REVIEW: TUTTONS

LondOntheInside were invited along to Tuttons in Covent Garden. We’d never heard of it before, but we're always up for trying new things so off we went.

The restaurant is located slap, bang in the middle of Covent Garden with views over the Piazza. We visited in December when all of the Chrimbo decks were up, and it was a very nice sight - Romance was well and truly in the air.

Inside the restaurant was heaving, there wasn’t one free table. So with high hopes we ordered the Pan Fried Seabass and the Fillet Steak. We have to be honest the food wasn’t the best.

The Pan Fried Seabass with roasted winter vegetables in a warm herb vinaigrette was the worst dish. Coated in so much oil, we actually couldn’t taste anything else but grease. The steak was nice tasting albeit a little on the small size for £26.


For desert we opted for the Warm Chocolate Brownie and the Passion Fruit Pavlova. Both were a bit of a let down as neither were homemade and both were very sweet. To sum it up we’d give Tuttons a big thumbs up for atmosphere and location but to be brutally honest we’ve eaten better food at cheaper prices elsewhere. Perhaps grab a coffee or wine instead?

Tuttons, 11/12 Russell Street, Covent Garden, WC2B

www.tuttons.com

NUSA….

It's our last day working in Old Street today which means we won’t be able to pop over to NUSA for lunch anymore. But before we go we want to share their lovely soups with you….

The fact is NUSA make bad ass soups. Just this lunch time I said goodbye with a Tom Yam. The soups are made fresh everyday and served with bread, brown rice or a piece of fruit. The menu changes every week but our favourite soups have been the Goan Fish Brooth, Spinach & Chickpea and Chicken Curry. The Chilli Chicken Salad is another winner, more like a Thai salad than the usual lettuce leaves.

So if you haven’t yet tried their soups we suggest you do, just avoid 1’o’clock at the Old Street branch. The queue can be huge!

NUSA, 9 Old Street, EC1V and 2 Adams Court, EC2N
www.nusakitchen.co.uk

REVIEW: BISTROTHEQUE

We have been meaning to try Bistrotheque for ages, but perhaps due to its location we never got round to it. Despite rumours we do not hang around on dark industrial estates….That said on Sunday we did and we made the effort to check in on the three course set lunch menu.

Located in an old industrial unit Bistrotheque uses clever décor to create a posh restaurant feel and it works. There is a live piano playing classical versions of new and old chart toppers and plenty of undercuts, moustaches and knit wear dotted about. But it’s not pretentious, the atmosphere is relaxed and most tables are oblivious to what is going on around them.


We started with a jug of Apple and Almond Bellini which wasn’t bad for £27.50 as we got about two glasses each (there were 5 of us). For starter we opted for the mixed beet salad with stilton and walnuts. The flavours and textures worked well together and left us wanting more, the perfect size for a starter.

For main we went for the roast beef cooked rare, served with roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, roast parsnips and brussel sprouts with chestnut and bacon. The beef was a great piece of meat, cooked as requested and served in a huge portion. The Yorkshire was homemade – hooray! And the brussel sprouts were a welcome addition. The only grumbles we had were that the potatoes were dried out, so much so we couldn’t eat them and the gravy could have done with being a little thicker and tastier.

For dessert we had the lemon trifle with granita, a lighter option which had a good mix of sweet and sour flavours. We weren’t blown away by Bistrotheque although the general consensus of our table, all of whom had visited before was that the food wasn’t as good as it usually is. Would we go back? We'd probably be willing to give it another shot but perhaps try the brunch menu, it looked rather nice.

Bistrotheque, 23-27 Wadeson Street, E2
www.bistrotheque.com

REVIEW: THE DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE

The Duke of Cambridge is the UK’s first and only gastropub to be certified by the soil association. Which means everything is organic; the food, the wine, the aperitifs and the beer. It’s also ethical, 80% of the fresh produce comes from the home counties. And it has its own cook book. Is there anything this pub can’t do?

