Wallace & Co, Putney, London
On our final day in London we found ourselves at Euston Station with nine hours to kill before our return home on the overnight sleeper. What can you do in London with nine hours to kill on a Sunday? Being a Scot, my first thought was pub, my better half however had another idea, "What about a traditional Sunday Lunch?" she asks.
Now London is a big city, where do we go to eat a good Sunday lunch? The Wolseley had been mentioned to us earlier in the week as serving up a good Sunday lunch. However there website didn't inspire us standing on the concourse at Euston. I remembered Gregg Wallace had opened a deli/caf/restaurant some where. A quick jump onto the net again, yes Sunday lunch served. A quick call and we were booked in for 1.30pm. Off we headed, exactly where, we did not know.
We came across Putney Bridge so we jumped off the train, all to find that we were on the wrong side of the Thames, a quick walk across the water (no I can't walk across water but a footbridge would suffice) and we were in Putney and quickly wandered into the restaurant.
On entering we found the place to be buzzing. Obviously this was a popular place and had a good "feel" to it. We were first met by a display of Veg, to the left a counter selling preserves and all other sorts of goodies, which attracted my eye. You see where I come from is a deprived area, deprived that is of choice of fresh veg. Unless you venture down to the farmers market once a month, Asda is your only choice of 'fresh' veg.
We were taken to our table and duly ordered two roast beef lunches.
The meal arrived just as I imagined it would, two slabs of roast beef, potatoes a big Yorkie Pud and a dish a vegetables on the side. This was Sunday as it should be everywhere. No fancy presentation, good honest food, just like your Mum used to cook.
We quickly devoured our lunch, the beef was lovely and the buttered cabbage was to die for. If anything wasn't quite right it was probably the potatoes, maybe a touch undercooked.
Next came our pudding, I opted for a delightful Lemon Meringue Pie, which was just as you always imagined it should be, light and tasty. Jax ordered the sticky toffee pudding which was certainly the better of the two desserts, a tough admission for me because I usually hate sticky toffee pudding, but this was a very very good pudding. Soft and light with a small amount of nuts through it. Delicious.
Just as we were finishing, the main man himself, Gregg Wallace popped over to say hello which was a nice touch. Though I never considered that I looked like him until he mentioned that we must have been separated at birth....... that's one to think about, maybe I could make a career being his stunt double in Masterchef?
Food 8/10
Value for Money 10/10
Cost: 2 mains, two desserts and two alcoholic drinks £41.00
Would I recommend? Hell yeah.
Tuesday 22 March 2011
Thursday 10 March 2011
A Scotsmans View of London
I've been about a bit, seen some great cities around the world, New York, Paris, Toronto and Sydney but theres something quite appealing about London.
What may you ask? Things that Londoners do take for granted. Sport for instance, you have Wembley and Twickenham and all the regular and one of sporting events they bring, you have 5 Premiership football teams, the O2 and soon to be completed, the Olympic Venues. Yes, when it comes to sport and entertainment London has got most other countries in the world beat.
You also have Olympia, Earls Court and the Excel Centre for all the varied and different events they bring to you.
Londons West End, surely the worlds best theatre district bar none. With an insane amount of major theatres to choose from (something like 42?) theres something to suite everyones tastes. When was the last time you visited a West End Show or have you become imune to there charm and easy availability?
Cultural attractions, now where do I begin, Parliament, Big Ben, Tower Bridge, Tower of London ...... the list is almost endless. Make no mistake my friend, this is where the English speaking world started, this is the real home of the free. We do have a lot to answer for though ....
Shopping my pet hate but a visit to Bond Street, Harrods etc and all the designer boutiques would be enough to exhaust even the most ardent shopaholics, but is a tv worth and extra £200 so it can be delivered by a Harrods van? I think not, but I am Scots afterall.
