cheap eats in Soho

Soho Italian  

Lovely meal tonight at 40 Dean Street in London's busy vibrant Soho. It was 2 courses for 12.50 - yes you read right thats £12.50!  2 options for starter and 3 for main. I went for the stuffed mushroom to start followed by salmon wrapped in pancetta with beetroot salad and tarragon sauce - lots of flavours but very tasty and the salmon was massive. 

When we arrive we were welcomed in by a man we thought must have been the owner. It was rammed with a birthday party to which we (the entire restaurant) sang happy birthday to. It was at this point we felt we were the only people in the place that didn't know the birthday girl/boy.

It was nice buzzy and welcoming. I really enjoyed it. 

dinner at Rosas

Last night we went for a quick bite to eat at Rosas in Soho. It was very nice, good service good portions and great food. I went for pad thai, I know, I know how predictable and boring but if I am entirely honest it was on of the very few dishes that didnt have have a number of chillies next to it. And you know me a chillies - never a good thing to say the least. I was also a little let down by the dessert menu but thats not always abad thing is it?

All in all it was lovely perfect for grabbing some good food with friends.

Lunch on Jermyn Street London

Lunch this afternoon was lovely. We walked in to a very busy Getti on Jermyn Street. We were sat up stairs where it was a little quieter. I decided to go for the sword fish as I am trying to eat more fish - as my dad always says 'there no fat on that'. So I had the fish with steamed veg and roast potatoes and my friend went for the antipasti dish. We also decided to try the facacha bread with rosemary and sea salt. It was all lovely! 

The fish was very very good indeed! It was almost like carpachio of sword fish, 4 slim slices of beautiful cook fish off the bone covered in premium olive oil and scattered with capers, delicious! The service was very good too, very authentic, (not sure how pc that is but its so nice to be in an Italian and be served by an Italian)

I could resist pudding so went for the obvious i'm afraid- the chocolate cake. It was yummy - so yummy in fact I eat the lot and I only got it to have a taste. 

I would recommend Getti to all, be it the Marylebone site or the Jermyn Street one they are both very very good!

egg white omelette at dean street townhouse

This week I tried and tested my first ever egg white omelette! Now I have been told that this has nearly no calories and is 'very nice'. Well, I felt like a right idiot ordering it and it was made even more difficult by that fact that the breakfast menu at The Dean Street Townhouse is very very good, they even had black pudding!

So I thought if I am going to try this I need to make it as tasty as possible, I added mushrooms and ham my friend added spinach and tomatoes. It came out looking awful very disappointing, but never the less I gave it a go, and in all honestly it wasn't too bad, the ham helped a lot! Check out the full menu here.

I did take a picture but it looked so bad I thought there was no point in posting it.

However the venue! Now that was lovely, the service was very good too. It felt very relaxing and inviting. The decor was very nice very old English with wood cladding ect. We were sat at a low round table with wingback velvet chairs. I would go back for sure in fact I am, i'll be there again on Tuesday. Fully recommend it for breakfast in Soho.

The Forge Covent Garden

Dinner last night was a work\friend affair. We went to The Forge, I've walked past a few times and thought it looked good and noticed they do 2 courses for 15 pounds. Well once seated I asked to see the set menu and was advised that it finished at 7pm, rather annoying but not the end of the world as mains varied between 16 odd to 40 odd. We ordered just mains we both had the baked cod with sanfire and brown shrimp. I asked for a side of mixed green and my friend had some mash. It came out looking very nice, and I am glad to say tasted just as nice. It was very good. Total bill for two mains two sides and a bottle of wine was  67.50 including 12.5% tip. It was very nice, good service good food and nice surroundings however I think if I go again I will get there before 7pm for the set 2 courses for 15 pounds. 

that silly time of day

Well ok maybe thats just in the country but I met my dad on sunday for lunch which actually didnt happen till 4pm. Surprise surprise no where was serving so we ended up in some horrible chain pub which turned out to be a harvester!! I nearly didnt deem it worth posting about but a promise to my self to write up every time I eat out is a promise no matter how rubbish the place, after all I did a post on pizza hut... need I say more. 

