Dishoom

Before our latest trip to London, a few people recommended Dishoom to me and then I also spotted that they were listed in a top ten list of places to eat breakfast in London. So, the decision was made and I booked us in to the Dishoom in Shoreditch, near our hotel.

What a fantastic place it is! Dishoom is styled on the Irani cafes found in Bombay and it oozes charm. We opted for the famous bacon naan roll and Akuri. The bacon naan roll is made with The Ginger Pig’s bacon (dry-cured for five days with rock salt and Demerara sugar and absolutely delicious !!) It is served in a freshly made naan with cream cheese and a chilli jam. Honestly it was outrageously good. I’ll never look at a bacon roll in the same way again!

The Akuri, spicy scrambled eggs served with pau buns, was bursting with flavour and packed a punch.

Sharing both dishes was definitely the right decision. They went really well together. A challenge I often have when eating out is that I then see what other people are ordering and get food envy. I was intrigued by the Bun Maska and when someone on the next table ordered it I knew I had to give it a go.

It was delicious and we will just ignore the fact that it is basically a toasted bun with a slab of butter in the centre! It comes with chai to dip the bun in. I’ve not normally been a big fan of chai but this had a wonderful kick that balanced out against the sweetness. I’d definitely drink Dishoom’s chai on a regular basis if I could.

Dishoom is fantastic value with our bill coming in under £20. It’s something I love about London. You don’t need to have breakfast in the hotel because you know there are so many amazing places on the doorstep. We will definitely be back.

The Barbary

Ever since eating at the Palomar last year, I’ve been looking for an opportunity to go back. The news that The Palomar had opened a smaller, sister restaurant focused my plans to find an opportunity to get back down to London.

What excites me about the Barbary is how everyone gets a chance to watch what is going on in the kitchen. When we went to the Palomar I spent the evening jealous of those booked at the bar, here everyone has a seat at the bar. The only problem is that you see everything cooking and dishes being delivered to people around the bar and you get food envy. I desperately wanted to try everything.

I arrived early evening on the Friday. You can’t book a table at The Barbary and having travelled down from York I was keen to ensure a table. Waiting for Mr Frivolitea gave me chance to look at the drinks menu. Having spotted a Sauvignon Blanc from Israel, I ordered a glass. Wow. I usually choose Sauvignon Blanc but this was superb.

The menu is set out creatively with baking and grinding, land, sea, earth and heaven. We tried to choose something from every section and a special so that we could get a real feel for the type of food they were serving but ended up missing out the sea section as there was so much to choose from. The focus of the Barbary, as its name suggests, is food from the Barbary Coast and the placemat at your seat has a wonderful map to help you identify the places the food comes from.

The savoury dishes we had were: Naan e Barbari

Jerusalem Bagel ( with a little packet of Za’tar)

Tbecha roasted tomatoes

Zhug, harissa, burnt and pickled chilli

Goat Shishbarak

Cauliflower Jaffa style

Andalusian Pincho Maruno

Everything was packed full of flavour and the meat,cooked over grill, was so succulent. It is difficult to say which is my favourite as everything stood out in its own right. The Zhug (Yemenite hot sauce with coriander and parsley) was a real surprise and something I’m definitely going to learn how to make.

The dessert section had one of my favourite desserts knafeh. They call the dessert section heaven. It’s an accurate description. We also chose the halva ice cream to go with it. The perfect partnership!

One thing that really stood out for me was how much is achieved in such a small space. The staff are attentive and helpful and the chefs create stunning dishes whilst engaging with everyone around them. My advice is go to the Barbary and if you have to queue, queue. When we left the wait was two hours long but people waited. That’s a sign that somewhere is worth going.

Smoking Goat Soho

Mr Frivolitea and I love Thai food so decided on this visit to London to try something new. I’d heard a bit about Smoking Goat and loved the idea of Thai barbecue so we rocked up on the Sunday lunchtime to enjoy some food before getting the train home.

I have to be honest that I wasn’t sure what to expect when I went through the door. At first glance Smoking Goat is dark and dingy and a bit surreal with dried puffer fish adorning the ceiling. However what it lacks in colour in the decor it certainly makes up for in the food on offer. The great thing about this place is you can order a selection of dishes to share. However as always with Mr Frivolitea and I that leads to difficult decisions when everything on the menu sounds great.
Mr Frivilotea chose a Tamarind soda to drink.

