Tag Archives: restaurant

Inn the Park

18 Dec

The joys of living in London. There is literally always somewhere new to visit. Despite living only a twenty minute walk from St James’s Park in my first year of university I never visited. And despite having worked no more than a ten minute walk from the park for over a year, I still never visited. Until last weekend.

I have heard may good things about Inn the Park, which is a cafe / restaurant from Oliver Peyton of Peyton and Byrne fame. You might also know him off the tele – his face has graced our screens on Great British Menu for a while now.

We visited last Saturday at 2.45pm, which was the last lunch sitting of the day. It was a beautiful crisp (very cold!) day in London and the warmth that greeted us as we walked through the door was very welcome indeed.

We were seated and provided with the lunch menu. Almost immediately I knew what I wanted to order. Jack and I pretty much always share so that we can taste more of the menu and we decided on the wild mushroom soup with girolles and rosemary oil and a beetroot salad with whipped goats curd and a salted walnut praline to start, followed by grilled crown Prince squash with baked barley and chestnuts and grilled herb chicken with bubble and squeak and chestnuts for main. We shared a dessert but I’ll go into that later.

The mushroom soup was not quite what I expected. The soup itself was a little too thick, lacked seasoning and the girolles that sat on top were a little bland. There was not enough of the rosemary oil and the flavour didn’t really shine through. The beetroot salad however was a different story. Not only did the plate look extremely pretty, the range of flavours on the plate complimented each other very well. The salted walnut praline was dotted about and hidden in the pillowy goats curd so that each mouthful was a joyous mix of creamy goats curd, sweet beetroot and sweet and crunchy walnut praline.

Our mains were just as impressive. Both were presented well with balanced flavours. The chicken was delightfully tender, the bubble and squeak seasoned perfectly. The chestnuts gave the dish a new texture dimension and finished it off well. Both of us adore squash and had always thought Polpo serves the best dish – pumpkin with speck, cheese and pumpkin seeds. Inn the Park has a dish to rival this with the Prince squash. Again, chestnuts featured on the plate but this was no bad thing.

We were full but felt that we just had to try a dessert. We opted for the treacle tart with clotted cream and it arrived very quickly. It was a mini tart for one with a perfectly formed scoop of cream on top. At first I was disappointed that the tart wasn’t warm but then I realised that a treacle tart is hardly ever warm and by the second mouthful I was in heaven. The cream was thick, dense and utterly moreish. The tart filling was sweet, the pastry crumbly.

It wasn’t just the food that I enjoyed at Inn the Park. I loved the decor – Mid Century Modern, all encased in a wooden shell. The view wasn’t half bad either from where I was sitting. We left Inn the Park and had a quick stroll around the park before darkness got the better of the day. I am looking forward to heading back to Inn the Park in the warmer months so that I can enjoy the beautiful surroundings al fresco. Roll on summer.

For further information, please visit the Inn the Park website.

Ottolenghi, Islington

11 Feb

I have already done one post on Ottolenghi but I was very hungover that time and I figure I should just do it again.

Ottolenghi is a vegetarian or cake lovers heaven. It is also one the best places to go for brunch and lunch in London – in my opinion anyway!

The word vegetarian has been tarred with the wrong brush over the years. People expect vegetarians to live on a diet of Linda McCartney sausages, carrot sticks and celery. Ok, maybe that is a bit far but Yotam Ottolenghi has shown us over the last few years just how exciting the humble vegetable can be.

If you haven’t had the pleasure of visiting his restaurant in Islington (or the three take away cafes branches in Notting Hill, Belgravia or Kensington), you may have been lucky enough to see one of his two cookbooks. The first, Ottolenghi: The Cookbook was written by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi and took influence from their home towns of West and East Jerusalem. But their culinary repertoire does not stop there as the book also features recipes with Italian, American and Lebanese infuences to name a few. The most recent book, Plenty, is yet another delectable mix of cuisines and lets face it, proper food porn.

Ottolenghi doesn’t just like to make dishes taste great, he uses vibrant colours and mixes them together to make the dish look appealing to even the biggest carnivore. It is refreshing to know that Ottolenghi himself is not even a vegetarian – he just understands that the humble vegetable can be so versatile in both taste and visually.

