UK – Page 12 – TheKua Does Food

Kaffeine

October 6, 2009 Patrick Coffee, UK, Where's the good coffee?

Hooray. There were many good things about London this weekend other than the crisp weather complete with sunny blue skies. The great thing to celebrate is that another great coffee shop has been added to central London.

Run by some other antipodeans (I think this one is Kiwi owned), Kaffeine is one of the better places located on the north side of Oxford Street away from Regent Street. Tall ceilings welcome caffeine-junkies into a light and cleanly decorated room complete with some high table chairs and some more relaxed lounge style in the back.

Other than coffee, this place also offers home made cakes and muffins, and salads, sandwiches and hot foccacia rolls to accompany the coffee. Things are a bit more on the pricier side for coffees and sandwiches, but it’s still a decent choice if you need a fix.

Name: Kaffeine
Found at: 66 Great Titchfield Street, W1W 7QJ
Website: http://www.kaffeine.co.uk/

Gordon Ramsey’s Maze

September 27, 2009 Patrick Michelin Starred, Restaurants, UK

I think there’s a good reason why Gordan Ramsey’s empire is starting to crumble, with our visit to Maze a testament to what you pay for a brand instead of the quality that you get. I remember seeing Maze when I first moved to London, thinking about how reasonable everything seemed on the menu only finding out later that they were for tapas-sized portions, not mains. Whoops!

Everything on the inside is definitely decadent and looks like it certainly deserves a Michelin star from the intimate detail with cutlery, the tableware and the interior wide and spacious considering how central its location is near Oxford Street.

The bread selection was lovely decent with a mini baguette and some bread sticks. The butter was so-so, not particularly flavoursome but okay nevertheless. As you can see, presentation was nice as well.

We came here on the three course lunch deal, which is probably the best value rather than ordering ala carte. Of course, you suffer a limited selection but you get a good enough idea of the quality of the food. Unfortunately I only took pictures of the starters, a beetroot and goats cheese salad which was delicious and a great way to start. I remember having fish for the main meal and though it was a much better serving than the pork belly, I don’t remember it being particularly special.

At the end of the meal, you also got some, not quite, petite fours (chocolate ginger and turkish delight here).

Out of all things considering, ambience and the brand are probably the two things you pay the most for. I remember service being particularly sloppy (we had to ask for top ups of our water) and no one seemed to really take notice of when we finished our meal and wanted the bill. I don’t even remember it being particularly busy.

Gordon’s empire may be built on something, but I can tell you that if this is what it was built on, he’s got many better places to compete with.

Name: Maze
Found at: 13-15 Grosvenor Square, London, W1K 6
Contactable on: http://www.gordonramsay.com/maze
TheKua.com rating: 6 out of 10

The Zetter

September 27, 2009 Patrick Italian, Restaurants, UK

I’ve lived around the corner from The Zetter for quite some time and although I’ve gone drinking in their court yard, I’d never really sat down to eat. Mainly because it seemed a little bit poncy (i.e. pricy) from the outside. I mean when you have wallpaper (as shown below), you think it’s going to be all for show.

With some great deals on Top Table at the moment, it’s definitely worth going. In fact, after eating there I still think it’s a good place for a quality dinner regardless of whether or not you get the deal. The focus for The Zetter is modern Mediterranean with foods from all over, though noticeably more focused on Italian and Spanish themes. Take for example the bread, a simple, slightly crisped rosemary foccacia with some olive oil for dipping.

I had quite a bit of difficulty choosing from the menu, a good sign that it had some interesting dishes. I have a feeling the their menu is seasonal as it was printed on a piece of paper and then supplemented by some daily specials. I decided to start with the aubergine soup, served with creme fraiche and a piece of garlic toast.

I’m not sure if you can really tell in the photo, but it was deliciously thick and had strong flavours though was slightly over-seasoned with too much black pepper. A bit of a shame because everything else was so nice. Next up was the main.

A twist on the classic Paella, this version was made with Orzo (an Italian rice shaped pasta) though served with plenty of seafood and available for a single person (unlike all other places that seem to mandate at least two people have it). Chock full of flavour and bursting with seafood, this was super enjoyable.

Although their best dessert was apparently the crème brule, I’ve been a sucker for Tiramisu for a while, so I was intrigued by the “Zetter Tiramisu”. Served in a glass, it was the traditional layers although I think they’d opted for some sort of coffee liquor and had some fresh berries to provide a tart contrast. Served with an almond biscotti, perfect for dipping it wasn’t long before I had finished it.

I remember a very extensive wine menu although we weren’t drinking that night. They also seemed to have some reasonable and interesting cocktail creations as well. Service on the other hand was impeccable throughout. It was prompt, our tap water was constantly filled up and we were never pressured into being upsold or anything.

