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The Attendant

29 Apr

I drank coffee out of a urinal last weekend. What? I did! And it wasn’t just me. Around fifteen other people were crammed into a Victorian public toilet in London’s NOHO drinking Caravan coffee and nibbling on sweet and savoury treats. You don’t believe me? Well you’ll just have to go and see it for yourself.

It was a sunny Saturday and Jack and I arrived at The Attendant at 1pm to sample the coffee and French toast. We trundled down the steps and arrived in the small underground room full with good looking youngsters sipping on flat whites, reading papers and laughing with friends.

We took a pew at one of the original urinals, which have been converted into tables and watched the customers pour through the doors to grab a coffee and a cake. As I waited I glanced around the room and fell in love with the design of the place. Beautiful original Victorian tiles adorned the walls and the floor, the door to the kitchen was painted a distressed orange with an old fashioned ‘attendant’ sign nailed into it and a communal table sat at the back of the room, surrounded by original Victorian restored furnishings – The Attendant is a feast for the eyes are well as the stomach.

Our coffees arrived and without even sipping I could tell that it was going to be good. The milk was smooth and there wasn’t a bubble in sight on the beautiful latte art. I took a sip and my initial thoughts were confirmed. Smooth, strong and utterly delicious – in fact, one of the best flat whites I’ve had in London.

My French toast arrived and I was in for a treat. Fresh, sweet and juicy fruit was strewn across two thick slices of French toast, which was drenched in a vanilla syrup and served with a vanilla crème fraîche. I shared half with Jack and we also shared a toasted wrap, which was good but not quite as enjoyable as the magnificent toast.

I loved The Attendant and I think the guys behind it have done a superb job. They have taken a beautiful Victorian landmark and turned it into something for all to enjoy. I can’t wait to go back for another one of those flat whites.

The Attendant
27A Foley Street
London
W1W 6DY
0207 637 37 94

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Granger & Co

27 Dec

It’s the day before Christmas Eve in West London. A black car sits waiting by the curb across the road from a grand London townhouse. Young professionals wander down the streets and into boutiques for a spot of last minute Christmas shopping. Mark Ronson casually walks across the road and clambers into the black car, careful not to knock his large white hat on the way in. Passers by don’t look twice. Such sightings are normal in these parts.

Across the road, a new restaurant buzzes. Granger & Co, the first and long awaited London based restaurant from Bill Granger, Australian culinary God, opened in November.

A long bar runs down the right hand side at which diners sit, casually eating their food whilst watching baristas perfecting their latte art. Objects adhering to the gold and cream colour theme adorn the bar and the windowsills around the room, including a beautiful lamp that I wished I could slip into my handbag. Tan leather banquets line the dining room, which the morning brunch brigade fills, along with a number of tables in the middle of the room.

The restaurant features an all day casual dining menu and is another to follow the ever popular no booking policy. As brunch is my favourite meal of the day, we arrived at 10.30am and snagged a table in the window.

We ordered two flat whites (£2.50) to start and I was delighted to see that the beans are sourced from Allpress Espresso. Anyone who knows me will be well aware that I have trawled London for the last year looking for the perfect flat white. And I think I have finally found it. Never have I had milk so silky, the perfect temperature, the coffee just the right strength.

The menu features sweet dishes such as bircher mueli (£5), toasted grain cereal (£5) and porridge (£5), alongside a range of specials from the bakery, including daily baked muffins (£2.75), toasted coconut bread £4.40) and gravalax & fresh curd with rye (£10.50). Customers can also enjoy ‘Bill’s Classics’ such as sweetcorn fritters with roast tomato, spinach & bacon (£11.90) or ricotta hotcakes with fresh banana & honeycomb butter (£10.50).

If I wasn’t already excited enough about the coffee, I spotted that the bread is supplied by the St John Bakery, which is, in my eyes, the best bakery in London. My sweet tooth would usually beg me to order the ricotta hotcakes but something was drawing me to a dish that I have never seen on a breakfast menu before – mozzarella & sage toasted sandwich (£7). We also ordered the avocado on rye with lime & coriander (£5.60), a dish that I had for breakfast nearly every day when I was in Australia.

The toasted sandwich was served on two doorstep slices of sourdough bread, which was heavily oiled and deeply filled with creamy buffalo mozzarella and fresh sage. The mozzarella left welcome a milky residue on the bread and I enjoyed this dish more and more after each mouthful.

The avocado on rye bread was also a delight. Perfectly ripe avocado placed on a thick wedge of rye bread, lightly toasted and doused in extra virgin olive oil, served with sprigs of coriander and a wedge of lime.

