Where should I eat in London?

[baboon2004]

Black pepper was used in large quantities until chillies arrived. Think there are still dishes esp in S India where shitloads is used for spice. Hard to conceive of Indian food with out them really.

Yeah, read about this a while back. http://indiacuisine.blogspot.com/ interesting stuff if u scroll down here...

@Tea - went there once for free! Ah, the perks of charity work (there aren't many, excpet, y'know, that warm glow in your soul)

 

[you]

Yeah, peppercorns are an obvious one I guess. And mustard and horseradish! What's weird is that it's a different kind if heat (wasabi too, innit) that gets you in the nose rather than the throat.

Thinly sliced roast beef, so rare it's still mooing, with proper yellow English mustard and a bit of sea salt. There's no better combination on earth, I'm sure. In fact when I cook beef I often take a wee cheeky sliver before it's even gone in the oven, add a dab of Maldon and gobble it down. Just so, so good.

Edit: sorry, this is meant to be "where should I eat in London?" not "Ollie's meat fantasies", isn't it? I had dinner at Rules last night - very English and quite pricey - rather un-Dissensian I suppose, but it was pretty good. Venison steaks as rare as you like, my friend had game pie which was also amazing.

Wow - Rules - somewhere I've always wanted to go to - it is a little on the pricey side though isn't it? What did you have? Was it worth it? Did you have any of there cocktails?

 

[Mr. Tea]

Mains were in the £20-£25 mark, so yeah, it's not cheap. I had a cocktail (something gin-based, can't recall the name) which was also pricey but delicious. I had venison steaks - or fillets or something, I'm terrible with the names of cuts of meat - which I specified rare and was delighted to see was still glassy and purple inside. It came with some sort of beetroot puree which worked very well. My friend had a game pie which was very different of course, the meat all cooked down to delicious softness, really good. Desserts were small and very delicate. We didn't have starters but we were both full by the time we left. Wine was good (fucking should have been, it was about £40) - South African merlot, but not Kumala sodding Hill before you say anything!

To be honest, even if the food hadn't been amazing it's worth going for the atmosphere alone - it's over 200 years old FFS and looks every day of it (in the best possible way).

Christ, I'm unemplyed (as is the friend I went with), I shouldn't be eating in Rules! Fucking worth it though. When I'm loaded I'll go back there for champagne and oysters...

 

[blacktulip]

Just got back from London. Three recommendations:

Yauatcha
Yauatcha
Yauatcha

Went and went again. If I lived in London, I'd go as often as I could afford.

 

[baboon2004]

Where is that?

Anyone been to any Bulgarian places on Green Lanes.? Saw a couple while on the 29 this morning. Bulgaria being the birthplace of yoghurt, I feel I should know a lot more about its cuisine than I do....

 

[viktorvaughn]

Ways to spot St John school of restaurants

• Daily changing menu printed on white A4 paper
• Functional name, possibly taking name of road, eg Hereford Rd, St John, Great Queen St
• Simple menu descriptions, ‘crab on toast’ ‘quail with lentils’ etc
• Often a piece of meat with a single vegetable and a fresh strong sauce or condiment (aioli, horseradish cream, mayonnaise), manifestations of an imagined past peasant cuisine. Otherwise strongly dressed salads with meat and green leaves, eg ox heart with leaves in mustard dressing, nods to France with prodigious use of garlic and the occasional remoulade but mainly English
• Offal, meat served rare etc
• ‘Classic’ dishes featured and lots of full on sugary/stodgy uk puddings
• Vaguely stripped down décor and aesthetic, visible signifiers of anti-ostentation e.g. St John’s short stubby wine glasses, frequent lack of table cloths and rough-and-ready plating of food.

Will do round up of the actual places next!

 

[blacktulip]

Where is that?

It's the enigmatic blue glass corner on Berwick Street.

 

[Mr. Tea]

It's the enigmatic blue glass corner on Berwick Street.

I went there once years ago, a bit pricey but I loved it. I think the decor is amazing, kind of 80s-futurist with all the coloured lighting and tanks of tropical fish. It's the kind of place you can imagine Patrick Bateman toying with a dish of pan-blackened scallops in a chili-chocolate sauce with a side of balsamic-marinated morels while wondering how he should kill his date...

