I’m always on the lookout for new places to eat and if I come across a place that looks good and does food that I have not tried before then it draws me in… oh and if they are offering 50% off as it’s a new restaurant and it’s during its soft launch then yes please, I’m there
Fancy Crab is a new restaurant located just behind Selfridges on Wigmore Street. The venue is split over 2 floors, the top floor is spacious and has a large display of king crab towards the rear. My party of 6 was seated downstairs, at a good sized table with booth seating.
I wanted to take advantage of the 50% off and maybe ordered a bit too much..The prices listed below are the FULL menu price.
MENUS
Crispy King Crab Bites £3
Crispy King Crab Bite
A bit of crab on a nacho. Simple, creamy.. not much to say.
Scallop Ceviche, £9
I loved this dish, I’ve never tried ceviche before, but the flavours of the lime and other ingredients really worked well. It’s basically raw scallops but cured, it was mixed with lime which gave it zingy citrus notes but also had a light kick from fresh chillies.
For me this was a standout dish. I love the flavours that reminded me of a red curry. The flavours were sweet, maybe a little bit too sweet, but overall i tasted depth in flavour and there was heat from fresh chillies mixed into the dish.
The crab also had a natural sweetness to it and the crab meat had a really nice texture to it. I could taste coconut milk, but the chef swears that the dish is made without any coconut milk! My first proper taste of a juicy bit of crab and i liked it. However, at nearly £35 it’s a very expensive dish and if i’m honest, no way I would have ordered this if it wasn’t 50% off, and it’s not enough to share between two.
This dish is so you can try and experience pure crab that’s been carved out of the shell so no messy work required. However, it’s a small amount of meat for the money. Nevertheless, i really like the taste of crab and definitely prefer it to lobster, crab is softer and sweeter, so naturally, with my sweet tooth, i’m gonna like it.
Not a bad dessert, but to tell you the truth I can’t recall how it tasted… this is why I should write my review straight away and not after a month! – Sorry
I won’t review the service as it was a soft launch and there were naturally a few hiccups with orders (none affected me), but it was okay, in fact on another note, one of the chefs actually came out of the kitchen and sat with us and explained a few things to us about crabs and the menu in general so that was good.
My half of the bill was £60 inc service, I was planning to share and split cost the Singapore crab and grilled merus but once we saw the portion size we ordered more.
As I mentioned I only came here because of the discount. Would I come back here and pay full price? No sorry.
The Bill
Oh, the chef also said that the chicken is halal. Also, the steaks come from New Zealand, which means that there’s a high chance of the steaks being halal, but not certified. But why would you come to a Crab restaurant and order chicken or a steak?
Most of the places I visit are located around either Central or East London, however, I jumped in my car and make a quick 30 min trip to Cockfosters which is at the end of the Piccadilly line and landed at Skewd Kitchen, a modern Turkish restaurant.
Skewd Kitchen recently appointed a new head chef who has experience working alongside top chefs in Michelin starred restaurants – I was keen to see if Skewed Kitchen was another run of the mill Turkish, or was it offering something new and different…
I arrived at 8pm on a Friday night, parked up directly outside and got a table for 4.
The place was busier than I had expected and had a nice buzzing atmosphere.
Menu
Specials
Drinks
We got a couple, I went with the virgin Mojito and it was a good drink – they got the balance of mint and sweetness just to my liking.
After a long study of the menu we all decided on a few starters to share for the table
Starters
Pachanga £4.90
Filo pastry filled with mixed bell peppers, chestnut mushrooms, kashar cheese, cured beef and parsley.
Pachanga
A different take on the popular and classic vegetarian Spinach and Feta Cheese Börek. This was a really nice starter, light and crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside and the flavours of the peppers and cheese worked well with the beef.
Honey-glazed goats’ cheese served with Bertha roasted beetroot, caramelised shallots and walnuts, drizzled with 8 years’ aged balsamic.
Honey-Glazed Goats’ Cheese
This dish puts a smile on my face when I think about it, my friend ordered this and I would not have ordered this if it was not for him. I absolutely loved it. The taste of the goat’s cheese worked so amazingly with the honey, it was a new flavour experience for me, I thought this dish was just brilliant. I didn’t really understand the need for the beetroot.
