Fera by Simon Rogan, Claridge's

I was completely spoiled on my birthday. What started out as a picnic in Hyde park on a gorgeously sunny day turned into a surprise birthday dinner at a restaurant I've wanted to go to since it opened - Fera.

Everything felt so special - the walk in the main entrance of Claridge's, being greeted by top-hatted and tailed doormen, and being guided by the manager through to Fera. 

The dim entrance only served to make the room of the restaurant all the more impressive.

City Social - The Highest Restaurant in Jason Atherton's Empire

Jason Atherton is pretty much everywhere right now. Opening up many restaurants in the past two years all over the world, not just London, with a few gaining Michelin Stars, he is the man of the moment. So his latest opening in Tower 42, one of the skyscrapers in East London was very anticipated.

You enter in a lift, but unfortunately unlike Duck and Waffle, there is no view.

The dining room is gorgeous. Huge lacquered woods, sexy reflective low ceilings, giant ghurkin-facing booths, and floor to ceiling glass offer the most incredible views.

Kurobuta, Chelsea

Can you believe it? Somewhere cool has opened in Chelsea.

Kurobuta, fronted by Scott Hallsworth, a chef who previously worked at Nobu, is doing something fresh and exciting with Japanese, fusion food.

A simple, small space with bare walls and open lights, we sat by the window to watch all the passers by.

The cocktails are delicious and the food even more so, with so many new and exciting flavours to try. We had to try as much as possible. In no particular order....

23 on the 23rd

I wanted to celebrate turning 23 with a group of my absolute closest friends and loved ones. I haven't done something for my birthday in a long while, finding it really difficult to get everyone together at one time, but this year I was determined to have those I love the most around me. 

We celebrated at B-Soho, a great place for cocktails and pizzas, sofas and live music to dance and sing to. It's a good place to head before carrying on the night elsewhere.

I had the biggest smile on my face all night. I'm definitely framing some of these!

Barbados.

Before you say anything, I know I am one very very lucky girl.

Way way back in May - blogging has taken a backseat lately - I went to Barbados with one of my best friends.

I knew just from where we were staying that we were in for a treat. It turned out to be one of the holidays of a lifetime. It is bursting with beauty and the people are so friendly and wonderful.

I swam with sea turtles, went on a rum-filled cruise and ate as much sea food as I could possibly fit into my tummy, saw sands whiter than white and a sea the most perfect crystal blue.

I've just posted my favourite pictures from what we did including my favourite restaurants we visited, a boat cruise I would most DEFINITELY recommend and my favourite sites to see. 

Take a look at paradise. 




We saw the most incredible sunsets.

Polpetto, Soho

Polpetto, sister of Polpo and child of Russell Norman, has re-opened, moving from Dean Street, to a bigger site on Berwick Street.

With rising star Florence Knight at the helm and banking on the already popular, tried and tested Venetian, no-reservations, small plates concept, this was always going to be a good. If you're looking for somewhere in Soho to eat, the Polpo/Polpetto group are always a safe bet.

Starting with a delicious blood orange and thyme alcoholic cocktail and some foccacia to keep us going, we waited for a table for around 35 mins after entering at 7.30 - not too bad. 

I'll admit, Polpo is never somewhere I'm going to be mind blown by the food, unlike say Chiltern Firehouse, the food here is too simple for that, but it is somewhere in Soho that you can go where you know you will have good food and always be pleased by the experience.

First to arrive was the creamy burrata with agretti and chilli. Really good creamy burrata.

Next up came the mussels with wild roasted garlic and canellinni beans. Good, if a little fiddly, having to pick out the beans from inside the sauce and I'm not sure mussels lend themselves that easily to the sharing concept, though the sauce was fantastic. 

The only serious disappointment was the soft poached egg and black truffle. I thought this was going to be so so good. Unfortunately, what came was a rather sad-looking poached egg. 

The black truffle flavour, usually my favourite, hardly came through. Perhaps some truffle oil should have been added for a fuller flavour, or simply a little bread to mop up the deliciously runny yolk. In my opinion this dish needs some work. It could be so so so good.

Then came my second favourite dish, the scallops with creamed and whole white broccoli with lardo. Really good.

And, they saved the best till last, the bacon chop with whitty pear butter and walnuts. The smell was incredible and that butter, more of a sweet jam, was deliciously sweet paired with smokey bacon.

We were stuffed at this point….but still managed to be tempted by the milk pudding with rhubarb and rose. Deliciously sweet flavours all mingled with the tart rhubarb and the texture of the milk pudding was perfect.

So an enjoyable evening was had, and a place in Soho I know I can always go and be satisfied, however not wowed.

