Tag: restaurant

Flour and grape pork shoulder tortelloni

Flour And Grape – Bermondsey, SE1

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After a bit of a quiet period, I’m back! I’ve been away on a pretty big holiday, for which food updates will be coming very soon… But in the meantime, I thought I’d do a little review of one of the lovely restaurants I’ve been to recently in London. It’ll come as no surprise to you that my partner for this meal was the Ros (as in @rosontour). We spotted Flour & Grape on Tik Tok recently. We’ve been stacking up a list of Tik Tok finds to make our way through, and this was the first we ticked off! I definitely think we picked a good place to start.

Neither of us had really explored Bermondsey before, so we spent the hour before F&G opened just wandering around the streets & into all the cute little shops we found. Can confirm this is a lovely way to spend a Sunday. As F&G is a no-booking situation (you queue through the Walk Up app), we stationed ourselves at a cafe with a view of the F&G front door to make sure we were among the first people to get inside. That is true pasta dedication. We both had an iced chai and stared at the door (I’m not joking). The iced chai was actualy a lovely surprise – one of the best we’d both ever had! As soon as the restaurant opened we were up, I think we were the third table to be seated.

After looking at the menu we strategised – do we do starters and a couple of pastas, do we do all pasta, do we do smaller starters, pasta and a dessert? We were both on the same page – let’s get all pasta, and let’s get 4 pastas (everyone needs a friend like Ros). We got 2 rounds of 2 pastas, to make it feel like a proper meal and less like we’d just ordered 4 mains between 2…

First up we got the pork shoulder tortelloni and the fennel sausage ragu with gigli. I am not being dramatic when I say these were absolute perfection – and I’m not just saying because I was wildly hungover and starving. The tortelloni (spoiler alert) ended up being our favourite of the night – the filling was purely slow roasted pork, it was so tender and so meaty in flavour. Tossed in a simple sage butter – this was absolutely incredible. Don’t get me wrong though, that ragu was also insanely special. Again, very meaty and buttery, but with the addition of the freshness from some greens.

Flour and grape pork shoulder tortelloni
Pork shoulder tortelloni with sage butter
Flour and Grape fennel sausage ragu gigli
Fennel sausage ragu with gigli

We polished up both plates and got our next pasta course – the carbonara and the preserved truffle taglierini. Again, both were fabulous! The carbonara came with an extra egg yolk on top to mix in which made it even more decadent, with the salty, meaty, crunchy little pieces of guanciale. A perfect example of a carbonara. We found the truffle pasta really interesting and quite subtly different to your standard creamy truffle pasta. The preserved truffle gave it a little more of a tang which cut through the richness. Of course, we polished off these 2 plates too (apart from 1 mouthful I could not stomach…).

flour and grape carbonara
Spaghetti carbonara with an egg yolk and crispy guanciale
flour and grape preserved truffle taglierini
Preserved truffle taglierini

All in all, this was a really fantastic meal and it has definitely cemented itself as one of our pasta favourites. Every dish was fantastic – nothing disappointed! But for educational purposes, so you know what to get when you visit, we’ve kindly ranked the dishes from our favourite to least favourite.

Meg’s Rankings

  1. Pork shoulder tortelloni
  2. Carbonara
  3. Sausage ragu
  4. Truffle taglierini

Ros’ Rankings

  1. Pork shoulder tortelloni
  2. Carbonara
  3. Truffle taglierini
  4. Sausage ragu

We both definitely recommend a trip to Flour & Grape, absolutely worth a queue! If you do take a trip, let me know what you think in the comments!

Find them at 214 Bermondsey St, SE1 3TQ

Elliots Calabrian Anchovy Toast

Elliot’s – Hackney, E8

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2 friends and I have been making a real effort to try a lot of local Hackney restaurants to make the most of our area and, most importantly, to avoid getting on a tube. Next on our list was Elliot’s – another one that I’ve heard great things about through the grape vine but never got round to going. They have 2 locations, one in Hackney right by London Fields, and one in Borough. I’ve only visited the former, but I image the Borough counterpart is just as good. The restaurant feels very laid back and cool with a huge list of natural wines to choose from. Very Hackney in the best way!

Before choosing anything we spent a good 10 mins asking questions trying to work out which dishes we needed to try and what other dishes those went with. Our waitress was really helpful and helped us to pick out a really amazing meal. But first off, wine! We were feeling fancy so went for a sparkling – we asked for a recommendation of a dry wine that wasn’t too expensive (this left us with a lot to choose from!). Sadly I really cannot remember the wine but I know the words ‘tinc’ and ‘sec’ were in the name somewhere… Very unhelpful, I’m sorry.

Elliots Cheese Croquettes
L: Cheese croquettes, R: Calabrian anchovy toast

The food menu is split into 4 sections: snacks, small plates, pizzas and wood fired oven (plus sides). We asked for a recommendation of numbers of plates from each section. We decided to skip the wood oven entirely as we found the other sections a bit more exciting. Snacks first! We went for the cheese puffs and Calabrian anchovy toast and these were both genuinely some of the top dishes of the nights. The cheese puffs are indescribable, like a croquette-ish type thing – a thin crust on the outside with a warm, gooey cheesy middle. I could eat these forever. No exaggeration! And the anchovy toast – high quality bread, some sweet fried onions, a big curl of quality butter and a salty, oily anchovy. The perfect bite. Both of these dishes are an absolute must.

