Where’s the good coffee? Foxcroft and Ginger

Patrick Brunch, Coffee, UK, Where's the good coffee?

Foxcroft and Ginger‘s been open for a while though I haven’t had a chance to try their coffee until quite recently. Fortunately it’s another boutique cafe focused on serving interesting food and serving a decent coffee supplied by famous London roasters, Monmouth Coffee.

The outside looks appealing although on first impressions it doesn’t look very big mainly being very long and narrow with only three small tables to sit at. Wait a while and you might notice the noise coming from downstairs and realise it’s not a whole of juiced up people waiting for their turn in the lavatory but people chatting and enjoying themselves with the food.

Order food and coffee at the bar and they’ll deliver it to you. I have no idea how they do it but I guess the baristas also have amazing face recognition and immaculate memories. Of course, they might also just give you a number to put on your table but I kind of forgot to notice.

The flat white’s definitely on the more pricey side costing £2.50 though I’m pleased to report it’s well made and the baristas seem to know what they’re doing. The food offerings looked tempting as well, probably best saved after a week’s hard workout or many, many, long runs. Eggy Bread with Honey Roast Ham, Cheese & Béchamel & Honey Mustard Dressing sounds perfect for pleasing those winter cravings and is wonderfully priced at £3.95. A bargain if you’re looking at adding some padding for those winter months.

Name: Foxcroft and Ginger
Found at: 3 Berwick Street, Soho, London, W1F 0DR
Website: http://www.foxcroftandginger.com/

Zilli Green

Patrick Asian, British, Italian, Restaurants, UK, Vegetarian

Another month and another vegetarian outing. Our last outing brought us to Zilli Green, the vegetarian outpost of Italian chef, Aldo Zilli. Located really centrally in Soho, it’s a great spot for all of us to meet at because it’s pretty much surrounded by all sorts of transport.

When I walked in, one of my dining companions already had been seated. The first dining area isn’t very large – in fact, it’s no larger than a small hallway and I thought it was going to be a much larger place. Maybe there’s some seats downstairs.

They went to quite a lot of effort to cram in plenty of tables. In fact, I noticed this clearly when sitting down and found my legs almost barely squeezing in between the two table legs and the chair. No space for them to sit outside. Hmph.

Anyway, on to the food. Zilli Green’s menu covers a broad range of dishes. It wasn’t quite as Italian-centric as I anticipated with dishes inspired by Asian classics, British favourites and the touch of Tex Mex. Each menu option lists some useful symbols to help choose if you happen to be vegan, nut or gluten allergy-friendly dishes. Helpful!

Quite a few of us went for the Squash, Corn & Feta Quesadillas with Guacamole & Sour Cream (£7.90). I’d hoped for a bit more kick than we got, and though the flavours tasted strong and well prepared, seemed a bit overpriced for a starter.

I admit I’m obsessed by truffle flavours at the moment. Their umaminess and richness add so much depth to the dishes, it’s my winter comfort food. I was struck when on the menu, two dishes included this magnificent ingredient. In the end I picked the Tagliatelle, Porcini Mushrooms & White Truffle Oil (£13.90). I think it was the extra dash of oil and the porcini mushrooms that did me in. Perfectly al dente pasta and each mouthful a flavour sensation, I was certainly pleased by it.

Fortunately someone else went for the Mushroom & Fresh Truffle Risotto, Grilled Asparagus & Mascarpone (£11.90). I had a small taste and the truffle flavour seemed a bit more sublime, it carried on the palette slightly longer probably due to the creamy mascarpone.

Another person ordered the Cous Cous & Soya Burger with Pickled Cucumber, Avocado, Mustard Dressed Mixed Leaves, Homemade Mayo & Ketchup, Thin Chips (£10.90) though wasn’t particularly impressed by it. They reported it not bad, but not the best vegetarian burger they’d ever had.

We had better reports from the handful of people ordering the Thai Green Curry with Sweet Potato & Thai Vegetables served with Quinoa (£11.90). Strong flavours and a very reasonable serve though slightly out of place in what I’d consider an Italian restaurant.

On all reports, it’s worth avoiding the Tofu Sausage with Spring Onion Mash, Mushroom Gravy & Mushy Peas (£11.90). Perhaps it’s just me, but I think it’s always a bit dangerous trying to replicate a dish typically relying on the quality of the meat to make it that good.

