Category Archives: Europe

Lilibet’s Restaurant Review

Posted on by under restaurant reviews, Restaurants

Opulent and impressive, with a side order of slightly camp, this restaurant celebrates the past and feels guaranteed to have a glorious future

An IKEA TV campaign, not so long ago, urged everyone to ‘chuck out their chintz’. It seems that much of it ended up in Lilibet’s. I’ve not seen so much of the stuff since my maiden aunt died at 97, the same day as Elizabeth II, and her house hadn’t changed since the 1940s.

This new restaurant is on the site of the building where Elizabeth (Lillibet) II began her life, although the actual house was demolished years ago.


Internally Russell Sage Studios have created what can be either called a loving homage of interior design trends back then, or an affectionate parody of the same. There are handwoven Gainsborough silks on the walls, and even the sort of fake fireplace once found in stately council homes. Usually accompanied by a car up on bricks outside.

I like it, everything about the place has a wry smile on its face and it’s extremely welcoming, comfortable and, yes, it is actually elegant. There’s nothing else like it in an area that has become very blingy, majorly catering to Russian and Middle Eastern tastes.

It’s not perhaps what you’d expect from Ross Shonhan, once Executive chef at Zuma London, and who created the iconic Bone Daddies ramen bars that for years were the talk of blogland, with people scrambling to get as much oily broth inside themselves as possible..

Here it’s fish, fish  and more fish across a very large space divided into zones. A bar, a marble topped seafood bar, (oysters and caviar feature, of course) a fish grill, and traditional seating to eat whatever you want. These seats are extra plush, and whilst the tables have no tablecloths, they are dark wood and so still feel upper class.

It’s a menu that could have you indecisively flicking back and forth for a month, but we know what we want.


Anchovy éclairs and crab tarts are more nibbles than full on starters, but they are both rather wonderful. I love anchovies, particularly the tinned brown fillets, but they do repel some people. The important thing is to get the best you can find – cheap anchovies don’t have the rich texture and deep umami that’s so present here.

I saw a recipe for these in the The Official Downton Abbey Christmas Cookbook (don’t judge me). So as a savoury they have been around a long time in posh circles. They’re usually made with puff pastry, here though it’s proper choux with the hollow space inside piped with anchovy parfait and on top sharp/sweet sauce. Gone all too quickly, but the memory lingers.

The crab tarts are equally impressive, small works of culinary art, super-fresh sweet crab enlivened by citrus and cosseted in pastry shells that are as delicate as the porcelain  Liz 2 probably had her afternoon tea served in.

Did I mention it’s a big menu? Well we dither over the Ricotta agnolotti,  lobster spaghetti, whole turbot pil pil as choices, but the “fish triptych,” fish served in three different ways – a crudo, a grilled main and a soup  – sounds too unique not to try.


From the fish of the day we have the Sea Bream. This arrives first as crudo – raw – dressed with olive oil, salt, lemon and perhaps vinegar, and liberally scattered with herbs. This really showcases the fish which is firmly ‘cooked’ by the acids to a divine buttery texture. My only caveat being that the fresh chili was rather too fierce at times.

Next from the same fish comes its fillets, cooked in the searing heat of the bespoke wood oven. A perfect piece of fish, the skin crispy and golden, the flesh gorgeously creamy. It is so naturally excellent that the mojo verde sauce is in some ways not needed,  but in other ways I need lots more. And a spoon, too. I could also do with some chips, but then I am common.

Lastly, the remains of the fish are cooked fast in a pressure cooker to create one of the best fish soups either of us have ever tasted, and yes we have been to the South of France.

It’s ladled out tableside, which is posh, and we boat it back with little oohs and aahs. There is some left in the tureen, so rather than summon a footman I top up our bowls myself. Sometimes one simply cannot wait to be served.


I now have to mention the Lobster Mash, after all everybody else has. Firstly it gave me an annoying earworm; I can’t stop hearing ‘Monster Mash’ in my head, and secondly it really is very good. Buttery, creamy, mash anointed with a lobster bisque? How can it fail?

It’s served after the soup, I’d have liked it served with the #2 fish, although that may not have been the best way to showcase either dish. Anyway, it is decadent, depraved and delicious. It’s a must have, a right royal treat.

They do a rather odd dessert here, a Prego sandwich. It’s a garlic steak sandwich, the word ‘prego’ in Portuguese means ‘nail,’ perhaps the nail in your coffin? It is actually a well-loved Portuguese snack that is often eaten after a seafood meal. I don’t really fancy it, but a twist on crepes suzette does sound good.

It arrives rolled up, topped with a sauce of caramelised sugar, orange juice and butter, plus thin candied orange peels, and yes, it is torched (or flambeed as they say in more refined circles) at the table. It’s a blast from the past and a very welcome one.

Lillibet’s really is something special in London; its interiors, its staff, its food all remind me of why I go out to eat in the first place, not to greedily catch a trend but to relax and enjoy time with friends and family in a place that believes in the basics. 

Lillibet’s I am sure will become as much a part of London’s history as Liz 2 was, and hopefully live just as long.

17 Bruton St, London W1J 6QB
lilibetsrestaurant.com

Exploring Sicily’s DOC Wines: A New Age of Quality

Posted on by under Europe, Southern Europe

Sicily DOC wines are exciting, fresh and a world waiting to be explored. I visit the island to discover a new age of quality that’s all in the family.

