Review: Roka Aldwych

I first visited the bar at Roka's Charlotte Street branch not really knowing anything about it, except that it was rather popular on a Friday night and that there was a pretty swish bar downstairs with some great bar food and cocktails. 

2 years later, I finally made it to the food at the Aldwych site. 

We came on a Saturday night for the set meal at £31 including a glass of bubbles. Of course, we had a drink by the spacious bar first (be rude not to really). The atmosphere as soon as you step in as electric. Wide open space, with a bar area in front with some comfy looking sofas, and the dining area surrounding the open kitchen. I was really looking forward to this dinner. 

Sashimi - from left to right - tuna, salmon & sea bream. The block of ice is an art in itself

I'm not usually a big fan of tuna (cooked or raw) but this one had a texture of jelly and was surprisingly not like tuna (if that makes sense) - I liked it anyway. Fresh and clear, I thoroughly enjoyed the sea bream too.

Roka were very good with substituting dishes for the GFF (Gluten Free Friend) as well as another friend who doesn't eat sashimi. Pictured: beef, ginger and sesame gyoza, gf avocado rolls, green beans with sesame dressing (no dressing for gf), spicy mixed sashimi with tempura and substitute californian sushi rolls.

For a 'starter', we had a lot of food, though we weren't complaining. The sesame dressing was a hit with my fellow diners, it tasted slightly peanut-ty. The tempura wasn't very spicy however, and would have tasted quite bland without the wasabi/soy sauce. We also had to ask for extra wasabi as there wasn't too much of it, plus we're really big fans of wasabi. 

Choice of 3 mains (the chicken with miso also has very high recommendations) - it was a close call between the beef and the sea bream, but I think I made the right choice in the end - sea bream fillet with ryotei miso and red onion. It looks a bit like chicken, and meatier than your average fish, but my gosh the flavour of the miso was incredible and very moorish. The fish was cooked perfectly, falling off with ease and silky soft inside. I could eat this all over again. This dish also comes with a bowl of slightly sticky steamed rice which was ideal. 

The beef sirloin with chilli and spring onion. Both beefs were not exactly cooked to how my friends wanted to have it, a little on the overcooking side, but overall I was told it was pretty good. 

When it comes to dessert, Roka did something I haven't seen before on a set menu - a choice of ANY dessert on the a la carte menu. Amazing. It was a tough choice as I wanted them all (you can actually have a dessert platter for £58 with real portions), but I decided to go for this:

Note the 'Roka' written on top of the chocolate

Which turns into this:

Drak chocolate and green tea pudding with pear ice cream. I don't usually go for chocolate desserts but the green tea intrigued me. Not to sweet and warm, the green-ness of the green tea takes you by surprise (well it did for me anyway). It was soft, gooey and worked well with the pear ice cream. This was another firm favourite. 

Overall, our experience at Roka was pleasant, the service was slightly hit and miss towards the end, almost as though we were now not as important as we'd had all our food, up until then however they had been very helpful. We did actually want to order one more round of drinks afterwards but it wasn't to be. For £31, it was a great deal. I would love to come here for the full menu, bank account permitting. The food was exceptional and it has a great ambience. For me, the stand-out dish has to be the sea bream. It was probably one of the best fish dishes I've eaten in a long time. 

RATING: 4 out of 5 (slightly knocked down for the service)

London Cheap Eats - the ultimate guide to dining out on a budget

A recent study by TripAdvisor sites London as the 7th most expensive city in the world, where an average meal for two costs £66.77.

The million dollar question for London’s food fans on a budget: when dining out in our great city, is it possible to get tasty, fresh and filling food that is truly cheap?

YES. Apparently so. New website www.londoncheapeats.com is the answer. 

It’s no secret London is a pricey city to socialise in, but it’s also full of solid, inexpensive feeds - most people just don’t know where to find them. Looking for a budget brunch dish in Brixton, cheap and cheerful pasta in Primrose Hill, or a finance-friendly lunch spot in Farringdon? London Cheap Eats is here to help. It directs discerning customers to the best places in town to eat well for £8 or less, advising not only where to go, but also what to order once there.

London Cheap Eats is designed to assist both Londoners and visitors alike in seeking out a good dining experience that doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. Sure, there’s always a place for the finer things in life, but there’s no arguing that wonderful feeling of having a good meal out, and not recoiling at the sight of the receipts the next day.