As both of us were eyeing up the banana & chocolate bread with fresh ricotta (£4.40), we ordered a portion to share for dessert, along with another couple of flat whites. The bread was light and fluffy, although ever so slightly dry, but the fresh ricotta was on hand to correct this minor problem.

The bill arrived (no, not that one unfortunately) and we were pleasantly surprised to see that it came to a mere £30, including service charge, for a whole load of delicious, fresh and unbeatable breakfast dishes in a calming and beautiful surrounding. I’ve already planned my trip back next week.

Granger & Co
175 Westbourne Grove
London
W11 2SB
0207 229 9111

Granger & Co on Urbanspoon

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Brixton Market

25 Nov

I still feel privileged to live in London, even after six years. But some weekends I find myself tearing my hair out thinking ‘what to do?!’ I often get the feeling that I’ve done it all and there’s literally nothing new to do. Of course I’m wrong – I should probably pay more attention to Time Out.

Last weekend though, I decided to head south to Brixton to have a look around the market and grab a bite to eat. The first obstacle was the tube – I forgot to check about the consistent weekend ‘upgrade’ works that are going on until the Olympics next year. It took a while to get there but a couple of tube changes and a replacement bus later, I arrived.

I have been to Brixton a couple of times before and not really liked it. Both visits were in the evening and I hadn’t exactly felt very safe on my walk down the backstreets towards Brixton Academy – don’t ask why I decided to walk down the backstreets. But after hearing so much about the regeneration of the market and reading about all of the cafes and restaurants popping up, I decided it was time for another visit, this time during the day.

Walking down a little alleyway towards the market, I passed shops selling Jamaican artifacts, plenty of odd looking fruit and vegetables and a hairdressers where the staff were shaking their booty along to the loud Afrobeats whilst working on the customers corn rows. Everything at Brixton market is colourful, happy and vibrant. And it is changing. Nestled in between the traditional units are a plethora of new cafes and restaurants, serving fantastic food at amazing prices. My first stop was Federation Coffee where I ordered a flat white and drank it whilst watching a sit in customer draw his surroundings. During my visit I clocked a few artists, carefully constructing images focusing on the cool crowd that now frequent the market on weekends.

After walking around various restaurants, I decided that pizza would be a great option to soak up the remainders of alcohol that I had the night before. I don’t know why I even considered going anywhere other than Franco Manca, one of my favourite pizzerias in London. Having never been to the Brixton ‘branch’ before, I went and queued for twenty minutes before being seated at a cosy table inside, with the huge gleaming white pizza oven in sight. We shared two pizzas – mozzarella, anchovy, capers and olives and chorizo and mozzarella. Both were perfect – the sourdough base soft, chewy and just the right amount of charcoal smothered over the base. London needs more pizza establishments like this. And at around £6 per pizza, it doesn’t even nearly break the bank.

For pudding, we wandered back through the market to Lab G, where I ordered a hazelnut and chocolate gelato. They had run out of their signature salted caramel flavour, which I was disappointed about but the hazelnut and chocolate was exquisite. I felt a bit silly walking down the street in mid November eating a cone of gelato and my hands didn’t thank me for it but it was the perfect way to end my foodie little tour.

Brixton market is a diverse hub of shops, restaurants and cafes and is run by a mix of creatives and old local residents. The website says it all – ‘Meat!, Nail art, Fresh fish (lots of this around!), DIY, Wigs (lots of these too) and a whole lot more. It’s a brilliant place to go to get away from the most popular and sometimes too touristy London weekend markets. I’ll hopefully be back there sooner rather than later – perhaps I’ll take a trip next time I want to buy a wig whilst chewing on jerk chicken and dancing to Aftrobeat.

The market arcades are open:

Monday – Wednesday from 8am – 6pm
Thursday – Saturday from 8am – 10pm
Sundays from 10am – 5pm

Franco Manca on Urbanspoon

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Kaffeine

20 Nov

Stepping off Oxford Street into Fitzrovia is like stepping off a packed tube train in rush hour – you immediately feel relieved. Far less busy, with virtually no lingering tourists, Fitzrovia is fast turning into a foodies paradise. It is also home to one of my favourite London cafes, Kaffeine.

