franco manco pizza at brixton market row
the mister and i have lots of friends passing through town. much as we wish we could take everyone everywhere, we can't. so. the next best thing is to forward our little london list of places we've been to and like. much as we're thrilled to share our favourite haunts, i'm not the biggest fan of free publicity. this is not a food blog (god forbid!) and i try not to photograph food unless it's truly photo-worthy. no, not hating on food blogs, just that i rather leave it to those talented enough to articulate what biting into molten uni feels like. we've not accepted any favours nor freebies from these restaurants and any views are purely mine. i also hope they don't spit in my food the next time, especially after commenting that the service in some places was lacking... being the cheap date i am, i realise in retrospect that most of the places have a good value set lunch in common. £26 can go very far (3 course set lunch at 1 star establishment!) or not far at all (soup, sandwich and coffee x 2 at pret) so it's all about hunting down that ever-elusive deal in the sweet spot of value and quality. lengthy pre-amble aside, here it is! have linked the website and the occasional post from my archives if i've mentioned it before. hope it's of use if you're in london at some point. happy feasting, and would love to hear from you if you've liked / disliked any of the places mentioned.
Japanese
Ikeda Mayfair
30 Brook St, Mayfair, London W1K 5DJ
020 7629 2730
Small family-run restaurant
hidden away on a quiet street opposite the famous Claridge’s Hotel. Seasonal
menu with regular favourites. Good for authentic Japanese cuisine. Must order:
tempura prawn wrapped in cha soba (life-changing!!!), tonkatsu and yomenaki (?)
somen (special Japanese noodles). Unless absolutely craving, we don’t usually
order the sushi / sashimi.
Contemporary Japanese,
feels like being inside a giant “ang klong” the bamboo musical instrument. Good
value pre-theatre / early dinner set for £30. Interesting cocktails,
well-dressed crowd. Same owner as Hakkasan.
Traditional Japanese restaurant. Not a big restaurant but open
concept and chic interior. If you’re after something simpler, Sakura just down the road is more
wallet-friendly.
Roka’s big sister. Tasting
menu is expensive but nice for special occasions. Similar contemporary / fusion
Japanese cuisine.
The Sloane branch of the Marbella restaurant of the same name.
Kitsch art deco interior and dishes with twee names like ‘Forever Love’ or something
to that effect. Good value set lunch, not too busy and great attention to
detail and presentation. Would go by if in the area but might not make a
special trip if not already in Chelsea.
“outlet” Japanese probably
isn’t fair but whatever new dish Roka is serving, Nizuni will produce something
similar in a matter of weeks at a lower price. Good value and always fast
service, important when jetlagged and wanting to turn in early. Consistent Japanese of good quality. Used to
have an early bird special where it was 30% off a la carte if ordered before
7pm. Check if it’s still ongoing.
£55/£75 tasting menu. Goodfor groups, big portions. If there are 3 people, you could comfortably share 2
tasting menus. More fusion than traditional Japanese but done with a good
flair. We like Shochu (the bar downstairs)
with DJ for pre/post dinner drinks.
Closes late. We stayed till 1am the last time (not our fault, seated at 930 and ordered the tasting menu...) and the service got
understandably sloppy as the night wore on.
7 seater sushi restaurant.
Have to be incredibly organised to get a booking (call exactly a month earlier
at 10am and keep ringing till you get through, if at all!) but worth the
effort. Proprietor is a one man show and makes sushi with the greatest pride.
Contemporary Japanese just off High Street Kensington, consistently
high standards. Sleek sushi counter and cosy (read: dim with minimal mobile
reception) lower ground dining area. On the pricier side but they’ve a good
value chirashi / bento sort of lunch for <£20. A la carte menu is
interesting, the motto is ‘without soy sauce, but
if you want to’.
Fine Japanese omakase with a choice of seasonal and premium tasting
menus. Always a surprise and dainty portions of quality over quantity.
Well-spaced out so you do feel full by the end, but not overly so. My birthday dinner of choice two years running!
Eat Tokyo various locations
Cheep and cheerful Japanese in the city with great value set lunches. Don't expect to have your mind blown but for <£10 for an authentic gyu-don I'm not complaining. Popular with Japanese salarimen and student-types.
Casual Japanese noodle
options
Ramen in thick collagen-laden stock. Also try the ‘cock scratching’
(minds out of the gutter, it’s fried chicken bits…) and home-made soft-serve
ice cream. Awesome sesame soft serve, and the shiso was very interesting.
Seasonal and luck of the draw to see what they’ve whipped up that day. Standard
dropped recently. Was a regular for about two years but either my tastes have
changed or it’s not as good as it used to be. Visiting friends who tried were
also disappointed but that could’ve been my oversell.
