Finally, my challenge is over - but was I successful? Well, it's taken me a lot longer than anticipated and what started as a summer eating fest extended into an autumn and winter extravaganza. I've certainly eaten and imbibed a lot and although I've not had many 'official' followers I know that many of you have been keeping up unofficially with my festing. Have I put on weight? Well I'm afraid I have, but suspect this is more down to 3 weeks in the Far East over Christmas and the New Year rather than 7 months in Soho!
The big question is, would I do it again? Definitely - it's certainly been a talking point and friends have hopefully enjoyed joining me. It's also made me visit places that I'd never have gone to and try lots of different foods.
As I've had a number of requests for recommendations, I've listed my favourites. So, if you find yourself in Soho and wonder where to go, check them out and think of me spending TP's pension in South America! Finally don't forget to check out my new blog which will start in February: http://southamericaonapension.blogspot.com/.
Favourite Bar
1. Kettners (Greek Street West) - an obvious choice: it sells champagne!
2. LVPO (Dean Street East) - good for early evening happy hours.
Favourite Pub
Although I'm not a 'pub girl' I've included this category for those who like a pint.
1. Coach and Horses (Greek Street East) - mainly because it's become my regular for meeting two of my favourite boys (you know who you are!)
2. Montagu Pyke (Greek Street East) - although it's a Wetherspoons and huge, the entrance on Greek Street has intimate seating and good service
3. Pillars of Hercules (Greek Street East)
Favourite place for breakfast
Both chosen because like me they are stylish, sophisticated and serve my favourite breakfast of eggs benedict!
1. Dean Street Town House (Dean Street West)
2. Cafe Boheme (Greek Street West)
Favourite traditional lunchtime menu
1. San Valentino (Greek Street East) - probably my most visited venue for jacket potato, beans and cheese - also served me the biggest portion of lasagne I've ever had
2. Cafe Emm (Greek Street East)
3. Soho Joe (Dean Street East)
Favourite ethnic lunchtime menu
All are chosen because they have casual seating inside and as I've discovered, this is much better than a sandwich at your desk
1. Moolis (Frith Street West) - spicy Indian wraps
2. Nam (Dean Street West) - Vietnamese spring rolls
3. Adagio (Greek Street East) - delicous looking huge slabs of pizza sold by the weight
Favourite cheap eat for the evening
All offer excellent value for under £10
1. Nusa Dua (Dean Street East)
2. Rosa's (Dean Street East)
3. Bi Bam Bap (Greek Street East)
Favourite 'special occasion' place
1. Red Fort (Dean Street West) - fabulously stylish Indian food
2. Barrafina (Frith Street West) - only in 2nd place because you can't book
3. Arbutus (Frith Street West) - modern surroundings with fab food
The 'try something' different award
1. Garlic and Shots (Frith Street East)
2. Gay Hussar (Greek Street East)
And finally the Quorn Award for vegetarianism, must go to Zilli Green on Dean Street East as it's the only place where a vegetarian can chose off the entire menu!
Bon appetite and keep up with South America!
Sunday, 9 January 2011
Saturday, 8 January 2011
The Final . . . . Anti Climax!
There was only one left - Gama on Dean Street East. To be honest it wasn't last by co-incidence: it didn't look inviting and delivered my least favorite cuisine (Japanese/Korean fusion). There was no website but reviews on other sites were not particularly favourable. So it was with some trepidation that I set out yesterday lunchtime . . . . only to find it closed. It was difficult to judge whether this was permanently or just during the day but I've made the decision to cross it off my list. So although finishing my challenge should have been a real high spot, I'm afraid it was a bit of an anti climax! So I decided to cheer myself up on a wet and windy day with a jacket potato, cheese and beans at my favourite lunchtime venue of San Valentino.
I then began musing about all the places I'd explored over the last few months and have decided to make some awards so watch this space . . .
I then began musing about all the places I'd explored over the last few months and have decided to make some awards so watch this space . . .
Wednesday, 15 December 2010
Thai - ing up loose ends!
