london – Page 2 – ¡Comemos!

Camino

25th Jul 2019Leave a comment

When it comes to food, the excitement, for me, comes from variety.

Variety in terms of the food I cook at home, the places I dine at, and the types of dishes I order. That’s why tapas reaallly does it for me. You order a range of dishes to share, giving you bursts of flavour from everything from seafood to meat, cheese to veggies – nothing is off limits.

We decided to try out Camino for the very simple reason that it has a branch at King’s Cross, and we needed to be close to the station that evening.

Camino had been on my list for some time, but to be honest it had kind of been lost somewhere waaay down, and certainly wasn’t at the forefront of my mind. When I looked at the menu however, I got excited. There was so much that stood out to me and so ended up really looking forward to it.

They have a lovely courtyard and bar area, and another outdoor seating section by the restaurant itself. As it’s tucked away from the street, sitting outside in the warm weather is very relaxing and not at all noisy.

I was disappointed first off not to see a traditional sangria on the menu, but we did go on to discover that they did have their own version of it. Despite being sceptical it was lovely, and really refreshing.

Normally I’d go wild on the mains with tapas but we decided to stick to 4 dishes as I already had my dessert planned out…

First up was the cheese platter, featuring 5 different cheeses (including manchego and picos), a fig and almond slice, chilli jam, quince jelly and walnuts.

The cheeses were all nice but nothing exceptional. I did massively enjoy the chilli jam though and definitely felt/tasted the nice little kick of spice afterwards.

The picos (blue cheese ball) was definitely the stand out but as you can probably gather from the picture, the other four cheeses were very similar in appearance and texture and there weren’t huge differences in the flavours either.

We also went for the octopus on a bed of beetroot and chickpea puree. It’s not the most tender octopus I’ve ever had, but personally I’m not a huge fan of the cold Spanish Galician octopus, so this was more to my taste. The puree was nice, but again, no outstanding flavours. The best thing about this dish was probably the beautiful appearance. I think the large chunks you can see are swede which I don’t often eat, so I’m not confident on how it should be cooked but I think I would’ve given it a bit more time to soften.

Next up is one of their specials – the pan fried squid stuffed with black pudding (morcilla). Black pudding as a food can be quite divisive but I absolutely love it. In this case though I didn’t feel that it particularly enhanced the dish. The squid was cooked nicely but wasn’t massively flavoursome, and the accompanying sauce, again, was just ‘nice’. Once again, the presentation was probably the highlight.

By far my favourite tapas dish though, was the standalone black pudding dish (because you can never have too much). The texture was lovely – I’m not keen on chewy black pudding but this was soft with a delicate flavour. I challenge any meat-eater who wouldn’t normally eat something like this to give it a go, it really is delicious.

Since the day that I booked our table, I had probably been most excited for the desserts. After stalking their IG account on numerous occasions, I had worked out exactly what I wanted to try.

Originally I had ruled the churros out, as I’ve had them in a fair few places and I thought ‘How different can they be? I’ll try something else’. That, however, was before I saw their beautiful ‘churros sundae’ special, with a white chocolate mousse, melted chocolate and raspberries. It looked so attractive I couldn’t say no.

Admittedly it wasn’t quite as pretty as I had seen on social media (a common observation), but it tasted good. I have had better churros – I prefer them less on the crunchy side but it was tasty nonetheless.

By far my favourite dish of the meal was our final dessert – the drunken banana bread. I absolutely love banana bread but never really think of it as a dessert; it’s more commonly seen on breakfast/brunch menus.

This particular one was so incredibly light and moist, soaked in Oloroso Dulce, with goat’s curd mousse, popping candy and dulce de leche (like caramel) sauce.

Definitely a case of save the best ’til last.

Fortunately, Camino isn’t too pricey – tapas often gets a rep for being pretty expensive but Camino really isn’t too bad.

Overall, it was a good meal, with a couple of great dishes. I had been expecting more than two of the six dishes to be great to be honest, and I wouldn’t be desperate to rush back, but there definitely wasn’t any bad food at all. It would’ve been great to go in a party bigger than 2, simply to be able to sample an even wider range of dishes, for example, the Iberico pork and fideua that had also been on my hitlist!

If you want a relaxed meal, in a lovely outdoor setting this summer, Camino could be the place for you. Don’t wait around as the current specials are only on the menu for a week or so longer. Get a move on and…

¡Comemos!

Big Mamma Group’s ‘Gloria Trattoria’

21st Jul 2019Leave a comment

Restaurant review numero tre and it’s a popular one. Gloria was opened in Shoreditch by the Big Mamma group earlier this year and people went wild over it. Queueing for crazy lengths of time to get a table was standard, and the same thing is now going down with their newly-opened sister restaurant Circo Popolare.

