All posts filed under: Restaurants

Belgo Lobsterfest Starts Today! #Lobzilla

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Last night I attended the launch of the annual Belgo Lobsterfest (#lobzilla) at Belgo Centraal in Covent Garden. We were treated to a lobster preparation demonstration by Muir Picken, Executive Chef, before feasting on lobster cocktail to start, followed by Lobzilla (whole grillied lobster, French fries, aioli and salad) for main. I wasn’t drinking but the rest of the guests looked more than impressed with the wide selection of beers that Belgo’s resident Master of Beer, Skender Ramadani, was recommending from the brand new Beer Bible (which includes a range of over 50 Belgian beers!) Kicking off today, Belgo’s Lobsterfest will run until the end of August with limited edition menu featuring three lobster based dishes. For the first time, Belgo has teamed up with the Padstow based National Lobster Hatchery, to support their “Buy One Set One Free” initiative and will donate £1 from each dish sold to  the campaign. Their work helps to conserve vulnerable lobster populations, preserve marine biodiversity and safeguard our fishing and seafood industry. The Limited Edition dishes are: • …

Marco Pierre White Steakhouse, Nottingham

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It has been eight years since I have lived in Nottingham. But that’s absolutely long enough to remember that the food options were slightly limited when I was around. We had the choice of a cheap and mostly unsatisfying chain, or a ridiculously fancy restaurant that would swallow up a whole week’s salary. So it’s good to see that the food offering in the city is on the up, especially with the arrival of Marco Pierre White Steakhouse last year. We visited on a recent trip back home and the restaurant wasn’t what I thought it would be. Housed in a casino, diners can see through a glass fronted wall overlooking the casino. The interior is more sterile that I expected for such a restaurant. We ordered a couple of starters to share – I had their version of prawn cocktail, which was a deconstructed version with only a few prawns dotted about on the plate. They had tried to be fancy with presentation but it didn’t work well in my eyes – a prawn …

Gogi, Little Venice

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I can’t quite believe what us Brits have had to endure since last October. The usual dark wintry evenings, snow in May, constant grey cloudy skies. It’s enough to make even Carole Smiley miserable. A couple of weekends ago we saw a taste of what I hope is to come for the rest of the summer – blue skies and highs of 20degrees. Yesss, come on! It was the perfect day for a walk along Regents Canal in West London. We were in Little Venice to visit Gogi, a new(ish) Korean restaurant situated on the bridge of the canal on Edgware Road. Gogi is impressive from the outside and the restaurant makes an impression even as you walk towards it from the canal. Enter and the decor is equally is striking. Each table is equipped with a grill and exposed brickwork walls surround you. The waitress greeted me by name and I was shown my table looking out over the canal. We opened the menu and my stomach groaned with excitement – I had only …

Huevos Rancheros at Barrio East

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I have surprised myself recently. Not even a year ago I had never run more than 4 miles but last October I ran a half marathon and have just signed up to the Royal Parks Half Marathon in October and the London Marathon next year. Jack and I are doing it together and training starts now. We woke up early on Saturday morning, slipped on our gear and took the tube to Green Park. From there we ran through Green Park and St James’s Park before crossing Westminster Bridge, running along the river, over Tower Bridge and up to Shoreditch. Six miles in total. We had brunch at Barrio East booked for 12pm and the thought of delicious Huevos Rancheros kept me going strong throughout the run. We arrived, slightly red faced, hungry and ready for a feast. The bright decor reminded me of my trip to Brazil this time last year and I was happy to hear South American music setting the mood. We were shown to our little booth and given menus. First …

Kitchen Parties – Rack & Ruin Review

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As the sun set over London last night, Lucy and I approached a large Victorian corner building with black painted windows. We were to spend the evening at Kitchen Parties, an immersive dining, drinking and entertainment concept. We entered into The Fourth Wall, the cocktail bar area, and sipped on a delicious lychee cocktail while we waited to be called to the table. The restaurant we chose to dine at was Rack & Ruin and we were to enjoy a ‘hearty three course banquet of delicious medieval style preserves and meats cooked on an open grill’. When we eventually made it into the dining room, we were seated at a long banqueting table and told to visit ‘Peter’ with our wooden board (plate) so that he could carve us some meat. We could see the large open grill in front of us, which was adorned with huge chunks of barbecued meat, cooking away right in front of our eyes. Our visit to Peter was surreal. A shady character, Peter pulled pieces of meat from the …