So it’s no surprise that his salads are renowned – there are non veggie options in the restaurant but everything is served cold. Don’t let this put you off though as the seared tuna, seared beef, lamb kebabs and salmon fillets are tasty winners.

Ottolenghi scrambled egg

Every time I have been, I say to myself that next time I visit I will order the French toast but every time I go back I can’t help but order the scrambled eggs with smoked salmon on toast with a rocket salad. He uses Foreman and Field smoked salmon, which I know from visiting the Foreman restaurant is top quality salmon. I wondered for a long time how they managed to get the yolks so orange until I recently came across Clarence Court Burford Brown Eggs. My boyfriend and I had tried to recreate it a few times at home and added a bit of Turmeric to the eggs before scrambling, which worked but we soon realised that this is not the method used in the restaurant! I’m not sure if Ottolenghi uses Clarence Court Eggs but the yolks have the same rich orangey colour and taste fantastic.

Ottolenghi Welsh Rarebit

We also ordered the Welsh rarebit and shared the two dishes. It was a huge error on my part – I totally forgot that Welsh Rarebit has a big dollop of mustard smothered over the bread so I was slightly disappointed as I am not a fan of mustard. At all. My boyfriend lapped it up though and left me with the majority of the scrambled eggs, which I was grateful for.

We ordered a plate of corn bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar as a side dish to share. I am gutted that this recipe isn’t in either of the books – I really want to know how to make it. It is utterly delicious – sweet but with a slight hint of spice from the chilli.

Ottolenghi cheesecake

For dessert (yes you can have dessert at breakfast time too!) we ordered the cake that my boyfriend has become utterly obsessed with, the Macadamia Caramel Cheesecake. I have tasted a lot of the Ottolenghi cakes and I have to say that this is my favourite too. An absolute winner – with a biscuit base and a not too rich cheese centre, a creamy caramel sauce, crunchy macadamia nuts and crunchy caramel. Definitely not one for the health conscious. This recipe is in his first book but I haven’t tried making it yet – I just have a horrible feeling that after all the effort (there are a lot of stages), I will be disappointed with my attempt.

I ordered a pot of tea to go with the cake at the end of the meal – I just love the tea pots that are served at Ottolenghi. Another great thing about the restaurant is that the fresh produce is on show and the chefs have to come out of the kitchen to grab another aubergine or tomato. There is one long communal table, which spreads out along the length of the restaurant but there are also a few tables to the side for couples.

Chances are you have walked past it a few times – so you’ll know what I mean when I say that next time you pass the cafe/restaurant with the huge merringues in the window, you must go in for brunch or a cake and a spot of tea.

Ottolenghi
287 Upper Street
London
N1 2TZ
020 7288 1454

Ottolenghi on Urbanspoon

Annalakshmi, Perth

31 Dec

Anyone who knows me will know that over the last three years I have developed a gigantic love for Indian food. Maybe it’s to do with the fact that I live in a suburb in London with the most fantastic authentic Indian restaurants or because everyone in my household knows how to cook a good curry. It’s the spices – one taste of a good curry and I believe that there’s no going back.

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So to my delight, the restaurant on the agenda for one evening meal in Perth this week was Annalakshmi on the Swan River. We arrived, a group of 14 of us and were seated outside on the balcony overlooking the beautiful Swan River. The concept of Annalakshmi was what drew us – an Indian buffet and when you’ve eaten as much as you possibly want/can fit in your belly, you simply pay what you think the meal was worth or what you can afford. Wow!

Annalakshmi is run by a crew of loyal volunteers, one woman who has been working there for over 20 years and was founded by a Hindu Monk. The first restaurant was founded in Malaysia and then brought over to Perth. The money that you pay for food is donated to charity and is used to help the underprivileged in India via The Temple of Service, providing free food and medical services.

Annalakshi inside

The food itself is no frills homecooked Indian food. Honest and simple but honestly delicious. The day we went there had unfrotunatley been a death in the family of one of the volunteers so there was slightly less food than usual but when it’s a buffet, a three options is all you really need.

Like restaurants in India (and the authentic ones in England), food is served on a metal round plate with a small metal dish for the sambar, a staple in South Indian food. It is traditionally eaten with Rice, Dosas and Idliy – altough it can be eaten with anything.

