Posted by Katrin on June 3rd, 2007 — Posted in Restaurants
Two nights ago we tried Imli, an Indian Restaurant with a twist in Soho. I had read about it some time ago and it was mentioned again in one of the Time Out newsletter which I receive every week (very handy to see what’s on – in a nutshell, so to speak). It is very different to any Indian Restaurant I have ever been to. It serves tapas style food but even though it looks different to what you would expect it has the flavours of India in every single dish.
The restaurant itself is pretty stylish, I liked the warm but very modern decorations and the phrase painted on the wall that good food is best enjoyed with family and friends – a true mixture of traditions and modern city life.The only downside was that it is extremely noisy. It is certainly not a location for a first date or romantic evening, but for dinner after work it is just fine (do prepare yourself for some repeating what you said though).
We tried the tasting menu which served 9 dishes and rice. The first four looked very experimental and tasted wonderful. They were served as a first round and had a ‘starter feeling’ to them. The five which followed were more traditional dishes, very spicy (could have been a little less for me) and I enjoyed especially the variety in small portions.
Go and see for yourself!
Imli
167-169 Wardour Street
London, W1F 8WR
Tel: 020 7287 4243
Fax: 020 7287 4245
Opening Times: Monday - Sunday 12.00 - 11.00pm
Imli, 167-169 Wardour Street
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Posted by Katrin on May 14th, 2007 — Posted in Restaurants, Bars
Oh cool, who would have thought I have this jewel in my backyard! Well, not actually in my backyard, but just around the corner anyway.
I was lucky enough to be taken out to dinner last night. We knew this place was in the neighbourhood but for some reason never got around to try it. Then a little article caught our attention.
Entering through a large wooden door which has a bit of a keep-out feeling you walk into a room that has such a comfortable atmosphere to it you want to just sit down and spend the entire evening there. Dark brown wood and warm reds dominate the interior, in the warmer months the French windows open up towards the quiet street where a few more tables are standing.
The menu offers Tapas style dishes divided into vegetable, meat and seafood, pizza (small ones, in line with the Tapas theme) and desert. All on an A4 paper – I love it when there aren’t too many choices. The food is absolutely delicious! The waitress recommended about three dishes per person. Try the house salad of Puy Lentils, Feta and Olives in Honey Mustard Dressing, the Roast Sweet Potatoe and Butternut Squash with wilted Spinach, and the Pork Meatballs in roasted Tomato Sauce. The Manchego filled Dates wrapped in Parma Ham are absolutely divine and because of their sweetness can work well at the end of the meal. Be aware of the oysters though, they are very fresh and tasty but huge! I’m not exaggerating… I am a fan of oysters but there even I hesitated for a moment.
Only sad note to the evening: We didn’t have much luck with the wine. The Montepulciano was disappointing, mainly because it was watery. The Rioja couldn’t win us over either. So you might want to try a glass first before deciding on a bottle.
Priory House
Bar and Restaurant
58 Milson Road
London W14 0LB
020 7371 3999
The Priory House
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Posted by Katrin on October 31st, 2006 — Posted in Restaurants, Pubs
A friend of mine came to visit last weekend and we decided to go to Brick Lane for dinner. She has been to London but it is ages ago and showing her something different than the usual tourist attractions seemed a good option.
We started off with some drinks and headed towards Piccadilly where we met some more friends. Piccadilly is really not a good place to hang out in the evening, so we made our way away from the crowds to find a nice pub. The Leicester Arms is close by but you don’t feel the crowds out there. It is cosy and was definitely a good place to kickstart the evening!
The Leicester Arms
44 Glasshouse St
London, W1B 5DP
020 7734 7641
Look it up on the map
The second one we went to was also nice, although I can’t be entirely sure whether it was the pub or just the company I was in. I can’t bring myself to remember the name, but it was close to Liberty, a great store for fashion - so I’ve been told - on Regent Street. It was just around the corner and I made a mental note to go and check out the store as soon as I can.
After we said goodbye to the friends who had joined us for drinks we finally headed towards Brick Lane. I have never been there before and was curious what it would be like. Unfortunately they were doing some work on some parts of the street, but it was still quite a buzzing atmosphere. Brick Lane is full of mostly Indian restaurants and they will try to lure you in whenever you stop somewhere to have a look at the menu. They will also start to offer you discounts and especially if you are in a larger group that might come in handy.
Normally I don’t like this “fishing for customers” but in this particular setting it was enjoyable and interesting. We walked along the street, stopping here and there to have a closer look and finally settled on one where you could buy your own wine at the store next door and bring it with you. This is done in Sydney very often as alcohol licenses are expensive and it brought back sweet memories of starting the night in a bottle shop where you can take your time to choose your favourite wine, before heading to the restaurant. I don’t have to mention that this is much less expensive as well!
