London

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co – Review

October 8, 2014 by Adrian Leave a Comment

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co Soho

Follow @Hedonisttweets
Trocadero, 7-14 Coventry St, Piccadilly Circus, W1D 7DH

020 3763 5288/http://www.bubbagump.com

I don’t normally review chain restaurants but there has been a lot of social media excitement about American seafood group Bubba Gump’s first UK opening, and being a sucker for gastro-novelty I decided to investigate. I have had good experiences in the USA at similar places such as the Pinchers Crab Shack chain in south-west Florida and was quite excited by the hype.

Situated on the same site where the execrable Planet Hollywood resided, you are greeted by worryingly upbeat staff who bombard you with Forest Gump trivia questions, because this is, if you hadn’t realised it by now, a Forest Gump themed restaurant originally conceived by the media company Viacom who then sold it on.

There are now over 30 outlets globally, including the Times Square flagship, with this the first in the UK chain run by franchise partner Al Mubarakia. It has 400 seats across two floors and there is also a shop selling merchandise on the ground floor. All this should have had alarm bells ringing but I was pulled in by the visual onslaught and the pizzazz.

Needing a drink I ordered a Blood Orange Margarita (£7.50), a blend of blood orange liqueur, cranberry juice and sweet and sour. It had all the subtlety and appeal of a mildly alcoholic orange Fanta.

Crab stuffed mushrooms (£5.95) were a plate of small field mushrooms topped with a ‘Parmesan’ mush with no discernable crab flavour and swamped in a citrusy cheesy sauce.

Shrimper’s Heaven (£19.50) was presented as four paper cones all padded out with dry raw shredded cabbage at the bottom. Coconut shrimp begged the question where’s the coconut? Chilled Peel’n Eat Shrimp was tasteless. Tempura Shrimp had a claggy batter and again lacked flavour. Fries were limp and extremely over-salted .

The American empire is over. This feels like an old concept looking for new markets executed in a way that feels like a cynical marketing ploy than a place that is interested in nourishing people on any level. Keep running Forrest…

Fortnums The Parlour – Review

May 17, 2013 by Adrian Leave a Comment

Fortnum & Mason-The Parlour

Follow @Hedonisttweets

181 Piccadilly, London, W1A 1ER 0845 300 1707

Needing an emergency treat for a rightly disgruntled 11 year old and being in the Green Park area of Piccadilly there was only one place to go-The Parlour at Fortnums. Although it needs a bit of a freshening up it’s still a really good bet for outrageously sized sundaes and floats that will bring joy to any child or adult sized child’s heart.

The kid went for the Fortnums Fresh Lemonade Float (£5.75) which was a blend of Fresh Lemonjuice, sparkling water and sugar syrup topped with lemon sorbet. It was really refreshing and not too sweet. Lemon sorbet is one of my guilty pleasures especially with a glass of Armagnac poured over it (see our Chabrot review)…

Feeling ‘abstemious’ I went for the Ice cream flight (£8). I chose Salted Caramel, Bellini Classico Sorbet and Pistachio Siciliano flavours as my choices which came in rather tasty cones. The ice cream and sorbet were all delicious and the servings were generous.

At The Parlour you will also find Authentic Viennese cakes and strudels and open sandwiches alongside excellent coffees, hot chocolate and wines. You could easily spend a whole day or two here-maybe I will!

Review-Balthazar

March 4, 2013 by Adrian 2 Comments

Balthazar Covent Garden

Follow @Hedonisttweets

4-6 Russell St, Covent Garden, WC2B5HZ

020 3301 1155/www.balthazarlondon.com/

Balthazar-Scarlet and Black or Cafe Rouge?

Bethnal Green Boy Keith McNally is one of New York’s top restaurateurs and is now making his London debut with the backing of Richard Caring, opening Balthazar, an all-day 150 seater Grand Brasserie in the refurbished London Transport Museum site in Covent Garden. It shares the same name as his New York flagship and there is a bakery attached to the restaurant overseen by Regis Beauregard, ex-Ritz head pastry chef.

There is no pretending-Balthazar is the hot table du jour. To get a table I had to go on repeat dial for an hour as the booking line opened and the restaurant was packed to the gills with food bloggers like moi and celebrities such as …Heston Blumenthal wearing specs that somehow made him look like Atom Ant. Now London is not short of faux French Brasseries and with Zedel, Colbert, The Wolseley and The Delaunay at the top end of the market there is definitely competition for McNally. However Covent Garden is undergoing something of a rebirth as a gastro-destination and there is nothing quite like this in the area and certainly nothing that has McNally’s transatlantic pulling power.

The room is dark wood and red leather, distressed walls and Art Deco flourishes. It’s a Hollywood set designer’s Brasserie wet dream and feels a bit fake compared to Zedel or the Wolseley which seem to be natural extensions of the pre-existing spaces. It’s also the doppelgänger of the New York room. None of this really matters except is there something a bit weird culturally about an Englishman opening a French brasserie in New York and then transplanting it to London? However none of this will matter if the food and vibe are great.

