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Dinner by Heston Blumenthal at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park | Dinner by Heston Blumenthal: revisited and still magical
I always feel some pressure recommending places to eat since there can be so many variables that affect the enjoyment on that particular day. So far though, Dinner hasn't failed me, with people always having good things to report back so I was pretty confident it would deliver again. And deliver it did...
Hedone | Hits and misses at Hedone
Hedone is an interesting one. My potted summary goes a little like this: it's a critical darling serving somewhat polarising Michelin-starred food by an ex-blogger out of a cube-like space with an open kitchen in, of all places, Chiswick. Although serving arguably the best bread in London, I otherwise find it hard to categorise the food. Despite the Swedish heritage of the chef, Hedone doesn't really rock to the new Nordic vibe, but it is clearly produce driven. Some dishes we ate were spectacular, but others felt strangely one dimensional...
The Shiori | The Shiori - a welcome piece of Kyoto in London
The Shiori is probably as close to having a meal in Japan as you're likely to get without jumping on a plane. Recently relocated to Bayswater, The Shiori is the evolution of Sushi of Shiori, the tiny sushi bar near Euston that closed late last year. I never got a table there, since, much like Sushi Tetsu, it only held a handful of seats. At The Shiori, the emphasis moves away from sushi to explore the full range of Kyoto-style kaiseki and showcase the incredible skills of the chef. The room is still small, with around 6 tables, but it is obviously a labour of love for the husband and wife team. That passion for perfection is infectious...
Trishna | Trishna will enlighten you
Trishna has been on my radar for a while, partly because it was awarded a Michelin star in September 2012, but also because it has a reputation for modest pricing. London has its fair share of high-end Indian restaurants like the Cinnamon Club and Rasoi, but I generally balk at paying up to £30 for a main unless I'm out to celebrate. For less than that, £22.50 to be precise, you can get a three course meal from the 'lunch bites' or 'early evening' menus at Trishna which also comes with a choice of a side dish (spinach with corn or dal in my case) and rice or bread. Since there were two of us, Mr B and I split the options and tried both sides plus the bread and rice...
Roganic | Roganic: in perfect harmony
I guess like most of us, I love watching cooking shows on TV. I just can't bare, however, to watch ones with a competitive element. OK, Come Dine With Me was good to begin with but quickly went off the rails, and I can spend some time with the Great British Bake Off. But Masterchef, for example, irks me beyond belief. Throw in a celebrity element and you've completely lost me. I'm much happier watching Nigel Slater wax lyrical about a fig, or better yet, repeats of The Two Fat Ladies with their brilliant theme tune, smothering each other in lard. As a result, I completely missed the Great British Menu, which combines both celebrity and competition. Simon Rogan was in the latest season (apparently) and if I'd watched the show I probably would have understood his oeuvre earlier, as I had his London restaurant Roganic figured all wrong. I mistakenly thought I was in for Hestonish culinary trickery. Instead, what I got was interesting food combinations sure, but also one of the most balanced and harmonious meals I've had the pleasure to enjoy...
Duck & Waffle | Duck & Waffle: everbody
I've not told anyone this before. For my 11th birthday I really wanted tickets to see Culture Club in concert at the Sydney Entertainment Centre. The band was riding high in the charts in 1984 with Colour by Numbers, my dad was grooving to Karma Chameleon and all seemed to be right with the world. Instead, we went to the revolving restaurant at the top of Centrepoint Tower in Sydney and had dinner. I sat patiently until dessert was served waiting for the tickets to emerge, but sadly they didn't. I don't remember anything about the food we ate that night, but I do remember getting lost finding my way back to the table after going to the loo thanks to that rotation. That and disappointment at having no tickets to see Boy George. As a result, eating at a great height always comes with a tinge of trepidation for me. So it was in that frame of mind that I stepped into the glass elevator and hurtled upwards to the 40th floor to Duck & Waffle.
Sacro Cuore | Sacro Cuore: pizza to cross town for
I sometimes wonder how my brain is wired. After eating at the recently opened Sacro Cuore Pizza in Kensal Rise all I could think about was a line from the "Apartment" episode of Seinfeld. Have you ever watched it? It's the one where the gang are at a house party to watch the New York Marathon and George proclaims to be Lord of the Idiots for giving up a lifetime of guilt free sex and tickets to sporting events at Madison Square Garden. Suddenly one of the revellers at the party shouts to the marathoners, "you're all winners!" only for George to reassess his Lordly claim with the line, "but suddenly a new contender has emerged". I guess you had to be there. Anyway, it's the "new contender" phrase that I thought of when I ate at Sacro Cuore...
Shrimpy's | Burger madness at Shrimpy
This brings us to Shrimpy's and its soft shell crab burger. I mean, London is awash with burgers at the moment with new places opening up quicker than you can yell "order up". But so far there's been a relative dearth of seafood burgers (fish fingers excepted), so if there's an unexploited niche then you might as well fill it, right? So how does Shrimpy's fare with its foodie gimmick?...
Brasserie Zédel | A confusing meal courtesy of Brasserie Zedel
I'm generally a pretty cluey person. Well, I'm prone to episodes of imitating Dr Stupid now and then (for you Ren & Stimpy fans out there), but generally, I'm fairly switched on. What worries me is that I'm still puzzled by Brasserie Zedel. Eating food shouldn't be confusing, should it? But being served broadly mediocre food, with haphazard service in an over-the-top lush setting resulted in such perplexity that it's taken me ages to order my thoughts enough to tell a coherent story. But let's attempt to document the meal as best we can. Shall we start with the good?...
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park | Let's go to Dinner
What can anyone say about Dinner by Heston Blumenthal that hasn't already been said? I mean, it was the most anticipated restaurant opening in London of 2011, and is still as popular judging by the difficulty in securing a prime-time table. That will get even harder now that Dinner has entered the hallowed ranks of the Top 10 best restaurants in the world at number nine. It even pipped its older brother The Fat Duck which sank to 13. Now, in my opinion, there is no way that Dinner is the 9th best restaurant in the world, one rank behind the incredible Arzak for example. That's not to say that you won't eat well at Dinner, because you most certainly will. You probably know what the shtick at Dinner is, right? It's all about renewing sometimes ancient British recipes and using modern techniques to bring them to life with Heston's usual flair, of course...
Dabbous | Dabbous: London
There's been so much buzz about Dabbous since it opened a mere five weeks ago. The simple and elegant food, the rockstar chef with a pedigree CV, and prices which are shockingly affordable (well by London standards). I heard about Dabbous via user restaurant reviews on Bloomberg before the big hitters like the Evening Standard showered it with five stars. Thankfully I booked a few weeks back and had the choice of sittings. Now Dabbous is booked out for the next two months. They deserve to be as this was one of the best meals I've had in London for a long time...