It’s sometimes nicer to let the hype die down a bit before you visit somewhere, and although for me it wasn’t intentional, clearly I did go at a time when people were so busy obsessing over Circo Populare that getting into Gloria was actually pretty straight forward.

Before I get stuck in, I want to emphasise that my intention is never to rant and rave about a restaurant and put people off. There is a significant difference between a restaurant that serves poor quality food with subpar service, and a lovely restaurant, with well-cooked food and a good menu, but that on one particular occasion ends up serving up food that isn’t to your personal taste. My experience at Gloria falls into the latter category. I had heard so many positive reviews of this place before trying it myself, so please bear this in mind as you read on.

It’s super inviting, light and bright, with an abundance of plants and leafy decor both on the inside and outside. Be aware that you may end up sandwiched on a table incredibly close to the diners beside you (especially if there are only two of you), which I understand seeing as they are so popular, and ultimately this having more tables squeezed in means a shorter wait time, but it’s not ideal.

And so we begin. The starter. I have never in my life ordered Burrata before, and had reached a point where I felt like this was a bit embarrassing considering I think I’m the world’s most enthusiastic foodie. Having said this, I think I reminded myself why I’d never ordered it when it came. For me, a cheese lover, burrata just isn’t the same. IT HAS NO FLAVOUR. Am I wrong? Please feel free to enter into discussion with me if you disagree but I can’t work out why people seem to love it so much. On top of that, the creamier the burrata, the more it seems to be raved about, but for me, this just emphasises the fact that it doesn’t work as a stand alone dish.

There was more pesto than this, it’s just not visible in the photo!

It looks pretty, there’s no denying that. And at least this particular burrata came with pesto and some other unknown sauce as pictured above. But still that did not make it the wonderful experience I was hoping it would be. I should also mention that it was pretty big. This isn’t a starter for one, it’s definitely a sharer.

For mains I chose the truffle pasta, as I feel like both the truffle pasta and carbonara are praised fairly often on social media. I have to admit, Mafaldine is not my favourite pasta shape – it’s has the length of spaghetti but with wavy edges, and I found it slightly slimy. I got a lot from the truffle flavour, but similar to the burrata, I think truffle is kind of overrated. The subtlety of truffle oil on pizza etc can be a tasty addition, but when it’s supposed to be the star of the show like in this pasta I feel like it can be bit overwhelming and can get sickly.

Dessert was where my heart was well and truly broken. I had been so excited to try their famous lemon meringue pie with the giant, wobbly, fluffy meringue topping but this didn’t seem to be on their lunch menu, so instead, I went for my second choice of the giant profiterole.

Honestly I do not want to keep being negative but this was probably my least favourite course. First off, it really is giant – again, not a dessert for one (and that’s coming from me – someone with an impressive appetite). Sandwiched in between the profiterole pastry is ice cream, but it doesn’t have that lovely vanilla bean flavour you hope for; instead, it’s the kind of bland that you find in those flavourless school choc-ice bars. I had also expected it to be hot, with a rich, warm, fudgey sauce. In reality, the sauce was cold (intentionally so) and pale and seemed more like melted chocolate ice cream. It completely drowns the profiterole which was actually the only bit I semi-enjoyed.

Please do not ask me why this looks like a close up of something cooked up on The Sims – I don’t think I’ve done any kind of outrageous, unintentional editing. But yeah, just not the one at all. And I genuinely am sad to say it.

To be fair, the service was great and the bill really wasn’t bad, I had been expecting to pay a fair bit more, but I’m just sorry that I can’t be more positive about my experience of the food.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, this meal just wasn’t to my taste. These things are so subjective, and had we been presented with carelessly prepared, unimaginative food and bad service, I would go in slightly harder with my review, but here that just wasn’t the case.

So, now’s your chance to make up your mind: burrata, truffle pasta and profiteroles – do they do it for you? If so, get down to Gloria, and…

¡Comemos!

Sticks ‘n’ Sushi

12th Jul 201914th Jul 2019Leave a comment

Today’s review centres on somewhere I’ve been desperate to try ever since I moved to London last year.

I spent about 20 years convinced I didn’t like sushi, with the idea of eating raw fish just not sitting well with me. That all changed however, when I was living in Brazil.

If you’ve read my Top 10 Foodie Experiences in Brazil post you’ll know that perhaps surprisingly Brazil does fantastic sushi due to the large Japanese population. To be honest, I do have to put my change in opinion in part down to the fact that Brazil does amazing fried sushi and we all know that literally anything fried tastes delicious.

