Oklava, 22nd December

I read one review of Oklava and decided their food had to be in my mouth as soon as possible. With Alison (a once frequent character on these pages) back in town for a couple of nights, I thought it would be perfect for us to go and have a few bites, some wine and catch up. As it indeed was. Considering the weather was quite dreadful and it was Christmas week, it was still fairly busy and we perched at a side bar.  Choosing what to eat was an enjoyable chore as everything sounded so good. And pretty much everything I ate made me want to go back and try more. Even the moreish bread with date butter (date butter!) which shows how a simple twist could elevate something ordinary to a star dish. I can almost taste the sweet and creamy richness in my mouth right now.

The cherry pearl barley with crispy kale, yoghurt, chilli butter and curls of sheep’s cheese was so intensely flavoured it was my other star dish of the night. Next came our lamb fat potatoes (how indulgent) with salty hellim (halloumi to you and me) on the side and a rich duck egg on top. Small plates are for sharing but how I loathed giving up any of this dish to my friend.

The monkfish was good but I feel the portion was too small for me to get the most of the flavours (citrus, urfa, chilli and coriander as it happens), as again, we split it between the two of us. My friend ordered the prawns with garlic, chilli and fennel, of which I had one. These were very decently sized specimens, and succulent.

Last up was our lahmacun. We were advised to take it and roll it up with the pickles inside, which is what I did, giving me a very fresh, crunchy and light sort of burrito. I liked this, even if the lamb on the bread didn’t come through all that much.

Each of the dishes were good enough though, to make me want to pop by again to try a few more. 

Arabica Bar and Kitchen, 31st July

Honey & Co – done. Palomar – done. Arabica also had to be done. So I made a reservation for one Friday night to cross it off the list.

It wasn’t quite what I was expecting. Knowing it was borne out of a food truck I expected a more intimate setting but this is definitely a fully fledged restaurant. Though our slightly clumsy waitress gave it the less polished feel I had anticipated!

Choosing what to eat was a task as pretty much everything made my mouth water. But they had a few interesting-sounding dishes that particularly stood out. To start we had a couple of dips and bread. We ordered the whipped feta with Turkish chillies, toasted pumpkin seens and mit, and the hummus with lamb which also came with pine nuts, hook and son ghee.

The whipped feta was as light as a cloud. I now believe all feta should be flaggelated in such a way to be scooped up and spread on bread. There was far too much of both dips for the bread we were given but we kept them on the table and used them to accompany our mains so that we made sure to eat up every last drop.

For mains, we had chicken and pistachio shish, which we were warned literally came as is, so also had some Turkish style tomato bulgar wheat pilaf to go with it, and we also got some crispy lamb belly, some chicken wings and a fattoush salad. 

The pilaf was the best rice style dish I have eaten and that is not something I would normally get excited about. The salad was as unhealthy as a salad can get, with great slabs of fried crouton in it. I don't normally feel overwhelmed by salad but this was a lot to handle.

The lamb belly is a dish you shouldn't bother trying to share - deliciously crispy and well spiced with the fat all flavoursome and moreish. 

Chicken wings, while I remember enjoying them, were rather in the shadow of the lamb and I'd probably go for something else instead another time. 

Likewise, the chicken shish was a tasty version - coming with cardamom, honey and green chilli, but could have been a bit spicier, and well, another shish for your dollar (they were £10) wouldn't have gone amiss!

I blame the salad for filling me up too much to try dessert, although there was nothing which shouted out to me to try it despite my fullness. I certainly enjoyed my meal here and would happily return though out of the three places mentioned at the start, it was probably the one I least fell in love with. 

Babaji, 9th March

Levantine food, Turkish food, I’m lapping it up. So I really wanted to try Alan Yau’s new casual place in Piccadilly, Babaji Pide Salonu, which is dishing up some traditional Turkish food with a focus on pide (their version of pizza, a bit like their lahmacun but, I think, doughier bread and differently shaped).

It’s a no-bookings deal but it was 7pm on a Monday so we didn’t think there would be too much trouble getting in and indeed we only had to wait ten minutes. The narrow space on the ground floor is deceiving so if it looks full fear not, there are plenty more tables upstairs. Many people have commented on the décor of Babaji and it’s easy to see why. It’s polished yet cosy and feels like an upmarket tea salon.

