2 Restaurant Review: Jimmy’s Lodge

What’s the word for a fondue expert? A Fonduesier? A Cheeselier? Fondanatic? Whatever it is, I like to feel in my own way, I am one. I’ve had two birthdays in a row at Soho’s famous St Moritz and am the first to go for fondue whenever I’m visiting an even remotely Swiss country.

Rule number 1: it has to be cheese. I’ve never understood the appeal of cooking small slithers of meat in bubbling hot oil. It doesn’t make for a better meat dish and you just end up burning yourself. Don’t even get me started on chocolate fondue (not a thing). Rule 2: it has to boozy. Have a fondue in America and there’s a risk you get the under-21 version, I want to taste the kirsch. Finally, always drink red wine. There are plenty of side effects from eating your weight in cheese but red wine can help you avoid a fair few of them, especially the day after. With my rulebook in mind along with my many fondue experiences, I headed to the Southbank where Jimmy Garcia’s latest pop-up aims to bring this perfect pot of happiness to the people of London.

Jimmy’s Lodge: The Lowdown

This isn’t the first of Jimmy’s pop-ups I’ve been to. I was here in this exact spot in the summer where we were served delicious grilled meat and fish from Big Green Eggs. The space has been impressively transformed from a summer rooftop terrace to wooden Swiss-style cabin. They call it ‘The Refuge’ and it’s certainly a world away from the wind and cold outside.

Initially, we were worried it was still going to be a coats on occasion but suddenly, just like every wood cabin, there was a blast of warm air to keep us snug. We weren’t sure of the source but whatever it was it ensured that The Refuge remained just that. There’s probably about ten tables inside in total, it’s certainly cosy – and with unbeatable views of the Thames – a great place for a December dinner.

Jimmy’s Lodge: Eat and Drink

We kicked things off with mulled wine. The bar has all the mulled variations you’d expect and more. The only thing you can’t order is tap water. (Jimmy has yet to be granted permission for a permanent water pipe making this lodge on stilts an even more impressive feat.) They operate a set menu in two shifts, 5pm-7pm and 8pm-11pm, with the standard fondue menu coming in at a punchy £45 per head. That doesn’t include drinks as well as the various extras you’re offered on arrival.

On the steak sharer, you could upgrade your meat to a 600g ribeye steak for £12 or you could forget the fondue and have the Winter Feast (whole baked Mont d’Or, 400g British flat iron steak, venison and red wine sausages) also £12 per person. Why anyone would stray from the traditional fondue I don’t know but either way, a meal here (with drinks) will come in over £50 a head, so is it worth it?

Once we ordered, the starters came incredibly quickly. The kitchen is pretty much contained within the cabin so it’s no wonder they stick to dishes that can be prepared well in advance. We shared a burrata with coal-baked seasonal squash as well as smoked Scottish venison tartare and toasted brioche. They were both quite small but really delicious. At £45 a head you may start to worry you’ll leave hungry, but don’t forget the cheese is yet to come. And so, to the moment we’ve all been waiting for: the fondue. Small burner, check, skewers in hand, check, (slightly tiny) bucket of bread, yep. About Timers I’m happy to report it was an excellent fondue. Definitely enough of it (and they topped up the bread no problem), it was hot, stringy, boozey and moreish. Any fears I’d had were gently washed away by a tide of total cheesy bliss. As nice as it was we could’ve done without the chocolate tart that followed, but by then I was already in a fondue coma with no chance of waking up for several hours.

Jimmy’s Lodge: The Verdict

Jimmy has pulled it off again with his winter lodge. Yes it’s expensive but you’re paying for the positioning as much as the food itself. There’s no other place quite like this in London and combined with the winter market it will make a perfect (if slightly pastiche) Christmas evening. If you’re in a big group the igloos are an Instagram dream and provide a little more privacy than the refuge. Most importantly, it’s a great fondue. Nothing will ever drag me from St Moritz but then again, I’m just one of London’s Fondanatics.

Originally published on About Time Magazine. 

For more information on Jimmy’s Lodge and to book, see here. 

Opposite the Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX

Photo Credit: Ben Carpenter 

15 Restaurant Review: Roast

You probably haven’t looked up in Borough Market very much. Sure, the trains may have caught your eye once or twice, but if you’re anything like me you’re usually distracted by the array of (increasingly expensive) cheese, ham and bread available at one of London’s best markets.