Elliots Seabass Crudo
L: Seabass crudo, R: Potato flatbread with trout roe in the background

From the small plates we chose the sea bass crudo; king oyster mushrooms with wild garlic and an egg yolk; smoked ox tongue with beans, capers and horseradish; and trout roe with a potato flatbread. We were also recommended to get some focaccia to soak up the sauce from the mushrooms and ox tongue. These were all exceptional! I think my top 2 were the super fresh and buttery sea bass, and the trout roe. The roe dish came with a little potato pizza type thing, with a separate bowl of roe and sour cream to spoon on top. The mushrooms were also very delicious – really rich and creamy owing to that egg. I loved the ox tongue too, but this was a bit more polarising in the group (I think the context of it being a tongue). We were really glad we got the focaccia so as not to waste all the yummy sauces.

Elliots king oyster mushrooms with wild garlic and an egg yolk
L: King oyster mushrooms, R: Smoked ox tongue

Next up we got 2 pizzas: the brown butter, taleggio & sage, and the beef ragu with parmesan. We also got a size of fried maris pipers (aka the crispiest, fluffiest chips in the world) with a HUGE serving of alioli – great for those pizza crusts. Both pizzas were absolutely incredible. I was glad to have one white and one red as they balanced well. The taleggio pizza was very rich and nutty from the brown butter. The beef had a bit more tang from the tomato and that beef was absolutely perfectly cooked.

Elliots brown butter, taleggio & sage pizza
Elliots beef ragu with parmesan pizza
L: Taleggio and brown butter pizza, R: Beef rag and parmesan pizza

We were told they had great desserts, but sadly by this point we were just waaaay too full. Instead we headed across to Netil 360 for another bottle of sparkling wine… All in all we had an absolutely incredible meal, every dish was seriously impressive and delicious. I think my faves were the snacks, the roe, that beef pizza and the fries. I wholeheartedly recommend a visit to Elliot’s for some really high quality and exciting food. Next on my list is to visit the Borough location!

Find them at 121-123 Mare Street, Hackney, London E8 3RH

Or their borough location 12 Stoney Street, Borough Market, London SE1 9AD

Fondue setup (Bistrot Walluc)

Bistrot Walluc – Shoreditch, E2

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In this instalment of the foodie adventures of Ros & Meg we took a trip to this Shoreditch fondue house. Neither of us can remember exactly how it started but we’ve both been chatting to Bistrot Walluc on insta for quite a while and we’ve been so keen to go since. We decided it would be the perfect setting for our reunion after our 3 week separation (Ros is never allowed on holiday again). Bistrot Walluc is right by Shoreditch Highstreet, on the same road as some other incredible restaurants including the BAO noodle bar (click to read my review) and Smoking Goat. We were greeted by the amazing Luca – he does both front of house & the kitchen – and taken to our table. The restaurant itself is so much fun and so eccentric. There were kitschy trinkets everywhere and the music was coming from an old record player in the corner.

Bistrot Walluc do a set menu which consists of cheese & charcuterie to start, followed by a fondue or gnocchi for main, and then a limoncello shot to round it all off. As the cheese lovers we are, we went for the fondue of course. But before all that, we both got a shot of amaretto which is something I would never normally drink straight, but I definitely will be again!

Cheese and charcuterie plate

Now for our starter. We got a lovely selection of meats (including some salami, mortadella and a cured ham), cheeses (manchego, and a floral honey goats cheese), a salad with the most delicious sundried tomatoes I’ve ever had on, cornichon and some bread. This is already one of my favourite things – I love tearing up the meat and trying different combinations with the cheese on bread. But if that wasn’t enough the wonderful Luca also brought us over some extra bits to try, including a delicious n’duja that we just spread on bread and a salami coated in red wine. I hadn’t tried the wine salami before – the red wine formed these sweet, dark flakes. It was all amazing. Nothing beats some very high quality charcuterie & cheese.

N'Duja and bread (Bistrot Walluc)
Red wine salami, n'duja and bread (Bistrot Walluc)
L: N’duja, R: red wine salami (with more n’duja)

Next up was our fondue. But before this, we spent a bit of time chatting to Luca about his life and how he came to own a fondue restaurant in Shoreditch. Luca is from Italy, but has also lived in France – where he mastered the fondue. When he came to open his restaurant he initially thought Italian food, but shifted to fondue. His fondue isn’t a typical french or Swiss fondue – he’s made his own version. He uses gruyere & comte which makes for such a delicious fondue. Both cheeses add quite a strong flavour, and you can taste both. You can definitely tell this isn’t your standard fondue, it has a much greater depth of flavour. We dipped both bread and potatoes into our fondue and polished off the whole thing.

Fondue setup (Bistrot Walluc)
L: Our fondue setup with bread & potatoes, R: The cheese pull from heaven

We rounded off the meal with some limoncello and some brilliant magic tricks from Luca (there is nothing he can’t do). I cannot recommend this place strongly enough, from the delicious food, the super fun interior to the brilliant Luca – everything about Bistrot Walluc is fantastic. We both had so much fun and left very satisfied. I have not stopped raving about it since! They also host live music & comedy nights which I will definitely be returning for, give them a follow on insta to keep up with the schedule. You absolutely have to give Bistrot Walluc a go. Whether with friends, family, a date, even solo you will not find a more fun or authentic place than here. To book head to their insta, click on the link in the bio and drop Luca a Whatsapp!