With the end in sight and a holiday to Thailand looming, TP and I (or is it TP and me, or me and TP? I can never remember and have to rely on The Lady to advise) thought we'd get in the mood with a lunch-time trip to Patara on Greek Street East http://www.pataralondon.com/. We had to ask to see the lunch time special menu (which I always hate as it makes me feel like a cheap skate). But when it arrived the mains sounded delicious (there was one starter of a mixed platter and one desert of mango ice cream and melting chocolate pudding) and it was difficult to chose. Two courses were £15.50 and so TP decided to have a starter and main whilst I opted for main and pud. However, this posed the first problem as we were told two courses are meant to be starter and main (although there was nothing on the menu to say this). All was settled in due course after a minimum of fuss and we enjoyed mains of gressingham duck and slow cooked beef. Interestingly my main was served at the same time as TP's starter but fortunately the waitress did ask, before she served my pud with TP's main. The food was beautifully presented and very tasty. A bottle of sauv was £18.50 and the whole lunch came to just over £50 with service. However, if we'd gone a la carte, I suspect the bill would have been much higher. Not somewhere we'd return to and they need to improve service at these prices!
Saturday, 11 December 2010
Well, what a week so . . . .
. . . settle yourself down with a nice glass of wine and leave the bottle at your side ready for top ups - you'll need them!
Monday saw me trying to get a table at Pierre Victoire on Dean Street East http://www.pierrevictoire.com/london/restaurant/index.asp only
to find they were fully booked right up until Christmas. This is obviously a reflection of their good value pre-theatre menu of £9.90 for two courses. Therefore having been to their sister restauant, Prix Fixe, I'm going to call it a day.
On the way back down Dean Street, I found that Chiang Mai had closed down. Hooray, one less!
Tuesday was spent at the Mousetrap matinee with A Guest who, having seen it before, was very good and refused to reveal who did it! We had fizz in Kettners, our favourite champagne bar, and could have walked out without paying. However we didn't want to be like the couple who were captured on CCTV after legging it from a restaurant without paying, so we decided to be honest. We then went to Jimmy's Greek on Frith Street East. I have to say I'd been putting this one off, because there's no website (so no idea of prices or menu) and only a blue door with a canopy. And as there's no frontage, you're not really sure what you're going in to. We went downstairs with some trepidation to find quite a large, empty restaurant but with lots of arches making it feel quite intimate. We decided to order a number of starters: as the waiter described it Greek tapas. We sampled hummous, spicy meatballs, Turkish sausage, grilled hallumi and taramasalata with pitta. They were all delicious and with a bottle of reasonably priced and tasting house white, the bill came to £32. We got chatting to the waiter who told us that the restaurant opened in 1962 and at the time was only one of around four in the street (that would have made my challenge easier!). He said the grey haired lady with the gold Christmas party hat was the original owner. She was washing up when we arrived but playing cards with an equally elderly chap with a long grey pony tail when we left. It was a very friendly place and as they look to have live music at some time, I suspect it could get very lively.
Wednesday was a night of contrasts. First up was a glass of wine in Garlic and Shots on Frith Street East http://www.garlicandshots.com/html/menu.html. It's a small restaurant but with a couple of stools at the bar. As it was early we got chatting to the huge bear of a man behind the counter to find that he was the Swedish owner and that his two brothers run branches in Stockholm and Palma. They have 101 vodka shots, infused on the premises: his bottle of citron vodka was full of lemon peel. We couldn't leave without downing a shot and I went for Bloodshot - vodka, tomato, garlic (in slivers), chilli and spices. It was rather warming but I tried to be casual about it. The Pensioner chose a more sedate lemon vodka but followed it with a Boodshot chaser as he didn't want to be outdone. We cannot wait to go back in the New Year to try the food - the Internet says 'no dishes are served without garlic. You can always order extra garlic, but never less. As you leave the restaurant you should feel like you've been garlic marinated. This is our mission from God.' If you meet me in January, I suspect you'll probably be able to tell if I've been the night before!
