Calçots are related to onions – they look cross between a spring onion and a leek and best described as an overgrown spring onion. We saw that Barrica had them on the menu as a special and so came back later for dinner. The calçots come blackened, having been grilled over a BBQ and then […]
Devvers
Sushi Atelier vs. Kazu
Sushi fight! These two Japanese restaurants opened up in our area before Christmas and we decided to test them one weekend after the other, to decide which would become our new local Japanese. Atmosphere: Sushi Atelier is clean and modern-looking; upstairs consists of a bar overlooking the chefs and downstairs there are tables in a […]
The Ninth vs. Portland vs. Mere vs. Clipstone
I was having a chat with one of my friends who had some of these restaurants on her wishlist and we started having an interesting debate about the various mid-high end restaurants in Fitzrovia. Here is my completely subjective comparison: The Ninth This place got a Michelin Star and is now pretty well-known – however […]
Anglo
I’m tired even thinking about this – the food was good, experimental and modern and *just* the right side of being too fussy…but it took us three and a quarter hours to get through dinner. And when you have had a long week at work, it’s probably not the best thing to do on a […]
Calcutta Street *SHUT*
This place has been open for a little while now and we finally remembered to go along. It’s pretty small and therefore a bit hectic but the food came quickly and was full of flavour – for example, phuchka, semolina balls filled with spiced potato, came with a mint and tamarind dip. We had two […]
Xu
There has been a lot of anticipation for Xu, the latest from the team behind Bao. We got a 5pm reservation on a Saturday (which is ok for us as we tend to eat at odd times at the weekend). After battling through the crowds attending Pride, we settled down at our table with some […]
Four Seasons
I read the Kevin Kwan ‘Rich Asians’ trilogy recently and the following quote amused me, describing the Singaporean group’s favourite places in London: ‘The Holy Trinity are Four Seasons for the roast duck, Mandarin Kitchen for the…lobster noodles, and Royal China for the dim sum” I think it still holds true (though I’d swap out […]
La Polenteria (now re-launched as Leggero) – *guest post*
This guest post has been provided by my dining companion! ______________________________________________________________ The food was unusual – not traditional polenta but different flavours, shapes and textures. It was interesting and very yummy; suprising in a good way. We had a liver salad with bacon (two good things) and the place had decent Italian drinks like Aperol. […]
Homeslice
We decided we needed pizza, and remembered that we hadn’t tried Homeslice in Fitzrovia yet, so off we went. I used to come to this site a lot in the past, when it was Soho Japan – a comfortable, neighbourhood place, reliable and soothing. Now the plaster is all stripped off, and it is much […]
Sager & Wilde
We popped in here after trying the spa at York Hall leisure centre in Bethnal Green – the place was pretty empty as we were practically at the start of service. We decided to be decadent and have cocktails to start, and then snacked on tangy devils on horseback and super-fresh ricotta on toast with […]