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Restaurant Review

Food

Frenchie Covent Garden

April 20, 2016

Frenchie Covent Garden is not an easy reservation to get. I usually roll my eyes at restaurants with months long waiting lists because by and far my experience has been that they are over hyped. But, when the hub’s French boss said Frenchie was great, I called them up and put my name down for a random Tuesday in April.

A one month wait could actually be seen as getting in early to one of Gregory Marchand’s restaurants. The original Frenchie is in Paris and you essentially have to be Gregory or his wife to even get in. But, when we walked in, there seemed to be space at the bar. So, if you’re in Covent Garden, I’d give it a shot.

First things first, my cocktail was probably one of the best I have ever had. And I have had A LOT of cocktails in my life. I ordered it because it was vodka based and called Once Upon a Time No 2. It was sweet, smoky and just plain old delicious.

There were four of us, so we decided to order a bit of everything and share. If I’m honest, I wasn’t super stoked with the choices for mains. They had Guinea fowl AND pigeon on the menu. Come on, Marchand, I know you’re French, but can we have one normal meat, please?

The menu is divided into bar snacks, starters, mains and dessert. The bar snacks are very small – one portion each. We had the maple bacon scones, which were absolutely delicious!

We also had the duck egg, which was essentially a deviled egg and very delicious.

The ham was very well presented and tasty, but nothing special.

From the starter menu we ordered the smoked char tartare, Cornish crab, lamb ragu and gnocchi.

Again, the portions were quite small but everything was delicious. The tartare looked a little strange but was fantastic.

My favourite was the gnocchi, evidenced by the fact that I inhaled it before I got a real picture. Sorry, this was all that was left when I came out of my cheese and potato induced haze.

We split the two fish mains. They were fantastic and again, small. So if you’re in doubt, definitely order a starter and a main. I preferred the monkfish because it had more vegetables.

We ordered the desserts because one of them had bacon ice cream. Unfortunately bacon ice cream isn’t a Ben and Jerry’s flavor for a reason. It would have been tastier as maple ice cream with bacon bits.

Overall, Frenchie was low key with very tasty food for a reasonable price. It’s right near the Royal Opera House so head over early for a dinner before your show.

What to wear: I was slightly over dressed in a skirt and silk top. It feels like a chic jeans and heels kind of place.

Make sure you order: The cocktail. Seriously. The best I have EVER had.

FRENCHIE

16 Henrietta Street

London

WC2E 8QH

020 7836 4422

http://www.frenchiecoventgarden.com/

Food

The Portman

November 13, 2015

Stephanie

I love free food, so when The Portman invited me to have dinner (partially) on them, I was like, ummm, yes please! The Portman is a gastro pub situated on top of a real pub near Marble Arch. I wasn’t sure I was at the right place at first because downstairs kind of feels like an old man’s pub. However, as I had a drink downstairs and waited for my other half, their hits of 2010 playlist was on fleek! Don’t let the exterior fool you!

Upstairs is fairly newly renovated (although the ladies toilet could use a little work) and the banquette was really comfortable. Seems like a place you would go with colleagues after work, as the hubs and I were the only couple there. Playlist moved to 80s slow jams and it was awesome.

It was really hard to choose what to eat. I was leaning towards the crispy squid but my love of soups got the better of me and I had the broccoli and Stilton soup of the day. It was so good! Not too blue cheesy and the croutons were covered in garlic butter. It was a tad too hot though, so by the time I was able to eat the croutons, they were a little soggy. Still delicious. My husband had the ravioli that was fresh, al dente and tasty. I liked that they allowed you to chose if you wanted to have the sauce and how much.

For our mains I went with good old steak. It was an OK cut of meat but cooked and seasoned very well. I was super excited about their ‘stealth’ fries, which were apparently double cooked with the skin on. The real thing was slightly disappointing (but I did have pretty high hopes). The fries weren’t that crispy. Don’t get me wrong, I still ate them all, but maybe they need to be triple cooked? My steak also came with a salad but I don’t think there was any dressing, so after a few bites of dry leaves I stopped. Plus, I already got my five a day in the soup.

We obviously had dessert and I inhaled the Ferrero Rocher cheesecake. I had to curb my inkling to devour their entire cheese selection because I already had the cheese soup. People who bake cheesecakes are like people who put raisins in cookies (insert rolling eyes emoticon here). Thankfully this one wasn’t! It was really good, a tad rich and, in my opinion, emphasized the worst part of a Ferrero Rocher: The nuts… which actually isn’t that bad.