Main Course time and this is where things got interesting. There was the main menu, and from that, we got 2 meaty options and there was also a specials menu that was a creation from Tim the new head chef, someone who is trying infuse a bit of French cooking on a Turkish menu.
So, from the regular menu
Mixed Kebab £20.90
Lamb shish, chicken shish, adana shish, lamb chop, lamb ribs
A big platter of good quality meats cooked over a charcoal grill. I had a little sample, meat was juicy and tender.
The steak is USDA Prime, from America and unlike most places it was pan seared and then cooked in the oven then pan cooked again and basted in butter and garlic. At 10oz it’s a very big portion size, so big in fact that we could not eat all of it, so I turned it into a stir fry the next day.
The steak was cooked as requested to medium rare. Because the beef is from the USA, the cow is mostly grain fed, which gives the meat a different taste compared to grass fed. I didn’t think the steak blew me away – it was good but not great.
I actually think it’s my fault. Ever since I’ve had the steak from Meat and Co, no steaks can compare to that amazing taste.
Pan-cooked Fillet of Stone bass and Scottish scallop, on a bed of smoked beetroot puree, labneh and charred cucumber.
This was the dish I opted for. I really didn’t feel like eating meat as I knew I could sample a bit of the mix grill and steak so i got fish.
The presentation of this dish was great, plated up in a very appealing way. It was an interesting dish, but the fish I felt was not delicate enough. One of my favourite dishes is the stone bass tikka from Jamavar which is such a soft and tender bit of fish and part of me was expecting the same. Of course, this was pan cooked so the taste and texture would have been different. It was also served with a beetroot puree which I don’t think worked for me. The flavours did not work well with the fish.
A dish that you would expect in a high-end French Michelin star restaurant. Great presentation, however, I think the lamb was cooked too rare. I didn’t try the dish with all its components such as the artichoke mousse. I only tried a little bit of the lamb. Lamb has a naturally strong deep flavour profile, but for a Turkish restaurant this dish was maybe a bit too removed from Turkish flavours and could have done with the use of more traditional herbs and spices. Nevertheless, I liked that this place is trying something different.
This decadent cheesecake uses organic blueberries that are packed with Antioxidant power
To finish the night a lovely light blueberry cheesecake. Really nice texture and taste.
Summary
The service was mainly consistent and solid throughout, however, there was a slightly longer wait between the starters and main course. Service struggled a little during the busy times and the waiters became less attentive.
Overall I was really pleased with my experience here – the starters were great and I really enjoyed them. It’s great to see a restaurant trying some new things but also maintaining a high standard of food in terms of quality, taste and presentation.
I was invited to review this restaurant. The meal was complimentary and views my own
I’ve reviewed a few new Indian style tapas restaurants lately, ‘Chai Thali’, ‘Hankies’ and ‘Talli Joe’ to name a few and ‘Chai Naasto’ is the latest addition to a growing trend of new Indian restaurants that focuses on sharing small plates.
Chai Naasto is located in a very residential area in Hammersmith, about 7 to 8 mins walk away from the station. It’s sandwiched between houses and flats, relying on a lot on local custom and walk-ins.
The menu offers a wide range of items, I was very surprised to see just how many items there were on offer. It made the task of ordering a tricky one for myself, and the other 3 in my group. We actually spent around 30 mins deciding on what to eat. In true fashion, we ordered WAY too many small plates and were left with no room to try any specials or curries.
I’ve been to a lot of restaurants to eat, but I have never ordered nor tried so many different items before. I tend to write my reviews a few weeks after the visit so I can think about what to write, but writing this is very hard as we tried so many things…! Let’s try, so below is a list of everything we ordered and my thoughts on the items I managed to try..
Booths
Inside
Menu, Over 40 itemsOutdoor buzzer
When sitting outside, you have a little call the waiter button. Every place should have this!
Poppadoms
Starters/Chaats
Chandni Chowk Crispy Kale Chaat – (v) (gf) – £5.50
I had the kale chaat from ‘Talli Joe’ and loved it, so was hoping for something similar, however this was not the same, sure the texture was there but the taste sadly, was not. The kale pakora was too dry inside and not particularly well-seasoned. The chaat that it came in was the same in several of the other dishes we ordered.
Chilli cheese nuggets crumbed & fried until crispy & drizzled with our homemade chilli sauce.