McNally has put together a crack team to realise his vision. Behind the bar is Brian Silva who had made a name for himself running the upstairs bar at Rules around the corner on Maiden Lane. He has put together a drinks list that combines classics with some house cocktails.

Negroni Finis

I ordered a Negroni Finis (£9.50) from the bar-a classic Negroni comprises equal measures of gin, Campari and sweet vermouth. This version replaces the sweet vermouth with Cinzano Orancio-an orange tinged vermouth-Byrrh, an aperitif made of red wine, mistelle (a part fermented grape juice), quinine, and passion fruit. The result is lighter and more fragrant than the original but retaining the complexity of flavour and delicious bitter Campari aftertaste. This was a great drink and perfect for pre-meal. So far so good-would the food stand up? The kitchen is overseen by executive chef Robert Reid, a man with real form, who had been in charge at Marco Pierre White’s 3 Michelin starred Oak Room in the Hyde Park Hotel.

Bread soon arrived-Poilane style brown slices and a small white baguette from their bakery next door. The brown was excellent with a wonderful malty crust.

For our starters we decided to share the Lobster and Black Truffle Risotto (£10.50) with cauliflower cream and black truffle butter. The rice still had plenty of bite and was encased in an unctuous sauce with plenty of lobster chunks and a deep rich truffle and lobster flavour. This was a very well executed dish showing a sense of care and precision from the kitchen.

By this point I was drinking a 2011 Daniel Chotard Sancerre (£10.50), an elegant manifestation of the grape with citrus and floral notes.

Roasted Fillet of Cod with crushed potatoes, olive tapenade and pistachios (£18.50) was a really well balanced plate of food. A good piece of fish presented Provençal style, not in any way showy but in some way recognisable as something put together by someone who constructed those amazing plates at The Oak Room and now working at a much lower price point in the context of the much larger turnover of a brasserie.

My friend Catherine ordered the Balthazar Cheeseburger (£16). Since this is the London iteration of a New York restaurant why not? It came encased in a brioche bun and garnered the comment that it ‘was not the best that she had eaten. ‘ However the real point of interest on her plate were the frites. The Balthazar frites had already been the subject of negative critical comment and in a joint like this should be perfect. Properly done they should be limp- these were hard and crisp all the way through and not in a good way. Sort out your frites Balthazar! However our garlicky side of Sauteed Spinach (£4.50) was impeccable.

At this point our waitress (who was tres jolie et agreable) forced dessert upon us. We shared a chocolate souffle (£10) which wobbled delightfully but was a bit too Hershey Bar in flavour for my liking. To help it down I drank a glass of Banyuls, Cuvee Leon Parce, Domaine de la Rectorie 2009 (£7 for 100ml). Banyuls is a fortified wine from Roussillon which drinks rather like a young port and it was a pretty good match for the souffle as neither of them were carrying the burden of intensity…

Balthazar is the hottest room in London at the moment. Go and enjoy that-and there’s some pretty good food there as well. And for the echt New York/Paris/London experience there is nowhere to beat it!

Review-Coya

February 6, 2013 by Adrian 1 Comment

COYA Mayfair

Follow @Hedonisttweets

118 Piccadilly, London W1J 7NW

020 7042 7118/www.coyarestaurant.com/

Coya

When I grow up I think I want to be Arjun Waney. He is the restaurateur behind many of London’s more glamorous joints, creating stylish spaces with food that takes a concept and then runs with it-all perfectly attuned to the wealthier end of the London market. Whether it’s Japanese at Zuma and Roka, Provençal at Le Petit Maison, Italian at Banca and now Peruvian at Coya his locations and menus are grown up and sophisticated without being stuffy in any way.

Coya artwork

After a slightly chaotic start to our lunch with Google Maps sending us to the wrong end of Piccadilly, we descended into the surprisingly large and airy basement that Coya inhabits.

The Ceviche Bar and Open Charcoal Grill are blended in to provide some theatre.

Charcoal Grill

The look is ethnic Peruvian chic contrasting with London’s other Peruvian hangouts-Ceviche’s street cool and Lima’s urban style.

The bar at Coya

To celebrate our arrival we downed a couple of perfectly mixed Pisco Sours. They were so good with their trademark citrus kick that we decided against ordering any wine and stuck with them through most of the meal.

Pisco Sour

Peruvian food brings together influences from the indigenous population as well as from the Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, Italian and West African immigrant communities. Coya’s food concept is based around sharing plates with several menus covering different styles and our waiter suggested ordering one from each.

