London-eaten. Latest reviews and odd things we've been to
Restaurants reviewed 
last month
Kai Mayfair. Fab Far Eastern food that costs a packet
The City Flogger City. Not for masochists despite its namel
Caldesi in Campagna Bray. Same village but a long way from the Fat Duck
Terranostra City. Hearty Sardinian and a warm welcome
Hell Pizza. Fulham. Pretty heavenly, really.
May we, as usua,l 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/ buy you off/ make amends before you trash them on the website!
Grappa. The booze of the gods
If your memories of Grappa are hazy, the result of a well-lubricated but rash decision to accept that glass of firewater proffered you at your local Italian eaterie, you can be forgiven for perhaps thinking the stuff is only suitable for thinning paint or removing nail varnish. And yet it can be a drink of rare distinction and, as was demonstrated at Sartoria, one which makes surprisingly good and unusual cocktails.
Not just any old Grappa though, this was Acquavita from Nardini a producer of Grappa since 1779 when Bartolo Nardini bought the Osteria sul Ponte near the Palladian bridge in Bassano - the ancient town situated at the foot of Monte Grappa in Veneto.The family's principal products - Bianca and Riserva, the basic Grappa and the special aged Grappa in its classic Bordelaise bottle and original label - are among the best known and drunk in Italy.
Grappa can make an excellent substitute for vodka in cocktail creation and Nardini is the only grappa brand to appear in Schumann's 'American Bar', one of the definitive texts for professional bartenders. As well as a 'corretto' grappa, almond-flavoured Nardini Mandorla makes a stunning 'Sour' and an excellent 'Alexander'. The 'Mezzo e Mezzo', a 50-50 combination of Nardini Rosso and Rabarbaro aperitivi is as popular as beer in Bassano - and a simple, wonderful pre-dinner drink.
Having tried quite a few I can vouch for their effect both on the taste and the head; this stuff is 50% proof don't forget.
Free Grappa Handbook
Intended for the trade but sought after by dedicated cocktail drinkers, The Grappa Handbook is being offered to you lucky LE readers free of charge. Just go to the Nardini website, where you can also find stockists of Nardini Grappa, and enter the special code number 114 where indicated. Stocks are limited so put down that glass and get over there!
waterloo brasserie - my! my!
Abba gags apart what can Waterloo offer us now the Eurostar has been cruelly ripped out of South London and dropped so far across town that far from speeding my journeys to Paris it has added massive inconvenience and a monster tube ride? Well perhaps the Waterloo Brasserie can make amends with an opening party attended by newspaper editors from across the spectrum and a spattering of celebs.
It was hard to see what was going on, the invited crowd being so dense (not just the tabloid editors), that it was all but impossible to move and moving was made perilous by those bags girls now have which stick out from under their arms to make an inpenetrable thicket of sharp edges. I made some tentative grabs at passing canapes but failed miserably. The place itself is suprisingly large and is the sister to Ronnie Scott’s and Cheyne walk Brasserie. Open all day it's going to serve brasserie style dishes from croissant and scrambled eggs for breakfast, through to steak tartar and chips for supper. Alternatively if you just want to go for a glass of champagne or cocktail that too is an option. The executive chef is Frank Lebiez .
Mmmm Marmite!
This newsletter will never be swayed by bribes or corruption. Ahem. But when a string bag of Marmite Cheddar Bites arrives courtesy of the PR company you've got to give them a try. True to form some people ran a mile while others, me included, nibbled them with a contented expression. A few hours later and despite an editorial injunction for 'hands off' the bag was mysteriously empty.
Ilchester Cheese Company are providing the cheese side of things and the bites of real cheddar come wrapped in Marmite packaging.
The 20g chunks of 100% real farmhouse Somerset cheddar are blended with a helping of Marmite spread (8% to be exact) to provide that distinctive Marmite zing and "are ideal for popping into your lunchbox, keeping a stash in the fridge to share with friends or enjoying them all on your own", I am told.
Marmite Cheddar Bites are available from Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrison’s at the RRP £1.38.