In the “baglio” or traditional central courtyard of Tonnio Baglio Ceuso, the father of the winery is frying aubergine slices and fennel sausages over glowing charcoal. The aroma is fantastic but, not speaking any Italian I can only give him a thumbs up and get one back with an accompanying grin.

Now semi-retired, he enjoys watching his descendants do most of the wine work while he offers sage advice that I’m sure is warmly welcomed, although perhaps not always, but hey, that’s families the world over.

I’m discovering a new generation of Sicilian wine makers, the sons, daughters and even great grandchildren, of the originals, who are now front and centre in Sicily, and that’s a good thing for Sicilian wine. The island’s wine scene is no longer dominated by the production of cheap, generic, wines, as it has been for so long.

The big name red grapes such as Nero d’Avolo, Nerello Mascalese and Frappato ‘fruity’ are still king of course. Whilst for whites, Cataratto (now named Lucido, because apparently we non-Italians can’t pronounce Cataratto) can still be found across the island, and crisp, savoury Grillo (used to make Masala) is now a fine white wine all on its own. Winemakers are using these grapes to make exciting new style wines, as well as growing ‘international’ grapes such as Syrah, Merlot and Chardonnay for blending and single grape production

There is power in a union

Around 450 forward thinking Sicilian wine makers came together in 2011 to promote  tradition, innovation, and quality over quantity in Sicilian wine, as well as to support each other in what can be challenging times, by creating Consorzio di Tutela Vini Sicilia DOC which now numbers 7,000 winemakers and more than 530 bottlers.

One problem they all face is climate change.  A young winemaker showed me a photo taken last year of the lake that has always irrigated his vines, ‘this year,’ he said drawing with his finger, ‘this….’. He indicated an area of water so reduced it was hard to believe it was the same lake. The patches of blackened undergrowth I saw all over the island also witness the lack of rain this year and the outbreaks of devastating fires.

Positivity is the main vibe from all the winemakers I met though, even when grumbling slightly about how big UK importers are still adamant they only want cheap plonk.  They are reluctant to buy the more expensive quality wines these winemakers have dedicated themselves to, but that’s changing as UK wine lovers wake up to the new Sicilian scene and its amazing options.

The island can have four different climates over a vineyard surface that’s three times that of New Zealand’s, which allows for a lot of wine variety, but all over the DOC portfolio, quality and organic farming is key.

Sicily is now the top producer of organic grapevines in Italy. By leveraging the natural climatic conditions of the island, fewer treatments are needed. One winemaker told me how he is trialling a natural insecticide derived from local cacti as a cheap and effective crop protection solution.

Don’t walk away René

At Fuedo Diso, a fifth generation winery, the Di Lorenzo family were the first registered company to produce Chardonnay in Sicily. They’ve owned the winery, whose Baglio dates back to to the 17th Century, since around 1867, and whilst the buildings are gorgeously ancient, the equipment they use is state of the art.

Their Grillo, Chara, Nero d’Avola and Adhara wines are fresh and revitalising. Their particularly deliciously crisp Grillo is a star wine, while their sparkling wine René, named after the patriarch, comes  from the oldest Chardonnay vineyard in the Feudo. As we taste through their range of wines, René is front and centre with his glass, and he’s not spitting any out. Mind you, neither am I.

Vinifying up a storm 

The fresh energy at the Tola winery is also palpable. As I tasted the wines in their ultra modern building south east of Palermo, the skies darkened and the giant windows framed dramatic lightning storms over the gulf of Castellamare to the north.

The winery crackles with life – all white surfaces and sharp angles it’s run by Francesco Tola almost 400m above sea level. This makes the temperature moderate –  it can actually be very cold at night – with sea breezes bringing salinity to his classic Sicilian grapes of Nero d’Avola, Syrah, Grillo, Catarratto, Insolia and Zibibbo, as well his international vines of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir.

He uses steel tanks a lot, to keep the freshness of the grapes alive to produce light, zesty Nero d’Avola and, as a very modern winemaker, he is happy to use the latest machinery for efficiency, while keeping his CO2 emissions low. 

Out back a machine is processing just picked grapes, blowing streams of stems into a pile to be composted. I can’t help but notice the workers here are all wearing Kippahs. ‘ Ah yes,’ says Mimmo, ‘this batch is for kosher wine and so can be only touched by Sabbath-observant Jews from the harvest to the bottling’. An interesting example of finding markets for his second division grapes.

His flagship red wine Black Label – Nero d’Avola Doc Sicilia – though is traditionally made from the best hand harvested grapes and is an intensely fruity example, while his sparkling wine, made from Catarratto and Grillo grapes, gets its fizz from the Charmat Method, where the second fermentation that gives the lovely bubbles is created by using large pressurised tanks, and not bottle ‘dosage’, as used for Champagne. This makes for wonderfully bright bright fruit flavours

Concrete Proof of change

Concrete often gets a bad rep. In the old Soviet Union it was used for shoddy buildings that fell down a lot, usually due to the ‘concrete’ being made of flour, water and potato peelings.

However for a long time proper concrete was the storage vessel of choice for winemakers –  cheap, easy to clean, stable and hardwearing, it’s also slightly porous and its thickness makes the wine inside less susceptible to temperature changes or ‘shock’. 

Stainless steel seduced many winemakers in the 1980s and lots of old concrete tanks were literally smashed up. Back at  Tonnino Baglio Ceuso, with the aubergines eaten, I went with the chef’s daughter, Francesca, to see the usual steel vats, but also their row of concrete tanks that were still in place when they took over in 2023.