It was so good he then had another and we finally agreed on some dishes:

Khan Phot Ping smoked corn with salted coconut and chilli

grilled hispi cabbage with peanuts, chilli and soy

bavette waterfall beef Nahm Dtok with lemongrass and chilli

and some sticky rice to mop up all the tasty juices.

This is food with a seriously good kick. Every dish we had took us to our limit chilli wise, in a good way. None of that nasty burning heat that sticks around, this is the sort of heat that hits you hard and quick and then melts away with all the other amazing flavours in the dish leaving that lovely warm tingly feeling in your mouth. I’ m still trying to work out which I liked most and am struggling. Everything was delicious. I think the smoked corn might just have had the edge but then I am a sucker for sweetcorn and coconut.

I’m looking forward to another opportunity to try their food and I’m certainly inspired to try some of the flavours at home.

Lyle’s London

Lyle’s has been on the list for some time and our latest visit to London gave us the perfect opportunity to visit as we had arranged to stay in the Brick Lane area of London for the first time.
I was rather relieved to be able to book a table as days before the bookings opened it was placed in the top 10 at the National Restaurant Awards. I now know why!
The relaxed feel, the open kitchen, witty staff and music that was a continuum of classic hip hop and R&B through disco to 80’s electro in the background all adds to what makes this place appealing.

At Lyle’s the food offering is a set menu of an amuse bouche and 4 courses.

Our amuse bouche of dashi tomato with dehydrated tomato on top and some smoked mussels was a great sign of things to come. It never ceases to amaze me how someone can pack so much flavour in to something so small.

The first course of Beefsteak and hedgehog mushrooms, Lardo and egg had a wonderful hit of tarragon with buckwheat adding a lovely texture, the little bit of sauce packed a punch and sat alongside a perfectly cooked runny egg.

The second course of Monkfish, liver and crab apple was the dish that divided me. The combination of flavours absolutely worked together, the sharpness of the apple counterbalancing the richness of the monkfish liver. However the texture and flavour of the liver on its own was a bit too intense for me.

The third course of Dexter sirloin, onion and gherkin really summed up for me why Lyle’s is the place to go. Perfectly cooked meat, a rich sauce, velvety onion purée and the light pickle of the gherkin leading to a perfectly balanced dish. Simple in presentation but nowhere to hide.

The final course of blackcurrant and lemon verbena was my kind of dessert. The addition of blackcurrant vinegar to the meringue transformed the dish. I ate every mouthful with a big grin on my face.

We ended our meal with coffee, lemon thyme brown butter cakes and cherry chocolate ganache. The dessert and the lemon thyme butter cakes were so good that I felt compelled to go over and thank the pastry chef. Her name is Anna by the way.

Lyle’s highlights the best seasonal produce and lets the food speak for itself. It’s a great place to spend an evening.

The Muddlers Club

I should probably write a very brief blog for this and just say. Perfect. You must go. In fact it took me a little longer to write this than most blogs because this lunch rendered me speechless. It’s not often I am completely blown away by a meal and struggle to articulate how much I loved it. So here are my attempts to put into words everything I loved about The Muddlers Club.

The Muddlers Club is in the up and coming Cathedral Quarter area in city centre Belfast. A fantastic mix of food, drink and street art. It’s an area that highlights how much Belfast has changed in recent years.

We walked down an alley to find it and straight away I could sense we were in for a real treat. The guy on the door welcomed us so warmly that I immediately felt at home and the design of The Muddlers Club shows real attention to detail but without pretention or stuffiness.

We were given a seat by the window and our waitress, who was an absolute delight to chat to throughout, gave us the menu. My eyes lit up when I saw what was on offer. A lunch menu with seasonality and creativity at its heart and all at incredible value. Starters and desserts at £5 and mains at £10.

For starter I had mackerel, kohlrabi, mustard and apple. It arrived with the mackerel still ‘smoking’ a fantastic touch that certainly added to the excitement. This dish was absolutely beautiful with great flavours and texture. It was a touch of light pickle or vinegar away from perfection.

Mr Frivolitea had the short rib tortellini, mushroom, kale and truffle. This was a really clever dish, it was packed full of flavour, showcasing the short rib and not skimping on quality ingredients.

For main I had hake, charred broccoli, kale, mussels and curry. The curry in the dish was wonderfully balanced alongside the hake. A real highlight for me were the vegetables, cooked perfectly and bursting with flavour.