Bombay Chilli Cheese Bites
I liked these: they were gooey and warm and comforting, with the melty cheese oozing as you bite into the nuggets. It’s what I like to call dirty food – something that you know is full of stuff that’s bad for you, but you don’t care, because it tastes good. However, I didn’t get much chilli coming through. I assume the chilli was supposed to come from the sauce that the nuggets were doused in, but to me it just tasted overly sweet and gloopy. Covering the bites with it meant that they lost the crispness they were supposed to have and instead came out soggy and overly sweet.
Crisp Punjabi vegetable samosas broken & served with spiced chickpeas & drizzled with a melody of chutneys & sweet yoghurt.
Chandni Chowk Ke Samose Chaat
As with the lamb samosa, I didn’t understand why these came half-immersed in a sweet and sour chaat mix. The filling of the samosa, for me, got lost in everything else that the samosa came in. I assume there was potato inside the samosa, but as there was also potato in the Bhel Puri/chaat, it all just melded into one big chaat dish and the samosa got lost in it all.
Crispy Gujarati lamb samosas served with green pea potato cakes & drizzled with a melody of chutneys & sweet yoghurt.
Nizami’s Lamb Samosa Chaat
The samosa was nice, with a good amount of keema filling. However, I didn’t understand the need to douse half the chaat street dishes in a chaat mix. It rendered them all very similar in taste and meant that what was supposed to be unique about each dish actually wasn’t very noticeable. All this did was turn the crispy filo pastry of the samosa soggy and meant it got a bit lost amongst all of the chaat ingredients.
Quinoa, freekah, lamb lettuce, beetroot, feta cheese & walnut drizzled in our chaat masala dressing.
Chatpata Super Food Salad
I didn’t try this… or maybe i did… I can’t recall.
Pani Puri Shots – (v) – £5.00
A refreshing savoury snack made with crisp wheat balls, stuffed with a spicy potato filling & served with a sweet & sour tamarind reduction.
Pani Puri Shots
These looked very pretty, coming on a delightful cart and presented with panache. In fact, all the food looked pretty, so top marks to Chai Naasto for presentation. Sadly in this case, it was a bit unnecessarily complicated in its presentation and lacking in punch. The pani puri’s were not particularly light or crispy and the fillings for them lacked spice or flavour. A real disappointment
Chicken wings tossed with spicy Keralan “gunpowder” seasoning & drizzled with our homemade chilli sauce (optional).
Kerala Chicken Fry
Indian KFC! It’s basically Indian fried chicken! What’s not to like about this dish, the spices in the breading worked really well – I liked this simple but effective dish.
Soft-shell crab marinated with spices, battered & fried until crisp & served with our smoked tomato chutney.
Kekda Koliwada
For me, my favourite dish of the night, the presentation looked beautiful and the light crab as perfectly cooked and was equally as good as the texture of the delicate batter – great use of spices and flavours.
Lamb cutlets marinated in mustard oil, malt vinegar, red chilli & crushed spices & served with tempered mashed potatoes.
Kareem’s Lamb Burra Kebab & Aloo Chokha
Lamb chops are my favourite things to order at a restaurant – these were cooked medium well, so slightly overdone in my book, I prefer medium; so it’s juicy and tender. The flavours were subtle and the mash potatoes that came with the dish was an interesting addition that worked really well.
King prawns marinated in red chilli, black pepper, ginger, yogurt & fresh lemon juice & glazed until golden in the tandoor.
Tandoori Jhinga Chatpata
At £10, I feel this plate could have come with more than two prawns on it. Yes, the two prawns we got were fairly large, but between four of us, it meant an average of half a prawn each. The bigger upset is that they were neither juicy nor spicy and the golden colour on them seemed to be more from the addition of turmeric than from being cooked in the tandoor. I found the prawns to be dry and bland..
Smoked chicken tikka marinated with yoghurt, chilli & gram flour & glazed in the tandoor; served on mini tandoori naan with mint chutney & pickled red onion.
Rajasthani Murgh Ke Sole
Mint sauce worked well with tandoori chicken, changed up the typical tandoori flavours, chicken was slightly overdone but a tasty dish regardless…
Slow-cooked spicy lamb mince stew served with brioche & a sunny-side-up egg.