Neither my friend nor I were there to stuff ourselves so we ordered moderately – a pide each, a salad to share and then we ended up getting dessert after seeing someone else’s. I ordered the lamb pide as I do like to get the classics when I’m in a place to see if they’re done right. My veggie friend ordered the feta, kale and sultana pide. Mine arrived as expected – a flat bread cut up into pieces with minced lamb and some sparse flecks of tomato and peppers. Carolyn’s arrived as a sort of roll which was a little different and meant we’d munched a good third of it before realizing we hadn’t spotted any sultanas at all. Carefully uncurling the others, we could see none. We enquired and the waitress had to check on what was supposed to be in there before peering herself and agreeing she couldn’t see any either. She agreed to replace it, and so we waited for a new one to arrive. And waited. And waited. I think we had to ask whether it was on its way eventually and I was pretty convinced they’d just forgotten about it.

In the meantime, I was trying to make my lamb version last as long as possible so that we weren’t eating at different times. I’m sorry to say that this one really did lack flavour and seasoning. It wasn’t unpleasant to eat, it was just bland and I really wished for some chilli sauce to perk it up.

The salad was nice enough – light and fresh, the classic combination of cucumber, tomato, and onion with plenty of parsley and some Turkish green pepper, it had plenty of dressing that I used to dip my pide in.

We had ordered a glass of wine each. I don’t know why some restaurants are so mean with their wines – we were served a 125ml portion which is about two gulps. I had finished my wine and the glass was sitting there when someone came along and whisked it away. I tried to catch them – not because I wanted the empty glass but because I wanted a refill but they were way too quick, and had no intention of checking if I wanted any more. Slightly odd service. Finally Carolyn’s pide with sultanas turned up and we were able to corner the waiter and get another glass of wine. The first had had far too much feta in it, the second had almost too little. But, despite not really loving raisins etc myself, I do think this one needed them – you needed something sweet to balance the sharp cheese and irony greens. Obviously why the chef intended to include them in the first place!

The whole meal was underwhelming to say the least both in terms of service and food, though to their credit, they did take the veggie pide off the bill.

We also ended the dinner on a high note as we shared their kagit helva ice cream sandwich. Clotted cream ice cream in a chewy wafer with a pistachio coating. I could have done with more pistachio but this was absolutely yummy to eat. If I were being ungracious I would point out that the yummiest bit – the wafer – probably was bought in and not made by them but it still tasted great and I’d happily eat that again. And next time I wouldn’t share!

Ceru, 12th February

Levantine cuisine’s star is rising and I couldn’t be more pleased. After memorable meals at The Palomar and Honey & Co, I was keen to complete what I termed the trifecta and go to Arabica. And then yet another place came on the scene in the form of Ceru, a tiny restaurant offering a more affordable Levantine dining experience.

A group of us bloggers had a foodie outing kindly organized by Sheepa of Food That Makes You Smile and Snita of Her Favourite Food and we went for a mini feast for the special offer of £20 a head. To start we could choose a fresh juice or mocktail. Almost everyone chose the Patricia for some reason (the namesake of the owner) which was a mixture of pear puree, apple juice, vanilla, cinnamon and cloves (actually reading that is there any surprise we all wanted it?) but the Percy  - pomegranate, soda, ginger ale and fresh lime also looked very nice.

Once everyone arrived we were seated and our dips and breads to share came out. We had four kinds – hummus anointed with chickpeas, green shilli and lemon; pancar which was roast beetroot, garlic and pistachio; fadi – a courgette puree with tahini, garlic and lemon and then a spicy roast pepper dip made with chilli, walnuts and pomegranate molasses. We had warm pitta with za’atar to scoop it up. I could have dived right into a whole pot of all of them but my two favourites were the garlicky fadi and the warming spiced chilli dips. When the bread ran out we kept the rest of the dips aside to eat with our mains.

Choosing what to have put us all in a quandary but the lamb shoulder cooked with shawarma aromatic spices eventually beckoned. This came as strips of fatty, crispy lamb all well seasoned and spiced and adorned with pomegranate seeds. While I love the taste of pomegranate, I don’t love the fruit itself so tried to avoid them spoiling the lovely lamb. To accompany this we had fried cubed potatoes and a very fresh, light butter bean and tomato salad with, I think, some lemon and herbs.

This part was surprisingly filling and I could have happily stopped there. However, dessert was included so I didn’t. Quite a few of us ordered the baklava ice cream. Ceru seem fond of taking a well-known dish or ingredient and Anglicising it for their desserts. So the baklava didn’t have any baklava but instead had all the components of it – nut brittle, honey sauce, and scoops of pistachio ice cream. It was very lovely to eat, though I think they could get away with a smaller serving! There was a lot of ice cream.