It was then onto a very up market Red Fort on Dean Street West http://www.redfort.co.uk/welcome.htm. Coats were taken and we were shown to a quiet table in the window and immediately offered an aperitif, champagne or prosecco. We chose the latter, poured at the table so we could check out the label, which was served with two poppadoms and a delicate, white oblong dish with four chutneys. We ordered a bottle of £25 sauvignon blanc and shared a starter of hara kebab; two fairly substantial spinach and fenugreek patties lightly filled with cheese, onion and coriander which came accompanied by another oblong dish with four different chutneys. The Pensioner decided on his usual, lamb: Hyderabadi bhuna gosht or Welsh lamb cooked with ginger, garlic, coriander and whole red chilli whilst I opted for a chicken curry or luknowi murgh. The meat in both was very tender and succulent and we shared as mine had a more spicy sauce (although after the bloodshot, it's a wonder we could tell)! Very surprisingly, I then decided on a mango ice cream whilst TP had a glass of port, again poured from the bottle. The service was very attentive throughout and the sommelier, extremely good. It was obviously not a cheap night out, but would make a lovely choice for a special occasion (rather than an after work, mid week meal).
Thursday night saw me out with The Lady, Blonde Bombshell and The Pensioner. As two of the three are eligible for Winter Fuel Payments (you know what I mean) and The Pensioner still hasn't received his pension, austerity was the watchword. Nusa Dua on Dean Street East fitted the bill admirably with its two course menu for an incredible £8.95 - http://www.nusadua.co.uk/. I also chose it to put us in the mood for New Year which we'll be seeing in on the Indonesian island of Bintan. There were prawn crackers on the table and we received a literally warm welcome as a fire was pulled up to our table. First we were presented with a clear, spicy complementary soup which was excellent. The menu has a good selection of starters and mains and we chose fried crab sticks, potato cakes with a chilli dip and crab cakes. The list of mains was even longer and so we all found something we liked which came with a choice of noodles or rice. My beef curry was excellent and all the dishes were served in very good portion sizes. With two bottles of white wine, our bill for four came to £66. Austerity accomplished! It was an excellent night with lots of laughs and at least we were well away from the rioting students. I will definitely return!
Monday saw me trying to get a table at Pierre Victoire on Dean Street East http://www.pierrevictoire.com/london/restaurant/index.asp only
to find they were fully booked right up until Christmas. This is obviously a reflection of their good value pre-theatre menu of £9.90 for two courses. Therefore having been to their sister restauant, Prix Fixe, I'm going to call it a day.
On the way back down Dean Street, I found that Chiang Mai had closed down. Hooray, one less!
Tuesday was spent at the Mousetrap matinee with A Guest who, having seen it before, was very good and refused to reveal who did it! We had fizz in Kettners, our favourite champagne bar, and could have walked out without paying. However we didn't want to be like the couple who were captured on CCTV after legging it from a restaurant without paying, so we decided to be honest. We then went to Jimmy's Greek on Frith Street East. I have to say I'd been putting this one off, because there's no website (so no idea of prices or menu) and only a blue door with a canopy. And as there's no frontage, you're not really sure what you're going in to. We went downstairs with some trepidation to find quite a large, empty restaurant but with lots of arches making it feel quite intimate. We decided to order a number of starters: as the waiter described it Greek tapas. We sampled hummous, spicy meatballs, Turkish sausage, grilled hallumi and taramasalata with pitta. They were all delicious and with a bottle of reasonably priced and tasting house white, the bill came to £32. We got chatting to the waiter who told us that the restaurant opened in 1962 and at the time was only one of around four in the street (that would have made my challenge easier!). He said the grey haired lady with the gold Christmas party hat was the original owner. She was washing up when we arrived but playing cards with an equally elderly chap with a long grey pony tail when we left. It was a very friendly place and as they look to have live music at some time, I suspect it could get very lively.