Jaffer Bhai’s Keema Pav Slider
A very nice dish, the keema was lovely, with a good level of spice and masala to it. The fatal flaw was in the egg, which should have come with a runny yolk that, upon breaking, seeped into the keema and could be mopped up with bread. Instead the yolk was overdone with no sign of golden runny-ness! Additionally, I’d have preferred the brioche toasted and on the side. Placing it under the keema rendered it soggy and difficult to cut/tear. Why not leave it separate and allow the customer to pile the keema and egg on themselves? That way it won’t be soggy before it’s even reached the table.
Pan-fried scallops served with spicy cauliflower purée & herb dressing.
Tawa King Scallops
I have become a fan of the mighty scallop, these were cooked well, however, slightly smaller than a regular king size scallop. The cauliflower purée & herb dressing went well with the dish but needed more use of herbs and spice as the flavour was subtle.
An indulgent, spiced chocolate orange brownie served with vanilla ice-cream, salted caramel & toasted nuts.
The brownie was dry inside and the spices – predominantly cardamom – overwhelmed the dessert, leaving a barely-there hint of orange, or indeed chocolate. Not great.
The total bill was £115 for 4 people with drinks. Which, based on the amount we ate was worth it I think.
View Bill
Overall I feel that most of the dishes lacked enough spices which reduce the overall flavour and also lacked heat from chillies. I feel that the food has been catered for the local clientele of the area. The food all looks beautiful and none of it was bad, but equally, none of it was amazing, the stand out dish was the crab and I liked the Indian fried chicken.
If we had not over ordered then we would have gotten to try the curries, so it’s a shame we didn’t have space. But none of the food we ordered was wasted, we finished everything.
It’s an extensive menu, making it great if going in a big group, as you can try more. There is a plan to change the menu as it moves through the different food and cooking styles of the Indian subcontinent every few months.
I was invited to review here. The meal was complimentary.
Thanks to Rana who co-wrote this long review with me, she was part of my new group of foodies that joined me, check out her baking blog here http://www.acupofteasolveseverything.com/
At the time of visit, Restaurant has been open for less than 2 weeks
I’m not the biggest fan of Chinese food, maybe because I’ve never had any good Chinese food. It always tends to be too greasy and feels unhealthy. The other issue is that most Chinese food is heavy with the pork and the kitchens tend not to care too much about cross contamination.
Cocochino is the first and only halal Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. Furthermore, they also don’t serve pork on the menu and don’t use any alcohol in the sauces.
The venue itself is located in a basement so there’s no natural lighting. I found the venue to be a little cold in terms of the lighting, decor and atmosphere. It just didn’t feel that welcoming. The decor is also a little dated, there are some slight modern elements, but then tables are covered in a thick white table cloth, that appears to serve an unintentional purpose of just showing up oily patches from any spillage. I’ve never been a fan of a tablecloth on a table. It’s trying a fine dining look but doesn’t do enough to pull it off.
Menu
The menu has a section of items the ‘halalfoodguy gang’ decided to go for. A couple of starters and 3 mains. (Yes I have a gang of foodies now.)
Duck Spring Rolls
Crispy duck spring rolls. Served with what they call a special secret soy sauce. One of our favourite dishes on the night. The duck was delicate and the accompanying sauce complimented the crispy spring roll really well.
You can’t go to a Chinese restaurant and not order prawn toast! The version here did a different take on a classic and encased minced prawn and a whole prawn in battered bread. I liked that these were different to the standard, the use of a whole king prawn was a valid touch.
We ordered 3 mains and also received one house special as a complimentary dish. Kung Pao
Let’s start with the Kung Pao chicken. The presentation was good but the taste and flavour of this dish were not as good as it looked. What I didn’t like was the cheeky over use of cashew nuts that looked like chicken. This dish just didn’t work. There was also no need for a crispy noodle basket.
Another classic is the sweet ‘n’ sour chicken. Alas, again we fall short in the taste department. The flavours didn’t work well together. The chicken was also over cooked when it was deep fried
The remaining mains were the Beef in a Chinese-style sauce and a complimentary dish of fish in a cheese sauce. These were the standout dishes from the mains, the beef was tender and well spiced, with a range of flavours.
