Chaineating Strada Style

With the definite exception of wagamama, I am most certainly not an aficionado of the various London restaurant chains, yet having enjoyed a number of meals at Strada in recent years; I thought that a Friday night pre-theatre trip to the New Burlington Street branch with my sister was worth a shout.

Situated just moments from elegant Regent Street, this particular Strada is undoubtedly well-placed for London’s shoppers and as such was exceptionally busy by the time we arrived. The high quality interior works well with dark wood tables, wood floors and various plants combining in a large modern space.

A bottle of complimentary filter water was brought over to the table – a nice touch, especially in London. Having recently been told that trying white wine is altogether unnecessary, I gave the go-ahead for the waitress to ‘pour away’ from the excellent bottle of house white that we had also ordered.

Admittedly, the menu all looks good and I know from previous experience that the Strada pizzas are first class, but this time I had a cunning plan. By ordering a basket of hand stretched pizza bread with pesto and tomato as a starter I could go for a more traditional main and get the best of both, or so I thought.

As such I opted for the Pollo alla Milanese of pan fried chicken breast in seasoned breadcrumbs with spaghetti in a tomato and basil sauce. The pizza bread arrived quickly and was as good as I remembered, with the authentic, thin and crisp base covered in a rich combination of delicious pesto and tomato.

Unfortunately what was to follow was not of the same quality and looking at the various mains being served, Strada need to urgently re-think their strategy on plates and the plating up of their food.

Sitting on a huge, long white plate I was met with a decent sized chicken breast, a segment of lemon and a pathetic spoonful of spaghetti that looked like it had come straight out of a tin marked ‘Heinz’ and certainly never seen a basil plant before. Fortunately however, it tasted, really rather good.

The chicken was succulent and whilst hardly testing of a professional chef was faultlessly cooked. The lemon was squeezed of its last bitter drop and worked wonders, combining nicely with the spaghetti and tomato sauce, which by now was almost making me smirk it was so paltry in size.

Having both ordered the same main (again!), by the end of the meal there were two clean plates on the table, which were swiftly whisked away into the kitchens and replaced with dessert menus. Whilst I couldn’t claim that ‘it was all that pasta I‘ve eaten’ I was however, in no need for any further food.

The bill of £44.26 was settled and the last of wine finished before we left having enjoyed two delicious courses in lively, smart surroundings and actually with very little to grumble about. Whilst I still prefer the charms of the independent restaurant, Strada now joins wagas on my list of ok chains.

Come Dine With Me... at The Diner

With restaurants in Camden, Shoreditch and Soho, The Diner is fast becoming a mini-chain in its own right, clearly targeting London’s indie scenesters in their glorious vintage clothing.

The Camden branch, located just off the high street on the slightly nondescript Jamestown Road certainly grabs your attention with its red neon signage and black exterior, much the same as the Soho Pizzeria in fact and inside it’s a similar story with clever black tiling creating a cool, moody atmosphere.

The American influence is most evident however when scanning the vast menu, where ‘fries’, ‘shakes’ and ‘dogs’ abound. Worried that a ‘(hot) dog’ would not suffice, I joined my sister and ordered a medium cooked Cheese Burger at £6.50 and a side of fries to share, from our pencil-thin waitress.

Given that this was a Thursday night at seven o clock, I was most disappointed to find that with the exception of two other tables we were the only ‘diners’ in the place. To make matters worse, the music had been turned down almost as low as the lighting, making for a rather quiet and dark restaurant.

Considering that staff appeared to outnumber customers, the burgers didn’t exactly race out of the kitchen, eventually arriving in rather grubby looking black plastic baskets with Diner branded paper.

First impressions were good however, with cheese melting nicely on top of a thick, juicy ‘pattie’, as those in the burger trade (but certainly not I) like to call them. A decent looking bun sat beneath with the related lid adorned with lettuce, a slice of beef tomato, red onion and a token gherkin.

Quickly seeing off the salad element of the meal I was now left with a manageable burger that could in theory be eaten by hand, without the risk of spilling relish over a fresh pair of cream chinos.

Unfortunately the burger could no longer be classed as medium, having been charred around the edges and ultimately arrived at the table ‘well-done’. This was a shame given the quality of the meat and the excellent sesame seed topped bun, which was obviously fresh and when served warm, tasted fantastic.

