June Round Up

Here are my eating highlights from both London and Montreal over the last 5 weeks (confess some late May eats have crept in here as I was too busy getting the Kid wed to blog). 

LONDON

Nopi

Em and I head to Nopi for brunch after a ridiculously early morning screening of Maleficent at Leicester Sq Odeon.  I had the Shakshuka with spicy tomato sauce and smoked Labneh.  

 

There was a lot of red pepper to contend with, I confess I’m not the hugest fan of red peppers, sometimes they disagree with me, but everything was perfectly cooked, most importantly the eggs.  Runny yolks, yes.  I hate when they’re overcooked, I’m looking at you Caravan on Exmouth.  Great bread and a decent flat white too.   Not the cheapest brunch and front of house seemed outraged we’d not booked a table.  Weird WEIRD mirrored toilets, really quite disturbing.

Nopi

21-22 Warwick St

Soho

W1B

6.5/10

Antidote Wine Bar

Fast forward on the same day and Art and I drank a shitload of wine and needed to soak it up with some cheese and meat.  I just didn’t have time to fit in a full meal here, which is a shame as I would have loved to, particularly based on the quality of these boards.  

Wines are all organic, you can buy bottles to take away and the bread is the talk of the town, really very good.  Menu is overseen by Mikael Jonsson of Hedone fame, so no wonder it’s good.  We probably spent around £40 each, but were there for most of the afternoon and had a couple of bottles of wine.

Antidote

12A Newburgh St

Soho

W1F

8/10

One Leicester Street – Leo’s Pop Up

Fast even further forward, still the same day (oof) and we had dinner at One Leicester St.  It was the last night of a 3 month long pop up which saw Leandro Carreira (ex- Viajante chef) take over the kitchen Thur-Sat.  

It was a communal affair with guests sharing a 7 course tasting menu for £88, wine pairings included.   Highlight was the iberico presa with baked beets and the langoustine with honey carrots.  Really fun night, obviously not something you can enjoy yourselves (unless you went) but keep an eye out for Leo’s next venture.

One Leicester St

Erm, 1 Leicester St

WC2H

7/10

Berner’s Tavern

Bel and I head back to our old fave the Berner’s Tavern for my last night in London.  We lashed right out and got the chateaubriand for 2 with foie gras, roasted baby artichokes and truffled mac and cheese.  

There is so much good stuff going on with this dish, it’s just incredible.  So much truffle.  It’s really rather good value at £80 for two.  We drank Prosecco, obvs and stopped off in the Punch Room.  Love and miss this place sooooooo much.  Well done Jason.

Berner's Tavern

10 Berners Street

Fitzrovia

W1T

9/10

Koya Bar

Another old fave I had to make time for was Koya Bar, Nibs and I popped in for lunch and both opted for the special udon which was poached chicken in soy milk broth with sesame.  It was really simple and clean, as all their dishes could feasibly be described.  We shared the mackerel sashimi also from the specials board, I always always order their specials, they’re so interesting.  Miss you Koya.

 

Koya Bar

50 Frith St

Soho

W1D

9/10

Bull & Last

Also popped in for a Bull & Last bloody mary and Sunday roast combo with Bel which saved me after the Kid’s hen do!  They really know what they’re doing with a bit of beef.  Lemony pud was really good too.  We lurked about for the pub quiz then hit Aces & Eights, classic NW5 Sunday.

Bull & Last

118 Highgate Road

Kentish Town

NW5!!

8/10

MONTREAL

Café Melbourne

On my first Saturday back I met Sarah for lunch at Café Melbourne.  I remember walking by this place in February when I visited, it was approx. -15 and I was slipping all over the place in the snow, determined to have a wander about and get a bagel from Fairmount.  What a difference a few months makes, it was a boiling hot day, we sat in the window and ordered coffee and ‘jaffles’.  