The fish was the surprise of the night with perfectly cooked fish, flaky yet juicy, in a velvety smooth cheese sauce that covered each bite with a unique flavour.
At the time of visiting, there was no dessert’s available, so they gave us a small fruit platter.
Overall, I’m not sure how I feel about this place. I asked myself would I visit again, and the answer is “no”. For 2 reasons, the atmosphere is not warm and is a little cold, second, the food is a little overpriced for what you get, the total bill was £77 for 4 people.
But I don’t think anyone of us left with our stomach’s satisfied. The food was just okay, with the exception of 2 dishes – which we really liked. Also, all the staff and other customers were of Chinese appearance (sorry) so food (and service) is pretty authentic.
I received a discount of 15% as I had mentioned an offer I had seen on their Instagram
I’m always on the lookout for new and different exciting restaurants that offer up something different to the usual.
Wing Wing is a hip new fast food outlet that offers Halal Korean free range fried chicken!
Halal Certificate
At the time of writing this review, I’ve had Wing Wing on 3 different occasions. The first was a visit to the restaurant as a paying customer. The second, I ordered a chicken burger via uber eats to my office the 3rd was a bloggers event that Wing Wing invited me to, So, I’ve been able to sample a lot of the menu.
Wings and Chicken
On my first visit, I decided to try the chicken wings, chicken drumsticks and also a Bao burger along with some seaweed chips and some battered beans.
You can pick 3 different types of glaze to be coated on your chicken wings or drumsticks, Soy garlic, hot and liquorice
On all 3 occasions I’ve had food here, it’s been really good. It’s not your average fried chicken place. The glaze really enhances the flavour of the chicken batter and the batter itself is really crispy and delicious as well as the fact that the chicken is fresh and tender. Both wings and drumsticks are given the same glaze treatment. The wings are whole wings, so you get a good sized portion.
Drumbstick
Brushing Chicken
battered Beans
I think I prefer the drumsticks than the wings, only because you get the big bite of hot juicy deliciousness.
The chicken burger that I’ve had is also so good. They pack it with so many different and unique Korean inspired flavours and ingredients that it creates a really different texture and taste to what I’m used to.
The baos are also different in a good way, there was a little too much use of Slaw that made the Bao into a Mushy mess, but I prefer the assembly and taste of the burger.
Chicken Baos
The venue is bright and coloured with a strong Korean karaoke styled theme. It’s fast food, so you are given a buzzer when the food is ready to take to your table. I believe they also have a ‘K pop’ karaoke room at the back as well.
It’s really close to SOAS and UCL university, so i’m sure it will be popular with the local uni crowd.
The price is more than your average fried chicken shop, but I could definitely tell a difference in the chicken quality The cost of 6 wings is £6.90, the cost of 3 drumsticks also £6.90 and £2.00 extra for chips and drink.
If you like your chicken fried and wanna try something different than the usual ‘Spice Hut’ then give this a go. I recommend getting a mix of glazes so you can figure out your favourite flavour of choice.
Obviously, I like my burgers and so do many of you, so, I decided to drag my burger loving mate along and give this place a go. One of the things that drew me here was the fact that they had a fried chicken burger on the menu, a rarity amongst the halal burger restaurants in town.
The first noticeable thing about this place is the location, it’s half way between chalk farm and Camden station and off a side street that doesn’t get much foot fall. The next thing is the size, this is a tiny shack, that, at best would hold 16 people max. Most of the seating consists of uncomfortable stools, but there are a few padded chairs. I ended up on a small table with some stalls.
Menu
The menu at the time of visiting was very simple and small, reflecting the size of the venue. You order at the till and food is brought out to you.
Chicken Strips
We started the night with a mix of chicken strips, one portion tender strips of deep fried chicken thighs covered in Teriyaki sauce and sweet and spicy sauce. The Teriyaki sauce needed improvement, it’s definitely not authentic and really didn’t work.
However, the sweet and spicy was on point. Burger UK uses chicken thighs, which is more tender and juicier but also less healthy and normally a cheaper cut, most places use chicken breast because it’s leaner and easier to cook. The advantage of this cut is that you can really maximise the flavour you get from the tenderness of the chicken thighs.
Next – the beef burgers, we kept it modest and went for the 6oz patty for both the classic and chefs special.