The chips were equally delicious with a nice golden colour to them. Heinz tomato sauce bottles are placed on every table as well as a bottle of mustard and cellar of salt, with vinegar appearing to be the elusive condiment. The small pot of relish that arrived with the burgers also proved to be tasty enough.

With room still for dessert nothing seemed to jump out at me from the selection on the menu so we decided to leave it for today and simply ask for the bill. Annoyingly, for what is only a burger joint in Camden, a 12.5% discretionary service charge was added, which I reluctantly chose to pay.

Whilst not somewhere I would rush back to, if I ever happen to find myself in Camden sporting a pair of skinny jeans and looking for something a little more than a ‘Big Mac’ then I would certainly give the Diner another whirl.

Fresh thinking takes a swipe on Great Portland Street

The first thing that you’re asked upon arrival at Vapiano on Great Portland Street is ‘Have you been here before?’ which in London usually means that you’re in for something new and exciting.

The major difference between Vapiano and other Italian restaurants is that rather than being served by traditional waiting staff, you are simply given a card that you need to swipe across a reader when ordering your food from the various food counters.

Pasta and pizza both have their own counters as does salads and antipasti in this vibrant, modern space. Next to the pasta counter is a machine that regularly churns out fresh pasta, whilst in the pizza corner, freshly kneaded bases are regularly thrown into the air by the pizza chefs.

We chose to sit at the high tables on comfortable bar stools and went through the menu, which is divided into groups, with dishes in Group A costing £5.50 and those in Group D for £8.50, reflecting the relative cost of the ingredients.

Having eaten (and reviewed) far too many pizzas recently I decided to go with the Insalata Cesare and Bruschetta, for which I took a visit to the salad counter. I placed my order with the chef behind the counter and as expected, was asked to put my card against the reader, which added £8.00 to the balance.

I then stood back and watched as a good handful of cos lettuce leaves, a spoonful of croutons and a ladle of cesare dressing were tossed in a stainless steel bowl, transferred into a dish and topped with a cherry tomato and parmesan shavings, before being placed on the counter ready for me to eat.

For the bruschetta, two thick slices of ciabatta were again cut in front of me and sent around a toaster before reappearing crisp and golden in colour. Rocket was added to the plate along with two healthy spoonfuls of tomato, onion and garlic salsa, all of which took less than a minute to prepare.

In this time Emily had returned too with her pesto pasta and glass bottle of Coke. All the ingredients used at Vapiano are fresh and this is instantly recognised in the tasting.

The cesare salad leaves were crisp and cool; the croutons had just the right crunch and the wholegrain mustard cesare dressing held it all together perfectly with a real kick that was softened by the mature taste of the parmesan.

The ciabatta for the bruschetta was similarly crunchy with a soft and chewy centre, although the tomato salsa topping tasted a little too similar to that with which you would see off a bag of Doritos. At £8.00 for two superb, freshly made dishes however it is difficult to pick fault.

When it comes to settling the bill in Vapiano, you simply walk over to the till and swipe your card, then pay the balance, there are no annoying 12.5% discretionary service charges and the whole process is effortless. It’s a great concept for London and one I’m sure that we’ll be seeing a lot more of.

D&D London... Second time lucky?!

With its impressive glass frontage onto St. James’s Street and carefully chosen pieces of modern art adorning the white walls inside it would be easy to confuse the Avenue Restaurant and Bar with one of the many art dealers and galleries in this wealthy enclave of London.

Avenue is part of the independent restaurant group D&D London, of which my only previous experience was a dreadful evening of poor quality food and service at the Butlers Wharf Chop House Bar.

Fortunately the service was already well ahead on points, with our coats taken promptly by the restaurant manager before we were led to an immaculate table at the back of this cavernous restaurant. The minimalist interior screams chic and sophisticated, with a beautiful grand piano a pleasing touch.

We were promptly asked if we would like any water, ‘still, sparkling… tap?!’ Tap water was duly requested along with a bottle of Chilean red wine, which arrived together with warm rustic white rolls and butter. The wine was initially poured into the wrong glass but quickly rectified by our attentive waiter.

From the impressive modern European menu the wild mushroom risotto with parmesan shavings was chosen to start, followed by the free range Suffolk chicken breast, wild mushrooms and cep sauce.

If wild mushroom risotto had been ordered it most certainly did not arrive, instead the waiter set down pan fried horse mushrooms, garlic, brioche and red onion marmalade.

