Restaurants reviewed this month
The Well Clerkenwell. Bashed up tables, jazzed up food.
The White Swan City. A smart gastro restaurant above a busy pub
Stranded in London The Strand. Corny name but sound Italian cooking
Mauritius Norbury.Busy, manic but rather good seafood.
Za Blackheath Pizzas and pastas and stunning antipasti
May we as usual take this opportunity to remind you that if a restaurant really gives you a bad time, please talk to them and allow them a chance to explain/make amends before you trash them on the website!
Canape Season is here
After the summer drought came a deluge of events. Indefatigable as ever on your behalf we dragged ourselves out to party with the beautiful people.
First up La Porte des Indes where they were launching the new cookbook from Head Mehernosh Mody. We actually reviewed a pre-publication copy in August's newsletter but it was good to have an excuse to try the dishes again.
A red carpet at the entrance, a rose water splash and the instant greeting of champagne and exotic fruit cocktails made us feel intrigued and welcomed.
It turned out to be a very lavish affair with the restaurant's two floors packed with food stalls presenting almost every dish from the cookbook. All the food was freshly prepared in front of us and matched with suitable wines. This former Edwardian ballroom was decorated with all sorts of flowers and colourful ornaments and full of life. We decided to start our culinary journey upstairs where we sampled fantastic Guinea Fowl, Duck, Samosas and a Crab dish with corn, curry leaves and turmeric. Unfortunately to my accomplice's horror a snake charmer arrived. We grabbed two Tamarind Martinis and ran downstairs to indulge in some And/or Fois Gras and Shrimp Dosa. Unfortunately accomplice remained terrified of snake charmer and not even red rice crème brule could calm him down.
The evening continued with a speech from the patrons, a performance by a fire dancer and a presentation of the cook book. A couple more cocktails and a henna tattoo seemed like a fabulous idea. We decided to finish the evening in the Jungle bar where we were safe from the snake charmer and the Champagne was still flowing for those who didn't’t want to end the evening just yet.
The Cardamom Rooms has just opened in Charterhouse Square offering a blend of Thai and Indian cuisine, which pretty much combines my fave foods. The charming old building has been stylishly updated and the nibbles were excellent. It follows a long established fashion in London for upmarket’' Indians'’and should do well at lunchtimes given its proximity to the money of the City and the cool people of EC land.
Dine is a new restaurant near High Holborn aiming to offer French ‘'pay san cuisine' but presumably not at paysan prices. Chef Patron is Thomas Han and he had the press and other freeloaders in for some rather nice canapés. Well –positioned near the kitchen door we managed to pluck a fair few from the plates as they whizzed past. Suffice it to say that the quality of the nibbles bodes well for the quality of the food. We'll be back to put in a proper restaurant review as soon as possible.
Soon after we whizzed across town to Opal Bar, underneath the excellent L'Etranger restaurant where I once memorably had dinner next to Dolph Lundgren. I doubt if he remembers me, though. Opal Bar is definitely a place for those with a bit of money. The men are tanned and handsome and the women Gucci'd up. We were there for no other better reason than to taste the new cocktails, but they were very good. Plenty of Thai influences and no umbrellas to go up your nose. Executive Chef of L' Etranger, (and now Beauberry House, opening February 2006) Jerome Tauvron provided the tasty food. Opal Bar is a great place to hang out if you're looking for a night out in stylish surroundings and away from the booze monsters of the West End.
The fire that destroyed Pied a Terre in Charlotte Street last year must have seriously upset the big dogs at Channel 4 and Saatchi’s who had virtually made it their office canteen. It certainly upset co-owners David Moore and Chef Shane Osborn. The restaurant had a well-deserved reputation for very fine cooking. So it was heartening to see at the reopening party that the place was back to its former glory, in fact even better. The upstairs private dining room is an opulent space, although to my mind a bit like the sort of room a successful drug dealer might treat himself to, but downstairs has been rearranged to make more of the space. So important is Pied a Terre that at least two big name restaurant critics came along. Terry Durack of The Independent on Sunday, whose craggy features make him look like he should be stuck at an angle on Easter Island and Jay Rayner who, from the rear, is rapidly resembling his mother Claire. The narrow stairs threatened to wedge him as fast as a cork in a bottle. No sign of Giles Coren though, unless he's shaved off that rapist's beard. He's on telly now and I hear beards are banned (viz Mark Lawson) so maybe he came incognito. You can get a taste of Shane's canapés for yourself by checking his excellent cookbook, Shane Osborne's Starters.
One sign of the flourishing export of Cuban culture is Floridita’s in
Wardour Street. Here you can get the genuine article, - Cuban music, Cuban
cocktails, Cuban food and, of course, Cuban cigars. This must be the only place
in London where smoking is encouraged.
We’re here at the invitation of Ena del Pino, the ebullient events manager,
to sample something of the Floridita experience. Basically they’ll bring
Floridita to you with bands, DJs and dancers, as well as cocktail makers and
food. You can even have a cigar roller right with you, as well as a selection
of the finest cigars. You can have a go at cigar rolling and a master class
in salsa. So we drank quite a few nice cocktails, which I suspect had been
defused of most of their alcohol as none of us felt the slightest effect, had
some nice nibbles and watched a bit of salsa. I also tried smoking a cigar
the size of a broomstick, rolled for me on the spot, and then felt a bit queasy.
A fun time, but I had to check into WonKei’s , ‘Upstair! Upstair!’ afterwards
as I was so hungry. Must have been the cigar. Contact Elena at Elena@floriditaexperiences.com or visit www.floriditaexperiences.com