Roast Restaurant: The Lowdown

It was only recently that I discovered – perched above the market – Roast Restaurant which differs from many of the stalls below by focusing on deliciously British produce. The room itself is amazing, with high ceilings and loads of natural light. Be sure to ask for a table near the window so you can watch the hustle and bustle of the market below. As it turns out I was visiting on a Sunday, so the market was closed but I imagine when it’s packed below Roast would be the prefect place to people watch from.

Roast Restaurant: The Food

The Head Chef here is Stuart Cauldwell, previously head chef at Gordon Ramsay’s and an Executive Sous Chef at The Wolseley. There’s definitely some experienced British cooking go on here. As this was a Sunday we decided to put their name to the test with the three course menu. To start we had tomato and mozzarella as well as a razor clam and squid dish. The tomato and mozzarella was actually a little bland; the pesto had a strange bitter taste whilst the balls them selves were somewhat hard and tasteless. Meanwhile the fish dish was a touch small but incredibly tasty and fresh – it was so delicious, I just wish there had been more.

If you’re gonna call your restaurant Roast, you better be damn sure you deliver. There was certainly a sense of anticipation when our roast pork belly and lamb dishes arrived. Fear not: they smashed it. The pork belly was incredibly soft and tender, encased by a salty crunchy skin. The meat was sat on a combination of gravy and apple sauce that complimented the whole dish perfectly. Meanwhile, the lamb was rich and herby. It was served with a giant yorkshire pudding and crunchy potatoes that just screamed ‘we know what we’re doing’. All in all I think it’s fair to say that this was one of the finest Sunday roasts I’d had in London for a while. I felt pretty full after and skipped dessert. My friend had the panna cotta which I then proceeded to eat half of (sorry Charlie) – the tip here is leave room for dessert, it’s worth it.

The prices aren’t cheap at Roast and with the slightly formal atmosphere and great wine list, I feel this is one for special occasions. In other news, their latest innovation embraces the international surroundings at Borough. They’ve just launched their new ‘Summer Staycation Menu’, offering customers the chance to enjoy a variety of holiday dishes – Spanish seafood paella, French moules frites and even American southern fried chicken – all created using the best British supplies. If their Sunday Roast is anything to go by, this will be perfect for people who used up their holiday days earlier in the year.

For more information on Roast, see the website here. 

Originally Published on About Time Magazine here

The Floral Hall, Stoney Street, London SE1 1TL

3 Restaurant Review: Smiths of Smithfield

As someone who lives in Farringdon, I’ve been coming to Smiths of Smithfield for many, many years. It has always been one of the area’s most reliable spots for a buzzing atmosphere and, naturally, great meat. So it was with a touch of trepidation that I returned following a recent refurbishment. It turns out that Smith’s has been brought by big boys pub group, Youngs. They’ve spent the last few months putting their own twist on a restaurant which hasn’t changed in a decade.

The ground floor looks fairly similar: it’s the menu that’s changed. Although I didn’t eat here, they’re now offering a lighter menu with healthier options (one to try another day, perhaps). In my history of going to Smiths, I’ve never seen anyone on the first floor. For some reason, they never quite worked out what to do with it. With the refurb comes the latest iteration,‘Death + Victory’. No, it’s not a hard rock bar with a live death metal band. It’s a cocktail bar with a concept menu, again I didn’t try it on this occasion, but time will tell whether this will finally be offering that gets people up the stairs (it does look nice, see photo above).

Smiths of Smithfield: The Grill

Finally, to the floor I was here to review. At first glance, the main restaurant at Smiths looks fairly similar but on closer inspection, plenty has changed. The room is much lighter and brighter than before; the furniture has been updated and there are booths running down the market side of the building. The staff now wear matching aprons and there’s large hunks of meat on display as well as a whiteboard with the special cuts crossed out as they sell, unsurprisingly there’s also a new name for the second floor; ‘The Grill’. So far so good, the refurbishment seems to have been predominately about updating and refreshing whilst the space and atmosphere of the original restaurant stays largely untouched. But what about the food?