Wednesday was a night of contrasts. First up was a glass of wine in Garlic and Shots on Frith Street East http://www.garlicandshots.com/html/menu.html. It's a small restaurant but with a couple of stools at the bar. As it was early we got chatting to the huge bear of a man behind the counter to find that he was the Swedish owner and that his two brothers run branches in Stockholm and Palma. They have 101 vodka shots, infused on the premises: his bottle of citron vodka was full of lemon peel. We couldn't leave without downing a shot and I went for Bloodshot - vodka, tomato, garlic (in slivers), chilli and spices. It was rather warming but I tried to be casual about it. The Pensioner chose a more sedate lemon vodka but followed it with a Boodshot chaser as he didn't want to be outdone. We cannot wait to go back in the New Year to try the food - the Internet says 'no dishes are served without garlic. You can always order extra garlic, but never less. As you leave the restaurant you should feel like you've been garlic marinated. This is our mission from God.' If you meet me in January, I suspect you'll probably be able to tell if I've been the night before!
It was then onto a very up market Red Fort on Dean Street West http://www.redfort.co.uk/welcome.htm. Coats were taken and we were shown to a quiet table in the window and immediately offered an aperitif, champagne or prosecco. We chose the latter, poured at the table so we could check out the label, which was served with two poppadoms and a delicate, white oblong dish with four chutneys. We ordered a bottle of £25 sauvignon blanc and shared a starter of hara kebab; two fairly substantial spinach and fenugreek patties lightly filled with cheese, onion and coriander which came accompanied by another oblong dish with four different chutneys. The Pensioner decided on his usual, lamb: Hyderabadi bhuna gosht or Welsh lamb cooked with ginger, garlic, coriander and whole red chilli whilst I opted for a chicken curry or luknowi murgh. The meat in both was very tender and succulent and we shared as mine had a more spicy sauce (although after the bloodshot, it's a wonder we could tell)! Very surprisingly, I then decided on a mango ice cream whilst TP had a glass of port, again poured from the bottle. The service was very attentive throughout and the sommelier, extremely good. It was obviously not a cheap night out, but would make a lovely choice for a special occasion (rather than an after work, mid week meal).
Thursday night saw me out with The Lady, Blonde Bombshell and The Pensioner. As two of the three are eligible for Winter Fuel Payments (you know what I mean) and The Pensioner still hasn't received his pension, austerity was the watchword. Nusa Dua on Dean Street East fitted the bill admirably with its two course menu for an incredible £8.95 - http://www.nusadua.co.uk/. I also chose it to put us in the mood for New Year which we'll be seeing in on the Indonesian island of Bintan. There were prawn crackers on the table and we received a literally warm welcome as a fire was pulled up to our table. First we were presented with a clear, spicy complementary soup which was excellent. The menu has a good selection of starters and mains and we chose fried crab sticks, potato cakes with a chilli dip and crab cakes. The list of mains was even longer and so we all found something we liked which came with a choice of noodles or rice. My beef curry was excellent and all the dishes were served in very good portion sizes. With two bottles of white wine, our bill for four came to £66. Austerity accomplished! It was an excellent night with lots of laughs and at least we were well away from the rioting students. I will definitely return!
Saturday, 4 December 2010
Spaghetti Free Junction . . .
. . . in Little Italy on Frith Street East http://www.littleitalysoho.co.uk/ where I treated TP to lunch on Friday. Now he's retired and doesn't have a Xmas Team/work lunch to go to, I thought I'd spoil him. The restaurant and tables looked beautiful with lots of tasteful Christmas decorations, the music was jazzy but subtle and the service excellent. We opted for the two course set lunch (£16.90) of crayfish cocktails, the sea bream and turkey. The food was well presented and delicious. The second cheapest bottle of wine (I've been taught to go one up from the cheapest) was £23 but I did spot a bottle of something special for over £2000. At the end of the meal, we were presented with a basket with walnuts and satsumas which added a festive air. TP then showed me his trick, which I'd never seen in 22 years of being together, of cracking two nuts together in his hands! It's not a cheap place with main courses on the a la carte menu of around £25, but we'd definitely recommend the set menu.