I wasn’t close enough to capture the picture but one other diner recommended avoiding the Beetroot Gnocchi filled with Blue Cheese in a Red Pesto, Potato & French Bean Sauce (£10.90) where the giant sized (and few) gnocchi ended up being very chewy pillows with, as they described it, ” what tasted like splashes of bottled pesto”.

Zilli Green isn’t going to win any Michelin stars for service any time soon, although we do have to acknowledge one of the waiters who, when pressed for vegan-friendly ice cream, went next door to sister restaurant Zilli Bar to report on what gelato and ice-creams they had. Apparently vegan-friendly ice cream wasn’t favoured by this group of vegetarians. Upon making our waiter go next door, my dining companion couldn’t help but feel compelled to order a scoop.

Their slightly different twist on the classic, Apple, Currant & Clove Crumble with Cream or Ice Cream (£5.50) had be tempted yet was completely full from the rest of the meal.

Name: Zilli Green (currently moving or closed)
Found at: 41 Dean St, London, W1D 4PY

Brunch at Lele Nha Hang

Patrick Asian, Copenhagen, Restaurants, Vietnamese

One thing I never realised about Copenhagen was its fascination for the weekend brunch. I think it’s something that London has drilled out of me where the city doesn’t really start to move until midday. Not great for morning people. Fortunately Copenhagen is a much less sleepy town, at least on a Sunday morning.

Reading about the Copenhagen brunch culture, I started to look around at a number of options and discovered LeLe Nha Hang did a very different brunch. I remember eating here last year, extremely impressed by the combination between classic Vietnamese with some modern techniques and Danish ingredients. What a strange combination a brunch might make when these two worlds collide. We had to go here.

I’m really glad that we did as well. Considering the wide selection and the buffet style, it really is great value at DKK155 (£18) even if you have pay a bit extra for drinks.

To start off the brunch, I needed my daily caffeine fix so the Vietnamese style coffee was definitely in order. Strong and without being too sickly sweet, this was a great start to the day. Of course they offer many other classic brunchtime drinks including all of their intriguingly unusual drinks all very well named. Care for an “Apocalypse Now” (Johnnie Walker Black Label, Cherry Heering, Chambord & Bitters)? What about a “Red Dragon” (Absolut vodka, dragonfruit, strawberry & hot stuff)?

Their asian influenced brunch roughly splits into a small number of tables. There’s the cold cut table where they stock the salads, cold seafood including this perfectly rolled smoked salmon pieces pictures above and the tiny sushi rolls pictured below. Another table stores the hot stuff (split into the western and asian section), a breads and pastry table and then a very large desserts table.

Of the hot stuff, you get everything from the steamed dumplings influenced with vietnamese spices, fried spring rolls, noodles and fried rice all the way to the western waffles, a variety of sausages, hashed potatoes, pancakes and, what would brunch be without eggs and bacon?

I pretty much stopped at most of the mail meal. Despite the wide girth of the desserts table, my widening girth from the other meals made me stop to really think about what I really wanted off the table.

I’m not a big fan of chocolate fondue and although they cakes all looked really appealing, none of them really stood out as being extremely different or out of the ordinary.

I satisfied myself with having a number of sticks skewered with fruit and a few dragonfruit and kiki fruit slices available in the large bowls.

It’s worth getting here early (or at least booking ahead) since the whole restaurant filled up with people and the you-know-its-good queues of locals forming outside in the cold. It’s great value, excellent quality and definitely worth giving it a go.

Name: Lele Nha Hang
Found at: Vesterbrogade 40, 1620 København, Denmark
Website: http://lele-nhahang.com/

Return to Reef and Beef

Patrick Aussie, Copenhagen, Restaurants

Returning to Copenhagen for a conference, I ended up eating at one of the places that impressed me during my stay here for work last year.

