juneavrile's Profile
Best French Bread in London
Fantastic, thank you both. South Ken here I come. Any recommendations in London W1 would also be welcome.
Best French Bread in London
Hi I'm looking for recommendations for really good baguettes - preferably ficelle - to buy in central London. Thank you.
Exeter - Easter Sunday - Any Thoughts?
Could you strike out as far as The Nobody Inn in Doddiscombleigh? Good hearty food, beer, wine and such fair prices I'm sure a split cab from Exeter would be off-set. Really worth it, if they can fit you in. I'd be interested to hear of any worthwhile Exeter gastropubs.
Vinho Verde wine deal
Agree, this is a good wine for the price and 11% still makes it excellent for lunch. It's really good with barbecued sardines, peppers and boiled potaotes. Cheers.
Stuck - High St Kensington? and Stockwell... [London]
I had a very good dinner at Kitchen W8, it's smart and the set lunch is £19.50 for 3 courses. It's a welcome addition to the area.
"British" Restaurants & Cookbook Stores [London]
There's a race-course there if that helps.
It's just a lovely place to walk around, if you find the montpelier area there's a good gastropub called The Beehive. If you're there on a sunny day there's also an open-air lido.
"British" Restaurants & Cookbook Stores [London]
Did you go to Foyles? They have a huge cookery department and now sell a selection of used interesting food titles.
If you fancy a day trip out of London you should head for Cheltenham and a shop called Cooking the Books which is nearly all secondhand. It's easy to kill a few hours in here and it's a lovely spa town too.
massaman curry paste [London]
I recommend Mae Ploy brand, you'll find these downstairs in the supermarket that's halfway down Gerrard St on the side nearest Shaftesbury Ave. At the front of the shop you'll find a little room that sells lots of fresh thai ingredients including a little pack of lemongrass / shallots and galangal. This shop also sells small tins of Thai curry pastes but I've not tried them. Mae Ploy comes in a big tub and keeps for a good long time in the fridge.
If you're making a beef mussaman the bigger supermarket opposite sells flank which is a good cut for this dish.
Cider in London pubs?
Look out for Aspall's which is made in Suffolk and sold on draught in some London pubs - they have it at The Carpenter's Arms in Whitfield St (not far from The Green Man). Aspalls is made with fresh apple juice rather than concentrate, which for me means it has less of the sickly stewed apple flavour of lots of the mass brands. Some places have it in bottles but it's not as good. The Coach and Horses in Soho usually has a wide selection including potent Old Rosie on tap.
[London] If your boss gave you a little thank-you present of £350 to take your wife out for dinner where would you go?
Have you tried Percy's? Tina Bricknell-Webb is a very good chef, they grow / raise much of their own produce and importantly it adds up to really flavourful food. It's not haute, more California cuisine style food. They're about an hour short of Gidleigh Park. from London. They have rooms and the breakfasts are up to the standard of the dinners. The website is www.percys.co.uk
No doubt you've been to the Square and Robuchon?
Best steak-frites in London?
I get my steak frites fix at Mon Plaisir in Monmouth Street. They offer several different cuts and the proper thin chips. I've taken two sets of friends in the last few months and they've liked it very much. It's within your budget. The Covent Garden hotel is opposite which is great for a pre-dinner cocktail.
[London] Broth!
Hi, I guess this post might get moved, but here's a fall-back recipe. It can be made (1) with store-cupboard ingredients and (2) with little effort. Make up a litre of chicken stock with boiling water. Put in a pan with 125ml rice wine, 5 tbsp soy, 5cm cinnamon stick, 2 star anise, 4 tbsp sugar and, if you have them, a few cm fresh ginger and 2 garlic cloves. I use jarred pickled ginger if I don't have fresh. Simmer for 20 mins and strain. You can then cook your noodles / veg / chilli etc in as much as you need and keep any leftover in the fridge. IMHO M&S make the best chicken stock - it's liquid and comes in a jar, but be aware that their dilution suggestion is way too strong.
London - Truc Verd, La Fromagerie or Gordons Wine Bar?
There's a good bar in the basement of Fortnum and Mason if you're looking for daytime - they sell flights of wine and lots of different mixed plates of charctuerie / cheese. When I visited it had a relaxed vibe. I'd assume it's open from about 12-6.
You might also consider The Gunmakers pub near LaFromagerie that has what you're looking for and is easy-going if they're not showing a big sports game - you could check. They have pork pies / ham / etc from the nearby Ginger Pig as well as gastrobpub classics and the wine is good. In the daytime it'll be busy on a Sunday because the farmer's market is on from 10-2 - same goes for La Fromagerie which is very hectic on market day.
You could check out Villandry in Great Portland St too - I haven't been there in a while but might fit your brief.
Buying great meat in London
I'd recommend buying online from the well hung meat company. I've been happier with this than anything I've bought from a shop in London.
London: solo upscale lunch suggestions?
