Category: London

Confessions of a Chocolaholic Afternoon Tea at the Hilton

Overindulged at the “Confessions of a Chocaholic Afternoon Tea at the Hilton”  in the Podium Restaurant on the ground floor of the Park Lane Hilton.

This afternoon tea is good value for money, compared to a lot of the hotel based afternoon tea options in London (£29.50 including a glass of champagne).

The three tier cake stand used looks great and I was impressed by the chocolate selection, even the gold sprinkled base was made out of chocolate.  There is so much here, making the pretty take away handbags a must.  The Tea selection was also interesting and extensive.

The open sandwiches were beautifully presented, tasty and fresh. The chocolate spread with Chocolate Chip scones was also a nice touch. Not so keen on the cup cakes though which were rather ordinary.

The let down was more on the service side, which although friendly, was really slow. It was hard getting attention and it was nearly a hour before we started!  I am also not sure that “I did not have time to bring the extra sandwiches is a particularly good excuse” in a hotel of this calibre.

The room was pleasant enough but had rather bad acoustics and the use of live and canned music really did not work.

Marks out of 10

Food 5.7

Service 3.8

Ambience 4

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The Chop House – Vegetarian friendly!

Had a casual lunch with some friends in Butlers Wharf Chop House, we went for the set lunch in the bar area rather than the main restaurant.  For a restaurant known for its meat, the set menu surprisingly did not include any, just a rather nice selection of vegetarian dishes and one fish dish.

For starters we had the Vegetable and Barley soup, tasty and very wintry, but as the sky was dark with rain, it rather suited the day.  The Heritage Tomato salad was also delicious, so fresh it reminded one of my friends of her childhood eating tomatoes straight from the garden.  I had the red onion and cheese tart which I really enjoyed, the onions were very sweet and the combinations just worked. The Ling and runner beans needed a side order to complete the dish and the perfectly cooked Jersey potatoes were ideal. For dessert we ordered the Knickerbocker glory (nothing special), but the Secretts Farm Plums, Praline and Vanilla ice cream was well received, even if it was difficult to eat from the glass bowl.

The service was also very good, the staff were friendly and efficient. The only time we had any issue was when we came to pay the bill and found the bar area empty of staff.

Marks out of 10

Food 6.5

Service 6

Ambience 5

 

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Gastronomica – Piemonte in Pimlico

Had breakfast at Gastronomica in Pimlico, a cafe/deli that advertises itself quite rightly as Piemonte in Pimlico.

Actually Gastronomica is a lot more that just this one cafe/deli. They have several market stalls (including one at Borough Market) and another couple of  cafes in Wapping and Manchester as well as a wholesale food business.

The cafe in the heart of Pimlico is not that pretty from the outside, as it is located in an unattractive red brick block of shops behind a rather garish red awning.

Inside it is much more attractive, the Cafe area consists of a couple of large wooden tables and a few smaller ones, surrounded by shelves of Italian Wine and cabinets full of wonderful meats and cheese. The menu is quite small, mainly Italian sandwiches, cheese and meat boards and salads, but everything looks really good.

My breakfast was just a simple ham and cheese tostado, served with a really good cup of coffee.  They also had a selection of cakes, which were inviting enough for me to want to make a return visit to try them along with another cup of that coffee. It’s always good to find an alternative to the ubiquitous Starbucks and Cafe Nero coffee shops.

This place captures the best of Italy. It’s very laid back, I particularly liked the way they went off menu to please a family that just wanted toast and jam for their kids. You definitely don’t see that in Starbucks.

UPDATE : January 2011, returned for coffee and cake, had a piece of strawberry and pannacotta cheese cake, and another cup of their great coffee.  I also bought some Delizia Mandorla (Almond Cakes) which are lovely with a glass of Amaretto.

Marks out of 10

Food 5

Service 5.2

Ambience 5.5

 

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Tapas Fantasticas – Hotter than Spain!