Here’s a summary of what we had:

“Oz Wildfire Wonton” Spiced wildfire crocodile wonton with native honey and passionfruit chili drizzle (DKK95)

“Ranina Ranina” Panko crumbed saffron and chive spanner crab cakes with bush tomato romesco, jalapeno aioli and pickled vegetables (DKK94)

“Redcliff Beef” marinated with garlic, native thyme and tasmanian mountain pepper served with potato fondant, crispy onion rings, caramelised onion puree, seasonal vegetables and shiraz sauce (DKK275)

“Red emperor” – Deep sea fish with macadamia and lemon sauce, cauliflower puree and seasonal vegetables (DKK 192)

“Oz trilogy” – Pavlova, passionfruit cheescake and mango olida eucalyptus sorbet (DKK95)

“Oz trilogy” – Pavlova, passionfruit cheescake and mango olida eucalyptus sorbet (DKK95)

“Death by chocolate” – Five individual chocolate desserts (DKK135)

Name: Reef ‘N’ Beef
Found at: Jernbanegade 4, Copenhagen, Denmark
Website: http://www.reefnbeef.dk/

A La Cruz

Patrick Restaurants, Steak, UK

There are quite a number of Brazilian grills around London yet not as many of Argentinian ones around. My last time was eating at Buen Ayre several years ago up in Broadway Market. I noticed around the back of Exmouth Market one quite close to where I live that I finally got around to eating at.

When you walk into the restaurant, you notice a slight smoke in the air. This comes from the magnificent Asador or fire pit where you can see a number of meats roasting. We dined there early on during the week so they probably are used to roasting many more meats. It’s definitely an impressive sight to see.

Upon ordering, we got served some nice soft bread. Instead of butter however, we got aioli to spread across the bread. I have no idea if this is a common thing or not, but it tasted pretty good.

We also ordered the mixed empanadas to start with. It’s a bit hard not to enough pastries filled with assorted mixtures.

Here’s the picture of the spinach empanada above. I think the Caprese one was my favourite out of the three that we had. The ham and cheese one tasted strangely like a mini calzone.

We decided to go with for the A La Cruz Tradiciona Parrilladas at a very reasonable cost of £21 per person without the sweet breads. It comes with a whole heap of meat. In fact, there was so much meat that it would have been much more than what I think I’d eat during an entire week. It arrived with boneless flank, pork sausages, black pudding, chistorra, lamb and some other beef cuts. So. Much. Meat. I walked out with a food coma. Fortunately it was all really tasty and well seasoned that it didn’t really need anything else to go with it.

Not anticipating the amount of meat, we also ordered a side of chips (super crisp, fluffy and covered with garlic and parsley) and a side salad of rocket and Parmesan for some greens. Service was okay although our tap water remained unfilled for quite some time and we waited for sometime to flag a staff for the bill (when there were only four tables seated).

Would I return? Yes if I was in dire need of a protein injection. Could I eat that much meat again? Not this year.

Name: A La Cruz
Found at: 42 Northampton Road, London, EC1R 0HU
Website: http://www.alacruz.com/

Birthday Meal at Patara

Patrick Asian, Restaurants, Thai, UK

I celebrated my birthday when my folks were in town by helping them enjoy some delicious Thai food and one of my more favourite Thai places, Patara. I like Patara because it although it’s not quite as fancy as Nahm yet it’s much better quality than what you’ll find at any of the Thai Square branches or Thai restaurants found in any pubs.

I love how, when you walk into Patara, it feels like you are back in Thailand. Strong scents of lemongrass waft about you and the decor changes drastically from the cold and often gray surroundings of London to brightly coloured walls.

The great thing about dining as a family, Chinese style is ordering a whole heap of dishes to share. Here’s what we ended up ordering.

Satay Trio – A selection of chicken, beef and prawns delicately seasoned with a slightly spicy peanut dipping sauce. They impressed me with the attention to presentation detail with that perfect curl of coconut cream signed into the sauce.

Betel leaf wrapped prawn – I thought we’d ordered the beef wrapped in betel nut leaves, but they brought us a seafood version instead. Not bad but I wouldn’t order it again.

Thai fish and prawn cakes with cucumber salsa – Good Thai fishcakes are often hard to come by, and Patara’s was perfectly cooked – still very juicy and that slightly chewy texture with slightly crisp edges.