Underground, overground, oh so tempting to start talking about the wombles of Wimbledon Common here, but no, here I'm talking about London transport. An integrated transport system in Scotland usually revolves around making sure a pub is next to the train station or bus station. In London, its terrific. Take Canning Town for instance, Bus station, DLR and Underground all combined with each other. Really you don't know how lucky you are until you visit other cities at home or abroad. The amount of people I over heard complaining about late trains or underground delays. People you don't know how fortunate you are, suck it up and live with it.
But tell me, why are you so unfriendly? Take the tube for instance. Why don't people speak to anyone, or a quick hello or brief smile? Why is it if you make eye contact with anyone do they immediately bury there head deeper into the Metro? Heavens forbid if you smile and say hello, we made that mistake one day on the Northern Line and she jumped out of the carriage in shock and re-entered our carriage at the next door. A mean feat since we were moving at the time. We wondered if we were deemed to strange by showing a common courtesy or was she the weird one with her bright blue lipstick?
What I'm trying to say is London must be one of the greatest places to live in the world, its not perfect but do Londoners really appreciate what a wonderful city they live in? I can't wait to get back down.
One final thing, can someone ask Boris Johnson if we could get our £6.60 back from a ticket machine at DLR Greenwich which took our money and issued no ticket? Machine 81 if your interested......
What may you ask? Things that Londoners do take for granted. Sport for instance, you have Wembley and Twickenham and all the regular and one of sporting events they bring, you have 5 Premiership football teams, the O2 and soon to be completed, the Olympic Venues. Yes, when it comes to sport and entertainment London has got most other countries in the world beat.
You also have Olympia, Earls Court and the Excel Centre for all the varied and different events they bring to you.
Londons West End, surely the worlds best theatre district bar none. With an insane amount of major theatres to choose from (something like 42?) theres something to suite everyones tastes. When was the last time you visited a West End Show or have you become imune to there charm and easy availability?
Cultural attractions, now where do I begin, Parliament, Big Ben, Tower Bridge, Tower of London ...... the list is almost endless. Make no mistake my friend, this is where the English speaking world started, this is the real home of the free. We do have a lot to answer for though ....
Shopping my pet hate but a visit to Bond Street, Harrods etc and all the designer boutiques would be enough to exhaust even the most ardent shopaholics, but is a tv worth and extra £200 so it can be delivered by a Harrods van? I think not, but I am Scots afterall.
Underground, overground, oh so tempting to start talking about the wombles of Wimbledon Common here, but no, here I'm talking about London transport. An integrated transport system in Scotland usually revolves around making sure a pub is next to the train station or bus station. In London, its terrific. Take Canning Town for instance, Bus station, DLR and Underground all combined with each other. Really you don't know how lucky you are until you visit other cities at home or abroad. The amount of people I over heard complaining about late trains or underground delays. People you don't know how fortunate you are, suck it up and live with it.
But tell me, why are you so unfriendly? Take the tube for instance. Why don't people speak to anyone, or a quick hello or brief smile? Why is it if you make eye contact with anyone do they immediately bury there head deeper into the Metro? Heavens forbid if you smile and say hello, we made that mistake one day on the Northern Line and she jumped out of the carriage in shock and re-entered our carriage at the next door. A mean feat since we were moving at the time. We wondered if we were deemed to strange by showing a common courtesy or was she the weird one with her bright blue lipstick?
What I'm trying to say is London must be one of the greatest places to live in the world, its not perfect but do Londoners really appreciate what a wonderful city they live in? I can't wait to get back down.
One final thing, can someone ask Boris Johnson if we could get our £6.60 back from a ticket machine at DLR Greenwich which took our money and issued no ticket? Machine 81 if your interested......
Monday 7 March 2011
Hampshire Bar & Restaurant, Leicester Square, London
This meal was part of a package with a West End Show, so expectations were low.
Just on Leicester Square the Hampshire is a Radisson Hotel, a chain we have stayed in quite frequently on our travels across the country. Our only previous meal experience at a Radisson wasn't the best.