Choosing not to say anything I cut into the brioche, which was soft in the middle yet burnt and hard around the edges; the red onion marmalade meanwhile was delicious and an excellent accompaniment to the chewy mushrooms.

Unlike many London restaurants that choose to have their kitchen as an integral part of the main restaurant itself, at Avenue it is downstairs and as such orders are sent via a dumb waiter.

Unfortunately this meant that none of our dishes arrived hot as they should have done and the cep sauce on my main had started to form a wholly unappetising skin.

The chicken breast was terrific, beautifully cooked, wonderfully moist and tender. That was however until I got to the end piece closest to the bone, which rather worryingly was raw.

A side order of chips had also been requested with the mains, which were perfectly golden crisp and nicely salted. The excellent spinach salad and wild mushrooms were quickly finished off with the remaining cooked chicken and cep sauce.

Service was excellent throughout the evening and we were brought dessert menus from which we ordered the chocolate and raspberry cake with ice cream and the hot apple and blackberry crumble.

The chocolate and raspberry cake centre was too sticky and bordering on sickly as opposed to rich and moreish, whilst once again the hot chocolate sauce had started to set by the time it arrived at our table. The crumble was delicious however, if slightly bitter.

All in all we left feeling disappointed by another D&D restaurant, whilst in my own mind I left Catchphrase’s very own Roy Walker to deliver the final verdict. ‘Avenue… it’s good, but it’s not great!’

Soho Pizzeria proves to be Soso good

With its funky combination of black paint and red neon signage, the Soho Pizzeria is visually one of the most memorable restaurants in Central London, yet sitting within the labyrinth of achingly cool streets that is Soho, remembering just which prominent corner it sits on is still something of a challenge.

Meeting my Dad for lunch on a Friday, I was worried of having to wait for a table, yet we were quickly seated right in the thick of the action and given menus by our waitress. The clue should be in the name but pizza is very firmly the favourite dish here and as such I decided against either pasta or salad.

Looking around the restaurant and my immediate impression was that the pizzas were actually quite small, which usually leans me back towards a pasta dish but in this instance only made up my mind to go for the Calzone of ham, olives, capers, pepperoni sausage, tomato and mozzarella in a folded pizza.

Inside, the Soho Pizzeria is every bit as intriguing as it is from the outside, with its many photographs and posters that sit alongside more red neon’s in this large attractive space. There is even a stage area for live music in the evenings, which is surely only another reason for a night-time return to Soho.

After the olives at Paradiso the previous evening, I was dubious as to whether our starter of mixed olives would be able to compete, but yet again they were delicious, with the stones removed and this time with strips of red pepper to compliment them. The larger green varieties were particularly impressive.

The calzone arrived soon after and it was time to swap cocktail sticks for knife & fork. With no side salad the plate looked bare and my earlier concern over portion size looked like coming back to haunt me, yet nowhere have I thought the phrase ‘quality not quantity’ to be more apt than at the Soho Pizzeria.

The folded pizza base was golden brown, marvelously light yet with a nice crisp edge. Cutting into the middle and there was ham and pepperoni sausage spilling out like treasure from a chest, not the usual deflating of air as happens at Zizzi. The tomato sauce was thick and well seasoned with Italian herbs.

The Quattro Stagioni chosen by my Dad was similarly demolished in record time and cleared away before the dessert menu was brought over. Whilst all of the options looked good, it seemed only right to have the Chocolate Fudge Cake, served hot of course and with an extra scoop of ice cream at £1.10.

With the coke long since gone, my tap water was topped up and a latte brought over for my Dad. Whilst this time the fudge cake was huge, the quality remained the same, with a rich and moist cake topped with hot chocolate sauce and accompanied by a scoop of topnotch if extortionate vanilla ice cream.

The Soho Pizzeria proved to be every bit as good as it looks and will certainly be seeing me again soon!

A pizza the Goodge Street action

Having been invited to a private viewing at an art gallery in trendy Fitzrovia, my immediate concern upon leaving Goodge Street Tube station, having carried out the mandatory phone, wallet, keys check, was to where I should eat.

Fortunately in this area of London you are spoilt for choice, given the diversity and sheer brilliance of Goodge Street and its neighbours when it comes to choice of restaurant.