Lamb shank in paneng curry – This is one of my major reasons to come to Patara and I find it really difficult to order anything differently. The curry is not overly sweet and has plenty of spicy kick and the lamb shank is so well cooked it literally falls off the bone. The rest of the family has a huge dislike of lamb, yet they all tried it and was certainly impressed by the flavours and its succulence without an excessively strong lamb flavour.

Grilled chicken skewers – This was a special off their menu and was served with a tangy tamarind sauce. The chicken had that slightly smoky flavour from the grill and stayed nicely succulent with each bite.

Deep fried sea bass fillet served with light red curry sauce – This dish looks extremely impressive on arrival with the whole fish deboned in advanced and each piece, deep fried to a crisp and then served with a deliciously spicy red curry sauce.

Stir-fried broccoli spears with shitake mushrooms – Fairly ordinary greens.

Coconut lemongrass pie – Nice to have something warm when it’s so cold outside. The lemongrass flavours comes across rather strongly with the coconut playing a much more subtle role.

Baked banana served warm with vanilla ice cream and toasted almonds – A great combo of hot and cold.

Name: Patara (Oxford Circus branch)
Found at: 7 Maddox St., London W1S 2QB
Website: http://www.patarathailand.com/london/

Where’s the good coffee? Ginger and White

Patrick Brunch, Coffee, UK, Where's the good coffee?

I have to admit I get a bit lazy on weekends, tending to walk to get my coffee, rather than go out and venture beyond zone one to explore. Hence, my ever growing list of places to go and visit to try their coffee. Fortunately I had a brunch invitation one weekend and suggested we meet at a place sitting on my list for probably the last year and a half, Ginger and White.

Sure, it’s located in the rather posh Hampstead area so I already had fairly high expectations, though it’s located down a narrow alleyway and isn’t a very large shop. The Sunday we went ended up being rather wet and since the cafe opened so early, we were lucky to get a table under one of the awnings outside. At least it wasn’t too cold.

Ginger and White is definitely more cafe than restaurant. Apparently they don’t really have an extensive kitchen which is why their brunch menu focused on sandwiches, cakes and pastries and not very much hot food at all. Fortunately their coffee is good, once again a great place supplied by the wonderful Square Mile Roasters.

Drinking two flat whites (pictured above) was just too easy. Feeling like I wanted something a bit more warming than a heated croissant, I opted for the unusual soldiers and toast. I say unusual because it’s not something many places offer, probably because it is so ordinary, yet I thought it’d be quite appropriate.

What arrived what two eggs, one of them covered in a cosy knitted egg cosy and nicely toasted granary bread fingers to dip them in. I felt very British and it felt strangely appropriate given the inclement weather. While service wans’t the most efficient when we wanted the bill, I found it refreshing to be in such a popular place without feeling rushed or pressured to leave. I’d like to see what it’s like during the week, when you can avoid the manic weekend crowds.

Name: Ginger and White
Found at: 4a-5a Perrin’s Court, Hampstead, London NW3 1QS
Website: http://gingerandwhite.com/

Era Ora

Patrick Copenhagen, Italian, Michelin Starred, Restaurants

When my sister heard that I was going to be near Copenhagen for a holiday, she wanted to go and visit the city once again to dine in the one of its many Michelin-starred restaurants. We tried going to Tivoli’s Nimb but it was all booked out so we looked for reservations for our next most preferred, the Italian focused restaurant Era Ora.

Era Ora’s entrance is very discrete, located off a small side street near Christianshavn. We almost walked by it, if not for peering in at the lightly veiled windows to see the soft glowing lights of a restaurant. We dropped off our coat and sat down to the small tables – much less cramped together than many other restaurants. A giant napkin twirled and crossing the, just as equally, giant silver platters on which they sat. I quickly untwirled mine and cast it on my lap to avoid the awkwardness of waiters reaching across me. Fortunately our friendly waiter didn’t try to get there before I did.

Like many other diners that evening, we opted for the tasting menu – something that apparently that Era Ora was made famous for being the first to introduce a series of small dishes to delight the diner. Our first brought out a lovely seared scallop sitting with apple, fried leeks and froth.

When we sat down for our dinner at 7pm, only two other tables filled the dining room. It filled up by the time we left though. Here’s another view of the restaurant before it filled up.

A very wonderfully plated dish of lobster salad with filo pastry and beans

And then a pumpkin lasagne over fried Monte Veronese cheese.

