REVIEW: YAUATCHA

We finally got around to visiting Yauatcha, a restaurant we've wanted to visit for a long, long time mainly because every time you walk past you can't help but notice the cakes staring through the windows.  Located in the depths of Soho on Broadwick Street, the Chinese restaurant owned by Alan Yau has quite the reputation for its Dim Sum.

We had a table in the basement which features a huge fish tank and ceiling full of twinkle lights that make the space feel bright and airy, you can almost forget you're dining in a basement. Drinks wise there is a healthy list of cocktails, wine, sake and Chinese Teas - in fact you'll be hard pushed to find a larger selection of Chinese tea in a London restaurant. We slipped straight into the fruity cocktails with a Lychee Martini and a Lam Peak Martini.

After ordering a selection of Dim Sum the dishes started arriving thick and fast. Char Siew Buns we fluffy and light, Prawn Cheung Fun was a generous portion and possibly our favourite dish, Fried Prawn Balls consisted of huge, juciy prawns, Spicy Pork Szechuan Wonton and Crispy Duck Roll were equally as pleasing.

We made the mistake of ordering two main dishes with Egg Fried rice but were already too full to make the most of them. That said the Kung Pao Chicken with cashew nuts was a cracking dish, tender pieces of chicken coated in a sweet sauce with dried chilli peppers giving it an extra kick. Stir Fry Rib Eye Beef in black bean sauce consisted of large chunks of juicy steak and crisp vegetables. A plate of Baby Pak Choi and Gai lan with Oyster sauce completed our feast.

All of the food here is fresh and tasty, we didn't even taste a hint of grease, in fact we'd even go as far as saying this is the best Chinese food we've eaten in London. Pricey but worth every penny. Now when can we go back, after all we never did get round to trying those bloody cakes...

15 Broadwick Street, W1F
www.yauatcha.com

THE ART OF DINING...

Following the success of their last pop up Hackney-on-Sea, The Art of Dining are back with a banquet & art exhibition on the theme of Vanitas hosted in a 16th century Tudor house.

Chef Ellen Parr, formerly of Exmouth Market's delicious Moro, combines her food creations with set designer Alice Hodge who does the decor, creating a theme running through the evening. On top of this, the Horsebox Gallery will be displaying their bespoke exhibitions too.

The next event called Vanitas, is themed as 'still life art from the 15th and 16th century where collections of objects hold symbolic meanings about the transience of life, the futility of pleasure and the inevitability of death'. This may be the most pretentious night out you have this year.

Between 27th and 31st March, the temporary restaurant can be found at Sutton House, a National Trust property in Homerton, East London. Five courses of food includes 16th century recipes set out as a medieval banquet and all for only £45 each. After all this, Pizza Express will never be the same again.

Tues 27th March - Sat 31st March
The Art of Dining: National Trust's Sutton House,
2 - 4 Homerton High Street Hackney, E9
www.theartofdining.co.uk

REVIEW: ROSALIND'S

Rosalind's Cookery School at Little Portland Street may have been going for 9 years but the take-away counter has only been open just over a year. We cycle past it nearly everyday and thought it about time we finally popped in to see just what was on offer.

The menu changes everyday, the food on offer is made in the Cookery School Kitchens over the road using well-sourced ingredients - even the garlic mayo is homemade! We popped in one lunch time to try out the selection of dishes, our favourites were the Vegetarian nut burgers served on a mound of Tabbouleh and covered in hummus, the Potato and Chorizo Tortilla and the selection of fresh salads. In fact we liked everything we sampled and it's healthier than your usual take-away sarnies and packet of crisps.

Rosalind's Kitchen also offers a selection of hot dishes and gluten free foods. Prices start from around £3.50 with a decent sized lunch costing around £5 - £8.  What's more for every HasBeans coffee purchased you get a free cupcake - that's just £2.35 for coffee and cake, and with flavours like Honey Spiced, Passion fruit or Chocolate there is no excuse not to get involved.

Take our tip and once you've bagged your lunch head to Cavendish Gardens for a picnic in the park. Hello sunshine!

12 Little Portland Street, W1W
www.rosalindskitchen.co.uk

REVIEW: LE CAPRICE

London institution Le Caprice has quite the reputation if not for the clientele it attracts, then for the food it knocks up. The restaurant is located in St James just around the corner from The Ritz and attracts a glamorous crowd, you'll often spot celebrities and some of London's biggest players dining here - on our visit Tara Palmer  Tomkinson was in the house as was one of the Directors of Vogue. This really is the place to see and be seen...

