Lalibela, 137 Fortess Road, London, NW5 2HR

Lalibela, 137 Fortess Road, London, NW5 2HR

30/07/2014

www.lalibelarestaurant.co.uk

She said: Every time we go to Brick Lane or Greenwich Market we pounce on the Ethiopian food stands. We just love the food which always tastes so fresh and healthy. We’ve tried hard to find a  good Ethiopian restaurant where we can actually sit down and try a wider range of dishes but the last place I walked past in Kings Cross had a sign of the door along the lines of: No knives or other weapons may be brought on to the premise’. So, when I was on my scooter and noticed Lalibela in my peripheral vision when driving through Kentish Town and it looked like it might be a winner, I returned with him to give it a go. Good decision. Lalibela looks like and is an institution. It has been owned by the same family for 20 years. It looks tired inside but in the way an old aunt’s place might, as opposed to any obvious hygiene issues. We were taken up some creaky stairs and seated at a table overlooking the main high street from where I could keep an eye on my scooter. The menu was huge. We were confused by so much choice so opted for the vegetarian combination dish ‘Ye Tsom Beyaynetu’, which was sort of equivalent to an Indian Thali but instead of eating from different bowls, each bowl of food is poured onto a giant plate over a giant ingera (Ethiopian bread – an acquired taste). The result was outstanding and I finished the meal full and ready to come back to try new things. The bill of course was extremely reasonable. I’ve noticed another Ethiopian around the corner from Lalibela so might have to try that next but look forward to coming back for future cravings.

He said: I haven’t googled it, but I’m guessing Lalibela must be one of the longest-established Ethiopians in London. When it first opened the décor must have looked so exotic; nothing much has changed since then, except that the knick-knacks are now a little shabbier. But this is all part of its charm; Lalibela has a really winning family-owned restaurant feel to it; it’s a nice contrast to all the meticulously engineered gastro temples run with the precision of Kaiser Wilhelm’s Imperial Guard. You just know that aunty was in the kitchen cooking up the magic, because it seemed like her nephew taking our orders. Now all this sentimentality wouldn’t amount to much if the food wasn’t also good; which it is. It’s very good; but I confess that I still prefer the market stalls we hit every now and again. So, if I’m totally honest, I probably won’t go back to Lalibela anytime soon, given how many other Ethiopians I want to try. But it’s definitely worth trying.

Andina, 1 Redchurch Street, London, E2 7DJ

Andina, 1 Redchurch Street, London, E2 7DJ

20/07/2014

www.andinalondon.com

She said: We remain in love with Peruvian food since out trek last year. So, Andina was always going to be a target. Close to what was once little Bangladesh but now almost fully morphed into Trendland, Andina has a neighbourhood feel with its corner setting and casual, cramped interior. The menu offered an original, tempting range of dishes, and with this being a weekend, some interesting brunch options. We stuck with the regular section of the menu and ordered a selection of dishes in line with the ever increasing need for restaurants to encourage you to share their petite offerings rather than make a regular portion for one regular person. The food was amazing. The Cerviche dishes were the highlight. The only disappointment was the corn cake which was relatively bland. We did see giant portions of brunch dishes being escorted to different tables if you did want something with more bulk but I must say, there was a real authenticity to Andina which was highly satisfying. On my trip to the loo downstairs I discovered a larger, more open seating area. I think the brightness of upstairs makes the squeeze worth it but good to know there are more seats if cramp if not your thing.

He said: Someday you will read a bad Peruvian review here, but not today. We came close a little while ago when, following a recommendation, we checked out the Peruvian in London Bridge which has been opened much longer that the wave of recent openings. Lucky for us the Chef was late coming that day, so it wasn’t fully opened when we walked in, smelled the horror and walked right out. Peruvian food is all about fresh zingy flavours. So the rank atmosphere of a pub on a Sunday morning before clean-up is not the way to get in the mood. That was a close call. So, in my imagination all Peruvian food remains magic. And Andina was definitely par for the course; lots of delicious ceviche, and things not called ceviche that look like it. This is the kind of place where you want to install yourself for a while and try lots of dishes and guzzle lots of equally interesting mixed drinks. Speaking of which I can’t really recommend the Bloody Andina, which is made with Pisco, the flavour of which is too intense for tomato. And now that the negativity genie is out of the bottle, I will also say that the most expensive thing we ordered was grilled salmon skewers which were nice, but not a patch on all the more typical things. I’m definitely looking forward to going back, this is a great hang out spot, but if I have to pick a favourite Peruvian in London it’s still Ceviche in Soho.

Inamo, 4-12 Regent St, London SW1Y 4PE

Inamo, 4-12 Regent St, London SW1Y 4PE
12/07/2014
www.inamo-stjames.com

She said: This place is cool! There are some who may think it gimmicky and prefer waiters and table cloth but come on: you order from a projected menu on your table, the food is amazing and menu huge and prices reasonable. There’s also a great cocktail list. What’s not to like? The technology doesn’t stop with the menu, you can pick a projected table cloth, add more food as you please and even ask for individual bills which is great for groups of friends who spend ages trying to split the thing at the end of a meal. Food was quick to arrive, though individually so it won’t work for people wanting to have dishes as the same time but I quite liked the gaps which allowed time for digesting. In a world of standard dining, Inamo offers something different without compromising on food. Will definitely be back.

