Reviews and Comments of 'An American in London' (86)

For my first meal back in London, I wanted something warm and lively.  Something the opposite of Boston’s cold Puritannical image. Tapas sounded ideal, but the prospect of queuing in the cold to eat at my beloved Barrafina was highly unappealing. So Jon and I decided to try Iberica Food & Culture, which opened in October 2008 but seems to have gotten a lot of generally-positive blogger coverage over the last few months (see these posts by Londoneater, Tehbus, and Londonelicious for example).

The food fell into two buckets, really.  “Pretty Good” and “Kind of Disappointing.”  There was nothing spectacular and nothing horrible.

Here’s the “Pretty Good”:

Sweet pigs trotters with a sharp Mahon cheese and Iberico ham, all served on a crisp pastry.  I enjoyed all the textures and flavors (salty, citrusy, meaty) but what held the dish back was the somewhat gluey texture of the trotter.  I’d hoped for something more melt-in-your-mouth.  But overall a tasty dish.

Black rice with cuttlefish prawns is one of my fave dishes to order in Spanish restaurants.  First, there’s the color – squid ink makes everything seem special.  Then there’s the intense seafood flavor soaked into the risotto rice.  Iberica’s version had a texture that struck the right balance between al dente and creamy, but what would’ve made a great dish would have been more cuttlefish and fewer prawns.  An entirely arbitrary preference, I know.

Fried artichokes with pear alioli have been much written about at Iberico.  And yes, they’re good (unlike my blurry photo).  Crisp with a hint of sourness that artichoke lovers crave.  For me, the appeal was mostly in the accompanying slightly-sweet, garlicky alioli.

And rounding out the “Pretty Good” list was our trio of cheeses (Mahon, Manchego, Ibores) for £4.95.  It was a generous portion and well priced for the quality.  Maybe we could have a little more quince paste next time, though.

The “Kind of Disappointing” dishes:

Marinated tuna loin with mustard, apples and chives tasted mealy.  Why serve raw fish if it’s not going to be fresh and refreshing?

And “broken egg with Iberico ham and fried potatoes”... sounded so promising!  Breakfast at dinner.  Who doesn’t love that?  Admittedly, part of our high expectations stemmed from our memory of the wondrous “carpaccio huevos fritos” that we’d had at Barcelona’s Bar Mut last May. Setting aside the camera/lighting issues I had at Iberica, just compare the above photograph of Iberica’s dish with the photo of Bar Mut’s version below. Iberica offered us limp fries with a smattering of yolk. Bar Mut, in contrast, gave us crispy shoestring potatoes in an ocean of egg yolk. You understand my disappointment in Iberica’s version, then.

Iberica’s list of Spanish wines was long, but I was again a little disappointed that there were only two choices from the Ribera del Duero. Too much Rioja on the list.

The service was efficient, but not especially friendly or helpful (e.g., we had to guess what cheeses we were eating and it was difficult flagging down a server for sherry to go with our cheese).

Without hesitation, though, I’d recommend Iberica for the atmosphere, which was warm and lively. It was exactly what I was looking for on a Saturday night. I had a lot of fun, and the food was good enough. The kitchen’s no threat to Barrafina’s, but then again, it’s nice to be able to make a reservation in advance and sit at a table.

Dinner for two with wine and sherry came to £115.

I’d heard from two different steak-loving friends that Le Relais de Venise was worth a visit, but with so many places to eat in London, and the fact that Le Relais is a bit of a chain (starting in Paris, it now has two locations in London and one in New York), I never got around to eating there. Last Saturday, though, I was meeting a friend who craved steak, and as Hawksmoor was closed for refurbishment and Goodman was disappointing when I ate there, I figured it was time to try out Le Relais.  The New York Times’s Sam Sifton, after all, had taken the time to give the New York location a full review, so the place had to be more than an imported tourist trap.

Having not read up on Le Relais’s Marylebone location before getting there, I failed to realize that (1) the queues are enormous (thanks to the restaurant’s no-booking policy); and (2) the place operates much like a fast-food joint. Don’t be fooled by the vaguely-Gallic interior and think you’re there to linger over your meal. So we queued outside in the cold for about an hour, and once inside, the only choice we made was from the eight-bottle wine list.

The minute we sat down, salads arrived which were tangy and spicy from a classic mustard-and-lemon-juice vinaigrette. Pretty good but would’ve been better if a few walnuts hadn’t tasted stale.

