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Address: First Floor, Metropolitan Hotel, 19A Old Park Lane, London W1K 1LB
Telephone number: 0207 447 4747
Website: http://www.noburestaurants.com/london/experience/introduction/
Date of visit: 30 March 2011
Cuisine: Japanese and Japanese fusion
Approximate cost per head: You can get away at £30 or less during lunch (excl drinks – water is £6 a bottle). However, budget for £50+ per head plus drinks if you want to enjoy yourself. They do serve tap water.
Comments on wine list/beer: Wines starts at £30+ a bottle but most are priced at hundreds of pounds. Nobu San brews his own beer in Japan but would you drink imported Japanese beer at the moment?
Summary:
I have been here many times and have always gone away broke and satisfied.
There are 3 branches of Nobu in London. This is the oldest and probably the best even though Nobu San is never in residence. He cooks (sometimes) in the LA branch. In 2009, Nobu (London) was listed as number 34 in the top 50 restaurants in the world. Only Tatsuya in Sydney and Mesa in New York out ranked Nobu on Japanese food. I have never been able to get a reservation at either Tatsuya or Mesa as you have to book months ahead. Nobu is only difficult in the evenings for short notice reservations.
I have eaten in several Nobu and the food is similar but not identical – it is a modern take on Japanese food. Some describe it as Japanese Fusion with a Peruvian touch.
The restaurant is housed on the first floor of the Metropolitan Hotel and it over looks Hyde Park. The décor is modern and the place well lit. The tables are bare – no table clothes. However, you do get proper linen napkins.
I went with my friend N who has been to Tatsuya but had never been to Nobu. To impress him, I ordered all the usual signature dishes.
We started with hand rolled sushi: Asparagus & Tuna (£7.75 each) and Salmon & Avocado (£7.50 each). They came in cones wrapped with a large of nori seaweed with a large chunk of fish and veg and sushi rice inside the cones.
We then had the new style sashimi of salmon. This was thinly sliced salmon served in a citrus oil dressing. The citrus semi “cooks” the salmon so it was semi-raw and not totally raw. Each piece is served with sesame seeds and chives. Amazingly simple, but really good.
We then had the spinach salad with fish (£14) All the green leaves were individually dressed and spread out evenly on a plate with a white rose of white raw fish in the middle.
After that we had the Black Cod and miso (£35.25) – again, an amazingly simple dish to prepare (see Nobu’s cookbook). The large piece of cod was cooked just right with the flesh coming apart in chunks.
The next course was a selection of Tempura. Asparagus (£3.25 for 2 pieces), Broccoli (£2.25 for 2 florets) and Green Beans (£2.25 for 2 pieces).
The whole meal with a bottle of Marsanny Rose (near Beaune), a bottle of tasteless Fiji still water (£6) came to £143.50. Service (optional) is 15%. So it is another £21.53. Total bill came to £165.03 for 2.
The Nobu on 54th Street, New York serves the same food – I can’t tell the difference – for a lot less money.
The food here is fantastic, it is both visual, tasty and healthy(ish). I would come here every month if I could afford it.
E
PS Not only is Nobu San’s cookbook easy to follow. He now bottles all his marinades and sauces – try Harrods and Selfridges.
PPS My friend N thought that Nobu is right up there with Tatsuya.
http://www.japancentre.com/recipes/5
This is the basic recipe. You must use tempura flour – which has egg white in it. Normal flour would not work!
Buy tempura flour from Japan Centre or any oriental supermarket. Also try panko (Japanese bread crumb) – it is lighter and crisper than normal breadcrumbs.
E
PS Thought that this might be appropriate as I have just been to Nobu!
March 2011
Address: Water Lane, Ford, Bucks, HP17 8XH
Telephone number: 01296 747473
Website: http://www.dintonhermit.co.uk/
Date of visit: 29 March 201
Cuisine: basic and inventive pub cuisine
Approximate cost per head: Around £20 for 2 courses. They also do a set lunch for – 2 courses – £9.95
Comments on wine list/beer: Badger (according to The Good Pub Guide), simple wine list with most wines around £20 a bottle.