Jaffle meaning Aussie toastie, think Breville.  I got the mac daddy, of course, filled with actual mac cheese and served with a nice bit of pickle and some ready salted crisps.  The big concern with toasties is usually that they’re so hot they burn, but I found the opposite was true of this one, the second half was barely warm when I got to it, perhaps I was chatting too much.  Good coffee though and they had a Donna Hay magazine in there and good world cup banter. 

Café Melbourne

Saint-Laurent

Plateau

H2T

6/10

 

Bishop & Bagg

Speaking of the world cup, I watched an England match at Bishop & Bagg an English inspired ‘pub’.  In inverted commas because it’s absolutely not a pub, but they’re trying!  They have an English menu too, curries, a ploughman’s, kebabs.  

 

I had the lamb kebabs which look an absolute mess here but were really very good.  Reports of the ploughman’s were along the lines of don’t do it to yourself.  I sound negative but I actually really like the place, and I live near it now, woo!  Apols for the shocking photo, finger included so you could see the wrap, pitta type thing.

Bishop & Bagg

52 Rue St Viateur Ouest

Mile End

H2T

7/10

 

Le Gros Jambon

Another greaso lunch with Sarah, this time close to work, Le Gros Jambon appears on this list of the best Mac & Cheese to be found in Montreal, so I had the chicken tacos.  Need to go back for the mac cheese, newsflash - it’s almost too hot to eat macaroni cheese.   It’s upsetting, and I need to stop moaning about/talking about/checking the weather.  

The chicken tacos with a side salad were my attempt to make a healthier choice at this diner.  Really liked them actually.  Nice guacamole, sour cream and salsa accompaniments, and it was served individually on a tray for your own construction.   I rather like that.  

 

Cute, kitschy décor and cheap, about $12.

Le Gros Jambon

286 Rue Notre-Dame Ouest

Old Montreal

H2Y

6.5/10

Nora Gray

One Saturday evening a group of us went to Nora Gray, a restaurant opened by an ex-Joe Beef chef and front of house duo.  It comes highly recommended by food people so I was super excited and it proved to be the best meal I’d eaten so far in Montreal (until my birthday meal at Liverpool House, but more on that soon).

My starter was cavatelli with tomato, anchovy and fennel.  The pasta was perfect, all home made and great value at $12 for a bowl.  Love Italian meals where it’s the done thing to eat pasta as a starter, they are genius.

Again, shocking picture but it's very dark in there, all candle light and orange.  I couldn’t resist the special main, pork belly with turnips and polenta.  It was sooooooo good, around the $30 mark.  We drank a load of red wine and left very very happy.  It’s a slightly odd area of the city, Griffintown, up and coming allegedly, but it feels like it’s out in the sticks with very little else around it.  Worth the trek though for sure, I’ll be back, they're awesome. 

Nora Gray

1391 Rue St Jaques

Griffintown

H3C

9/10

April Round Up

Pho Bac 97
I went for lunch on a weekend, walking down the main, through a pretty seedy area and out the other side to Chinatown.  There's 1 block with a lot of great noodle restaurants, need to go back and try Nudo and Pho bang New York.

I mistakenly ordered a bowl of pho with tripe in it, I tried but I just can't get to grips with the consistency.  Pretty certain I'm not alone in that so won't beat myself up.  I left the tripe but the beef, the noodles, broth and accompaniments were exactly what I needed.  Available in 3 sizes, I went medium and it's pretty big.  The prawn summer rolls were great too.  Free green tea is given on arrival.  Really liked it and will be back.  Lots of people came and went, it's very popular, relaxed and great for a quick cheap bite to eat, I paid $13.

Hof Kelsten
I've been here a couple of times, it's primarily a bakery selling loaves, pastries and good coffee but they also have a sandwich and soup menu, and on weekends a few brunch selections on a handwritten menu.  I really liked my Challah French toast with bacon, poached egg and maple syrup.  Really really good.  I want to get back down there and try the salmon sandwich and matzo soup of which I hear very good things.