Yet another Australian / New Zealand owned London café, Kaffeine means business when it comes to the coffee and food that they serve. Freshly baked cakes, pastries, homemade granola, muffins for breakfast and a range of salads and sandwiches for lunch provide an excellent choice and the coffee is lovingly prepared and sourced from Square Mile. They use top quality equipment to get the best out of the beans – a Synesso Cyncra espresso machine and (for the more geeky coffee lovers out there) a Robus E 110v doserless grinder. They even pay attention to the size of the coffee cups in order to get the best possible taste out of the coffee. Each cup comes with a double shot as standard (that would explain my energy rush after two flat whites) and they only use organic milk.

The interior is simple, yet calming. Wooden slatted tables and benches, good music and a large amount of staff to cope with busy periods. I went for breakfast with my dad earlier in the week and we both shared a ciabatta roll with omelette, pancetta, rocket and tomato salsa (£4.50) and a croissant with gruyere cheese and plum tomatos (£3.50) – both were toasted and perfect for a cold morning. The croissant was rich, buttery and cheesy (naughty).

We had a couple of flat whites (£2.40 each) and skipped off into the day, full and totally satisfied.

Kaffeine
66 Great Titchfield Street
London
W1W 7QJ
0207 580 6755

Kaffeine on Urbanspoon

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Caravan Exmouth Market – brunch

18 Oct

If you haven’t been for brunch at Caravan yet, I suggest you do. I have reviewed the coffee at Caravan before but this is the time for brunch, finally!

Based on the corner of Exmouth Market, Caravan produces the finest coffee and excellent brunch dishes. I visited a few weeks ago, when it was still warm enough to sit outside and enjoyed a leisurely brunch before heading to visit a few of the Design Week exhibitions.

Firstly I ordered an orange juice, which I pretty much never do because I don’t trust most places to bring me something freshly squeezed and not five times the price it should be. But I knew Caravan would be different. And it was. The bright orange, bitty, tangy and sweet at the same time was a delight to start with whilst we patiently waited for a table outside.

The table came and we sat down. I ordered a flat white and tried to choose my food order carefully. I had a hard time deciding, everything looked good! I had recently made the Bill Granger coconut loaf and I saw a coconut loaf with fruit and lemon curd cream cheese shining out at me from the menu.

Jack opted for the corn bread French toast with bacon, rocket and avocado, which was to make me envious.

The dishes arrived and I was slightly disappointed by the portion size of my coconut bread. It looked measly in comparison to Jacks mountain of corn bread, luscious tomatoes and handsome leaves. Had I made the wrong choice?

I savoured my dish. The yoghurt was tangy and sweet, a perfect addition to the moist yet fluffy bread. I had definitely not made the wrong choice.

I was nearing the end when Jack caught sight of a hair on his plate. And it wasn’t his. The staff, extremely attentive and very apologeic took the dish back to the kitchen and offered for a new one to be brought out. But Jack kindly refused (I’m not sure why). As compensation, they took all of our drinks off the bill, which worked out to be a better deal than just taking the one dish off.

Yes there was a hair in his dish but that can happen to anyone, at any restaurant, anywhere. I wouldn’t let it put you off and it’s definitely not put me off. When can I next go back to try that corn bread?!

Caravan
11-13 Exmouth Market
London
EC1R 4QD
020 7833 8115

Caravan on Urbanspoon

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Bill Granger’s coconut bread

28 Sep

Anyone that knows me will be fully aware that brunch is my favourite meal of the day. Why wouldn’t it be – it’s an excuse to eat sweet, sugary, cakey goodness for breakfast. So when I saw Bill Granger’s recent brunch spread in The Times Magazine, I got all excited and put the Coconut Bread recipe STRAIGHT to the test. The results were fabulous, utterly fabulous!

Ingredients

2 eggs
300ml full fat milk
1 vanilla pod
310g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
230g golden caster sugar
150g desiccated coconut
75g unsalted butter, melted
Butter and icing sugar, to serve

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C/Gas 4. Lightly whisk the eggs, milk and vanilla together.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder and cinnamon into a bowl, add the sugar and coconut, and stir to combine. 3. Make a well in the centre and gradually stir in the egg mixture until just combined. Add the melted butter and stir until the mixture is just smooth, being careful not to overmix.
4. Pour into a greased and floured 21 x 10cm (8¼ x 4in) loaf tin and bake for 1 hour, or until the bread is cooked when tested with a skewer.
5. Leave in the tin to cool for 5 minutes, then remove to cool further on a wire rack. Serve in thick slices, toasted, buttered and dusted with icing sugar.

ENJOY!!!

This recipe is from Bill Granger’s latest book ‘Best of Bill’, which is published by Murdoch Books.

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Shoreditch Grind

21 Jun

Another post, another new London coffee establishment. I welcome Shoreditch Grind.

