Category Archives: Restaurant & Hotel Reviews

Claude’s Kitchen | Restaurant Review

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platesClaude’s Kitchen in South West London is an atmospheric restaurant above a pub in Fulham. The kitchen is headed up by Claude Compton, the founder of award-winning streetfood company Green Goat Food co. and ex-chef of Petersham Nurseries and Club Gascon. The food is imaginative and also looks great.

Starters

Cornish Mackerel. (line caught)

Red Grape. Blood Orange, Beetroot, Bloody Mary Sauce.

I liked this starter. The ingredients would not necessarily go together, but they did in this dish. The bloody mary sauce is brilliant. The combination of ingredients are beautiful when you combine them, and also on their own. The mackerel is well cooked and a little crispy on top. Though it does have bones in it. Which is a pet hate of mine. When I go to a restaurant I don’t want to pick bones out of my fish. All in all I recommend this starter.

Wood Pigeon (Seared)

Celeriac, Cardamon, Pickled Red Onion, Lavender, Honey, Port.

Another interesting combination. Showing the imagination and originality of the restaurant. This also worked. Even with the risk of using lavender, which if used incorrectly tastes like their is soap in your food. This was the first time I had eaten wood pigeon. The meat tastes good and is cooked well. I also love port so this dish was also a winner for me. A lovely, well prepared combination of ingredients that really work together. The celeriac puree was delicious.

Main

Duck Legs (Braised)

Red Cabbage, Wine, Currents, Cabbage Gazpacho, Seville Orange

The duck is beautiful. Just perfectly done. The dish is quite sweet, but this is not a complaint, I like it. The red cabbage is good and the sauce is delicious. Very good.

Megrim Sole (Whole, Char-grilled and Cornish)

Wild Garlic, Almonds, New Pots, Shaved Sprouts, Sprouting

Like the mackerel the sole had bones in it. I know it says ‘whole fish’, but there are a lot of bones which stopped me enjoying the fish as much as I would have liked. However, the fish does taste good, and comes with a generous helping of greens on top with almonds for crunch. The new potatoes come on the side, in their skin and covered in butter and herbs. They are delicious. Barring the bones (that’s a mouthful!) I really liked this dish. Great flavours.

Dessert

Sweet & Sour Rhubarb

Lemon & Star Anise Possit – Hot Piquillo Tuille

Beautiful rhubarb that came with a great sauce. The Lemon & Star Anise Possit is divine.

Bitter Choc Parfait

Red Wine Figs, Beet Crisp, Fizzy Grapes.

This looked great and tasted great too. Another great and imaginative dish. The beet crisp is pretty cool and is a great touch. I love the figs too. The fizzy grape is a fizzy grape sauce covered over the dish. It is just delicious.

Claude’s Kitchen does beautiful food at reasonable prices. Highly recommended.

51 Parsons Green, SW6 (020 7371 8517). Dinner Tues-Sat from 6pm.

 

 

 

Charlotte’s Bistro Review

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On Monday we visited Charlotte’s Bistro in Chiswick. It launched in 2010 following the success of its sister restaurant, Charlotte’s Place. Charlotte’s Place, in Ealing, has been around for twenty seven years and is one of our favourite restaurants so expectations were pretty high.

On entering Charlotte’s Bistro we were immediately struck by how different everything is to Charlotte’s Place. As Alex, the owner, tells us ‘we think of Charlotte’s Place as the mother and Charlotte’s Bistro as the daughter’. You can see exactly what he means, whilst Charlotte’s Place is more traditional Charlotte’s Bistro is modern and sleek. It has a stylish bar at the front followed by stairs leading to a raised area at the back where the restaurant is.

Our night starts at the bar with ‘gin school’. Something Charlotte’s Bistro is doing every Monday. Every week features a different Gin. This week it’s Caorunn (pronounced ka-roon), a delicious Scottish gin. We liked the gin and learnt so much we’ve decided to do an article on it. After a couple of excellent G&Ts we head to the raised area and our table. Both the bar and restaurant are packed, impressive as it’s a Monday, and there is a great atmosphere.

The menu is small, five starters and five mains, all the food is in season. I like that because you know a lot of focus has gone into the dishes. Our waitress is friendly, helpful and very knowledgeable. She helps us select a sublime wine. We start with the Dorset crab with pickled cucumber and toasted sourdough and a pressed middle white ham knuckle terrine and mustard mayonnaise.

