval Cooking demonstration from Mo Joslin of Farmhouse Kitchen. It was entertaining in between the disruptions from the dodgy sound system (the bane of so many outdoor festivals).  I also got a good picture of another typical Food Festival event “The Swarm” (pictured above) homing in on the samples from the Cooking demonstration – a rather tasty pigeon dish. Funny it’s normally the Pigeons that do the swarming,  although in Broadstairs it’s more likely to be Seagulls, which is all part of the British Seaside experience.

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Real Food Festival on the Southbank

I am something of a fan of the Real Food Markets that take place on London’s South Bank every week, but until now had never been to the annual Real Food Festival. The  last food festival I went to was such a disappointment that it put me off the whole food festival concept (Foodies in Battersea Park).  Today was different. Foodies for example cost £15 a ticket and all the Chef Theatre events had to be pre booked.  The Real Food Festival in contrast is free and the Theatre events are on a first come basis. I actually got a front seat in the Theatre, something I have rarely managed to do at other festivals – it’s so nice to get pictures that don’t involve zooming in, not to mention being in a good postion to sample the food post demonstration before the swarm (see picture).

There were plenty of stands lining the river taking over a fair bit of the outdoor space around the Southbank centre. All nicely laid out, so you could actually see what was on offer. Lots of food festival regulars like The Little Round Cake Company and Outsider Tart were there. Cono Sur had free wine tasting, Thunder Vodka were providing samples of their award winning Toffee Vodka, and I was spoilt for choice on the savory front. I eventually decided to try some Takoyaki (Japanese dumplings) – Octopus, spring onion, Japanese red ginger, tempura topped with takoyaki sauce, mayonnaise, aonori seaweed and katsuobushi, they were piping hot and very tasty.

The first event in the Chefs Theatre I attended was advertised as Ben Tish from the Salt Yard restaurant but he could not make it, so his Sous Chef was there to fill the breach. The next chef scheduled was Jun Tanaka, but the timings were a bit off, so instead chocolatier Fiona Sciolti stepped in at literally the last minute to plug the gap with amusing stories of her foraging to get the natural ingredients for her rather special chocolates. She came armed with lots of samples, so we had the chance to try her new Sea Buckthorn chocolates. I had been told that Sea Buckthorn was an acquired taste, and boy did I acquire it – the chocolates are great. The filling has a sharp flavour that is reminiscent of passion fruit and it works very well indeed when mixed with white chocolate ganache.  Other chocolates we tried were spiced masala chai, elderberry & sambuca and garden mint thins (a really good palette cleanser). She also mentioned the new range of ice cream her company have launched this year.  Fiona hit a few problems with the sound system during her session so poor Jun Tanaka ended up going low tech with a hand mic, which he quite rightly pointed out was not designed with a chef in mind, but he took it as a challenge and received a round of applause for his one handed egg breaking skills. He demonstrated how to cook a rather appetizing dish of salt crusted beef, served with potatoes where he added “a little butter” much to the audiences amusement – it was the whole 1/2 lb pack. I had to leave just as he was handing over to Cyrus Todiwala of Cafe Spice Namasti. Which was a shame as Mr Todiwala is always entertaining.

So much to my surprise I have found a food festival I actually would recommend.

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Bar Boulud – a welcome return (Closed)

Located in the basement of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Knightsbridge is Daniel Boulud’s London outpost Bar Boulud. I had lunch there just after it opened – see post Bar Boulud – Busy! Buzzy!Burgers! I enjoyed it on that visit and certainly thought about returning to try more from the Bistro inspired menu.  It’s amazing to think that was over 18 months ago and I am only now returning, this time as part of a larger group.

This visit was for lunch on a Saturday and we experienced a much less frantic environment than I remember.  The ambience was actually very relaxing.