Glorious sunny day at Tapas Fantasticas in Potters Fields Park.  This is my second year attending this food and drink festival, last year it was in a more cramped location in Brick Lane.  I really like the new site, nestled in between landmark buildings like Tower Bridge and City Hall, it is a stunning setting.  The festival which is organised by Wines from Rioja seems to be very lucky with the weather – it was on during a heat wave last year as well.   It is such a civilized day out,  entrance is free and there are no real queues for any of the stands which sell reasonably priced wine by the glass and off course some rather good Tapas.

There are also organised wine tastings, we booked a session with Iron Chefs Olly Smith, who is always good value and guaranteed entertainment.

However my favourite wine of the day wasn’t at the tasting, but was from the El Coto de Rioja stand. It was a really smooth Coto de Imaz Reserva.

I also tried a couple of Tapas dishes – Salt cod fried in batter, and some blue cheese and ham croquettes, both delicious.

Next years festival will be in my diary too, weather permitting off course.

 

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Blueprint Cafe – focusing on the view

Had lunch at the Blueprint Cafe, it’s a hard location to beat.  They sat us at a great table by the window with a panoramic view of Tower Bridge and the Thames.  They also supplied a pair of binoculars, so the view is obviously a big attraction.

It’s been years since my last visit, and  the decor/style of the place has certainly changed. It’s a much more casual venue these days.

Food wise it was a bit hit and miss (more miss than hit).  The Razor clams I had were nothing special, too much lemon juice for my taste. The mackerel was a bit overcooked, but the pickled cucumbers with mustard and dill that accompanied it was delicious – click here for a recipe

For main course I had grilled leg of lamb with tomatoes and courgettes, the lamb was perfect (well apart from the fact there was not enough of it and there was a real glut of vegetables).  The meringue dessert was rather messy looking but tasted good, however the strawberry shortcake was less successful,  not my idea of shortcake. It was  more like oatcake, with cream and strawberries, basically rather dull.

So in conclusion, great view, OK food. I would make a return visit, but next time I will lower my expectations and focus on the view.

 

 

Update : April 2012 – The Blueprint Cafe has a new chef, Mark Jarvis. He has worked at Texture and spent some time working for Raymond Blanc.

 

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Bar Boulud – Busy! Buzzy! Burgers!

There have been lots of recent reviews about Bar Boulud at the Mandarin Oriental. Most of them hightlighting just how quickly this restaurant found its feet.  Certainly on our visit, barely two weeks after opening, it was running very smoothly indeed. Especially when you consider just how busy it was.

The first thing that hits you when you sit down, is the level of service. There are a lot of staff both in the kitchen and in the dining room. It is actually quite entertaining to watch them skillfully almost dance around each other.

This is a great people watching venue. The Tables are very close together and there is an almost frantic buzz of activity and noise when the service is in full swing.

Bar Boulud menu combines French charcuterie and bistro cooking.  So to start we shared a small plate of charcuterie. The waiter made a point of explaining that all the Terrines were home made. It was certainly a good varied selection (although not the best charcuterie I have had in London,  Almeida does a really good charcuterie trolley which I thought had the edge on the Bar Boulud selection).  For the main course we tried the now famous “Frenchie” burger (a great burger almost as good as the one in Moovida – praise indeed) and a more traditional Steak frites.  The burger looked small but was perfectly cooked and actually very filling, as was the equally well cooked steak.

For dessert we choose the lightest dish on the menu, a sort of tropical fruit sundae with lovely moist coconut biscuits in it. It seemed to be the most popular dessert.

We ordered a la carte and had some expensive wines so our bill was over £100 for two people, but Bar Boulud can be more reasonable, the set menu for example is £20 for 3 courses.

My only criticism is that it was all a bit frantic…but then that’s what a busy bistro is. So do not expect a quiet lunch.

For more on Bar Boulud, see

UPDATE : July 2021 Closed