On this particular occasion I decided to venture into the Italian Coffee Company, or ICCo as it prefers to be known. Sited on the corner of Goodge Street and Charlotte Street, this place is like a beacon with its cool interior and large windows, aimed at enticing the bright young people of Fitzrovia in to this thriving lair of freshly cooked pizza and Italian coffees.

As a single diner (yet again!) my initial worry was one of where to sit, seemingly looking out of place in my navy blue Zara Man coat and pinstriped suit amongst the skinny jeans and neon t-shirts that abounded, however a seat was spied and quickly claimed on one of the several high stainless-steel tables.

Leaving my copy of Brideshead Revisited on the table as a reminder to people that firstly the seat was taken but more importantly, that I do indeed read classics, I went up to the self-order counter and having previously been studying the menu opted for an 11” Capricciosa to eat in.

I was joined at the table by a group of American students and sat waiting what turned out to be around five minutes for my pizza to arrive, the pizza chefs literally make the bases and top them out right in front of you, so I was able to monitor the journey of the aforementioned Capricciosa from kitchen to pizza oven to plate, with the aid of a large pizza shovel.

‘Oliver’ was quietly called across the PA system and up I went to claim my prize, already planning my escape route in the event that I somehow managed to drop the pizza during transit from one stainless-steel counter to the next. Fortunately that issue never arose, and I even managed to grab a knife and fork wrapped in a plain white serviette with which to eat.

The pizza was piping hot and delicately topped with ham, mushroom, black olives, mozzarella cheese, tomato and basil sauce, although the menu does draw attention to the fact that turkey ham is a substitute for ham! In this instance, I never knew a fusion of pig and turkey could go so well on an 11” dough base.

Despite positively oozing with mozzarella, the pizza was in no way oily and was perfectly cooked, helped surely by the authentic and dedicated pizza oven that commands one corner of the restaurant.

At £5.30 these pizzas aren’t even comparable to the likes of Pizza Express, offering unbelievable value and using fresh ingredients in an environment that is wonderfully individual and offering a real buzz of what should surely be considered Real London.

The Great Wagamama Challenge 2009

In true Eastenders style we decided to head ‘up west’ and tick Leicester Square off the list of restaurants set to be visited as part of the Great wagamama Challenge 2009.

Head downstairs and it’s definitely one of the smaller restaurants in the group but also one of the best with its exposed brickwork and intimate alcoves.

Ordering is a doddle in wagas, a green tea and a tap water without thinking, possibly even a fresh juice if I have a voucher.

‘Are you ready to order food?’

Given that ordering anything other than a chicken katsu curry is always a gamble too far, I could have ordered as I was coming down the stairs to be honest, just shout ‘number 71’ into the open kitchens in fact… although as it’s all done electronically now, that probably wouldn’t get me very far.

If 8 is a lucky number in China then 71 must be a very lucky number in Japan, as that of course is the number of the wonderful chicken katsu curry.

But what’s this, no yasai katsu curry for Emily?! It’ll just have to be the chu chee snapper special instead then.

I order a side of miso soup and pickles, managing of course to get in my classic line ‘miso hungry’, which is a sure-fire hit in any wagamama.

The food arrives separately as we were rightly told to expect, with the katsu looking good, possibly a little light on the curry sauce front but with a good serving of ‘mixed leaves’, drizzled in its own unique and delicious dressing.

Snap the chopsticks and get to work on the leaves, easy. Not so easy when it comes to picking up sticky rice but then that’s why the good people at wagas always brings you a spoon and fork.

No need for the fork just yet as I saw through the deep-fried chicken fillet with the spoon edge, spinning it in my fingers and shovelling on a good dose of sticky white rice and a healthy coating of curry sauce in one much practised and silky-smooth movement.

As far as katsu’s go this one is right up there with the best of the best and things only get better when a further bowl of lightly spiced curry sauce arrives to make up for the initial ladle ‘not quite’ full.

The miso soup was suitably piping hot and refreshing, with the accompanying pickles as sweet and beautifully neon as ever.

Using the fork to spear the last few grains of rice and I’m finished, miso full! And what about the chu chee snapper? Good, but definitely no yasai!

With a 2for1 voucher the whole meal comes out at just £13.15, which in my book is jolly good value.

The only downer on an otherwise perfect meal comes in the form of my change, finding that the £5 note brought back to me has been defaced with red marker pen, annoying but quickly offloaded in exchange for a Timeout and a bag of Jelly Tots at Piccadilly Tube station.