And so we arrive back in London. Departing from my train, I take my first step back on British soil, with rain hurling down on me, jellied eels in hand and a cockney swagger back in my walk, I smile wide, ah Britannia, how I’ve missed you.
My first taste of food writing was via my blog ‘Alex’sfood’, much of the material of which I gathered from eating my way around London. Here I would post restaurant reviews, write recipes and at times rant on food related topics. One rant of course including my aversion to ice cream cones, which I do stand by despite my regression in Modena, of which I am ashamed.
Having grown up in London and the fact that England is of course part of Europe (any UKIP supporters can stop reading now), it seems apt then to talk a bit about the London food scene.
Having traveled for around five weeks and visited fourteen different Europeans cities, I found no food scene that even rivaled that of which we have here in London. Obviously this is a little unfair considering I’ve lived in London for all of my twenty years and the longest I spent in one single city this summer was just four nights. But I stick by my original comment!
What I love about the London food scene is its diversity. Also, interesting is how certain areas will specialize in different cuisines. If you want a good Turkish meal, East London is a good place to start, say Green lanes. If you are after Michelin starred food, Mayfair is a fine option. If it’s Indian you’re craving, try Brick lane (actually stay clear), but you catch my drift.
You can find Austrian, Burmese, Afghani, South African (not Nandos!), Korean, Sri Lankan, Ethiopian and Mongolian restaurants, with the list of cuisines going on and on, all without leaving London. It’s quite remarkable and fantastic come to think of it. In fact, I could have saved myself some money and just ate my way around London; I’ve had better French food here than I did in France itself, for example.
The slight downside to this is that it is hard to be overly impressed when eating local cuisine on one’s travels. But you can’t have your cake and it eat too (though I do try!)
So to round of this London section, here are reviews of two of the better eating experiences I’ve had in LDN.
127 Ledbury Rd, London W11 2AQ
Note: Please excuse my particularly shoddy camera-ship in this review. This meal was a few years ago and it has taken me much time and many a photographed meal to get to the level I am now. “And that’s saying something!”. Hey, there’s no need for that, I’ve got feelings you know!
We didn’t so much opt, as we were forced to have the tasting menu, having changed their policy, meaning that Friday and Saturday nights that is all they would be serving; this only came to light after we booked – in for a penny (easy for me to say when I’m not paying!)
Even before the amuse bouche, we were brought some canapés – the amuse before the bouche if you like. A small oat cake topped with foie gras and with a spot of blood orange mousse. Having previously not enjoyed my first encounter with foie gras, and of course very much against the process behind it, this was pure delight, (all my morals seemed to escape me in an instant). Almost sweet enough to be a dessert and then savoury notes from the foie gras pulled it back, lovely stuff.
The amuse bouche itself was a courgette soup with lobster and shellfish custard. Pleasant as it was, I felt it was a bit lacking in seasoning and the depth of flavour you expect from a soup at a two Michelin starred restaurant, wasn’t quite there. I’d take my Booba’s* chicken soup any day; perhaps less refined yes, but it’s hard to beat. *Jewish word for Grandma.
Ceviche of scallop with frozen horseradish and seaweed oil followed and for me, was a touch disappointing. I felt the oil gave a slight bitter tone to the dish and the horseradish was not to my particular palate. The scallops themselves were nice enough, though couldn’t quite rectify the damage done by the horseradish, the bastard! After two fairly average courses, I was slightly concerned the meal would not live up to my high expectations … (that’s the hook, you can’t help but read on to see the fate of the rest of the meal now….imagine the music from Jaws!)
Next, Flame grilled mackerel with cucumber, a dish I hear Brett Graham considers a bit of a Ledbury signature dish. I consider mackerel a fine ingredient and here it was left to speak for itself, and boy, what a lovely voice it had. The pockets of cucumber giving a refreshing pop in between bites from the the chargrilled skin of the fish. A very well crafted dish, good stuff.
I know my photos aren’t to a high standard at the best of times (except that quite amazing one of the ice cream in Modena, I think we can all agree on), but I’m embarrassed to even insert the photo from this particular course. So basically, it looked like a fillet of mackerel with some cucumber and a swipe of some sort of sauce! It was served on a similar plate to the next dish. And no, you can’t have a refund!