Then the raison d’etre arrived: steaks served ultra-thin and served French style (i.e.,table side). The meat wasn’t bad, but honestly, it was hard to tell because of “the sauce.” Apparently much has been written about this sauce, which is unbelievably rich and as meaty as the steak itself.  he sauce’s green-going-on-gray colour is entirely unappetizing, and it’s clearly comprised of at least 50% butter (the other half is probably offal of some sort), so your doctor’s not going to be pleased. But it’s pretty delish.

You get two servings of steak and as many servings of frites as you like. The portions of steak are rather paltry, but I suppose I’m a big eater. If you’re a frites lover, this is the place for you. Le Relais should re-market itself as a frites-and-super-sauce restaurant.

£19 included the salad and steak frites.  For a little extra, you could order desserts and cheese.  The cheeses were pretty wimpy, which was disappointing for a French resto.  And the profiteroles looked a lot better than they tasted.  The pastry was flavorless and stale, but luckily chocolate sauce and ice cream saved the day (as ever).

With two bottles of wine, a cheese course and dessert, our tab came to £41 a person.  We were in and out in under an hour, and as we left at around 9:30, we saw that the queue outside was as long as ever.

Overall, the steak frites are pretty good, but don’t go to Le Relais if you’re looking for a giant slab of meat or if you want to linger at a table. In fact, the place seemed perfectly designed for families.

Although it was late for lunch, the pub’s tables were packed. Jon and I found a table in the pub’s skylighted annex and ordered off the blackboard in the back.

Despite having been to the Duke of Cambridge once before in March 2009, I’d forgotten that (1) the place is all-organic; and (2) the prices are high. Chicken liver pate with chutney and gherkins, for example, was deliciously creamy — as chicken liver tends to be — but a rather expensive £8+. I know it’s organic, but chicken liver is supposed to be one of the cheaper ingredients in the world, no?

beef mince pie and mash (£15ish)

My beef mince pie was delicious and tasted made-from-scratch. The crust shattered at the tap of my fork, and I liked that the pie filling was neither too runny nor too thick. In fact, the gravy tasted like the result of a long braise.

Jon’s fish and chips was similarly well-prepared and flavorsome, though I wondered what was up with the oven-baked chips. Can they still be called chips if they’re not fried?

Service was friendly; tap water not a problem; and the food was pretty good. The place has all the makings of a fine local — except for the price. At £45 for a starter, two mains and a pint, our lunch at the Duke of Cambridge was too expensive for it to be a regular habit. Luckily, this side of Upper Street appears to be packed with pubs, so we’re looking forward to exploring the other local options.  Recommendations warmly welcomed!

There are very few things I miss about working in Canary Wharf, and lunch at the Gun is one of them. So two Fridays ago, when our friends suggested we meet for dinner at the Well, whose owners also own the Gun, I was thrilled.  A quick glance at TimeOut’s review of the Well revealed that the Well was running a 50% off food promotion, which sweetened the deal.

Several of the tables at the Well (including ours) are extremely close to the door.  Which means it’s cold what with all that traffic in and out.  But the place was lively, and pints with good friends have a way of warming you up.

The food, though, was worthwhile once we took 50% off the menu price.  At menu prices (starters at around £8 or £9 and mains were £15 to £20), the Well strikes me as too expensive for the quality.  I appreciate how, once you get the discount, it’s tough to imagine paying double what you did, but my roasted scallops, for example, weren’t great and weren’t awful, either.  How do you put a price on that?   £4.50 seemed alright for this level of cooking, but at £9, I’d be upset.

My rabbit pie was similarly alright.  The filling was more soupy than I like, and I had to dig around to find the bits of rabbit, so again, at £7.50, I’m tolerant, and at £15, I’m outraged.

For starters, mains, shared desserts and drinks, we paid £31 a person, which felt fair.  And if the food hadn’t been 50% off, I would’ve felt ripped off.  The Well may share owners with the Gun, but I think that’s about all they have in common, as I recall the Gun being pricey, but worth the price.

Which is all to say:  go to the Well only for drinks with friends, or if you can get the 50% off food deal.

Much as I love living near Angel, I must admit that the local restaurant scene often disappoints.   So imagine my surprise when, two weeks ago, we re-visited Gem and enjoyed the food immensely? I like it so much that I went back again last night, and now I think it’s the perfect place to go when you can’t be bothered to cook.  After all, it’s cheap, it’s filling, the food’s pretty tasty, and you never need to book in advance.

