Tredwell's

Street food, restaurant style

Tredwell's

Tredwell's is a brand new opening by industry heavyweight Marcus Wareing, his talent can not be questioned, a former right hand man of Gordon Ramsay and holder of two Michelin stars with his luxury restaurant Marcus inside the 5 stars Berkeley Hotel. Having eaten there a numbers of times, I somehow found it strange that he is going with a completely different approach with Tredwell's, simple modern British foods in a relaxing setting.

Midsummer House

Almost in heaven

Midsummer House

Monkey's Shoulder

London Cocktail Week Glaswegian style

At London Cocktail Week 2014, many spirit brands set up pop up bars at Seven Dials. Monkey's Shoulder, a triple blended Malt Scotch is well known for its fun and creative events, last year the Popcorn Flip event and DIY kitchen was truly one of the most unforgettable events with pop corn flying left and right! This year team Monkey took a different approach with "The Cowbell" pop up, it has been 6 months in the making, brought to you from the winner of The Ultimate Bartender Challenge.

Ippudo London

A total rip off

Ippudo London

Ippudo London, yet another global ramen operation entering the UK market, opened just opposite of its business rivial Kanada Ya on St Giles High Street. I will not mention too much about the whole business side of the operation as I already covered that in my Kanada Ya post not so long ago. Ippudo London has a lot to offer on its menu beside ramen, with a full starters and ALC options too, with some traditional Japanese dishes with a western twist such as wagyu tatki and hakata tonpu yaki. With a no booking policy, it took me about 30 mins to get a table on a Friday night.

El Dorado Rum

The Lost City of Gold

I am a rum geek, every time when I go to a bar I always order a rum based cocktail and buy at least a bottle or two on my travels. I knew nothing about rum 4 years ago, like most people, thanks to the infamous Bacardi, I always thought rum was just a nasty spirit that you downed at parties. But one day I discovered El Dorado at Rumfest and everything changed from there. El Dorado came from Guyana and is the only remaining distillery in the region, it sources its sugar cane from local producers before being distilled using both column and pot still then aged in American oak barrels, resulting in some of the finest rum in the world.

The El Dorado Rum Collection

El Dorado 3, 5 and 8 year old

L'Amorosa

Simple Italian

salmon and prawn with fregola pasta, tomato and herb

L'Amorosa is an interesting opening near where I work, formerly a restaurant/cafe called Lola and Simon, already a popular choice for the locals. It was brought by Andy Needham earlier this year who was ex-head chef of the highly regarded Italian restaurant Zafferano, former Michelin starred and where Giorgio Locatelli used to operated before Andy took over as head chef. Having eaten at Lola and Simon a couple of times in the past, I was keen to see what changes Andy had done.

Kanada Ya

Ramen invasion

Kanada Ya

Kanada Ya is a brand new ramen bar just opened near Tottenham Court Road. Part of an already successful business operation in Japan, the company surely is trying to take a share of the booming ramen business in London. With ramen concept proven to be such a popular choice for Londoners with the likes of Bone Daddies, it makes perfect sense for Kanada Ka to enter the UK market, similar to the likes of what Five Guys and Shake Shack are doing with the burgers. The ramen bar is sticking to its traditional roots, it is tiny with an open kitchen and informal services, with only 3 choices of ramen and one type of snack.   

Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester

Glamorous fine dining

hotel lobby

The new Michelin guide was published recently and to most people's surprise, there wasn't any movement in any 2 star and 3 star levels. With my own experience in all the 2 star venues in London, what can 3 stars offer? Does it really mean it will take me to the next level, aka worth a special journey? Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester is one of the only 3 star Michelin restaurants in London and I was very excited to visit the place given the legendary status Mr Ducasse has achieved.

Ramon Freixa Madrid

Luxurious dining

Ramón Freixa Madrid

Located in the posh district of Madrid, Ramon Freixa is a 2 stars Michelin restaurant inside the 5 star boutique hotel Unico. The19th century palace style setting of the hotel plus the limited space and fancy entrance of the restaurant gave the place a very exclusive and posh vibe to it, with only 7 tables in the main dining room and a private dining room. Found by Ramon Freixa, a heavy weight chef from Barcelona who won countless awards including the title of Grand Chef from the prestigious Relais & Châteaux.

Botin

Old school glamour

front

Botin is an institution in the dining world far beyond Madrid, according to a number of sources including The Guinness World Record, it is the oldest restaurant in the world. Not that it has any impact on the cooking but as a tourist I was also keen to witness the old school setting interior and classic Spanish dishes to get an idea how far the Spanish cuisine has developed.

El Club Allard

World Class Spanish cuisine

El Club Allard's impressive architecture

El Club Allard is a very special place in the heart of Madrid, it started off as a private club but now is open to the public, the place has glamour, exclusivity and luxury written all over it. I was lucky enough to secure a Friday night booking and I was really looking forward to seeing what is so special about El Club Allard as it is rated as one of the finest Madrid restaurant, with 2 Michelin stars and sitting as no1 in Trip Adviser Madrid.

Sergi Arola

Catalonian essence

Sergi Arola

Sergi Arola Gastro is a small restaurant on a quite street in Madrid, so what is so special about this restaurant? It was one of the trendiest restaurants in the Spanish capital not so long ago and also holder of 2 Michelin stars. I opted for the lunch menu and I was really surprised that instead of downgrading all the ingredients like most restaurants, you actually can pick any dishes from its ALC menu at a cost of 50 Euro and I must say that it is amazing value.

Street XO

Spanish twist in Far East food

Street XO kitchen

Street XO is a tiny tapas bar inside a shopping centre right in the heart of Madrid, it is a super popular venue to the locals as well as tourists. Operated by the 3 Michelin starred chef David Muñoz, I was meant to visit his flagship restaurant Diver XO but unfortunately they were still on summer holiday when I visited Spain, so I settled for Street XO to get an insight to the style of the cooking David has on offer and it was such a fun experience.