PoppySeedBagel

Hi Kim I work in London and know some of the areas you are interested in so will be delighted to help.

The Manoir is nice, granted, but no way is it the 3rd-best restaurant in UK, agreed.

I have just been told by John Lewis Oxford Street that their pigs cheeks have a Union Jack on the packet which should mean they are reared here - but I suspect that my local butcher's may not as they are originally frozen.

Thanks for the tip about the Wheelhouse. I went last night with Mr and Master PSB and excellent it was too. It has such a lot of character, and, apart fromt the bread (cheap pap) the food was marvellous and such good value. I hadn't realised when I booked that it really is a shellfish restaurant and poor Mr PSB, being allergic to shellfish, could only eat the chips and salad.

It seems there's only one recipe for them - the one I use is a Gordon Ramsay one involving honey and cloves and is as you say delicious and not too sweet. I've also tried it with star anise. Curiously I am in Cornwall on holiday at the moment and the very good traditional butcher nearby tells me their abbatoir cannot sell animals' heads so no he couldn't do me any cheeks. He compensated by selling me a slice off the rump steak some of which he was cooking for his tea that night. Gosh it was good...

The old Fino thread last had an entry in 2004, so I thought I'd start a fresh new one. I've never been before although it's close to my office. I've just had a fabulous lunch there. I wasn't paying, so I don't know what the full damage was, but I know from the menu that it's not cheap. However the food was top notch: very high quality ingredients perfectly cooked. Stand out dishes were: Tiny scallops sevred really simply in olive oil lemon juice and a touch of chili Crispy chicken wings - stayed crispy all the way Baby beetroot salad (that really was stunning) Roast sucking pig with potatoes Comments on Square Meal indicate it may have lost its way a year or so ago, but based on my experience it's firing on all cylinders now. I love Salt Yard, but this was far more refined, and I prefer it. The service was good too - lots of French staff bizarrely...

We went over Easter and had the set Sunday lunch. My smoked haddock soup was beautiful, and the roast lamb out of this world - so tender and tasty and perfectly cooked, nad oit came with good trimmings. Unusually, the pusddings were not as good - a bit old fashioned, and meh. But pretty good for £19 a head, especially that lamb...

They are simply gorgeous - do try them!

Now May's here so are the wonderful Alphonso mangoes. I work in London and live in Surrey, so to save me driving to the other side of Croydon at the weekend (to the Thornton Heath Indian grocers), has anyone seen any in any shops in Central London or Surrey please?

Mildred's is only so-so - I've been there because a colleague is a vegan, so she thinks it's great. I often cook veggie food at home (I have all the Greens cookbooks and they are very good). However Mildred's is too bland and unadventurous for my liking. Their puds and cakes look good, but the rest is bland and boring. For good vegetarian food I'd advise you go to the professionals - Indian restaurants - Benares for example is good for veggie food - you can put together a good meat-free meal using the main course and the vegetable side dishes. Edited to add - try Carnevale, 135 Whitecross Street near the Barbican. I used to go here a lot a while ago. I haven't been recently but it still seems to get good reviews

This old thread seems as good a place to post this as any - to my great surprise I had a lovely meal at the National Theatre the other night - in the Terrace Bar & Food. It was fantastic value at £19.95 for a mixed Mezze plate for two - stand out dishes were the meat balls and the sea bass with fennel & tomato. Everything though was really fresh & delicious and there was an enthusiasm in the food. The ambiance isn't great, but the views are terrific, and I'd rather eat there than anywhere else I've ever been on the South Bank. The house Sauvignon Blanc was good too, and not expensive. My pud was not quite as good as the baklava wasn't as fresh as it might have been, but it was home made, and the ice cream was fine. Go before the chef changes!

Do report back Larry - it'll be interesting to hear how you get on.

What does Ground Elder taste like - is it good? I have sprayed ours with Glyphosate or whatever it's called so can't experiment, and hope I'll never see any again (but probably will...)

Jesey Royals from supermarkets can be sublime but can be a bit of a disappointment. I shall be going to Garsons in Esher to pick Sparrow Grass on 8 May (and buy spuds) followed by an Asparagus and Jersey Royal Feast

I recommend Wild Honey in Mayfair or its sister in Soho, Arbutus (I prefer the ambiance of the latter, though think WH's food is slightly better). As you will see from their threads I rarely go anywhere else in London. For cheapish eats when you're out & about the small Leon chain is very good. For ethnic, Ozer on Upper Regent Street is modest, sort of Turkish (other influences too), very nice food and well-run. Benares is quite amazing inside (not sure if it's re-opened yet), and sometimes its (up-market Indian) food can be amazing too. Avoid Murano - very good but way too expensive.

