All posts filed under: Restaurants

Truffle Menu at Diciannove, Crown Plaza

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Where Diciannove at the Crowne Plaza Hotel What An exclusive truffle menu created by chef Alessandro Bay to celebrate the Truffle Season, using white truffles from Umbria. The Experience I must admit, before this experience I’d never quite understood the fascination with truffles. Not only are they essentially weird looking little mushrooms, they suffer the indignity of being sniffed and snorted and hunted out by hairy pigs and trained ‘truffle dogs’ in the countryside of France and Italy before being shipped to our shores. However, I appear to be in the minority – they are the diamonds of haute cuisine, the second most expensive ingredients in the world (coming in just behind caviar).  Warring Umbrian farmers have even been known to murder each others prized pigs in an effort to win the truffle wars. I’ve had hints of truffle in dishes before, and been known to use the now-disgraced truffle oil in cooking occasionally, but never really embraced them. Where better to give them the full appraisal than by trying a full truffle menu at Diciannove? Chef Alessandro has designed three truffle-heavy …

The Winter Cabin at York and Albany

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Where The  Winter Cabin, York and Albany What Situated in the Courtyard of Gordon Ramsey’s York and Albany is the winter cabin, an alpine ski lodge experience serving festive cocktails and canapés. The picture of winter chic, located on a quiet corner of Regents Park, you would never guess this hidden gem was mere minutes from the mania of Camden tube. The Experience We took the Northern line from Bank to Camden, sweaty as always, I thought to myself. If this was a first date, I’m pretty sure I have been closer to most people on this tube than dates I have been on of late. I went with Hannah, a colleague who had started in my team the week before. She is amusing, likes food and at the end of a long working day is still good company, needless to say a great partner for dining. We arrived and were politely shown through to the courtyard. The York and Albany is lovely, like a drawing room; it is cosy and welcoming without an air …

Señor Ceviche, Soho

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Where Señor Ceviche, Kingly Court What Following a wildly successful series of pop-ups around the capital, Señor Ceviche serves tasty tapas style plates of fresh ceviche, Peruvian street food and fiery BBQ, alongside punchy Pisco cocktails and ice cold Peruvian beers from its new casa. The interiors have been designed around the bohemian and artistic streets of Lima’s party district, Barranco, which is home to some of Lima’s most exciting bars and restaurants, and where Señor Ceviche himself, Harry Edmeades, stayed while in Peru. The experience When did Kingly Court become so hip? And when did I start using the word hip? Not that the latter matters, of course. It’s just the last time I visited Kingly Court, a good handful of the restaurants that were bustling on my Saturday night visit last weekend didn’t exist. This little hidden gem right in the heart of Central London has well and truly undergone a makeover and I was pleasantly surprised at what lay before my very eyes. I was at Kingly Court to try Señor Ceviche, …

United Ramen, Upper Street

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Where United Ramen, Upper Street What United Ramen dishes are created using traditions inspired by Japan and infused with different cultural flavours. After spending three years in Asia Pacific, American-Brit owner Aaron found the lack of great noodle shops in London frustrating and created United Ramen as an ode to the great Ramen he found in Japan. The experience United Ramen is the new kid on the Ramen block. Situated on trendy Upper Street in Islington, the brightly coloured restaurant made me feel like I had walked into the ramen version of Yo! Sushi. The menu is split into sections – UR Ramen, deep rich broths; Hiyashi Ramen, cold ramen noodle salads; a range of sides and specials. As you would imagine there is also a range of sake on offer, along with some fun bubble teas. Owner Aaron didn’t want to imitate authentic Japanese ramen, instead he makes nods to the delicious noodle bowls and adds his own flair. Diners can choose from two different kinds of noodles – thin and straight, which cling …

The Happenstance, St Paul’s

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Where The Happenstance, St Paul’s What The Happenstance, situated by one of London’s most iconic landmarks, St Paul’s, is a magical Alice in Wonderland style bar & restaurant. Customers can expect innovative cocktails and seasonal & locally soured cuisine, from breakfast, brunch & lunch right through to dinner & late night bites. The experience There’s nothing quite like a catch up with one of your amazing friends and what makes it even better is good meal to go with it. I met my good friend Abi (also one of my new Food for Think contributors!) for dinner on Monday evening at The Happenstance. As it was a Monday, neither of us were drinking, so instead we guzzled a lovely mocktail, which was a sweet and delectable mix of passion fruit, mango and vanilla. The menu at The Happenstance was slightly confusing. It is split into sections – a few small plates, a big range of flatbreads, salads, steak, mains, burgers & sandwiches and sides. We opted for a couple of small plates to start – …