The place is run by husband and wife team Patricia and Barry and even without knowing you can tell they’re a couple from their closeness and the speed at which Barry could get on his wife’s nerves! They made for very friendly and amiable hosts, making it feel a bit like you were round their place being treated to dinner.

And what is really great about this little pop-up (permanent place coming soon) is that the prices are so reasonable you don’t have to wait for a special occasion to come here – it’s very much a casual, drop in when you fancy (if there’s space!) kinda place. Even without our bargain set menu, the lamb dish is only £9 and that is the most expensive plate on the menu!

Honey & Co, 30th December

I think Honey & Co cemented itself in my mind after a joyous review by Grace Dent back in May 2013. Being under the mistaken impression that it was no-bookings, the more it garnered love and attention, the less I was inclined to try to go; I knew it was a very small restaurant and imagined there would be queues round the block. But I ended up there on the eve of New Year’s Eve after trying to have a curry at Ragam only to find it closed. Honey & Co was more or less round the corner, and figuring that we were in the dead time twixt Christmas and New Year, I thought we would get in easily. Well, I was wrong, because it does take reservations and the place was fully booked. The only place they have for walk-ins is five seats at the window and they were all full. If I’d only known they take reservations, I would have booked myself in there ages ago! One group, however, seemed to be nearing the end of their meal... 

Our waitress guesstimated it would be about 20 minutes and we went to the really nice pub next door to wait. They said they’d call when space became available. But we were soon starving and had finished our drink without knowing whether to get another, so after half an hour we decided to call it quits. No sooner had we set off did they phone so we did an about-turn and settled in.

And I can confirm, Honey & Co is worth every bit of love it has been showered with. It was a bit of a slow burner but by the time I finished their notorious cheesecake I was certain that I was bewitched.

As it was a post-Christmas/New Year treat we decided to get the special set menu for £29.50 – a starter of nine mezzes plus a main each, and a dessert each. You choose your main and dessert from the a la carte menu but the mezze selection is set.

Although none of the dishes are what I would describe as basic, without the final two plates we had, it would be a fairly typical selection of cold mezzes – the sort you might find in many a Levantine or Middle Eastern restaurant. You get falafel, hummus, olives and pickles, some lovely bread (especially the potato bread), some tabbouleh and labeneh with Turkish pepper puree. But the truly unique dishes of pumpkin and pickled apple, and quince with curds and honeyed hazelnuts made all the difference. The pumpkin for certain was our favourite. I’ve never had pumpkin before but I would most definitely seek out its earthy and slightly sweet flavours again.

Pumpkin

Quince and curds

I was surprisingly full after these little dishes. Eating in such a manner is so good at tricking the stomach. But we had our mains to come and I valiantly ate all of mine. It didn’t look a huge amount compared to Stephen’s tower of quail, but it was quite the hunk of meat. It was cooked to a perfect tenderness, with a nice bit of fat preventing it from being dry. The beef came with quince and potatoes. Having only had quince in jam form before, I enjoyed trying it as a fruit itself (twice in one meal!). It was similar to pear in its texture but a more interesting alternative.

I gave in to food envy when Stephen’s main arrived. It looked magnificent and tasted it too. The quail was cooked beautifully –  crisp on the outside, the right hit of seasoning, and lots of lovely white bean hummus and crispy onions, of which I stole several. There was perhaps a bit too much on the plate in fact. I would say we could have done with some extra bread to make use of all the remaining hummus but, truth be told, if we’d eaten more bread, dessert may not have been on the cards. And that would have been a travesty.

After the customary debate about whether to have one, or if we have one, whether to share, we went the whole hog and ordered one apiece. I had this masterpiece of a cheesecake, which has gained quite the notoriety for itself. Whatever you have read is true. It is unlike any cheesecake I’ve ever had, so creamy it’s almost like eating gelato. And forget your boring old biscuit base, this has a nest of finely shredded filo pastry called kadaif looking a bit like uncooked packet noodles. It is bloody delicious – crunchy and sweet. Each rich, sweet, crunchy mouthful was better than the last. Best cheesecake I’ve ever tasted.

Stephen’s dessert however, was no less impressive. The apple and pear pie he ordered was like an insanely good McDonald’s apple pie – warm fruit completely encased in a delicate, crisp pastry parcel with custard for dipping on the side. While being in love with my cheesecake I could still appreciate the understated splendour of this dessert.

I would heartily recommend this restaurant to anyone for any course, but they really do reserve something that little bit special for their desserts so worth coming here for those alone. 