I’d definitely go back for a meal again.

Name: The Zetter
Website: http://www.thezetter.com/
Found at: St John’s Square, 86 – 88 Clerkenwell Road, London, EC1M 5RJ.

Albion, Boundary Street, East London

June 14, 2009 Patrick British, Brunch, UK

Albion is one of those eye catching places if you happen to be in the area. It’s a little bit out of the way from most normal hang outs, so it’s a great find it you’re lucky enough to know someone who’s been there or simply stumbled across it yourself. It’s part of the Terrance Conran Boundary project, and although you can tell it’s been designed very well, it’s definitely not as glitzy as many of other Conran built places (this is a good thing I tell you!).

While the Boundary restaurant is a lot more fine dining, Albion is intentionally built to be an East End Cafe, though its interior easily makes it feel like you’re in Notting Hill or South Kensington. On a fine day like it was today, the canvas covered tables on the pavement were particularly popular with too many people automatically seating themselves at a free table and then politely being informed that there was the quintessential queue to keep everything orderly and low stress.

Fortunately they have lots of other tables inside, easily accommodating small and large groups with a wide variety of tables. For the ever impatient or for those that want to have something on the run, we noticed a constant stream of freshly baked croissants, pastries and breads destined for the small grocery part to the building. From our looks afterwards, that constant stream was needed as there wasn’t that much left when walked by on our way out.

We arrived at about 1pm for a late “brunch” and fortunately there wasn’t anyone in line when we got seated. My mate Luca and I were waiting to meet Frankie and the staff didn’t have any hesitations seating us even without a full party present. We got to order some drinks (they do flat white so bonus points from me!) and the menu to peruse whilst waiting. Whilst I can’t say that their menu was particularly brunch-focused (it’s the same one they use for the dinner service), it had plenty of options for everyone.

I saw one of the sandwiches they had and thought that it looked good enough and large enough for a significant meal. I had the baby gems (a bit outrageous for some leaves and dressing for £2.75) and a small bucket of chips (£3) in addition to the roast beef and horseradish sandwich (£5) which was really plenty of food. If you’re feeling for something even more significant, they do everything from full on breakfast to Kedgeree, Fish and Chips, Rabbit Stew and a Rump Steak.

As you can see, the portion was pretty good value for £5 and it took me a while to eat all the food. Apparently the rump and the omelette were nice but not particularly special.

Overall all I really enjoyed my experience there. It was refreshing to be in a nice environment (even with free wi-fi) without feeling rushed and hassled by staff who are more concerned about the turnaround than making sure that you have a great experience. The nice touches of freshly baked bread served with butter (additional of course) and just friendly service I guess make up for the 12.5% service charge they add on to the bill.

I’ll definitely be coming back here in the future.

Name: Albion
Website: http://www.albioncaff.co.uk/
Location: Albion, 2-4 Boundary St, Shoreditch, E1 7JE
TheKua.com Rating: 8 out of 10

Princi

May 30, 2009 Patrick Italian, UK

This place has been on my list for a while, apparently being this joint venture with Alan Yau, and the “Armani of Breads”, Rocco Princi. I’ve dropped in before but it’s always been heaving. The day I visited wasn’t any different, with the glamorous room filled to the brim with more people constantly flowing in. My only option considering it was literally pouring down buckets, was to get take out and so I decided to get two salads in a box.

The picture doesn’t really do that much justice to the two salads I ordered – an avocado and chicken salad followed by a roasted aubergine one. Had I ordered both lighter, mainly green salads, I think I would have felt extremely cheated for the £6.50 I paid but considering there was a lot of salad and the chicken one was almost all protein, the £6.50 was reasonable.

I wasn’t completely blown away by the salads but it was certainly filling. I’d be interested to see what it’s like to sit down amongst all the chaos.

Name: Princi
Location: 135 Wardour Street, London, W1F 0UT
Website: http://www.princi.co.uk/

Wood Street

May 25, 2009 Patrick Restaurants, UK

I remember reading about the Wood Street Bar and Restaurant from some blog (that I can’t find any more) and didn’t realise how close it was to me. Situated on the opposite side of the Barbican Centre, it looks like a pub from the outside but has some intimate booths for parties simply drinking and a small dining area for those that want a more substantial meal. From what I can remember, there was probably five or six tables with only a couple with the spectacular window side view. I didn’t even realise the Barbican had a small pond and with great weather, certainly looks amazing.

The menu is best described as Asian influenced European foods with classic European dishes tweaked with the addition of an asian cooking ingredient like chilli or ginger although they have some British classics like potted shrimp, or roast lamb to please all. I started with the the chilli salt squid, served with a salad of chilli, bean sprouts and a sweet vinegar dressing. The squid was crisp and unfortunately not spicy enough to register on my palate and best eaten with the salad.