Lubina Clasico

We started from the Ceviche menu with the Lubina Clasico-Sea Bass, red onions, sweet potato, white corn (£8). Ceviche is a Peruvian staple-raw fish marinated for a short amount of time in citrus juice spiced with chilli (aji in Spanish). This was as good to eat as it was to look at-the fish was very fresh and full of flavour and not overwelmed by the chilli in the tiger’s milk dressing.

Conchas de Abanico

Our next dish was Conchas de Abanico (£12) from the Tiraditos menu. Tiradito is a serving of raw fish, similar to a carpaccio or sashimi and served in a hot sauce but with no onions. Our dish contained scallops, carrot, ginger and coriander cress and again had that delicious citrus and chilli combination.

Calamares Fritos con Ocopa

From the Para Picar (small dishes) menu Calamares Fritos con Ocopa (£8.50) (Baby Squid, Peruvian Marigold, Quinoa) were well battered and came with a delicious green sauce made with Peruvian marigold which tastes similar to mint and is known as Huacatai.

Setas

Anticuchos are skewers of meat,fish or vegetable cooked over a charcoal grill. We chose Setas (£4.50)-Forest mushrooms, aji mirasol and parsley which turned out to be a highlight of the meal. They were wonderfully rich and meaty with a slight taste of cumin.

Josper charcoal grill

Moving at this point onto raspberry and mango Pisco sours we moved on to the Josper charcoal grill section of the menu. Originating from Spain, the Josper grill is fast becoming a mainstay of kitchens in many of the restaurants and steakhouses in London. It can reach temperatures of over 300 degrees celsius, gives a good char to the food and because the grill is enclosed, the fish, meat or vegetables being cooked retain their moisture and flavour.

Langostino Tigre

Hopefully you can see from the picture that my Langostino Tigre (£27) -Tiger prawns, chilli salsa-achieved the holy grail of grilling, char and tenderness without drying out.

My dining companion the redoubtable Fiona from London Unattached gets very excited at the prospect of South American steak and so chose the Lomo de Res (£29) -Rib eye, chimichurri, aji rocoto salsa-which also benefitted from the caress of the Josper. South Americans like their steak cooked medium and this was a classic combination with the parsley based chimichurri sauce (a salsa verde with added chilli) and the fierce heat of the rocoto pepper salsa which she pronounced delicious.

Esparragos Peruanos

For our sides we had Esparragos Peruanos (£6) -Peruvian asparagus, panca chilli, garlic-which had been grilled to within an inch of their life but were full of flavour, and Patatas Bravas a la Peruana (£5)-Crisp potatoes, spicy tomatoes, huancaina sauce-.

Patatas Bravas a la Peruana

The Patatas Bravas were given a Peruvian slant with the addition of huancaina sauce-a mix of amarillo chillies, queso fresco (fresh farmers cheese), milk, garlic and saltine crackers that managed to be creamy at the same time as having a spicy edge to its flavour.

Chocolate Fundido

Having eaten a lot by this point it would have been churlish not to have dessert, and with our Pisco sours finished the matched dessert wines seemed like a very attractive prospect. The Chocolate Fundido (£8) -Fortunato Chocolate, almond, white chocolate ice cream-was perfectly complemented by the glass of Maury, Mas Mudigliza, Rousillon, France 2009 (£14). The hot melted (fundido) chocolate oozed in a rather sexy manner out of and all over the chocolate sponge but without overwhelming the wine, made from the grenache grape by the vin doux naturel method of mutage where wine is fortified with unfermented grape juice and grape spirit.

Lucuma Bavarois, Passion Fruit Sorbet

Our second dessert was a Lucuma Bavarois, Passion Fruit Sorbet (£8). This was paired with a Gewurztraminer Vendage Tardive Hugel, Alsace, France 2000 (£12). The Lucuma was described to us as a cross between mango and avocado and is known for its dry flesh, with the texture of a hard-boiled egg yoke. This was an altogether lighter proposition, sweet and refreshing and beautifully set off by the floral notes of the wine.

I’m slowly starting to get a grip on aspects of South American food and drink. There has been such an explosion of restaurant openings and the concomitant interest in Mexican, Argentinian, Brazilian and Peruvian cuisine that it must be on the radar of anyone interested in the contemporary scene. The combination of citrus and chilli with raw seafood, the new varieties of potato and corn, the use of the charcoal grill and the ubiquitous Pisco sour are all starting to enter our food consciousness. In the firmament of this welcome South American culinary invasion Coya stands out as a very classy act. As with all of Arjun Waney’s projects the level of investment is there to be seen; in the location, the size and specification of the kitchens and the standard of finish for the interior. Whilst we were there on a quiet Monday lunch it is easy to imagine the place really buzzing with good looking South Americans and London’s well-heeled enjoying the cultural and culinary adventure that the restaurant offers. Did I have any complaints? Well, my teapot for my mint tea clearly thought it was a watering can, managing to shower the table quite effectively, but apart from that Coya was perfect.

The Hedonist was a guest of Coya.