Where we go for ramen when we can’t be bothered to queue at Bone
Daddies. I’m not a fan but the mister says it’s improved.
Udon! Cold udon in dipping sauce and seasonal specials. Koya Bar next door is similar but smaller menu and a tad more casual.
Chinese
Low lights and loud music at night but just low lights in the day,
unless seated upstairs during lunch time then it’s quite bright with a business
lunch vibe. Modern chinese cuisine with a good dimsum menu. Must try the
venison char siew soh.
The closest to a “cha teng” in London. Only ever been for dimsum and
surprisingly well-priced for the upmarket locale. About £20/person for dimsum
and that’s with the mister over-ordering as usual. No nonsense, fuss free, and a
little harried. Be prepared to wait up to 20min despite having a reservation.
Gold Mine* Bayswater
102 Queensway, London W2 3RR
020 7792 8331
Doesn’t take reservations so go before 7pm or after 9pm to avoid a
terrible queue. Traditional Cantonese cooking and most famous for plump and
juicy roast duck. Our standard order is deboned roast duck, sweet and sour
pork, fried rice with chicken and salted fish, sambal kang kong and specialty
steamed egg with dried scallops and prawn.
Famous for dimsum but we go for the lobster noodles. Baker Street is
the original branch but they don’t take reservations and we’ve once braved a
90min queue and swore never again. If you do go to Baker Street, however, try ordering off the menu. A connoisseur friend introduced us to the Thai-style tiger prawn with fried tang hoon and we've not looked back. Lobster noodle best ordered one lobster at a
time. Because ordering lobster noodle with two lobsters is inevitably less than
2 x one lobster noodle orders. Go figure!
Chinese restaurant with beautiful views of Kensington Park so best
to go during daylight. A little hit and miss re: dimsum, some dishes are better
than others. Must order the xiao long bao and the peking duck (pre-order). Also
the fish soup with salted vegetable is something I’ve not had at many places.
A great way to see the city from the tallest building in Western
Europe compared to paying to ride the lift to the viewing platform. I’ve been
told on good authority that the men’s room is one of the best with its floor to
ceiling windows and unobstructed view of the city below. Breath-taking views
aside (hey, we’re from Singapore, we’re used to 60+ storey skyscraping hotels…)
the food and drinks are great. Have the soft shell crab (ask for less spicy if
you’re weaksauce like us) and it’s served in a whopping huge lantern-basket. An
inside tip from the charismatic owner was, “The
best view is from 9.30pm so don't go too early or if you have an early dinner
then stay around for desserts and cocktails in aqua shard on level 31 and watch
the night view suddenly materialize.”
Korean
Korean fried chicken washed down by Korean beer. Very casual! Young
and grungy, more than its fair share of hipsters. Avoid if you don’t like
crowds or loud music. If you're after authentic Korean food though, your best bet would be the small K-town in New Malden (suburb in South West London in Kingston upon Thames).
Indian
In a moment of insanity, the mister ordered the £60 tandoori chicken. Hands
down the best tandoori ever (and we’ve had plenty of good tandoor to compare!)
but still unsure if it was really worth SGD120 for a bird. Good value set
dinner though and he's convinced it’s the best Old Fashioned he’s ever had.
Pity we didn’t get the bartender’s name.
Italian
Assagi Notting Hill
1st floor, 39 Chepstow Place
London
W2 4TS
020 7792 5501
Our little Italian secret. Beautiful on a sunny afternoon with
floods of soft, natural light. The waiters are charming and knowledgeable. To
borrow John Lewis’ line, we’ve never been knowingly oversold at Assagi. The
waiter would recommend a cheaper bottle of wine if he felt it was better.
Hearty, seasonal Italian with the freshest ingredients. Can’t recommend this
enough and it’s easily our favourite Italian in London.
Authentic owner-run Italian with fresh seasonal produce. I like how
it’s not salty, in contrast to how many restaurants in London are heavy-handed
with the salt. Good value lunch £20 for 1 or 2 courses, £25 for 3 courses.
Near Harrods, well-heeled crowd. Often meet familiar faces from Singapore
there. Again, good quality, hearty Italian. Less expensive than one would
anticipate for the area. £45 for a 3 course dinner and similarly competitively
priced (£30?) for a 2-3 course lunch.
Hazarded the pop up in the park last summer and was impressed by the no-choice 3 course dinner. Given the limitations of the make-shift kitchen, it was beautifully set up in a big white tent with fairy lights. The main restaurant is throbbing with energy and we can't resist the dairy-free dark chocolate sorbet from Gelupo, their shop across the street.