Due to hunger and total lack of options we ended up at the Talbort in north weld essex/london/M11. We turned up and were seated - kids playing/ crying and some somewhat unloved decor and seating awaited us - at this point we double checked our selves but decided to stay as we were about to eat our own arms and thought 'hey how bad can it be?'

We ordered - me, the rack of ribs and dad the steak - fairly safe options I thought and to be fair they came out not too bad. We both agreed it wasnt amazing food but it filled a hole. 

Then we decided we would try a dessert - I have the chocolate fudge thing ( I have developed a real sweet tooth since this diet) it was very nice - very rich but very nice. I also had a pot of tea too - which came out in a little pot and a mug which dad and I found odd (maybe thats just us?)

All I all safe to say I will never venture back but it did do its job and that it really .

Profile again

So we popped in again as our last lunch wasnt too bad and it is two for a tena... well is it is it really? no is the answer in short- once you add a drink each and service change £10 soon turns in to £20. but never the less it was ok. I dont think we will go again though

Airport food

So on the way home in the airport I opted for the cheap wetherspoons rather than the very nice looking seafood bar. I did this because I was on my own and felt the seafood bar was rather showing for little me on my tod. So I found a suitably hidden table for two and ordered.... Haggis of course. I love Haggis as I mention on my Burns night post. The menu said it was 'award winning' but lets not forget I was still in a weatherspoons, It came out looked good, tasted good, a little heavily spiced but good. My only problem was that the tatties looked like an after thought, but thats not a bad thing as i think i have had more than enough crabs for one day. 

Lunch in Edinburgh

This afternoon i was in Edinburgh for work and had a lovely spot of lunch in a small French restaurant called Petit Paris. We arrived and were greeted with a water glass of sweet rose wine? not i must at this stage point out that the guy i was with seemed to know everyone rather well so i cant say i am able to give a true review on this place but i can tell you i had a lovely experience. 

I was taking my jacket off and getting settled when a older gentleman on the table next to us put out his hand to shake mine??? he was charming we chatted and i asked what he recommends i ordered. He suggested the steak (do i have i love meat particularly red meat written on my head?) I ordered as recommended partly because it was and partly because i felt i should after asking. 

So I went for the French onion soup followed by the ribeye steak with peppercorn sauce. 

The soup was lovely although i would have preferred my cheese to have been melted and also more of it. I once had French onion soup which had almost a centimetre for melted cheese on top, it was delicious bu that that it a very personal taste. 

The steak came and i must say i had a touch of food envy - my lunch partner had ordered the chicken and it came in this amazing bass dish a kind of one pot dish complete with veg and potatoes. My steak was good cooked as i ordered and not too rare - i tend to worry with French restaurnat bout how rare they cook their steaks. I ordered English Medium rare- pink with a little blood. I know it was a Ribeye but it was very fatty and even with a steak knife fairly hard to cut. 

Then we had dessert too. I think its safe to say the diet has been on the back burner of late. I went for the chocolate torte with creme anglias - it was lovely very very rich, the owner informed me that it had been made with 12, yes thats 12 eggs, and that is what makes it so rich and tasty. 

All in all a lovely lunch made even better by the company and people i met. It was relaxed good food and very welcoming. 

Yotam Ottolenghi new concept restaurant Soho

Last night I went the soft launch of nopi the new offering from Yotam Ottolenghi. One word...AMAZING!!! I just loved it - the decor the service the food the wine, it was just AMAZING. I joked with my friend that i would simply post the word AMAZING as if we said it once we must have said it a million times everything was just brilliant. I have added a couple of pics for you to check out - they arent very good but i hope they give you a feel.

The idea is you choose 3 dishes each and share. The menu isnt that big but it is very good, its spilt in to fish, meat and veg. We had to ask for some assistance as we barely knew what any of the ingredients were, but they were very helpful and we ordered with easy.

 The food ...

bread with homemade humus 

Rose veal carpaccio, beetroot, kashk

Seared scallops, pickled daikon, green apple

Twice-cooked baby chicken, lemon myrtle salt, red pepper sauce

Ossobuco, sage and parmesan polenta

Baked blu di pecora cheesecake, wild mushrooms 

Seared prawns, fennel, white oregano, feta .