Our starters arrive almost immediately. I start with the ham terrine. Presentation is excellent. The terrine is beautifully made and absolutely delicious the mustard mayonnaise is light and a perfect accompaniment. The toasted crouton like biscuits on the side are crunchy and a delight. All in all an brilliant starter.

But it gets even better when I try the Dorset crab. Wow! A truly exceptional dish. This dish exercised my salt taste buds in a way that I can’t remember happening before. It tastes of the saltiness of the sea but is beautifully balanced and delicate. The texture of the sourdough against the crab was delightful. The sauce with the crab was divine and the pickled cucumber works beautifully with the crab. We both agreed this was one of the best starters we’d ever had. Flawless.

With such incredible starters our taste buds were tingling and our expectations were sky high for the mains. The fish dish we choose is the silver mullet, with white beans, smoked bacon and preserved lemons. Our meat dish is the confit white pork belly, parsnip, curly kale and caramelised Braeburn apple.

The silver mullet was another great dish. Presentation was beautiful. The fish was perfectly cooked and the skin was deliciously crispy and salty. The combination of white bean, smoky bacon and mullet was extremely tasty. The sauce was excellent. The dish was perfectly seasoned again the saltiness of the dish was delightful.

The pork belly dish was also a truly exceptional dish. The pork was soft and tender, the crunchy, tasty and the perfectly textured crackling was an absolute delight. The parsnip puree was incredibly smooth and delicious. The caramelised Braeburn apple was a real triumph and worked beautifully with the pork. The kale a vegetable I am not usually a huge fan of was perfectly seasoned and was deliciously salty and added to the whole dish. Quite simply superb.

The portion of chunky chips I ordered on the side seems in hindsight an insult to the chef since they were wholly unnecessary. But the taste of one salty chip only serves to highlight the skill and subtly the chef has shown with saltiness in their other dishes.

Our puddings are the baileys and orange cheesecake and the warm almond and blackberry bakewell. The cheesecake was excellent and beautifully presented. Smooth, creamy, beautifully subtle with a tasty crumbly base. The orange sauce which surrounded it was delicious and the candied orange peel which topped it added an extra dimension. The warm almond and blackberry bakewell was for me the least exciting of all our dishes. The bakewell was good but a little sweet for me and I didn’t feel the salted caramel worked. That said my colleague really enjoyed it.

 

Overall this was a fantastic experience. From the gin school through to the food. A wonderful night. The food was truly exceptional. I’ve been fortunate to eat in many restaurants but few come close to this. The Dorset Crab and the Pork Belly dishes were outstanding. The restaurant is unpretentious and friendly which makes for a great atmosphere and it is brilliant value for money. It was not surprising that it was packed out on a Monday night. We will certainly be returning soon.

 

 

 

Monday to Saturday

Lunch 12pm-3pm    2 Courses £15.95 3 Courses £18.95

Dinner from 6pm     2 Courses £24.95 3 Courses £29.95

Sunday

All Day 12pm-9pm  Main Course £14.95 2 courses £19.95 3 courses £23.95

6 Turnham Green Terrace, London, London W4 1QP (Nearest tube Turnham Green it’s a two minute walk)

020 8742 3590

charlottes.co.uk/bistro/

 

The Oyster Shed | Food Review

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 A little while ago, I was treated to oysters, ceviche, and sundry other fishy treats at the Oyster Shed. Thoroughly spoiled, I ran (staggered) home afterwards, tummy fat, fully intending to record my enthusings over the delightful evening at length immediately upon arrival.

Sadly, due in no small part to the soporific (and delicious) combination of scallops, pork belly and cauliflower puree on which I had gorged, I passed out en route to my laptop. By the time I awoke  Christmas was underway, and it hardly seemed fair to bury my appraisal of this establishment amidst the seasonal deluge of mince pies and boring charity singles.

So, belatedly, to the Shed. I’d infiltrated a small group of foodies who were privy to an evening spent inside the Captain’s Table- a hidden dining room which like the main bar and restaurant, overlooks the Thames. Reflected lights sparkled in the inky water a stone’s throw from our window.

The Shed’s head chef, Mark, was on hand to give us freeloading hacks a thorough and informative demonstration of the correct way to fillet sea bass, among other necessary life skills (no sarcasm). Handy tip: Flat fish loses 50% of its body during preparation, and round fish 60%. Use this ‘waste’ for stock. Mark deftly parted said bass from its spine as we watched, mouths full of rich, silky, smoked salmon and trout which was laid out on platters to sustain us. Also important- serve fillets skin side up. It’s prettier.