London Cheap Eats doesn't guarantee a gourmet dinner or fine dining experience, but what it can promise is a solid and tasty feed on the cheap. Chuck in a couple of beers and a few good friends, and that sounds like a pretty good time to us.

 Founder, Leyla Kazim, said:
"I like to go out as much as I can. I still very much wanted to be an active member of London's dining scene, enjoying the fantastic meals it has to offer on a frequent basis, but without the £20-£60 (and beyond) price tag each time. And I figured there would be others like me.
"I thought to myself: wouldn't it be great if there was an insider guide to the best budget food in London, made up of trusted and objective opinions, suggesting not only where to go, but also what to order?
"As I pondered this, I realised it didn't exist - I figured I'd better do something about that. And so, the idea of London Cheap Eats came to be."

London Cheap Eats founder and creator Leyla Kazim is a food and travel writer and photographer based in London. 

Review: Oliver's Fish and Chips, Belsize Park

I love fish, I love potatoes and I love mushy peas.

We came to Oliver's mainly for my GFF (Gluten Free Friend) as they have a separate fryer for this option, plus every week they change their oil so we decided to visit on this particular day.

Even though it is advertised as being in Belsize Park, Chalk Farm station is just a 10 minute walk away and I would make this journey again and again if I could.

The fish is as fresh as you can imagine - all from Billingsgate Market, we went for two haddocks and one plaice.

The plaice was huge - the fish that is. Although there are reasonable seats in the 'restaurant' area

The batter was great too - fresh and not too oily, and unlike others, it doesn't overtake the actual fish itself.

The chips were ok - home-made but not as crisp as I would prefer.

Mushy peas were fantastic though.

I haven't found a traditional (and good) fish and chips place yet in London, but Oliver's is close (so is Poppies) - I would probably come back for the fish though.

 

Fresh, non-oily batter makes all the difference

 

Review: Pond, Dalston

We had heard great things about Pond, the Hawaiian restaurant in Dalston (strange but true), so we thought we'll come for a visit on a Sunday for their take on the roast.

To say I was left feeling disappointed would be an accurate description, though I did enjoy their cocktail menu and general bar area.

There was a choice of three on the roast menu - all coming with a combination of sides - here's the menu:

There was a group of us, so between us we ended ordering everything (twice). The major factor in the disappointment was that the smoked turkey didn't actually come with cranberry sauce - apparently the menu changes daily and today was not cranberry sauce day...which is a bit strange as the two go together like fish and chips, or so you would have thought. Anyway, fair enough if that's the case, but we thought on ordering the dish, it would have been good to let us know the sauce would not be available rather than us having to ask after we had been served the plates. 

The other factor was that not all the sides came with the dishes, even though it clearly states on the menu that it "all comes with...". I think it was a matter of managing expectations, as the food itself was generally good. The smokiness of the turkey really added to it (albeit on the dry side), I rather enjoyed the pumpkin, but not too keen on the hushpuppies. They were described to us as croquettes, but it was just really a cauliflower in batter. And the meatloaf was described as pretty good. 

The pumpkin

Turkey, without the cranberry

I'm not sure I would visit Pond again, but most of the positive reviews are for the bar food, so that may be where the good stuff lies - there was a steamed bun option I had my eye on. 

They were pretty good with the GF options and knew their stuff and it was quite a nice atmosphere, it started to get busy later on in the afternoon and I can imagine this would make a quirky, different place to take friends, but I think my experience was marred by the fact the food was not all there unfortunately. 

It's saving grace was a cardboard shark hanging from the ceiling.

RATING: 2 out 5

Make It Easy Cookbook by Jane Lovett

In Make It Easy cookbook, Jane Lovett offers more than 100 delicious recipes that emphasise getting much of the work done ahead of time, so that by the time your guests arrive you can enjoy their company rather than worry about what you should be doing in the kitchen.

Dishes range from baked Vietnamese sea bass to slow-roast shoulder of lamb boulangere, and parmesan-baked fennel to ginger creams with pistachio brittle, these foolproof recipes have been tested and perfected by the author.

This is also a great little go-to for mid-week dinners as a lot of the ingredients can be found in your supermarket, but resulting in some pretty-sounding dishes. Jane even manages to make salad sound appealing.

Jane is an experienced cook who runs cookery demonstrations from her home and around the country. She writes a regular food column in a regional newspaper as well as a regular contributor to various publications. Having trained at the Cordon Bleu in London, she has worked at Leiths Good For and taught at Leiths School of Food & Wine.

www.janelovett.com

Get this yours now (or handy Christmas present) for £12.99

Slow fried lemon and oregano potatoes

We made this easy peasy recipe from Jane's cookbook. I must say it was more simple that I imagined, and very delicious.