The decor...

this is the ladies - i had to add images as they are just...AMAZING!

We also had a little trouble with the wine list - we didnt recognise any of them, we were offered some advise form the somalia who suggested a lovely tipple so much so that i asked her to write it down for me. 

All in all it was a lovely meal due to the soft launch it was 50% off so we paid £46 for 6 dishes and 2 glasses of wine. 

When:	lunch: 12 - 3pm and dinner: 5.30 - 10pm
Where:	21-22 Warwick Street, W1B 5NE
Price:	Main dishes from £6 - £12 each
Tel:	020 7494 9584
Website:	Nopi

breakfast at Soho Hotel

Another day another breakfast. I have found it increasingly hard to find somewhere in Soho good for breakfast. We popped our heads in to Pauls on Old Compton Street and then promptly back out again - it was scussy.

We ended up at an old fav instead - refule at Soho Hotel. Much nicer. We both went for the fruit plate to which we were directed to the help your self arrangement of fruit. I had a small helping as wasnt too impressed but the more i eat the more i like so ended up going back for seconds. I especially liked the dried figs! yummy, its been a while since i have had them.

Lovely breakfast good service and all round a lovely place for a spot of breakie - £22 something for two a tad expensive but not really well worth it if you ask me.

and again ...

ok ok so you may have guessed already that I have a Carlucios at the end of my road. I went this morning for breakfast for a meeting with my assistant, I had my usual eggs bacon grilled tomato and mushrooms. l'm back on the diet- as I fear I may have gained the entire stone I lost over the weekend. Good food good service the usually really.  

lovely bit of pub grub in the dales

Last Friday I popped up to North Yorkshire, Brompton on Swale. Wow what an amazing place even in 70mph winds (no no jokes it really was that windy). We dropped by to a real lovely village pub that was owned by the entire village but unfortunately due to the wind the whole village had lost electric. So we went on to the next village, where we stopped at The Bridge Inn. No one in the place but us and a couple of old locals holding the bar up. We ordered from the very predictable pub menu. I went for the steak and Ale pie with veg and chips - it was lovely - dont know why i took the picture or why i am putting it up but thought i should put something up.

If your ever up there check it out, it was very welcoming and they had a lovely fire on too.

Grannies old fashioned Lemonade

Gran Stead's Traditional Still Lemonade - Very good indeed - however I only got a little bit as my boyfriends family had nearly polished it off by the time I had a chance to have some! Thumbs up all round (clearly). Really fresh, crisp and tasty too. Again another perfect choice for a fabulous British summer afternoon in the garden with friend and family. 


Award winning, dont you know - it was awarded one gold star 2009 at the great taste awards. And its plain to see or should I say taste why!  
Not only does this taste good but its made here in the UK with home grown produce, which of course makes it the best! 



You can get them online at www.gransteadsginger.co.uk or from one of my favourite places Fortnum and Mason. 

Chocolate tea!!

I've just been introduced to NUMI Tea. Not normally my thing but after my 26 days off the booze it came in quite handy. I drank a lot of tea in January, herbal, detoxing and this.

I had the Chocolate Pueth velvety & vanilla - its a black organic tea blend. A blend of Cocoa powder, Vanilla Beans, Orange Peel, Nutmeg and Cinnamon and you can actually taste every single ingredient - subtle, smooth and natural, even a hit with my boyfriend. 

Its got bundles of good stuff too like, eco friendly packaging: 85% post-consumer waste printed with soy based inks and biodegradable tea bags. 1% of net profits benefits social, environmental and sustainable causes. They also plant a tree and offset their carbon - thats a hell of a lot to do when you dont have to do it! Good on them I think I like the tea even more now I know all that. 

You can pick it up at Ocado and in Whole Foods and independent retailers around the country. Perfect for a slightly sweeter alternative to your afternoon brew! 

www.numitea.com

Amazing starter

Today I had lunch with my client in Harvey Nicks in Manchester. It was the bar restaurant on the top floor, I was greeted by a very pleasant host and offer a table too choose from. Once sat I ordered a pot of English breakfast tea and waited for my guest.