We munched on translucent haddock and cod ceviche while Mark explained that scallop shells must be closed, or close when tapped, if you are to eat them without fear of stomach upset. He also reassured us that all the fish eaten at the Shed comes from reliably sustainable sources.

Then to the serious business of oyster shucking. While his audience (myself probably included, I can’t remember) muttered ‘hilarious’ witticisms along the lines of ‘shucking good evening’/’they look shucking delicious’/’nothing like a good shucking’, Mark freed one slippery, salty crustacean after another. He remarked as he did so that he had 15 scars on his hands, all from shucking. We nodded seriously, and by now rather tipsy on free champagne and wine, some of us had a go at shucking ourselves. I delivered mine messily, fingers briny as I tipped it back into my mouth. It tasted reasonable- certainly fresh, at least. I had another, then turned my attention to a table behind us now groaning with other ‘nibbles’. Mini fish and chips and burgers were both standard ‘fun’ party fare, but satisfying enough. Pork belly and scallops were accompanied by cauliflower puree, which was delightful. After that my memory becomes hazy. Freelancer turned freeloader, and I stuffed myself until I could stuff no more.

I’m reassured that Oyster Shed menu is seasonal- ‘specials are special’. However I’m pretty confident that staples such as oysters, ceviche and scallops will still be in evidence if you should find yourself there in the near future. Which wouldn’t be a bad idea at all.

Dinner- £40-ish (quite expensive, all considered)
Service– Hard to say, since I ate at a specially-for-hacks event
Head Chef– Charming
Oysters– Fresh, salty
Food in general: Good enough
Cauliflower puree- A revelation
View– Lovely

 

5 Angel Lane  London EC4R 3AB, 020 7256 3240

Ampersand Hotel Review

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The Ampersand Hotel is in a very convenient location, a few minutes walk away from South Kensington tube station. It is also near the Victoria & Albert Museum, Harrods, Hyde Park, The British Museum and Harvey Nichols. So if location is your thing, the Ampersand Hotel should already be at the top of your list. The hotel itself is beautiful, brilliantly designed, classy and elegant. The staff are friendly and helpful.

The room is beautiful. It has everything you could possibly need. You do expect a hotel of this caliber to have everything and it does not disappoint. It has free wifi, a hairdryer, air-conditioning, TV, a desk, cable, tea, toiletries by Miller Harris and even ice. The bed is comfortable and the curtains are good and heavy, blocking out the light and some of the London noise.

The bathroom is great, with a bath and a shower. It also has lots of handy kits for sewing or vanity. The towels are lovely and fluffy. A dressing gown and a pair of slippers also comes with the room. The only thing I can complain about is the lack of bubble bath.

The lighting is good, the soft drinks in the minibar are free. One of the things that I really liked about this hotel is that you do not feel like a customer, constantly being fleeced of your money, but instead like a guest.

There is also a Business centre, a library, a wine room, a games room and a gym.

The Apero restaurant in the hotel is good. With an emphasis on sharing. We had serrano ham mikado ,(delicious and different) ,Plaice goujons with avocado mayonaise , Grilled neck of lamb with harissa & onion salad and Gnocchi with chard & smoked scamorza and an amazing cocktail called Elixir of Love.

In the morning we had a delicious full English breakfast and read the papers. Our stay in the hotel was relaxing and luxurious. This hotel is highly recommended. One of the best hotels to stay at in London.


Gillray’s Steakhouse and Bar Review

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Scallops with pea mash and bacon

See our first part on the bar here

When it comes time to dine we are led into the restaurant section of Gillrays. Chandeliers hang from the ceiling and Gillray’s caricatures hang on the wood panelled walls. Everything from the furnishings to the staff are very smart. The same quality and attention to detail we found in the bar continues here.

Our table has wonderful panoramic views of the river Thames and London Eye. We are greeted by Paolo our friendly waiter who immediately puts us at ease despite the grand setting.

Surrey Duck Egg Salad

We are first served with the biggest Yorkshire pudding I have ever seen, which has cheddar cheese in it what a brilliant idea, why has it never been done before?) with horseradish sauce. Full marks for originality and taste.

For a starter I have scallops, with pea mash and bacon. A combination that really works. Everything is done perfectly and the bacon is crispy and is done to the perfect degree. My colleague has the Surrey duck egg salad with bacon and spinach. The poached eggs are perfectly cooked. The bacon is very crispy and excellent just as my bacon was. His only criticism was that there could have been a bit more bacon but the dish was a delight.