The waiters are dressed to kill and there seems to be nearly as many staff as diners. We started with the Atlantic Prawn, Fennel and Avocado salad which was an arrangement of juicy prawns with ripe avocado - a great starter bursting with fresh flavours. Dorset dressed crab was creamy, light and well seasoned, the only thing it lacked was fresh lemon for squeezing.

A main of Thai baked Seabass served with fragrant rice was a pleasant dish, it didn't make any rules but it certainly didn't break any either, as was the case with the Chicken alla Milanese. The meal ended on a high note with the Yorkshire Rhubarb Meringue which was a ball of rhubarb ice-cream set on top of a hard meringue shell filled with soft meringue and cream, and surrounded my poached rhubarb in juices, the perfect mixture of sweet and tart.

Le Caprice is the perfect place for a special occasion, it maybe expensive but the experience makes it worth the splurge - We all want to feel spoilt once in a while! The atmosphere, surroundings and food make this a winner..... Now when's our birthday again?

Le Caprice, Arlington Street, SW1A
www.le-caprice.co.uk

REVIEW: THE COCK TAVERN

Every neighbourhood needs at least one quality pub, a place that locals can go to relax and chill out, to kick start a big night out or simply when you just can't be bothered to cook. Fulham Broadway's Cock Tavern is just that, a trendy local boozer that's perfect for meeting up with friends.

The pub is full of personality with quirky furniture and idiosyncratic wallpaper alongside more traditional pub features such as big screen TVs and a dartboard. Some tables even have phones allowing you to communicate with other tables, or call the bar to place your order!

The menu here is a real treat too, with a large focus on sharing and grazing, meaning lots of little plates. We found that five plates between two people was more than enough to leave us fully satisfied. The British beef sliders were perfectly formed chunks of meat topped with Denhay cheddar and bloody mary relish. The salt and pepper squid came in a large portion, deep fried with a chilli and lime flavouring providing a spicy zesty kick.

The devilled whitebait seasoned with paprika, chilli and cayenne pepper were complemented perfectly by home made tartare sauce which also worked well with the squid and our veg dish of courgette fries. Deep fried veg almost feels like cheating, but it should definitely still count as one of your five a day! Our absolute highlight though was the sticky bourbon barbecue ribs; sweet, smokey and very meaty. Boney spare ribs can be a disappointment but we had no such problems as we gnawed every last bit of pork from the bone.

Following five fairly large sharing plates, we opted to share a dessert and ordered the British Isles cheeseboard. However, the cheeseboard could have easily fed a dozen people and might be one of the largest portions we've ever seen! Three huge blocks of cheese the size of housebricks were accompanied by caramelised onion chutney. One creamy, one chalky and one that crackled and almost fizzed in the mouth - the perfect end to the meal.

Our only tip is to check the football fixtures and make sure Chelsea are not playing at home if you are planning a trip here. The Cock Tavern is only a few hundred yards from Stamford Bridge so you may struggle to find a table before kick off! Alternatively, if you're going to the match, this could be the perfect place for some quality pre-match pub grub.

The Cock Tavern, 360 North End Road, SW6
www.cocktavern.co.uk

REVIEW: HAGGERSTON EXPRESSO ROOMS

The Haggerston Espresso Rooms or HER as it also likes to be known (naff we know!) is a mismatch of vintage furniture which feels like a cross between your school assembly and Nana's front room. Then again this is East London so probably to be expected.

HER has quite the reputation for its 'Sexy Toast' and never ones to back away from something named sexy we thought we'd give it a try. Thick cut, freshly made the bread comes smothered in cream cheese, honey and cinnamon, and we were surprised by just how sexy good it is. We also tried the home made banana bread, another of HER's specialities, which comes served warm and laced with butter - defo' not one for the weight watchers amongst us.

Drinks wise the menu is pretty standard although they do offer the newly in vogue matcha green tea. Heads up it doesn't look amazing but it's great news on the antioxidants which will definitely come in handy after a heavy Friday night slinking around the nearby Haggerston Pub.

All in all a great little place to catch up with friends whist chilling out on a sofa (those a bit low on the friend front should probably just take the Mac and use the free WiFi). Friendly staff, a relaxed atmosphere, a small library and reasonably priced ACE food all combine to make HER worth a visit.