We both decided to have a small something to eat and so chose from the first course options. I went for the Ham Hock and Black Pudding dish while my client chose the 'special' risotto which involved prawns and peas.

Mine arrived and was pretty as a picture, really vibrant green de-shelled broad beans next to fleshy pink ham and deep black black pudding.

It was as delicious as it looked. It came with a lovely sweet apple and cinnamon puree which worked beautifully gelling all the ingredients together. Its been a long time since I have eaten something that tasted equally as lovely as it looked.

On top of this we had a wonderful waiter, Stuart, who was very attentive, polite and very helpful. So helpful in fact that he even wrote down the method of how to make my lovely starter. When i give it a shot I will post it for all to see... thank you Stuart.

Burns Night Supper finally!

I was invited to two Burns night events on the 25th and not a drop of Haggis to be seen! I was so so disappointed - my first Burns night in over 7 years with out Haggis. So Tonight, with my mum and my sister we had Burns Night Supper!! 

For those of you that don't know the traditional Burns Night Supper is Haggis Neeps and Tatties. Mash Turnip (thats Swede to all you non scottish folk) and mashed potato. 

Haggis is (according to wikipedia) a dish containing sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally simmered in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours. Most modern commercial haggis is prepared in a casing rather than an actual stomach. Our's was in actual stomach, I have found that most Haggis brought from a traditional butchers.

I love it! I even have it cold the next day in a sandwich, sadly tonight its all been eat with not crumb left for my cold Haggis sandwich. 

Soda Stream it up!

So exciting! I just got a new Soda Stream! Remember the 80's favourite drinks maker? You were probably either one of the lucky kids who had one – or the one who didn’t and dreamed of your very own fizzy-drink factory (I was sadly the latter). Well, now SodaStream is back and it's set to be a must-have once again. 

SodaStream has had a sleek makeover and now comes in a range of modern designs and colours including chrome, red and white that will look great on your kitchen worktop. The new machines encapsulate all the fizzy fun you would expect with a trendy new design you’ll want to have on display. 

Perfect to keep me busy while not drinking. I tested out some new cocktails with the Soda Stream... 

Three Cheers Punch- New Years mocktail

A fruity mix of juicy flavours to welcome the New Year in style.
This delicious drink can be made in a punch bowl, with plenty of chopped fruit to garnish and add even more flavour. 1/2 part lime juice; 1 part orange juice; 2 parts SodaStream; Mango Passionfuit; Plenty of ice and chopped apples, oranges, etc. Ladle the mix from the punch bowl into tea-cups, so the kids can cut a dash with this sophisticated looking New Year treat.

Deck The Halls- Christmas Mocktail
A refreshing, fizzy treat. Fill a tall glass with ice. Top with equal parts SodaStream Apple, and SodaStream Clear Cranberry Raspberry.  Garnish with an orange slice and a string of redcurrants for a Christmas feel.

Both to die for very yummy indeed! Go and buy your self one its made me so happy but then that might be because I never had one the first time round? Either way its great.

SodaStream drinksmakers are available from John Lewis, Comet, Argos, Robert Dyas, Lakeland and selected Asda stores, including Asda Living. The drinks makers cost from £54.99 and flavours from £2.99. For more information visit www.SodaStream.co.uk or look us up on Twitter @sodastreamuk 

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SodaStream Facts:

• Did you know that every one litre bottle of SodaStream you make saves three aluminium cans? That means that over 3 years, a family of four could slash their soft-drink-related packaging usage by over 90%

• Each 500ml flavour bottle makes up to 12 litres of fizzy drink, which means no more lugging, and storing heavy cans or bottles and you’ll be saving money as well!

• All SodaStream flavours are low in sugar compared to most other sparkling drinks. The regular flavours have two thirds less sugar than standard "non diet" drinks and the sugar free range tastes great but without the calories

• SodaStream allows you to design your own drink. Choice of flavours, choice of strength and choice of sparkle meaning you’re completely in control

• *Tap water quality in England at Wales is at 99.96%, Scotland – 99.75% and Northern Ireland 99.69% (source: Water UK)