Summary:
I actually wanted to go to the Green Dragon in Haddenham. When I got there, I discovered that it was closed and was not due to re-open until April. A quick look at the Sawday’s guide indicated that the Dinton Hermit was only 2 miles down the road, so off I went. Dinton Hermit was also in the Good Pub Guide.
As I approached the hotel/Inn/Pub, I noticed that it was roughly T shaped with a barn like building separating the car park from the large garden that overlook a stream. The barn turned out to be accommodation for around 12 bedrooms. The main building that houses the Pub/Restaurant is considerably older and is constructed from stone. Inside (ground floor) is roughly dived into 2 rooms with a drinking area and a dining area. The walls were at least 3 feet thick.
It has just gone twelve and I was the only customer. It was then I had 2 surprises. To start with, they had no bitter – sold out until the next delivery. They still have Stella, Beck’s Vier and Guinness. I decided to go for the wine and they do a nice Italian House Red (Merlot) at £4.50 for a 250ml glass – that bought the second problem. They had no change what so ever. Luckily, I had stacks in the car.
There is a single page menu with specials written up on the board. There is a fish board: cod, chips and mushy peas (£10.95), salmon wellington (£11.95) and baked trout (£12.95).
They also do a pie of the week (£10.50), ham egg and chips (£10.950, sausages and mash (£9.50) and steak and chips (£17.95).
I went for 2 starters. To start with, I had scallops and black pudding (£6.50), followed by “local” pigeon salad (£5.95).
The scallops turned to be 3 pieces of “fresh” scallops, each one nesting on a piece of crisply fried black pudding. It was served on an oblong plate with streaks of white (bread sauce) and green (mashed peas) sauces. It was very visual and very tasty. Very superior to the ones I had at the black boy – see 26 March 2011.
The pigeon turned out to be two lumps of breasts – served medium – on an endive salad. It was also very good.
I would recommend this place for the cooking – pretty high class at a reasonable price. There is no table cloth but proper linen napkins.
As I was leaving, two customers walked in and asked for a ham sandwich with granary bread and two bottles of non fizzy water – they must have heard that the bitter was off!
E
See also my article (enter knives in the serach box) on knives on 6th November 2009.
E
March 2011
Address: Shinfield Road, Shinfield, Reading RG2 9BP
Telephone number: 0118 9883116
Website: http://www.blackboyshinfield.co.uk/
Date of visit: 24 March 2011
Approximate cost per head: Evening menu: starters from £4.95. Main courses from £9.95
Comments on wine list/beer: simple wine list – most bottles under £20. Green King
Cusine: pub food
Summary:
When I came here before Xmas, I was offered a mystery voucher which will offer me anything from 25% to 100% discount if I dine between January 1st and March 31st.
So, I am back with my friends D and C – both major wine and food critics.
The first thing that we noticed is that the new Logo is now a Black Stallion even though the Pub is still called The Black Boy.
The dining room – at the back of the pub was surprisingly full for 7pm on a Thursday evening. In fact by the time we left, every table was taken.
We started with 2 portions of garlic bread (£3.10 per portion). D and C then shared a baked whole Camembert (£9.50) whilst I had the scallops and black pudding (£7.20) for starters.
The garlic bread was chunks of warmed up baguette (previously frozen, I believe, as thet have a sticky texture) spread with garlic butter. The camembert came with more chunks of baguette – brown and white. There was also a pot of home made onion marmalade. Both D and C thought that the camembert was a bit tasteless – immature – and the marmalade too sweet. My scallops (previously frozen – they are not as soft as fresh scallops) and black pudding came with a pile of rocket and the whole thing was dressed in balsamic vinegar. I liked it.