On offer on the evening were two different types of Boiled Rice, a Split Yellow Pea Daal, Potato Curry, Butternut Squash Curry, Sambar and Spiced White Cabbage. I didn’t pile my plate too high because I was told that as soon as one curry runs out, another different dish is brought up from the kitchen. My first plate was demolished extremely quickly and despite there being a long line at the buffet, I queued up for more.

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My favourites were definitely the Daal and the Butternut Squash curry, although I think it had just a tad too much salt in it. Didn’t stop me from completely clearing my plate for the second time though.

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One of our party got into a semi argument with ‘a regular’ because he was moaning about having to queue and the member of our party was sticking up for the volunteers at the restuarant who do such as fantastic job to provide the public with utterly delicous authentic South Indian Curry.

As a thank you, the woman who had been there for over 20 years thanked our party member and gave him a free pudding gift of Lassi, which is a Punjabi yogurt-based drink of India and Pakistan. She had never seen the ‘regular’ before. We couldn’t believe that someone could be so rude about having to queue for 10 minutes.

We all stuffed ourselves until we couldn’t fit anymore in and left donating a suitable amount for each person. I’m not going to tell you how much we paid because you’re supposed to make up your own mind but it was fun deciding!!

I just love the concept and will be visiting a similar restaurant when I go to Melbourne next week – it’s not curry so let’s just hope that it is as good.

Jetty No 4
Barrack Street
Perth, WA 6000

Annalakshmi on the Swan on Urbanspoon

Vinoteca, Marylebone

17 Dec

A few weeks ago I was invited to check out the build of the new Vinoteca in Marylebone. The aim of the visit was for Vinoteca to show us their new bag in box wine concept. Now, while they know that this is by no means a new concept, they want to prove to us that you can get really good quality wine in the boxes. We were able to try all of the wines and they were all very good. My favourite was the White. They are sold by the bottle and are priced at around (I say around because I can’t remember the exact prices) £17 for a bottle at the table, £7 to take away and £6.50 for a refill.

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So when my dad asked me where I wanted to go for my Birthday/Christmas dinner, naturally I chose the new Vinoteca.

They don’t take bookings so it is advisable to arrive relatively early. We arrived at 6.30pm and were shown straight to a table, which I think was the only free one. Lucky! When I went a few weeks ago, it was literally just a white shell but I was pleasantly surprised to see the finished results. There is a lot of brown but that is one of my favourite colours so I liked that. When you first walk in you see two things.

1. The extensive wine shelved all the way up to the ceiling to your right
2. The open kitchen right ahead of you

The restaurant is relatively dimly lit and I loved the atmosphere – the perfect number of diners and not too loud. The tables are very well spaced out as well.

What I really liked when I visited a few weeks ago was the fact that they said they would have Prosecco on tap and sure enough they do. I loved this idea so had to try a glass. Delicious, the perfect way to start the meal.

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For starter we all shared the Linguine with Crab, Chilli, Garlic and Parsley, which looked small when arrived but was a great sized starter. The three of us tucked in and it was gone within minutes – the Linguine was clearly home made, which was a great start as not many restaurants I go to make their own fresh pasta. It was also drizzled with Chilli oil, which gave it a rich orange colour. It was bloomin gorgeous!! I would love to see an option to have this as a main course too.

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For main I opted for Roast Bril with Cime Di Rapa, Anchovy and Chilli Oil. My dad and boyfriend both went for the Smoked Haddock with Braised Lentils and Mustard Cream. Although the dishes look relatively small when they arrived, I think they have got their portions just right. A main alone wouldn’t be enough but I wouldn’t go to a restaurant like this without sharing a starter and a dessert anyway.

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The Brill was crispy on the outside and seasoned with Chilli flakes and oil – I was loving all of the subtle Chilli in the dishes. The only thing that I couldn’t see or distinguish were the Anchovies.

I tried some of the Haddock, which was cooked perfectly. The lentils were crunchy, which worked well with the soft Haddock. The mustard shone through as soon as I put the fork in mouth, delicious.

