Fernandez & Wells

I love London, there are still so many establishments on my wish list. Regular restaurant openings mean that list continues to grow rather than diminish each week. It's really very exciting and I find eating out is still the thing I enjoy spending the majority of my weekly pay on. Other expenditures just mean less ready cash for dinners out.

The abundance of places to dine at in Soho has meant it's taken me an age to get to Fernandez & Wells but I recently lunched at their espresso bar. Very good it was too. I had a chorizo and tomato stew with bread.


It was a massive bowlful with a generous hunk of baguette. I actually couldn't finish it.

The array of sandwiches, baguettes, buns, salads and pastries is really impressive. Everything is inviting, it's tough to choose. It's only a smidge more than you'll pay for a pret/eat type lunch and infinitely more satisfying. The toasted egg, prosciutto and watercress ciabatta was also a hit.


They serve meat and cheese platters, are open evenings here and at the larger restaurant on Lexington, or there's the cafe on Beak serving breakfast and lunch. Something for everyone and is a real gem to have close to work.

Fernandez & Wells Espresso Bar
16a St Anne's Court
Soho, W1
8/10

Jamie's Italian

Saturday Kitchen is rarely my weekend food inspiration but this week, watching Antonio Carluccio cook a stunning plate of tajarini al tartufo (in Umbria, not BBC television centre) resulted in an almost unbearable craving for truffle pasta.

Sunday lunch with my Mum was a perfect excuse to seek out that carby treat. Meeting at Charing Cross somewhat limited our choice of venue so we plumped for Jamie's Italian. We'd eaten at the Covent Garden restaurant before and both had pretty good salads, we were keen to sample some pasta dishes. Happily, like before, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the ingredients and the execution of the dishes.


I started with the bruschetta with ricotta and 'oven dried' tomatoes. This was really lovely, a generous smear of fresh creamy ricotta on some crisp ciabatta, good quality olive oil and a sprinkling of baby basil and rosemary. However I have a couple of issues with the menu descriptions. The tomatoes are clearly not oven dried and there was not even the merest hint of garlic (ciabatta supposedly rubbed with). Still, I really enjoyed it.

Also visible in the above picture are the green olives from Puglia, declared on the menu to be 'the world's best olives on ice.' Totally annoyingly over the top wording but I had these last time I came and to be honest, these, along with the olives I had a 500, are the best olive's I've ever had. Though I do not claim to have tried every olive in the world. I'd be very surprised if even the great Jamie himself had.


My Mum had the aranici, they looked stunning. My main, the very reason I was here, wild truffle tagliatelli was very good. The pasta was a tad over al dente but by no means disastrously so. The silky sauce of butter, Parmesan, nutmeg and truffle shavings really hit the spot, no mistruths on the menu with this dish. Should I find myself without a reservation for one of London's finer Italian eateries and craving pasta, I'd consider Jamie's Italian to be a reliable option.

Mum's spag bol hit the spot as did 2 americanos with hot milk. Worth noting that the service is slightly irksome. The wait staff seem to have been instructed to strike up conversation as frequently as possible. It's a bit try hard for my liking. Otherwise, I'm really very impressed with the place. At £20 a head it's reasonable and the Upper St Martin's Lane regeneration has dramatically improved the area.

Jamie's Italian
11 Upper St Martin's Lane
WC2H 9FB
7.5/10

Koya

Blogger's favourite Koya opened almost a year ago and having heard nothing but rapturous praise for their noodles ever since, I've been eager to visit for months. It's taken me a while due to Koya's popularity and the ever present queue to get in. One time I made it in only to find they'd run out of noodles.

Last Tuesday I made another unplanned attempt, and success at last! No queue and we swooped on a table for 2 just as a couple were leaving. So, it totally lived up to the hype and these were the best (apparently freshly foot rolled each morning) noodles I've ever had. I had the kinoko hiya-atsu, cold udon and a hot broth with mushrooms and walnut miso. At £10.80 it's not the cheapest option but the miso really elevates this beyond a token vegetarian option.


To start we shared a yasai ten mori, tempura selection, which included asparagus, mushroom and banana (!) amongst others. This too was brilliant.