OK, so I had some help in the kitchen, but if a novice like him can do it, it should be a doddle

Buttery potatoes on the way

We decided to add some bacon to it, just because, but the recipe was easy to follow, ingredients were not too 'out there' and it tasted so good, we wish we had made more. We had our potato side with salmon, which was a perfect weekday meal. I will be trying out some more extravagant dishes for sure, as they all seem achievable in terms of time, and if the potatoes are anything to go by, simple ingredients can go a long way in flavour! 

Add the spinach at the end for a slight wilt - it looked rather like the photo in the book.

Ta-da! Yum.

Biteappy

It's all about apps nowadays and Biteappy lets you, well, Bite Happy.

This is perfect for anyone with food intolerances or allergies. Biteappy is the first and only app to comprehensively address all dietary requirements when eating-out on a worldwide basis.

Biteappy has a comprehensive search directory of restaurants with suitable menus for people with dietary issues and/or allergies such as gluten free, vegans, nut free, dairy free, MSG free, preservative free and other lesser known ingredient free requirements, such as celery and mustard, as well as speciality foods including Kosher and Halal.

Biteappy users select their dietary requirement and cuisine criteria, plus geographical location, and the app will identify all the suitable restaurants in the area. The app also includes a translation card with over 25 languages so users can use it abroad.

The app is created by Caroline Oldham, a coeliac with an additional lactose allergy:
"I have always found it a challenge to eat out especially when abroad and being able to feel confident about [food allergies] being taken seriously. Whilst a lot of apps allow for a gluten-free search there is nothing that collectively brings all allergies together so Biteappy helps with the many people with multiple allergies.
"My aim is to help others like me who have struggled over the years to start to have the confidence to eat out again."

Biteappy is available to download for free from the iTunes App Store and Google Play.

Your Food Diary 2016

Some handy diary dates for ya - the whole year of food-related ocassions! You never need to make up an excuse ever again!

Check it out here.

My favourite is National Tripe Day. I do love tripe. 

London's Luxury Risottos

I love a good risotto, but finding the right one can be difficult, especially as everyone's tastes are so different when it comes to this ricey dish. Now Christmas is coming up, why not treat yourself to a luxury risotto?

Top Five Luxury Risottos. If you do try any of them, let me know what your thoughts are!

1. Bella Cosa - Prosecco Risotto. Prosecco you say? Sold! This risotto is made with Ferrari Sparkling Wine, langoustine, Bisque and Autumn Truffle - £19. This restaurant is set to become the hottest new addition to London's Italian restaurant scene in South Quay at Canary Wharf with some spectacular cityscape views to go with it.

2. Bocca di Lupo in Soho - Pumpkin and Amaretti Risotto, butter and sage from Lombardia, Italy - £18. Pumpkin is ALWAYS a good choice.

3. Zafferano - Risotto Zafferano (aka Saffron risotto) - at a pricier end at £22.50.

4. Locanda Locatelli (Michelin Star, Sicilian cuisine) - Risotto all'anatra e finferli scozzesi, duck and Scottish Girole Mushroom Risotto - £18.50. Tempted...

5. Murano (Angela Hartnett, Michelin Star) - Carnaroli Risotto, butternut squash, goats curd, pumpkin seeds - a set lunch menu of two courses at £28 - bargain!

Review: Gatti's Ristorante, City Point

A beast of a menu was on offer for Zomato's meet up courtesy of Gatti's, mainly known to myself as 'the Italian restaurant near Broadgate Circle that I always walk past to get home but never quite remember to stop and look at the menu'.

Gatti's has recently opened a new branch in the office-centric location that is Moorgate which seems ideal.

Welcomed with lobster and avocado blinis; salmon and cream cheese blinis; and a couple of champagnes, the unsuspecting exterior can be mistaken for, well, anything but a restaurant, but give it a go. The place used to be a nightclub so you can imagine how it used to be set up, but that means, downstairs there is a wondrous room filled with a dance floor of booth seating, small round tables and a small bar, with the kitchen tucked away.

A selection of bruschetta - cured ham and artichoke, Percini mushrooms, roasted cherry tomatoes with basil. Not being a fan of mushrooms, I had it anyway and wasn't completely disgusted by it. I thought the flavours of each complemented the bread very well. 