Osteria Venti
Early in the month, I dragged some work buddies round the corner from work to this trattoria on St Paul.  Pasta dishes were the highlight, they have an enormous chalkboard listing cheeses and charcuterie, I've just realised I lied completely in my last post claiming not to have had any local cheese in Montreal, I have had cheese, we shared the cheeseboard for afters here.  Can't have been that great, I completely forgot.  We shared the charcuterie board to start, the focaccia with olive oil was excellent.

My squid ink seafood pasta was really lovely, massive massive prawn.  Can't remember how much we paid, wasn't expensive, drank a couple of bottles of decent red.  Pasta was the highlight.

Lawrence (brunch)
I've mentioned these guys before, they are responsible for the best sandwich I've ever eaten.  I went for brunch with a monster hangover and they sorted me out.  I had the full english and a pot of tea.  There was even bubble and squeak!  Only gripe is the bowl type plate which makes it hard to manouvre things around and that there wasn't a hash brown, because their presence is always welcome.  Can't wait to get back there for dinner.  Brunch was less than $20, no booze.

Pho Bac 97
1016 Boulevard St-Laurent 
Chinatown
8.5/10

 

Hof Kelsten
4524 Saint Laurent Blvd  
Plateau
8.5/10



Osteria Venti
372 St-Paul Ouest
Old Montreal
7/10



Lawrence
5201 Blvd St-Laurent
Plateau
9/10


 
p.s. A really really great thing about Montreal is that late night eating is encouraged.  Many establishments offering a special late menu post 10pm, it's bloody brilliant.  They're also trialing some bars opening until 6am this summer, excellent timing!

Cafe Murano

Angela Hartnett's Murano has been serving fine if rather fancy Italian food since 2008 and just last month saw the opening of little sister restaurant, Cafe Murano, round the corner on St James' St.

I visited on a Thursday night and when booking was pleased to see you can choose either table or bar eating at online reservation stage.  Love that.  We propped up the bar and got stuck in to a hearty 4 courser.

Dinner began with some incredible focaccia, we had 3 servings throughout the evening, with some dark green peppery olive oil to dunk the bread into.  It's pillowy centred, flavored with rosemary and sea salt and it has the most amazing crispy crust.  Some of the nicest bread I've ever eaten and I love my bread.

We couldn't resist the truffle arancini (£3) from the cicheti section of the menu, which was served swiftly alongside our aperitifs, gin martini for Art and a lemony champagne cocktail for me, forget the name of it, but it was brilliant.  Then we ordered pasta dishes for primi, which frankly, is what we were there for.

For me, rabbit pappardelle (£11) which was everything I'd hoped it would be.  Rich meaty sauce and the freshest pasta, perfectly cooked, of course.  Art was marginally less pleased with her wild boar fettuccini as the meat was almost diced, or minced, it's a small gripe, I tried it and it certainly tasted the part.

Onto secondi and I ordered the ox cheek on polenta (£19.50), I was torn between this and the risotto milanese with osso buco but was ultimately pleased with my choice.  The tender meat on a bed of creamy runny polenta, was like a plate of comfort, perfect for a grim wintery night, and just what I needed after a shitty day at work.

The pork chop was similarly well received and greedos that we are, we also had roasted root vegetables and potatoes, which we barely made a dent in, but they were excellent.  I could just about manage a scoop pf fig sorbet for pud (£4) which wasn't sweet enough for my liking and a spoonful of Art's tiramisu, which was fantastically boozy.

After a couple more drinks, we left feeling content and full up.  We spent a little more than usual, about £80 each but the food is worth every penny and here I find myself making that old familiar impossible statement, I'd like to think I'll be able to revisit before I ship off to Canada, but it's now looking less and less likely as the days go by and my list of places to squeeze in before March grows longer and longer.  I might have to start having 2 dinners.....

