Author: Sarah Kemp

EAT THE OLYMPICS review – Comptoir Libanais

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Comptoir Libanais review – originally posted on Eat the Olympics on 15th March 2012 Comptoir Libanais (Lebanon) When we arrived at Comptoir Libanais last Thursday, we were surprised to find the restaurant packed to the rafters at 6.30pm. Even from a distance outside, the first thing we noticed was the colourful paraphernalia dispersed around the room. When we walked through the door, the explosion of colours and loud clientele made for a great first impression. We snagged a table for two next to the window and were left to digest the menu. We both knew exactly what we wanted – picky bits to start and a couple of mains to share. We ordered the mezze platter for one (£7.95) and the lamb kibbeh (£4.65) to share, followed by the comptoir burger (£8.85) and the chicken & green olives tagine (£7.95) for main and fat free frozen yoghurt with mixed nuts and honey (£4.95) and baklawa (£2.45) to share for pudding. The mezze platter for one was easily enough for two to share as a starter …

Wilton Way Cafe

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It’s Saturday afternoon and we decided to head to Hackney today to visit a new food market. It’s dreary outside so we stopped off at Wilton Way Cafe on the way to Broadway Market. Wilton Way Cafe is home to London Fields Radio and we sat down to enjoy a flat white whilst listening to good music. I was surprised to find that a flat white is a mere £2.20, a far cry from central London prices. It arrived and was delicious and creamy, just perfect. The cakes on offer look great with delights such as banana bread, courgette and lemon curd and gluten free plum and almond tart. Suppliers include E5 Bakehouse, Brindisa, Neals Yard and the Ginger Pig. The coffee is supplied by Climpsons and if you don’t fancy a hot drink, you can always enjoy a soft drink from Fentimans. Furniture is reclaimed and the original wood floors have stayed. The back window looks out onto a lovely garden and the bar is lined with corrugated tin. This cafe has free wifi …

Lazy Loaf at Bread Street Kitchen

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Last weekend was our first taster of the (hopefully) bright and warm summer months to come. We spent the morning perusing the David Shrigley and Jeremy Deller exhibitions at the Hayward Gallery before strolling along the Southbank and across the Millennium Bridge to Bread Street Kitchen where we were booked in to sample the Lazy Loaf menu at 1pm. Despite the tempting brunch options such as ricotta hotcakes, banana and honeycomb butter shining out at us from the top of the menu, we opted for dishes from the lunch menu – it was 1pm after all. We settled into our seats by the window and were surprised to hear live music being played through the speakers. I popped my head up and saw a small band situated in the far right hand corner of the restaurant, playing a wide range of soul classics. The whole menu was appealing so took us a while to decide but in the end we settled on the warm beetroot tart with toasted pine nut and fresh goat’s curd (£8.50) …

Murad facial – Essential Therapie

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The first time you do anything always carries with it a sense of nervousness and excitement. “You have never had a facial?” trilled Paula, my therapist for the hour as I confessed all. You see, for reasons way beyond my comprehension, I have never taken good care of my skin. I started moisturising (sort of) in my second year of university but I only recently discovered the joys of cleansing, toning and moisturising in one go. A few months ago I boarded a Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong. As I reclined in my seat, the stewardesses handed me a gorgeous little toiletry bag. I eagerly unzipped the little blue bag and inside I found miniature samples of Murad, a skin care range that I’d previously unheard of. And for the first time ever on a flight, I cleansed, toned and moisturised before I reclined my bed and actually slept. I was sure I felt the benefits on arrival in Hong Kong and I was hooked. Upon arrival back into London, I was happy to …

Eat the Olympics – Madsen, South Kensington

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Reviewed on 7th March for my other project Eat the Olympics. We seem to be heading to South Kensington a lot recently. Is this slowly becoming one of London’s hottest foodie destinations? Last night was the turn of traditional Scandinavian restaurant Madsen and we were visiting to tick the Swedish entry off our list. As we entered the narrow dining room, we were seated at our table by our very polite host for the evening next to a book case full of Scandinavian books, leaflets and magazines. After a quick browse, we were provided the menu and left to peruse for a few minutes. We all chose the gravlax to start, two of us opted for the Swedish “Tjälknöl” (£16.95) and one the slow roasted pork belly (£15.95) for main and we all had separate puddings – the Swedish Kladdkaka (£5.95), rhubarb trifle (£6.95) and Kransekage (£3.95). Shortly after we had ordered the room began to fill with the evenings diners. We overheard the Scandinavian waitress speaking in her native tongue to one of the …