We were then served white asparagus with morels, truffle and duck ham. While I felt the asparagus had an ever so slightly bitter aftertaste, the combination of all the ingredients amalgamated into a fresh, healthy tasting combination*. The star of the plate was the duck ham lifting the dish to grand heights. I have to say, I do feel a little bad talking about ham after just discussing my Booba’s chicken soup, that’s as sacrilegious as it gets.
*Healthy tasting is a positive description in this case!
Ok, so now going back to the last dish; look at the plate, but instead of white asparagus imagine a fillet of mackerel and with the mushrooms, instead picture cucumber. See, who needs photos with such gripping description.
Sea bream with toasted quinoa and broccoli stem was next. Perfectly cooked fish worked wonderfully well with the broccoli and the nutty quinoa added the texture to complete a simple, yet tremendously effective dish. The broccoli stem itself coming as a bit of an education to me, showing the heights vegetable offal can reach.
I interrupt this food report, to bring you some very important news, regarding the Ledbury’s lavatories. Over the course of a ten course meal, spanning three and a half hours, I felt like I knew the Ledbury’s toilets like the back of my hand (which I know fairly well). They were nice enough, without being spectacular, though not what I envisage as a two star toilet. To be fair, I don’t think toilets are quite as high on a Michelin inspectors agenda as they are mine. Unfortunately, I don’t have a photo for this section of the review.
Now, on to the real stuff as my dad put it – MEAT! Quail with parsnip crisps, pear and walnuts. If found this along with the scallops were the biggest disappointment of the meal. It lacked seasoning and I was just left feeling a bit, meh. The parsnips were a touch dry, almost like a packet of vegetable crisps that have been left out for a while. Its saving grace was the pear – the sweetness of which lifted the quail above mediocrity. And when a pear is coming to your rescue, you know you’re in trouble!
The last of the savoury courses was beef with a very clever potato thing, celeriac and bone marrow. The beef was beautifully cooked, pink all the way through. with the salt level just right. The potato thing was perfectly crunchy and an innovative interpretation on using a potato. The celeriac was sweet and joyfully tender. It was simply perfect.
Our pre – dessert was a lemon verbena cream, burnt meringue and something else (forgive me). Fresh, zingy, light and other such words could be used to describe this dish. It was an absolute joy to behold, perhaps the best dessert of my life – and my mum’s lemon Pavlova takes a lot of beating, oh and Gordon Ramsey’s Royal Hospital Road’s famous ‘Assiette de l’abuergine’, of course. G-d that sounds really well to do, but I can’t think of another way to phrase it. Actually in English the ‘Assiette de l’aubergine’ apparently translates as ‘plate of aubergine’ which sounds a bit less poncy and certainly less appetizing.
As it was my birthday, along with the main desert of brown sugar tart with stem ginger ice cream, I was also presented with an extra course of pave of chocolate with lovage ice cream; you can send your hate-mail to my address (or if you don’t know it, simply follow me on twitter where you’ll be able to send me all the abuse you like – a follower’s a follower!)
The brown sugar tart was wonderfully silky and the crunchy base was its perfect partner. The ice cream was pure delight, although having been called ginger ice cream, you (I) expected a bigger ginger punch, not that this detracted from the dish. Again, a simple dish, left to speak for itself and what a lovely voice it had (I’m aware I’ve used this quite ingenious analogy before, but I’m now struggling – it is the ninth course to be fair, cut me some slack, it’s really arduous to review a ten course tasting menu...!).
Perhaps ironically, my ‘free dessert’ was the biggest portion of the night and also one of the best courses too. It was a very rich chocolate, almost too much so, but the accompanying components balanced the dish well. Three of the finest desserts I’ve had and most definitely my favorite section of the meal.
The service hit the balance between professionalism, friendliness and attentiveness perfectly. Each dish arrived at a time that meant the meal was very well paced. The maitre’d spent a good amount of time talking to us at the end of the meal, in the middle of a busy service. It is touches like this, along with the ‘free’ dessert and petit fours (the best of which was a blood orange biscuit) that made the evening so special and why the Ledbury is thought of with such high regard.