For my main I have sirloin steak, which comes with a portobello mushroom, topped with three cooked cherry tomatoes and a wide choice of sauces. I had the peppercorn sauce.

Sirloin steak (this picture doesn’t do it justice)

According to the menu the beef used is 35 day aged Yorkshire Hereford Cattle reared on the Duke of Devonshire’s Bolton Abbey Estate. The quality of the meat really shows and my steak is fantastic.

I greedily tucked into my delicious lamb rump before taking picture as you can see!

My partner deviates from the steaks and instead goes for the lamb rump which is equally good. He is given a generous portion of superb lamb, perfectly cooked.

Our meal was accompanied by an excellent bottle of Sauvignon Blanc

On the side, we had the parmesan and truffle chips, crispy and thick yet also light with the parmesan and hint of truffle they were superb. We both agreed they were some of the best chips we had ever had.

Warm Chocolate Pudding

Gillray’s Trifle

For dessert I had the warm chocolate pudding, which came with a marmalade ice-cream.

My colleague has the traditional sherry trifle, which Gillray’s is obviously proud of, since it takes up half the space on the dessert menu. It comes in a large jar. Paolo, our waiter, unscrews the jar and pours sherry into the trifle. A brilliant and fun experience. It tastes great too.

The service throughout was excellent. Our waiter, Paolo was friendly, professional and knowledgeable. Our food came at the perfect time and Paolo was always there when we wanted him.

This was a wonderful night and an incredible experience. It was hard to find fault  with any part of our evening. A lot of effort has clearly gone into the new look Gillrays and it shows. The staff throughout were brilliant and everything we were served from our cocktails through to our food was first class. There  aren’t many restaurants, with as good a food, in as good a location as this one. Make sure to insist on a window seat, when booking, as it will make all the difference and not all tables have a river view. You will be hard pressed to find better steaks in London. It will be an experience you will remember.

Food 10/10  Service 10/10  Atmosphere 10/10

London Marriott Hotel County Hall, Westminster Bridge Road, SE1 (020 7928 5200). Open daily 6.30am-10.30pm (7am Sat & Sun)

Gillray’s Steakhouse & Bar | Restaurant Review – Part 1: The Bar

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The bar at Gillrays

Gillray’s Steakhouse & Bar is situated in a five star hotel, the London Marriott. Which is in turn located in the former seat of London’s government, County Hall, just across Westminster bridge from the Houses of Parliament. Walking up to the hotel to get to the restaurant, one’s breath is taken away by just how beautiful it is. It is so full of class and elegance that you almost feel it is from a different era.

The hotel itself is beautiful. The stuff dreams are made of and as we walk into the restaurant our first view is of a gorgeous English Gin bar, with riverside views of the Southbank. The bar is based on 18th-century social and political caricaturist James Gillray.

The Perfect Martini

 

We talk to Carlos, the bar room manager. Carlos is friendly, passionate and knowledgeable. It’s clear that no expense has been spared and a huge amount of effort has been put into every last detail. Gillray’s Steakhouse & Bar has 35 English gins, and it will soon be ‘over forty’. Only the very best make it onto the menu. The bar looks wonderful, almost like some fantastic chemistry cocktail laboratory.  Everything has been done to an exact science to ensure perfect quality and it comes across in the taste of the cocktails

The menu is fascinating and separated into eras, Georgian, Victorian, Edwardian, contemporary and modern Britain. Each era has its own brilliant Gillray caricature. Although the specialty is Gin there is a huge range of many different cocktails. A full menu can be found here

I ask Carlos for a recommendation and have the St James Martini, something I already had my eye on. It comes in the most perfect glass, looks great and tastes divine. If you love martini’s, make sure you try one.

My colleague has a ‘First Kiss’, made up of Hendrick’s gin with peppermint, lemongrass tea tincture, shaken with lime juice, sugar and fresh pineapple. The result is a delicious, refined and refreshing. One of the best cocktails he has ever had.

The ‘First Kiss’ cocktail

The cocktails were fairly expensive. Most of them are around £10.

However this a real experience. It is something unique that you will remember and it fully justifies the cost. Anyone who loves cocktails must try it, and everyone else should go at least once for the experience.

Having finished off our cocktails we head off to the restaurant area behind the bar. You will be able to  read a full review of the restaurant part of Gillray’s Steakhouse & Bar very shortly.

