Comfort food
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Where to eat on Seymour Place
Once upon a time, I had a truly terrible job working for a company on Seymour Place. I think I lasted all of four months, and they felt like the longest four months of my life. There wasn’t even anything exciting in the area to make up for the work woes. I spent my free time eating claggy pasta salad from the local caff or drinking cheap wine in one of the old man pubs nearby. So, funnily enough, it’s not a part of town that I tend to frequent much these days. But, London being what it is, Seymour Place has evolved and developed over the years into somewhere really rather interesting. The…
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Ognisko
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Ognisko
I generally try to avoid South Kensington as much as I can. Despite the plethora of world-class museums in the area, it still manages to feel like bit of a soulless wasteland. When I’m not being helplessly swept along by the tourist hoard, I’m aimlessly wandering around looking for a decent place to eat. Somewhere that’s not a chain or life-ruiningly expensive. So when my friend suggested we go to an exhibition at the V&A, I immediately went into panic mode. A day out is just not complete without a bloody good lunch and there was no way we were going to end up in Carluccios. Fortunately, I think I’ve managed to find the…
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Where to eat on Seymour Place
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The Best Food and Drink of 2016
Yes, everyone keeps saying that 2016 has been the worst year ever. But when it comes to food and drink, this year has been a cracker. With more new restaurants and more foodie entrepreneurs than ever, there is no excuse to eat badly. Here are the best things that I snaffled into my greedy face this year: Chicken and pistachio shish from Arabica Bar & Kitchen I wanted to eat everything on Arabica Bar & Kitchen’s menu. I’ve eaten a lot of samey mezze over the years, but these guys really know how to sex it up. It’s easy to be bamboozled by choice; however, you should definitely include the…
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Tub 4 Grub/The Collective
I have a confession to make. I hardly ever cook. For someone who writes about food, this is a little embarrassing. The thing is, I used to love cooking. I’m a total feeder. I cooked for friends, colleagues and loved ones, and I would always go crazy, making more food than they could possibly eat. I cooked for my boyfriend all the time. In fact, I became a proper little domestic goddess, enjoying nothing more than getting out of bed at the crack of dawn to cook him an amazing breakfast. We hosted parties together and I would push myself to produce fantastic dishes to impress his friends. I baked…
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The Holly Bush
Picture the scene. You plan a long-overdue visit to one of your favourite restaurants. You sit down, browse the menu and immediately spot an amazing sounding dish. This is definitely what you are going to order and you can’t wait to tuck in. But then – disaster! The waitress informs you that it’s not actually available. A mistake was made and the menu is incorrect. Sad times…. This is exactly what happened on my visit to The Holly Bush in Hampstead and, needless to say, I was more than a little irritated. However, all was not lost. This story does have a happy ending… The Holly Bush is a wonderful pub.…
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The Manor, Clapham
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The Plot Twist
Beans on toast. Steak and chips. Wine and cheese. All pretty familiar meal time combinations. But Hungarian food together with Italian food? Never heard of that one before! While both of these cuisines rank pretty highly on my list of favourite foods, I’ve never eaten them in the same sitting. There may well be a reason for that, which I shall come to later. However, I found myself indulging in the staple food of both of these great nations thanks to The Plot Twist and their new pop-up restaurant in Holborn. If comfort food is your thing then you need to hit these guys up because you won’t be disappointed. The…
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Tang at St Giles
Don’t get me wrong. I love autumn. In fact, it’s probably my favourite time of year. But the combination of the clocks going back and stupidly long hours spent in the office have left me in need of a little pick-me-up. And pick-me-ups don’t get much littler than Tang. Not because it didn’t have the desired effect, but because it is genuinely tiny. This weeny Chinese restaurant is hidden away in one of those strangely unpalatable parts of the West End, just off Tottenham Court Road, and you’ll definitely need to keep your eyes peeled to find it. It’s worth wandering up and down the tourist-choked streets of WC1, however, because Tang is a hidden…
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The Polish Bakery
In the murkiness of a post-Brexit world, there is one thing for certain. Living in London has allowed me unparalleled access to a huge array of cultures and new experiences. I feel so lucky to be able to choose from cuisines as eclectic as Eritrean or Ecuadorian, Swedish or Swiss. However, I do have a weakness for food from one area in particular – and that’s Poland. I travelled to Krakow last year where I engaged in acts of unspeakable gluttony. It’s very difficult not to overindulge when you are confronted with delights such as pierogi, boar steak and apple cake. Fortunately the large Polish community within London means that I am able to…
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Recipe – Beef Stew With Dumplings
As I was dragging my sorry self to work on a recent dark and dreary morning, I noticed a brightly coloured van tootling it’s way around Tooting. It was from a company called Riverford Organics and was dropping off lots of boxes of loveliness to my fellow SW17 residents. As soon as I got into the office, I googled Riverford to see what they are all about, and was pleasantly surprised to see that not only do they provide boxes of organic fruit and veg, they also supply organic meat. I placed an order for a veg & meat box and, soon after, received a delivery of a range of…
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The Manor, Clapham
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Recipe – Chard & Taleggio Risotto
Disclaimer: I generally don’t cook with exact measures, unless I’m baking. “Chard risotto??”, I hear you cry. Yes, it may sound odd but, believe me, it tastes really good. Winter is all about comfort food, and this risotto will give you a great big hug while still being (vaguely) healthy. Chard is currently in season and is a great source of iron. You can use it as a side dish with most meat and fish, but here we make it the star of the show. Risotto rice A knob of butter Vegetable stock A small bottle of white wine 1 x onion – finely chopped 3 x garlic cloves –…