Smiths of Smithfield: The Food

We shared starters, firstly a Devon crab and Markham Farm asparagus salad with citrus dressing. This was a generous portion of white crab meat with delicious, fresh asparagus. The dressing was really well balanced and didn’t overpower the delicate crab. Not bad for a steak restaurant. Meanwhile, our second fish starter (there was plenty of meat to come) were seared Cornish scallops smashed new season peas, smoked bacon loin crumb, and lobster sauce. Yes, this isn’t a menu that seeks to revolutionise cooking, but what these starters showed was that Smiths had stayed true to what made it popular: simple cooking with strong flavours and a familiar menu.

Now, usually when reviewing it’s good to try a couple of different dishes on the menu. However, when you have a 16oz, 28 day aged Scottish bone in ribeye available, the rules go out the window. Ultimately most people will come to The Grill for steaks, so we both ordered ribeye and hoped for the best.

Here’s the truth: the steak I had was much better than any steak I’ve had at Smiths before. Before this refurb, the steak selection on offer was much more limited. Now, I was faced with a perfectly cooked ribeye on the bone. The meat had just the right amount of char on the outside whilst staying juicy and tender in the centre. The triple cooked chips were that rare thing where you could actually tell they’d been triple cooked, with a hard crunchy shell encasing soft potato. The waiter was knowledgable about the meat which isn’t actually from the market next door, but instead sourced from carefully selected farms. That attention to detail pays off with what, for my money, is now one of the best steak restaurants in the area.

Smiths of Smithfield: The Verdict

Pleasantly surprised and cheese board polished off we popped off to have a look at the top floor. This has lost a lot of the pretentiousness from before and is now just a slightly swankier version of the restaurant below. They have even more meats on offer including plenty of sharing cuts. The balcony up here is worth the trip upstairs alone; speaking to the staff there’s a real energy and enthusiasm driven by the clear investment by the new owners. Indeed, many of the staff have remained the same, which can only be a good sign. All in all the new Smiths is brighter, lighter, just as fun, and with even better steaks. Take a bow Youngs.

For more information on Smiths of Smithfields, visit the website here. 

Originaly published in About Time Magazine: https://www.abouttimemagazine.co.uk/food/eat-here-smiths-of-smithfield-farringdon/

0 Tonica: Restaurant Review

There’s a certain nervousness when one of the best chefs you know flies into London for one evening only. Luckily for me, I live within walking distance of what might just be the nicest foodie street in the capital. There’s no shortage of great restaurants on Exmouth Market, with a buzzing atmosphere and no cars – it’s usually only the weather you have to worry about. Berber & Q, Morito and Caravan already provide very reliable spots for food and drink (provided you can get in), but this time I was here to try something new.

Tonica Review: The Lowdown

Portobello Road Gin, the team behind The Distillery, has just launched Tonica their brand new sister venue on Exmouth Market. Yes, I’d never been to the original restaurant, or even heard of the group behind it, but my thinking was, you wouldn’t go up against the likes of Moro or The Eagle unless you had something pretty good to offer, right?

Anyone who had been to the short-lived Celio Blanco at this site before will be familiar with the venue. A mixture of booths, and large tables in a 100 seater restaurant and bar that is a little more casual than some of its neighbours. The focal point of the dining area is a cascade of foliage and planters which are suspended from the venue’s ceiling. It has a relaxed atmosphere that at times, no thanks to the fairly base-y music, feels a little more like a bar than restaurant.

Tonica Review: The Drinks

I wasn’t surprised when the waitress was quick to tell us about their speciality: Tonica’s Gin and Tonic Plus. They describe their gin and tonics as “blurring the lines between the traditional G&T and the cocktail; an experimental new serve that uses fanciful garnishes, interesting tonics, bitters, tinctures, fresh herbs, juices, jams and even liqueurs, to take the classic ‘spirit and mixer’ to dizzyingly delicious new heights.”

It’s a pretty punchy explanation for what I always thought was a pretty straightforward drink (the clue is in the name). That said, we followed their advice and soon enough came three giant multi-coloured goblets of gin. I looked over at my guest worried I may have bought them to a Marbella beach bar in the Market. How wrong I was. Turns out the Gin and Tonic can be elevated, and damn these drinks were delicious. Each one had its own unique flavour with subtle hints of orange or peppercorn adding an element of surprise. The Ngenious! was a winner, but followed closely by Nordes which featured hibiscus liquor and edible flowers. So far so good, but I wasn’t going to be able to win over my visitor with gin alone.