 

[mistersloane]

What was the best thing you ate at Yuatcha?

 

[blacktulip]

What was the best thing you ate at Yuatcha?

Too hard to pick just one.

For sheer "return to childhood" wonder: Prawn and beancurd cheung fun (soft noodle outer and crispy inner layer)

Deal breaker/game changer: Singapore fried vermicelli

Also the Szechuan seafood claypot was a motherfucker (fish insanely tender) and the Fried chilli squid with oatmeal and curry leaf similarly bitching. And, yes, lychee martini.

Anyone who still needs convincing can take a look at the pretty pictures of http://luxirare.com/yauatcha-london-2/

 

[benjybars]

Where is that?

Anyone been to any Bulgarian places on Green Lanes.? Saw a couple while on the 29 this morning. Bulgaria being the birthplace of yoghurt, I feel I should know a lot more about its cuisine than I do....

yeah there's nothing that distinguishes the Bulgarian places from any of the Turkish / Kurdish places on green lanes..

there is a good Hungarian bakery on green lanes tho.

 

[mistersloane]

i went to Koya the other day, the Udon noodle place on frith st. highly recommended - particularly the cold udon with miso, with a seaweed salad. lovely and refreshing. And the noodles are really springy and fresh, not at all boring carbs.

and they make the noodles with their feet...which is apparently the traditional way to do it i.e. they're not just being kinky.


also, the Georgian cafe on Balham Hill is excellent, particularly the traditional breakfast (can't remember what it's called), of meatballs in a spicy tomato sauce -lots of coriander- with beaten egg folded in. that is MIGHTY - and you get a free cup of tea

Thanks for this Simon, I read about it a while back but forgot what it was called, will deffo check it out now.

 

[baboon2004]

Sorry, slightly off topic, but anyone know offhand where the nearest Indian supermarket to Manor House/Finsbury Park/Green Lanes might be? Just looking to buy a shitload of different spices for my storecupboard, and would be nice to find them all in one place.

 

[4linehaiku]

So I find myself visiting New Malden more often than I would necessarily like (i.e. ever). Lots of Koreans there, so I'm hoping I can at least get some tasty food out of it. Anybody got any recommendations? Won't be surprised if not, but if anywhere will know it's Dissensus.

 

[benjybars]

Sorry, slightly off topic, but anyone know offhand where the nearest Indian supermarket to Manor House/Finsbury Park/Green Lanes might be? Just looking to buy a shitload of different spices for my storecupboard, and would be nice to find them all in one place.

turnpike lane. by the wetherspoon's.

 

[sufi]

So I find myself visiting New Malden more often than I would necessarily like (i.e. ever). Lots of Koreans there, so I'm hoping I can at least get some tasty food out of the ordeal. Anybody got any recommendations? Won't be surprised if not, but if anywhere will know it's Dissensus.

my next door neighbour works in one, i'll ask her next time i see her

 

[4linehaiku]

Thanks sufi. Is there anything else in New Malden? I may be being overly harsh on it because it takes so long to get there. It seems like it's designed exclusively around travelling around in a car and I automatically find those sorts of places a bit depressing. I suppose 90% of places are but I don't tend to go to them.

 

[baboon2004]

turnpike lane. by the wetherspoon's.

Thanks - I found this one randomly in the interim! Amazing, innit - uses to be an Ethiopian supermarket, from the internet reviews... I like the Indian vegetarian restaurant on that road, but not too taken with the Mauritians I've been into. Do you know Malabar Palace, on West Green Road? Sublime food.

New Malden is the suburbs. It having lots of Korean restaurants makes it significantly better than most suburbs, but it's still the suburbs.

 

[benjybars]

yeah the indian veggie restaurant is Jai Krishna. great place.

Jashan across the road is amazing too. think i've said it here before but their lunchtime tiffins are some of the best value food in London. no question

 

[baboon2004]

Yep Jai Krishna - must go back there soon. Will try Jashan, thanks for the tip. That area's not bad for restaurants, though initially it might appear so.