Koya Bar

Japanese on the go

Koya Bar at Frith Sheet in Soho is a great little restaurant bar serving interesting small plates of Japanese food and udon. This is my third visit to Koya Bar and the standard remains compared to my last visit as I am a big fan of its its wooden bar overlooking the kitchen in action. The infamous braised pork belly with cider was ever so good, super tender meat with lovely fruity and sweet flavours. The tofu dumpling was an interesting dish with silky smooth girolles on top of a soft bed of tofu.

braised pork belly with cider

squid and tsuruna tempura

tofu dumpling

grilled spiced quail

sardines udon

Squid and Tsuruna tempura was less impressive as the Tsuruna added nothing but crispy texture which the squid itself already had plenty. The star of the day had to be the grilled spiced quail, the meat was perfectly cooked with lovely seasoning, it was really tender and moist, it worked nicely with the cold leek coleslaw with its sweet and mild sourness. The whole meal ended in under thirty minutes which was really ideal for a quick and simple meal but with good standard food at the same time. For a more sit down restaurant experience, there is also the ever reliable Koya just down the road which is just as good.

Food 6
Service 5
Ambience 6
Value 7

£24 per head

50 Frith Street London W1D 4SQ

http://www.koyabar.co.uk/

Morito

Spanish quick fix in the city

Morito is a popular tapas bar that serves Spanish and North African dishes in the city, I became a fan after my first visit back in March and  got a chance to taste its signature pork belly again at the Spanish Festival and I just couldn't get enough of it. This time I dropped by for an early evening fix as I was in a rush and once again Morito delivered some fantastic plates of food.

rare beef with garlic

Koya

Black board only

This is my third time now back at Koya, the key to avoid the super long wait is to visit early Monday or off peak hours as every time I walked passed Frith Street, people were just crowned outside Koya, not even the Koya Bar just next door managed to reduce its fan base and it is rare to see a restaurant this popular even though it has been around for a while now.

grilled aubergine & beef shabu udon

Meat Market

Meaty mess

The Meat Liquor brand shows no sign of losing its hip factor, you can still see the outrageous long queue at its flagship joint near Bond Street at peak time but for some reason, even at weekends, Meat Market in Covent Garden is surprisingly quite most of the time these days. Maybe partly due to the US burgers invasion of Shake Shack and Five Guys opening in the area and the lack of physical awareness, as the very place itself is located on the second floor of the Jubliee Market Hall.

Meat Market

fires and wings

monkey figers

The bingo wings and monkey fingers were spicy but not overly challenging on the palate, with a hint of sourness in the mix and I really enjoyed it with the cold blue cheese dip that it was served with. The Meat Market special Black Palace was a real beast with lovely grilled onion and black pepper sauces glazed over the meat without flooding it all over, it was a much needed improvement compared to my previous visit. And easily the best burgers in Covent Garden.

green chilli burger

Black Palace

Having said that, I can confirm the food at Meat Market is more or less the same kind of quality compared to Meat Liquor and Meat Mission. The only difference is that you order just like in any other fast food place with no table service. Without the fuss of queuing, Meat Market is a great alternative to Meat Liquor and it isn't too far away and you can be in and out in less than 30 mins to make it ideal for a quick meal. After all, who needs table service when all you want to do is just dig deep and dirty for some good old fashion tasty burgers.

Food 3.5
Service 3
Ambience 5
Value 5

£16 per head

The Deck, Jubliee Market Hall, 
Tavistock St, London WC2E 8BE

www.themeatmarket.co.uk

Club Gascon

Deal and no deal

I find deals can be dangerous territory in a fine dining level, the idea of a deal or promotion from high end restaurants usually means they are trying to recruit new customers or trying to fill out tables at less busy times. Sometimes this is a good opportunity to get customers to experience what the restaurant can offer at an affordable price but at the same time the cooking just doesn't live up to the expectation due to lesser use or ingredients or lack of attention.

Club Gascon

amuse bosch

Osteria dell' Angolo

Italian in Westminster

Osteria dell' Angolo, a smart Italian restaurant located in Westminster, offers regional cuisine in a classic manor with a modern twist. Head chef Massimilano Vezzi created a brand new menu for the summer inspired by his Neapolitan background. As part of a tasting event, we were offered a selection of small plates to get an idea of Osteria's style of cooking, the evening kicked off with seared scallops and what a great start it was. The scallop was fresh and had a mild spicy flavour from the paprika, the garnish of black olives did a great job to add a nice mild earthy depth to the shellfish and I was deeply impressed by it. 