French
Classic French. Order the chicken the day before if you’re well
organised.
Gastropub
Casual, perfect for a low key meal. Shabby chic interior with a
country house feel. Excellent dishes, each very well executed using the
freshest ingredients and deftest of touches. Was pleasantly surprised by just
how good it was. It’s in a residential neighbourhood though and almost impossible
to get parking at lunch time.
Modern British
Our go-to when we’ve friends in town. Consistently high qualitycuisine and impeccable service. Very fairly priced (£25 for 3 course set lunch)
and excellent value for money. A bit hard to get to from city centre (tube to
Sloane Square then bus because it’s a 20-30min walk otherwise!) but one could
do worse than walking off lunch along King’s Road. Order the crab raviolo to
start and underblade fillet for the main. The tarte tatin (for two) is amazing.
Lunch tasting menu (£100 without wine) if you don’t feel like a
long-drawn 5h dinner. Alternatively, can always have dinner a la carte but feel
the ambience is better enjoyed in daylight. Our dear friends gifted us a meal there as a wedding present and we're so grateful for their generosity!
Modern British cuisine with delightful extras (amuse bouche,
pre-dessert, petit fours) even if you only order the 3 course set lunch. Seasonal
menu and always well executed. At <£30 for a 3 course set lunch, it’s great
value.
Behind a heavy curtain at Bubble Dogs. 11 course tasting menu, 2
sittings. Open kitchen concept and the seats are literally around the chef’s
kitchen. Great for foodies to watch the artful display and all the work that
goes behind beautiful plating. In-laws were a bit cheeky and wanted to get a
hotdog on the way out. James, the chef owner, was mock horrified.
For those who want a taste of Heston magic without having to make
the trek to Fat Duck in Bray. Mandarin Oriental is a beautiful hotel and in the
day, the restaurant looks into Hyde Park. Order the Meat Fruit (liver parfait),
Snails Porridge and Tipsy Cake for dessert. The liquid nitrogen ice cream
(churned at your table in 5minutes) is a visual and gastronomic treat.
Good steak and drinks. French food is a laid back lounge-y setting.
When we last went, my father was checked for taking photos inside. Beware
strict staff and no photos policy. Another good value set lunch.
Good value set lunch inside effortlessly chic Berkely Hotel.
Quirky and fun, Sketch is more well-known for its unique egg-shaped
toilet cubicals. The dining room serves modern cuisine and the food was done
very well. There’s a trippy bar downstairs, and a nice-looking tea salon.
Usually a hit with friends visiting London.
Modern British tapas-style. Interesting selection of wines and
knowledgeable sommelier. Good for light meals at the bar or small groups. Go
early (1130 on a Saturday) to beat the crowd.
Formerly the Shoreditch Town Hall, there’s a £55 no-choice tasting
menu with seasonal produce. When we went in February, there was pine seasoned
deep fried buttermilk (?) chicken bites and uni among other delectables. They
also cure their own meats on site (you’ll see the joints hung out to cure by
the front room) and the cold cuts had a subtle and distinct quality about them.
Casual
One of the best burgers in London but feel standard has dropped in
the last few months. Used to have best chicken wings too but when we last went,
they were disappointing. The Jose burger is a must-try though! Doesn’t take
reservations so be prepared to wait in line, or order and take away to eat in
nearby Hyde Park. It’s opposite Selfridges so a good break from shopping / can
shop while having the member of your party who drew the short straw queue for
you.
No reservations so go off-peak or be prepared to queue. Simply put,
they serve hotdogs with champagne. Good selection of bubbles across a wide
price range. Tasty hotdogs and a novel idea to pair with champagnes.
Abysmal service. Have a been a few times and it’s always frustrating
trying to get attention / orders in /
drinks topped up etc. But it’s got cracking views of the city and great forvisitors, a wallet-friendly alternative to Hutong and the views from the Shard.
Order crispy pigs ears (shredded and served in a brown paper bag with wax
seal!) and eponymous duck & waffle. Open 24/7 but runs a reduced menu at
night. Always crowded so book or go off-peak. Last Christmas Eve, we went by at
2am after prepping our Christmas goose. Snazzy bar and good drinks too!
Dirty Burger Vauxhall
The mister's all-time favourite burger in London. Pokey, smokey grill under the railway tracks with the shortest of menus i.e. burger with / without cheese, fries and milkshake but when you only serve one dish, it's almost guaranteed to be amazing. Onion rings are freshly cut and battered, and all patties handmade on site and cooked with tender loving care. Thick milkshakes if you feel your arteries aren't sufficiently clogged after the burger. Good stuff. Hard to find but worth the search.
