Cocktails in London

It's not just food I'm into, oh no, I can't resist a good cocktail. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a cocktail connoisseur or anything like that, but I'm interested in how different ingredients can be infused together in the mix, as well as in presentation, to create a refreshingly different type of drink.

My cousin came to visit London the other weekend, and we ended up having a random day out after our glass floor experience at Tower Bridge and came upon many new places for food and drink, here are the drink highlights...

Tanner & Co - Bermondsey St. Would probably come here again for food and drink - a great little place, and a very good cocktail.

Mele e Pere, Soho - very good menu of cocktails and small plates actually. Would recommend booking if wanting food during peak times. We went just around 5pm and was fairly quiet, come 6pm, people had to be turned away. 

The selection of glass fruit at Mele e Pere

Basement drinks at Hix's Bar, Soho - be warned they have one of those licences where you have to order food - but there is chicken flavoured popcorn!

The Zombie

The food platter

Hix Soho

Cocktails at Polpetto, Soho - good gin!

Review: Polpetto, Berwick St, Soho

An offshoot of Polpo, don't underestimate Polpetto's small menu of tapas style dishes. Each one is unique, and deliciously tasty! It's a cosy little place and gets pretty busy for an hour but is very quick service. Plus, they have Frangelico - one of my favourite after dinner drinks (along with Limoncello) as I gave up ordering dessert when I eat out for Lent (weird, I know).
RATING: 4 out of 5

Grilled focaccia Planeta extra-virgin olive oil (so tasty) and Beetroot, goats curd, pink sorrel

Pink raddichio with mustard and orange, it might not look like much but it tastes strangely good!

Clams, sea purslane linguine - the linguine was made to perfection, fresh and chewy

Pork belly, Jerusalem artichoke, parsley - because you just have to order the pork belly - the parsnip mash also went very well

Pink fir potatoes, which were not so pink

My lovely little Frangelico to round off a great day out in London

The other two went for Maple Tart and Chocolate Flan - judging by the 'yum' noises from both, I can safely assume they were very good desserts. 

Review: Kurobuta, Connaught Village

This Japanese fusion restaurant in Connaught Village, near Marble Arch is a gem. Not as expensive as first thought (we studied the menu intensely in the days leading up to this dinner date), a group of work friends made their way to Kurobuta from Paddington after work one day.

The pork belly steamed buns were just amazing. I couldn't stop thinking about it before, during and for days after. The pork was just so tasty and full of flavour, combined with the soft bun and the amazing nutty thick soy dip which I could have had on its own to be honest. Fantastic food, quirky decorations and wonderful atmosphere.

We went for dinner just after 6pm, but it does get quite busy between 7pm till about 8:30pm so booking is recommended.

RATING: 4 out of 5

Porky scratchings with Yuzu Kosho Dip...AMAZING

Nuts, Grains and Greens Salad With Honey-Soy-Ginger Dressing

A must-try! Tuna Sashimi Pizza with Truffle Ponzu, Red Onions and Green Chillies. More fried crispbread than pizza.

Nope, it's not pork - it's in fact Nasu Dengaku; Sticky Miso Grilled Aubergine with Candied Walnuts! 

Not on the menu - the duck salad. The duck was so flavoursome. 

BBQ Pork Belly in Steamed Buns with Spicy Peanut Soy. I could have eaten these breakfast, lunch and dinner! 

The 'Skinny Bitch' sushi made with avocado 'omelette' - you get your moneys worth!

More sushi. Beautiful.

Happy Mother's Day with The Jones Family Project, Shoreditch

I've walked past The Jones Family Project a few times, and when I perused the menu one day, I decided that I'd take my visiting Cousin for Sunday lunch here as I wanted to check out somewhere new. I'm so glad I did, as now I've found a local brilliant gem of a place where they do more than just roast dinners!

The venue is a lot bigger than you think, and the downstairs area looks like it could be quite fun on an evening (they have a pretty good selection of gins).

We both went for the roast beef from Ginger Pig with horseradish and a good amount of gravy! It was delightful with my Aperol Spritz. 

The staff are really friendly, good space, quirky menu and decorations; this place is understated. I would definitely come here again to try out the burger with oxtail stock mayonnaise (yes, I've already decided my next meal) and as far as roast dinners go, it's in my top three - including Hawksmoor and Gordon's Bread Street Kitchen.

They are really working on their menus for the weekday offering and weekend brunch so pop over, it's worth it!

Brunch available everyday from Monday-Saturday. Roast dinners on Sunday. Dinner a la carte is now available at lunch (wahey) Monday-Friday.

To launch the re-focussed roasts on Sunday, The Jones Family Project is offering them for £9.95 in the whole month of March - including Mother's Day.

See you in there!

Chinese New Year with Dad

I popped home to see the Dad the day before Chinese New Year. We didn't do anything special, but he did cook up these huge Tiger Prawns (from Morrisons), a bit of Tommy-K (Tomato Ketchup), onions, garlic and more tomatoes and voila. A yummy home-cooked meal.

