Blog Reviews from LONDONcalling

I'm fairly sure most of you reading this will have heard a little about this place and the head chef Ben Spalding, ex of Simon Rogan's Roganic. Having worked in a multitude of Michelin starred kitchens finally he gets the chance to show off his extensive skills in this six month joint pop up venture. Prior to this he did a short stint called Stripped Back in a schoolyard serving food to up to eight guests in an open air environment. Now he is in charge of an extremely busy thirty cover mezzanine restaurant and an equally busy bar menu too, which includes a popular non bookable chefs table...

I am thankful to get a recommend from a respected fellow foodie about any restaurant, but especially so for a Cantonese one, as my knowledge in this area, especially for London is scant indeed. However having said that never in a million years would I venture into this area never mind into this restaurant without a recommend. This Queensway branch of Royal China is twenty years old and the first one of six in the group to open in London. It had a complete refurb in January this year, however this is wasted on me as I have nothing to compare it too. Seating 130 its certainly cavernous, and looks even bigger given the fact most of the walls are mirrored...

The Green Man is the fourth opening from Ed Wilson and partners.The others, Terriors, Brawn, and Soif are all part of this ever expanding and successful empire. Since opening it has received at least two national newspaper reviews and has been the subject of other positive reviews. This former pub occupies a slim site on the perimeter of a very busy Covent Garden. The interior is bare brick, tile and parquet floors with exposed ventilation pipes. Seating is cramped especially at the rear. It is not possible to hold a private conversation even if you or your near neighbours whisper. Every word is audible. Not good, not good at all. The best tables for two are in the middle of the long slim room, or if you wish you could eat at the bar...

I worry a bit when chefs have more than one restaurant. I have been in business too many years to know that you can't be in two places at the same time. Also its impossible to clone oneself (yet). So whoever is running your business in your absence needs to be hand picked for the job. Indeed your whole team need to be. Witness Gordon Ramsay's crumbling empire...

Koya is one of those places that I always wanted to try but other new openings sort of got in the way, and it got pushed down my must visit list. Truth be told Japanese food has not really exited me in the past and as this place specialises in Udon noodles it felt just a little restrictive menu wise. Something aroused my inner self when on twitter someone was singing their praises about the specials board. So hey ho lets give it a whirl then...

I always look forward to the new Michelin guide being released. On the whole I trust the judgement of this foodie bible and relish any new entries in the star listings, as in the main I have eaten at most of the existing ones and thrive on the thought of trying new places. There are only five Michelin starred Indian restaurants listed in the last Michelin UK guide so I was pleased to see Trishna listed with a star in the new one. The only thing that I knew about this place was that it is right next door to double Michelin starred chef Simon Rogan's London pop up Roganic. Floating around in my head was some other connection but for the life of me I could not remember what...

It's been a while since we ate at Launceston Place. Chef Tristan Welch was in residence at the time. I never met him but he came across as a really nice guy on the few TV appearance's that I saw him in . He was hotly tipped for Michelin stardom but that elusive gong was not to arrive. Move forward a handful of years and lo and behold Launceston Place have finally gained the star that they so much desired. It has arrived in very quick fashion too, especially given Michelin's pedestrian history. Tim Allen perhaps was destined for stardom having worked for arguably one of the toughest chefs in the business John Burton Race. Then a seven year stint at Whatley Manor with highly respected two Michelin starred Martin Burge has not gone unnoticed too. Still he has only been here since February and to earn a star in that period of time is remarkable indeed...

My my, time flies when your having fun. It's now nearly two months since our visit here and as is sometimes the case other stuff gets in the way before I can sit down and do my review. Truth be told what we ate was so intricate and expansive I needed quite a bit of time to recount what we had. In the end simpler places were reviewed resulting in this review being put on hold somewhat. Well. better late than never eh? ...

Restaurant Nathan Outlaw in Cornwall is fine dining but there is also a Seafood and Grill in a separate location serving somewhat simpler fare. This is what is currently on offer at The Capital. Chef Pete Biggs has made the step up from Cornwall. He has worked with Nathan for ten years. Outlaw himself was in the kitchen during the opening weekdays and methinks apart from weekends he will spend his time here until he deems it to be perfect...

So finally we get around to trying MEATliquor. This burger joint has been well and truly blogged by everyone and his brother. It has been on my list since it first opened but for one reason or another I never got around to it. Location wise its not great, certainly with regard to footfall. At the base of an NCP car park with an unassuming entrance it is easy to miss. Let your nose be the guide however, because you can smell it well before you arrive at the door...