Those breadsticks aren't just for decoration...

This had to be my joint favourite of the menu - Rigatoni al Pomodoro di Campagna. Simply divine. The pasta was cooked to perfection - it wasn't just al dente, it was fresh, soft but strong. You can really taste the freshness of the whole dish with the organic tomatoes. I would eat this everyday if I could.   

Here comes the main attraction...

Branzine al Sale, also known as, baked whole sea bass in salt crust. Just look at that! If only you could smell it too. 

This is how I like my fish - cooked whole. The presentation of it got us all rushing over like paparazzi. 

The fish is served. This is my other joint favourite. The sea bass had just the right amount of salt and almost melted in my mouth. Strangely, the basil sauce was quite addictive and reminded me of garden peas.

A break of lemon and prosecco sorbet. One must. 

Our fantastic host.

I spy some meat

By this point I was getting pretty full, but I got as far as I could with this meaty roast, or as the Italians like to call it  - Costata di Manzo arrosto. The Scotch rib of beef I was served was perhaps a bit too rare for my personal taste but the gravy that came with it was lovely. Not too thick and not too runny and most importantly not too salty, just the right amount of flavour.  As a Yorkshire gal, I was also very impressed with the Yorkshire puds - delightfully homemade. Almost as good as mine ;)

OK, so by this point, I was almost unconscious with the amazing food  I had just gobbled up. I did try the Dolce dello Chef selection - home made tiramisu, panna cotta with winter berries, cheesecake and profiterole. If I was picking one of these as a whole dessert I would go for cheesecake - which was really light and had a crunchy biscuit base. I don't like coffee and not keen on panna cotta but you can sense that everything is made to perfection. 

The service from the staff was exceptional - the chefs are all real Italians and it had a very 'home feel' to the place - including the decor. It felt as though we had just invited ourselves round for dinner which makes you feel at ease all at once and not worried about the food they served up. Gatti's really stepped up in terms of Italian dining for me, it really was some of the best Italian foods I had eaten in London. The prices seem reasonable, especially when you know you will be served with the most attentive, friendly and genuine staff. They even gave us a gorgeous Limoncello at the end (they also have Frangelico - I checked. Apparently served with lemon).

I would say this is an 'in-between' restaurant - a classier joint without the extortionate prices, it's obviously a slightly more fancy and dearer place than your average meal out, but you pay what is rightly deserved. The food was exceptional.

The only thing now is for them to open at the weekends if there is enough demand for it, and I'll be there!

RATING: 4.5 out of 5

No more soggy vegetables!

Finally! I am probably one of the worst offenders for not being able to time my foods properly but at least now I can get my vegetables perfect with this veggie time sheet courtesy of Larks and Larks!

Review: Bleeding Heart restaurant, Clerkenwell

I first made a visit to the French Bleeding Heart bistro a few years ago where I tried snails for the first time. They reminded me of mushrooms which I'm not too keen on, but apart from that the rest of the meal was great, with fantastic service and atmosphere.

I recently came back to the courtyard in Clerkenwell - but to the restaurant. I must say that the atmosphere and vibe is very different between the two places. The restaurant is a much more formal affair. Our dinner was booked fairly early and so it was very quiet, and smaller than I had imagined in my head. That said, I very much enjoyed my evening there, the staff are very welcoming and helpful. 

Good things come in three's...and butter

We booked the mid-week offer of 3 courses and a glass of champagne for £35 (FYI - the restaurant isn't open on weekends) plus some extra bits in between presumably to 'cleanse the palette'. 

A beef on crisp. Who knew the two combined would compliment each other so well? Okay, so it was a bit more complex than that, but it was exceptionally tasty.

I started with Cornish Mackerel with beetroot, crispy curly kale and horseradish cream. I'm a big fan of mackerel so this was always going to be great, not overly convinced with the trio of beetroots but fish was very well cooked. 

Roast partridge with Savoy cabbage, glazed chestnut, parsnips and blackcurrant sauce.  This was probably the first time I had partridge and it was very nice. Probably not my favourite meats but it was a good dish on the whole. It was a very light  dish and each component added to each other. 

Desert time! White chocolate marquise dome with passion fruit sauce and salted caramel was divine. Give me more salted caramel! 

I had to take a picture of the other dessert as it looked pretty swish even though it's a cooked fruit which I'm not a fan of. Poached Poire Belle Helene with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. 