For the main dish, I had the soy marinated salmon served on a bed of mango salad, the mango slightly under ripe giving a perfectly subtle tartness to the overall sweetness of the dish. The chef cooked the salmon perfectly with just the right amount of seasoning and the super crisp skin.

This restaurant is hidden away and is definitely worth visiting if you’re in the area. Dinner for two people including three courses, and a bottle of wine was £80.

Name: Wood Street Bar & Restaurant
Found at: Corner of Fore Street & Wood Street, EC2Y 5EJ, London, United Kingdom
Website: http://www.woodstreetbar.com/

The Giaconda Dining Room

May 15, 2009 Patrick French, UK

Before heading away on holidays I managed to get a couple of days in the office without being on a project. On the way to lunch, I saw that The Giaconda Dining Room were open. I’ve always walked past here on a weekend, when it’s shut. I also remember reading about them shutting down when their owner/chef broke his arm rather than continuing with less than optimal service. Of course, it’d been a while since then yet I’d still assumed they were shut.

I headed over for a lunch late, probably around 2pm by the time that I sat down. It was still bustling from the lunchtime service with lots of people obviously doing a business lunch, a couple of one diners and some people visiting the area. Their tables are situated pretty closely together, so much so that I could hear the conversation at the table next to me. To be fair, their rent must be expensive given its location so they’ve done a pretty good job of what little space they did have.

I had a look through the menu and after hearing what the soup of the day was, a White Onion Soup with Gruyère Crouton I definitely had to try it. As you can see from the picture above, the bowl was quite large and the the crouton was an amazingly crisp bit of cheese grilled around the croutons. Even by the time that I finished the soup, the croutons, encased in the deliciously salty cheese still remained crunchy. A very nice compliment to the sweetness left in the soup.

For my main, I ordered the seabass, arriving on a bed of parsley and lentil salad. Perfectly seasoned and perfectly grilled where the outside skin was perfectly crisp but the flesh remained flaky and juicy. This was definitely a well cooked piece of fish.

Another thing to note about The Giaconda Dining Room is that they do have a cover charge and it’s pretty good value when you look at what gets presented to you (see below). You get some reasonable bread and butter, a carafe of sparkling water and a small dish of mixed olives to nibble on as you peruse the rest of the menu.

I really enjoyed my lunch here and I’d be intrigued to see how busy they get around dinner or peak lunchtime service. With fantastic friendly service, and delicious food, it’s no wonder they are always busy and win lots of praise.

Name: The Giaconda Dining Room
Found at: 9 Denmark Street, WC2 H8LS, London, UK
Website: http://www.giacondadining.com/
Cost for lunch: Soup of the day, seabass, cover charge, a glass of white wine and service £23.50.

Coffee Never Tasted So Good

April 27, 2009 Patrick UK, Unique

I’d heard of wine tasting, whiskey tasting and cheese tasting events but I’d never heard of a coffee tasting event so I was definitely intrigued. Can it be done? Of course, and the folks over at Taylor St Baristas did a really outstanding job at it this weekend. Organised by the folks over at Qype, a group of about ten people gathered at Taylor St Baristas’ Liverpool Street location fairly early on Saturday morning. Everyone seemed pretty upbeat considering no one had yet consumed their caffeine fix.

That was soon not going to be a problem with a selection of five roasts ready to be tasted in both their filtered and espresso forms. Before the tasting began the baristas gave us the quick low down on how to do the tasting introducing the different aspects of taste (sweet, salty, bitter, sour) combined with the aroma, flavour and mouth feel. It initially took us some time to note the different aspects that became slightly easier as we moved back and forth between the different coffees and having something to compare and contrast the different aspects.

As you can see from the picture above, we didn’t consume *all* of that coffee although maybe that explains my sleeplessness for the entire weekend. After all, they did recommend to spit, not swallow but some of them were just too good to have just a sip. Between the filtered and the espresso coffees we had a croissant to help absorb the big rush of caffeine and listened to the just-as-passionate roasters from Union Coffee talk about why they selected the coffees that they did. We heard the heart warming story about where the coffee beans came, and I certainly appreciated how the coffee industry has changed the lives for the coffee-growing communities for the better in an, everyone wins situation.

With the espressos rolling out at a ridiculously fast pace, we got plenty of opportunity to watch the skill that goes into making the perfect shot of coffee. The guys at Taylor St make it look particularly easy but I’m guessing that it’s much harder than it looks. The final coffee they introduced us to was a bit of a speciality, from what I remember, named the “Naked Espresso”. You can see it drip out into the cup below, producing an even creamier, richer brew sure to give you that satisfying hit.