Situated on Old Street roundabout, Shoreditch Grind has a beautiful interior, indoor window seating, rather good coffee and not a bad range of grub. Think indulgent morning pastries, chunky lunch time sandwiches, muffins and cakes to satisfy the sweet tooth.

We enjoyed a silky flat white whilst trying to get comfortable on the beautiful but slightly impractical stools.

A few things made me think that they were not quite ready for opening. The toilets were ‘under construction’ and there were no proper cups or plates. All food that we ordered was brought over to us in a closed paper bag – a tad unnecessary and wasteful.

The honey and almond cake was good without being great, the almond and honey topping deliciously moist but the middle quite dry.

The cheese croissant that we shared was gone in 10 seconds flat, very delicious but small. And at £2.95, probably too expensive.

Our toasted parma ham and mozzarella baguette was good but I forgot to get a photo as I was distracted by a mix up. The waiter gave us an extra sandwich and a muffin on top of our order – but we were good samaritans and returned them.

Despite enjoying my coffee, something niggled me. The manager or owner, I’m not sure which, seemed to be giving a member of staff a hard time – quite obviously too. There were two occasions that I saw the member of staff getting told off – once right in front of me just after I had ordered. It doesn’t give the impression of a happy working environment and I hope I don’t see a repeat when I return. Maybe the member of staff was making mistakes but I think the telling off should happen in private!

The cafe has planning permission for a large outdoor area, which I am told is likely to be ready for next summer. I took a sneak peek around the back of the building and it looks like it could be a great al fresco dining space! At the moment, it’s not a place to go for a lounge whilst drinking a good cup of coffee, it’s more suited to take away and a short stay sitting in the window.

However, it is still early doors (having only been open for two weeks at the time of this post) but there is lots of potential for this cafe to be one of the London greats.

Shoreditch Grind
213 Old Street
London
EC1V 9NR
020 7490 7490

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The Modern Pantry

3 Apr

My mum loves coming down to London to visit every once in a while so I thought it would be nice to treat her to lunch at The Modern Pantry on Mother’s Day. After all, this is the day to pamper her and show her just how grateful you are that she has put up with your endless tantrums over the years.

Anna Hansen has gained a lot of column inches recently, especially after her recent pop up Pantry at Meza in Soho, so as she was at the forefront of my mind, I decided to book a table at her full-time restaurant, The Modern Pantry in Clerkenwell.

IMG_5160

The graceful historic Georgian Townhouses and laid back atmosphere of Clerkenwell was a refreshing change to the horific crowds in central London that we had endured the day before – tempers frayed. In better moods, we arrived at The Modern Pantry and were shown to our table in the light and airy upstairs dining room.

We were given the menu and I was surprised (pleasantly) to see that the three course meal was £23.50 and only a mere £11.75 for the mother. We had a sneaky peak at the menu online a few days before and I was excited to try Anna Hansen’s signature fusion dishes.

Three delightful sounding starters graced the menu and we were told that you get a small plate of all three if you opt for the three courses. We did and the starters came our way. First was the Salmon Sashimi with Truffled Yuzu Soy dressing. The Salmon melted in the mouth and was complimented very well by the bright green popping Fish Roe and the delightful subtle Truffle dressing.

We had to wait another 10 minutes for the second dish of Chorizo and Water Chestnut sticky Rice balls with Tahini Moromi Miso Cream – I couldn’t make out the water Chestnut or the Chorizo, nonetheless it was a fabulous couple of mouthfuls. The Tahini however really shone out.

I think our third starter was forgotten about – plates were taken away and a fresh set of cutlery brought over. We had to remind the waiter 15 or so minutes later that we were still waiting for our third starter of Feta, Okra, Currant and Coriander fritters with sweet Tomato Yoghurt. He apologised and it was quickly delivered to the table. The consistency of the fritter was similar to that of a bhaji – the Tomato Yoghurt on the top was delicious with a sweetness from the Tomato but with a tang from the Yoghurt. I couldn’t get a strong taste of the currants but the texture really came through, delicious.

Before we arrived at the restaurant, I had been saying that I didn’t want a roast dinner but seeing the Sage and Garlic marinated loin of Pork with Green Pepper relish on the menu, I couldn’t resist. Just the right portion size, the Potatoes were fluffy and oily rich, the Pork tender and the roast veg well seasoned. The only criticism was that the gravy proportion wasn’t quite right – I would have liked a bit more.

