Restaurant Review - Nobu, Park Lane, London

Restaurant Name: Nobu

Location: Metropolitan Hotel, Park Lane, London, UK

Visited: May 2011, Lunch

Nobu is the famed, uber cool, Japanese restaurant group with locations worldwide.  There are two in London, the 'original' site on Berkeley Square, and the one I visited at the Metropolitan Hotel just off Park Lane.  It has a Michelin star and had been on my radar for a visit for sometime, I love Eastern cooking and my last meal could well be a Thai meal, on the right day anyway.


We booked well in advance for lunch, for my first visit, and to really make an impact, it was the day after we had dined at Le Gavroche (see here for review).  Our expectations were most certainly high.


It didn't disappoint, not in anyway, neither in service, food, delivery or ambience.  Nobu really is worth all the hype, and more.  The menu is extensive and the choice was like being a sweet shop.  I wanted it all.  After some deliberation we (possibly I ... !) had chosen a couple of courses to indulge ourselves in over some cocktails.  Lobster Tempura with Creamy Wasabi Sauce, Anticucho Peruvian Style Tea Smoked Lamb, Field Greens, Snow Crab in Spicy Creamy Sauce, and we also ordered some sushi rolls (crab/avocado, tuna, soft shell crab) to finish.


Lobster Tempura? Are you kidding me?  I couldn't quite beleive it.  I love lobster, I love lobster grilled, steamed, thermidor, but lobster in a light tempura batter really does take some beating and is seriously something I never thought I would find on a menu.  I have no doubt one day I would have tackled this at home - thankfully for all those I concerned in my culinary endeavours I no longer have to.  The lobster meat was sweet and beautiful, the tempura batter was light and crispy, and the accompanying creamy wasabi sauce was heavenly. I write this with a grin on my face, it really was that good.  The delicate chunks of lobster were sitting on some well seasoned and dressed greenery.  You can see where this is going - the greenery was nearly as good as the lobster, enough said.


After this first course we were slightly stunned, and still revelling in what we had just been served and eaten, we were duly delivered our next course of snow crab.  Again this achieved the desired effect - whilst you were eating you could not help yourself from discussing quite how the chef has got these dishes to deliver in the way they were.  They looked beautiful, they tasted liked nothing I had eaten before, and every mouthful was pure gold.  Snow crab meat was sweet, the creamy spicy sauce was finished under a salamander to create a wonderful creamy crust on top. 


The lamb that followed was equally divine.  Tea smoked lamb cutlet, french trimmed, very strong and complex flavours - for met it tasted what I thought a Peruvian meat skewered food would taste like, with an Eastern influence. Admittedly I havent visited Peru.  It was excellent, some might say slightly undercooked (as did my dining partner), although for me it was perfect and a great dish -  a real master-class of cooking.


Raspberry based cocktails were the order of the day (in fact, of the indulgent weekend) and they were just right.  So often you can order a cocktail and unfortunately the bar person simply has no real understanding of or passion for cocktails; they are just on the menu because they should be.  These though were artfully created, and for the typically trendy and demanding clientele they are being served to, the cocktails were of a high standard.


This review wouldn't be complete without a mention for the ambience or the delivery.  The service delivery was exceptional; knowledgeable staff, efficient, friendly, and as successful hospitality operators acknowledge, achieve this and you win half the battle.  The restaurant was busy and I should imagine it always is, every day.  There was a real buzz too.  Customers in the know knew what awaited them and first time visitors were caught up in the excitement and the perfect delivery.  


This really is one of the best restaurants I have been to.  I will gladly return very soon and with all those delectable choices (such as King Crab with Ponzu Butter Sauce) I will not be leaving it too long before I do. 


This is foodie heaven, take my word for it. 

Restaurant Review - Laduree, Covent Garden, London

Restaurant Name: Laduree

Location: Covent Garden, London, UK

Visited: May 2011, Breakfast

Laduree is the home of the Macaron, by far one of the best makers of Macarons in the world.  Their core business is making exquisite pastries and cakes with outlets in Paris and London.  The first store and Laduree tearooms to open in the UK was, and still is, within the Harrods department store.  This visit in May 2011 was to their third site recently opened (May 2011) on the cobbled streets of Covent Garden.  Its a great location and despite the brisk breeze, breakfast had to be done.


This isn't the first time I have had breakfast at Laduree, having visited both Paris and Harrods sites.  When staying in a hotel in London, no matter how good the breakfast is in your hotel, Laduree is worth getting dressed and out the door for (no need to rush, the breakfast menu is thoughtfully served up until 11:30AM.) 


This visit did not disappoint, although I must announce one or two errors of service and delivery (otherwise what would be the point in an honest review...)


I had a simple breakfast of tea, orange juice, and my chosen food of French Toast with maple syrup.  The tea actually wasn't as good as I had had previously, I would be suprised if they had changed the tea, possible that I had overlooked the brewing pot in favour of savouring the orange juice and gazing at the passers by, although my dining partner also made a similar comment - too strong and slightly bitter.  The freshly squeezed orange juice was however sublime.  There is freshly squeezed in the morning orange juice, and there is orange juice perfection, and this was just so good.  With the heat lamps wafting every now and then, who needed tea anyway.


The French toast did arrive somewhat later than my partners croissant and brioche, and it pains me to say anything negative but it was also 15/20 seconds over cooked.  Like ever so slightly burnt toast, not enough to discard, but enough to amend the taste.  However, it was delicious.  The best French toast you have ever had - spongy, melt in the mouth, moorish, accompanied with fine maple syrup (you could also have Chantilly cream).  I do confess that I love nothing more than a Full English Breakfast this almost has me converted.  I do believe I could give up a Full English in favour of Laduree's French Toast.  Time will tell.