Chiltern Firehouse, Marylebone

Andre Balazs, the billionaire hotelier, owner of the glamorous Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles and the Mercer in New York City among others,  has opened his first restaurant outside of the USA, in Marylebone, London at number 1 Chiltern Street.

The Chiltern Firehouse is no different, glamour exudes from every pore of one of the oldest converted fire stations in London. As you walk up to the gates you are greeted by male models in top and tails, then taken along to the restaurant where you are greeted by female supermodels in the most gorgeous clothes who then pass you along to your model waiters to go to your table. Everyone is beautiful. And so is the food.

Sitting at the best seat in the house, the bar by the open kitchen, we got to see Nuno Mendes do his best work in one of the most beautiful industrial kitchens I've ever seen! A marble work surface extends to the bar, with shiny brass fixtures and grand old fittings.

We started with crab doughnuts, delicious crab stuffed in between pastry buns.

Then to start we had a deliciously spicy DIY steak tartare, which we saw being put together right in front of us!! It came with smokey special Firehouse hot sauce, which added another level (and heat) to the dish.

Then we had tender grilled octopus, finished in a big green egg, with a gorgeous smokey taste, with aubergine and ceps.

Then on to the main, we had chargrilled iberico pork with roasted garlic and lemon and textures of I' not sure what but added a lovely depth to the dish.

And then, my absolute favourite, slow roasted short rib (served on the most beautiful wooden plate) with hazelnut puree and bone marrow. It came with a huge knife that wasn't necessary as it cut through it like butter. So smokey and beautifully tender, I was in heaven. Firm contender for dish of the year….

Then to finish we had a chocolate tart, one of the richest and best chocolate tarts I've ever had. The chocolate monster inside was thoroughly satisfied. It came with beautiful texture of thin biscuit and ice cream rolled in crisp hazelnut.

We also had a dish that was reminiscint of the panna cotta from Corner Room, Nuno Mendes' old haunt. It was frozen apple panna cotta, with a herb granita. Inside the hypnotic swirls were a hidden meringue centre and the whole thing was sat on apple pieces.

Stunning. A light and delicious dessert, that almost felt healthy.

Expensive, yes. But oh so worth it. Sadly, I don't see myself going back any time soon as I hear the only people who can get in are celebrities and those who have booked 3 months in advance. But if you can, get on that waiting list. It is SO worth it. Nuno Mendes did not disappoint!

Lockhart, Marylebone

Sometimes when I look at a menu, nothing really grabs me. Sometimes I'm right, and it's not that great and sometimes it's down to my pure ignorance of the food and I'm proven very very wrong. And I love to be proven wrong when it comes to food.

I heard a lot about Lockhart's new chef and menu, but knowing nothing about Southern food, I just wasn't grabbed by the menu so I didn't bother to come. Very very stupid. Then I read about the hype. And, jumping on the bandwagon yes I know, I knew I must have been in the wrong here.

I started with an incredible cocktail of vodka, CACTUS LIQUER (amazing), lime and cranberry.

Now, knowing nothing of Southern American food, I had to ask a lot of about what was on offer. To start we had chicken oysters in a mustard and bbq sauce (top in picture) and the incredibly named catfish gumbo.

The gumbo was delicious, however I can't remember exactly what a gumbo is anymore. But it was good.

This all came along with their house bread which had salty pork crackling dotted inside - so addictive - but we also ordered a side of corn bread, which is baked fresh to order.

It's more like cake than bread, with a sticky sugar glaze. It was so moist and an absolute delight.

My favourite dish of the night was the shrimp and grits. I could have eaten a vat of this. Fat, juicy prawns mixed with chilli and grits - a gorgeous cheesy polenta sauce.

Then we had the stuffed quail, stuffed so much with "dirty rice" - a mix of offal, it was looking like a baby chicken.

By this point I was way to full with porky bread and corn bread to fully appreciate the dessert of rice doughnuts with fennel icing sugar and chocolate sauce hidden underneath.

It was nice, but I think I may have enjoyed their other offering - a deconstructed lemon meringue pie - more. I hear it's very sweet and I have the sweetest of all teeth.

The bill came in this adorable old book. I love these kinds of touches!

Lockhart is expensive, but so so worth it. A crash course in incredible Southern dining, it's real, hearty, need to go to the gym tomorrow, incredible tasty food. They have recently started opening for brunch too, which I can't wait to tuck in to - maple, fried chicken and waffles, hello! 

I feel so foolish for not heading over to Lockhart sooner. I'm ashamed to say I knew nothing of Southern food before and was proven well and truly wrong.

My Favourite Things of 2013

As it's nearly February I thought it was time I made some kind of a roundup of 2013.

Best Place Visited

Valencia. 

And what a surprise that was, considering I have never liked any visit to Spain before.