Find them at 40 Redchurch St, London E2 7DP

Bacon butter burger

Burger & Beyond – Shoreditch, E1

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I like to think of myself as a bit of a burger of London connoisseur. I’ve eaten a lot of burgers, and I’m working on my top 5 list but it still needs a bit more research (aka eating more burgers). In the meantime, I thought I’d write about one of my favourite burger places – Burger & Beyond. It’s in close contention for the coveted top spot with another burger place that I won’t mention just yet (don’t want to give away my secrets that easily). B&B serve proper dirty, delicious food – I’m talking burgers that leak gravy when you pick them up, the kind of food my mum would be disgusted by, which is the very food I want to eat. I’ve been here quite a few times (& ordered delivery from them many many more times), but this most recent trip I went with my cousin Bryony (a name you may recognise from some other posts). I love going here with Bryony because we’re both on the same page about sharing sides & massively over-ordering (yet still finishing it). That’s the kind of friend you want to go to B&B with. The vibe in the restaurant is really fun and relaxed, which matches the food and drink perfectly.

We arrived during happy hour which means £6 cocktail of the day. We got the B&B punch which is one of my favourite B&B cocktails – delicious and surprisingly alcoholic. Now for food, I always make sure to get a plate of the fried chicken bites, special sauce and pickles as I think it’s some of the best fried chicken I’ve ever had. Super crispy, tender and perfectly seasoned. The sauce and pickles is the thing that makes it – the sauce is like a burger sauce but 1000x better. For the perfect bite get the chicken, dip it in the sauce and put a pickle on top – you get the richness from the chicken, balanced with the creaminess of the sauce and tang from the pickles. Perfect!!

Burger and Beyond fried chicken bites with secret sauce and pickles
Fried chicken bites with secret sauce and pickles

Now onto the main event – the burger. We both got a single bacon butter burger. I tend to go for a single here to leave room for the amazing sides. This burger is my favourite one, its made of a dry aged beef patty, double American cheese, crispy pancetta, burnt butter mayo and onion. This is like your classic bacon cheeseburger but huuuugely elevated due to the amazing meat quality, the rich burnt butter mayo and the freshness from the onions. You really have to try this to see what I’m talking about. I’ve also tried their bougie burger which is also pretty special (beef patty, American cheese, steak sauce, marrownaise, and beef fat onions). As you can probably imagine from that ingredient list, this one is a lot richer than the bacon butter burger. I don’t really think you can go wrong with burger choice here!

Burger and Beyond bacon butter burger
Bacon butter burger

The thing that makes B&B extra special is their amazing side selection, including my favourite: the dirty tots. These are crispy yet fluffy tots, covered with ranch, hot sauce, bacon bits and parm – need I say more? These are completely amazing – the perfect, crunch, creaminess, saltiness and kick. They also do truffle tots (tots, truffle mayo, parm and crispy sage) which are also good, but I prefer the dirty tots as they aren’t as rich and have a bit more going on. On top of the dirty tots, we also got the fries, bone marrow gravy and cheese curds. The fries are amazing, the bone marrow gravy was super rich & meaty and the cheese curds were light and springy. It really worked perfectly – like an elevated poutine.

Burger and Beyond dirty tots
Burger and Beyond dirty tots and gravy fries
L: Dirty Tots, R: dirty tots and bone marrow gravy fries

Everything B&B do that I’ve tried is so amazingly well done, from drinks to starters to mains to sides. I’ve actually never been able to have a dessert there before as I always leave so full, but I imagine they’re pretty good too. Like I said, this place is playing for the top spot on my burger list, and that really is a huge compliment as I’ve eaten a lot of burgers. I really recommend you give this place a visit, and bring your best foodie friend that will help you eat as much of the menu as you can. Let me know in the comments what you think!

Find them at 147 Shoreditch High St, London E1 6JE, or on Deliveroo

Dulce de Leche and Salte Oreo Gelato (Jacks Gelato)

Foodie Day Trip: Where To Eat In Cambridge

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This is my first foray into non-London food on this blog so I hope it goes well! You may be wondering how qualified am I to talk about food in Cambridge – well I spent 3 years of my life at uni there, so I would say quite qualified (although I was on a student budget back then). I was lucky enough to get to go back recently for a reunion dinner and graduation ceremony. The weekend included a 3 course formal meal in my old college with wine pairings & port, and then a VERY hungover and sleep deprived graduation ceremony the next morning. I then spent the rest of that day consuming all the foodie bits I remembered from my time there and laying in the sun, because what else can you do on a hangover? So I thought I’d share with you some of my must-see foodie spots for a day in Cambridge. This is by no means exhaustive, but this is what I got round to on my day there.