Laduree isn't cheap, luxury never is, and I stand by my mantra of 'You get what you pay for'.  


That said, our relatively small but perfectly shaped breakfast was half the price of the breakfast we would have taken at our Park Lane hotel.  


Cheap at half the price and truly an experience not to be ignored.  

Restaurant Review - Tossed

Restaurant Name: Tossed

Location: Multi sites, London

Visited: Once per month for lunch

Not strictly a restaurant but a fast food (tossed salad www.tosseduk.com) business with multiple sites in central London, and growing fast.  I felt I had to blog about this business as Tossed offer healthy and delicious salads made to order.  I do realise that this sounds like an advert, but it isn't and it is solely my own advert for Tossed because it is top notch.  There are many options these days with Pret a Manger, Itsu etc and they all have plus points and it is good to have choice but if you seek quality ingredients in a salad or wrap, then make a visit to Tossed.

I will not bore you with the details but take my word for it, the salad is good with lots of ingredients and tossed in front of you.  Its a good working lunch.  

Enjoy!

Restaurant Review - Georgian Restaurant, Harrods

Restaurant Name: Georgian Restaurant, Harrods

Location: Harrods, London

Visited: December 2010, Lunch 

The Georgian Restaurant on the fourth floor of Harrods is a must for tourists seeking a quintessentially English Afternoon Tea in elegant surroundings.  For those in the know, it also delivers a sumptuous buffet (especially at Christmas) supported by an a la carte menu offering fine, and I would say traditional English, cuisine.  Service is hospitable and prompt and if you become a regular visitor, that 'old school' hospitality awaits you every time.

This is an annual visit and has been for many years.  Harrods at Christmas time is magical, although only if you enjoy the hustle and bustle of the Festive season.  It is also Foodie heaven (although it does necessitate a visit to Selfridge's Food Hall to make the Foodie trip complete!) so a day of Christmas shopping, browsing the finer things in life and food therapy, both retail and Lunch, makes for me a day not to be missed.

Our 2010 visit was a great one and lunch was enjoyable.  This cannot be said for the last couple of years and had it not been for visits years ago that excelled, we may not have returned this year (in fact we nearly didn't and had considered 'giving it a miss this year'.)  In 2008 and 2009 some changes were made to the food offering and the service and quality suffered also.  It has economic downtime all over it and it seemed it was time to lower the cost of the product but maintain those selling prices.  Recessions can affect even Al Fayed it seemed.  However I have to say that this year its 'hey day' glory was almost returned and there was a real buzz to the restaurant.  Sadly the food has not returned to the heights of the earlier years and clearly savings have been made (for example the cold buffet used to include lobster and crab claws before 2008 which have not made an appearance since.) 

Harrods is all about luxury.  The Food Hall delivers the same, the 'best of' suppliers and ingredients sourced, and the restaurant used to simply be an extension of this making use of the best ingredients the market had to offer and then prepared for the restaurant.  Now the restaurant seems to have stopped being about the luxury foods such as Foie Gras (no longer on the menu, ethics aside here for a minute) and Salmon en Croute with Lobster sauce.  The latter used to be served at the table and was sublime, silky and rich.  2010 unfortunately saw the end of this dish,  and the old the menu, and in place a shorter and less luxurious one with some major deletions.  A feast is still to be had with the like of fruits de mer, but some of the old favourites have gone.  Change isn't always about 'moving forward' and I do feel some 'modern' twists should not have been imposed.


I had the buffet for starter and it was very enjoyable, and followed this with wild smoked salmon (one of the best I have had at Harrods for year) and then a Christmas Roast.  Had it been the menu of old I would have opted for the a la carte menu but no need to go down that road again ... the carvery was excellent.  This was all finished off with plenty of Harrod's bread and butter pudding (worth a visit just for this), washed down with some Dom Perignon.  


Plenty of good champagne can often iron out the flaws ....

Restaurant Review - Tamarind, London

Restaurant Name: Tamarind

Location: Mayfair, London

Visited: January 2011, Business Lunch 

Tamarind is a great restaurant serving delicate but punchy (Moghul cuisine) food matched with great service and atmosphere. 

I have to admit I have only ever eaten here for lunch and for business - which does mean my attention is less on the food and more on the business.  However, Tamarind's surroundings make it easy to enjoy both.  This latest experience was the best I have had, perhaps having temporarily lost their Michelin star they are damn well making sure it stays, and rightfully so.

I opted for the 'Winter' set lunch (which you always do on business lunches!) and started with light Tilapia fillets followed by lamb cutlets in a brown onion and spiced sauce.  As always at Tamarind it's the accompaniments that are delivered that are so very moorish.  It isn't until you start scraping the bowl of the side dish that you realise that it was as good as the lamb cutlets you were eating.  If not better.  On this occasion we had warm chickpea salad, rice & naan bread (the best you have had) and other delights that fused together perfectly, as they should at this level of dining.

We opted for dessert and had Rose ice-cream with baked apricots.  Absolute heaven, in fact I can taste it as I write.  If it wasn't for the fact I would ruin the memory I would attempt this at home. I do confess I love anything Rose (especially if it starts with Laduree Macaron) but this dessert was exceptional.

Not to be overlooked, Tamarind also serve white chocolate dipped mint leaves with their coffee which are worth the wait every time.  They are so good I almost didn't want to tell you.

It isn't surprising every business contact I dine with leaves the lunch happy. Surely this is good for business, or so I keep telling my expenses bill....