I unfortunately can’t remember all the coffee blends (and my picture of the tasting board ended up too blurry) but I do remember thinking that the Rwandan Gashonga roast was definitely one of my favourites, with a rich chocolate malt base and, what I thought of, hints of cinnamon and cloves that reminded me slightly of Christmas time.

Thanks again to the people at Qype for organising such a great event, the people from Union providing such excellent quality coffee and the amazingly hospitable and down to earth guys from Taylor St Baristas (go have one of their coffees!)

Where’s the good coffee? Nude Espresso

April 14, 2009 Patrick Coffee, UK, Where's the good coffee?

Yet another day, and the discovery of yet another great coffee place. Unfortunately it sits in a place where I don’t really get to go that often, and plenty of other decent coffee stores surround it. Nevertheless that didn’t really stop me from trialling Nude Espresso. I noted this place down the last time that I went along for Brick Lane’s Sunday (Up)Market, though I’d already had my coffee for the day from Taylor St Barista’s, located closer to Liverpool Street Station.

Nude Espresso is pretty hard to miss with its bright red paint declaring its presence. Much like many other decent coffee stores around London, they have a couple of benches outside that would be nice if the weather stayed as nice as it was a couple of weeks back. Fortunately this store seems to have quite a lot of seating, since it stretches pretty deeply with plenty of table and chairs to accommodate groups of many sizes.

I only really wanted to get a coffee, so I ordered the flat white (£2.20) though they of course serve all the classic drinks. I noted a few people simply sitting having a cup of coffee and reading a magazine and newspaper. The insides did look pretty inviting. Unfortunately I’d just had lunch so wasn’t feeling hungry at all despite the wide variety of sandwiches and pastries did look very tempting as you can see from the photo below.

The verdict. Very good. I asked where they got their beans from and they told me it was the espresso blend from Monmouth (it really could have only been one of two answers). The flat white was creamy, strong and certainly kept me going as I continued my walk around the area. I’m well chuffed to have found yet another great place to recommend to people. My only dilemma now though is which one I’d recommend now that there is a handful of decent ones in that area. Nevertheless this is a very good problem to have.

Name: Nude Espresso
Address: 26 Hanbury St, Spitalfields London E1 6QR
Website: http://nudeespresso.com/

Hix Oyster and Chop House

April 12, 2009 Patrick British, Restaurants, UK

Even though it’s literally just around the corner from me, it was only recently that I sat down for a dinner at Hix Oyster and Chop House. I’d heard a lot about it, and plenty of very positive reviews. Unfortunately I didn’t bring my camera so this is one post you’ll just have to believe me.

Clerkenwell isn’t exactly full of life on a Sunday evening, so I was surprised that the restaurant filled up quite quickly. It definitely has an amicable charm to it, and the tables had plenty of space to give us lots of privacy. A lovely Scottish waitress seated us and helped guide us through the menu as they had a number of items I wasn’t particularly familiar with. Being true to its name, they had plenty of fish and steak with a meat board full of impressive looks cuts of beef (and lamb). I felt like some seafood so I ended up ordering the “Roast Dorset gurnard with brown shrimp butter”. Our waitress described it as very sad looking but a very satisfying fish.

I decided not to have any starters, as appealing as they looked because their desserts look just as appetising and I thought I’d only have room for one of them. They brought us a small loaf of crusty bread with some creamy butter, the perfect size for the three of us. Most breads are pretty average, but I have to admit that this one was particularly remarkable.

I’d never had a gurnard before but it was certainly a very meaty fish with plenty to fill me up. Combined with the rich tasty shrimp butter, I almost thought that I wouldn’t be able to have dessert. Almost. Oh, and the waitress was right. The fish did look pretty sad looking.

On the waitress’ recommendation, I ordered the blood orange and gin jelly with ice cream for dessert. It was a lot lighter than I imagined and the gin flavour wasn’t an overwhelmingly alcoholic flavour liked I know some jellies can be. Its only let down was really the ice cream that seemed more like an ice confection the way that it crumbled, rather than the creaminess it should really have.

Hix really impressed me. The entire meal including 1 starter, 3 mains, 2 desserts, tea, coffee, still water, and a bottle of wine cost the three of us £48.54 each. I think there would have been a 12.5% service charge as well but definitely worth it with the nice, friendly service our waitress gave us.

Name: Hix Oyster and Chop House
Address: 36-37 Greenhill Rents, Cowcross Street EC1M 6BN
Website: http://www.hixoysterandchophouse.co.uk/
The good: Great menu. Tasty food. Great service worth the 12.5%.
The not so good: Nothing that I can really think of.