Years ago, Jon and I had been to Gem before, and my overall impression during that visit was of eating in a dark cave. As I recall, the place’s decor used to consist of dark wood with lots of hulking farm implements suspended from the ceiling.  Oh, and there used to be what appeared to be a large stone firepit in the back.  In short, the place was kind of scary.

But Gem’s all different now.  The farm implements are still hanging around, but they seem cheery and rustic, rather than huge and scary.  And the food – particularly the meze – are great.  I’ve opted for Menu B both times recently, which includes bread, 7 cold and 3 hot meze, any main course from the menu, and a dessert.  It’s a ton of food for GBP 11.95, and frankly, I’ve been overwhelmed both times I’ve ordered it and had to take some food home.  (You’d think I’d learn).

First, the breads.  They’re hot and delicious.  I love the puffed up bread, which reminds me of poori, except not fried, so I felt virtuous and healthy tearing off pieces for all the various yogurt-based dips.  And underneath the puffed-up bread are slices of pillowy (sadly, this is what I call it) “Turkish bread.”

Fried goodies were standouts.  Mucver, which are vegetable fritters with a slight cheesy tang, could have used a bit more vegetable, but otherwise, they’re hot and crispy, making them the perfect comfort food on a cold winter’s night.

After all that delicious and filling meze, the main courses were superfluous.  That said, my main course of beyti (which I couldn’t really distinguish from the “kofte” I’ve had at other Turkish grills) was moist and meaty, and I was glad to take the leftovers home with me.

Next time, I’ll order “Menu C,” think, because it’s “just” 7 cold and 6 meze. I’m hoping it’ll be the right amount of food.  Not that it’s so awful having leftovers for home.

It’s taken me months to get to Needoo Grill, mostly because it’s located just around the corner from its famous sibling, New Tayyabs. In other words, if I’m in Whitechapel craving tandoor, I usually end up at tried-and-true Tayyabs despite its brutally-long queues.

Two Fridays ago, Jon and I finally willed ourselves to forgo Tayyabs and try out Needoo Grill, which is owned by the former manager of Tayyabs (Needoo is apparently his nickname).

Having apparently forgotten that we were merely a party of two, Jon and I ordered veg samosas, seek kebabs, grilled lamb chops, karahi lamb, a special of the day (haleem), aubergine dal, peshwari naan, regular naan and rice pilau. Frighteningly, we ate it all.

Needoo Grill’s seek kebabs were as juicy and spicy as they are at Tayyabs, but Needoo’s lamb chops varied from tough to top-notch.  A few of the chops were covered in too much marinade, though I realize some people don’t believe you can ever have too much marinade.

Paneer was wonderfully smoky and spicy.

I’d hoped to eat a dal makhni, which is the dark, buttery lentil dish that takes ages to make at home. But Needoo had run out (really?), so Jon and I ordered the aubergine dal (dal baingun) on the strength of Food Stories calling it “one of the best I’ve ever eaten”.  The smoky, silky aubergine added great texture and flavor to the yellow lentils, and it is indeed a delicious dish.  But it’s no dal makhni.  Sniff.

The special-of-the-day was haleem, a thick, meaty paste.  Apparently you make haleem by braising meat (here, lamb) for hours with lentils, and then you puree the whole thing.  For me, eating pureed meat brings to mind unpleasant visions of living in an old person’s home, so Jon and I mixed our haleem with the karahi lamb dish we’d ordered, and that worked out better for us.  Haleem seems like it’d be an acquired taste.

I’m a sucker for the sweet nuttiness of peshwari naan, but ordering an entire portion for myself was too much.  I liked that Needoo’s version was studded with fennel seeds to add a light fragrance to the sugary filling, but fennel seeds or no, the peshwari naan was too heavy for me to eat it solo.

Overall, eating at Needoo Grill was a pleasant experience.  Our servers were a lot less harried than they are at Tayyabs, and they took the time to make recommendations and answer questions.  The lamb chops might not be as consistently good as they are at Tayyabs, but everything else we tried was comparable.  And you definitely can’t beat Needoo’s prices.  Our tab for enough food to feed three was £35.