Some dishes were so good that they were slightly aggravating in their small portions, I think highlighting the pitfalls of tasting menus in general. Fewer, higher quality, bigger dishes for me would be more preferential to their current tasting menu. On the other hand, the variety does add a sense of drama and excitement which enhances the overall experience in its own way. Jeez, that was just about the most spoilt rotten moan ever!
Food – 8.5/10
Service – 10/10
Value – Not really for me to say!
Now on a student budget, the frequency of visiting fine food establishments has slowed to a snails pace (presumably a snail not too fussed with how its grass is prepared). However, with John Burton Race back in London and his new restaurant, ‘The New Angel’, offering 50% off, my foodie instincts kicked in and I had to book.
Having been seated by a clearly accomplished waiting team, the menu and breads followed quickly. I went for an onion and potato bread, followed by a soda bread. The onion variety was a little charred on top, giving it a slightly bitter and unwelcome aftertaste, though the sweetness of the onion was very pleasing. The soda bread was beautifully soft and trumped the onion and potato.
After ordering, an amuse bouche was quickly served; a mushroom soup with a parmesan tuille. In terms of amuse bouche of mushroom soups that I’ve had in the past, this was probably the finest (surprising amount of competition there). Really deep, rich and pure mushroom flavour. The tuille I felt was a little stale and I had to revert to the uncivilized, yet welcome practice of dunking to soften it.
For starters, I decided to shun the advice of the maitre’d (because I’m hard like that) of going for the salmon, instead opting for the scallops, served with onion bhaji and pickled vegetables. Beautifully cooked and presented, if perhaps a little small. I felt however that there could have been a little more of a curry hit in the curry elements and a bit more pickle in the pickled elements. Still, a pretty solid starter. Let’s go for a 7/10.
Choosing a main was nigh on torture (albeit being nothing like torture). I would have happily eaten all of the mains offered (aren’t I a saint) and had to place my trust in my sister to choose for me, as I was that pathetically indecisive. Her verdict being the pigeon with savoy cabbage, a truffle and madeira sauce, with a mushroom and foie gras tart.
The smell emanating from the dish was just lovely. The pigeon was succulent and perfectly pink. The skin wasn’t crispy, instead melted away to gamey deliciousness. The sauce was deep in flavour of madeira and truffle, balanced perfectly. While rich, it was harmonious with the dish. Savoy cabbage was a nice accompaniment; can’t really say much more about that! But the best thing about the dish and in fact the whole night (barring the company of my sister of course … she paid!) was the mushroom and foie gras tart. Delectably smooth foie gras, working perfectly in the crisp tart shell, with the earthy mushrooms finishing off a wonderful taste sensation. It was a most enjoyable dish. To parallel the theme of indecisiveness here, I can’t decide between 8 or 8.5/10.
Dessert was aesthetically stunning; a strawberry and lemon mille fueille, with raspberry sorbet and italian meringue. I almost felt bad taking my first spoonful (well, not quite)… then I tasted it. Ooh, just lovely. Fresh, light, indulgent; all words that I look for in any dessert!
It was a tad hard to eat, with the mille-feuille taking a little persuasion to break free and I felt there could have been a touch more zing in the lemon element, but I’m knit picking. The italian meringue was of the highest quality, putting my own attempts to shame. The real pleasure of this dessert was the number of different combinations, making each spoonful interesting. From the texture of the crisp mille-feuille with the varying creams and meringues around the plate. Also, the flavours of raspberry and the marshmallowesque of the meringue was beautifully judged. 8/10
Coming in at under thirty quid a head, including a glass of wine, ordered out of a fear of looking cheap by my sister, represents very good value for money. I feel if I were paying full price (£55), perhaps an extra amuse bouche and or a pre – dessert, would have sweetened the deal (pun intended).
Not that I have any power, influence or even credibility, but I’d give it a Michelin on this evidence! Good work John.
Some one (or two) liner food observations coming up now. A few, I’m aware are quite personal to me, and the others may not actually make much sense. But I wanted the pun ‘food for thought’ in this book one way or another, so I had to find some content to justify it... enjoy!