Thank you to whoever recommended da Piero. We had a lovely meal there a week or so ago. It was simple, but had real soul. It felt like we were in a restaurant in Italy, from the friendliness of Dawn, to the divine olive oil, via some beautiful mussels, and Osso Buscco that he's been waiting years to put on the menu, unitl he found a satisfactory source of veal. It wasn't cheap, but my word it was worth it. And their house wine is remarkably good for the price.

I gather you're in USA - I'm in Britian & I recommend a book by Martha Rose Schulman (Shulman?) called the Bread Book which may be American in origin. Her wholemeal recipe uses a sponge, which is brilliant as it reduces the work you have to do. IMHO it makes a far nicer loaf than breadmakers, and she has it organised so it really takes no time at all. I think she's adapted Tassajarra Bread book recipes whihc I'm pretty sure are also American.

She can be mini-PSB's friend - (aged 10) he likes good restaurants for birthday treats too, though am not sure he was keen when he was 5. I love seeing children in good restaurants. IME they are well-behaved, and it's important that they learn about really good food, and restaurants, and the pleasure they give.

There's no point getting in a rage or even a twitter over DM articles - that one is as bonkers as any of Liz Jones's. They are all cynically written, to cause a stir, and hey they've caused one! What would the DM know about food anyway?

Lantana's website is exceeded only by that of Sketch in its irritating-ness. I couldn't open any of the PDFs, the map is rubbish - and what's with the cockroach? I work nearby, above a restaurant, so know cockroaces infest these old buildings but do they really want to advertise the fact??

I went for lunch at WH the other day. It was superb - I like a restaurant that isn't afraid of good saturated fats. I started with smoked eel, served with boned and fried chicken wing and what they described as sweet & sour turnips. This was a fabulous combination of flavours and textures. The chicken wing was perfectly cooked, and the turnip seemed to be in a sort of brown butter sauce - not sweet & sour but still wonderful. I then shared rib of beef with my guest - WH's butcher must be the best in London(see comments on the hare above). This was very tender and very tasty - but we asked for it cooked medium and it was medium rare to rare. The béarnaise sauce lacked a little punch if I were being picky, as it failed to match up to the flavour of the meat. I'd always go for an Americano coffee so you get a cup with handles, as an espresso comes in a daft little glass. My only beef with this and Arbutus is that despite my having been to both of them a fair number of times, when I'm greeted it's as if I've never walked through the door before. I don't want to be fawned over, nothing like, but some sign of recognition would be nice (and apart from moaning about the coffee glasses I've always raved about the food in both them here!)

I've also got into cooking beef cheeks recently - there's a lovely Alistair Little recipe for beef daube for whcih he recommends them. My local butcher will order them for me. I can remember cooking them for the dog when I was in my teens. It's amazing how delicious they are is, and I love cooking something so good that costs so little. I've also had pigs cheeks from my butcher - lovely nutty little morsels. I didn't need to order those as the local restaurants buy them regularly.

We made it to Murano on Saturday. It was a very good overall experience: it as also very expensive... The cost was our fault in a way - we let ourselves be led into costly byways - if you were more disciplined, you could get away with a more reasonable bill and still enjoy yourselves. It was Mr PSB's birthday treat - and they did actually enquire whether we were celebrating something, and wrote 'Happy Birthday' in chocolate on his pudding plate - whch really impressed mini-PSB aged 10. The food was very good, very professional, but I have to say that except for the pre-dessert of lots of stunning little ice creams, nothing really stood out for me. It was the whole thing that impressed, not the food per se. The staff were all very good - except that we were put under so much 'persuasion' to have the white truffle special that we had it when we didn't really want to. (It was delicious but so it should be at £45 for scrambled (Italian) eggs with a bit of white truffle). The restaurant itself is beautiful, and there is plenty of space between the tables; very rare in London, as is the high number of waiting staff, so it was all very relaxed and comme il faut. For a special meal it was perfect - and they were fantastic with mini-PSB - taking him into the kitchen before we sat down and then again afterwards (I got to accompany him). Foodwise, I prefer gutsier food than this serves, perhaps, but the whole experience was very good. For food vs value, I'd go to Wild Honey or Arbutus, but for making you feel relaxed and special, Murano hit the spot last Saturday.

I haven't eaten here properly for a year but have always enjoyed the meals. I do however pop into the patisserie and buy a cake or pastry for my lunch. They are fabulous and considering the quality vs price, terrific value. The chaussons aux pommes are light as air.

I went about a month ago for lunch - and it was sensational. My starter was crab which was nice but not outstanding. However my saddle of hare was stunning - perfectly hung & cooked, and amazingly tender. I camcall now how it was served as the quality of the meat stood out so much. My pudding was custard tart - crisp perfect pastry, with a rich and creamy filling, topped with lots of freshly grated nutmeg. Glorious. I wasn't paying, but from what I remember about the prices it was damn fine value given the quality of the experience.