Jump to content

Winot

participating member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    652

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by Winot

    Dans le Noir

    in United Kingdom & Ireland: Dining

    Posted

    Okay. So we're now meant to be preparing ourselves for the ultimate dining experience transplanted from Paris to Clerkenwell; sitting in the pitch dark while eating. Apparently the dark is meant to heighten our awareness of taste - but this begs the questions: what if the food is crap? Do I really want to taste it? How am I meant to find my plate - let alone the food on it? How do we pour the wine? And finally; should I bring a bib?

    I've found them a chef...

    clickety

    Zetter

    in United Kingdom & Ireland: Dining

    Posted

    Has anyone been to Zetter or Malmaison recently? I'm trying to organise an "away afternoon" for myself and two colleagues close to but removed from our office on Holborn Viaduct. We want somewhere for lunch and then a meeting room for the afternoon. Any other suggestions welcome.

    W.

    Masterchef

    in Food Media & Arts

    Posted

    I'm slightly surprised at the high expectations expressed on this (and other) threads about food TV.

    It's TV. It's mass market. It's shit.

    Saying that, for our licence fee we get R4 etc.

    (Perhaps I'm just being defeatist)

    Roussillon Redux

    in United Kingdom & Ireland: Dining

    Posted

    Lunch today at Roussillon.

    Nobody's mentioned the lunch pricing on the thread to date -- I don't know if it's a new offer but it's got to be one of London's best bargains -- £35 pp for three courses (no supplements) including half a bottle of wine, mineral water, amuse bouche, pre-dessert, coffee and P4s.

    We ate:

    Baby veg, chips & mustard dip mentioned up-thread with sushi on a stick. I love mustard.

    Gnocchi with mushroom and dried black truffle - autumnal rather than wintery I'd have thought but comfort food in a mouthful. Truffles not tip-top.

    Starter 1 - scallops & black pudding, the former OK, the latter excellent; the whole not more than the sum of its parts.

    Starter 2 - Mrs Winot came off better with squid and prawn salad with blood orange and an avocado salad. Fantasticly flavoursome seafood and a real synergy with the accompaniments.

    Main 1 - I did best here with grilled Angus beef, larded veg and (really) fat chips -- basically cuboid roast pots but the only time I've had them when its really worked. More mustard, at my request. Beef quite rare but good deep flavour and not too chewy.

    Main 2 - grilled calf's sweetbreads (can't remember the accompaniments I'm afraid) - not much flavour and the exterior made a bit soggy with the sauce. Not a patch on St. John's lamb's sweetbreads - are these always a stronger flavour I wonder?

    No pre-dessert but straight to:

    CHEESE x 2. Wow. What a board, what generosity, and no supplement.

    Average coffee, decent P4s.

    Wine - they have a reduced list of half a dozen red, half a dozen white and a rose. No prices, you just choose what you want. Very flexible -- the sommelier (who looks about 12 - is this the foody equivalent of policemen being younger than you?) did us two different large glasses of white and two different large glasses of red to matchthe food.

    Conclusion - mixed but enjoyable meal, not really 1* I'd have thought, but at £70 plus service for two, excellent value.

    Galvin - Bistrot de Luxe

    in United Kingdom & Ireland: Dining

    Posted

    The benchmark haute crustacean pasta thingummy still has to be the lasagne of crab with cappucino of shellfish at The Square right? (the killer ingredient is the strips of fresh basil they drop on right at the end - really makes a difference).

    The deconstructed crab ravioli at Astrance in Paris is pretty good too.

    London has shut down

    in United Kingdom & Ireland: Dining

    Posted

    Regarding reviews, maybe we should have a thread like the one on the Vancouver forum, where people post quick reviews of the last three places they've eaten at. No need for long screeds with photos, just quick food highlights, overall impression and total bill. Quick to do and gives a really good feel for where's popular and interesting. So, my latest 3 would be The Wine Factory in Notting Hill, Thai Silk in Waterloo and Glas in Borough Market. Anybody else interested if I started this up?

    Sarah

    There's nothing new under the sun.

    London has shut down

    in United Kingdom & Ireland: Dining

    Posted

    That said, a day-trip to New Walden for Korean food is on the cards soon, for which Time Out provides plenty of recommendations.

    I recently made a pilgrimage there (actually it's where I used to play cricket), and I think it really would help if you go with a Korean friend/acquaintance. The level of English in many of the good places is not so hot. Or, failing that, just go in and say "I'll have what they're having"

    Ditto. We had tremendous problems making ourselves understood. The (very nice) waitress was nervous and giggly at the idea of Anglo Saxons who might want authentic Korean food, and the result was a bit disappointing (and certainly no better than the Korean restaurants in the shadow of Centrepoint).

    Top Butchers In London

    in United Kingdom & Ireland: Cooking & Baking

    Posted

    Moen's

    The Pavement, Clapham

    Has to be on there. Serious quality gear, plus some interesting pre-prepped stuff, great charcuterie, and many high-quality add-ons you wouldn't expect to find (wild mushrooms, bunches of fresh herbs, ratte potatoes, a shelf of cook books to browse if yr looking for inspiration.) of course, it costs a whore's ransome. And so it should.

    The quality of produce at Moen's is very good. I have shopped there for the 10 years I have lived in Brixton.

    However, IMHO the service has gone downhill in the last few years. It's simply too busy, and they seem to have taken the decision to process as many customers as possible to maximise profit. Can't blame them for that, but as a result they don't have time to discuss the produce in detail, and indeed some of the staff don't have the knowledge.

    [As an example, when asked how old a hare was when it was killed -- pretty key to whether to roast or stew - my other half got the reply "Well I don't know when it's bloody birthday was, love". Funny, yes, but not the service you expect when you're shelling out the £££ that they charge.]

    Luckily a good organic meat farmer's stall has started trading on Acre Lane between Brixton and Clapham (outside Opus cafe) and the people that ran Hester's in Vauxhall have moved to East Dulwich as William Rose opposite Franklin's on Lordship Lane.

×
×
  • Create New...