What’s the deal with cucumber!? It taste like slightly off water. Am I right guys!
The worst thing in food is undercooked quinoa; it feels like you’ve cracked a tooth.
Closely followed by overcooked quinoa. If I ever get in charge, under my authoritarian regime, I would punish heavily those who cook their quinoa or any grain incorrectly.
Why did Noah save the spiders! Definitely missed a trick there. Not food related no, but felt I had to get it off my chest. Darn you Noah!
What happened to an apple a day keeps the doctor away; now we need at least five portions of fruit and veg a day, plus a couple of goji berries.
Cake batter = mmm
Bread dough = not mmm
What does Luke, as in Luke warm, actually mean? What is Luke? Who is Luke!?
What came first, the chicken or the egg?... Well, if I had to plump for one, I’d go for the egg. This ‘plumping’ method I’m sure what scientists are using to work this age old question out.
One of the strangest things in life is that white chocolate isn’t actually chocolate! A fact that has made me really consider most of my childhood.
Why do restaurants train their waiting team to ask diners questions when they are mid-chew?!
Is there a more love hate activity than washing up as you go along when cooking...? Think about it!
Am I only the one who feels that mayonnaise is the most pointless of all the condiments?! Ooh controversial, that’s cucumber, now mayonnaise slammed. No foodstuff is safe!
Maybe natural salt isn’t the problem, but rather the chemicals added to it? Hmmm?
Why do people always insist on finishing the marmite analogy; yes you’re like marmite, we know what you are trying to get at. I’m like marmite... I go well with toast. See, no need to say you ‘either love me or hate me’. Anyway, anyone who has ever said that without irony, are usually the worst sort of people. P.S. I don’t mind marmite, my feelings towards it aren’t strong enough to either love or hate it. In fact I think the saying should be changed to; ‘I’m like marmite, ye I’m alright I suppose’.
You would have thought we would have evolved by now so that cakes lower blood pressure and goji berries increase risk of cancer. Bad system.
Does anyone actually like goji berries!? I mean would anyone eat them if they weren’t so apparently healthy for us. They taste like Death. Or rather the rotting corpse of Death.
P.S. I’m surprised as anyone at how much the fictional character of Death has appeared in this easy going, food and travel book.
Come on, ‘fess up, how many of you have faked a birthday when eating out? Shameless, all of you, just to get a bit of free cake. For the record, I have never done this...
How gutting is it when instead of receiving an extra dessert when dining on your ACTUAL birthday, the restaurant merely sticks a candle in it! Unless it’s an edible candle, hand crafted in white chocolate, I’m not interested.
The most difficult thing about being a self-confessed foody/foodie is the ambiguity of its spelling...
Ah man, have you met that mushroom, he’s such a fun guy. (I take full responsibility for such a funny play on words, they are my play on words, that I just made up a minute ago).
Wouldn’t ‘The Shining’ have been such a different film, if after all that, the boy was just asking for some red plums. The little fella was just hungry all that time, all he wanted was some bloody plums, then look what happens. I think a lesson we can all learn from, eat more fruit perhaps! I’m sure this is what Stephen King had in mind when he penned the novel. Red plums, red plums... . I was advised by my sister to take this particular observation out, but I’m convinced it makes sense. I think we know who was right...
Anyway, I think this feature may have run its course now.
You’re nearly there, only a few more pages left!
For the eagle memoried of you (doesn’t work I’m aware) you'll remember me saying about my best bread basket list; well here it is (with added London restaurants):
1) Bocconi, Brussels
2) Casserole, Prague
3) The manor, London (review in Prologue, ooh a prologue, how fancy and professional)
4) Osteria Francscana, Modena
5) Mistral Cafe, Prague
Arriving home, enriched by all the culture, landmarks and art that a five week journey through Paris to Rome would be sure to conjure up... or at least this is what my parents were expecting. When the family gathered round for the holiday photos, all two hundred of them, half were of cathedrals, the other half of food! So in this spirt I’ll now upload all the loose photos that have yet to feature in the book so far. Don’t worry, this will remain mainly food focussed and will definitely contain no cathedrals this time! After my five week trip, I’ve seen enough cathedrals to last a lifetime, you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.