The place is tiny and nondescript. It’s not a dive, but it’s not much to look at. The dining room’s lone server was doing her best to handle the sudden flood of diners coming in at around 7:30 pm, so Jon and I grabbed our own menus from a pile I spotted in the corner. I eagerly scanned the menu, and there it was: a whole section of the menu devoted to banh mi, and none cost more than £4. We slogged through a few forgettable appetizers – a spicy chili fried prawn dish with an unpleasantly-soft coating and a banh xeo that was all sprouts and hardly anything else inside – and then, my wish was fulfilled: a generous serving of grilled pork banh mi. Thick slices of barbecued pork, lots of pickled veg, coriander, cucumber, chili spice, and creamy, slightly-sweet mayonnaise. The baguette was of the par-baked supermarket variety (crispy and hot when hot out of the oven but otherwise too sugary). In one bite, I could taste sweet, salty, spicy, creamy and smoky flavors. The beauty of banh mi. Banzi’s version was a tad too heavy on the mayo and overall sugariness, but I’ll definitely be back the next time I need my banh mi fix. The place is a bit of a schlepp, but it’s closer than Paris, and it appears there are other worthwhile Vietnamese places in the area. Maybe one of those other places serves banh mi, too.

It’s a 15-minute walk from Canary Wharf, which in my opinion is a long journey for a weekday lunch. It’s also pricey as a lunch option – most mains are £15-20 – but it’s worth the trip and the money.

he dining room is always packed with Canary Wharf suits for lunch, as is the outdoor terrace that overlooks the Thames. I like the comfortable, old, masculine feel of the Gun, and because it’s been around for hundreds of years, the place comes with an interesting bit of history: Admiral Nelson would allegedly meet his mistress, Emma Hamilton, here. Lest you overlook this mildly-scandalous tidbit, the men’s room is labeled “Horatio” and the women’s, “Emma.”

The menu changes regularly, and it’s an ambitious, seasonal one that’s heavy on seafood offerings. When I went yesterday, I had a pan-fried fillet of dover sole. It’d been lightly battered and seasoned, and I’m sure there was more butter involved in its cooking than I want to know. Still, all that butter worked its crisping, salty, creamy magic on the sole, and much as I enjoy a side of potato tower and refreshing arugula, I was stuffed after eating just the fish.

In all my past meals at the Gun, I’ve been happy with the fish specials, which is no surprise given how close the restaurant is to the Billingsgate Fish Market.

Service is fast and helpful, and what thrills me is the ease with which pitchers of tap water are provided. A lunch with a starter, main and glass of wine (this is Europe, after all) runs about £35 a person. Not a cheap lunch, but a high-quality one.

the Albion Cafe has won me over, serving simple dishes at good prices. In the past two months, I’ve been there twice for lunch and once for dinner. While the Cafe’s food isn’t destination dining, it’s a handy place to stop if you’ve got friends in town curious about English nursery classics, or if you’ve just spent a sunny morning at the Columbia Road flower market.

It’s annoying that you can’t make a reservation, and expect a queue on weekends for lunch. Luckily, there’s lots to snack on while you wait. The Albion Cafe’s entrance is a small grocery which, while not useful for stocking your refrigerator, sells many of the yummy baked goods on offer in the Cafe. Pastries, cakes, cupcakes, scones and cookies prettily lined up and calling out your name (and with most items costing well under a pound, why would you resist?).

With all the nibbles available while you queue, you run the danger of ruining your appetite, which would be a shame. The Cafe’s space is high-ceilinged, simple and welcoming. And the food is homey and tasty. Albion had me at hello with soft, pillowy-white slices of bread that’s baked on site. Eat your heart out, Wonderbread.

The Albion serves the kind of food you could easily make for yourself at home, but it’s cheap and tasty enough that you appreciate not having to do all that prep and cleanup. Fish and chips, cheese cauliflower, stews, Welsh rarebit, full English brekkies – all have been well-executed. TimeOut nailed it by comparing the Albion to Canteen – the Cafe is doing what now-fallen-from-grace-Canteen used to do in its heydey.

My meals there with a few shared starters, mains and drinks totaled about £20 a person. On my way out, I’ve always left carrying a loaf of that white bread. Now, if only Shoreditch were easier to reach via Tube.

I recommend the Claridge’s afternoon tea, which serves tea goodies on Bernardaud china (yes, I flipped the china to peek – sue me) in a plush art-deco tearoom hung with Chihuly chandeliers. I particularly enjoy the hotel’s live music, the dozens of teas offered, and the ability to order as many beautiful pastries, pots of tea and sandwiches as you want!

The only (and admittedly, major) downside to Claridge’s is the £31 per person price tag.