Their flagship wine Ceuso, created by enologist Giacomo Tachis in the 90s, is a modern blend of Nero d’Avola, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. After fermentation, the wine is sent to mature in these old cement tanks before moving on to Seguin Moreau barrels. The result is an exceptional wine with velvet tannins and which can be aged for years in your own ‘cellar’.

They also produce a delicious dessert wine, ZIBÒ Made from their best Zibibbo grapes, it’s a reimagined Sicilian classic being fresh and balanced and not as cloying as older styles.

The variety of wines at each winery was remarkable. Innovation was everywhere and this was confirmed at a final tasting in town with twenty six producers and their wines present. It was head-spinning and not just because of the wine being drunk.

Twenty six passionate (yes, for once that word is appropriate) winemakers is a big crowd and whilst I tried to sample every wine, it was impossible. So many superb wines in one place was a remarkable one off event, and all the winemakers were lively and refreshingly young and keen. I naively asked some of them if they had ever wanted a different job from the family business and not one said ‘yes’ and no wonder.

The work is undoubtedly hard; it can be heart-breaking when a year fails to meet expectations, or an experiment with planting fails, but the joy of creating something superb cannot be beaten.  Sicilia DOC wines are moving forward at pace, the bad old days are over, and their wines should be on everyone’s oenological shopping list

The sausages, by the way, were delicious!

Porte Noire Review

Posted on by under Europe, restaurant reviews, Restaurants

There’s dog on the menu and a lot more besides at this cool wine bar slash restaurant beside the canal in Coal Drops Yards.

Okay I admit the dog bit is pure click bait. There is indeed a dog at Porte Noire but he’s very much alive and wagging. After a fraught, irritating, windswept search for the restaurant located in the base of one of the old gasometers, now fancy apartments, his happy face behind the glass doors waiting to welcome us cheered us up no end.

His name is Cooper and he belongs to the co owner  David Faber, the founder of Connaught Wine Cellars and his presence rather sums up the wine bar’s character – warm, welcoming and cheerful. The other co-owner is Idris Elba, by the way, also a bit shaggy and loveable and curator of his very own champagne brand, Porte Noire, after he and David visited the Sanger Viticultural School in Champagne in 2018. His Porte Noire champagne and cognac are on the drinks menu, of course.

David has taken his own vast wine knowledge and placed it in a restaurant setting and the result is a place that is a wine lover’s ideal spot, but  the food makes it not just a banlieue for the bibulous.

The curve of the old gasometer makes the room pleasingly unusual, while the metal of its construction blocks out mobile signals. This was not deliberate, but it does have the effect of making people put away their phones and concentrate on wine, food and friends. Given the amount of tech types in the area this may be the only oasis they have away from their screens. I don’t think there is any guest wi-fi available, at least none showed up on my ‘phone.

Outside is seated and canal facing and I can well imagine how nice it must be come the summer. Incidentally if you follow Google Maps from Kings Cross you will arrive from this direction and you won’t get as lost, as we did. Once at the door you pass by an impressive wine wall at the entrance, where you can also catch a glimpse of cabinets of cured meats

The menu is short, compared to the wine list, which is long. I believe there are over 800 wines in the cellars. I do like wine, but I make no pretense of knowing a lot so we gaze at the wine list rather blankly, while eating from an excellent charcuterie board. There are cornichons, I do love the crisp vinegary tang of cornichons, but  I would have also liked some sliced baguette and a big cold lump of butter as well.


Wine help is at hand from the sommelier, who doesn’t make us feel ignorant, but is friendly and keen to find us wines we’ll enjoy. Prices are reasonable I suppose for London, but one can still wince a bit at £12.50 for a small glass. Still you can pay close to that for rubbish wine in many places, and these wines are very good, Plus what does a pint of cooking lager in a London pub cost these days? Almost £7.00.

With the charcuterie devoured we turned our attention to Truffle and mushroom arancini n and truffle mayo, and Devonshire hand dived scallops , Bresaola crisps which we drink with Chateau Paillas, Cahors. This  pairs well with both the shellfish and the arancini. The scallops are butter soft and creamy, with a gently spicy sauce buoying them up, the bresaola a salty texture contrast.

Arancini are crispy fresh and the bosky flavour of the mushrooms is set off by the rich truffle in an unctuous mayo. When no one is looking I use my finger to scoop up the last of it.


We move to a glass each of Lyseras Blanc 2023, a soft yet zesty white which is parfait with my stuffed squid. Not the most elegant of dishes, it looks like a Zeppelin has landed on my plate, it’s a powerfully flavoured dish thanks to a rich stuffing of chorizo and a bed of sun-dried tomato tahini.

The squid is a little bit tough, nothing to worry about, but it could have been softer. It’s a good bistro-style dish overall and I like the crispy cavolo nero on top. Cavolo nero is a type of kale and baking the oiled leaves makes it very palatable. Boiled or steamed, it usually comes out as more of a penance than a pleasure.

M is on, Shropshire duck breast, chestnut puree and a pinot noir jus. He really loves that puree, mentioning how nice it is several times. The jus is jus(t) great too, he reckons and the duck is perfectly cooked, a hint of pink and no more. He also gets those cavolo crisps and likes them as much as I do.

Unsure what to have on the side, we order the ‘famous’ chickpea chips to share. Like panisses, the south of France street snack, these are based around Gram (chickpea) flour. A thick batter that once set is deep-fried. Delicious and addictive, especially when we dob them into the thick luscious mayo served generously with them.