Classic Beef Burger 6oz
Accompanying the classic, I added American cheese and caramelised onions. Looking at the burger you could be forgiven for thinking I ordered an onion burger. Looks like the cook really likes his onions – there were a lot of them! The kicker was that there weren’t actually any caramelised onions present, or if they were meant to be, they certainly did not undergo the caramelisation process. I had to remove most of the onions from my burger. The burger itself was not to my taste. My personal preference are burgers that are cooked on a hot plate grill and cooked with a dome to trap that steam and flavour. The burgers here are cooked on a traditional grill, so burgers lose a lot of their natural juice. Sadly, this burger tasted the same as so many other burger places that cook their burgers in the same way.
The chef’s special also had an excess onion issue, as well as none of those onions tasted caramelised, the main difference was that this burger had some added chilli sauce which gave it a different flavour. 6.5/10
Chef’s Chilli Burger
Next up, me and my friend both decided to get the fried chicken burger which is pretty hard to find, not many places do a deep fried chicken burger. So let’s talk about the good points. The chicken fillet was very tender, soft and juicy. This is because they had used a chicken thigh piece, which is naturally tender and succulent, the batter was also crispy and cooked perfectly.
Chicken Burger
However, I found the taste of the actual burger bland, I wasn’t picking up any hints of any of the herbs and spices. I tend to be more critical of food that I can make better myself at home and I believe one of the reasons my own chicken burger tastes great is because I use a blend of around 12 different ingredients; But with this burger I really couldn’t get any flavour other than the mayo, I think it may have been an off batch where not enough spices and herbs were used in the flour batter mix.
Despite this, I have to state, it was really crispy, not oily, juicy, tender and cooked perfectly. Just lacked seasoning.
We also tried the sweet potatoes fries, which were just not pleasant: they were soggy and soft, I later found out that this was intentionally served this way because this is how the owner likes them. Soft and soggy chips?! So I decided to run a twitter poll
Whats the best kind of sweet potato chips? I had some soggy ones last night. Owner said that’s how he makes them…
I spoke with the owner in depth and passed on my feedback. I must commend him on his vision and ethics of sourcing quality and halal ingredients, I like his idea of using free range chicken, grass fed beef, freshly made brioche buns and independent drinks, so no branded drinks like coke and sprite here, but hipster lemonade. Of course using quality chicken means it tastes better – but it also carries a bigger price tag, however, the prices are very good for the quality. The restaurant is still in it’s infancy and are still developing their recipes, flavours and balance of ingredients – granted I may not have been blown away with the end product and was a little disappointed with the burgers, but I can see the potential with a few more tweaks, (and we are taking slight tweaks) the chicken burger, in particular, will be a winner.
I was invited to review, the meal was complimentary.
Whenever I come across a new Turkish restaurant I tend to roll my eyes… I usually find restaurants that serve up Turkish all have the same menu and type of food. You know, lamb shish, chicken shish the same cold and warm mezes and your giant platter of bland cheap cuts of meat cooked over a charcoal grill.
I’m not saying that I don’t go to these places, because I do, but they just tend to be the same.
So when I came across a new Turkish restaurant I naturally thought: “here we go, same old food time”. But boy… Was I wrong.
Menu
Menu
Dessert
The first thing that you’ll notice about Lokkrum, a new high-end Turkish restaurant in Woodford, is the quality of the decor and atmosphere. The moment I drove into the car park {16 cars max) I felt like I was in Dubai. Loads of nice looking cars, the exterior of the restaurant was lovely and really upmarket.
Once we entered I was greeted by the warm and friendly hostesses. The first thing you see is the area where they dry aged steaks in full view, followed by the clear high-end decor that this new restaurant had been kitted out in. The hostess gave us a quick tour and seated us in the main dining area. There’s a more casual and relaxed seating area at the front of the restaurant but since this was date night I wanted the nicer area.
The main restaurant area has a massive viewing window that looks into the kitchen.
I started the evening with a Strawberry Mocktail. I’ll tell you, it was a very good mocktail. Perfect balance of sweetness and good use of fresh strawberries. I find that if there’s a proper bar man who knows his stuff, then the drinks usually taste good. Definitely the case here.
Food
Complimentary bread served, warm and freshly made.