So with high hopes we went along to try the Christmas menu priced at £29.50 for three courses.We started with the Jerusalem artichoke, beetroot & goats cheese salad. For a starter it was huge, the beetroot was tangy and the cheese was creamy, no complaints here.

For main we had the Roast turkey roll stuffed with pork & winter fruit mincemeat. The main was huge, the turkey could have fed two easily. Served with roast potatoes, roast parsnips, red cabbage and cabbage and bacon. All very tasty and fresh - we gorged so much we even thought about cancelling the dessert……we didn’t.


The Damson & eggnog trifle was, you guessed it huge. Served in a half pint glass it completely finished us off. The fruit and custard were great but there was far too much double cream on top which we ended up scraping off. After the meal we moved to the bar area where we sat drinking organic wine until last orders. The Duke of Cambridge gets a big thumbs up from us, the only complaint we had was there was just too much food.

And don’t believe the rumour, organic wine does still leave you with a stinking hangover.


The Duke Of Cambridge, 30 St Peters Street, N1
www.dukeorganic.co.uk

REVIEW: BARANIS

Baranis is one of the new kids on the block located in the old cellar vaults of a former auction house. Inside the décor is uber cool - exposed brick work, secluded booths, bright tables, iron gates, trendy lighting and an impressive wine cellar. Everything in the bar is French, the wine list, the food, the waitress’s striped tops and their accents.

We tried the Assiette de charcuterie, (cured meat selection to share), Brochettes d’agneau (Lamb & rosemary skewer), the Frites (really?) and Crème brulée aux Cedrat confit.

The food was good, very tasty and great value - £9.50 for a large selection of meats and breads, and only £3 for a crème brullee - an absolute bargain! The menu isn’t massive and if you are quite a picky eater it might be hard to find anything to suit you. The drinks list however is HUGE. There is plenty of French wine on offer, cocktails and beers.

To sum it up Baranis is a great place to go for drinks and nibbles after work. The booths are great for catching up with old friends. The only thing we would say is to the staff – “turn that frown upside down”.

Baranis, 115 Chancery Lane, WC2A
www.baranis.co.uk

THE BUTCHER, THE BAKER…

We came across the butcher, the baker (we’re still looking for the candle stick maker) and wanted to share them with you….

THE BUTCHER: The East London Steak Company is an online butchers specializing in beef. The concept is simple, from block – to box – to grill all in 24 hours! The company was set up by butcher James George and chef Richard Turner after discovering a lack of places supplying “superb quality steak, time and time again. The East London Steak Co. is out to change all that”.

There are a number of reasons the beef tastes so good – all cattle is well bred and looked after from small, family owned farms, meat is dry aged on the bone for a minimum of 28 days and all joints are hand cut to order.

There are plenty of cuts to choose from and some burgers, sausages, ribs and minced meat thrown in. There is also a classic steak rub of mixed spices, some burger sauce and a selection of wine and beers. Delivery is free on orders over £25 and £5 for those under.

Beef up on the website - eastlondonsteak

THE BAKER: We discovered the Bakery at Arch 402 this weekend having lots of great things about it. The Bakery is very eco-friendly; all of the ingredients are Organic, fair-trade and as local as possible. They also use seasonal and wild foraged food when possible and food that would have otherwise gone to waste, like bananas that are brown. But they don’t stop there, they 70% of the energy they use is renewable energy, they compost kitchen waste and all packaging is eco friendly.

But what about the products we hear you cry? The bread is fresh, crusty and divine, the handmade granola and mueslis get two thumbs up and the vegan, natural and refined sugar free cakes are sin free. We do have one small request….buy next door and make it into a seated area, please?

The Bakery, Arch 403, Mentmore Terrace, London Fields, E8
*image from Kabula

X BURGER HOUSE

X Burger House is located in Kilburn also home to live music venues The Luminaire and The Good Ship. We visited the restaurant to line of stomachs before a night of sex, drugs and rock’n’roll. Ok just rock’n’roll but you get the drift.