Mr Frivolitea had chicken, baked beets, chard and Parmesan. The chicken was absolutely delicious and wonderfully moist and a highlight was the purée that tasted of the best cauliflower cheese you’ve ever had.

We also had a side of baby potatoes in dulse butter. Oh my. These were delicious. I could eat a vat of them. The kitchen discovered my joy at eating the dulse butter and sent me home with some. This gesture, clearly organised by our waitress, just summed up for me why this place is so special. Everyone who works there gives 100%

For dessert I had lime, coconut and pineapple. This was heaven in a bowl. The flavours balanced beautifully alongside the fresh pineapple with the ribbons of mint running through it and the addition of aerated white chocolate was a wonderful touch.

Mr Frivolitea had chocolate, malt and praline. He was a happy man, this is very much his kind of dessert. The praline disc in particular was a hit though he could happily have had more malt flavour in the dish.

At The Muddlers Club, dishes are all beautifully presented, well balanced and generous in portion size for the cost of lunch. Add to that the fantastic service, the knowledge and love of food shown by those who served us and surroundings and I can honestly say it was one of the best meals out we have had in a long time. You must go. We will certainly be going back again and again. This is just what Belfast needs and it is a delight.

p.s if you are having a glass of wine and you like Sauvignon Blanc get the sugarloaf mountain. It might be the most expensive by the glass but you will not be disappointed, it is a particularly good Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.

Harry’s Shack (again)

I have to admit I was a bit nervous about going back to Harry’s Shack. The last time I ate here it was so good that I didn’t want to spoil it. Thankfully, it was good, really really good, and why would I expect anything less. These guys produce wonderful food, often under a tonne of pressure, as they are not only fully booked but have people walking off the beach asking for tables and they turn them round as quickly as they can to keep as many people as possible happy. Yet last night we didn’t feel rushed at all. We sat, we enjoyed the food, the hospitality and the view. THAT VIEW! Many times I’ve tried to capture it on camera but it fails to convey the beauty of Portstewart Strand. Even when a storm is brewing, as it was last night, it looks stunning.

Anyway, back to the food and drink. Harry’s Shack now have a drinks licence and serve a great range of local beers and they also have some local gins too. So my choice was the Belfast made Jawbox Gin and tonic and Mr Frivolitea went for a Hillstown Farm wheat beer.

The menu at Harry’s Shack changes regularly with fish and seafood dishes dependent on what the day boats bring in. That is what I love about this place. They adapt to what comes in and they cook it honestly and in my opinion to perfection.

For starter I had the prawns in garlic butter. Messy to eat and simply delicious, I could have eaten a giant bowl of them.

Mr Frivolitea had the Mackerel with piccalilli and horseradish. Another simple and really tasty dish.

The star of the show for me was my main course. Whole plaice on the bone, cooked with butter, caper and cockles and served with some roasted new potatoes. This dish was perfect. The fish was so beautifully cooked, the caper and cockle butter gave the right amount of flavour without being too salty and the new potatoes were delicious. I had to fight Mr Frivolitea off.

Mr Frivolitea was also very happy with his main choice. Pan fried hake with a chickpea and chorizo stew that came with a side of couscous to mop up the tasty juices.

Pudding choices were sticky toffee pudding

And lemon and bergamot posset with raspberry sorbet and salted shortbread. Oh how I wish they sold bags of the shortbread.

I can’t fault this place. Despite it being really busy and staff being under pressure, our waitress was wonderful, making us feel so welcome and chatting to us about the food. The fish was cooked with such care and attention and they let the fish be the star of the show. It’s why we keep coming back.

Bartali

Last year we visited Bartali on its opening night and we loved it. Sister restaurant of Coppi and Il Pirata, we knew what we were getting: beautiful Chichetti and Italian inspired dishes. We decided to book Bartali for the night we arrived back home this year but a few days before we headed home we discovered there would be a new chef and a new concept at Bartali. I have to admit I was sceptical. I loved it as it had been when we first went. Local food with an Australian twist didn’t appeal to me as much but there has been quite a build up to new chef Dean Coppard arriving and he’s award winning. The menu is very different to what it once was. A more traditional set up of starters, mains and desserts with a few daily specials. Much of the menu was a more Gastropub affair but with local seafood here and there.

I was relieved that they had included local seafood and chose the crab brûlée to start. This was really tasty but temperature of the dish confused me a little, neither hot nor cold, but I can’t deny the flavour was excellent. In particular in the tomatoey tapenade on the side.