We have attended a few charity events this year and it really is comforting that so many generous people help the less fortunate in this world. This event was to support Hospitality Action. Celebrity TV chef and all round great guy Andrew Nutter hosted what was to be a very successful and fun fund raising event. Giving their time free of charge were some of this countries top chefs including new Michelin starred Mark Poynton of Alimentum in Cambridge. Paul Foster of Tuddenham Mill in Suffolk. TV chef James and his brother Chris Tanner of Tanners in Plymouth and famed chocolatier Paul A Young. Each chef would showcase the use of prime pork in their dishes. By prime I do not mean fillet but the quality of the beast. The idea was to show diners what could be achieved using the cheaper cuts of the animal. Dingley Dell Pork of Suffolk provided the pork as it does to many top restaurants throughout the country, including Michelin starred ones such as Alimentum, Jason Atherton's Pollen Street Social and Gordon Ramsay...

The latest new arrival from famed restaurateurs Corbin and King is causing a bit of a stir among the foodie fraternity. This bold brash humongous brasserie has had some very decent reviews as well. Of interest to most, and that includes the rich as well as the poor, is the somewhat bargain basement pricing. For any part of the land especially given the lavish decor, some of the pricing is a bit breathtaking. However this is London or to be more specific bang slap Central London. Which makes some of the pricing a downright steal...

So eventually we are in. I have tried every combination of dates available and had to settle finally for a Tuesday lunch rather than wait another couple of months for a weekend slot. This simply means a day tripper journey of over three hundred miles instead of a leisurely overnight stay and another restaurant the following day with a chilled out return back home...

There is something extremely exciting about eating on the fortieth floor of a tower block. In this case The Heron Tower in The City. We are not blessed with much high rise in the UK so it is somewhat fascinating to gaze skyward in anticipation. At the time of our fairly recent visit, no visible signage was evident for the restaurant. So, no doubt like others before us we walked around the building a couple of times before we realised the door to the right of the building was the actual entrance to the glass fronted lift and eventually skyward to the restaurant. The exhilarating climb up forty floors takes seconds and is breathtaking. In fact the whole place is a bit breathtaking, on a number of levels...

Peter and Jonray Sanchez-Iglesias are appearing next week at The Cube and I was fortunate enough to be invited to a preview of what would perhaps be on offer at that time.I have for sometime wanted to visit their restaurant Casamia in Bristol, but for one reason or another never quite got around to it. They appeared on television courtesy of Gordon Ramsay's F Word and indeed won the Best Independent restaurant award...

Its not every week that a Peruvian restaurant opens in London. What makes this one stand out (apart from being Peruvian of course) is that the executive chef has previously worked at one of the Worlds 50 best restaurants.Virgilio Martinez was the former executive chef at Astrid y Gaston group and now has his own restaurant in Peru...

So we are back on top of the Royal Festival Hall for a return visit to The Cube. Needless to say it is great to be back. We were even looking forward to the ride in the very unusual "singing lift" up to the sixth floor. If ever you go here, you must seek out this highly original elevator.The guest chef this time was Claude Bosi, the double Michelin starred owner of Hibiscus...

Well, I'm going to start with a wow, because location wise The Cube is the wow. It is stunning in every senseThe views are amazing and to have a two Michelin starred chef like Daniel Clifford doing the cooking is just icing on the cake. This is without a shadow of doubt the ultimate pop up restaurant.We arrived about twenty minutes late for the 12 midday start, due to very heavy London traffic no less...

The last time that we ate at Pied a Terre was an age ago. I remember it almost vividly. We had finished dinner, paid up, and we were standing outside ready to take a short stroll. Out of the restaurant appeared the then much revered head chef Richard Neat with a young Tom Aikens. Happy bunnies they were, and ever so eager to engage in conversation, more so Neat than a shy Aikens...

The last time we ate here was about four years ago.We dined one sunny lunchtime as a table of four, expecting good food. What followed was much of a disaster. The service was ghastly, scandalously sloppy and irritatingly slow. To cap it all Tom Aikens love of beetroot resulted in a plate of food ( venison with textures of beetroot) that David Cronenberg would have been proud of. The only thing that was missing was the scary music. We vowed never to return...

So, following the departure of Ben Spalding, the kitchen is firmly back in the hands of Simon Rogan. Andy Tomlinson has been promoted to head chef and Simon has, in a very short space of time, changed the menus with perhaps up to twenty new dishes to choose from. Our recent lunch had three menus to choose from. The three course lunch at £29 with an option of two glasses of wine for an extra £6, extremely good value and most tempting...