On The Town: London – Part 2

Here is the conclusion of what I ate in London. Check out Part 1 here!

And on a side note, pretty much the whole trip I had this one line from Wyclef’s “Where My Fugees At?” stuck in my head.  The lyric: Some MCs in the underground, mad at me cuz I’m above ground/ Counting English pounds.  Random, I know.  So I figured the lead photo should be the sign that triggered this song in my head.

Arbutus
63-64 Frith Street
London W1D 3JW, United Kingdom

Arbutus, a well-known Soho restaurant, made it to my list because the menu sounded interesting AND it had a Michelin start… I think I found it via GOOP at some point too!  The menu was one of the pricier ones so I decided to visit it for lunch when they offer a prix fixe meal for 16.95.

After a leisurely morning at the Tower of London I headed over and grabbed a seat at the bar.  While perusing the menu I decided to forgo the prix fixe “Working Lunch” in favour of ordering a la carte where the choices were MUCH more interesting but of course more expensive.

I ended up ordering the Warm crisp pig’s head with young leaf salad and a dish of Roasted Duck with cherries and walnuts.  I’m not sure what the deal is but recently when I go out I’ve been ordering duck or pork belly where available.  Probably because I NEVER cook duck and rarely prepare belly with the exception of bacon.

The Pigs Head salad was amazing.  To be honest I think they just call it Pigs Head because a.) that’s what it contains and b.) for shock value.  It’s not like you get part of the pigs eye staring at you or anything.  Instead it was a sort of terrine of various textures of pork.  There was really a distinction in texture and flavour between the parts used with some being more smooth and others almost granular – very interesting contrast.  It was served with a small bit of green salad that cut through the richness and fat of the pork.

My main was truly a wonder when presented to me.  Yes, there were cherries but the walnuts took the form of a paste or butter that was smeared on the plate.  In addition the dish featured numerous small, roasted beets and a piece of crostini with a duck rillette.  I love rillette so a rillette surprise totally made my day. Oh! And it also came with a surprise side of potatoes gratin.  HEAVEN.

This was probably the most decadent lunch I’ve had in my life.  I felt like Henry VIII when I practically rolled out there.  Lunch ended up coming in at 30 but was totally worth it.

 

 

Hereford Road
3 Hereford Road
Westbourne Grove
London, W2 4AB
Phone:

Walking to Hereford Road from the Notting Hill Gate tube stop was probably one of the loveliest walks in London.  I walked through Notting Hill and had clearly discovered one of the fancy parts of town as the houses were city mansions and impeccably maintained.  Not that this has anything to do with meal but I just had to say that Notting Hill is adorable!

Set on a street with a few other restaurants, Hereford Road looks warm and comforting from the outside.  It follows the open kitchen concept and even displays some of the days fresh produce in the window (on the day I went it was giant globe artichokes).  The menu here has an emphasis on British cooking made with fresh produce and local products.  I debated amongst many items for both the appetizers (it was between the artichoke and the potted crab) and the mains (between the pot roast rabbit and the pork belly).  In the end the potted crab and the pork belly won.

Potted crab was new to me and the waitress described it as lightly seasoned crab baked and with a layer of butter on top.  You spoon it out and spread it on grilled bread.  Yes please!  The serving was generous and luckily delicious.  The crab was well prepared (except for a piece or two of shell/cartilage) and was a really great appetizer.

 

The pork belly was presented as a thick slice that had been roasted. The interior was roasted to perfection with an almost melting texture while the outer edge featured a nice crisp bit of skin (my fave). The pork belly was served with courgettes (aka zucchini) and saffron but we also got conned into ordering a side of potatoes by our waitress.  We definitely didn’t need any more food!

For dessert we split the cherry-almond tart with creme fraiche and the gooseberry Eton Mess.  The tart was rich and buttery and pretty much what I expected.  The Eton Mess was not nearly as good as the one that I had at St. John. Yes, I thought that the strawberries at St. John were a better pick compared to gooseberries but I didn’t enjoy how the meringue lacked any crispness either.  The meringue was on the tacky, chewy side which I did not appreciate.

Overall the meal was very good and for the most part (minus being conned into ordering a side) the service was lovely.  We ended up with a server named Tony (short for Elton, who knew!) that made the meal kind of hilarious at points. Hereford Road is definitely worth checking out.

North Sea Fish
7/8 Leigh Street
London WC1H 9EW

After my ok fish and chip experience at Fish Club I was excited to try North Sea Fish.  Located close to St. Pancras station the location seemed a little random but it wasn’t too far away so all was good.

North Sea Fish actually encompasses two restaurant: one side specifically for takeaway and another dining room for eat-in patrons.  Yes, the food is cheaper at the takeaway but for the most part I think fish and chips is best consumed immediately so I was willing to pay a premium.