Haggerston Espresso Room, 13 Downham Rd, Hackney, N15

REVIEW: THE DELFINA

The Delfina is a very unusual restaurant. Unlike almost every other restaurant in London, the only evening they are open is Friday, but open for lunch Monday to Friday. At the weekend and on other nights, the venue is available for hire for assorted events like weddings, photo shoots, product launches and gallery evenings. It is certainly a very versatile space.

The most striking thing upon entry is how light and airy the room is. White furniture in a white room with high ceilings and expansive artworks on the walls, it does have the atmosphere of eating in an art gallery. Also noticeable is the space in the room, the tables are all positioned at distance from each other, a very pleasant change from many other restaurants which seem not to have grasped the idea of personal space.

This led to us being unsure of what to expect from the food, but we were thoroughly impressed. Our starters consisted of roast pigeon breast with artichokes and blackberries; and wild mushroom ravioli with chestnuts, tarragon and truffle cream. The pigeon was rich and full of flavour, complimented perfectly by the tartness of the blackberries. The ravioli, although a relatively small portion, was delicious with the flavour combination of the mushrooms, chestnuts and truffle cream working very well together.

Next up was a feast of red meat, char grilled Scottish rib eye steak with leaf salad; and a combination of roast rum of beef and braised shin with mash and parsnips, plus side orders of chunky chips and seasonal greens. The steak was huge and well-seasoned which we liked although if you prefer your steak to have a more subtle taste it may be worth requesting less seasoning when ordering. The roast rump was equally as tender but the shin may have been the highlight - a strong, rich flavour which melted in the mouth. The chips are worthy of a mention too - crunchy coating and fluffy inside, cooked to perfection.

Having left just enough room for a dessert, we ended the evening with the cheese selection and a banoffee pie. Both were beautifully presented, the cheeseboard had Brie, vintage cheddar and a particularly tasty Stilton; while the banoffee pie was presented in a deconstructed form. Caramelised banana, soft toffee sauce and banana ice cream were presented apart with flaky pastry.

We would definitely recommend the Delfina, despite it only beings open one evening per week they appear to have found a winning formula. Combine all this with very efficient, helpful staff and this is a restaurant we'd be delighted to go back to.

50 Bermondsey Street, SE1
www.thedelfina.co.uk
 

REVIEW: JOE'S

Regarded as the establishment with the finest hot dogs on Chalk Farm Road, last week we finally got round to testing out this wild accusation. Joe’s sits opposite the Roundhouse venue and burst onto the scene last year as a proper good, old dirty rock'n'roll pub; open late, great jukebox - with real music from the swinging 50’s to modern day classics, booze, cocktails and hot dogs to match.

Through the swinging doors and you're in, the bar is straight in front, seats around the perimeter and toilets at the back. Done! At the bar you can see the little fellas sizzling away in front of you, look up and you have a very helpful little board explaining your options; Long and Lovely or Fat and Smokey’ I beg your pardon! No that wasn’t an estranged bearded fella with a polystyrene cup trying to sell us weed, it’s the hot dog menu...

We went for the Long and Lovey aka original served in a toasted bun with plenty of onions. Priced at £3.75 or £3 during ‘happy hour’ there's nothing to fault here. We’d get one again and maybe even stop for a drink or two as the jukebox is pretty damn good.

78 - 79 Chalk Farm Road, NW1
www.joescamden.co.uk

Photo stolen from Design My Night

FATTBURGER...

There's a new burger joint pop-up in town and it's opening up with a gut busting challenge. Fattburger is set to launch tonight at the 3 Compasses on Dalston Lane for three whole months, and to celebrate they are offering 5 lucky people the chance to eat as many free burgers as is physically possible in 10 minutes - the winner even gets a cash prize.

The burgers you will be eating have been created by two Michelin-starred chefs and have a range of toppings from compressed pineapple salsa to kimchi relish. Fattburger opens at 6pm, registration is at 7:30pm and the eating begins at 8pm  - the five contenders will be plucked from a hat.

Do the equation - Free burgers + Cash Prize = WINNER!!

Fri 9th March
The 3 Compasses, 99 Dalston Lane; E8
www.fattburger.co.uk

REVIEW: THE HAMPSHIRE HOG

The circle of life. Nothing lasts for ever. All good things must come to an end. Or do they? Until recently, The Engineer in Primrose Hill was one of our favourite gastropubs, serving restaurant quality food in a relaxed and informal atmosphere. But then the owners of the venue refused to renew the lease, forcing the landlords who had been there for 17 years to seek an alternative place to continue serving their innovative pub grub.