I also popped an onsen tamago, poached egg, into my noodles, adding another layer of depth to the flavours in the bowl once the yolk had been speared. The noodles are lengthy so fairly tricky to manage without making an awful mess but nobody seems to mind, and everybody slurps. I also had a taste of my companions duck which was lovely and we shared a side of kinoko tsukudani, soy marinated mushrooms. We drank tap water and left feeling just the right level of fullness having parted with only £35.


I can't wait to explore more of the menu here. The room is small and social but I spotted some bar style seating in a room at the rear which overlooks the kitchen, I'll be back to try to nab one of these seats. Certainly the best noodles in town.

Koya
49 Frith Street
Soho
W1D 4SG
7.5/10

Wright Bros (Soho)

I was so happy to hear that Wright Bros were opening in Soho, so convenient for me as I work there. Not that Borough is much of a trek, but I'm glad there's somewhere in the immediate area to become that go to place when all that will do is a shellfish supper. Such was my faith in these guys. I love the small original venue and it's rustic charm. I was hoping the bigger shiny new restaurant would retain much of this ethos and I first visited last week to find out.

I booked an 8pm table online weeks and weeks ago in early January. Having trouble locating the confirmation email last week I mailed the info address to confirm the booking. They denied all knowledge of it and said they could only offer a much earlier booking on a shared table. I declined. Then, on the day of my supposed booking, they called to confirm my online reservation. Having not made any other arrangements I played along.

We arrived about 20 minutes early and I mentioned the emailed denial of my booking which was brushed off as an easy mistake to make. We were told that our table was not ready (despite there being plenty of empty tables upstairs) then informed it would be too complicated for us to have a drink at another table whilst waiting for the bar seating to free up. So we trotted off to the pub next door for a half, returned at 8 to find the seats still not available. We were permitted to wait in the bar this time.


I'd forgotten just how much of a debacle this was. The seats became free about 20 minutes later and I'd pretty much forgotten about this until now. But it was all very unsatisfactory.

Of the food, the oyster selection, crab, smoked mackerel pâté, cheese and chocolate pot were all really very good. Though all I will remember of the evening is the reservation and seating shambles. I guess it's sort of still early days for this new venture but with the place far from full I fear how they might cope on busier days. I don't think I'll bother to find out.


Wright Bros (Soho)
13 Kingly St
Soho
W1B 5PW

5/10

Gordon Ramsay at Claridges

A brilliant Christmas gift from my Mum and Auntie to my sister and I was Sunday lunch for 4 at Claridges. We finally made it last weekend on the day of the BAFTA awards, the atmosphere was suitably electric, not only did we have a lovely meal but we spotted Julianne Moore and Tom Ford in their finery heading off to the red carpet. The venue is uber glam.

Upon arrival, at 2:45, the dining room was heaving. We were seated, offered an aperitif and presented with a bewildering array of menus to choose from. 3 seemed overkill but actually meant that there was something to please each of us so we were glad of the choice. My sister can be a tad fussy with food, she's the first to admit and she was happy with the set Sunday menu which included a roast beef and yorkshire pudding main.

The room was smaller than I expected, but it's cosy. The winelist was concise and presented on an ipad. The service was mostly polite though we felt rushed towards the end of the meal.


Things started on a high point with a lovely butternut squash amuse with truffle oil. I expected it to be cold for some reason and remember being quite taken aback that it was hot. Cranny wasn't keen so I got 2 servings. Those black pieces just visible are mushroom pieces, I really liked this.


I chose from the a la carte menu, 3 courses for £70. To start I had the thai spiced lobster ravioli. Generous with the lobster, this dish was pretty to look at and the spice was pleasantly subtle. Other starters sampled were the Caesar salad, pork belly with crayfish bisque and rump of beef with root vegetable salad. All well received.


My main course was a slight disappointment in that I was the only person at our table to not get a gravy pouring from the waiters. My lamb suffered as a result, it was crying out for some moisture but it was all about the shepherds pie for me anyway, served as a side dish accompanying my lamb.


This was brilliantly smoky and much better than the Salt-baked Herdwick lamb loin. Other mains enjoyed were, of course, the Kid's roast beef, loin of venison and shoulder of rose veal. All with gravy.