He said: Like an old Uncle that bores everyone with the same anecdotes over, and over, and over, I must have told She a dozen times that if I was ever asked to design the ultimate restaurant I would install call bells to get service at will, especially after desert, when you want the bill and staff is studiously ignoring you in favour of customers still ordering and spending money. Genius, right? Bob Bob Ricard does it, with a button you’re meant to press when you want more champagne; technically you could abuse that to get the bill too. But Inamo goes one better: your table is a whizzy ordering system connected to the kitchen, and you can get everything, and the bill, without having to scan the room and pounce, leopard-like, on a passing waiter. So you can imagine my delight when She booked Inamo for my birthday; not only can I order as many gyoza as I want without talking to a humanoid but evidently, even after years of marital bliss, she still listens to my boring rants! Beyond the gimmick the food is very good, and the imaginative mixed drinks very well priced at about £7 each. What’s not to like?!

Typing Room, Patriot Square, London E2 9NF

Typing Room, Patriot Square, London E2 9NF
www.typingroom.com

12/07/2014

She said: As has already been established, he’s a fan of Atherton so for his birthday lunch I picked Typing Room, a British contemporary restaurant from a former Atherton helmsman. Housed in the former Bethnal Green Town Hall and now a boutique hotel, the Typing Room is a clean, modern space which is nothing much to write home about in terms of setting. We liked the look of the set menu but there was no vegetarian OR fish option which is surprising in this age (even meat eaters have their off-meat days). However, the waiter checked with the chef when we asked about this and he was good enough to offer us a main from the a la cate menu in place of the set main options. I have to say, when all is said and done, the food was perfection. Pretty, yes small portions that goes with good looking food these days but amazing and original flavours. I loved the amuse bouche of a pesto filled profiterole and the fresh, warm bread that came with a delicious marmite spread! I found the cocktail list limited but otherwise the Typing Room lives up to its hype. Yum.

He said: There are still some continentals out there that throw around the old clichés about British cooking. Just like there are still people out there that think the moon landing is a hoax. There’s really no point engaging with that kind of crap, certainly not the moon loonies, but to the sarky continentals I say just go to Atherton-Doppelganger The Typing Room, or any of Atherton’s places, or Dabbous, and so on; and that’s just for the modern British stuff, don’t even get me started on all the British people from other origins cooking up a storm here. You’d be forgiven for thinking this was an Atherton place (it isn’t): Typing Room does that same to-the-minute hyper-seasonal British cooking, similar beautiful presentation, and same focus on making everything on the plate really count and taste like itself. I’m pretty sensitive to portion size, being Mr Greedy Chops, and your first impression is that the plates might be for the petite ladies but, strangely, I actually walked away feeling just right; I think my brain got tricked because everything just tasted so much bigger. This is definitely a good place; my only gripe with it is that it’s so damned far east, you really have to want to go there. Which you should.

Coworth Park, Blacknest Rd, Ascot, Berkshire SL5 7SE

Coworth Park, Blacknest Rd, Ascot, Berkshire SL5 7SE
www.dorchestercollection.com/en/ascot/coworth-park

04/07/2014

She said: He whisked me away for a birthday weekend at this heavenly Dorchester Collection country house. After a day of pampering we were seated in the elegant restaurant at which point he asked if we could move to a table by the window overlooking the grounds (rather than he face a wall), to which they obliged. The atmosphere was clearly one of ‘get-away-from-it-all’ indulgence and the menu offered a wide choice of British fare. I kicked off with a delicious cocktail. The service was friendly and attentive and the food was what I would call reliable: nicely presented, tasty but not wow. I think we would have left with a pleasant, happy stomach if it wasn’t for the endless wait for pudding. It must have been at least 30 minutes and we knew something was remiss when instead of dessert a little scoop of granita masquerading as a chef’s compliments was brought to us which neither of us ate while he chased up puddings. We were offered more alcohol by way of an apology which was a nice enough gesture but which neither of us wanted but were brought anyway. The highlight, despite not having room, was the petit fours which included a heavenly lavender chocolate. I would like to have been presented the selection to enjoy rather than asked to select from a tray without any idea of whether I could have two or ten but nevertheless these were damn good chocolates.

He said: I guess that unless you lived out near there you wouldn’t necessarily go out to Coworth Park for a meal. But you should. Number one it’s set in really nice grounds, number two it’s right next door to national treasure Windsor Great Park, number three it’s a Dorchester gig, so you know that corners will not be cut to deliver the very best. This place ain’t cheap, and there is no one that complains more than a rich person, and no business wants to listen to people complain all day, so the heavy artillery will come out to blow the punters away. We actually ate in two places there: in the restaurant, which was serving an all British menu in a quietly opulent setting. I liked everything, especially the camp French maitre d’; it’s a shame that they stumbled at the last hurdle with a lost desert ticket, but they made up for it, and it gave us more time to chat and enjoy the view over the lawn. We also had a lunch at The Barn, the more informal restaurant that’s rustic in a Belgravia kind of way. I had a caponata there, washed down with a glass of Pimms, out on the terrace overlooking the fields, with the sun beating down from a clear blue sky. There’s no way that meal was going to suck! I’ll definitely be back, hopefully after a nice long hike or ride around Windsor Great Park.