Cafe Murano
33 St James' Street
Piccadilly
SW1
8.5/10

Wishbone and Franco Manca, Brixton

I've spent a couple of Saturdays in Brixton this summer and managed to try both Wishbone and Franco Manca, at last. 

Brixton Village is a cute little place, there are so many tempting eateries and the atmosphere is lovely, covered seating with an outdoor feel to it, long communal tables seating lots of happy looking people.  I really wish I lived closer.

First on my list to try was Wishbone.  There was really only 1 reason I was there and that is this.

Yes, my friends, that there is deep fried Mac 'N' Cheese with tomato sauce.  So so so good.  You get 3 mega slabs of the stuff (for want of a better word, they're rectangular, not balled) for £4.50.  And that tomato sauce is key to the whole thing because it's sharp and tangy and absolutely perfect with the creamy richness of the mac 'n' cheese.  I needed an actual lie down after eating these.  I managed to make it home first, but it was touch and go.  Hang over cured.

Of course, what Wishbone are best known for is fried chicken so I tried some of that too.  You choose wings or thighs and a style, Korean, Thai, buffalo, etc. and you're off.

I had the buffalo thighs with carrot, celery and blue cheese sauce.  They were brilliant.  I wasn't drinking so my meal came to just over £10 and service was really friendly and relaxed.  I can't wait to return and try the other varieties, but these were so great I'll find it hard not to order the same again.  Would like to get involved with the sours too, but found myself hanging too badly on this occasion.  Next time.  Love the place.  Well done Brixton.

Onto pizza.  I have to admit I rarely crave pizza.  I think it's because I, and everybody else no doubt, have had way too many average pizzas before.  This was until I had Franco Manca, of course, now I want it all the time and I must get to the new Pizza Pilgrims place. 

I met Nibs at Market Row one afternoon and we were seated without having to queue for long.  Orders are taken while you wait and tables turned pretty quickly and efficiently.  We shared a burrata salad to start, served on a board with tomatoes, rocket and olive oil (£6.50).  It doesn't look much but once opened up, the cheese is everything you want in a ball of mozzarella. 

I went for the tomato, chorizo and mozzarella pizza, with a liberal dousing of chilli oil (£6.80) while Nibs had the ricotta, ham and mushroom.  It's wonderful, of course, I knew it would be.  The wood fired oven adding char and crunch to the slow rising sourdough base and the quality of the toppings is evident, you can add pretty much anything you like for a small extra charge, ingredients are listed on a chalk board. 

Service was very charming and now Franco Manca have expanded, too, so there's really no excuse to eat the rubbish stuff anymore.  It's a nicely filling cheap eat and I'll definitely be back to try more, maybe they'll even venture North one day.

Had this for afters from Lab G, lovely gelato and sorbet place just around the corner.  Lemon sorbet for me and peanut butter ice cream for Nibs, £1.90 for a little tub, absolute bargain.

Wishbone
12 Market Row
SW9
9/10



Franco Manca
4 Market Row
SW9
8.5/10

April/May Round Up

Been a while since I've blogged.  It's been a good April/May but I've been lazy so I'll do a little round up of things I've eaten recently, or I'll never catch up.

Tuscanic
I popped in for an unplanned lunch after walking by and seeing the selection of foccacia sandwiches on display in the window.  It's a decent place, not too busy, think charcuterie meat platters and a focus on quality Italian ingredients with rustic, no fuss presentation.

This board was £10 and we shared it between 2 so was a bargain lunch, served with bread.  We paid extra for the olives.

Red Lion & Sun
I've moved recently, back to the Tufnell Park area and at last ventured to the Red Lion & Sun, where I've wanted to go for eons.  It's in Highgate village so not technically our local, but we can be there in 20 minutes if we get a wriggle on.  When walking there on a particularly warm day with a 7/10 hangover, so a bit slower in pace, we were a bit late and they were ever so nice about it.