The menu is inspired by Brazilian street food, the burgers come in two sizes and there is a good selection on offer. The drinks menu is also Brazilian themed with Caipirinhas and other cocktails coming in at under £4. To eat we had the Classic X Burger staying safe with the 5”, the X Special Hotdog and sides of Onion Rings, Homemade Chips, Deep Fried Yam and Polenta Chips.

The burger was huge, thank god we didn’t order the 7”! Packed with meat and served in a toasted bun it got our seal of approval. The hotdog was what can only be described as a beast, served in a huge roll full of Brazilian Sausages, Tomato Sauce, Peas, Sweet corn, Pickles, Potato Sticks and House Mayonnaise. If you have tried street food in Brazil you’ll recognize this dish, junk food at its finest.

The sides were fresh, non greasy and generous portions, our favourites were the Polenta Chips and Onion Rings. Stomachs lined we hit the town, well the Kilburn High Road. We give the X Burger House a big thumbs up. If you’re in the area try it, you’ll like it. Oh yeah and the prices are lower than low!

XBurger House, 40-42 Willesden Lane, NW6

 www.xburgerhouse.co.uk

REVIEW: CARLUCCIOS

LondOntheInside went along to Carluccio’s in St Pancras to check out its offerings. The restaurant was jam packed, even the tables outside were all taken.

We started with a glass of Prosecco, whilst we debated on what to eat. The menu isn’t huge but there are a good selection of Italian dishes on offer. We shared a bread tin and the Tortino di Tonno, homemade tuna and caper fishcake with garlic mayonnaise. The fish cake was a good size, full of tasty filling and the garlic mayonnaise was punchy just how we like it. We were expecting two but we obviously didn’t read the menu properly.



For mains we went for the Lasagna and Sea Bream, the Lasagna was the clear winner. A tasty, stodgy, rich dish just like Lasagna should be, perfect for Winter. The Seam Bream was a nice piece of fish although it had herb flavour we couldn’t quite put our finger on and weren’t keen on it. The accompanying tomato salsa was a nice touch, full of juicy, ripe tomatoes.

For dessert we had the Pasticcio Di Cioccolato, Chocolate Bread and Butter Pudding and the Panna Cotta. Both were great choices, the Panna Cotta was soft and silky with the added kick of rum and candied orange.

By the time we left we were absolutely stuffed! We really enjoyed our meal, the service was excellent and the atmosphere was bustling. We like Carluccio’s and we will go back, it’s a nice spot for a date and it’s not badly priced either. Ours came in at under £55. Not bad considering we were still full the next day.

Carluccios, various locations in London
www.carluccios.com

REVIEW: MOTI MAHAL

LondOntheInside went along to try out Indian institute Moti Mahal. The restaurant which opened in 2005 has a great reputation in India where it has served hunger mouths for 40 years. Unlike other Indian restaurants it doesn’t westernise the recipes, the food it serves in London is the same as in India.

We visited early on a Thursday evening and the restaurant was fairly quiet. However by 7pm it was full, regardless of the snow outside. The menu features recipes from villages along the Grand Trunk Road - a 2500km, 16th-century artery of power connecting Kolkata with Varanasi, Delhi and Amritsar before curling north into Pakistan.

We went for the Bharwan Mircha, grilled jumbo peppers stuffed with seasonal vegetables and served with two chutneys and Paturee, pan fried crab cakes with tiger prawns wrapped in a banana leaf. Whilst we waited a chopping board of salad arrived with knifes and a peeler. Oh s**t, we thought, we’re going to have to get to work preparing salads in return for our food. But it turns out this is how they serve salad in India. It means people get to spend more time with their families. So we got to work on our salad of two tomatoes, a red onion, radishes, cucumber, lettuce leaves and mixed spices. We enjoyed this way of eating salad and will be serving it at our dinner parties in the future.

