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| Cod with Coco beans and Trompette de la mort at Brawn |
The first week of January is ripe for reflection as well as for looking ahead. This January in particular when one crushing blow after another in 2016 has left many of us feeling punch drunk and questioning whether we paid enough attention to things beyond our own orbit. Outcomes that had seemed too ridiculous to contemplate are now only too real. Friends' reactions range from burying their heads ever deeper in the beauty in their lives to donning battle fatigues for the fight ahead. Some are happy with the new status quo. Some have, sadly, already picked up their bags and moved on. The occasional foray into, this, the lighter side of my world is ever more necessary. So, here I am with my first post of January reflecting on eating in 2016 and looking forward to what 2017 will bring.
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| Sanbei Octopus at Bao Fitrovia |
So let's start with 'Bookings' at London restaurants - yes, my life is London centric and I know I need to get out more. As I said in my first post of January 2016, I am as likely, on this blog, to tell you about a restaurant that has been around for a while as about the new. Re-reading that piece reminds me I still haven't been to Bao Soho (queues) but I have made several visits to the second restaurant of what started out as a simple 'steamed bun' market stall. It's in less busy Fitzrovia and it's a great place to pop into for a quick bite. Both Lamb and Black Cod have joined the Pork buns alongside delicious small plates like Sanbei Octopus which comes with a spicy plum sauce. Just thinking about it makes me want to grab my coat. You can read about it here - Bao Fitrovia
It's interesting just how many intended 2016 openings I mentioned haven't yet come to pass - Clare Smyth (ex-Restaurant Gordon Ramsay) pushed back to mid-2017; Monica Galetti (ex-Le Gavroche), maybe sometime in January; the return of Nuno Mendes to his Viajante roots was scuppered by the failure of his crowdfunding attempt. And then there were the ones which simply didn't light my fire - if a restaurant is on this blog it's because I like it and think you might too.
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| Pork & Crab Clay Pot and Langoustine at Kiln |
Apart from Bao Fitzrovia, new openings that did impress me in 2016 are Kiln in Soho, an off-shoot of Smoking Goat which has been serving up Northern Thai street food on nearby Denmark Street for a couple of years. There's a simplicity of preparation and insightful use of herbs and spices at Kiln that wakes up the tastebuds. Cooking is over embers of sweet chestnut and flavours are zingy to say the least. A Pork and crab claypot of glass noodles and Langoustine with chilli, ginger, lemongrass and sweet mint impressed on my visit. I need to pay another call before I write about it but if you can get in (booking downstairs but first come, first served at the bar) don't hesitate. Eating around Borough Market is, for me, a hit and miss affair but 2016 saw the arrival of Padella which is right on target. This off-shoot of the excellent Trullo at Highbury Corner, which I wrote about ages ago, is all about pasta, freshly made, good sauces, no fuss. Be prepared to queue - I try to go early but even then I will need to wait a while.
Barrafina's original tapas bar on Frith Street has now settled into its new home alongside sister restaurant Quo Vadis on Dean Street. It's roomier and noisier as a result but the cooking and the staff have found their form in double-quick time. There is always a little tweak to the menu that identifies which of the three Barrafina bars you are in - if I want Rabo de Toro, I go to Drury Lane; it's Adelaide Street for Arroz de Mariscos; at Dean Street, so far, it's Bunuelos de Bacalao and Chickpeas Ropa Vieja.
Noble Rot Wine Bar opened on lovely Lamb's Conduit Street in Bloomsbury in 2016 as a 'wine bar with food'. If you are into good, "old school", wines then this is probably the place for you. The food menu is overseen by Stephen Harris and Paul Weaver from Michelin-starred The Sportsman in Whitstable. I've seen lots of positive comments and I've tried it once. The bread and the simply cooked Slip Soles were lovely, the wines pricey. Overall, I thought it pretty good food but expensive for what you got. I notice they've now introduced a set-price lunch so, probably, worth another try.
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| Game and Bacon Pie with a glass of Les Pierres Chaude at 40 Maltby Street |
And still, I'm a regular at Brawn, 40 Maltby Street, and Rochelle Canteen. Brawn for their food that is, as they put it themselves, "honest and simple with a respect for tradition" and for fact their love for what they do is so evident in what arrives at table; 40 Maltby Street for its love of seasonality, careful sourcing, flavourful combinations and so many 'that's so good' moments. Both also serve up wonderful natural wines. Rochelle Canteen may be byo but there's the cooking of the brilliant Anna Tobias.
That I have a few places that make me so happy is why I've yet to get to 6 Portland Road in the, for me, distant plains of Holland Park; or Morito's new place on Hackney Road where chef Marianna Leivaditaki, alongside owner/chef Samantha Clark, is bringing a touch of Crete to the Spanish/North African bias of the Exmouth Market original; or Sardine, close to the Old Street Tech City hub, where chef Alex Jackson has set up with the backing of Stevie Parle serving Southern French food cooked over a wood fire; or James Cochran EC3 opened in late 2016 - his CV having drawn comparison with one of my favourite chefs, Steve Williams of 40 Maltby Street, is enough to push him to the top of my must try list; or Honey & Smoke in Fitrovia, a second restaurant for Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich, providing a space big enough to give their big-hearted food and service room to expand.
There are a couple of planned 2017 openings in the pipeline I know of that aren't general knowledge yet but I will eat my hat if they don't live up to expectations. I will, I will, get to more places this year.
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| Brindisa - The True Food of Spain by Monika Linton |
Meanwhile, I resolve to get out more. You never know, I may even eat outside London. Recommendations welcome.