We end with Burnt Matcha Cheesecake  on a raspberry puree, and a chocolate cremeux with Calabrian olive oil and Maldon sea salt. The latter was a bit too heavy for me, although chocolate fanatics would love it. The olive oil worked surprisingly well, but personally I would hold back a bit on the salt. The cheese cake was gone in seconds, so that was clearly well liked.

Cooper came round on his patrol, seeking more head rubs and praise, which we were more than happy to give him. Praise to David and Idris as well, they’ve created a lovely little place at Porte Noire that has a lot of taste and a lot of style.

A bit hard to find (again, use Google Maps and not Apple), it’s hard to beat for a relaxed glass or two and some highly competent food.

Valentines’ Day sees a candlelight dinner at Porte Noire with live music

Wine is available to buy both in the ‘shop’ and online and there is a set lunch every weekday.

Gasholder 10 , Unit A 1 Lewis Cubitt Square

Happy Hampers At Xmas

Posted on by under Europe, food, food producers

Not sure what gifts to get friends and relations that live nowhere near you? A great British Hamper can send your best wishes as far away as Australia.

‘That’s called ‘sizzle’, a friendly packer tells me as I handle one of the elements that go into packing a British Hamper Company hamper for postage.

I feel like Gregg Wallace, but while he always feigns amazement, ‘Gor! Vat’s incwedible!’, I am genuinely intrigued..

Sizzle is the trade word for the shredded paper ‘straw’ that is used in vast quantities not just to protect all the items in transit, but to add to the visual appeal and the excitement when the lucky recipient delves into their hamper.

‘We do it in layers, as well as around the items, that way the surprises keep coming. It’s all part of the fun’.

It’s a happy place, The British Hamper Company. The regular staff of around eighteen are right now supplemented with another thirty to handle the demands of Christmas. There is no automation, no humming soulless machines, each packer finds all the items required for the hamper that’s been chosen online and adds them to the hamper by hand.

There’s an art to the packing and each item has its own rules to make sure it presents at its best. Even the ribbons are tied in a standardised way. ‘I love working here.’ one young seasonal worker tells me (and no, she was not in earshot of management) ‘best place I have ever worked. It’s good to know what you’re packing will be a lovely gift for someone and doing it well is satisfying’.

It’s a family business, James Tod is the co-founder and MD, his dad Mike is the other founder and Chairman, and his sister Alice is Sales Director. In 2014 they decided to get into e-commerce and from experience in his world travels, James felt there was demand from expats for much loved British food, as well as British gifting.

A website was set up and the best British artisan producers found. At first, working out of a gazebo office and a barn, sales were slow, around sixty hampers a month. Then came the first Xmas period and sales hit a thousand a month. Now sales are around 30 thousand a year, and they have a proper warehouse facility just outside of historic Lincoln.

‘Thirty five percent of our hampers go overseas’ explains James as we eat a ‘picnic lunch’ using a variety of delicious goods from the warehouse, ‘although’ he says, gesturing at the table, ‘of course those going out of the UK can’t contain perishable produce like this smoked salmon’. It’s very good smoked salmon, and I help myself to some more luscious slices. I also eat more than I should of the All Butter Cheddar Biscuits,  which are absolutely delicious and fiendishly addictive.

‘We begin planning for Christmas in March,’ James explains,’then start test-tasting new products and ordering the stock in May. Finally in September we begin to pack 500 – 600 hampers a day with the dry goods. These can be stored ready and then just before dispatch in go any perishables such as cheese and salmon, as well as any personal message. Delivery is guaranteed within a few days in the UK, often the next day.’

Each year artisan producers all over the UK approach the company hoping to be selected, a tasting task that the family relish. Whilst everything in the hampers carries only TBH branding, the volume they can sell makes it well worth it for the producers because that income supports their businesses in a reliable way. ‘They can focus on creating great products and we do all the rest,’ says James.

So what might lucky recipients find in their hampers, which come in all sizes from bijou to whopping?  Well a £55 Xmas hamper has Sweet & Salty Popcorn, Caramel Sea Salt Fudge Gifting Tin, Bean to Bar Milk Chocolate, Jalapeno & Lime Mixed Nuts, Festive Spiced Cookies, Sea Salt & Black Pepper Corn Crunch, All Butter Cheddar Biscuits and Bean to Bar White Chocolate. The options are almost infinite and all very tasty.

At the very top end there is the £1000 Grand Extravagance Hamper with whiskies, cheeses, and superb English sparkling wines, amongst a plethora of other treats, all in of course an eco-friendly traditional wicker basket. Hampers also come in cool cardboard boxes, too.

In between there is a massive choice to suit all tastes, including vegan, gluten-free, halal and other specialty options. About thirty five categories in all, which makes picking the perfect hamper very easy.

Prices include packaging and carriage to your chosen destination. And with a hub in the Netherlands, hampers and gourmet produce can be shipped across Europe with fast and reliable delivery and no additional customs fees.

‘We also do a good trade year round in providing corporate gifts.’ adds James, ’many big companies like to fly the flag with their customers and a luxury hamper of British goods is a great way to do it. We can personalise their hampers, too.’

Down in the warehouse, I have a go at packing. It is actually quite good fun, although my attempt would not pass the quality control. My sizzle action is praised though ‘Nice and tight’.