Casual and serves lobster amongst other things
£20 for grilled lobster, salad and fries. Also £20 for a burger,
salad and fries. Or a lobster brioche roll. No brainer to order the grilled
lobster. But the lobster brioche is also very good and great for sharing if
you’re feeling extra hungry. Drinks are expensive (£10 for a weak cocktail!)
and poor value.
Formerly Bank of New York building and it’s maintained the huge
columns and USA paraphernalia. Dancing girls on Friday night and drinks for
groups served in huge shark / dinosaur / crocodile heads (see no. 7 in link) complete with
sparklers and musical extravaganza. Imagine the house music changing to Star
Wars / Indiana Jones theme as the waitstaff don costumes and present the drinks
with attention-grabbing fanfare. Overflowing with banker / baller /
pseudo-baller types.
New bar under pub. Most people were there for drinks but we enjoyed
the food (£25 for lobster with salad and fries) too. Dark and a little dingy
but that seems to be fashionable now.
Brunch
Popular Aussie café that has a long queue after 930am. Our go-to for
when we’ve houseguests / friends from Singapore landing at 0555h. The ricotta pancakes
and corn patties are consistently yummy. And they make one of the best flat
whites in London.
French patisserie that does a delightful brunch menu. All pastel
teacups and crockery. Order the French toast! Breakfast set is not good value
(we’ve done the math, you don’t really save and probably designed to trap
indecisive tourists) so better to go a la carte.
Same as above and said to do a decent brunch with champagne for an
additional £25.
Fusion cooking with an Asian twist. The waffles with laksa leaves
was good!
Great space with natural light and artwork. I appreciated how the
guests with children were banished to a separate wing so as to spare the rest
of us mayhem. It’s a chilled sort of place and the fabulous (male) host was
wearing a skirt. We’re cool with that and think it’s great that people are
comfortable enough to be themselves and express themselves however they want.
BUT. Not somewhere I’d bring my parents/ more conservative guests. Standard
brunch fare, like it for the ambience and vibe more than the actual food
quality. Regent’s Canal is a lovely area and a nice walk after.
Crazy high ceilings with framed paintings all over the walls. Feels
like you’ve wandered into a museum / country house drawing room. Good brunch
selection and conveniently located off Oxford Street.
Markets
Many Borough Market vendors have since de-camped to Maltby Street.
Go early (before noon) to score some legendary St John’s cream donuts then grab
a coffee from the push cart and head straight to Monty’s pastrami queue. The
Lasco shop is a treasure trove of vintage finds if that’s your thing. If not there’s
a wine merchant by the entrance selling good growths from lesser-known
producers.
Chef’s gallette by the engaging Frenchman, freshly pulled beer in
from the wine shop, pho and Vietnamese iced coffee and then walk along the
river and hop into a riverboat café for coffee and cake, or something stronger
like a mojito from the riverboat bars.
Recently gentrified, Brixton is no longer grungy and gang-controlled,
although Brixton Village is probably the only place overrun by the recent
hipster influx. There’s a good selection of eateries and mostly no reservations
so where we frequent depends on how hungry we are vs queue length. Aunthentic
Thai restaurant that we like by the entrance, but if that’s full we might have Honest Burger or Okan (Japanese street food of fried rice wrapped in omelette) that
takes it name from ‘economy’ further in. Almost always stop at Federation Coffee which the mister enjoys but
I find the coffee too tart and end up with a hot / cold chocolate. A little way
away at Market Row, there’s the famous Franco
Manco pizza (wood-fired and as close to Naples as we’ve gotten from London)
and Bukowski for burgers, ribs and
boozy milkshakes.
Supperclub
The London Foodie’s supper club Angel
Islington luizhara@hotmail.com
Luiz is a former investment banker turned Cordon Bleu trained chef
who runs a French and a Japanese supperclub from his gorgeous home in
Islington. It’s a communal dining table but most dishes are individually plated
and it’s always a bit of a lucky dip who you’re seated with. If you’re feeling
antisocial, we’ve found it’s best to double date to avoid the awkward small
talk. But the one time we went just us, we found ourselves next to hair stylist
extraordinaire to whom we’ve since sworn hair loyalty to (Tom Tsang of Smith
Salon on Poland Street). Get onto Luiz’ mailing list to snap up supperclub
spaces once they become available. £45 for a 7 course Japanese feast. Great quality and always a good night, especially with BYOB :)
And if you’re on the market for a haircut, we highly recommend Tom.
For ease of booking, most restaurants can be booked on Bookatable or
Toptable, which often run special offers. It’s probably a gimmick but you can
accumulate points by turning up at reservations and these points can be
redeemed as vouchers.
*does not accept reservations