Fitzbillies Chelsea Bun

First, I started off the day with an absolute Cambridge staple – the Fitzbillies Chelsea bun. I headed here pre-graduation for some very necessary coffee and carbs to get me through. I picked up an oat milk iced latte, which was absolutely delicious and brought life back to my hungover self, and a Chelsea bun. These Chelsea buns are an absolute must if you’re in Cambridge. They are famous for a reason! Think tender dough, rolled with currants, sugar and spices, and DRENCHED in syrup. They’re really special, as you’d hope given they’ve had over 100 years of practice to perfect them! You can also order these online for nationwide delivery which is a new & dangerous discovery for me…

Honey Soy Chicken Ciabatta (Bread and Meat)
Iced Tea (Bread and Meat)
L: Honey soy chicken sandwich, R: Ice tea – both bread and meat

Next up I was in desperate need of some heavy carbs for lunch after graduation. I went to Bread & Meat to get their award winning honey soy chicken sandwich. I visited bread & meat a few times, but I actually hadn’t had the soy chicken sandwich before! A friend of mine told me I really needed to try it while I was there, and I trust his opinion. Let me tell you, this sandwich was really incredible. The chicken was so tender and juicy, with a beautiful sweet, fragrant & salty flavour. It paired perfectly with the creamy Siracha mayo, crunchy pickled mooli, all cut through with a dash of lime and served in a chewy ciabatta. I can definitely see why this sandwich is award winning! I’ve had the porchetta and Philly cheesesteak before – both of which were also pretty special. You can get any of their amazing roast meats in a sandwich, as a poutine or in a bowl. They even have a veggie option too! To give me a bit of a pep, I also picked up one of their iced teas. This was super refreshing and delicious.

Ragu Arancini from Aromi

Just in case a whole sandwich wasn’t enough, I also stopped by Aromi to grab an arancino. I got the ragu aracini – this had a core of ragu and mozzarella. This was carby, cheesy and rich from the ragu. Aromi are most famous for their pizzas – I ate countless slices from Aromi in my time at uni here. I was definitely sad not to get one this time, but I thought a sandwich and a huge pizza slice was too much, even for me. That being said, their arancini are really great too!

Dulce de Leche and Salte Oreo Gelato from Jack’s Gelato

To round it all off, I obviously needed a little something sweet. For this, we went to Jack’s Gelato, which is easily some of the best gelato I’ve had. I spent many a sunny library break running to Jack’s to grab a couple of scoops. Their flavours change pretty regularly. I got 2 scoops in a cup; dulce de leche and salted Oreo, and they were both fantastic. The texture of the ice cream is so smooth and creamy. The dulce de leche was caramelly and almost bitter in flavour – a classic done very well. But the salted Oreo was reaaally special – I can’t describe the flavour in any other way than salty Oreo which might sound horrible but trust me it was inspired. The saltiness perfectly balanced and enhanced the Oreo flavour, it’s something you have to try. I noticed they’ve started doing specialty hot chocolates too, so it’s even worth a trip to Jack’s during the winter!

I also wanted to give special mention to the best post-night-out food place – the Trailer of Life. You’ll find this in market square. You need to try the cheesy chips (the perfect crisp/soft/stretchy cheese ratio) and the quesadillas. You won’t be disappointed!

Thought I’d throw in a little pic of me on graduation day too!

It’s highly likely that all these places will have queues outside but please don’t let this put you off. This should confirm that I’m really not lying to you – all these places are amazing and really worth the trip. Like I said, this is not an exhaustive list – there are so many other amazing foodie spots to hit up in Cambridge. I highly recommend a day trip or weekend trip to Cambridge – it’s such a beautiful city. There’s incredible architecture literally around every corner in the centre, and quite a few colleges are open for tourists (although avoid exam season as most colleges shut their doors to the public then). I think you can see how beautiful the scenery is just in the background of these pics. And clearly it ticks the most important criteria for day trip destination: food!

Find Fitzbillies at 51-52 Trumpington St, Cambridge CB2 1RG

Find Bread + Meat at 4 Bene’t St, Cambridge CB2 3QN

Find Aromi at 1 Bene’t St, Cambridge CB2 3QN

Find Jack’s Gelato at 6 Bene’t St, Cambridge CB2 3QN

12:51 – Highbury & Islington, N1

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12:51 is a place I’ve been to a few times for both the tasting menu and the Sunday roast and I am a big big fan. The chef is James Cochran, who you may know from such shows as Great British Menu – a show I watched avidly for years and I was always a fan of James’ food. I remember the first time I went to 12:51 really excitedly texting my parents that I was going to a celebrity chef’s restaurant, and then again when I actually saw him in the kitchen (I’m such a loser). The restaurant is a long narrow space on Upper Street with super fun decor that really matches the menu. This trip was my second time having the tasting menu – the first time was just over a year ago and it was definitely easier to get a reservation back then! This shows you just how good the food is though, especially for what you’re paying – £40 for 5 courses, +£35 wine pairing if you want it!

Soda bread with yeast butter

So, the meal – how was it! We got a bottle of the prosecco to drink, I prefer my prosecco a little drier but my friend Lucy liked it. I got the 5 course taster and Lucy got the 5 course veggie taster. For the most part Lucy’s and my dishes were very similar but with meaty components swapped out for veggie versions. First off we got some soda bread with a yeast butter – this was delicious. The bread was warm and the butter was very savoury and delicious. Off to a great start!