Maybe I can come back next year.

You’ve still got time to order a gift hamper for someone special for Xmas, although the last dates for abroad are fast approaching.

Make your choice at www.britishhamper.com

Med Sallah Restaurant Review

Posted on by under Europe, food, restaurant reviews, Restaurants

In the heart of Kangaroo Valley, this small but perfectly formed Vietnamese restaurant is properly delicious

It’s not really fair to call Earls Court ‘Roo valley anymore, but back in the 60s just about every young Australian lived there. Today its grand old houses are more likely to be hotels than bedsits, but the area still has a certain rundown aura.

Down under one of the big houses, in what would once have been the servant’s domain, there is still a kitchen at 32-36 except now instead of boiling cabbages it’s grilling delicious fish and meats and simmering some wonderful Phos.

Med Sallah is the new restaurant from Med Pang and Koi Lee, the people behind critically acclaimed Malaysian favourite Med Salleh Kopitiam.

Once down the steep little steps you enter a compact place warmly painted and with a market scene across one wall. The chairs look like they’ve been rescued from a 1920’s British open topped car, they’re very covetable and also very comfortable.

Koi’s Vietnamese wife Syphong Lam is in the kitchen and out front is a welcoming and friendly team. Most of the customers also appear to be Vietnamese, which is usually a very good sign.

We sat back and let the team choose for us, after wimpishly specifying ‘no offal’ and we certainly got the works.  Translucent prawn summer rolls with dipping sauce were packed with crispness and great clumps of fresh herbs, the prawns eerily visible through the wrapper skin as if hiding behind a shower curtain.

Rather cleverly the prawns are divided in half lengthways so they appear large but are in fact light and delicate. Veggies can have the version with mushrooms.

Moving on, a mango and prawn salad has the classic Vietnamese interplay of sharp, sour, sweet and hot. Tomatoes, grated carrot and lettuce all up the freshness. Personally I would have upped the fish sauce quotient too, as well as the lime, but I have no doubt this is done correctly for Vietnamese tastes. It was delicious all the same.

Med Sallah focuses on street food and in Vietnam that means things cooked over the simplest grills, literally on the street.

We have three superb lamb chops, crusted in spices, grilled and perfectly pink-ish. Lemongrass and chilli seem solidly represented and they are very gnawable right down to the bone where the best flavour always is.

Also grilled is a squid, the whole tube and at sea-monster size too. It’s not easy to cook squid well, it either needs to be cooked very fast and very hot, or slowly braised. In between it’s rubbery. Here it was spot on, and again generously but not overpoweringly spiced. The waitress cuts it into rings with large scissors, a very useful aid to eating. We have a little tussle over the tentacles, for me the best bit.

Bun Cha is cold vermicelli rice noodles with meat marinated in lots of lemongrass, garlic and fish sauce and soy sauce. You can have it here with grilled chicken, beef, prawn or mushroom. We have excellent beef and chicken, the cold noodles are a bit odd at first but we come to love them. I imagine they are wonderfully refreshing in a hot climate.

And Pho. Created in Nam Định, Pho Phở is of course broth, rice noodles, herbs, and meat. The meat cooks in the hot broth when mixed at the table.  Here we had a version almost certainly not eaten on the average street, unless perhaps it’s Bond Street, which was their Classic Signature Truffle Wagyu Pho.

Well it was superb, the dense flavours of the stock pricked by the truffle and the beef was remarkable. Soft, melting and all too soon gone, but drinking the stock kept the flavours going.

And to end something from the mists of time, a deep fried banana with ice cream. This made me very nostalgic as  I burned my tongue just as I used to do all those years ago. Mind you,this was fresh crisp batter, and back in the day that was unheard of.

You have to like Med Sallah, its cafe style relaxed atmosphere, the great food and the lovely people. Take a first date there and impress them with your knowledge of places not on the radar.

32-36 Hogarth Rd, London SW5 0PU

medsalleh.co.uk/viet-earls-court

Viking Feast at The Glyde Inn Review.

Posted on by under Europe, Northern Europe, restaurant reviews, seafood

Seafood of the finest kind is served at this ancient Irish pub, but horned hats are optional

Looking over my shoulder I can see my fellow viking crew members pulling hard at their oars. Turning to the right I can see the shoreline and our settlement. A quiet voice in my head is telling me the history of the place.

Ten minutes later and I’m back in the pub, readjusting to the world as it is now.

The Glyde Inn, Annagassan County Louth has stood for centuries on the site of what was once a major viking settlement. It was ‘National Irish Pub of the Year’ in 2018 and from the front it seems no more than a small pub in a terraced row of houses, but pass through the cosy 1770s interior and head out back and you come across breathtaking views of both the enormous Dundalk bay and the Mountains of Mourne.

The enterprising owners Paul and Ann O’Neill have built up the business since 1976 and recently created an engrossing VR headset experience to illustrate the village’s viking settlement history, a time when it was Linn Duachaill, a Viking Longphort.  It really is the last thing you’d expect to find in an Irish pub once the evening haunt of C.S Lewis, author of the Narnia tales.

Viking tales aside, I’m here for the beer and the Viking Seafood Feast. These waters produce superb seafood and have done so since the Viking times, one of the reasons they chose to settle here about an hour’s drive from what is now Dublin. After a surely very difficult and perilous journey around Scotland, to find this earthly paradise must have been a relief.

I’m relieved to find it too. While the weather outside is unusually fine for October, a cosy pub is always a pleasure to dive into.