But even for those of you who are still not convinced, don’t give up on Sticks ‘n’ Sushi just yet. It prides itself on being ‘A sushi restaurant even for those who don’t like fish’. Although they do offer some cooked chicken sushi dishes like maki rolls, the main selling point for anyone not a fan of seafood is the ‘sticks’. Their sticks are mini skewers that come in an incredible array of flavour combinations, some of which you’ll see below.

We went to the Covent Garden branch (there are quite a few all around London) and the first thing you notice is how dark it is. In the main restaurant section it is so gloomy (assuming this is supposed to be ‘atmospheric’) and all the decor is black and dark-coloured. Clearly some people like this ‘mood lighting’ but tbh it’s not for me. The sushi bar downstairs is still pretty dark but the bar benches are lit up and you can at least see your food and dining partner.

The menu itself is pretty cool. It’s a photo menu that shows beautifully colourful (and accurate) images of what each dish looks like.

So onto our order…

I ordered the Hell’s Kitchen rolls – tempura shrimp with avocado and spicy sauce, topped with tuna and bbq (8 pieces). For anyone who’s concerned about spice levels, although I love a bit of heat and can handle it pretty well, honestly, these were not spicy at all. The puffed rice tempura on the prawns adds a really lovely crunch and the bbq injects some extra flavour.

The second lot are the Hotate Kataifi (6 pieces) which are scallops with miso aioli, trout roe and cress. They were absolutely delicious and the aioli was beautiful.

Despite being a sushi restaurant, the sticks, for me, are the most exciting and unique part. With 18 to choose from, it’s so hard to narrow down which ones you want to try. There are meat, fish, veggie and vegan options so there’s something for everyone.

And here they are in all their glory…

Starting on the far left, we have the duck breast with panko and wasabi caesar. For us, this was the only disappointment of the evening. The duck was pretty tough and didn’t have much flavour. Having said that, I hate wasabi, but yet found that the wasabi caesar was beautiful. They’ve ensured that the wasabi flavour is pretty mild for those who aren’t fans, and eating it as a mayo like sauce makes it so much more enjoyable.

Next up is the absolute favourite – goat’s cheese wrapped in dried ham. The cheese was unbelievably oozy, it’s honestly the most incredible texture in your mouth, and the salty ham adds to the flavour. Next to that is the teriyaki duck hearts. Now, please don’t be put off by the idea of hearts. I tried chicken hearts for the first time a few years ago, and yes, I was definitely weirded out by the idea of it. Ultimately though, I eat meat, and so what difference does it make eating one part of the animal over another? Better to ensure that nothing goes to waste, right? Anyway, they tasted just like any other kind of standard meat and the teriyaki is sticky and slightly sweet.

So, photo number 2 we have firstly the free-range pork with yuzu miso. The meat was cooked well, not too tough, and I enjoyed the sauce too. Second to last is the emmental wrapped in bacon – realistically can you ever go wrong with cheese wrapped in bacon? No, absolutely not. Not quite as oozy as the goat’s cheese one but still delicious. And then finally we have the scallops wrapped in bacon (bit of a theme here…). Lovely scallops, lots of flavour. Fab.

Okay, so I feel exhausted after that stick breakdown. I’ll quickly add that despite not having photo evidence, we ordered the fried cauliflower with black truffle goma on the side. Coming from someone who supposedly doesn’t like cauliflower, trust me, it’s good. It’s kind of odd being served on top of a pure black sauce – definitely looks like something you shouldn’t be consuming, but I promise it’s safe! The truffle sauce really is lovely.

Before drawing to a conclusion, we obviously have to touch on dessert. I say obviously – I guess it’s easy to overlook dessert at sushi restaurants but Sticks ‘n’ Sushi have a fab little menu where you can try 3 mini desserts for £10 (There are 8 to try overall).

The top one is a coconut rice pudding with passionfruit coulis and this was my least favourite. The texture of the pudding was actually decent and the coulis was tangy and sharp, so there was nothing wrong with it, I just preferred the others.

The middle is a white chocolate mousse with raspberry topping with liquorice. I hate liquorice so that was the only downside but I knew what I was getting myself into, it was no surprise. There’s also only a very small amount of liquorice flavour coming through so it’s still perfectly edible even if you’re not a fan. The rest of the dessert was lovely though, and the white chocolate didn’t get sickly – probably avoided by the sharpness of the raspberry on top. BUT, the star of the show 100% was the chocolate fondant with oozy salted caramel centre and peppermint topping. I really didn’t think that a dessert from a restaurant so focused on mains could be so impressive but it was very indulgent and wonderful-tasting.

So, there’s the food. A feast for your eyes. Bit of a quick moan before I sign off. Firstly, when I arrived I was asked if I’d like any water for the table whilst I waited for my friend. Was it was my fault for not asking at this point whether I would be charged for it? Anyway it was £4 which I only realised when the bill came. To me this is a massive pisstake – it’s pretty pricey as it is but with amazing food, so they really don’t need to take advantage by adding on such a ridiculous charge.