Osteria dell' Angolo

seared scallops with paprika and black olives

Sicilian octopus carpaccio

home cured beef with red chared leaves

Scialatielli from sorrento with fresh crab

suckling pig belly with potatoes, spring onions & capers

Sicilian octopus on the other hand was a little weak, the celery overpowered the tender octopus in both texture and taste, which was a shame as the octopus on its own was wonderful. The kitchen's special, Scialatielli from Sorrento was a very interesting pasta dish, the crab meat and grilled courgettes were light and sweet but the seasoning was a little heavy for my liking. Best dish on the evening has to be the slow cooked suckling pig belly. The balsamic sauce reduction matched the soft and tender meat really well while the mini capers added a lovely bitter and earthy taste. Overall it was above your standard average Italian experience, Osteria's managed to pull off some very authentic Italian flavours in a smart surrounding which should delight the locals.

47 Marsham St, London

http://osteriadellangolo.co.uk/

10 Greek Street

Relaxed private dining

No other restaurants do things quite like 10 Greek Street, fresh ingredients, bold flavours with simple presentation in a casual setting. It is really one of those restaurants you would just love to keep going back to, over and over again. The only annoying thing it's a none booking restaurant so it can be a mission to get a table when it is super busy in the evenings. But there is always a way to get around it! Grab some friends and book its private dining room in its basement.

Ham & smoked mackerel

Bellavita Expo

Bellavita Expo – 19-21 July 2014 

This summer, Italy comes to the heart of London as Bellavita – the UK’s largest fine food and wine trade show solely dedicated to gourmet Italian products takes place at The Old Truman Brewery. 

Over 200 carefully selected brands will descend on Brick Lane for the three day event that will see independent artisan food and drink producers rubbing shoulders with well-known brands including Lavazza coffee and Campari. So whether you’re searching for a perfectly mixed Spritz, or the finest artisan prosciutto, you will be sure to find it at Bellavita. 

Alongside being the first to experience some of this fantastic produce outside of Italy, visitors will be treated to live demonstrations, product launches, tastings and the chance to enter master classes from such renowned chefs as Giorgio Locatelli and Nina Parker, and world-class sommelier, Luca Gardini. 

Bellavita Expo 

Old Truman Brewery, Ely’s Yard, 15 Hanbury Street, London, E1 6QR 

Saturday 19 July 10.00-18.00 

Sunday 20 July 10.00-18.00 

Monday 21 July 10.00-16.00 

Tickets available at http://bellavitaexpo.com/ 

Limited 50% discount code: 50offBellavita

Yelp's Red and White Bash!

Free food. Free drinks. And all the summer entertainment you can handle.

Yelp, the largest local review website in the world, will be throwing a two-night Red and White Bash to celebrate everything local in London. The first, an elegant night in white in the lovely ballroom of the Radisson Blu Portman Hotel. This will be followed by, a grittier rock and roll evening in red at Under The Bridge, the multi-million pound music venue built into Chelsea Stadium.

Over forty London establishments will be showing off over the two nights, including The Museum of London, Nordic Bakery, Hotel Chocolat, Lanes of London, Brigade Bar & Bistro and The Roof Gardens.

RSVP now as spot are free but limited. Get on the list for the Night in White here and the Paint The Town Red event here.

For more on Yelp, click here.

MORE ON YELP'S RED AND WHITE BASH

Yelp's Night In White

Thursday, 7 August. 8pm (with a 7pm media hour)

The Radisson Blu Portman Hotel, 22 Portman Square, W1H 7BG

See all the food, drink and entertainment here.

Yelp Paints The Town Red

Friday, 8 August. 8pm (with a 7pm media house)

Under The Bridge, Stamford Bridge, Fulham Road, SW6 1HS

See all the food, drink and entertainment here.

The Ledbury

World class cuisine

The Ledbury

It has been almost over a year since I last visited the legendary Two Michelin starred The Ledbury restaurant in Notting Hill. Stereotypically like most people, I do consider The Ledbury, is the best London has to offer. Brett Graham is such a supreme talent and the food at his restaurant is just pure class. It has been far too long and a re-visit was well overdue, I noticed The Ledbury had changed the format of its menu so it was the perfect excuse for me to head back.

Gauthier Soho

Private dining

It has been over three years since I last visited Gauthier, the former 1 starred Michelin French restaurant hidden in Soho. This time around I headed back for a private dining experience, the cool thing about the restaurant is that it has a number of private dining rooms to suit the different size parties, we went for the "Games Room" with some fun elements around the room to add a relaxing touch to the space.

Gauthier Soho

Games Room

Launceston Place

Kensington's finest

Once again I headed back to the Michelin starred Launceston Place, I am becoming a bit of a regular there lately due to the fact head chef Tim Allen's cooking is simply outstanding and exceptional in value for the quality you are getting. Over the past year the food at Launceston Place has progressed and in my eye it is now one of the very best that London has to offer along with the likes of The Ledbury and Hibiscus.

canapes

asparagus, cooked on the barbeque, duck egg and morels