With the VR goggles off it’s time to don beer goggles for a bottle of Linn Duachaill Irish Pale Ale, the house beer of The Glyde Inn and made in small batches for them by the Brehon Brewhouse. Nicely hopped, not like the London hipster pale ales that taste of urinal cakes, it’s a good palate teaser for the first dish- Carlingford oysters from nearby Carlingford.

Superb oysters, screamingly fresh, plump and briny, you’ll be hard pushed to find better. The beer is a perfect pairing.

Next crab legs, again pulled out of the nearby waters. Massive things simply dressed with Irish butter aromatised with lemon. I wield my ‘crackers’ with what I assume is skill,  but manage to explode a leg so that butter, and fragments of crab, go everywhere, some of it on other diners. This being Ireland it’s taken in good spirit.


I spend a happy ten minutes teasing every last piece of the deliciously sweet white meat out of the shells. So simple, so delicious. I drink a glass of Fairy Trees Chardonnay aged in Irish Whiskey Barrels for 3 months with it. The grapes are grown not far away on the banks of the River Dee. Who knew wine was made in Ireland? Not me. The creamy texture and hints of whiskey work well with the crab.

Like a true Viking I plough on. Next up are razor clams, one of the most delicious seafoods there is. Again fished straight from Dundalk bay, cooked they’re served in a garlic, white wine reduction. For anyone that’s not had razor clams, the texture is soft but firm rather like a cooked king prawn. The tip is usually more tender than the base, which is a bit more chewy. Lovely.

And then something new to me, Cloggerhead Black Sole served on the bone. What a fish, the flesh lifts away perfectly, while dripping butter, and soon only a Tom & Jerry skeleton is left. What a London restaurant might charge for such superb fish I can only guess at and it’s academic anyway, it would never taste as good if it had to travel hundreds of miles rather than hundreds of yards.

It comes with Colcannon mash that’s made gloriously green with sea radish that I saw chef foraging earlier from the shoreline. And with that I breathe a deep sigh of happiness and down a Bailey’s before heading off back to modern times.

This really is the kind of seafood meal that would be all over the Sunday magazines if it were in Spain, and yet this kind of excellence is available just next door to Britain.

It’s another excuse to travel to County Louth for a short break of a foodie kind. Skol!


www.theglydeinn.ie

Aer Lingus fly to Dublin with 9 daily flights between London Heathrow and Dublin, Ireland. One-way fares start from £59.99 each way including taxes and charges. For more information visit www.aerlingus.com”

Nick’s visit was facilitated by www.discoverboynevalley.ie



Thornbury Castle Restaurant Review

Posted on by under chefs, Europe, food, restaurant reviews, Restaurants

You may not eat in the same room that Henry VIII did, but you will have a royal good time

There’s a bit of a cliche around the royal meals of Olde Englande. Kings chucking well-chewed chicken legs over their shoulder, at least twenty meats on the table and the fish could include ​​conger eel and even porpoise.

These days castle meals are finer dining and the restaurant at Thornbury Castle is a restrained and elegant affair with Executive Head Chef, David Williams who recently retained the hotel’s 3 AA Rosettes with his tasting as well as his a la carte and set menus, serving up a three course menu of three dish choices for each course at £75 per person.

The setting could not be more fabulous, the beautiful castle was once the property of Edward Stafford, who built it in the 1500s but who lost it to a jealous Henry VIII. The King then stayed there on occasions with Ann Boleyn who got the chop, and not the lamb and mint sauce kind, months after her last visit.

Courtyards, stone stairs, gorgeous lounges and grand bedrooms abound in the hotel and the dining room is a cosy circular ground floor room with a massive fireplace. A place for a posh meal and suitably decked out with the sort of heavy white linen now sadly absent from many high end restaurants, presumably because of the cost of cleaning.


After drinks in the pretty Privy Garden, we found our way to the dining room and had no problems choosing from the compact set menu.

We rather like our amuse of frothy avocado and then soon settle down to some Pate En Croute with Rare Bread (sic) Pork and the hotel’s  own Piccalilli. A large walled vegetable garden in the grounds provides much of the fresh produce required by the kitchen with preserves keeping things going into the winter months.

Pate en croute is French for Game Pie (not really as there’s no hard boiled egg, but there is a family resemblance) and this has lovely pastry, very much a leading component, along with a thin layer of jelly and well-seasoned pork interior. The crisp pickle is a good foil to the meat and jelly, while the minimalism on the plate is attractive, although the lack of bulk would have had Henry VIII calling for the chef’s immediate execution. Today it’s a perfect portion.

Burrata with heritage tomatoes, with balsamic vinegar and olives, always relies on excellent burrata and tomatoes with flavour and this dish scores highly. The pouch of cheese cuts open to let the creamy interior flood out and mingle with the sweetly sharp vinegar. The tomatoes are well ripened, slightly acidic as they should be and very colourful too.

As a nod to Henry, I waive my usual rule of ‘no steak’ and have a big hunk of perfectly cooked fillet of beef accompanied by an elegant rosti, some bright carrot and tousled spinach. Across the table a rather complicated mix of hake, salt cod, clams, mussels and shrimp actually delivers simple pleasures, each element a star on its one and the combination a real winner.

Mango cremeux with Thai basil and coconut ice cream is beautiful to look at and eat, while vanilla and strawberry cheesecake is stylish and refreshing.