We were on the pre-theatre menu, so choice was limited, see what I mean, expectations were low, quick, cheap and nasty food is usually the order of the day, surely we've all had a heavy dullop of mushroom risotto on these specials.
Today however would be different.
I ordered a butternut squash and apple soup followed by calves livers.
Jax went for the wild Scottish smoked salmon on a bellini with horseradish sauce and for her main a corn fed chicken with fondant potatoes.
A generous bowl of soup arrived with two thinly sliced grilled apple slices floating on top of the soup.
The butternut squash soup was very sweet to such an extent I wondered if it should have been a dessert dish. A good pinch of salt and pepper soon toned this down and made it a very good starter.
Jax's starter was a good sized portion of smoked salmon and delivered on all levels, lets face it, you can't get smoked salmon wrong now can you?
My main of calves liver was beautifully cooked, just pink in the middle and tasted lovely. Again a very generous portion size.
The corn fed chicken was tasty and nicely juicy. A very moreish dish. Again you won't starve with the size of the portion. The fondant potatoe was fine, cooked and seasoned well.
Overall we really enjoyed this meal, even more considering it was a pre theatre meal and were expecting the worst. This restaurant was very enjoyable and a return is on the cards, perhaps taking in the pianist who was just starting when we had to dash off to catch our show.
Food 6/10 - well executed, fine food.
Service 9/10 - almost faultless service, excellent.
Just on Leicester Square the Hampshire is a Radisson Hotel, a chain we have stayed in quite frequently on our travels across the country. Our only previous meal experience at a Radisson wasn't the best.
We were on the pre-theatre menu, so choice was limited, see what I mean, expectations were low, quick, cheap and nasty food is usually the order of the day, surely we've all had a heavy dullop of mushroom risotto on these specials.
Today however would be different.
I ordered a butternut squash and apple soup followed by calves livers.
Jax went for the wild Scottish smoked salmon on a bellini with horseradish sauce and for her main a corn fed chicken with fondant potatoes.
A generous bowl of soup arrived with two thinly sliced grilled apple slices floating on top of the soup.
The butternut squash soup was very sweet to such an extent I wondered if it should have been a dessert dish. A good pinch of salt and pepper soon toned this down and made it a very good starter.
Jax's starter was a good sized portion of smoked salmon and delivered on all levels, lets face it, you can't get smoked salmon wrong now can you?
My main of calves liver was beautifully cooked, just pink in the middle and tasted lovely. Again a very generous portion size.
The corn fed chicken was tasty and nicely juicy. A very moreish dish. Again you won't starve with the size of the portion. The fondant potatoe was fine, cooked and seasoned well.
Overall we really enjoyed this meal, even more considering it was a pre theatre meal and were expecting the worst. This restaurant was very enjoyable and a return is on the cards, perhaps taking in the pianist who was just starting when we had to dash off to catch our show.
Food 6/10 - well executed, fine food.
Service 9/10 - almost faultless service, excellent.
Friday 4 March 2011
So near, yet so far, Odettes, Primrose Hill
Mrs Haveforkwilleat has been wanting to eat here for years and I mean years.
She fell in love with Bryns style of cooking ever since she saw him beating Angela Hartnett in the Great British Menu. Yes that long ago when Bryn was a mere but talented sous chef.
He now has his own place, Odettes, buying it outright in 2008. Whilst he has a great reputation, Mr Michelin Man keeps driving by his restaurant without stopping. Sadly on our visit today, I can see why.
Odettes is set in the leafy suburb of Primrose Hill, 5 minutes from Chalk Hill tube station.
On entering the restaurant, we were greeted by the restaurant manager who was quite charming and directed us to a small but adequate round table in the corner by some double doors. The ambience was relaxed and yes I can see why it might be described as romantic. So far so good.
We opted to eat from the ala carte menu rather than the lunchtime set menu.
