All posts filed under: Restaurants

Fika, Brick Lane

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‘I feel like I’m on holiday’, said Lucy whilst sipping on her Life Aquatic cocktail, which consisted of dill vodka, elderflower and bitters topped with lemonade. Meanwhile, I was tackling my Inventory cocktail head on. A squeeze of vanilla vodka here, a dash of chilli caramel liquor there and a splash of Cognac, not to forget adding a bit of bubblegum candyfloss for good measure. It did feel like we were on holiday. Sadly, we were only sat on the quaint roof terrace on Brick Lane. We were at Fika, a Swedish haven nestled on one of London’s most famous streets, Brick Lane, next to bagel shops and curry houses galore. I had been to Fika before but a long while ago ande it was in the winter months so the terrace wasn’t an option. We unraveled the place mat menu and picked a few dishes to share – Lucy plumped for the Tomato Kingdom (heirloom tomatoe carpaccio, pickled wild mushroom and popcorn) and Campfire Steak. I went Swedish and ordered the Gravadlax followed by …

Smokey Tails Pop Up, Hackney Wick

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A few weeks ago I was invited to try Smokey Tails, an amazing summertime eating and drinking venue on the River Lea in Hackney Wick. The restaurant is the brainchild of DJ Seth Troxler and his partner Ryan Crosson, Jo Vidler (Secret Productions) and Ben Pound (Futureline Productions). We went on the Sunday of Hackney Wicked and enjoyed delicious frozen watermelon cocktails (boozey!) and feasted on ribs with Seth Troxler’s barbeque sauce, which I learnt has been passed down from his grandfather and developed over the years as new ingredients were added with each generation. As soon as I walked in I could feel the Ibiza vibes – amazing music, sunshine and clubbers that were squeezing the last out of the weekend. The food on offer at Smokey Tails consists of smoked meats, salads, frozen cocktails, independent guest ales and amazing desserts. I was really impressed by the home made cakes, lovingly baked by the mum of one of the promoters. As long as the summer stays in London, I’ll be heading down to Smokey …

Jubo at Bedroom Bar, Shoreditch

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What is it with the current obsession with chicken? Oh yea, maybe it’s the fact that, cooked well and with a bit of imagination, it’s utterly DELICIOUS!? I threw in imagination here because last week I was invited to try Jubo, a brand new Korean restaurant at Bedroom Bar in Shoreditch. Opening in September, Jubo will feature a Korean menu with a difference. Jubo takes inspiration from K-Town in New York and the street foods of Seoul, South Korea and the team has developed a sharing menu with dishes including chicken wings and strips (boneless thighs), steamed buns, subs and pickles. We tried most of the menu last week and were impressed with the honey & soy chicken wings and the pickles. The steamed buns and steak bulgogi sub needed way more filling (we ended up scraping the steak bulgogi filling out) but I’m sure with various feedback those changes will be made before opening. We also enjoyed a taster of Korean Hite beer, a good thirst quencher to match the chicken. JUBO will open …

Whyte and Brown, Kingly Court

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“How did you get into this industry?”, asked Fiona Gale, Creative Director at Whyte & Brown. My reply wasn’t exactly thrilling. I don’t have a romantic story of a childhood spent in the kitchen with my mum and grandma who passed recipes onto me. No. In fact, I don’t think I ever made anything other than currant buns as a child. So what happened? It all started about five years ago when I was at home and in need of something to satisfy my sweet tooth. I baked a tray of brownies and as soon as the first crumb hit my mouth I was hooked. That’s when the love affair really started and since then I have spent the majority of my time both searching for the best food the world can offer and attempting to recreate it in my kitchen at home. So that’s my story. Fiona’s? Well hers is certainly more romantic. Her mother was a fantastic cook and she spent a lot of time in the kitchen with her as a child …

Koshari Street, St Martin’s Lane

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Just over a year ago I visited Sao Paulo on a press trip. We arrived at the start of winter and I couldn’t quite believe it – 26 degrees and sunshine all around. I spent most of my time with Oliver, Paul and our lovely ‘tour guide’, David, but I was also lucky enough to spend a little time with Anissa Helou who was also out there for the trip. Anissa had been to Sao Paulo before and had many friends to visit so only joined us for our last meal at Mani. Anissa wowed me with stories of her home cooked Lebanese food and I was looking forward to getting home to try out some of her recipes. Fast forward a year and Anissa has just opened her first ‘hole in the wall’ street food experience on St Martin’s Lane, Koshari Street. I visited for dinner last night and was impressed with a dish that I had never even laid eyes on before, nevermind tasted. Koshari is one of Egypt’s quintessential street foods. It is …