Staff throughout have been conscientious without being cloying, there when needed and away when not. Over attentive waiting breaks conversations up annoyingly.

So many gorgeous hotels fail to deliver on the food front, but not Thornbury Castle. The modern food is a contrast to the ancient stones and the price is reasonable for all you get by way of atmosphere and service.

Thornbury Castle
Castle St, Thornbury
Gloucestershire, BS35 1HH
+44 (0) 1454 281 182
reception@thornburycastle.co.uk
For more information and reservations please see the website.






Jeru Restaurant Review

Posted on by under food, Northern Europe, restaurant reviews, seafood

This excellent restaurant was never all at sea, and now that it’s added a choice of quiveringly fresh fish it’s one of London’s best catches

‘After two years in London I’ve developed great relationships with all my suppliers and fish is no exception. That’s why I’ve created Fish Market, to show off and cook the best UK fish’

Jeru’s Executive Chef Roy Ner likes to come out and chat to diners, the chefs in the long open kitchen behind him don’t need standing over, you can see they are all getting the dishes out like a well-oiled machine.

I’m standing by his display of fresh fish and tonight I can see Monkfish, Seabass, Red Snapper Sea Bream, Gurnard and Lemon Sole and Lobster, all fresh, line caught  and sustainable and from boats in Brixham, Peterhead and Fraserburgh. It’s now up to the diner to choose a fish and then how it’s to be cooked  – cured, charcoal grilled, steamed or baked.

We ponder on that for a bit and then decide on shared monkfish, charcoal grilled, and go back to the regular menu for our pre-dishes, one of which has to be the potato bread with truffle honey, chickpea miso butter. We ate this two years ago and I’ve been dying to have it again.

Freshly baked in the wood fired oven that’s by the restaurant entrance, it’s even better than I remember. The 72-hour fermented bread is fluffy, moist and chewy,  the butter decadent and that truffled honey just makes me a bit weepy. It’s so good.

A ‘mezze’ of roasted aubergine and tahini striped with Piquillo peppers and enlivened by a mint dressing is also excellent. Aubergine, particularly the ones we get here in the UK, can be so deadly dull but roast one, particularly in or over charcoal, and it takes on a whole new character. Solid yet buttery and with a smoky aroma against the very sweet peppers and a sesame loaded tahini.

Jerusalem artichokes get a bad rep in the UK. On allotments they take over like weeds, ask me how I know,  they are also an absolute pain to peel and their effects on the digestion are well known, and usually audible, for some hours later. Not everyone knows, by the way, that it’s actually a species of Sunflower.

So full marks to Jeru for making it so tasty, By roasting these hasselback-style (slotted like a toast rack) lots of flavour gets in and each is topped  off with a white anchovy. Celeriac, another vegetable rather ignored in the UK, has been roasted and pureed with tahini with spring onions on top and plenty of olive oil. We love the crunch of the artichoke, the umami of the anchovy and celeriac is always good.

Raw tuna, or tuna tartar if you like, with a fennel salsa, whipped avocado and herbs is another excellent dish, fennel is an unusual choice but a very good one and the tuna is a good chilled temperature, just enough to make it refreshing but not so much as to dull the flavour,

Time for the main attraction, which is going to have to be very good to top what we’ve had so far. The monkfish tail arrives with it main bone removed and laid to the side with heritage tomatoes chopped and mixed with smoked sumac between it and the fish.

And what a lovely piece of fish it is. Whoever first ate Monkfish was very brave because the head looks like something Dr Who would run away from, but the tail is delicious. It used to be called ‘poor man’s lobster’ and I remember my mother warning me off buying cheap breaded scampi,  ‘they use monkfish dear!’. How times change. The smoky tomato is wonderful.

We have an asparagus side dish with it, quite where they get such fine thin asparagus this time of year is a mystery, but who cares? They’re very good.

By now we’re so pooped we could beach ourselves and wait to be pushed back out to sea, but we manage a dessert selection with rather wonderful ‘crackers’ made from white and black sesame seeds – sesame seeds get a lot of love at Jeru – and then we heave off into the night.

We already loved Jeru, this new Fish Market makes it even more of a place to push the boat out.

jeru.co.uk

11 Berkeley Street,

Mayfair,

London,

W1J 8DS

Revery Bar Afternoon Tea Review

Posted on by under Europe, food, restaurant reviews, Restaurants

“Tea, Cakes & Cocktails,” is a twist on Afternoon Tea and redefines the quintessentially British pastime with a modern angle.

I’ve done a few afternoon teas this year but Revery’s “Tea, Cakes & Cocktails” is the winner so far.

Tucked away in the London Hilton on Park Lane, the menu features the usual array of savoury and sweet treats but they are all outstandingly good. And at £65 a head, a bargain too.

In addition to the traditional tea offering, you also get mixology experience that includes one cocktail and one mocktail, prepared tableside for an interactive and personalised touch.

We began with canapés – Beetroot Cheesecake and Mushroom Pate Tartlet, followed by the “Finger Feast” course featuring Mini Poached Lobster Roll with Marie Rose Sauce, and Devon Handpicked Crab on Sourdough Toast with Citrus Bisque Jelly. Each was incredibly well made, looked a treat and tasted superb. The Black truffle macaroon with chicken liver pâté was particularly good. Revery’s pastry chefs are geniuses.

The sweet course had Carrot Cheesecake, a Triple Chocolate Sandwich, and then both Plain and Raisin Scones with Strawberry Jam and Clotted Cream. All excellent.