All in all, it was a very delicious, high end menu. Everything was cooked wonderfully with lots of flavour. I do think I enjoyed the ambience of the Bistro a bit more, but the service is all the same - very attentive, friendly and not at all 'snooty'. If money was no obligation, I would come back for the full menu as there were a few particulars I had my eye on but the set menu is a very good deal for those who can't splash out all the time. 

   

Review: Sophie Thompson - My Family Kitchen cookbook

This lovely book of cookery delights landed in my little kitchen a while ago, and having done that thing where you give it a flick through to begin with and look at all the pretty pictures of food, I then flicked through it again - this time reading all the recipes on offer. I then looked at this properly, Sophie Thompson, Celebrity Masterchef 2014 winner, and brilliant actress' first ever cookbook. I then went back and post-it-noted all the dishes that appealed to me.

Sophie describes that "For me, cooking has always been about sharing and spending time with pals and family, luring them in with tasty morsels so they'd want to stay all day...These recipes have been handed down, invented, begged and borrowed and ultimately made my own."

I finally found some time to cook one of the dishes - I went for the Paella because I love paella, and the last time I tried to make it, it turned more into a risotto and took about 4 hours... but Sophie specifically says that her version is quick so I went with it. Here's what happened (with a few amendments/missing ingredients as explained below):

Serves 4

Prep time: 20min

Cooking time: 40min

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tbsp chilli oil

1 onion, thinly sliced

2 skinless chicken breast fillets

1-2 tsps sweet smoked paprika

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

150g chorizo, chopped

1 small red pepper, sliced

1 small yellow pepper, sliced

300g paella rice
300ml dry white wine
500ml hot chicken stock
Large pinch of saffron
100g fresh/frozen peas, defrosted
225g prawns
Few stalks of thyme or rosemary
300g mussels (optional)
Salt & pepper

So I had full intentions of getting all these ingredients, but one of the problems with living where I live is that there are only small supermarkets available and some ingredients just don't appear on any of the shelves...and also the fact that I was a bit slow and forgot to do some vital prep - I had forgotten to defrost the chicken I had (but I prefer chicken thighs with skin on - much tastier), I would definitely always go for mussels, but I couldn't find any, neither was there saffron, I thought I had stock but I hadn't (I used water instead, and to be honest, I personally prefer it as I find ready made stock quite salty anyway). So I basically made a chorizo and prawn paella...

Spot the differences...

Prep all done! I found some tomatoes in the fridge too - not conventional, I know, but I thought it helped make up for my lack of ingredients to star with...

Let's get some cooking done!

Heat the oils in a large, wide sauté or paella pan (if you don’t have any chilli oil, use a little more vegetable oil). Add the sliced onions and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes over a medium heat until golden.

Toss the chicken [if you've got it] in the paprika and add to the pan. Sizzle and stir for a few minutes until it is browned. Add the chopped garlic, chorizo and peppers then stir-fry for 1-2 minutes.

Add the rice and stir to coat well. Add the wine [and smell the alcohol steaming off the pan], stock and saffron, give it all a good stir, then leave to simmer, uncovered, for about 15 minutes. Don’t be tempted to stir it again – in Spain, a slightly crispy layer of rice on the bottom of the pan is known as socarrat and is completely authentic.

Scatter over the peas then push the prawns, thyme or rosemary stalks and mussels, if using, into the rice. Discard any mussels that do not close when tapped sharply. Season to taste.

Cover the pan with a lid or foil (to allow the mussels to steam) and cook for a further 7-8 minutes. Take a peek to make sure everything looks cooked – you may need to add a little more stock. Remove any mussels that haven’t opened then turn off the heat and leave to rest for a few minutes before serving. 

As tempted as I was to start prodding and stirring the concoction, I followed the instructions of not touching it, so I found something else to do to distract me from looking underneath the lid. 

And this was the result:

It (kinda) looks like paella! Hoorah!

I can confirm it tasted delicious, even if I didn't have some of the ingredients, but the fact is, the recipe was really easy to follow. I like Sophie's little stories and notes that go with the recipe, it makes it feel genuinely something she and her family would cook at home, and so nothing is too over complicated or confusing, and everything is described as it is and on point. The paella is definitely a go-to recipe for me from now on. 

Next up is Salted Caramel Cookies I've had my big, fat post-it note on...

Sophie's cookbook now lives happily on my shelf next to its new, and slightly greasy friends.