Spiced lamb kromeski with herby mayo (12:51)
Spiced lamb kromeski, cut open, with herby mayo (12:51)
Spiced lamb kromeski with herby mayo

On the meaty menu, they offer 3 options for snacks: buttermilk jerk chicken, spiced lamb kromeski, and feuille de brick with venison tare tare. I’ve had the chicken before and that was absolutely fantastic. Quick side note but James’ chicken is excellent, I remember over lockdown he opened a delivery chicken restaurant called Around the Cluck that I ordered from a lot. Up there with some of the best fried chicken I’ve ever had. Side note over. I ordered the lamb to try something different. This was a square croquette filled with spiced slow cooked lamb and gravy with a dollop of herby mayonnaise. This was gorgeous – so richly flavoured, with a little kick. The crunchy outside and soft inside balanced perfectly.

Crispy beef croquette (12:51)
Crispy beef croquette, cut open (12:51)
Crispy beef croquette

The first course was a crispy beef croquette, oyster cream and nasturtium. This was also delicious – a very crisp croquette filled with rich, tender beef and pickles. Next up was roast celeriac, remoulade, Douglas fir bacon pieces, pork crackling and egg yolk. This dish balanced so well – the very salty bacon and crackling paired with the earthy celeriac.

Roast celeriac with remoulade, bacon, crackling and egg yolk (12:51)
Smoked bone broth with mussels (12:51)
L: Roast celeriac, remoulade, bacon pieces, pork crackling and egg yolk. R: Smoked bone broth with mussels

Next we had a broth course – mine was smoked bone broth with mussels, artichoke and dulse. This course was very light, but rich on the flavour owing to the bone broth. Next we had the main which was the same for both of us – polenta, leek, kholrabi and roasted hazelnuts. This dish was sooo delicious and sooo rich. The polenta felt so buttery and luxurious, the leeks were buttery, the raw kholrabi really helped to cut through the richness and finally the hazelnuts really rounded the whole dish. I think this was my top dish of the meal – the rich, butteriness and the combinations of very soft and very crisp textures made this a fantastic dish.

L: Polenta, leek, kholrabi and roasted hazelnuts. R: Caramel custard, rhubarb and shortbread.

Lastly we had our pudding which was caramel custard, rhubarb and shortbread. Flavour-wise this dish was great – sharp rhubarb, creamy almost bitter caramel custard and super buttery shortbread. But, for me, the textures let this dish down a little. The custard was very thin – I was hoping for something a little more luxurious, like a set custard. That would’ve given this dish more substance. I also felt the shortbread was a little hard and not short enough. That being said, it still tasted delicious!

All in all I was very impressed again with 12:51. The menu was really interesting and well thought out, with great flavour and texture combinations in all dishes. It’s even better when you remember all that only costs £40! That being said, Lucy and I did get a little hungry later on and grabbed a roasted camembert from Humble Grape after (but also remember we had dinner at 5:30 and had been drinking wine from 5:30 until 9:30 when we got our camembert – this might explain the hunger…). I really recommend 12:51 – you can get the fine dining experience, really interesting food and great service for a really reasonable price. Their Sunday roast is also absolutely fantastic too – I’ve not had one from 12:51 for well over a year but I remember it being pretty special.

Find them at 107 Upper St, N1 1QN.

N'Duja Lasagne (Tom's Pasta)

Toms Pasta – Hackney Downs, E8

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I took a trip to this restaurant on the recommendation of a friend who works there. She had absolutely rave reviews for the place and after a quick scroll of their insta I was hooked. Tom’s Pasta is unsurprisingly headed up by a chef named Tom, who mans the kitchen on his own churning out starters, mains and desserts for a packed restaurant. I was so impressed he kept up with all the orders on his own and that he never skimped on the quality. Again unsurprisingly, Tom’s Pasta at heart is a pasta restaurant, specialising in lasagne! In my experience you very rarely see a lasagne on a menu, so I was really excited to try these out. Tom started the business as a lasagne delivery service by bike (absolutely genius), and has moved into a restaurant space in Hackney Downs Studios, right next to Hackney Downs park. This is a really great space, part of the larger creative studios complex. Tom’s Pasta is in the downmarket building, which also houses All Good Beer who have a really great selection of beers & wines to have with your meal. There is also a cafe/bakery in this space open during the day, Brunswick East, which I haven’t tried. Anyway, back to Tom’s Pasta – and let’s talk food.

The menu changes almost daily, although there are some seemingly staple dishes including the pork & beef lasagne, n’duja lasagne and the genovese lasagne. To start, we ordered the whole starter menu – 2x burrata with sourdough, the bruschetta and the meat & cheese plate. All of this was fantastic. The burrata came very simply drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper and good quality sourdough. The meat & cheese plate came with more burrata, mortadella and some cured ham. The bruschetta was crisp, fresh and garlicky. What’s not to love?!

L: Burrata & sourdough, M: meat & cheese plate, R: bruschetta

For main I got the pork & beef lasagne and no word of a lie this was probably the best lasagne I’ve ever had. Maybe better than the one I make and that’s saying something because I really back myself. Firstly, it comes hidden under a mountain of cheese which is a great start. Secondly, the lasagne itself uses the most delicious, rich and deeply flavoured ragu – you can really tell the time and effort gone into it and it absolutely pays off. Thirdly, the bechamel is soooo thick and so creamy. Fourthly, pasta. Again an absolutely winning combination. My friends all got the n’duja which is very similar to the pork & beef but with added n’duja. They were kind enough to let me try a bite and that, too, was wonderful. No surprise really that combining one beautiful thing (that lasagne) with another (n’duja) makes another beautiful thing. We also got a 3 sides of the buttery garlic bread which was a new addition to the menu that day. Think a beautiful, thick slice of sourdough drenched in garlic butter and topped with cheese – as you can imagine, it was a great great thing.