Thursday, 2 December 2010
Confusion at the Bar
Picture the scene: lunch-time snow showers, cross roads on Frith Street and Chinese restaurants on diagonal corners. One called Bar Shu and one called Ba Shan. I knew one was still on the list, but couldn't remember which, so opted for Ba Shan on the East side as it looked more intimate. I ate in a small room designed like a Chinese tea house but I got the impression there were lots more similar rooms. The tables and chairs were dark rich wood and completely unadorned. Although it was cold outside I opted for a starter of spicy salad with chicken slivers. The menu, with pictures of the dishes, contained a number of interesting dishes including ones with chopped pig ear, pig intestines, pig heart and every other piece of the animal. The salad took a while to arrive but when it did it was huge and served in a lettuce leaf. It was very spicy and was all finely chopped and really warmed me up. A young Chinese couple who came in after me, were served huge amounts of dishes which were still arriving at suitable intervals as I left. My meal with a beer was £10.90 which I thought was reasonable (I drank beer as I objected paying £6.90 for a glass of house wine). Back at the office, I realised I'd discounted Ba Shan as the address is actually Romilly Street, but I've decided that it will count instead of Bar Shu! http://www.bar-shu.co.uk/.
Breakfast today was at the Dean Street Town House, a trendy hotel on Dean Street West http://www.deanstreettownhouse.com/. The welcome was warm and friendly on a cold day and I soon had my coat off and was sat down in a large restaurant which had a long bar running nearly the length of it. The service was excellent and I was immediately offered water. I opted for my very favourite breakfast of eggs benedict (but in the singular) but I could have had eggs florentine (with spinach) or royale (with salmon). It was one of the best I've had with a pale, creamy hollandaise sauce. It was all so delicious I wished I opted for the plural! Together with a pot of earl grey with lemon the bill came to £9.60 with service. I'd definitely go again, as the staff are young, smart and willing and everything is beautifully served with juices being presented in individual small carafes. Jams are in individual small pots and there was none of those horrendous packets of butter and sugar. I walked out fully revived and all set for a hard day in the office.
Breakfast today was at the Dean Street Town House, a trendy hotel on Dean Street West http://www.deanstreettownhouse.com/. The welcome was warm and friendly on a cold day and I soon had my coat off and was sat down in a large restaurant which had a long bar running nearly the length of it. The service was excellent and I was immediately offered water. I opted for my very favourite breakfast of eggs benedict (but in the singular) but I could have had eggs florentine (with spinach) or royale (with salmon). It was one of the best I've had with a pale, creamy hollandaise sauce. It was all so delicious I wished I opted for the plural! Together with a pot of earl grey with lemon the bill came to £9.60 with service. I'd definitely go again, as the staff are young, smart and willing and everything is beautifully served with juices being presented in individual small carafes. Jams are in individual small pots and there was none of those horrendous packets of butter and sugar. I walked out fully revived and all set for a hard day in the office.
Friday, 26 November 2010
Bi Bim Bap
Tuesday night was all about catching up with the Lovebirds who have now become Mr and Mrs. After drinks in the Pillar of Hercules we popped two doors down to Bi Bim Bap on Greek Street East http://bibimbapuk.com/index.html. It's a strange name and one that I can never remember and I've called it Bim Bam Bop, Bam Bi Bap and many other variations. It's an informal place with no pretensions. We weren't sure what to chose but a friendly waiter advised us to share 3 starters and so we chose: prawn katsu, pork and vegtaable mandoo and kimchi pancake, served with Korean pickles. All were delicious and just the right amount. We chose individual mains which are served in a hot stone bowl and had beef booi-go-gi and unadventurously named, spicy pork. They were all very good and at around £6-7 for the main dish (which didn't need expensive side orders) and beers all round, it was very good value. We're all off on travels next year and so decided to meet up before we jet off so if anyone knows of a Cambodian restaurant which serves South American wine, let me know.
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