I had the lamb shank, we were in for Sunday lunch, and it was amazing.  THE best roast I've had in London, sorry Pig & Butcher, they all come with Yorkshires, who wants a roast without one?  Bel's beef was brilliant too, there was a bill mix up, but it was sorted quickly and in all, it was lovely.  I'll be back.  We also had puds, sticky toffee pudding and rhubarb crumble.

Lots of children and dogs were present, but don't let that put you off.  They have 2 gardens and often host street food vans, like Mama Wangs most recently, I'm still annoyed at myself for not going.

When Mac Met Cheese
The Endurance is hosting a mac & cheese pop up.  I've spent a lot of evenings in The Endurance, and mac cheese is my absolute favourite dish, so no brainer, I was there last Friday.  They're there for 6 weeks I think, and this was their first week.

Couple of options on offer, we all went for Mum's classic, I expected it to be topped with tomatoes and rocket, which you can add at no extra cost, but it was mixed in.  Not sure about that.  This is satisfying after a few drinks, and great value for £6 a pop, but it's pretty bog standard, no frills stuff.

We shared some macancinis which were great, flecked with jalapenos and really quite spicy and had to try the deep fried oreos, but we ate them after the main event and it all came served together so they were a bit cold and past their best.  If you want them, order them later.

Mele e Pere
For Nibs' birthday we tried this Italian Trattoria style restaurant on Brewer Street.  The space is massive downstairs and it was practically empty on a Saturday lunchtime, so they don't seem to be doing too well.  I was really happy with my dish of gnocchi with clams, prawns and samphire, the sauce was great, I'm going through a bit of a gnocchi phase at the moment and ordering it whenever I see it.  This one was flavoured with squid ink.  Loved it.

We shared loads of other dishes, meatballs, calamari, arancini and a bread basket, all were enjoyable and good value for money, the tomato bread was particularly good.  Whilst not being wowed, we were all happy.  Think we paid about £20 each, and we had a couple of cocktails too.

Terry's Cafe

On the actual day of Nibs' birthday we went to her local fave on Great Suffolk Street.  Terry's is a family run cafe, now headed up by Austin, son of Terry.  Their breakfasts are pretty epic and we had the whole restaurant for the evening.  They were offering a variety of pies or toad in the hole all served with mash and veg.  Nice home cooked food and really sweet service.  Get there early for breakfast as they run out of bubble and squeak, and you'll want to try that.

Dean Street Townhouse
Another Sunday roast, this one recommended by Art, and it was great.  Em and I were so beaten, and wanting to save room for pub.   We did 2 courses for £24 and shared a starter of smoked salmon with pickled cucumber then both opted for the roast chicken, served with literally ALL the trimmings and cauliflower cheese which made me so happy.  We shared the dessert too, bread & butter pudding.

The room is a little lacking in atmosphere, a bar lines the wall, with the most ridiculous stalls that are so tightly packed together, making it almost impossible to maneuver in or out.  Tables are quite close too, so conversation is a tad hushed.  Not sure I'll hurry back, but the roast is good, definitely filling, go hungry.

The Bull & Last
I've blogged about this pub before, and it's probably one of my favourite places in London, so I'm blogging about it again, because they do breakfast!  I had the homemade baked beans with ham hock topped with fried duck egg on sourdough.  It was brilliant, watercress was unnecessary though.  The menu is short but well put together, the coffee is pretty good too.  This was under a tenner, then I had a bloody mary.  Bull & Last's still got it.

Tuscanic
72 Old Compton St
Soho
 W1
6.5/10



The Red Lion & Sun
25 North Road
Highgate
N6
8/10



When Mac Met Cheese @ The Endurance
 90 Berwick St
Soho
W1
5/10



Mele e Pere
46 Brewer Street
Soho
W1
7/10



Terry's Cafe
158 Great Suffolk Street
Borough
SE1
7/10



Dean Street Townhouse
69-72 Dean St
Soho
W1
6/10



The bull & Last
 118 Highgate Road
Kentish Town (ish)
NW5
9/10