Part 2 here

 

 

 

Cha Cha Moon | Restaurant Review

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15-21 Ganton Street, W1F 9BN. Nearest tube: Oxford Circus.

Meals served 11.30am-11pm Mon-Thur; 11.30am-11.30pm Fri, Sat; noon-10.30pm Sun

Main courses £7-£8

Telephone: 020 7297 9800

On Thursday night we headed to Cha Cha Moon. A Chinese restaurant right in the heart of trendy Soho. The first thing that strikes me about Cha Cha Moon is the decor: it is incredibly stylish with an open kitchen and a bar at the back. The tables are long benches and there is also a good garden space. Of course the decor is not the main thing you want in a restaurant, that’s the food and the service. Both of which are first-class here. The atmosphere was buzzing and very much in keeping with the Soho surroundings.

I have to admit that I love chinese food. We started with the chicken dumplings and Cha cha mooli. The dumplings were excellent. They were crispy and tasted divine when dipped in the perfectly seasoned garlic chilli sauce. The Cha cha mooli was something I’d never had before, but it looked very interesting on the menu. It was Turnip cake, dried shrimp, Chinese chive, Chinese salami beansprout, spring onion, egg. It didn’t disappoint, everything somehow came together in a dish that was delightfully different.

We also had the Seafood ho fun which is Scallop, prawn, squid, red and green pepper, onion, black bean, ho fun. It tasted superb and the portion was very generous. Everything, particularly the seafood, was perfectly cooked. We also had Crispy duck lao mian: Crispy duck, cucumber, cū mian, we really enjoyed this classic chinese dish with the noodles Cha Cha Moon specialises in.

For dessert we had Banana and melon fritters. I had never had melon fritters before and they tasted just as good as the banana fritters. The fritters came in a deliciously warm sugary syrup. The cool vanilla cream on the side was the perfect contrast and when it was all combined with the crispy fritters it was a simply fantastic dessert.

Cha Cha Moon also does very good drinks. An expert cocktail maker is constantly at work behind the bar and there is a good selection of both alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails. We had the Golden Sunrise (Peach, mango, mint, goji berry), Chan Chan Tei (Beetroot, spinach, pear, apple), Pina Colada (White rum, pineapple, coconut, cream) and Mango Juice.

I loved my Pina Colada. It was superbly made. The Chan Chan Tei was a great savoury drink and very healthy.

The service was excellent. The food came extremely quickly and everyone was very warm and friendly. Highly recommended.

Frankie and Benny’s Restaurant Review

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Frost went to review Frankie & Benny’s anonymously. We reviewed the one in Kingston.

 

I love Frankie and Benny’s theme, it is like walking onto the set of American Graffiti or travelling back in time. The ‘New York Italian’ restaurant and bar has good retro music, fun décor and those brilliant banquet booth seats. I feel I should have dressed up.

 

We started with the The Big Sampler Platter; a feast of Frankie & Benny’s house favourites; chicken strips, BBQ chicken wings, fully loaded potato skins, spicy onion rings, bread sticks and garlic ciabatta bread. Served with dips and crunchy celery sticks.

 

It is a lot of food and, frankly, too much for two people! But it was delicious. A really good selection of stuff and very generous portions. There is four of everything so it is very good for family’s or a group of friends.

 

I followed this up with a BBQ Double Cheese and a Long Island Ice Tea.

 

Two 6oz grilled hamburgers each topped with Monterey Jack cheese. Served with lettuce, tomato, red onion, dill pickle, mayo, spicy onion rings and a pot of BBQ sauce. The burger was great- and huge- the fries were good too, however, my eyes were bigger than my belly. The portions are huge. But I really enjoyed my meal. Though I was too full for dessert.

My friend had the Chicken Club Triple Decker and one of Frankies’ Thick Banoffee Shakes. The shake was amazing, tasted brilliant.

The Triple decker included; Grilled chicken breast, crispy bacon, lettuce and fresh cut tomato layered between toasted wholemeal bread spread with mayo. Served with house fries and a pot of coleslaw on the side. The portions are brilliant, really huge. Even having a main will fill you up. Very generous.

 

Our waiter was good. The service is first-class.

 

We also had a Frankies’ Delight and a Frankies’ Refresher. The drinks in Frankie and Benny’s are second to none. Absolutely delicious.

 

All in all I like Frankie and Benny’s. The portions are generous, the service is amazing, the food is good and the theme is great fun. Brilliant for some reasonably priced food.