Tonica Review: The Food

Tonica’s food offering is tapas and small plates, inspired by Spain’s vibrant culinary culture. They pride themselves on seasonality and use plenty of British produce married with imported Spanish delicacies. It’s a much more varied menu than you might expect; yes there’s patatas bravas and the ever-trendy Padron peppers, but there’s also plenty of things on the menu here that you may not expect from tapas in London.

We ordered croquetas, a selection of tapas and a plate of their signature Inka Roast Iberico pork. As soon as the first dish arrived I knew we were onto a winner. In fact, there wasn’t a single dish from what we ordered that I wouldn’t recommend. Everything we tasted was, just like the gin and tonics, tapas plus. The signature solomillo pork was cooked to perfection: tender and full of flavour. Amongst the tapas, the tortilla, smoked cauliflower and kale dishes all stood out as simple yet sumptuous Spanish cooking that more than stands up to any other restaurant in the area. The great thing about tapas is when done well it lends itself to such a fun, relaxed atmosphere – and halfway through even the music had grown on me.

Tonica Review: The Verdict

As with a lot of sharing restaurants, the price can really depend on how hungry you are. The dishes here are fairly generous, but you’ll probably end up spending £40 a head if you want to taste a fair chunk of the menu and the gin and tonics too. That said, Tonica is well worth it and is a great addition to Exmouth Market. It’s fun, the service was great and most importantly – the food was delicious. With my important guest safely in the back of the cab I breathed a sigh of relief; sometimes it pays to give the newbies a go.

For more information on Tonica, visit the website here. 

55-57 Exmouth Market, Clerkenwell, London EC1R 4QL

As Seen on About Time Magazine 

0 Restaurant Review: Claw

Carnaby Street is usually somewhere I only associate with buying shoes. However, hidden behind the Office and Schuh shops, Kingly Court now houses several of London’s best up and coming restaurants including Señor Ceviche, Rum Kitchen and Pizza Pilgrims. It was only after five minutes of searching there that I realised that Kingly Street (not court) is where Claw has opened its first site, on an even nicer, more hidden, street running parallel to Carnaby.

Nestled next to zagging ad agency BBH, Claw is a cosy, perfectly lit venue that immediately makes you feel welcome on entry. The room is buzzing with an energy and passion that really only lives in the first bricks and mortar site of a young restaurant.

Claw: The Concept

Don’t be fooled, however, the team behind Claw are not total newbies. Founder Fabian Clark set out in 2015 to change perceptions that seafood is an expensive luxury. He started (as many great new restaurants do) street-side dealing directly with fishermen to ensure top notch quality, but also to keep costs down. Meanwhile head chef Joshua Levy has been in the team since 2016 having worked with Gennaro Contaldo at Jamie Oliver’s restaurants, whilst studying at catering college. I was intrigued to see whether their street food concept could translate to the table, and where better to start than with the crab claws.

Claw: The Food

The Claw team have expanded the menu but you imagine most of us are there for the claws. There’s really nothing better than getting stuck into a bowl of crab claws (in my case with my dad) covered in a rich garlic and lime butter. They’re messy, they’re meaty, they’re moreish and most of all, they’re delicious. So far so good. The claws may not be for everyone – anyone who doesn’t like mining for their meat (although they do come cracked) may prefer some of the other crab dishes – and the good news is they wont be disappointed.

The crab mac n’ cheese is not to be missed (trust me). It’s a really generous portion, and every bit as indulgent as you want it to be. Meanwhile grilled Colchester oysters provide another option for fish lovers looking for something a little less crab based. The real surprise was when we headed on land the food rivalled any other London meat-led restaurant. They may not be haute cuisine, but one of our favourite dishes were the chicken wings with a sticky sweet caramel skin. I’ll leave the wing reviews to our Poultry Editor (yes we have one), but I think he’d be pleasantly surprised by these.

Claw: The Verdict

So can a street food business translate to a  traditional restaurant? If Claw is anything to go by, than the answer is an undoubtable yes. I would even go a step further and say that what was so great about Claw was that it had none of that established restaurant stuffiness; it was just really friendly service, a fun atmosphere, great food and all at a very reasonable price. Next time I’m in the area, it won’t be shoes I’m there for.

21 Kingly St, Soho, London W1B 5QA. For information on Claw, visit their website here. 

Originally published in About Time Magazine