The restaurant was packed with people it was loud and the air was already filled with the scents of Indian spices. It was exactly what we had in mind. Don’t go there if you like fancy surroundings - this is a very simple place and not much care is given to how the tabel is set. But it is just the right place to have a relaxed night out with friends.
The food was absolutely fabulous! I had my doubts to be honest. My Chicken Boohna was delicious and we had a Balti Lamb dish (I don’t remember the exact name) which was great as well. I also recommend the Sag Aloo - in this case I have had better, but it was still tasty and it remains my favourite Indian side dish. The portions were generous and the three of us paid for a starter which we shared, three main courses, a vegetable side dish, two portions of rice and one naan only about GBP 25,-. I think that is a very good price for a dinner out in London!
And when you go and buy your own wine: Try the Jacob’s Creek Chardonnay! Since my time in Sydney I have this thing for Australian wines and this is one of my favourites!
Preem
Restaurant and Balti House
120 Brick Lane
London, E1 6RL
020 7247 0397
open seven days a week
12 noon till midnight
Look it up on the map
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Posted by Katrin on October 22nd, 2006 — Posted in Restaurants, Cafés
Well, I was contemplating about doing this blog post or not as I was not pleased with the place we tried. But then I figured even negative reviews are good as it might save somebody else from making the same mistake.
Close to where I live is this cute looking French style café. I had always wanted to go there for some coffee, but as you know time flies by and you never do what you always wanted to do. So this Saturday we decided to go out for breakfast and we picked Café Rouge hoping for some good coffee in a beautiful ambiance. Sadly they let us down.
We ordered two Café au Lait, a Croque Madame and Oeufs Benedikte. I had my doubts about the place once the coffee was brought to our table. I had quietly hoped for a cup with steaming espresso and a small jug of hot milk on the side, this being the way I have had coffee in Paris numerous times. Instead two milkshake-like glasses were used. I’m not much of a fan of coffee in glasses in general and it is certainly not a very French way of drinking it. (Am I wrong? Please correct me if I am!)
But the coffee was just a side note, the dissapointing thing was the food. Although both dishes tasted ok (as did the coffee by the way - it was not the taste of things that put us off) the presentation was very poor. There was no garnish whatsoever and the plates looked simply dull. I intended to take a picture but then didn’t because it would have looked awful. My Oeufs Benedikte consisted of one slice of brioche, a rather dry slice of ham and two small poached eggs which were pressed in some kind of oval form and looked manufactured. The sauce hollandaise was ok, but I just wonder how they can place all this in the middle of a plate and not get the idea that some green leaves on the side might look nice. Or a slice of tomato, anything really. When I go out to eat I do expect some effort in presentation! Even if it tastes not bad (as this experience proves again) what sticks with me is how food is treated and presented, especially when you are trying to resemble a French café/ restaurant.
I took a flyer with me when we left, in order to do some research for this blog. I was completely surprised to learn that it actually is a chain! I hadn’t been aware of it at all but apparently there are over 80 of these Café Rouge’s in Britain. Well, this certainly can mean that we were just unlucky to experience one that wasn’t well managed. However I won’t find out as I don’t intend to go back and try again.
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Posted by Katrin on October 18th, 2006 — Posted in Restaurants, Food supply
Showing my friend around in Notting Hill and exploring the Portobello Road Market, we suddenly ran into a little place I had meant to look for but had forgotten about it. A few weeks ago I had read a short article about a Spanish Tapas Bar and small deli supermarket in Notting Hill: Café García. It seemed like a very cosy place and the second I saw it I knew that this is the place to go when you are craving Spanish food!
I have to admit that I spent most of my attention on the supermarket. I love products from other countries and I have this thing about supermarkets in general…It takes me forever to go grocery shopping.
According to the short article (which I believe is from Time Out although I am not 100% sure as I cut it out) the Café is very good and “draws an authentically Hispanic crowd to eat its wonderful albóndigas, tortillas, salads, pies, cakes and pastries”. I will make sure to try it soon and let you know all about it.
As for the supermarket it is truly wonderful! Small but full of original products and fresh tapas to take home. Try the marrinated Manchego Cheese! You can even buy the typical terracotta-coloured tapas bowls and other accessories along with a good assortment of Spanish Wines (I love a good Rioja) and olive oils.
Café García
246 Portobello Road
W11
020 7221 6119
Ladbroke Grove tube
Open:
Mon - Thur 8am-7pm
Fr, Sat 8am-11pm
Sun 10am-7pm
Look it up on the map
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