All posts filed under: Restaurants

The Bootlegger

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What The Bootlegger Basement Bar brings Moonshine Madness to Monument Where 51° 30’ 43.1” | 0° 5’ 0.8” (Basement Bar 25-26 Lime Street EC3M 7HR – but keep it hush) Experience Located behind busy Leadenhall market is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it doorway leading to London’s newest prohibition inspired drinking den. The bar is decked out with original period photography, furniture and props which transports visitors to the dark underground world of prohibition decadence. The cocktail menu is separated into different hooches. In line with America’s roaring twenties, I started the evening with rye of course. “Lucky” Luciano is made up of Bulleit Rye whiskey, subtle hints of Chambord, Kahlua and stirred over crushed berries with sweet and dry vermouth. For dessert, I opted for vodka based The Button Man and his Gat. This beautifully crafted drink contains sweet vanilla-infused Ketel One Vodka, amaretto, fresh basil, pineapple and a dash of lemon juice. Part way through my second drink the live jazz band started to play and my toes started tapping.  All that was left to do was …

Capish? at The Hat and Tun

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What Launch of Italian-American style street food Capish? at The Hat and Tun for two weeks in February. They will be serving their 3 most popular dishes from Wed 17th – Fri 19th and Wed 24th – Fri 26th between 5.30pm and 9pm. Where Hat and Tun, Hatton Wall, Farringdon Experience After watching the final episode of Sopranos last week, I was bewildered and ratty, and felt, suddenly, very alone. So when I received the invite to try the new Italian-American pop up menu at Hat and Tun, I figured that this was just the event I needed to stop me from comfort eating chorizo and to ease me back into some sort of a normal life. Capish?, a street food company based in Hackney, have been trading their take on Italian-American classics on Roman Road market since 2012. They use locally sourced, sustainable ingredients to create what Londonist declared to be, the “best meatballs in London”.  Oh marone! I really like the Hat and Tun as it’s cosy and they sell good beer, so …

Calçotada at Tramontana Brindisa

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What Tramontana Brindisa has added another feather to its cap of authentic, Spanish experiences; the Calçotada. Unknown to even many Spanish people, the Calçotada hails from the North-Eastern region of Catalonia, well-known for its gastronomy, tourism and football, and less well-known for its large, spring onion-esque vegetables. It is, essentially, a festival to celebrate the arrival of Spring, and indeed these fresh, quality ingredients, artfully prepared and delivered almost as entertainment, are quite something to celebrate.  Where Available at: Morada Brindisa Asador 18-20 Rupert St London W1D 6DF   And Brindisa Tramontana 152 Curtain Rd London EC2A 3AT   Experience Before arriving at Brindisa Tramontana on a cold, rainy Tuesday evening, I had little idea of what a Calçotada festival actually was. Intrigued, I waded my way towards the Shoreditch restaurant, struggling to imagine how a re-enactment of a Spanish Spring festival could possibly be achieved in weather such as this. And little did I know that the Calçotada was to be held outside. I needn’t have worried; as I was shown out the back …

Sutton & Sons

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What Sutton & Sons renound fishmongers and fish restaurant in Stoke Newington has branched out with a new restaurant in Islington. Where 356 Essex Road, London N1 3PD Experience When I first moved to London from rainy Manchester I really missed a good fish supper. Despite being famous for fish and chips, London was lacking something. How times have changed. I invited fellow Northerner Tom to try out newly opened Sutton & Sons Islington restaurant on a rainy night (to remind us of home). The front of the restaurant is a traditional fish and chip shop take-away bar, and the back hosts a quaint restaurant for eat-in diners. The décor a perfect blend of shiny, new and modern metal crossed with authentic dark wood and simple menus. It was a last minute thought to order a starter to share, but I was so glad we did. Sweet, salty, crisp Tempura batter enclosed our huge, juicy king prawns. They were the tastiest prawns I have eaten since childhood. The only bad thing was that I had …

Bridging the Divide Between London and Asia

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London has long been a multicultural city with a vast amount to offer, even to the seasoned traveler. It has also been an admirer of Asian culture for many a year. You only have to look at Chinatown just off Leicester Square to witness the hoards of ravenous professionals that descend upon West London each night at feeding time to see how fond of Asian food the British are. And the buck doesn’t stop there – the British embrace many Asian traditions but a Japanese-themed hotel situated in Gatwick Airport caused quite a stir when it was opened among the British media. YOTEL was launched in London’s Gatwick back in 2007 and introduced the British public to Asian ingenuity at its finest. Many had read about the Tokyo hotels that were built under the design dynamics to cater for short stay visitors via a series of pods or compact cabins, if you like. It was something that was completely foreign too, to the British consumer. British hotels are renowned for being characterless boxes that exhibit …