Overall we had a really good time, the staff were very friendly. They also had a great wine list. I would probably go back if I was in the area doing some shopping. I will say it was a bit expensive for a gastro pub. That being said, we did drink a lot, so that was a big chunk of it.

The Portman

51 Upper Berkeley Street, W1H 7QW

0207 723 8996

www.theportmanmarylebone.com

Food

The Cinnamon Club

November 11, 2015

Stephanie

The Cinnamon Club was massively disappointing. Highlights included paying £30/person for Butter Chicken, made with anorexic chicken legs and completely forgetting to bring out one of our mains. But lets start at the beginning…

My husband had chosen to go there to celebrate his birthday and I was looking forward to it. I’m not actually a huge fan of Indian food, but he introduced me to our local Noor Jahan, which has amazing butter chicken, so when he wanted to go to The Cinnamon Club, I was excited.

I arrived, told the reception it was my husband’s birthday and sat in the bar area which was overly lit with florescent lights. I was told I was the first in our party to arrive and after I ordered my Cosmo (there are no vodka based cocktails on their menu) I waited ages. Turns out my mother in law had in fact arrived before me and was waiting at the table. She eventually found me along with my husband and my drink still hadn’t arrived.

We moved into the dining room which has better lighting and looks like a library. We brought our drinks (which by then had thankfully shown up, and were very good) to the table and I discreetly told the waitress it was my husband’s birthday and we would like some kind of cake with candles at the end.

(Sorry for the mid bite pic! I was so hungry!)

Our starters came out quickly. I had the crisp spinach, which was like spinach tempura and potato chips. It wasn’t the best choice. My husband had the lamb escalope which was the best out of everything we ordered and my MIL had the lobster which was also fairly tasty.

Then came the disaster of a main course. I was really looking forward to this expensive butter chicken. There was gold leaf on the potato balls, and I think that’s where the cost came from, because they certainly didn’t splurge for actual chicken, just the leftover spindly legs. There was no meat on them. So I filled up on rice and naan. I had also ordered the roast cauliflower. That never showed up and we were so disappointed with the chicken, we decided not to bother asking for it.

The banana tarte I had for dessert was okay. What wasn’t okay was when my MIL went to the bathroom and the waitress came out and asked us when we would like the cake and candle for her birthday… in front of my husband. Face palm. I told her of the faux pas and she brought it out anyway for him, quite anticlimactically.

Bit sad, isn’t it? Dessert isn’t supposed to be sad.

If you want to risk it (and bring a wad of cash):

The Cinnamon Club

The Old Westminster Library

30-32 Great Smith Street

London

SW1P 3BU

www.cinnamonclub.com

Food

Roka Canary Wharf

November 4, 2015

Stephanie

2 Comments

First off, I’d like to apologize once again to the woman at Roka Canary Wharf sitting two tables down from me for hitting her in the head with my chopstick. I have no idea how said chopstick went from being in my hand to in your hair, but it happened. Thank you to the gentlemen at the table next to me for attempting to take the blame, when we all know it was me who clearly can’t behave in a fancy restaurant. Also, thank you to physics, the real reason hilarious stuff happens.

Anyway, onto the review. I’d been to Roka’s Charlotte Street location several years ago and remember being freezing cold the whole time. My experience in Roka Canary Wharf was much better than that. Our waitress Martyna was very very good. Our cocktails took a bit longer than expected and you could tell she was angrier about it than we were. When they did arrive, they were delicious! Rome wasn’t built in a day and my cocktail took 20 minutes. Both were worth the wait. I had the raspberry passion and it tasted like raspberry juice that gets you drunk. Like I said, worth it.

We had the premium tasting menu and the wine pairings to go with it. I couldn’t pronounce 90% of the menu, but it was all delicious. The best dish on the menu was the first thing we had, the yellowtail sashimi because it had a truffle dressing. The premium sashimi selection was good, but I did find the tuna to be a little fishy.

As usual, I really liked the spicy tuna roll, which is my favorite kind of sushi. I hate when restaurants cover perfectly good sushi with cayenne pepper and just call it spicy. Roka’s spicy tuna didn’t do that and was very mild but oddly (in a good way) geometric.