Mr Frivolitea had the Thai chilli chicken starter. A tasty dish, nothing unusual about it but a flavoursome dressing. Mr Frivolitea did say he was surprised it was battered but I did have to remind him we were back in Northern Ireland!

For main course, Mr Frivolitea had the North Coast open fish pie. This was a beautiful looking dish, rich but generous in local fish. The mackerel fillets in particular were a great addition but I’m not sure it needed the puff pastry top alongside the whipped potatoes.

I chose the special, local half lobster thermidor with chips and I’m so glad I did. It was absolutely delicious and looked stunning on the plate.

I hope Bartali, as they develop the new menus, move away from having too much of the burger and steak style dishes and do more of the local seafood and other local produce such as Broughgammon goat for example. On our visit the signs were good, they can cook and present this food really well. I hope they can be brave enough to do more of the style of dishes we chose from the menu.

The Yorke Arms

This year for our anniversary we stayed at The Yorke Arms in Ramsgill-in-Nidderdale. An opportunity to walk in beautiful Nidderdale before enjoying food and wine and an overnight stay. I would highly recommend it. Everything about The Yorke Arms was outstanding; the location, the room ( I say room, more like a small house as it had a downstairs living room), the hospitality and the food.

We started our evening with a champagne classic sitting outside in the evening sun. The setting couldn’t have been any more perfect. The cocktail was accompanied by the most beautiful ‘snacks’ of cheese straws, hummus on brioche, ham hock terrine with gazpacho jelly and tapioca with squid ink, salmon, salmon mousse and caviar.

We then returned inside for our meal, a three course meal from the A La Carte menu, included in our stay.

The amuse bouche of lemon verbena jelly with artichoke was a real highlight of the meal for me. Simple in presentation and packed with flavour.

For starter I had truffled scallop, Whitby crab, cucumber. Some of my favourite things on one plate.

Mr Frivolitea had smoked rabbit, truffled press, radish, buckwheat, wasabi.

For main I chose the fish dish unsurprisingly. Turbot, stuffed courgette flower, tagliatelle, tomato & beetroot reduction. The reduction was particularly stunning and I loved everything about this dish, the flavour, choice of ingredients and the presentation.

Mr Frivolitea chose saddle of venison, hedgerow raspberries, black sausage, artichoke. Not the best photo and not the best looking dish but Mr Frivolitea loved everything about it.

For dessert I had lime leaf ice cream, pineapple, toasted coconut, nougatine. Wonderfully refreshing at the end of the meal.

Mr Frivolitea had what I think was the most beautiful looking dish of the evening. Yorkshire peach and curd tart, nasturtium and peach mousse, English cherry.

What I particularly love about the style of food at The Yorke arms is its seasonality and allowing the produce to shine. Much of the vegetables, fruit and garnishes come from the beautiful Kitchen Garden of the restaurant.

The care and attention in everyone of our dishes was clear to see. I couldn’t fault it. The Yorke Arms wins for me in every way and I can’t wait to return.

The Forest Side

I don’t know where to start with this blog because when we visited The Forest Side last night everything, I mean everything, was perfect. Within 30 seconds of entering the building and being welcomed by someone in a rather nice tweed jacket, we were ushered into the bar and I was trying to persuade Mr Frivolitea that the wallpaper would look lovely in our house. (he suitably brought me back to reality about the size of our house in comparison to the room we were sat in!)I have been looking forward to visiting here for some time and booked it quite a while ago. The chef Kevin Tickle worked at L’Enclume and the menus, using local produce and many herbs and vegetable from the kitchen garden of the hotel, are my kind of eating. We started the evening as we meant to go on, with cocktails. I decided to pace myself with a mocktail called Berry Blast. Mr Frivolitea went straight for the Fennel in Love. Oh my, what a drink! Dark rum, over proof rum, fennel juice, lime juice, Demerara syrup, homemade ginger beer and angostura.

We looked at the menu selection. You can have A La Carte, the Lil Un (6 course tasting menu) and the Grand Un (10 course tasting menu). Mr Frivolitea and I realised rather quickly that we would feel like we had missed out if we didn’t opt for the Grand Un, especially as it had many things we particularly like that you don’t often see on menus such as hen of the woods, sweet cicely apple marigold and goats curd. The attention to detail in the dining room was also wonderful. Staff were attentive but relaxed and there were reminders of Cumbria everywhere including the beautiful central table made from tree roots with a wild flower display. This is somewhere of the highest quality that ensures you feel relaxed and welcome.