A gorgeous old city, full of beauty, history and culture, with incredible food and wine, an amazing beach and nightlife….what more could you want from a holiday?


Best Restaurant

There are two.

Duck and Waffle, for creative food in a casual, vibrant atmosphere with incredible drinks. Did I forget something? Oh yeah. THAT view.

José, the cutest, busiest tapas joint in Bermondsey. Be prepared to wait for a tiny table, knocking elbows with everyone around. But that's all part of it's charm. It's loud, it's busy, but it's beautiful and the tapas is some of the best to be found in London.


Best Dish

Grilled Iberico Presa with whipped jamon butter, from Ember Yard.

Far and away the best dish I had last year. I can still remember how soft and tender the pork was, the gorgeously smokey charred taste it left in my mouth from the charcoal grill and the jamon butter, which should be renamed crack.

If you only go to one restaurant this year, please make it Ember Yard so you can try the beauty that is this dish.


Honorable Mention

Peckham Bazaar.

Incredible Greek food, just a little too far out of the way to make it a regular haunt - it is literally in the middle of no where in Peckham. But serves the most beautiful Greek/Middle Eastern food in all the land.


Best Drink

Experimental Cocktail Club, China Town (try to find it behind the white door!). It pains me to say I can't remember the name of this drink, but I still remember it tasted like the Caribbean. It came in a bottle as it had to be stored for 3 days before serving. It contained coconut, tea, rum, and much more and it was beauty in a bottle!

Closely followed by the smokey cocktails from Ember Yard too. If you like floral, try "Il Profuma Di Maria".

Best Bar

Dr Evans and Peel Detective Agency, Earl's Court.

Very secret. Book an appointment and have a case at the ready!

Opium, Chinatown. For reasons that shall remain secret :) 
Try and find that one too! Behind a green door this time.

My favourite thing to do?

Visit a food market. Either Borough, for Bread Ahead's Brownies, or the Real Food Market on Southbank, along with a walk up and down to look at this view.

2013 was a year of extreme highs and lows. Only 21 days in and 2014 is already kicking 2013's butt.

Coal Vaults

This night happened a little while ago so it's a little hazy...not least from the very strong drinks!

I'd been hearing a lot about a new underground bar in Soho called Coal Vaults that happens to also do fantastic food as well as great drinks.

After walking all the way up Wardour Street, wondering if we'd missed it, we saw a little entrance welcoming us with a skeleton on a throne. Cue posing. 

Then it was time to get looking at the menu. Seated in a little candle lit cave we needed all the table space we could get for this was going to be a feast!

Starting with drinks, I had the Mercuary, a little gin number infused with sage, homemade greengage sorbet, lemon and prosecco. E took a Coxone, golden rum with Carpano Antica and spiced green apple. Very Autumnal don't you think?! All drinks are £9 or under, so it won't break the bank if you order a couple.

Yes, there are three drinks here. The lovely waiter brought us over another drink, which had been incorrectly made from a previous order. 

Then on to food. Very difficult to decide!

We chose the charred quail with pan fried chicken livers and quail. All delightful, especially the chicken livers with the warming lentils, however I always forget that quail is such a tricky bugger to eat. Luckily there were no boys around to impress! We got down and dirty.

Then, my favourite, the sherry braised beef cheek with onion, jam, sage and bread. Deliciously moist, hearty, juicy and tender, it was packed full of flavour, the sherry really coming through.

Next was the pulled rabbit with smoked black beans, sweetcorn and pineapple relish, avocado sour cream and flatbread. A gorgeous, fruity dish. The pineapple only served to complement, not compete, which I was afraid of!

Two desserts had to be ordered because they all sounded too good. The first had to be a salted flourless chocolate cake with a mint creme fraiche and toasted almond brittle. The cake was delicious, but for me the mint in the creme fraiche was a little too sharp and overpowering. The almond brittle was sweet and delicious, but there wasn't enough of it!

I am a crazy chocolate lover, so it is very rare and obviously a fine dessert that beats out the cake....but this little beauty of a crumble here, a blackberry, greengage and cobnut crumble with the most incredible calvados custard blew the cake out of the water. Mouth watering delicious, steaming hot and incredibly fruity, but not too sweet. Usually I don't like hot custard (I'm a weirdo I know, nothing like cold vanilla custard in my opinion) but I smothered this baby with that calvados gold. It was heaven.

We were absolutely stuffed after this, we couldn't even finish the cake and I am not one to waste. The food is inexpensive and the sharing dishes of a good size, more sizable than, say, a tapas bar. We could have done with one less dish and still be extremely full.

I have already told all my friends it's a fantastic little haunt that we all need to go to. Best to book though, for even on a Monday night it was busy. As with all places in London, the secret underground haunt doesn't stay secret for long!