The dessert menu was put in front of us and while I didn’t want a whole one to myself, I made someone share the Chocolate Torte with me. It arrived, a tiny slither on the plate placed next to a well distributed dollop of Chantilly cream. We tucked in and there were smiles all around. I noticed that toward the edge, there was a bit of marzipan – I’m wondering if it was this that gave the torte it’s sweetness?

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Head chef William Leigh has joined the new site after working alongside Rowleigh Leigh at Le Cafe Anglais. William keeps the menu seasonal by adding at least one different dish each day and there are around 6 starters, 6 mains and 5 puddings at all times, which keeps it easy for the small open plan kitchen to turn the dishes around. I have to say that the chefs didn’t look under pressure, which was great to add to the relaxing atmosphere.

By the end of the meal I felt very relaxed and at home. I loved the atmosphere, I loved the food and I loved the decor – simple but warming. The new Vinoteca gives me yet another excuse to save my pennies and attempt to move to Marylebone!

A meal for 3 sharing a starter, main courses, sharing a dessert and drinks came to £86. Service is included. I’d say it’s pretty good value.

Vinoteca
15 Seymour Place
London
W1H 5BD
020 7724 7288

Vinoteca on Urbanspoon

Kopapa

14 Dec

The Providores is a great place to go on a lazy Sunday for a pot of tea and a read of the papers. I have never eaten in the restaurant but I’m told that the food is brilliant.

Peter Gordon, fusian chef extraordinaire has just opened a brand new sister restaurant in Seven Dials called Kopapa. I went with a couple of friends on Monday evening for a few plates from the Tapas menu and a few glasses of wine.

A couple of us arrived at 6.30 and had a glass of bubbly and a bowl of Edamame while we waited. My initial thought was that the Edamame was double the price it should have been, or at least the bowl should have been twice the size. At £4.80, the profit margin must be huge!

When our friend arrived, we perused the menu and decided on 6 dishes. I have never been much of a fan of Tapas because I think it gives restaurants an excuse to charge £7 for 1/3 of what you’d get for a main meal. But everything on the menu sounded great so we ordered.

First came the bread ‘basket’ (more like bread in a pie dish) but the different types of bread were nice and fresh.

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The next flurry of dishes arrived and the Chorizo Beignets with Salsa Verde were nice but reminded me of a glorified Potato Croquettes.

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The Char-grilled Aubergine with Tamarind Caramel, Coriander, Pickled Ginger & Za’atar looked delish but I surrendered this to my friend who is a veggie in favour of the Chirozo and another meat dish.

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The Polenta Chips and Guacamole was next – the Chips perfectly crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. The Guacamole had a good lot of coriander in it, which is always a bonus.

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The Kopapa Salmon Gravadlax with Yuzu Beetroot Salsa arrived and was lovely. I personally don’t think you can ever go wrong with ordering this dish. The dill was strong but it worked well with the sweetness of the beetroot.

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The Five Spice & Cumin crumbed Butternut with Coconut Cucumber Raita was one of my favourite dishes. It was deep fried but reminded me of a tempura dish from one of my favourite Japanese restaurants. The Coconut Cucumber Raita was smooth and subtle but was perfectly matched.

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Next came the Coconut Sticky Pork Ribs. The Coconut sauce was delicious, sticky, rich and there wasn’t too much of it! The ribs were tender and moreish.

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Us girls have sweet tooth’s so decided to share a couple of puddings, the Chocolate Brownie and ‘Golden Crunch’ ice cream, which I’m told is called Hokey Pokey in Gordon’s home country New Zealand and the Pavlova Roulade stuffed with Blueberries, Dried Cherries and Pecans.

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Both desserts were slightly disappointing considering the lovely Tapas dishes we had just eaten. My friends said that the Cinnamon in the Brownie was too overpowering, whereas I thought that the fruit in it let it down. The Pavlova Roulade wasn’t what we were expecting either – more of a Marshmallow than Meringue.

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It was only a Monday evening but during the time that we were there (from 6.30 – 10.30pm) hardly anyone walked in. There were only two other tables dining and the rest were drinking teas and coffees. The décor is also interesting – I think that they have taken the fusion aspect and converted this into the decoration too! The floor was the best as it is old and rustic. The walls looked like a contestant from Robot Walls had been let loose on them and the white ceiling looked like something from the Dr Who set.