The Palomar, 8th August

While I had a really enjoyable day and night Thursday, Friday was my birthday proper and I’d hoped I had lined something up a little bit special. I was going to try to get into Palomar for lunch. Given the amount of hype it has had lately, I wasn't sure of my chances, but I also knew that I really wanted to eat at the counter where the kitchen was (and all the action), not in the back, so this was the risk we had to take. We timed it beautifully. We got there at just after 1:30 and there were about five spaces at the counter that had disappeared only a few minutes later.

And something special this certainly was. It only served to highlight how off-the-mark The Culpeper had been the night before.

I already knew it was loud and boisterous out the front, and had read that the Chef had a habit of doling out freebies and shots. I didn’t dare to hope that, however many weeks after opening, they were still keeping up this generosity, but I was wrong! We had barely been seated when the Chef dished out egg cups to me, Stephen and the couple next to us (as well as a couple to himself and his staff) and filled them with a house concoction, beckoning us to all do the shot together. This is my kinda place! Shots – at lunch time!

Stephen and I oohed and aahed over the ‘sharing’ menu, trying to decide what to have. There was at least one thing I knew I wanted to try already, but the rest was hard to narrow down. Behind us was a raw bar, and both Stephen and I ended up getting something from that – him, two oysters, me the kubenia – the Israeli version of beef tartar, something I’ve only had once but enjoyed. And of course, we got the kubaneh pot bread with tomato and tahini dips.

For our bigger plates we had the pork belly tagine and steak onglet to share, although (for a lunchtime anyway) they were big enough portions that I would have been happy enough if we’d had one each as a main. What with our dessert on top, I came away from the meal fully sated and only forcing myself to have a slice of cheese and toast later that night because I was going out drinking.

So, anyway, we had decided against one of the salads even though both the Fattoush and the Spring salad really appealed to me. I’m glad we didn’t order the spring salad though as they were giving out taster portions of this to those of us who were wise enough to sit at the counter. I thought this was wonderful – crunchy kohlrabi, asparagus and fennel all doused in a zingy feta vinaigrette with poppy seeds and sunflower seeds giving a nutty texture and even more crunch. Why can’t all restaurant salads be this inventive? Our neighbours had chosen the fattoush and that looked packed with plump tomatoes and plenty of dressing as well.

The pot bread was tipped out in front of us before long. The tomato dip was, well, the very essence of tomatoes, there’s no other way to explain it. The tahini was concentrated tahini, which was a bit much at times – like an even drier, more bitter peanut butter, it really needed the squirt of oil on top of it.

My kubenia came on a slick of more tahini, with bulgur and then dumped on top was pomegranates, pine nuts, coriander. Most of the flavour of the dish came from these additions but the beef was there, in the background and the tahini provided that nutty undertone which was a lot easier to take like this than using it as a straight-up dip.

The stars of the show were the pork belly tagine and the steak. The steak was cooked in the josper oven to perfection. It’s taste alone was so good that I made sure to have several mouthfuls without any accompaniments. But the egg it came with (cooked just a little runny) and the latke (potato cake) were just as delicious and welcome. The whole spring onions were a little tricky to cut into (especially with the limited elbow room for cutting and rather dull knife). As much as I love spring onions, I ended up eating them like crudités on their own which was a bit pointless.

The pork belly was rolled, giving a heart of tender meat, surrounded by the fattier stuff. This came with Israeli cous cous and a Ras el hanout, a slightly spicy seasoning that was very moreish. I tried to get every last cous I could just to taste more of it. Also with the lamb was some stewed carrot, apricot and confit potato. A perfect combination of sweet and spice, we cooed over this dish a lot.

I may have *accidentally* let slip that it was my birthday when I was ordering my second glass of Prosecco, which meant we got an extra shot on the house – elderflower, lemon, orange and vodka and of course it was the perfect excuse to have dessert even if we did share it. Having seen our neighbours get the chocolate cremeux, we did not hesitate in replicating them. A thick mousse sat upon an almond streusel biscuit and came with a coca tuile. And, in my case, a candle in honour of my birthday. 

We savoured the chocolatiness and regrettably asked for the bill when we could grab our waitress’s attention. Not content to give away shots and salad, they also comped our dessert as a birthday present. How can you not love this place? Well, unless you’re a total curmudgeon without tastebuds, you can’t. I’ll admit, the set up is a little confusing – you still order from your waitress, but she’s behind the counter along with the cooks so it does feel a little weird. And yes it’s loud (though not hot where we were) and it seems a little chaotic, though you soon realize this is organized chaos as the seven bodies duck, weave and glide among each other. But really, the place is pure joy.

Find the menu & restaurant information on Zomato