L: Pork & beef lasagne, R: n’duja lasagne

We rounded off the meal with the lasagne of the dessert world – tiramisu. Yet again, Tom is giving me a run for my money as I think his tiramisu might be better than my own which, again, is saying something because I back myself hard. We got a huge slab in a bowl. First thing that struck me was how yellow the cream was, I assume owing to the use of some really good eggs. It was rich from the cream but light from the sponge, with the perfect amount of coffee flavour that wasn’t too overpowering. Another triumph.

L: Buttery garlic bread, R: tiramisu

If you can’t tell already, I’m such a huge fan of Tom’s Pasta. All the food was incredible, really up my street – Italian food done super well. I was also so impressed that Tom could do all this by himself in the kitchen, including serving a table of 18 plus the rest of the restaurant. The vibe in the place is great too, very relaxed and everyone who works there is super fun (I’m definitely biased as my mate works there, but she’s a lot of fun I promise). I really recommend a trip to this place, I’ll definitely be returning to try the other lasagnes, the aubergine parm and I’ve seen some tagliatelle knocking about on their insta too. Let me know in the comments how you find it if you take a trip!

Find them at 17 Amhurst Terrace, London E8 2BT

Lamb Cumin Miso Udon (Koya Soho)

Tops Tips For Dining Out Alone (+ Review of Koya – Soho, W1)

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As a major foodie, one thing I’ve always wanted to do but never felt brave enough to is go to a restaurant on my own. I’ve always looked at people who go to restaurants alone as super independent people – but I’ve never been able to extend that image to myself. For some reason, while I always thought other people looked independent doing it, I thought I would look sad and lonely and everyone wold be judging me. I decided recently I wanted to face that fear: bite the bullet and eat at a restaurant alone. Why should I have to wait for a friend to be free that likes that type of food to go eat somewhere? If I want to eat something, I should be able to do that regardless of if a friend is coming with me or not! Well, I did it and I had a really great time. It turns out absolutely no one is looking at and judging you if you go and eat on your own in a restaurant! I definitely felt very apprehensive ahead of doing it, so I wanted to share some tips for how I did it, made it really enjoyable and feel less scary.

Top Tips For First Time Solo Diners (From a recent first timer)

  1. Try to avoid just sitting on your phone – be present, take in the environment. This makes it a much more rewarding experience. If you’re gonna sit on your phone, you might as well just be at home and order a delivery. You go to a restaurant for the whole experience, to take in the surroundings.
  2. Pick a place with good people watching opportunities – this was key for me to stay off my phone. I chose Koya as this had bar seating which meant I could watch the chefs cooking the food which was really fun.
  3. If you’re scared, pick something lowkey for the first time. I was scared, so chose lunch over dinner as this felt less scary for me – I was just grabbing lunch while out shopping, whereas dinner felt scarier as I would be leaving the house specifically to go eat. Koya had bar seating too which I think really helped as this lends itself very well to eating alone.
  4. Pick a place with food you’re really excited to try! And maybe somewhere none of your friends would go. One of the reasons I wanted to start eating out on my own is that a lot of my friends may not want to eat at all the places I want to. I do have a few foodie friends, but they aren’t always gonna be free!
  5. As much as you can, try to tell remind yourself how strong & independent you are for doing this! And absolutely no one else is going to be looking at you and judging for being alone, but if they do, who cares! It won’t affect you if people are thinking that.

I hope these tips help if any of you are planning to give this a go for the first time. I cannot recommend it enough!

Koya Review

You’re probably all wondering how was Koya? Well I’ll tell you! For those who don’t know, Koya is an amazing Japanese udon bar with locations in Soho, Hackney and the city. I went for a Saturday lunch at the Soho branch around 2pm – when I got there the queue wasn’t too long. I think I waited around 30-40 mins. It did start raining but luckily that was just when I reached the cover. It was cold, and a little stormy which I think is the perfect weather for a big hot bowl of noodles & broth.

Once I was seated, I ordered the cumin miso lamb and added tamago (poached egg). I got a prime seat and watched the chefs making my dish. They handed me this huge steaming bowl of noodles and cold egg on the side. I cracked my egg into the dish – the yolk was still gorgeously thick and runny, and the broth warmed up the egg perfectly. The noodle dish consisted of thick udon noodles, broth, a minced lamb cumin and miso mix, with a bit of freshness from coriander and spring onions – it was absolutely delicious. I really love udon noodles, and these were a fantastic example of them – they were thick, a little bit chewy and so comforting. The broth was savoury, and the lamb was amazing – very umami and fragrant. I really liked the addition of the tamago as the yolk added a bit of richness. I definitely want to go back and try their other udon dishes, as well as their small plates and sides. Maybe next time I’ll take a friend to share with!