Review: Crazy Bear, Fitzrovia

We made a visit to Crazy Bear the other week. I was really looking forward to it as the decor looks amazing on the website.

The cocktails and the bar is where Crazy Bear really excels, great cocktails (I had a sort of sorbet martini concoction). We went for a tasting menu upstairs, and to be honest, I wasn't overly impressed, but I'm not sure if that was because we went for the taster rather than full dishes, as the table next to us ordered a lobster which looked pretty amazing. Although for the price, you do get your monies worth with huge sharing dishes that come out all at once, so you do get a pretty full after one small plate.

I would come here again for drinks (the toilets are a must see/do!!) but maybe not for food. For the price and the reputation Crazy Bear has, I would probably expect a bit more.

RATING: 2.5 (could be 3) out of 5 

What we had:
Shrimp crackers
Steamed edemame
Mixed sushi - the rice was a tad dry
Mixed dim sum - I have high standards when it comes to dim sum anyway, but didn't find it to be that fresh, pastry was quite sticky and dry
Crispy Gressingham duck salad - the duck was slightly overdone, but the dressing was really great
Green Cotswold chicken breast curry
Tiger prawn pad thai noodles
Truffled pak choi - didn't really taste the truffle
Steamed Jasmine rice
Mojito cheesecake - lovely, though it was more gelatine rather than cheesy

Mojito Cheesecake

Review: Nobu, Berkeley Street

The world famous Nobu is one of those places I've always wanted to go but always felt too extravagant to actually go have dinner there, and then along came the tasting menu and off I trot.

The glass of prosseco on arrival was equally as delightful and refreshing!

I would definitely recommend Nobu for a special meal out. It will be pretty pricey, but the food and flavours were so delicious, and the service I have to mention, was great. A friend of mine is currently going through the nutritional test of confirming whether she is a Coeliac and so eating out is getting a bit tricky, however, Nobu were very accommodating, and unlike many restaurants who will will omit certain ingredients, Nobu decided to just cook an entirely new (and scrumptious) dish without any trouble or fuss. I really value excellent service, almost on par with quality of food, so for that alone, Nobu get 5 out of 5.

OVERALL RATING: 4 out of 5

Matsuhisa salad with salmon - the dressing was so good. The table went silent once the plates had arrived which tells you something about the food.

Assorted sushi rolls and sushi. Can't go wrong with sushi and a good dollop of wasabi!

Vegetable and shrimp tempura. Not usually a fan of tempura batter but this was light and not oily, neither were the vegetables soggy - which is a massive no-no for me.

Coeliac friend's alternative, an aubergine and shrimp salad with lovely dressing to go with it.

We ordered an extra dish of the full Black Cod (pricey at £42, or the half for £24) but this was probably the best cooked cod I've ever had. Flaked off with perfection, sweet sauce on the outside, and fresh, soft cod in the middle. Totally worth it. 

Poussin with truffle teriyaki and bok choy. Perfectly cooked, great sauce, I could have had another plate.  My friend had an alternative dish of spicy tofu and veg - which was great, if not slightly too spicy for my personal preference.  

Just thought the receipt was funny...ALLERGY WARNING - free. 

Sunday Roast

I've never cooked a roast dinner with all the trimmings from scratch before.

In fact, I never had a roast dinner until I went to university.

I then lovingly poured my gravy over the top, careful not to soak the Yorkshires

But I was hooked; it's the novelty of it I think, it's so British and I never knew how technical it can be. So I tried it and must say, it was really exciting, stressful, satisfying and wonderful all at once!

The timing's can be a bit of a bummer, so I wrote some pointers down...

• we used chicken legs because let's face it, I don't really need a whole chicken for two people = 45min
• roast potatoes (2 large parboiled potatoes with a small dollop of goose fat) = 40-45min. Same goes for the parsnips
• Stuffing (okay this was the ready to make stuff) and Yorkshire Puddings (very important) = 25min. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR!

And Bob's your uncle! Roast dinner for two. Easy peasy. 

These turned out great. The trick is not to open the oven door, no matter how tempting it is.

Review: Chotto Matte

Dessert selection from Chotto Matte

A Japanese, Asian fusion (it's all the rage these days) in Soho, it gets quite busy on the evening, and looks quite 'upmarket' - well we did spot Iwan Thomas and friends leaving the place anyway.

I had pretty high hopes for this place, as a friend of mine had visited this place twice already and it's one of her favourites. I'm not sure if my visit was quite as the same standard, the service was quite muddled, often hectic, but again I'm not sure if it was because we were sat by the kitchen.

Foodwise, it was pretty good. I had the flaming sushi (which they flame at your table) and the pork belly. It was pretty pricey but I did eat a whole pork belly to myself and felt utterly stuffed. It was delicious though.

I had to try the dessert - a selection of pieces - my favourite had to be the mochi ice cream.

All in all, it was great food. Service was quite hectic on a Friday night - I think we were served by at least five different waiters, and just a word of warning, I wouldn't recommend this place if you are gluten-free, even when they say they will accommodate your allergies, not every waiter will have received the message.

Oh, and fantastic cocktails!

RATING: 2.5 out of 5