Fino Pastry
I didn’t order too much in the way of starters just kept it simple with an order of Borek on the menu they are down as “Filo pastry” – cheese and baby spinach and mixed peppers, which was delicious, just how I like it. Not too flaky and the filling tasted really nice with balanced flavours.
For the main, well I had to get me one of those steaks. On the menu, there’s a 24oz steak! I went for the 14oz which is a pretty big piece of cow. I requested medium, normally I get medium rare.
Steak
As you can see it looks beautiful and comes with a side of chips, mushroom and choice of sauce, at £24.
It was cooked medium, some parts were pinker in the middle, where the meat was thicker. The steak was juicy and tender but lacked that beefy taste I was expecting. However, once I added the sauce it really improved the experience and enhanced the taste.
The mixed grill was just brilliant. There is such a massive difference between the quality of meat here compared to say ‘Gokyuzu’ or ‘Kervan’. From the size to the taste. Everything is better. Like the lamb chop, the lamb shish was just on another level. It may seem smaller in terms of the amount of pieces of chicken and lamb, but just look at the size of the items of what you get. All items were cooked perfectly and were infused with that classic charcoal flavour from the grill.
Also on the menu, there is a lamb cage. I didn’t order this but I saw another table that did. Take my word on this, it looked amazing and I am definitely going to get this when I go again. It’s basically a cage of lamb grilled and then carved at the table. I then spoke with one of the partners who explained their ethos behind the restaurant, it was good to see another example of new Halal restaurants are pushing for something different.
The meal was rounded off with some complimentary desserts. (thank you lokkrum)
At first, I thought that the chocolate fondant was just a 90 second mug cake, but the inside was super gooey so I don’t think it was one. Chocolate was rich and sweet and not bitter, a good fondant.
Overall, I really had a nice experience here. From the service, decor and food, everything was on point. The price was also a lot less than I expected.
I definitely recommend this place for date night or when you go “out out”. I really did feel like I was in Dubai or in another country when I entered, it visited on a lovely late Sunday evening, all dressed up for date night, so that could’ve been why.
So it might be slightly unfair to review a place that specialises in Turkish pizza and not actually reviews them for their Turkish pizza
I finished work late and wanted a quick bite but wanted to try something new on this occasion. (my go-to is usually banana tree or hankies)
Outside at 6pm
I walked past Babaji located on Shaftesbury avenue and decided to give it a try and, there were no waiting times.
I was seated upstairs where the decor has blue tiled textured walls and contemporary gold and shiny decor. I was seated towards the rear where I sat on the comfy seats with a view that overlooked the west end. Nice seats.
Menu
The menu is relatively small for a Turkish, but still, features all the usual suspects in the mezes and mains department.
I opted for 3 mezes:
The calamari deep fried, Sujuk (a spicy sausage), and Börek a Fino pastry filled with cheese and spinach.
Borek
None of the starters were dishes I would recommend. 4 pieces of Börek, I had one bite which was enough, the pasty was too flaky and the filling was not tasty.
The sausage was a single one, cut in half and looked like it was over cooked. The appearance was very unappealing and furthermore, it didn’t taste great.
For the main, we shared a Kulbasti, grilled bits of lamb, served with tomato sauce and bits of bread that could be mistaken for chicken. This was a nice dish, the lamb was tender and cooked well and had good flavours which were enhanced by the rich tomato sauce.
I was surprised that there was no complimentary bread served. When I asked they said they don’t do that, but then brought some out and offered it as complimentary… so I guess you have to ask.
Overall, the location of this restaurant is what drives sales, definitely not the food. It’s below average in terms of quality and taste. The positives were the decor and atmosphere, the upstairs is nice and the prices are not too bad considering it’s a tourist hotspot. Would I go again? Based on the 4 items I had. Nope.
I visited Lima in November 2016 and I’m writing this review in July 2017, the fact that I can sit here on the tube to work and write about it, must show how memorable the food was.
So, yes, this review is totally out of date and you probably won’t be even able to order what I had but I want to give you an idea about the quality of cooking and highlight what you can get here.
I went to visit the Michelin starred Peruvian restaurant at lunch to take advantage of the lunch special. It would be my first experience of such cuisine.
It’s located just off Oxford Street and very close to my office.
Before entering I knew I wanted to take advantage of the set menu, pictured below. £25 for 3 courses.