Maybe it’s too early to judge but I’ll be going back in the New Year later on in the week to see if the atmosphere has changed. It will be a shame if it hasn’t because the food is delicious and I’d like to go back just for that.

We did agree that it would be a great place to go in the summer as the doors will open wide onto the street and I imagine they’ll have tables and chairs on the roadside, right next to Seven Dials. It’s such a shame that summer is so far away…

32 – 34 Monmouth Street
Seven Dials
Covent Garden
London, UK WC2H 9HA

Tel: 020 7240 6076

Kopapa on Urbanspoon

The Kitchin, Edinburgh

1 Oct

‘Would you ever move out of London?’ I asked my friend as we left Edinburgh airport in our taxi. Her reply? Of course not. We’re spoiled in London. There is a comfort of knowing that there is always something to do, even if you don’t actually want to be doing anything. Then of course there are the restaurants, there are loads of greats.

When we go on holiday (this was our first one together), we actively seek the best places to eat. No surprise then that both of us were quite rightly excited about dining at The Kitchin for lunch.

We were greeted by a familiar face at reception, a girl that used to work with us in London. Having lived in London all of her life, she decided she wanted to break away and embark on new foodie adventures. One may think that Edinburgh isn’t the obvious choice but read on and you’ll see why it is.

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Our coats were hung and champagne glasses clinked. A basket of freshly baked bread sticks, cheese puffs, anchovy sticks and vegetable crisps made their way over to our table at the bar. ‘Cheers’ we announced before burying our heads in the menu. It didn’t actually take us very long to decide. It wasn’t to be the set menu, after all we didn’t know when we’d be coming back. To our surprise (and it seemed everyone elses), we unanimously chose the same dishes. Now, let me tell you that this doesn’t actually matter. One of us would probably have ended up with massive food envy and thrown our plate at the wall. Definitely not the behaviour for this establishment.

We were shown to our table. The restaurant itself is dimly lit, the curtains blocking out most of the sunlight. The tables are nicely spaced out – we sat with our backs to the wall and the whole restaurant in our view. The open kitchen is inviting and looked incredibly relaxed. They know what they’re doing!

We ordered the razor clams for starter and lobster thermidore for main. Pudding was to be decided later.

Our little friends (the lobster) stopped conversation in it’s tracks when they came out to say their final goodbyes. I’ve had experience of being shown different cuts of steak, but nothing live. They looked… friendly!

First, another basket of fresh baked goods followed by a coco bean veloute appetiser, served with chorizo and chives. The chorizo rich and intense, working so well with the thickness of the foamy bean. We asked to have a different matched wine with each course, provided to us by head sommelier Murray. The Dampierre 1er Cru Cuvee des Ambassadeurs matched our appetiser.

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Our first course of Razor Clams (Spoots) shone out at us through the shell they resided in. Served with diced vegetables, chorizo and lemon confit, they were fresh as anything I’ve ever tasted and very creamy! Sommelier Murray brought over a fantastic Chablis 1er Cru ‘Mont Du Milieu’ to match.

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Next came another surprise, a middle course in the form of Chef Tom Kitchin’s signature dish – pigs head and langoustine, which came in the form of boned and rolled pig’s head, served with a roasted tail of langoustine from Anstruther and a crispy ear salad. I’d seen this on the menu and been tempted so I was happy to be able to try it. Now, the name might put a few off but just remember that essentially you’re only eating a different part of the pig to usual and the ear resembles crackling, but again just from another part of the body. It was delicious, rich and creamy, oh I could eat it every day! Murray brought a glass of Gewurtztraminer Hugel to match. By this time we had 3 different glasses of wine lined up on our table waiting to be drank. Must. Drink. Faster.

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Our Lobster mains came and were rich and intense. The lobster (from Newhaven) was cooked Thermidor style and served with buttered samphire and sauteed squid. Due to all of the food that we had already eaten, I started to wish I had ordered something lighter but it didn’t stop me from devouring as much of it as I could. Half way through, we spotted little black eggs. We dug deeper and saw red eggs. Confused, we asked Murray who explained that the lobster is taken out of the shell to cook. The black eggs are the cooked eggs that were taken out with the meat and the red ones are the uncooked ones that stayed in the shell. For those of you who have shell fish phobias (my friend), this does NOT mean that the lobster is not cooked. The red eggs will not harm you. Our matched wine for the lobster was Pinot Gris ‘Little Beauty’.