I opted to have a starter of pigs head and black pudding terrine, Jax opted for the wood pigeon and foie gras.
Both tasted lovely, with perhaps my terrine needing a bit more seasoning, but this is down to personal taste. Jax did find a bit of errant shot in the final bite of her wood pigeon breast, but we didn't make a fuss of it, since these things happen. The wood pigeon was cooked to perfection and melted in your mouth. This bird died for a good and just cause.
Sadly things started going downhill from here.
For our mains, I opted for Halibut Coq Au Vin and Jax a Turbot with clams. Jax popped to powder her nose and whilst away our mains arrived. I was happily day dreaming and didn't notice that they had put the wrong plate down in front of me. A few seconds later my sauce arrived and as the waiter pointed to my plate and said sauce for your course.
I unknowingly poured the sauce over my course. Failing to recognise that the wrong course had been put down in front of me.
Only when my wife sat down and took her first bite did the penny drop. We queried the dish with the manager who's response was "did I do that, oh well you've tried both dishes now", but missing the point that the wrong sauce was on the wrong plate. He tried to make us feel it was our fault that he placed the wrong food in front of us. No apology nothing.
Needless to say the staff avoided all contact with us after then. My fury was obviously apparent in my face.
We declined desserts and cheese and opted to pay our bill and leave as quickly as possible. It was only when we picked up our jackets that a waiter (who didn't serve the courses to us) apologised to us.
Sadly the damage was done.
Please Mr Michelin Man, keep driving on.
Food 5/10 (hard to say due to sauce mix up)
Service 2/10
Two starters, two mains and a bottle of wine, £102.
She fell in love with Bryns style of cooking ever since she saw him beating Angela Hartnett in the Great British Menu. Yes that long ago when Bryn was a mere but talented sous chef.
He now has his own place, Odettes, buying it outright in 2008. Whilst he has a great reputation, Mr Michelin Man keeps driving by his restaurant without stopping. Sadly on our visit today, I can see why.
Odettes is set in the leafy suburb of Primrose Hill, 5 minutes from Chalk Hill tube station.
On entering the restaurant, we were greeted by the restaurant manager who was quite charming and directed us to a small but adequate round table in the corner by some double doors. The ambience was relaxed and yes I can see why it might be described as romantic. So far so good.
We opted to eat from the ala carte menu rather than the lunchtime set menu.
I opted to have a starter of pigs head and black pudding terrine, Jax opted for the wood pigeon and foie gras.
Both tasted lovely, with perhaps my terrine needing a bit more seasoning, but this is down to personal taste. Jax did find a bit of errant shot in the final bite of her wood pigeon breast, but we didn't make a fuss of it, since these things happen. The wood pigeon was cooked to perfection and melted in your mouth. This bird died for a good and just cause.
Sadly things started going downhill from here.
For our mains, I opted for Halibut Coq Au Vin and Jax a Turbot with clams. Jax popped to powder her nose and whilst away our mains arrived. I was happily day dreaming and didn't notice that they had put the wrong plate down in front of me. A few seconds later my sauce arrived and as the waiter pointed to my plate and said sauce for your course.
I unknowingly poured the sauce over my course. Failing to recognise that the wrong course had been put down in front of me.
Only when my wife sat down and took her first bite did the penny drop. We queried the dish with the manager who's response was "did I do that, oh well you've tried both dishes now", but missing the point that the wrong sauce was on the wrong plate. He tried to make us feel it was our fault that he placed the wrong food in front of us. No apology nothing.
Needless to say the staff avoided all contact with us after then. My fury was obviously apparent in my face.
We declined desserts and cheese and opted to pay our bill and leave as quickly as possible. It was only when we picked up our jackets that a waiter (who didn't serve the courses to us) apologised to us.
Sadly the damage was done.
Please Mr Michelin Man, keep driving on.
Food 5/10 (hard to say due to sauce mix up)
Service 2/10
Two starters, two mains and a bottle of wine, £102.
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