I second L'Atelier, but would skip breakfast as the food is quite rich and you must must must have a dessert.
London -- Fitzrovia for a week -- looking for Indian, Chinese, Iranian, Lebanese, Malaysian
Put Istanbul Meze on your list. It's in Cleveland St, like the much recommended Ragam. And, like Ragam, doesn't look like much. Has excellent charcoal grilled meats and the most delicious home made thick chilli sauce. I never make it to the sweet stuff, but they give you terrific lokum with your bill.
[London] Banh mi?
You're quite right to give them another go. I'll try again when they actually have some pate (like you, always assumed this was a standard in a bahn mi) and maybe that will make it a deal better.
[London] Banh mi?
Viet Baguette has opened in Charlotte Place. The bread is good but the sandwich is just too meagre and doesn't come close to those I've eaten in NYC. The sliced pork had a good flavour but there so soooo little of it and no pate at all. So the bahn mi is mainly bread with some pickle strands, fresh coriander and a few rings of chilli. Not good. And poor value at £3.75
Very disappointed. I'll stick to making my own.
[London] Banh mi?
A new place called Viet Baguette is about to open next to Lantana in Charlotte Mews W1. The notice on the window promises bahn mi and a specialism in street snacks. Will post when it opens. Fingers crossed.
Trip to Cornwall -- Also Dorking
Your drive into Cornwall might take you near Percys (www.percys.co.uk ) which is a restaurant with rooms. They grow / rear most of their own produce and the cooking is out of this world....good rooms too. It's on the Devon / Cornwall border, in the deep countryside and they're happy for people to wonder over their land / walk their dogs/ pet their pigs. Also breed racehorses there.
If you're driving from Surrey you might also pass through exeter, just outside, in a village is a pub called The Nobody Inn. Lovely, low-beamed rooms with real fires. They have rooms to let, well prepared, hearty English food (great cheeseboard) and an inch thick wine list with unusually reasonable prices. Very good value all round.
If you make it as far as Falmouth, I'd recommend Bistro de la Mer - cosy, good food and excellent value. Try the local oysters, just back in season.
Ludlow Food and Drink Festival
Although you might have to queue for a while to buy your sausage trail ticket, I'd say it's not to be missed. We also did the ale trail which takes you on a lovely amble around Ludlow. There are one off events, and some of the more interesting ones sell out quickly eg a black pudding tasting, so if you can arrive on Friday, you'll probably get the most out of your visit.
Week in London near Green Park in December, lite and vegeterian
Hi, sorry, the name is Woodlands and it's at 77 Marylebone Lane. They have a website www.woodlandsrestaurant.co.uk
Week in London near Green Park in December, lite and vegeterian
There's a good vegetarian Indian off Marylebone high street, on Marylebone Lane. This is a good area for food shopping. There's a farmer's market here on Sunday and you'll find a mixture of interesting food shops including La Fromagerie, a good lunch spot.
Also, Edgware Road is within walking distance. There's lots of good Persian / Middle Eastern restaurants - many will do a veggie meze - and for shopping, seek out Green Valley supermarket on Upper Berkeley St, they have a great baklava counter.
Lantana, Fitzrovia, London
I too had a sensational coffee at Lantana, part of a very good breakfast, and it's near to where I live. Just find the place too frosty - both in human service and general 'stick around and read the papers' environment - to get me out of my own flat for breakfast or brunch. Would love a similar place with a warmer, more hospitable feel.
Cotswolds
Try The Woolpack in Slad, near Painswick. In Cheltenham The Beehive is a gastropub in an area called The Suffolks. Not far from Chipping Camden is The Fleece Inn which is owned by The National Trust - think it's in Bretforton. I haven't eaten at The Fleece since it has reopened but the other two have good food.
Searching for fennel pollen in London
Anybody know where I can buy some? I've had no luck with any of the online spice shops.
Somewhere for dinner in Cheltenham this weekend
Any recommendations other than Le Champignon Sauvage or Hotel du Vin's Bistro? How is Lumiere these days? Open to fine / Indian / gastropub whatever, just good food for an evening meal.
Visiting London for 3 days from Ireland
Or try assaggi in Notting Hill - not too far from Chelsea. It's Italian (as you probably guessed) and has terrific food made with outstanding ingredients. It has a very bright, light room above a pub. You usually have to book. Would be handy if you were exploring Portobello and that area.
Seeking cooking class in London
Spotlight used to be for sale in the newsagents, it's a catalogue of all the courses available in London. I'm not sure but it might have changed its name to hotcourses and there is a website called www.hotcourses.com. Click on the part-time option and then pop cookery into the subject box and it will give you a long list of what's available from both public and private sources. Note that you don't have to live in a particular area to go to school there.
Seeking cooking class in London
I took a pastry course with a local authority school in Kensington, it's not chi-chi, but it had excellent chef / teacher, well equipped kitchen and, of course, all very accessible. I found it in Spotlight.