And the plate of trio finished with plaice rolled on swiss chard, potato, sun-dried tomato and Jerusalem artichoke.

Another trio of dishes arrive as the second round of appetisers including Veal tartar in love with crunchy cracker and foam of soya.

A Castagnaccio with orange ricotta, banana chip and honey caramel

Below a stunning venison meatball in beans sauce with deep fried spring onion

All of course very beautifully presented.

Past the trio arrived a herbal risotto in scent of liquorice topped with roasted quails.

Followed by a pasta dish home made trofie pasta rolled in venison ragout and red onion. Italians would enjoy how perfectly aldente the pasta was and the strong reduced flavours in the ragout.

We then had a roasted lamb fillet with eggplant composition and fried tomato.

Our first round of dessert started with a refreshing prune sorbet served with a couple of cheeses (Monte Veronese and Ubriacone), light and palette cleansing.

And then Cream of white chocolate with lemon scents served with fennel and lemon coffee cream, cookie crumbs, dark chocolate caviar and milk sorbet

With our tea and coffee, some petite fours.

And a picture of the very stylish teapot.

And cup.

Not forgetting at least, the pyramid teabag.

Name: Era Ora
Found at: Overgaden Neden Vandet 33, 1414 Copenhagen, Denmark
Website: www.era-ora.dk

Michael Caines at Manchester Abode

Patrick British, Manchester, Restaurants, UK

Manchester isn’t exactly well known for its strong foodie cuisine with none of its restaurants yet gaining a Michelin star. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t great places to get some nice grub – it’s just that you need to dig a bit deeper and do a bit more background research to do so.

One such find is Michael Caines’ restaurant at the Manchster Abode Hotel. Conveniently located as you walk into the centre of town from Piccadilly station, I was surprised to find such a nice restaurant located where everything seems to be a chain offering.

Their restaurant does a fantastic deal with three courses for only £13 or £22 with matching wine. Why wouldn’t you?

The bread basket arrives at the table, steaming from being freshly heated, making it easier to melt the creamy butter. The variety below includes a sourdough, a tomato bread and a mini french style bread. A delicious start and a great way to warm up from the cold outside.

First up was a pumpkin soup topped with some melted cheese and a toasted crouton. It smelt amazing and you could smell it from quite some distance as they brought it to the table. It wasn’t a very big cup but it was so packed with flavour it didn’t really matter.

Next up with a venison dish, served with brussel sprouts and some caramelised onions.

Finally I had the creamy mango pannacotta accompanied by vanilla pineapple (wicked combination!) and a scoop of coconut ice cream.

I’m pleased that I managed to grab a table – it’s particularly busy on weekends and definitely worth booking ahead. Service was prompt and courteous and the entire meal a very enjoyable experience.

Name: Michael Caines
Found at: Abode Manchester Hostel, 107 Piccadilly, Manchester, M1 2DB
Website: http://www.michaelcaines.com/restaurants/manchester

Soho Breakfast Club

Patrick Brunch, Restaurants, UK

I’ve walked past The Breakfast Club in Soho on weekends and the line just continues to stretch out every weekend. That’s why I find it a great place to go when I need to meet someone for breakfast during the week and I happen to be near our Holborn office. It’s just that much less frantic and the food is just awesome.

Take the Pancake and Berry Stack. It’s absolutely stunning and huge. Not to mention perfectly fluffy, and a very hearty way to star the day. Not everyday, mind you. Just sometimes. Best part about it is that the prices are really reasonable as well (this for well under a tenner).

I felt a little bit greedy with my dining companion, deciding to up the protein stake, ordering the Pancakes with bacon and a side sausage. Perhaps my eyes were much bigger than my belly.

They do a reasonable coffee as well – maybe just a little bit too milky and they have plenty of smoothies and juices for those wanting something a little bit healthier.

The soho branch feels really rustic and reminded me of the many Canadian diners I ate in on my weekends in Calgary. Awesome food, very reasonable prices and a fun, casual atmosphere. There’s a good reason it’s so busy on weekends.

Name: The Breakfast Club (Soho Branch)
Found at: 33 D’Arblay Street, London, W1F 8EU
Website: http://www.thebreakfastclubcafes.com/