There was some confusion when ordering dessert/cheese. My sister, opting for the 3 course Sunday lunch menu wanted cheese instead of dessert to be served when I had my cheese, after my dessert. A fairly simple request which flummoxed 3 waiters 1 after the other. In the end her cheese was served at the same time as our desserts and it seemed simpler to just go with it.


Anyway, the cheese was lovely, I do love cheese trolley time when eating out. Served with white grapes and a choice of biscuits or bread. Having seen images from other bloggers earlier meals here, I think the range of cheeses on offer here has diminished over the years, as have Ramsay's Michelin stars. One can never have too many cheeses.


A pre dessert of passionfruit mousse, sorbet and foam was excellent. The foam was very tart and the accompanying buttery pistachio biscuit was a perfect partner. I really wished this was bigger. My actual dessert was the orange and passionfruit pannacotta with cheesecake ice cream. The generous portion was a bit too much for me, I still had the cheese to contend with which had already been selected and plated. The pannacotta itself was wonderful, it's creamy consistency complemented by the crunch of the cheesecake chunks in the ice cream. My favourite of the 3 dishes I'd chosen.


Other desserts were banana and caramel soufflé and chocolate fondant. I enjoyed many parts of the meal but I see where there are areas for improvement in the plates offered up here. I am soon to try Royal Hospital Road and am keen to compare his 3* offerings to the food here at Claridges.

No doubt about it though, officially my best Christmas present!

Claridge's
55 Brook St
Mayfair
W1

6.5/10

The Water Poet

Pub lunch on a Sunday, the quest continues to find a decent roast in London. To be fair I've not tried that hard due to my, perhaps premature, conclusion that a really fine example in this city simply doesn't exist. I recall during my uni days having a great one somewhere in Southampton, but this being a little further than I'm currently willing to travel, Sunday lunch perfection continues to elude me.

A group of us sampled a selection of roasts at The Water Poet in Spitalfields last weekend, the beef, the pork and the lamb.


There was quite a long wait having arrived lateish for lunch, at around 2:30, though by the time we got to order (about an hour later) they'd not sold out of anything on the menu.

The high point of a roast dinner should not be the vegetables. The savoy cabbage and parsnips were great. The beef was cooked medium and was flavoursome but a bit too chewy. Roast potatoes were ok but they were stingy with the gravy. Service is very slow and a bit vacant. My yorkshire was more of a pancake than a pudding.

So, again I conclude that you can't beat a home cooked roast. Want bread sauce with your beef? Yorkshire pudding with your chicken? We do, so my friends and I have concluded we'll stick to Noy's kitchen on Sundays from now on. Should we visit again we'll probably stick to drinks and pool at The Water Poet, they've a nice covered outdoor area and multiple big screens for sports fans.

The Water Poet
9-11 Folgate St London
E1 6BX
5/10

Ten Ten Tei

I remember chuckling reading this post about Ten Ten Tei a while back, some things never change it seems and that pesky door is still traumatising diners. Being yelled at when you enter a restaurant isn't the best of starts but it is still chilly so we let it go!

Loved the food at Ten Ten Tei and will definitely be back. I had the soba tempura lunch which comes with a couple of maki rolls with avocado and some miso soup on the side. Unlimited green tea as is the custom in many non-chain sushi eateries, all this for less than £10. The revelation for me was the fried agedashi tofu, so silky and delicious, I was always a fan of tofu anyway but now I am officially in love with it.


The things that make Ten Ten Tei stand out for me are the quality of the added extras, the miso is amazing, the pickled ginger isn't hot pink in colour and the wasabi is properly nose tingling with only a minimal amount. Awesome.


The temaki were also of a high standard, fish so tender and vibrant in flavour, I've not been able to stop thinking about it since. My soba tempura was a pretty poor choice, tempura in soup will of course turn into a soggy mess and the stock was scaldingly hot. Luckily my companion allowed me a few bites of his. Next visit I'd like to sit at the bar, and will likely order sashimi. Speaks volumes that I'm already counting down the hours until I'll be back at work in Soho.

Ten Ten Tei
56 Brewer Street
Soho
W1F
8/10