and just tuck in
Cocktails on the 5th Floor of Harvey Nichols.
This was my first visit to the Champagne bar on the 5th floor, and I was not disappointed.
For my first drink I chose the Marshmallow martini from their menu- they use homemade marshmallow infused Absolut vodka, and lemon juice creating a slightly sweet but sharp cocktail.
I love sushi, yet have never been to Yo Sushi before. I think the idea of paying per dish has put me off as I’m the kind of girl who likes to try everything. I found myself on the top floor of Harvey Nichols sampling the free alcohol before meeting some friends for cocktails in the bar, so I thought that I probably should have a bite to eat or I may embarrass myself.
This Thai restaurant is tucked away in the back of the Kings Arms pub in Waterloo. Extremely busy if going straight from work on a weekday so be sure to get there early. The pub and the restaurant are run separately, so you buy your drinks at the bar and take it to your table. The only down side to this place is you can’t pay on card for your food so make sure you bring cash. However you wont need very much cash as the food portions are very filling and very reasonably priced.
I met up with an old friend who I haven’t seen for a few years. She recently moved to London, and by coincidence really near to where I live. She is also a fellow foodie so the natural thing was to go for a bite to eat together. I suggested heading to Walthamstow Village as its so lovely there, but I rarely visit as not many of my friends live in this part of London.
We went for a wonder and had a look at was on offer and decided that we fancied some Tapas.
One spring afternoon on a wander around town with my camera I ended up near St Paul’s and looking for a lunch spot. I walked past POD, and had never seen or heard of this place before so had a quick glance in the window. There were several things about this place that caught my eye and made me want to go inside- the fact that it was healthy food, but also the fact that they were really big on composting their packaging and recycling as this is something that I’m really keen on.
I walked inside and they had a chilled cabinet with sandwiches and other cold lunches, and then also a hot section where they do seasonal stews and varying types of curry. They also have two sizes of their hot meals- great for those who want a light snack, or for those who want it as their main meal. I opted for a small Thai green curry. It was really nice- with a surprise of brown rice at the bottom that worked really well.
They have plenty of seating if you wish to eat in- which I did, and then have separate bins for their composting and recycling. I like this on a number of levels- not only is it saving the environment one tiny step at a time, it is hopefully making the customer a bit more aware of what can and cant be thrown away. Personally I think we should all try on compost more, as although recycling is great- it’s still expensive and you need energy to fund this whole process.
Even their furniture is ethically sourced from recycled materials.
“We build every pod from sustainable or recycled materials. We use recycled glass, sustainably forested oak timber, recycled flooring materials and furniture, organic paint and lots more.”
Their Website has a very detailed section on what actually goes into their food, and the nutritional value of each dish.
Pizza you say, whats so special about pizza? Well… this pizza is not like the others. Made from cornmeal these pizzas are a lot more filling that your regular pizza and a lot less greasy.
This is the only cornmeal crust pizza restaurant in the UK. The pizzas have a lot more toppings on them, and have a different selection to your usual, the special when we went was fig and pancetta absolutely gorgeous.
Introduced to us by Jackie who has met these guys before and interviewed them, she explained to us that we wouldn’t need more than two slices. We all looked at each other and thought she was crazy- she had previously that day been telling us she had forgotten to eat meals. In the end 3 of us went for the taster- 6 slices all different flavours, and Jackie chose her two favourite slices. You can order individual slices or a whole pizza and anything in-between.
So we tucked into our slices, enjoyed the atmosphere and each others company. By the time we were on our last slices we were quite glad we had listened to the advice- 2 slices really was enough.
However we did manage to find a little bit of space for dessert- cookie sandwich; two home made cookies sandwiching ice-cream.
6 Chepstow Road
Notting Hill
London
W2 5BH
Website
I work just around the corner from Haringey Green Lanes, and have to walk past the Turkish restaurants every morning and on my way home. This is a bit like torture for me as I love Turkish food. So when for a colleges leaving do, I was very happy to hear that we would be going to a Turkish restaurant.
And I was not disappointed. Gokyuzu has only recently opened, but it always very busy and had been recommended to us. So after a few drinks in the pub a large group of us headed down.
We had a selection of starters between us including hallumi, humus, olives, salad and many more. For main course I had Yoğurtlu Kuzu Şiş- “cubes of lamb skewered and grilled over charcoal chopped on a bed of bread, topped with sauce and yoghurt then drizzled with butter.” Tasted amazing- and the portion size was very large! I struggled to finish it, but of course I did as it would be rude to leave food that nice.
We had a couple of bottles of red wine with the meal which were very nice- service was great, especially considering how busy it was- people were queuing to sit down, but not once did they encourage us to leave or to hurry up. It was a thoroughly enjoyable meal and I would recommend it to anyone.
26-27 Grand Parade
Green Lanes London
N4 1LG
020 8211 8406
I went to Le Mercury last week with fellow food lover Diane Elston. We walked along Upper Street trying to decide what to have for lunch. There is so much choice, but we passed Le Mercury and just couldn’t resist. We had been here together before and absolutely loved it, and we knew exactly what we wanted off the menu before we had even sat down.
Two of my favourite foods in this whole world are mussels, and duck- both of which they serve here and taste delicious. Me and Diane often find that we like to order the same food- and we can’t share dishes, we both suffer from food jealousy, so on the whole order exactly the same dinner.
So to start we had Moules Mariniere- mussels in white wine sauce, cream, shallots, garlic, lemon and parsley. Tasted amazing.
For main we had Magret de Canard- roasted breast of Barbary duck on garlic mash, savoy cabbage & red wine jus, everything about this dish was good. There are no words, you have to try it for yourself.
We were both bursting by the time we had finished and couldn’t sample any of the deserts although we were rather tempted, we opted for a cup of tea while watching the world go by.
One of the best things about this place is the price. All starters apart from the specials are £3.95, and all the mains are £7.95- which makes it incredibly affordable. We were able to pay £15 each for a 2 course meal with drinks and tip- and it was high quality. It’s not like a posh restaurant you don’t feel uncomfortable using your fingers to eat the mussels, and they do put a lot of table in- but not so much so that it compromises the whole experience.
Le Mercury
140A Upper Street
London
N1 1QY
Telephone: 020 7354 4088
Visit their website
Christmas Pizza- A little bit late I know, but still.
Just before Christmas a group of us who contribute to the Young and Poor had our Christmas dinner at Fire and Stone. For those of you who don’t know the restaurant it specialises in very odd pizzas. For example, curry on pizza. Their standard pizza menu is divided up into continents, and the toppings are what you would expect to eat in that continent.
Thier Christmas special pizza had Turkey, gravy, roast potatoes, stuffing, cranberry and brie toppings. Even to those who that didn’t sound nice to- we were all intrigued!
So we booked a table for the restuarant in Sptialfields market, bought our own crackers, and sat down for some festive fun.
As is always the way with this group their was lots of giggling and laughing about silly things. We had a selection of their starters including calamari and crispy wonton king prawns which were very nice.
The pizza was so much better than I imagined it to be. It just worked. I was a little bit aprehensive about what the combination would taste like, but also quite excited as I love Christmas dinner, and I love pizza. And it didn’t dissapoint.
The gravy was spread like you would normally spread tomato puree on the base, and then thin slices of turkey layered up like cheese or pepperoni. The cranberry sauce and brie complimented it really well and made sure that it didnt taste too dry.
Sadly this pizza is only a Christmas special, but if you like the sound of these combinations it is definately worth a visit.
Abandon Spoon! 