I choose from the excellent value fixed price lunch menu – seriously good value at £23 for 3 courses.  I started with a lovely creamy and tasty pumpkin soup,  followed by a very tender lamb shoulder dish served with baby carrots, eggplant, almonds and apricots and finished with a quite stunning chestnut sable & mousse covered in a lovely shiny chocolate glaze served with some light and refreshing pear sorbet.

My companions were visiting Bar Boulud for the first time and quite rightly ordered the burgers. The Yankee and the Frenchie being the most popular choice. The best burgers in London was the general consensus there – great fries too.

The other dessert pictured is the gâteau noisette et poire – hazelnut mousse with caramelized pears and caramel ice cream. It was a stunner.

I tried very hard to resist the allure of the Mandarin Bar without success. My intentions for having a reasonably priced lunch were dashed by the pricey but delicious cocktails.  The pictured cocktail is a Lychee Martini, the cocktail menu also had some delightfully named cocktails like the Orient Expresso and the Ginny Henricks.

I am sure I will return to Bar Boulud again in the not too distant future. It’s such a good refuge from the hustle and bustle of Knightsbridge.

UPDATE : December 2012, returned for the good value set lunch menu (which unfortunately does not include the famous burgers).  Same high standard of food and service.  The tables are very close together, so you will find it hard to avoid a bit of people watching, we witnessed a couple of incidents where the staff were working hard handling some of the very demanding customers that frequent Bar Boulud.

UPDATE : June 2021 – Closed

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The Sundial in Herstmonceux

I had a couple of preconceptions that were quickly dispelled on my visit to The Sundial.

1. That French Restaurants in the country that advertise themselves as wedding venues tend to be a bit mundane.

2. That we would be hard pushed to find an East Sussex restaurant that was better than The Waterside.

On entering the rather empty car park on a quiet Saturday lunch time in the unassuming village of Herstmonceux. I was pleasantly surprised by the attractive, modern and well designed layout of The Sundial. It has a small lounge bar area in the middle, a small private dining room to the left and the main restaurant to the right. There is a also a small terrace and a large garden area.

We were greeted by the proprietors Chef Vincent and his wife Mary who manages front of house, and made comfortable in the lounge area where we were served some tasty canapes while we made our selections. First step was choosing which menu. They have a fine dining menu which at £25 for 3 courses seemed really good value.  The a la carte is £40 for 3 courses and there is a 5 course tasting menu at £55. We opted for the a la carte.

First we had a nice creamy crayfish mousse amuse bouche. Then for starters we both had the perfectly cooked Panfried King Scallops, with Wild Mushrooms, Garlic and Parsley. A lovely looking dish visually enhanced by the inclusion of the blue Vitelotte Potatoes. Next we had a refreshing champagne and lemon granita palette cleanser.

For main course I had the Wild Seabass Fillet, Seabass and Lobster Sausage with Tarragon and Pistachio served with beautifully smooth mash and my companion had the fairly substantial Breast of Duck with Potato Pancakes and seasonal Vegetables

This was followed by a pre dessert that was effectively a mini raspberry choc ice, a bit like a frozen raspberry ruffle on a stick.  Then for dessert I had Red Berry Compote and Chocolate Mousse, Hazelnut Macaroon and Nougat Mousse with Carrot and Ginger Sorbet. The Hazelnut Macaroon was really moreish, working so well with the unusual Carrot and Ginger Sorbet.   However the star of the show,  at least visually, was the Chocolate Dégustation that included chocolate ice cream, chocolate mousse and chocolate parfait.  This dish was very much presented to impress.

The wine list is extensive, although there are not too many by the glass unfortunately – my only complaint.

We finished off this rather splendid meal with coffee and a fairly substantial selection of petit fours in the lounge.

Attention to detail and stylish presentation are obviously important at The Sundial, they used a lovely selection of tableware ranging from the cute copper pot butter dish to the stunning customised glass dessert plates, this was backed up by solid cooking and good ingredients.

The Sundial restaurant had a Michelin star for three years until 1982 and I sincerely hope it’s back on the Michelin Inspectors radar, as this is a serious contender for a star in my opinion.

 

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