Txepetxa & La Vina

Txepetxa

Anchovies heaven

Similar to red prawns and Iberico ham. Anchovies is a big deal in San Sebastian, a good plate of anchovies could command serious money and locals treat it as a luxury. Located in Old Town, Txepetxa is all about top quality anchovies pintxos and is one of the most popular pintxos bars in the city. It is amazing to see how well anchovies can work with other ingredients. The "stood out" one for me was the one with foie gras and apple, it was rich, bold with a hint refreshing sweetness at the same time, it was such a flavour harmony. Another fun one was a pairing with blackberries, never could have imagine fruit and fish can work together but somehow Txepetxa got it spot on.  

Launceston Place

New beginning 

Monkfish, banana , onion

I was very hesitant to visit Launceston Place, it was my personal favourite restaurant when Tim Allen was head chef (He has moved to Wild Rabbit in 2015).  The restaurant has given me many exquisite meal and happy memories, but now all the familiar faces are no longer there, it was hard to find a reason to head back. Launceston Place appeared to have a shaky period in 2016 since Tim moved on. Their new head chef that didn't last long before he was replaced with another new chef, in the name of Ben Murphy. His menu seemed ambitious and highly creative, with some good early press reviews, I figured it would be a good reason for me to return to see how things have changed.

Galvin La Chapelle

Jazzy Sunday lunch

Slow cooked duck egg, broad beans and smoked duck

Out of all the Galvin restaurants in London, Galvin La Chapelle is my personal favourite of mine. Beside its Michelin star status, I really enjoy the beautiful decor, built within a former chapel, its interior has such a classic glamour feel to it without being dated. Plus the cooking here are generally pretty strong no matter if you go for the tasting menu or the set menu. On Sunday, the restaurant offer a set menu with relaxing jazz music playing in the background, not a bad way to kick off a lazy Sunday. The menu itself is more or less the same as the weekday lunch menu, with a few more choices to add.

Smokstak

Finest BBQ 

thick-cut pork ribs

It appears starting life as a street food vendor before setting up a proper restaurant is the way to go these days. Smokestak is one of the latest restaurants that has successfully transferred from a hipster street food joint into a popular restaurant in Shoreditch. I had great memories with Smokestak from its street food days, it's pork ribs were really something special and that is one of the few street food items that stood out for me. Smokestak's new home is edgy and bold in design, very dark and it has limited branding, almost like an abandoned torture house from a horror movie.

BAO Fitzrovia

Bao expansion 

Classic pork bao

The Bao story was a touching story, it all started off life as a street food store before spotted and fallen in love by a restaurateur. With the financial backing, it opened a restaurant in Soho and gained phenomenal success in no time. The second Bao in Fitzrovia was a touch bigger than its Soho site, span across two floors with more small plates on offer beside the classic Bao dishes. And what made this new site awesome, was you could book in advance which was music to my ears. As both Bao sites right now are still some of the hottest restaurants in London, it is normal wait over an hour before you can get a table.