All posts filed under: London

Carluccio’s Launches Spring/Summer Menu

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Where Carluccio’s, Garrick Street, London What The infamous Italian restaurant chain, Carluccio’s, has launched a new spring / summer menu so I was invited along to the Garrick Street restaurant, near Covent Garden, to celebrate. Experience It was a sunny afternoon at the beginning of spring when I made my way to meet my friend Alice outside Carluccio’s. Sun seekers had already filled the outdoor tables, sipping on ice cold white wine, enjoying the hottest day of the year. We were lead up a grand, spiral staircase which lead to a private dining room, and presented with an offering of a prosecco cocktail – yes please. The prosecco was lightly quenched with limonchello and made an uncomfortably warm girl instantly revived. The Garrick Street Carluccio’s is housed inside an historic London building with tall ceilings and whiter-than-white painted walls. It hosts a bar and dining area over two floors, along with a private dining room and of course the infamous Carluccio’s deli. In the far corner were the guys from Peroni working their magic shaking …

Noilly Prat L’Apéritif Spring event at Cafe Pistou

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Where Café Pistou, Exmouth Market What Noilly Prat L’Apéritif Spring event   Experience On a pretty spectacular spring evening (girl’s arrived), me and Stephen headed down to Café Pistou for the Noilly Prat L’Apéritif Spring event. The quaint and pretty brasserie lies at the gateway to Exmouth Market serving provençal inspired small plates throughout the day and, both giddy from leaving work early, we plonked ourselves like a pair of fat cats in the sunny terrace and grinned smugly. Noilly Prat is considered one of the world’s first and finest French vermouths, used widely in classic cocktails such as the dry martini; but we were here to  drink it the way the French do, as L’Apéritif served simply over ice with a twist of lemon. We felt refreshed and sophisticated and found the single globular ice cube particularly satisfying. Noilly Prat has been created and aged in the South of France for over 200 years using Picpoul and Clairette grape varietals that are aged in small oak casks exposed to the natural elements throughout all 4 …

Le Menar, Fitzrovia

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Where Le Menar, Fitzrovia What Le Menar is North African food with a difference. Combining core ingredients with modern cooking techniques, Chef Vernon Samuels also brings a fresh approach to presentation. The Experience Le Menar is tucked away on Cleveland Street in upmarket Fitzrovia. Seated at the low round Moroccan brass tables, you sink down into giant colourful pillows in a room that glows with warm tones of red and orange. The mezze sharing platter, served with delicious Lebanese flat bread, is filled with hummus, tabbouleh, baby okra salad, moutabel, falafel, moussaka, wareq enab (stuffed vine leaves) and mini kebbeh. Each element has intense flavour. The baby okra salad with pomegranate and coriander was particularly mouthwatering. The menu showed traces of Chef Vernon Samuels’ time spent working in Italy, and the Za atar burrata with heirloom tomato salad, sumac and baby basil was a fine example of this. Unable to leave a morsel of the starters, we were all-too-soon presented with our mains. The delicious Green harissa monkfish was served with batata harra (a sauce of …

A Tapas Revolution in Bethnal Green

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Where Tapas Revolution, Shoreditch What Spanish tapas restaurant Experience Madrilenian chef Omar Allibhoy wants to bring authentic yet modern Spanish tapas to London, and he has an impressive CV! Having worked at former ‘Best Restaurant in the World’, El Bulli in Barcelona; Maze in Mayfair (Gorden Ramsay called him the ‘Antonio Banderas of cooking’); and El Pirata De Tapas in Notting Hill, he went on to start his own Tapas Revolution chain. Omar already has bars in Westfield and Bluewater shopping centers and has now finally opened a stand alone restaurant on Bethnal Green Road that I was invited to try out. Located in between Brick Lane and Box Park, the sleek interior retains the rustic and animated atmosphere you would expect in a classic Spanish tapas bar. The open kitchen and Jamón prep area face onto closely packed high seated tables, whilst a grand bar bathed in light from the chunky overhead copper lighting runs through the middle of the restaurant. Here staff serve an assortment of the most enormous and refreshing Gin and Tonics I …

The Imperial, Kings Road

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Where The Imperial, King’s Road What An environmentally friendly British and sustainable gastro-pub in the heart of the Chelsea Design Quarter on Kings Road. Experience The Imperial is set within a distinguished and grandly restored Victorian corner building, which caught our eyes as we approached on the bus from Sloane Square. As you enter through the door, you are faced with a modern bar with exposed brick wall, which leads into the sophisticated candle lit dining room. The restaurant is all about locally sourced, good quality, sustainable food. The garden is a beautiful space used for growing produce for the kitchen – you can’t get more local than that. Newly appointed Head Chef Jason Lee Cole and Sous Chef Ollie Quelch, bring their experience from restaurants such as Jamie Oliver’s 15 and Barbecoa, to the new menu at The Imperial. Diners are in for a treat. The starter of Rare Bavette with Chichory, Chard Leek, Pickled Mushrooms stood out at me from the menu, and I’m so glad I made the choice. The melt-in-the-mouth bavette …