I went all out and ordered a Spitfire beer  (possibly my new fave beer and it’s available at the LCBO!) to start and an order of the cod and chips for my main with a side of mushy peas.  Somehow I’ve never had mushy peas in life!  After placing my order the waitress brought over pretty giant ramekins filled with tartar sauce and ketchup.  I thought the amount was wholly unnecessary and seemed wasteful… but soon thought differently.

The serving sizes were definitely on the generous side.  The piece of fish was pretty big and the batter was on the lighter side of medium which was different than I’m used to.  The fish was clearly very fresh and flaked off in large almost moist chunks.  Truly perfection.  The chips were not the star here.  They were good but nothing to write home about.  If we want to talk about stars however I have to say that the homemade tartar sauce was incredible.  I honestly think I ate nearly half a cup of the stuff which is nothing short of excessive.  I also found a new friend in mushy peas.  They are kind of like Mexican refried beans but with green peas instead.  They aren’t anything fancy whatsoever but they were a great accompaniment.

North Sea Fish definitely deserves all of the votes that it gets for best fish and chips.  I also give it bonus points for it’s old school look.  The dining room is nothing close to modern and looks like it’s probably had the same look since the 50s or 60s.

Dishoom
12 Upper St. Martin’s Lane
London WC2H 9FB
Tel:

For my last meal in London I wanted Indian food so we ended up at Dishoom, a Time Out London pick.  The folks on Chowhound weren’t to enthusiastic about Dishoom for the most part but we ventured there anyway since it was close to where we wanted to be for the evening.

The menu at Dishoom didn’t really follow the type of Indian menus that I’m used to. Sure, they had biryanis and chicken tikka but it didn’t have a lot of the saucy curries that I’m used to and there was a big emphasis on grilling.  The menu is also designed for sharing which generally drives me crazy.  Luckily our table was perfectly happy to order separately without the pressure of doing things “tapas-style”.

I decided to forgo a Kingfisher beer and instead had the mango and fennel lassi.  Oh how I love a lassi!  There was a good amount of mango goodness but I’m a bit suspect of the fennel.  Sure there were fennel seeds sprinkled on top but I didn’t get fennel flavour throughout. To start we had the Café Crisps, Vegetarian Samosas and the Dishoom Calamari.  The Café Crisps were super salty and had another odd flavour to them.  Despite that I definitely ate a bunch dipped in a variety of sauces.  The vegetarian samosas were filled with a mash of potatoes and other vegetables and interestingly enough a whole lot of pepper.  Initially our table thought that it was the sauces that were spicy but it was totally the samosas.  The surprise hit was the Dishoom Calamari.  Initially a few at the table expressed interest in the calamari but decided against it because there are few things worse than sketchy calamari.  When we asked the waitress for recommendations she listed the calamari saying it was great and we were sold.  Good thing, it was spicy, not overcooked and overall fantastic.

For my main I ordered Grilled Masala Prawns and the Chicken Biryani.  The serving included about six large prawns and they were dressed lime, tomato, and cilantro.  They were well-spiced and cooked maybe a bit past perfection.  I never order biryani but have had a craving for it for months now and I finally decided to handle that.  To my surprise there were HUGE pieces of chicken throughout, about half chicken and half rice.  The biryani was tasty but not anything to special.  Despite being “sharing portions” I definitely felt stuffed afterwards and didn’t even finish the biryani.

Dishoom was a decent experience but not anything special.  I’ve never been to Brick Lane but I imagine that it is a good alternative to those restaurants and in a central location (near Leicester Square).

 

Random Stuff

One of the (many) joys of London is the fact that it’s part of Europe and some of my fave French spots have made their way over there!

While walking through Harrods I stumbled upon Laduree and found them again while strolling near Bond Street. I can’t pass up macarons so both times I got two. I went for the rose, salted caramel, and a few other flavours. All were great and reminded me how amateur my macarons really are. It also made me realize that I need to upgrade the amount of filling that I use.

I also stumbled upon Pierre Herme in Selfridges and REALLY couldn’t pass these up since Pierre Herme is my favourite macaron-maker. What I like about PH is that they do really unique flavours. I went for the Olive Oil and Vanilla, Jasmine, Salted Caramel and Pistachio. Reconnecting with my inner macaron lover made me so happy!

While in Bath I was killing time and decided to check out McDonalds. Whenever I’m in another country I have to visit McDonalds to check out what the local menu is like. Interestingly enough they were running an American-inspired menu that featured onion rings. Onion rings at McDonalds? I had to try. I wish I didn’t. They were served with this odd sweet chili sauce and the rings themselves were pretty planned and looked like they soaked up a pound of oil. They left a very bad taste in my mouth.

When I look back at all of my meals, my favourite was definitely Arbutus.  I found their whole menu to be very innovative and the dishes that I had were well-executed and really delivered beyond their menu description.  I would visit again in a heartbeat.

Look out for a few more posts on London including my trip to Borough Market and a look at London supermarkets and food halls.