My mum opted for the pain fried South Coast Pollack with Garlic and Curry Leaf Potato Gratin, pickled Butternut Squash, Daikon and Enoki salad with a Green Chilli dressing and boy was this a good dish. She was very happy that she was getting to eat something ‘a bit different’ and the flavours on this plate worked really well. The pickled butternut squash and enoki mushrooms were a delight.

We were treated to a Shiso Granita before the dessert. Shiso is a herb from the Mint family and was bitter sweet with an aftertaste similar to Grapefruit. A great little palette cleanser.

The Chocolate Mousse cake with Blackcurrant and Liquorice sorbet with Lychee compote arrived and it was no small plate. Already feeling full, I struggled to eat the whole plate (which is not like me at all) and in the end it defeated me. The Blackberry and Liquorice sorbet was a wonder – firstly getting the strong Liquorice flavour, followed by a more subtle Blackberry. The Lychee compote was less of a compote and more like macerated Lychee slices. The Chocolate Mousse cake was the highlight for me, rich, sweet and light. It reminded me of a Chocolate Fondant – warm and almost gooey in the middle.

Despite slighly shoddy service, we both thoroughly enjoyed our meals and walked out with smiles on our faces. We also both felt extremely full but very relaxed. That’s what The Modern Pantry will do to you and I can’t wait to revisit with my boyfriend to show him the delights.

The Modern Pantry
48 St. John’s Square
London EC1V 4JJ
020 7553 9210

Modern Pantry on Urbanspoon

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Coffee at Caravan

25 Mar

If you ever fancy taking any advice from me, I suggest that those of you out there that haven’t managed to get to Caravan for a coffee do.

Nestled in the lovely Exmouth Market, Caravan does a hell of a lot – acting as a cafe, restaurant, bar, wholesaler and shop. Interesting.

Caravan

When I first heard the name, it conjured up images of a small porter cabin with drapes and women sitting around looking like fortune tellers. So when I got around to visiting, I was surprised. Pleasantly surprised mind. I don’t know why though as I’d be more surprised if I had found the porter cabin in it’s place. Wooden rough and ready tables, rustic jugs and bare floors, Caravan has taken the minimal approach and it’s one that I love.

Many of my friends have dined at Caravan but I was most interested in visiting to see the ginormous coffee roaster that I heard is hiding in the basement. And my it looks pretty. The coffee that it roasts is a delight too.

Caravan Flat White

The Flat White that I had nearly blew my head off and I wandered around central London for the rest of the day with the caffeine jitters – I wasn’t actually sure I liked feeling like that. Maybe next time I’d opt for the latte that my boyfriend got – it was a lot weaker, smoother and creamier.

Caravan Latte

I’ll be back to try the brunch menu soon but for now the memory of the fantastic coffee lingers.

Caravan
11-13 Exmouth Market
London
EC1R 4QD
020 7833 8115

Caravan on Urbanspoon

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Maple and Pecan muffins

11 Mar

I love breakfast foods, which is why I’ve been making a lot of loaves and muffins recently. Since it was pancake day this week and I bought a bottle of Maple Syrup especially, I thought I’d carry on the theme and make some Maple Syrup and Pecan Muffins. I have the Hummingbird Bakery book but their recipe called for more buttermilk than I have in the fridge so it was back to the drawing board.

I came across a recipe from Nigella Lawson, which uses wheat germ. I had some oat germ in the cupboard which needed using so I decided to substitute it. There is no sugar or butter in the batter – instead I used milk, vegetable oil and of course, maple syrup. The result is a light and fluffy muffin with a delicious crunchy sugary and nutty topping. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that they’re healthy but i’m sure they’re not as bad as your regular muffin.

I have an American cup measure so I used this – if you don’t have one, you can convert here.

Ingredients (Makes 12)

1 cup pecans, roughly chopped
2 cups plain flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup oat germ
1 pinch of salt
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon light muscovado sugar

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 190degrees

1. Fill a muffin tray with paper liners and set aside 1/4 of the chopped pecans

2. Mix together the remaining pecans with flour, salt, oat germ and baking powder

3. Whisk together the milk, egg, maple syrup, vegetable oil and vanilla in a separate bowl

3. Pour the liquids into the dry mixture and gently fold to mix. Do not over mix because the mixture can get too hard, which will make the muffin tough. It doesn’t matter if there are a few lumps in the mixture

4. Spoon into the muffin cases

5. Sprinkle the light muscovado and remaining pecan nuts on the top of each muffin case

5. Bake for 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean

6. Remove muffins to a cooling rack

Enjoy!

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