Sabor

The Queen of Spanish cuisine in London

 

Wild seabass

If you ask me to pick my no1 European cuisine, Spanish would easily be my no1 followed by Portuguese. I would often travel to Spain just for the food alone so I fully admit I have a massive Spanish food fetish. In London, it is tough to find a decent Spanish restaurant, let alone a great one. Sabor in Mayfair is the only one I would go back every once a while, as I found it to be the best Spanish restaurant in London. The Michelin starred restaurant does simple things, using good ingredients with great executions, and that is what great Spanish cuisine is all about. For my 5th visit, I kicked off with a selection of tapas, before moving on to big sharing plates.

Park Chinois

Classic revisits

Peking duck

I almost lost count of how many times I have been to Park Chinois now, besides the legendary Ledbury, China Tang, and Launceston Place (When Tim Allen was the head chef), Park Chinois is the only fine dining restaurant I have been to more than 10 times. Park Chinois does Chinese cuisine at a level that nowhere else in the UK comes close to it. The restaurant is all about classic cooking, but done a really refined way using top-level ingredients, handled by a team of very experienced chefs. For my 14th visit, I headed back for some of their classic dishes.

Gold Mine Chinatown

The new golden child of Chinatown

Classic dim sum selections

Chinatown is blessed with so many Chinese restaurants, but it is also a minefield with some pretty average, forgettable venues. Since Covid came along, some have gone for good, but some new ones are also popping up. One of the latest new openings is Gold Mine, the original joint (which is still around) in Bayswater is widely popular to the local Chinese communities, and it is welcoming news that it is setting up shop in Chinatown as it is much close for me to get to. After checking with the restaurant directly, I can confirm all the dishes are the same as the Bayswater joint.

MiMi Mei Fair

Round 2 same feel?

Steamed Dover Sole in picked chili and soy

I have been to MiMi during its launch period, the fine dining Chinese joint appeared done some good PR work at launch with many food influencers and celebrities has already visited and gathered some great endorsements. The general consumers' reviews from what I can see online have also been pretty positive too so I was expecting good things for my second round. From my first visit, while I wasn't overly impressed with everything, there were great tasting dishes and since the menu is pretty big, I got my eyes on a few more dishes I would like to try so I decided to return 1 month later and hoping for an improved experience. 

Akelare

Refined Basque cuisine with a stunning view

Akelare

This is my second visit to Akelare, one of the most celebrated restaurants in San Sebastian, with 3 Michelin stars and part of the Relais and Chateaux association, meaning it guarantees a very special experience. The menu hasn't actually changed much vs my first visit from about 5 years ago, I came here for the state of the art service and its unique offering: A stunning seaside view overlooking the Biscay sea, not many places can rival its beautiful setting. The restaurant has now also added a terrace, great for a drink or something a bit more casual if a full-on tasting menu is not your cup of tea. As that is the only offering from the main restaurant.