Drinks began with cocktails, a nice change from champagne, choice ranges from Earl Grey Sour to the Pistachio Bliss – a blend of pistachio liqueur, amaretto, and cream. I had a Mexican breakfast Patron Silver tequila infused with English Breakfast Tea, it wasdelicious.

Non-alcoholic options include the Blooming Blossom, featuring elderflower syrup and fresh strawberries, and the Moroccan Souk – a blend of orange juice, ginger, cinnamon, and mint.

And of course there was tea. Revery Revery has partnered with London Tea Exchange to offer a selection of over 300 premium and rare teas sourced from twenty different countries. These teas are some of the rarest and most sought-after by connoisseurs globally.


We ended with a selection of Revery’s pic ’n’ mix, including Apple Jelly, Vanilla Fudge, and Dark Chocolate Truffle.

Revery Bar’s “Tea, Cakes & Cocktails” is a wonderful treat and it’s in one of London’s most iconic hotels as well. Definitely one to savour.

Revery’s “Tea, Cakes & Cocktails” costs £65 per person and is available to book Thursdays – Sundays from 12pm – 6pm.

Revery Bar, 22 Park Ln, Mayfair, London W1K 1BE

Bookings can be made here: www.reverybarparklane.com

You Be Chef. Light Up Your BBQ Game

Posted on by under chefs, Europe, food, food producers

These boxes of deliciousness from the Isle of Wight  are just the thing to make your barbecue sing

Okay yes I know, the weather has been a bit awful. Not that it ever stops me BBQ’ing though because I have the best BBQ in the world, the Weber Kettle, and it has a lid.

In the UK we tend to refer to anything cooked over charcoal as BBQ but, to be more accurate, what we Brits tend to do is grill.


BBQ means the food is not cooking directly over the charcoal, but instead is ‘oven cooking’ with the BBQ lid on, This is what traps the delicious smoky aromas and is perfect for large pieces of meat. That lid also means you can cook in the rain. I also have a remote thermometer so I can monitor the temperature inside the meat without leaving the house. Cunning, eh?

So we got ready to cook with one eye on the sky and the lid at the ready.

You Be Chef comes from the Isle of Wight, via chef Robert Thompson. Not only does he have an MBE, but he also won a Michelin star in 2007.

Robert is a champion of Isle of Wight produce, and is a big part of the Island’s food scene. His idea was to take the island’s produce, write recipes around it, and send the food and instructions all over the UK.

Our trial chilled box arrived on the hottest day of the year (so far) and was thoughtfully left on the front doorstep, in the blazing sun, by a delivery driver who obviously didn’t think it was worth ringing our bell.

Luckily he did at least send me a text and so I was able to call my wife to rescue the parcel before it melted away, or became victim to our local ‘porch pirates’. They will pinch anything round here, even though they have no idea what it is they’re nicking.

Unboxing was fun, each panel revealing a message, and it was good to see most of the items were in recyclable packs, some sort of cardboard material. 

We had the Tandoori Lamb Burger for two. So we had the burgers (natch), and then in various packs – Sesame Challah Buns,  Pont Neuf Potatoes with Garlic and Flat Parsley Butter; Onion Rings – Fried in Curious IPA Beer Batter with Black Onion Seeds; Rose Harissa Hummus; and Crushed Avocado with Lime, Beef Tomato slices, Feta, and Baby Gem Lettuce. Oh and there was Red Onion, Mint and Lime Salad and flavoured grilling oil.

It all appeared good, but for the lettuce leaves, which clearly had not enjoyed their journey and were rather limp and tired looking.

Juggling the oven times for the chips and the onion rings was a bit tricky. After some thought we cooked the rings first in our brilliant Ninja Foodie,  then took them out and kept them warm while we cooked the chips, then we put the rings back on top for the final minutes to get them hot again.

The burgers were a large diameter, I had my doubts they would fit in the buns, but once cooked they became the right size.

Now I am no chef, but I was surprised when the instructions said to give the burgers six minutes a side. I was so doubtful, that after rubbing them with the supplied grill oil,  I only gave them three minutes a side, after which time my trusty Thermapen read 62C in the centre, which is just right. I suspect there may be a typo in the instructions and it really means six minutes in total.

We added, as per instructions, the feta to the top of the meat for the last minute to warm it up, then split our buns (ooo err madam) toasted them lightly, and put the lettuce on the bottom (it’s important to ‘waterproof’ the bun from the juices), then added all the other ingredients to create an impressively stacked burger.


I’m a survivor of the burger craze which swept social media a few years back, ending only when the biggest influencers realised they were killing themselves eating so many monster burgers a week and gave up, so I know what to look for and this burger was perfect.

It had size, but with heavy pressure it was compressed to be eatable. And very good it was too, with the lamb superbly juicy and spicy. The other ingredients all added to the pleasure, particularly the salty feta and the limey avocado. The buns were a bit sweet for me, but fine.

The Red Onion, Mint and Lime Salad was rather like shredded pickled onion, no bad thing and mint is always an ideal partner for lamb.

The onion rings were crunchy and also sweet. We liked them a lot, but couldn’t eat all eight, and the chips were excellent, although dangerously hot inside so we had to leave them to cool for a bit. They were great dipped into the hummus, which was not as spicy as feared.

It really was a great BBQ blow out. Having everything ready made was a game changer and made it all so easy. And it didn’t rain.

Order your boxes at www.youbechef.com