And sure enough, in October 2011, their new venue opened. The Hampshire Hog on King Street in Hammersmith isn't a million miles away from their old Primrose Hill venue, and it is clear that they are just as serious about their food. That dedication became even more apparent when we ordered. The menu was slightly limited with only around half a dozen options per course, yet we wanted to order each and every item.

We narrowed down our selection for starters to the cheese soufflé and the braised lamb shoulder and we were not disappointed. The soufflé was delicate and light with a distinctive but not overpowering cheese flavour, served with salsa and sour cream. The lamb was even better, a seven-hour slow roasted cut marinaded in spices to give it a Moroccan flavour, particularly with the crushed peanuts, coriander and pomegranate topping. All served on top of warm, fresh bread this was easily one of the best starters we've had recently.

Having warmed up nicely, the main courses swiftly followed. The sirloin steak was huge and juicy with bone running down one side and a thick seam of fat on the other. Any fan of red meat knows that these two factors always help to give taste to the meat and this was a steak of big, bold flavours. Served with peppery garlic butter and a large portion of chips, a winner all round. We also sampled the pork belly which was flawlessly prepared, it was perfect in both taste and presentation.

Rounding off the meal with a cheese selection, three delicious dairy treats served with quince and giant water biscuits - the perfect size for two to share. The service was particularly speedy, our three courses took no longer than 90 minutes to get through, a delightful change after some particularly long waits in other restaurants. It's great to see the old team from The Engineer back to what they do best, picking up where they left off. The Hampshire Hog looks like it just might be as good, if not even better.....in fact we're already planning our return!

The Hampshire Hog, 227 King Street, W6 9JT
www.thehampshirehog.com

REVIEW: COUNTER CAFE

Named as one of London's best kept secrets the Counter Cafe is bursting with character set in the big warehouse overlooking the Olympic Park - bring your binoculars and you'll be happy you missed out and saved a few grand on those tickets, whose laughing now?

The Counter Cafe was our goal after a bike ride on a crisp clear Sunday morning. Met with a queue in the main entrance we were told it would be around a forty minute wait. Snagging a seat upstairs we sat drinking fresh, strong coffee whilst looking out at the views along the canal and hoping the wait would pass quickly.

Tables arranged inside on both floors are made to share unless your party is big enough to take up all the seats, be warned this place gets busy so play nice! The black board just before the counter is where you can make decision from what's on offer. The Full English will set you back eight of the gold ones and lives up to the rep. The homemade baked beans and tomato relish are joint winners of the plate followed closely by the potato cakes. The Poached Eggs on potato cakes with Smoked Salmon from nearby Foreman's were also a great choice, although we got a slightly raw deal on ours with a tiny shaving of salmon as we noticed other more generous plates fly by.

Breakfast was high scoring and the place inside is interesting enough to keep you amused. Although there's lots on here, with more than just breakfast and a range of booze to swallow, you might find yourself heading there to one of the events that regularly go down, check the website and look at their calendar for more info.

We will definitely be heading back here soon. Its a beaut.

7 Roach Road, E3
www.thecountercafe.co.uk

REVIEW: KERBISHER AND MALT

There are certain things that just make Britain great. We might have rainy bank holidays and be terrible at penalty shoot-outs but we'll always have fish and chips and that's enough for us. But sometimes, even the local chippie can be something of a let down with limp, pallid chips and greasy overcooked fish kept warm for hours. Kerbisher and Malt couldn't be further away from this, and that's what makes them one of the very best chip shops around.

The menu contains only sustainable, ethically sourced fish, and is always fresh, never frozen. Every order is cooked individually which means waiting a few minutes for your takeaway, but it's worth it. We opted to eat in at the well-appointed dining area, decorated to give it a retro feel. We sampled the battered cod with chips and pollock coated in matzo meal with crushed potato salad, and a side order of calamari.

The flaky fish was perfectly cooked, the batter dry and crisp and not at all greasy while the matzo meal was a real treat, slightly salty with a crunchy texture. The chips were soft and fluffy and served in massive portions, while the crushed potato salad provided an alternative, although probably just as unhealthy as the chips. This is a place for indulgence, not diets!

The calamari was served in a huge portion with a delicious salad, both covered in lemon juice and tangy vinaigrette. They are also licensed to sell alcohol provided you're eating in, which also definitely sets this apart from the average neighbourhood chippie. Kerbisher and Malt has taken chip shops back to its roots, returning to the days when everything was cooked to order and fish and chips was a meal to be celebrated. We can't wait to go back!

164 Shepherd's Bush Road, W6
www.kerbisher.co.uk