The other thing that I found mildly annoying was the service which I found slightly too intense for my liking. We had to stop our conversation a few times whilst waiters kept coming over, and when they bring your food they go through exactly what each dish is. Maybe some people need to be reminded, but I personally know exactly what I’ve ordered, and when you’re hungry and just want to eat, you really don’t want your waiter taking 5 minutes to reel off the names and ingredients of each of your 10 sticks (Not that the staff weren’t lovely though).

Anyway, review number 2 complete… go and book a table EVEN IF YOU THINK YOU DON’T LIKE SUSHI (but whatever you do say no to water) and…

¡Comemos!

Chalida

28th Jun 201928th Jun 2019Leave a comment

It seems fitting that my first review is based on my first ‘invite’ (complimentary meal). This was a pretty big deal for me – no such thing as playing it cool, my friend and I who went were embarrassingly excited.

Located in Chinatown, Chalida describes itself as serving Thai tapas, street food classics and hot pot. We were seated in a large booth upstairs which was super comfy but I’m pretty sure I’ve since heard that now they save the upstairs tables for those having hot pot and downstairs for the ‘tapas’ menu.

Obviously, being over-excited we wanted to try as much as possible, so that we did.

Everything pretty much comes out at once, or at least it did for us, so dishes that we’d consider starters and mains were served together. This, however, could also be for the photo opportunities…

I really enjoyed the Mixed Appetisers – they consist of satay skewers, filo wrapped prawns, fish cakes and chicken wings. There wasn’t anything I didn’t enjoy, although my friend wasn’t a fan of the fishcakes. The satay was beautiful, definitely my favourite. If you want a selection of things to try without getting super full, definitely go for this mini mixed platter.

On top of the Mixed Appetisers we ordered the Duck Pancakes which I kind of expected to be like traditional ones where you make the pancakes up yourself. Clearly they weren’t but they were really good – 2 large pancake rolls filled full of duck and a sweet plum sauce.

My contribution to the ‘pretending to be healthy‘ category this time round came in the form of chilli aubergine. It was a really generous portion, super soft aubergine and loads of flavour, so definitely one for vegetarians and flexitarians alike! I can deal with a lot of spice/heat but for those wondering about the ‘chilliness’ of it, I didn’t think it had much of a kick so I think you’d be safe!

Next up, let’s talk about the curries. They look like pretty small portions but there’s actually a lot more to them than you first think. My friend opted for the Penang Prawn Curry and the Beef Massaman was all mine.

Both were beautifully creamy with a good amount of prawns/beef. Flavour-wise the Penang was good but the Beef Massaman was so delicious. The cashews add a nice little crunch to the creaminess but this dish is absolutely on my recommended list.

Side Orders!!

Bao buns seem to be massively in fashion at the minute, and I’m not sure if they seemed slightly out of place on this menu, but I’m such a sucker for them, I don’t care. Seems to be a running theme of mine with the beef but I went for the beef bao (see image above) whilst my friend chose the fried chicken one. I really enjoyed mine – it was moist and tasty, but my friend did say the chicken was slightly dry, and had it not been for the sauce, it wouldn’t have been great.

Along with the Bao, we obviously had to have a rice dish to soak up all that curry sauce, so we went for the crab fried rice. Again, really great portion size, and my friend loved it. To be honest I’m not sure how crabby it was for me and seemed quite plain. I’ve definitely had better, cheaper fried rice but it wasn’t bad at all, still did the trick.

Aaaaaand… we reach desserts. I can confirm by this point we were on the verge of exploding, but dessert stomach and all that. And you can’t go to review a complimentary meal and opt out of dessert.

My friend chose the strangest-sounding thing on the menu. I’m sorry to say I can’t remember what it was actually called, and I’ve scoured the menu trying to find it but I can’t see the dessert menu online. Basically, it was something to do with butternut squash (yeah, weird, I know) and maybe custard vibes? Anyway this is it…

It really wasn’t to my taste to be honest as I found the textures pretty odd, but once again, my friend really enjoyed it.

This time round I went for the safer option of Mango Cheesecake (I am now on a mission to try all the cheesecakes in London to improve my cheesecake reviewer rankings on the Eaten app loool).

Mango isn’t normally my favourite fruity flavour but in this cheesecake it was wonderful. So incredibly light and sweet with beautiful presentation.

Overall a fantastic meal, with excellent service. Despite being invited to try their food, I would never big something up if it wasn’t worth it, and in this case I genuinely do want to go back.

It’s always interesting how subjective things are – as you can see from the review, my friend and I didn’t always agree on our positive/negative feelings towards dishes so remembering how personal tastes are likely to differ is key!