The focus he is on seafood and there are no halal meat or chicken options available.
MenuPre Starter
Black Bream Tiradito
Black Bream Tiradito
Black Bream Tiradito, served with organic carrots, red kiwicha and chia seeds.
To start, a beautiful looking dish. It was light and well crafted focusing on balancing the fish with the accompanying puree which worked well. The only issue was I finished this in a minute. No grace from me here.
Red Mullet
Red Mullet
Next came the main course. Red mullet with a crispy corn cake. This dish really left an impression on me – 10 months later I can still recall the new flavours that I tasted. There was a new discovery with each bite, a new texture, a new flavour that I was unfamiliar with and I liked it. When I saw the menu, I thought to myself, “a corn cake.. Really? Is that going to be any good?”, but I’m really glad I tried something different. The sauce was a unique rose pink colour and everything about this dish was different to what I usually eat. Made from a specific chilli from Peru called Aji Amarillo, It was presented on a striking blue patterned plate and the food looked great.
Alfajores
For dessert I think i picked the wrong choice, my friend’s looked a lot better. He got the Chirimoya Parfait with strawberries and Amazonian chocolate. It was a lovely looking dish which was more to my taste than what I had unknowingly ordered. The Alfajores, which after googling is a soft, delicate cookie from South America made, with cornstarch. The cornstarch gives the dough a smooth, shiny texture and produces a tender, crumbly cookie. The Creamy Dulce de Leche holds the cookies together.
Chirimoya Parfait
Chirimoya Parfait
In summary, a totally different and welcomed food experience for myself. I loved the care and attention that went into the presentation of these dishes. Even nearly a year later I can recall that texture and taste of that main course.
Although the menu I had is most likely unavailable, I’d happily recommend checking this place out, it’s something different and the quality of ingredients and fish they used is a clear indication of the standards they hold.
When I found out that Galvin La Chapelle can order in halal it piqued my interest, then I noticed they did a reasonable Sunday lunch roast for £35. I thought “I’ll have some of that.”
When I made the reservation I made sure that I pre-ordered the halal beef, as I wanted the Sunday roast beef and that’s the ONLY reason I wanted to visit.
However, despite confirming with the restaurant a week before and again the day before, I was informed once I sat down that they could not source halal beef and could only provide chicken. Well, as you may have gathered, I was not happy.
The venue is an old church and a beautiful airy space with stained glass windows and a high ceiling with exposed wooden beams created a lovely setting.
Inside the restaurantMenu
Starter
I started with the Charred Cornish Mackerel, served with compressed cucumber and pickled Tokyo turnip. Mackerel has a distinctively rich, fishy flavour and was a little overpowering. The plate was beautifully presented and was a very simple dish. 6.5/10
Starter
Main
Next came the main course and one that left me disappointed even before I ate it. When I sat down I really expected some red meat – lamb or beef is king when it comes to a Sunday roast. Sorry Mr chicken, you won’t cut it here.
Chicken breast, Yorkshire pudding, fine beans, roast potatoes and glazed carrots.
Overall, I was just so disappointed with the quality of the food. It was so simple and was on par with a pub Sunday lunch (I was with a few non-Muslims, their words). It was by no means a restaurant that holds a Michelin star. The potatoes were not to the standard I’d expect, not crispy or fluffy, It was the epitome of whenever I’ve had French cooking – boring, simple and tasteless. Granted, I’ve only had French food a handful of times, but if you are reading this blog, chances are that you share a preference for food and palate similar to mine. 5/10
Main
Dessert
Valrhona Manjari chocolate fondant with crystallised pistachios and creme fraiche. The dessert was another letdown. I was really expecting more. Instead, I had a chocolate fondant that had clearly been stuck in a microwave or at least tasted like it was. There wasn’t enough sweetness from the chocolate and the chocolate itself was harsh and sharp. Not a good dessert. 4/10
Dessert
Overall, the atmosphere and decor contributed to a different experience, the venue is airy and lovely to eat in. The presentation of all the food was great, however, the food lacked any positivity or taste that would add cause for me to recommend this place. I have to mark down on service – not the actual service on the day, which was good – but I expected better from a restaurant that holds a star. Making a reservation was difficult, I didn’t get any follow up confirmations as I would expect. I asked for the service to be removed from the bill, which it was.