Before our first course we were brought some ‘snacks’: Onion cracker with lovage and smoked eel and a carrot cracker with black pudding. The smoked eel snack was particularly good.

Our first course was new season broad beans, poached yolk, ox tongue and hen of the woods.

Our second course was heritage tomatoes cooked in elderflower, goats curd, caviar and tomato consommé. This was an absolutely stunning dish and one of my favourites of the evening.

Alongside this course we were given the most perfect miniature loaf of bread with parsley, lovage and celery butter. Something I am keen to recreate when I get home. The flavour in the butter was truly wonderful.

The third course was venison pastrami, smoked juniper yoghurt, mooli, Corra Linn ( goats cheese) and pickled allium flowers. The pickled allium flowers were incredible. I would very happily work my way through a jar of them!

The fourth course was west coast langoustine, cucumber, mallow, ‘Our Guanciale’ ( Pork fat) and conifer honey. The langoustine was beautifully sweet.

I ordered a glass of Davenport (Bacchus, Ortega, Limney Estate, Daveport, East Sussex, 2014) which was the perfect accompaniment.

The fifth course, one of Mr Frivolitea’s favourites of the evening, was courgette scorched over embers with mint and pumpernickel. The charcoal emulsion on this was amazing and reminded me of the tartare dish at L’Enclume and The French.

The sixth course was line caught halibut, dittander, charred lettuce and razor clam. I’m always amazed at how charring or barbecuing some lettuce can bring out such flavour.

The seventh course was dry aged middle white, mugwort, artichoke ( confit and purée) and daisies.

The eighth dish and the first dessert was a beautiful palate cleanser of ewes milk, loganberry and verbena. Beautifully sharp and fresh.

The ninth course was strawberry, acidic yoghurt ( as a meringue that was like sherbet dancing in the mouth) and sweet marigold. This was an absolutely incredible dish, a dish that I will be talking about for a long time.

Our final course was gooseberry, buttermilk ( as a custard) and sweet cicely soda. The flavour of sweet cicily is one of my favourite things so this was an absolute hit for me and a great way to end the meal.

Well I say end the meal but of course we chose to relax in the lounge with coffee and petit fours. Even here the attention to detail was wonderful. We had meadowsweet icecream that was made to look like a pebble. A bit of a visual test at the end of the evening! And douglas fir infused Turkish delight.

This was a truly outstanding menu. Everything was balanced beautifully and every dish full of culinary surprises. The last time I had a tasting menu that filled me with this much joy was Fera in 2014. I think it’s going to take a lot to beat last night at the Forest Side.

Homeground (again)

Yesterday we arrived in The Lakes, parked up the van and headed straight to Homeground for lunch. We discovered it last year and fell in love with the place. Particularly because it does really decent coffee which we’ve never found before here. The other reason is the hash browns. They are quite simply amazing. It’s just as well this place is 3 hours away from home otherwise I could end up with an addiction.

We made it just in time to have a late lunch. We’ve eaten breakfast and many cakes at Homeground but never sampled their lunch specials.

Mr Frivolitea went straight for the chickpea and bean burger with avocado, caramelised onions, chilli jam and halloumi with a side of beetroot slaw. There was so much flavour in the burger and the dressings and sides accompanied it really well. Mr Frivolitea was a happy man.

I went for the sticky plum pork belly. They’d run out of noodle salad and so knocked up a rainbow salad to go with it that had the beetroot slaw running through it. This dish didn’t skimp on meat either and the meat fell apart, the plum glaze was sticky but not too sweet. I was in a bit of a food coma at the end. A really lovely food coma contributed to by the portion of hash browns we had to order to go with our lunch. There was no option but to have hash browns!

Despite having eaten a huge amount of food we decided to have a flat white and then another. Mr Frivolitea ordered the second coffees and came back with a peanut butter cookie. This place does cakes really well so I shouldn’t have been surprised but I couldn’t believe he could even think about eating more food. However having tasted the best cookie I’ve ever had, I was pleased he had ordered it. This was the best cookie I have ever tasted. Chewy, gooey, peanutty and with an added sprinkle of salt just making it perfect. I was so busy enjoying it I only took a photo of my last bite!

So can you see why we love this place. We will no doubt be back before the weekend is out.