Lamb Cumin Miso Udon with Tamago (Koya Soho
Lamb Cumin Miso Udon with tamago (Koya Soho)

So all in all my first solo restaurant trip was a major success – I did it confidently, I really enjoyed the experience AND I got to eat delicious noodles. I think my next challenge for myself will be to go out for dinner alone – please give me tips in the comments if you have any! Anyone who, like me, feels apprehensive about eating a restaurant alone – I really recommend giving it a go! It feels very freeing to know that anytime there’s something I want to eat, I can just go and do that!

Find them at 50 Frith Street, W1D 4SQ (+ other locations in Hackney & the city)

Sardines with focaccion (Angelina, Dalston)

Angelina – Dalston, E8

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Angelina is very often talked about as one of the best restaurants in Hackney, and I’m ashamed to say I spent over a year of my life living just down the road from Angelina and never went. But, over a year on from that flat and I finally took the trip to Angelina, and here I am giving you a review. I went with 2 foodies who you’ve all be introduced to before – my friend Ros and my cousin Bryony – check out their foodie instas linked. We opted for the 10 course tasting menu (made possible by a discount provided by my cousin) on a day we’re now trying, and not succeeding, to rename 10 course Tuesdays. Spoiler alert: it was delicious. Angelina is an Italian-Japanese fusion, which at first scared me a little as I’ve had so many sloppily done fusions, but this was nothing like the others. They blended these two very distinct cuisines absolutely perfectly, which made for such an exciting and sophisticated meal.

Sardines with focaccia and shiso koso (Angelina, Dalston)
Sardines with focaccia and shiso koso

I have to admit I’m still struggling to work out how these dishes formed 10 courses, as we got a lot more than 10 plates. I’m not complaining though! First up we got 3 dishes, which definitely included some of the top dishes of the night: focaccia, sardines & shiso kosho; Hokkaido milk bread, sweet potato & sesame; taleggio, tobiko & moromi. The sardines were one of our favourite of the night, you can’t go wrong with focaccia and a salty fish. The sweet potato dish was like a little katsu sando – really delicious. The taleggio was probably the first taste I got of how flawlessly they had combined Japanese and Italian flavours. It was a little wonton cracker covered in taleggio with fish roe and moromi – I was so impressed with how they balanced the strong cheesy flavour with a much lighter, Japanese flavour. It was perfectly balanced.

Taleggio, tobiko & moromi (Angelina, Dalston)
Hokkaido milk bread, sweet potato & sesame (Angelina, Dalston)
L: Taleggio, tobiko & moromi (photo credit @rosontour), R: Hokkaido milk bread, sweet potato & sesame

Next up was the chawanmushi, clam & bresaola. This was a polarising dish on our table. It is a steamed, set egg custard topped with clams and little bresaola chunks. I really enjoyed how silky it was and the bresaola added a lovely saltiness.

Chawanmushi with clams and bresaola (Angelina, Dalston)
Chawanmushi, clam & bresaola

After this we had our raw course, consisting of 4 dishes. My favourite of this set was the sea bream ceviche with ponzu and sea purslane. The fish was buttery soft. In this course we also got a radicchio salad with smoked burrata and pistachio – this was really amazing. I’d never had a smoked burrata before but it was such an interesting flavour – it was strong and smokey but really light and creamy at the same time. We also had oyster with pomegranate and shiso. I’m a huge oyster fan so loved this, it was very fresh tasting. Lastly we go the sea trout with crispy spinach crackers and caviar. This took the form of almost a tare tare that we spooned onto the crackers. Again delicious, although I found the crackers a little oily.

Sea bream ceviche with ponzu (Angelina, Dalston)
Radicchio and smoked burrata salad (Angelina, Dalston)
L: sea bream ceviche with ponzu and sea purslane, R: Radicchio salad with smoked burrata and pistachio

Next we had our fried courses consisting of monkfish skewers with pickles, and kalettes with tentsuyu. The monkfish was great – super meaty fish, perfectly cooked and crispy on the outside with some sharp pickles to cut through the rich fish. Kalette is a relative of the sprout, which I am known to hate, however I loved the kalettes (or at least I love kalettes cooked like this). They were tempura served with the tentsuyu which is a kind of salty sharp dipping sauce.

Monkfish skewers with pickles (Angelina, Dalston)
Kalettes with tentsuyu (Angelina, Dalston)
L: Monkfish skewers with pickles, R: Kalettes with tentsuyu

We moved onto our pasta course of fazzoletti, wild garlic and walnut which was absolutely incredible. I didn’t feel too much of the Japanese fusion here, but it was a really fantastic plate of pasta. So buttery and garlicky, with the crunch from the walnuts.

Fazoletti with wild garlic and walnut (Angelina, Dalston)
Fazoletti with wild garlic and walnut

For main we had short rib with celeriac and gremolata. The short rib was rich and meaty, which paired perfectly with the buttery celeriac puree and fresh gremolata. We found the short rib a little tough, but we went on the first night of the new menu so I imagine they were still ironing out a few kinks

Short rib with celeriac and gremolata (Angelina, Dalston)
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Lastly dessert, which I always think is the great test of a restaurant. Lots of restaurants put out amazing savoury dishes but really fall down at the dessert – I’m happy to confirm Angelina is not one of those restaurants. The dessert was listed on the menu as rhubarb, blood orange and nori. A very simple name but the dish was a little more complex: vanilla creme anglais, poached rhubarb, blood orange sorbet, caramelised nori and this delicious crumble type thing. The nori was the really striking thing about this dish – you can tell it’s nori, but it has a sweetness to it which went so well with the sharp fruit flavours. A perfectly balanced dish, yet again.