By the time we got to the black cod and scallop skewers, I was pretty full. The scallops were good, but I think Hakkasan has a better black cod.

The desert boat was huge! My favorites were the orange sorbet and the chocolate green tea fondant although, full disclosure, I just ate the outside chocolate cake part.

Overall, the meal was delicious, but obviously quite pricy. But that’s not really a surprise in Roka. Insider tip: getting there or home on a weeknight can be a nightmare. I was coming from west London and it wasn’t too bad, but there were massive queues to get into Canary Wharf tube station. This time it was because of the DLR strike, but apparently it’s usually quite bad. Things calmed down around nine. So prepare to stay for the long haul.

Roka

Canary Wharf

+44 (0) 20 7636 5228

http://www.rokarestaurant.com

(Warning: their website has a loud and annoying video that plays on the landing page)

Food

Jackson + Rye

November 2, 2015

Stephanie

Jackson + Rye is great American style diner in the heart of Soho. Now, having been someone who actually lived in America, this is not what an American diner is like in any way shape or form. But I do appreciate their effort and to be honest, Jackson + Rye is nicer than most diners in America. I’ve been there a few times before for a weekday lunch (actually with Harry Style’s sister. She looks exactly like him… or really, he looks exactly like her.)

Anyway, this time I went for a Saturday brunch and was pleasantly surprised with how friendly and efficient the staff was. We had a film to be at and let them know at the beginning and they kept that in mind the entire time and the food came out promptly. Unfortunately, there was major construction going on next door, so it was almost impossible to hold a conversation, but that wasn’t the fault of Jackson + Rye.

I had the Avocados Eggs benedict and had no idea what to expect. What came was really good and perfect for anyone on a low carb, high fat diet. Poached eggs sat on top of the avocado along with (the requested) crispy bacon. It also came with potatoes and bread, but it was so filling I hardly touched them. Side note, the coffee was great as well.

They get fairly busy, so I recommend a reservation or try for one of the few walk-in seats available, which was what we did at around 10am.

56 Wardour Street, London W1

0207437 8338

Food

Lucio

October 27, 2015

Stephanie

Lucio is a Chelsea favourite among locals and celebrities. We’ve been there a few times, but this time I took pictures! The specials are always delicious and the staff extremely friendly.

One of the highlights for me are the photos that decorate the walls. Lucio is friends with Terry O’Neill and has his iconic photos all over the restaurant. Makes me feel glamorous and think of myself in that era, indulging on pasta in a bid to gain weight for bigger boobs. Ahh, those were the days.

This time around I had the pumpkin soup with ham. It was really delicious, with a hint of bacon flavor. Refreshingly for my waistline, it also didn’t have any cream.

For my main, I had the fillet steak, which was cooked to perfection. The red onions had some tang to them, which went great with the potatoes.

Now that we got the food bit over with, time to get to the real reason I wanted to go there and write a blog. They probably have the best chocolate fondant in London. I know that’s a huge statement to make, but I’ve had a lot. Like, if it’s on the menu at any restaurant, I’ll order it. And as a testament to how amazing it is at Lucio’s, my husband and I have gone here just for dessert. Like I mentioned before, the staff ate awesome. The owner and his son chat to us all the time and they made a special exception one night when I NEEDED to have some chocolate.

It’s not a cheap evening out though, so if you are looking for just straight up cheap and cheerful Italian, Riccardo’s is across the street and slightly less.

What to wear: The dress varies from cocktail to jeans. Lucio has an impressive collection of American rodeo belt buckles. Make sure you ask him about them!

Who you’ll see: Apparently celebrities frequent Lucios often. I’ve never seen one or didn’t recognize them. Fun fact: Lucio’s has a second exit, which has been used before when a man took his mistress there for dinner and his wife walked in.

Lucios

257-259 Fulham Road, London, SW7 6HY

0207 823 3007

www.luciorestaurant.com

Stephanie Wahlstrom

Hey! Cute top! Flattery gets you everywhere, right? Seriously, though, I like what you've got going on over there. Anyway, my name is Stephanie and I am a Canadian writer living in London. I like to eat, travel and make people laugh. The Accidental Socialite is the name of my debut novel and this blog where you'll find tales of my mishaps and far too many references to bacon. Enjoy!