D then had the day’s special – calve’s liver with bacon on mash (£13.95) whilst C had the slow cooked lamb shank with root vegetables (£13.95). I had the other special – veal Milanese with spaghetti. Both D and C thought that their main courses were well cooked and tasty. My veal escallops were fine but I would have preferred the spaghetti* to be a bit more al dente. The tomato sauce with the spaghetti was chunky tomato and was spot on. D’s main course came with vegetables – broccoli, carrots and beans. The vegetables were fine – not over cooked. I was interested to note that half way through our meal, the waitress came and wiped the calves liver off the special board. So, it was limited after all.
We had a bottle of Rioja at £16.95. The wine was drinkable.
My mystery voucher turned out to be 25% off.
In conclusion, this place offers good honest pub food at a reasonable price. Its not quite gastro pub standard but it was pretty good.
* It was proper spaghetti. I recalled that in the late 70s, I had lunch at the De Vere Hyde Park and I noticed that spaghetti on toast was on offer so I ordered it. It turned out to br tinned Heinz spagetti on toast – I kid you not. When I complained, the manager said that most of their customers preferred tinned spaghetti to dry Butoni – fresh pasta was unheard of unless you went to an Italian.
e
Address: The Green, Kingham, OX7 6YD
Telephone number: 01508 658327
Website: www.thekinghamplough.co.uk
Date of visit: 25 Match 2011
Approximate cost per head: From the a la carte: £20 plus for 2 courses; £30 plus for 2 courses in the evening. Interesting bar menu during lunch time.
Comments on wine list/beer: Hook Norton on tap (£3.20). Simple wines list (from just under £30 to over £100) with wine by the glass from £4.
Cuisine: inventive – no boundaries!
Summary:
The village of Kingham – a model Cotswold Village has 3 hotel cum inn cum restaurants listed in the Michelin Guide and the village is small!
The Kingham Plough is run by Emily Watkins who was the sous-chef in The Fat Duck. She specialises in “sous vide” – water bath – cooking. However the food here is more comparable to The Hinds Head – also owned by Heston Blumenthal. Ms Watkins sources most of her ingredients locally – meat, veg cheese etc.
I was looking forward to my visit as The Kingham Plough is one of those places that are listed in every guide.
You enter the Inn’s car park via a very narrow entrance. That is perhaps why my car was the only MPV in the car park and there was not a single Range Rover in sight.
There are 2 restaurants, one beside the bar and one tucked away in another room. The whole place was light and warm (colour) and it was painted in beige with bare wooden tables and paper napkins. 90% of all dinners on the day - and we filled one dining room – were aged around 65+! The youngest diners looked to be in their mid 30s. I suspect that most of the local population are rich pensioners
I was offered the bar menu as well as the a la carte menu. Special of the day was fillet of beef done Wellington style with triple cooked chips (£27).
They had some very interesting dishes on the various menus. On the bar menu were items such as: scotch egg using quail’s egg (£1.80), pork pie (£3.20), rarebit (£4.50) etc. On the a la carte were: crispy squid with slow cooked octopus (£8), Anglais Chicken with barley risotto (£16), Pollock and clam (£16) etc. The menus were dated so it will vary from day to day.
I decided that I was going to “pig” myself and ordered the mushroom and escargot on toast from the bar menu (£8), the aged Hereford Burger with home made muffin and triple cooked chips (£14) from the a la carte and local cheeses with quince jelly, oatcakes and hazel nut fruit bread – more on this later.
The mushroom and escargot were stacked on a thin slice of unbuttered sour dough bread. It came with a “blackish sauce” which I suspected was the juice of the mushrooms. The mushrooms and escargot were probably cooked in a sealed bag in a water bath, hence the liquid was a bit like concentrated mushroom soup. To be honest, the texture of the escargot and mushroom were very similar and it was difficult to tell which was what.
I have often made a terrine out of a mixture of mushroom and escargots by simmering the mixture in a Kilner jar with Pernod and garlic.