Creme anglais rhubarb blood orange and nori (Angelina, Dalston)
Creme anglais rhubarb blood orange and nori (photo credit @rosontour)

This meal was such an amazing experience for all of us. We had dishes and flavour combinations we’d never tried before but all of it worked so well. As dubious as I was about a successful Japanese/Italian fusion, I’ve really been converted. The dishes all worked so well, I’m so impressed by the inventiveness of the chefs. I really recommend this restaurant as a great special occasion place (or just to anyone looking to recreate 10 course Tuesday). The 10 course menu costs £59 at full price. They also offer a 5 course tasting menu too for £39!

Find them at 56 Dalston Ln, London E8 3AH.

Pasta Table (Bancone)

Bancone – Golden Square, W1

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Just wanted to start off this review by saying this place makes it into my top 5, maybe even top 3, Italian places in London just so you know which direction this review is going in (hint: it’s a good one). I’ve been to Bancone more times than I remember but I keep going back and bringing new people. I’m yet to find a person who didn’t enjoy their meal there. It’s pasta, but done so well, and for a very reasonable price given the quality you’re getting. You could easily get 3 courses of sharer food and wine for under £40 each – I’m always shocked when the bill comes given how full and content I am. There are 2 locations, Golden Square and Covent Garden, I’ve been to both and the food is equally good. I generally find it easier to get bookings at Golden Square as it’s bigger and they have a tree in the middle of the room which is fun. But I also really love the booths and the vibe at Covent Garden. All the more reason to go to Bancone twice to try each location!

Burrata with pumpkin and walnuts (Bancone)
Tomato focaccia (Bancone)
L: Burrata with pumpkin, R: Tomato focaccia

Starting with drinks and this time I didn’t get a whiskey sour! Instead we went for a 500ml carafe of rose – it was on the only one on their menu and was a really delicious, light rose. Now, this trip was with 2 Bancone lovers (my friend Ros who featured in my B.A.M post, and another friend Maisie) and we have a strategy at Bancone: we limit our starter orders to leave as much room as possible for the pasta (the best things on the menu), but obviously we can’t skip the starters completely. This time we got the focaccia with tomatoes, and burrata with pumpkin. Both were absolutely delicious, and went perfectly together. The burrata was beautifully creamy and paired so well with the pumpkin and crunchy walnuts. And the focaccia was perfect for soaking up any burrata left on the plate (no cheese waste allowed).

Burst open burrata with pumpkin (Bancone)
Had to get in a burrata cut open pic

For mains, we went for 4 pastas and shared. Our two staples that we always get are the bucatini cacio e pepe and the silk handkerchiefs with walnut butter and confit egg yolks. First, the cacio e pepe is easily one of the best examples of a cacio e pepe I’ve ever had – super cheesey, creamy & peppery. And the silk handkerchiefs, this dish has long been a contender for my all time favourite pasta dish. It’s made of sheets of pasta with a gorgeously rich walnut butter that is absolutely indescribable, and if that wasn’t enough it’s topped with a confit egg yolk that you can burst over the pasta. If you only ever listen to one of my recommendations, this pasta should be it.

Silk handkerchiefs with walnut butter and confit egg yolk (Bancone)
Bucatini cacio e pepe (Bancone)
L: Silk handkerchiefs with walnut butter & confit egg yolk, R: Bucatini cacio e pepe

After the 2 staples, we get another 2 dishes & usually like to try any new additions to the menu. This time we got the courgette, lemon and ricotta ravioli with semi dried tomato butter, and the braised ox cheek pappardelle with Barolo vinegar. Both were absolutely delicious. The ravioli ended up being one of our favourites as the lemon added a real freshness (even with the butter sauce). On the other side, the ox cheek was deliciously rich with a slightly chewy pappardelle – absolutely perfect. The universal favourite is always the silk handkerchiefs, but the ravioli was a real unexpected highlight of the meal. It doesn’t quite take the top spot, but it added such a lovely freshness to an otherwise very rich and buttery meal. Somehow after all this we still weren’t full and after a long debate about whether to get more pasta, we decided against it and opted for an Udderlicious sundae (mine had malt and malteser ice cream, caramel, caramelised hazelnuts and whipped cream if you were wondering).

Courgette, lemon and ricotta ravioli with semi dried tomato butter (Bancone)
L: courgette, lemon and ricotta ravioli with semi dried tomato butter, R: Braised ox cheek pappardelle with Barolo vinegar

Every dish we had was just as amazing as the last – and I’m sure that’s true of the whole menu. Bancone never fails to impress me and the standard has never slipped. I really recommend this place for a dinner that feels really high end but at a lower price. It’s also a great place to take visiting parents to impress them (mine will confirm). Let me know in the comments if you’ve ever been/if you do go! Especially if you try the silk handkerchiefs.

Find them at Golden Square 8-10 Lower James Street W1F 9EL, or Covent Garden 39 William IV Street WC2N 4DD.