Our Monthly round up of where we’ve been eating post event every month!
Filled with vintage interiors, Dishoom’s walls are adorned with 60’s magazine covers while low level lighting harks back to old post colonial Irani Café’s. The look is distinctive and establishes that this is not the local Indian you frequented as a kid. This is something special
The main attraction though is of course the menu with birianis, bhel (crunchy puffed rice with tangy tamarind chutney) and even pau bhaji (toasted white bread rolls with a spicy vegetable stew as a filling). Our black dal was exemplary, and the lamb biriani suitably moist. Excellent lassi concoctions will help with when the spice gets too much and even the soft drinks Limca and Thums Up are imported from Mumbai. Queuing is common but we can guarantee it’s worth the wait
A challenge to this is no wholesome 1950s-style diner, but a dark, grungy space where dim lights dangle in cages, the walls are cracked and battered, and the staff sport daring tattoos under flimsy vests (and that’s just the girls). The anti-establishment vibe seeps into the Italian/American themed menu. Served on tin dishes, food features big bold flavours packed into tiny portions: from sliders filled with moist pulled pork and pickled apple, to a black-edged mini pizzas topped with cicoria (Italian dandelion). The salads are equally innovative, as seen in a tumble of a mild turnip and apple with crumbly feta, hazelnuts and black sesame seeds. To finish try the chocolate, pecan and bourbon cake which manages to do the job of aperitif and desert in a beautiful ‘two birds one stone’ combination.
A self-proclaimed ‘café-restaurant in the grand European tradition’, the Wolseley combines London heritage and Viennese grandeur. Whilst the venue suggests it’s been knocking about since the 20’s, the venue is only a decade old. Nevertheless, it’s now firmly on many a London visitor’s checklist having gained a reputation that places it firmly along it’s neighbours Fortnum and Mason as a British institution.
The kitchen is much-celebrated for its breakfasts but the menu as a whole is admirable. From oysters, steak tartare or soufflé suisse, via wiener schnitzel or grilled halibut with wilted spinach and béarnaise to tarte au citron or apple strudel, there’s something for everyone. The afternoon tea is definitely a highlight for many with weekend mornings seeing in an abundance of mini cakes and scones, all as English as the jam that accompanies them, while crustless finger sandwiches at the bottom are replenished by formal staff from a huge service team.
