Thanks PH'rs..8 days, seven meals in London
Discussion
I am writing this in the airport lounge in Heathrow. By way of background, decided on an off peak trip with the OH to London, (lived gthere for a couple of years a long time ago). OH does not drink or eat meat. We came to do very minor sightseeing , some theatre, and a coupe of exhibitions. Saw Simon Callow doing a one-man Dickes reading, (brilliant), Rope at the Almeida, (also superb) , Habit of Art, the new Alan Bennett play, (ok), the Kienhol installation at the National Gallery, (excellent), The exhibition of Rock photography at the National Portrait Gallery, ( garbage), the forgeries exhibit at the V&A, (very good),finally got to the Royal Pavilion at Brighton and the Astronomy installations at Greenwich, and went to Handel's house where for five quid we heard a rehearsal by a magnificent trio, a harpsichordist, a mezzo and a soprano in the room where he composed his greatest works.It was an unforgettable experience.
Now, the food:
(1) Hakkasan for DIm Sum.
Beautiful restaurant and the best Dim sum I have ever eaten. In fact, the best Chinese restaurant I have ever been to. The freshe fruit dessert had 16 different fruits
.
(2) Hix Oyster and Chophouse
A bit disappointing. overall. Great atmosphere and plenty of buzz, but poor service. The first three things the OH ordered were off the menu so she just had some starters. She ordered smoked salmon and it arrived cut like soldiers with zero garnish. Good salmon though. She also had artichoke soup which was very average. I had a lamb chop, competent but again ungarnished. Overall, a restaurant with superb ingredients, but I could have cooked an identical meal at home. The oysters were magnificent, though.
(3) Locanda Locatelli
Top grade. OH had steamed hake which she thought was superbly light, we split egg pasta with fresh truffles, and I had a perfectly cooked breast of duck. We split a desert of blood oranges and foam which was wonderful. Nice half bottle of Barolo
(4) Amaya
Very pretty reataurant, very strong on vegetable dishes, OH very happy with it. I had a rohanjosh as a main course, which was not quite as good as the starters. Naan was only OK. Overall very good though, a notch below Tamarind where we ate on a previous visit.
(5) Corrigans
A bit unfairly to them, we ate there on a Sunday night when the restaurant was almost deserted. They had a limited menu, but the food was uniformly excellent, as was the service. OH had red mullet which was perfectly cooked. I had a starter of scallops and a main of pheasant. I will return there one day on a regular night, as this was a kitchen that clearly has great competence.
(6) J Sheekey
Many Ph'rs recommended this.
OH in seventh heaven, had Brill. I had potted shrimp and a wonderful dover sole with a side of steamed spinach. Loved the atmosphere and the fish was the best we had all week. Definitely a place to come back to. I liked all the little rooms that divide the restaurant.
(7) St.John
Fergus Henderson had made a name with the whole nose-to tail eating thing, and we saw several tables who had preordered whole suckling pigs. Restaurant is very close to Hix, and shares the unadorned food bias. I had a terrine to start, (excellent taste and texture), and a woodcock as a main, (gamy as expected, buy beautifully rare and tasty. OH has brill (again) which she thought was a better piece of fish that J Sheekey but not as well cooked, so preferred the SHeekey treatment. Desert was almond cream with poached rhubarb for me, and bread pudding for the OH.
In summary, Sheekey and Hakkasan were the standouts, with Corrigan and Locatelli next. Thanks PH'rs for all your advice. I also finally got some hot horseradish sauce to bring home to Canada where they have watery, mild swill that does not bring tears to your eyes. Got some fearsome stuff in the Borough Market.
Now, the food:
(1) Hakkasan for DIm Sum.
Beautiful restaurant and the best Dim sum I have ever eaten. In fact, the best Chinese restaurant I have ever been to. The freshe fruit dessert had 16 different fruits
.(2) Hix Oyster and Chophouse
A bit disappointing. overall. Great atmosphere and plenty of buzz, but poor service. The first three things the OH ordered were off the menu so she just had some starters. She ordered smoked salmon and it arrived cut like soldiers with zero garnish. Good salmon though. She also had artichoke soup which was very average. I had a lamb chop, competent but again ungarnished. Overall, a restaurant with superb ingredients, but I could have cooked an identical meal at home. The oysters were magnificent, though.
(3) Locanda Locatelli
Top grade. OH had steamed hake which she thought was superbly light, we split egg pasta with fresh truffles, and I had a perfectly cooked breast of duck. We split a desert of blood oranges and foam which was wonderful. Nice half bottle of Barolo
(4) Amaya
Very pretty reataurant, very strong on vegetable dishes, OH very happy with it. I had a rohanjosh as a main course, which was not quite as good as the starters. Naan was only OK. Overall very good though, a notch below Tamarind where we ate on a previous visit.
(5) Corrigans
A bit unfairly to them, we ate there on a Sunday night when the restaurant was almost deserted. They had a limited menu, but the food was uniformly excellent, as was the service. OH had red mullet which was perfectly cooked. I had a starter of scallops and a main of pheasant. I will return there one day on a regular night, as this was a kitchen that clearly has great competence.
(6) J Sheekey
Many Ph'rs recommended this.
OH in seventh heaven, had Brill. I had potted shrimp and a wonderful dover sole with a side of steamed spinach. Loved the atmosphere and the fish was the best we had all week. Definitely a place to come back to. I liked all the little rooms that divide the restaurant.
(7) St.John
Fergus Henderson had made a name with the whole nose-to tail eating thing, and we saw several tables who had preordered whole suckling pigs. Restaurant is very close to Hix, and shares the unadorned food bias. I had a terrine to start, (excellent taste and texture), and a woodcock as a main, (gamy as expected, buy beautifully rare and tasty. OH has brill (again) which she thought was a better piece of fish that J Sheekey but not as well cooked, so preferred the SHeekey treatment. Desert was almond cream with poached rhubarb for me, and bread pudding for the OH.
In summary, Sheekey and Hakkasan were the standouts, with Corrigan and Locatelli next. Thanks PH'rs for all your advice. I also finally got some hot horseradish sauce to bring home to Canada where they have watery, mild swill that does not bring tears to your eyes. Got some fearsome stuff in the Borough Market.
Gassing Station | Food, Drink & Restaurants | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff