All posts tagged: soho

The best places to eat pasta in London

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I only started ordering pasta in restaurants around 5 years ago. Why? Because over the years, I’d clearly been frequenting some shocking Italian restaurants, thinking I was Barry Big B******s because I was dining out. I remember when it all changed, however. This joint isn’t on the list because recently I went back to the scene of the beautiful crime and I was devastated to see that the friendly Italian man who used to give me free slithers of cheese as I waited for him to cook the best goddamn ragu I had ever tasted, had gone. Arguably the best ragu anyone would ever taste (even my mate in Melbourne who visited a few years ago still tells me she’s trying to recreate it) is now a distant memory. Finito. Kaput. Anyway, why dwell on the past when you can so easily look to the ever so tasty future? I have compiled my top 5 for now, although this will likely grow as I make my way around more restaurants once full Covid restrictions have …

Slobbering at Bukowski, Soho

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What Meaty goodness at Bukowski, Soho Where 10 D’Arblay St London W1F 8DS Experience Friday night in Soho and pubs and bars are overflowing with creative types who are at the beginning of a huge session to let off steam from the heavy week of work that they have just endured. I arrive at Picadilly Circus and meander up through the narrow Soho streets, past me favourite Georgian townhouse buildings and arrive at Bukowski, the third outpost from the charcoal grill specialists. My late friend is late again, so I browse the menu before he arrives and ask the friendly South African waiter for a glass of wine. I ask him which is better, the Cuvee des Galets (syrah/Grenache/carignan), or the Black Ink (sweigelt/st laurent) and his response got us off to a great start. “Are you old enough to be drinking wine?” he smirked. I wasn’t sure whether he was joking or not, but presumed not as I have been ID’d more in the last year than I ever have in my life. “I’m …

Melt Room – Say Cheese

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What The grilled cheese sandwich goes gourmet at London’s first American-style grilled cheese diner. Experience The Melt Room is taking grilled cheese sandwiches to the next level. I met up with my cheese fanatic friend Lucy in Soho before wandering over to Noel Street on a busy Friday afternoon. The pocket sized 12 seater diner, fittingly decorated bright yellow, stands out for all the right reasons. Inside, the simple menu offers melts including slow and low lamb shoulder with mustard greens and melted Swiss and Portobello mushroom with thyme, roasted peppers and provolone. Behind the glass cabinet I was tempted by the pastrami with porcini, Sparkenhoe Red Leicestershire and horseradish melt. The crust was evenly toasted and crunchy. The filling was salty and oozed with delicious British farmhouse cheese. Three thumbs up! A Melt Room grilled cheese is not for the feint hearted. To balance out the gluttony, I ordered a house salad on the side which made everything better. As I went in for my third bite I hesitated for just enough time to sing the ‘Pure and …

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, …

Vapiano, Soho

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Where Vapiano, Soho What The third Vapiano site in London follows the same concept – homemade pasta, pizza and salad dishes cooked fresh in front of guests. Each dish is ordered using a smart card system, which is tapped onto the till every time you order, meaning an easy and efficient paying system as you leave the restaurant. The experience I bet you think I’m going to talk about a big, juicy pizza here, don’t you? Well, guess again folks; I managed to restrain myself from ordering a pizza and instead opted for a pasta dish and a salad. We arrived on a Thursday evening at 6.30pm and grabbed a seat on one of the tall communal tables straight away. The friendly host asked if we were familiar with the Vapiano system and provided us with our payment cards. For those who aren’t familiar with the system, you order what you want to eat from one of the three stations – pizza, salad, or pasta, and touch your card on the reader. When you are …