The crab cakes arrived first, spicy, juicy, and wrapped in a banana leaf which meant you couldn’t tell they had been fried. Three in total and each one contain a fair amount of tiger prawns, no skimping here! The stuffed peppers were another tasty dish, fresh and flavored to perfection. For mains we opted FOR the Jhing, grilled butter flied jumbo prawns with mustard and lemon, the Rogani macchi, monkfish simmered in tamarind, ripe tomato and ginger sauce served with Pulao rice, Tokri and black bean lentils.

The prawns arrived first still on the BBQ, they were huge! A5 size, so big we had to ask where they’d got them from (Thailand in case you’re wondering). The monkfish was next up, a good amount of juicy fish served in a sauce which had layers of flavours. The Tokri, three tandori baked breads were freshly made and served straight from the oven. The onion bread was our favourite. In fact we didn’t have one grubble about any of the food. It was all fresh, non greasy, and seasoned and spiced with care.

We did want to try an Indian desert but we were too stuffed so finished off with one of the Chai teas instead. Would we go back? Well we certainly would, especially if someone else was paying. Moti Mahal isn’t cheap but it is worth it. Our meal with a decent bottle of wine would have been about £130. Not bad considering, a great place to take a date if you’re trying to impress or for a special celebration.

Moti Mahal, 45 Great Queen Street, Covent Garden, WC2B
www.motimahal-uk.com

SKETCH POPS UP AT THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS

Sketch will be once again popping up at the Royal Academy of Arts this winter. Catch the café between 2nd Dec – 31st Jan for breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea. The focus of this year’s café is eco and the set has been made using 1000 books and chairs.


Pommery has created an exclusive, limited production of Champagne POP Earth, made from grapes from sustainable viticulture and presented in a 100% recyclable, lighter bottle, easier on the arms and the planet.

For those brave enough to face the weather, you can eat outside on the potico, where handmade blankets and hot water bottles will keep you warm.

So if you fancy filling your face with sandwiches, crepes, oysters, pastries and much, much, more you know where it’s at.

Thurs 2nd Dec – Mon 31st Jan, Sat - Thurs 10am-6pm, Fri 10am-10pm
Royal Academy of Arts, Burlington House
Piccadilly, W1J

*From 5pm everyday all Vienoisserrie and Patisserie will be half price!

REVIEW: MADE IN CAMDEN

Camden as a place to eat has a mixed reputation. Personally we don't think it's all that bad with Market, the ChinChin labs, some of the weekend food stalls and the pubs in Primrose Hill serving decent grub. So when we heard about Made in Camden located within Camden's most famous live music venue The Roundhouse. We wanted to check it out, after all, music, food and beer - what more is there?

We visited for dinner and sat by the floor to ceiling windows, people watching from the comfort of the relaxed, warm restaurant. The concept of the dinner menu is simple, each diner orders 3 dishes which are brought to the table when they are ready rather than in courses.

We wanted to fit a dessert in so we opted for five dishes between two. The Sweet Potatoes, baked ricotta, roasted grape and caper dressing was the first dish out. A great tasting dish we demolished it in seconds. Next up was the Grilled Brussel Sprouts our least favourite dish of them all.

The Crisp Seabass, Char Grilled Scallops and Crispy Pork Belly were all extremely well thought out. Each dish was served with textures and flavours which complemented one an other perfectly. The Scallops cooked to perfection, were juicy and plump. The Pork Belly was a nice piece of meat, tender and tasty served with pickled cabbage, apple puree and poached quince, for us this was the winning dish. The one we fought over.....

To end we opted for the Peanut parfait, chocolate mousse and salted butter caramel. It wasn’t what we expected but like the other dishes the flavours and textures had been planned so well you couldn’t fault them.

We really enjoyed our meal at Made in Camden and we'd happily go back although next time we’d try the Steak Sandwich it looks mighty fine.

Made in Camden Restaurant. Roundhouse, Chalk Farm Road, NW1
www.madeincamden.com