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Next – and do realise that we didn’t order a tasting menu so we were eating full blown portions. As you might imagine we were very full (and slightly tipsy!) We chose separate puddings. I opted for Plums & Honey – spiced British plums served with Heather Hills honey parfait and a plum crumble and my friend the Pistachio Soufflé that we saw our fellow diners on the table next to us tucking into. The Plums & Honey was a complex dish with a myriad of different plums plus a creamy and fluffy parfait, delicious. We swapped dishes and I tried some of the pistachio soufflé with Pistachio ice cream, I had food envy. See, this is why it pays to have the same dish. Luckily I still loved my pudding so the wall didn’t see any plate action. More wine? Yes! This was my favourite – i’m not usually one for dessert wine but it was just fantastic – Ice Wine, Cabernet Franc.

Next – yes, really. We were brought a plate of petit fours with the coffee that we ordered. The pistachio nugat blew me away – apparently new on the menu.

We’d made it to the end and had a marvelous time on the way. The service is impeccable, the reception and waiting staff extremely helpful, the food prepared using their moto ‘from nature to plate’ and, well, you can well understand why Chef Tom Kitchin was awarded his first Michelin star in 2007, a mere 6 months after opening! If you ever have the pleasure of tripping to Edinburgh, I urge you to go and visit The Kitchin!

10 out of 10!

78 Commercial St
Edinburgh
City of Edinburgh
EH6 6LX
0131 555 1755

The Kitchin on Urbanspoon

Dishoom, Covent Garden

19 Sep

Dishoom on Urbanspoon
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Until 3 years ago, I always tried to steer clear of Indian food. I had a very bad take away experience when I was a child, which left me scarred and it wasn’t until I moved to London that I realised that there was more to Indian food than my local take away that we used to get every Friday evening.

My favourite curry house is one near where I live in Wembley called Karahi King. I have yet to write a review of it but you can see a great one here. I banged on about it enough to entice Carly and her boyfriend, The Peanut Gallery to travel all the way out here.

Apart from Moti Mahal, which is fantastic but slightly too expensive to warrant regular visits, I haven’t had the pleasure of a well priced decent Indian meal in Central London, until last week. The new restaurant on the block is Dishoom, which bases itself on a traditional Bombay cafe. Their menu runs throughout the day with breakfast items such as ‘Fruit Roomali’ (light roti, fruit, marscapone and honey) and ‘Bacon Naan Roll’ (Smoked back bacon, homemade chilli jam in fresh naan bread). Their lunch and evening menu is extensive with a range of foods including Roomali Rolls (hot grills, rolled in a freshly made light roti with herbs, leaves and chutney), Shorba (light spiced soups), Salads, Small plates, Grills, Biryani, Daal and of course, desserts.

I wanted to try the whole menu but knowing this was not possible, we ordered a few things to share. The lamb chops on another table looked irresistible so they were chosen along with the paneer special of the day and the house black daal. We also ordered some of the cafe crisps to tide us over.

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The lamb chops were tender and had a great spicy crust, the pomegranate adding a lovely sweet crunchy adition. The daal was different to any I have had before, it had an almost tomato taste to it and lentil bits, which gave it a lovely texture. The paneer balls were exceptional and left me wanting more. The dishes are small and designed to share – I would recommend sharing so that you can try a range of the dishes on offer.

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I really liked the brasserie setting, the room is dark, noisy and atmospheric. The open plan kitchen is a nice addition – you can see and hear the chefs hard at work. I saw a couple looking out over the restaurant with an almost proud look on their faces as people scoffed down their creations. We were sat inches away from a table on either side of us but our initial worries of being able to hear conversations going on next to us were quickly disregarded.

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The bill came to £40 including service for food and drinks for two, which I thought was great value. I wouldn’t go so far to say it’s as good as my local curry house… but locals are always special aren’t they?!

Dishoom
12 Upper St Martin’s Lane, WC2H 9FB
020 7420 9320

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