For a change I had the burger – I have not eaten burger for at least 5 years. This is a nice piece of finely minced (with a blender not grinder) meat about 250g served medium. The chips were proper triple cooked chips with the crunchy fissure and salad leaves dressed simply in oil with a touch of salt and lemon. It was pretty good – absolutely no complaints.
Now let’s get to the cheese. All the cheeses were sourced locally in Southern England and nine different types were on offer:
Aveton Hard mature goats cheese (Roger Crudge)
Sarsden Firm sheeps cheese (Roger Crudge)
Windrush Fresh goats cheese (Windrush Valley Farm)
Barkham Blue Cows milk (Two Hoots Dairy)
St Oswald Semi soft, washed in Mead (Gorsehill Abbey)
St Wulfstan Crumbly, Cows Milk (Gorsehill Abbey)
Stinking Bishop Soft cheese (Charles Martell
St Eadburgha Cotswold “brie type” (Gorsehill Abbey)
Oxford Isis Cows milk (Oxford Cheese Company).
It was priced at £7 for 3, £10 for 5 and £15 for all 9.
I had ALL 9. In fact when it came, there were 10 portions - I didn’t complain.
The cheeses came on a wooden board and each portion was bigger than the combined portions at Hisbiscus – that was charged as £10 supplement to the set lunch. The bread, oatcakes and celery came on a separate board. In fact the dish was so generous that it was enough as lunch on its own. Without doubt, this was the “greatest” cheese platter I have ever eaten – globally. The cheeses were all in perfect conditions.
I am very impressed with the place and would rate it as one of the best place to eat in the South of England. The downside was that The Kingham Plough is nearly 2 hours drive from where I live.
Service was also excellent. A jug of ice water was placed on my table automatically as I sat down.
E
http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/video/2011/mar/23/lyon-bocuse-d-or-french-food-video
Named after one of the greatest living chef – Paul Bocuse!
This is a very interesting video for foodies. Well worth the 10 minutes spent watching it.
E
March 2011
It is actually a collection of Restaurant Recipes – tested!
E
March 2011
Address: St Mary’s Church House, Chain Street, Reading RG1 2HX
Telephone number: 0118 9391365
Website: www.bills-website.co.uk
Date of visit: 23 March 2011
Approximate cost per head: Around £10 for a main course. Special offers up to 7pm. Breakfast menu served up to 12 noon.
Comments on wine list/beer: Their own beer and a very simple wine list with most bottles under £20
Cuisine: Cafe/wine bar?
Late Review: 7th February 2011 by Dave Lamont
Summary:
Bills is sited in the St Mary’s Church House. The Church House was used as a tourist information centre until a couple of years ago. Bill’s also has a patio that overlooks the grave yard of Minster Church of St Mary’s – it is actually quite pleasant as the graves were all from centuries ago.
Chain Street is the narrow lane between County Casuals and Heelas that takes you down to The Oracle.
The menu here is very similar to what you expect in a pub – sandwiches, lasagne etc. The concept is that it is an all day dining café and wine bar. They also sell various strange products to go such as pink French lemonade.
I was a breakfast guest but it was nearer to 12 than 11 so we ordered a bottle of 2010 Rhone wine – classified on the wine list as La Garenne, syrah (£16.95). The wine was non tannic so it probably went straight from a stainless steel vat into a bottle – no oak. May be it was one of those wines made by the Flying Aussies – yes, there is a team of Aussie wine makers that flies around Europe helping to make wine.
We had the bubble and squeak mustard mash, fried eggs and ham covered in Hollandaise Sauce (£7.50). The bubble and squeak turned out to be more mash potato than anything. There were slivers of green in it but I couldn’t taste it. I suspect that it is colcannon or champ. Bubble and squeak should be fried! Well, the combination tasted all right.
Looking around, a couple had the squid rings – looks very decent and another couple had sandwiches and chips.
I found the place quite interesting and I shall be back to give it the full treatment soon.
E