Taste Of London 2011 - Sunday 19th June, 2011

Another year, another Taste of London. You may wonder what is so attractive about a half-day trek around Regents Park, but for me it's becoming a yearly tradition that is worth almost every penny. Just the two of us went this year, which meant a few dishes less than usual, but we did pretty well and were in and out of there in a matter of hours. A good day's work which needs no more introduction...

We found we were re-treading well-worn paths with parts of the day, and the beginning to the event was the same as last year. Deep fried baby squid from Barrafina was as rich, soft, crunchy and wonderful as in 2010 (left). A perfect rendition of classic fried squid. Despite eating it from a paper bowl in a park, it's hard to imagine squid better than this.

Next up was a visit to the Pétrus stand. I've not been to the restaurant itself but the legacy of the place where Ramsay's stewardship of Marcus Wareing produced one of the most exciting restaurants in the country stands firm. Or it might be standing firm if Ramsay and Wareing hadn't fallen out and the former took the name down the road and re-opened it as one of his own ventures. Either way, one Michelin star later, it is certainly worth trying. Especially when the main event was braised pork cheeks with creamed potatoes and clove sauce (right). Despite the poor reviews, antipathy towards Ramsay in general and miniature portions, these were lovely. Fall-apart soft and juicy, the cheeks were as tender as anything, with the potatoes and sauce accompanying perfectly.

Remembering our magical trip to Benares as part of London Restaurant Week in March, our next stop was at their stall. There was one dish that was inevitably going to be sampled: the chicken tikka pie with spiced berry compote (left). It may have looked a little messy and half-assembled, but the taste was extraordinary. A mixture of sweetness from the compote, spice from the tikka and smoothness from the potato topping, this was an immaculately conceived dish, one we were delighted to try.

Next up was a stop at the Corrigan's Mayfair stall. Remembering our thoroughly enjoyable visit there some time ago, the other half and I were keen to see what was on offer. It turns out they must have been expecting us, because the small steak burger with bone marrow was something that sounded tailor-made for us (right). Unfortunately, the meat was too lost in the thick, over-dry bun and I couldn't pick out any bone marrow at all. A disappointing outcome for sure.

Next up was a visit to one of our favourites, Launceston Place. Tristan Welch was overseeing things on the front, which is always nice to see, so we immediately went for the truffled suckling pig roll (left). It was a delight of typical Launceston Place proportions. Soft, delicate spit roast pig combined with freshly grated black truffle to make one hell of a rich, earthy and somehow perfectly suited English starter. What could be more local than a hog roast sandwich during a park fair?

Yauatcha was up next. Varying our so-far Euro-centric style, we opted to infuse a little Asian cuisine into the mix with their dim sum platter. I remembered that Yauatcha dim sum is nothing to be sniffed at, so we were more than happy for a sampling of venison puff, crispy duck roll and sweet potato mei-si roll (right). The highlight was predictably the venison puff but all three were lovely. A nice break from the heavier fare we'd been eating.

Our next course was a main from Rhodes 24, somewhere I've not yet been but who's menu was supremely tempting. So much so that we went there twice. Our first stop was to try their main course of slow cooked lamb with onion gravy and buttered potato (left). It was beautifully cooked lamb, soft and tender, with a fine sweet gravy on top. My only small complaint was that the potato was too al dente for me. With a dish like this, potato should be mashed or roasted, not sliced and undercooked.

Gauthier Soho was our next port of call. We ate a truly memorable meal there last year, so we were always going to go back. Especially when we saw Alexis Gauthier himself fronting the operation, handing out plates and chatting with customers. We opted for the starter dish of truffled risotto with a chicken gravy and parmesan crisps (right). Despite scooping out spoonfuls of the stuff and shovelling it down hurriedly, it was utterly glorious. Truly as good as the dish we'd tried in the restaurant previously, which is no mean feat. This was the kind of food you'd tolerate pouring rain for, never mind the inconvenience of having to simply stand up and eat it.

Remembering both an enjoyable meal in days gone by as well as previous good experiences at the festival itself, we headed for Quo Vadis. Their 'icon dish' was a rib of beef with triple-cooked chips and Béarnaise sauce (left). As something I'd eaten and loved in their restaurant, this was a shoe-in. Sadly, the meat was far too fatty, which took away a lot of the enjoyment in the dish, detracting from the flavour of the beef and the potentially great combination on show.

We decided after all we'd eaten that desserts were the next stage of the day and these would see us through to the close. Our first pudding of the piece was a custard tart with date purée from The Ritz Restaurant (right). It was utterly Ritzy in both delivery and taste: elegant, opulent and rather fine. A very smooth and refined take on a classic English pudding. Great stuff on a summer's afternoon.

The next dessert stop was at Clapham's Four O Nine to sample a triple chocolate brownie with vanilla mascarpone and raspberries (left). It was a delicious and rich dessert, combining all elements on the plate rather nicely. The brownie was just the right side of being dry and the cream was a necessary but well-judged compliment. I'd not heard a lot about this place before the festival, but if this brownie's anything to go by, it's worth keeping an eye on.

Our final dessert - and dish - of the day was another Rhodes 24 effort. Lemon tart with fresh strawberries was a bit of a no-brainer for us (plus it meant we could use up all our remaining crowns perfectly), which turned out to be a worthwhile finisher (right). A soft and sweet-sour lemon tart is always great when it's on song, and this was most certainly a delicious way to finish things. Soft pastry, sharp sauce, mellow filling: well done Rhodes 24.

Two people, twelve dishes, two hours. That was that. Taste Of London 2011 may have been my briefest sojourn into the array of restaurants London has to offer but it was absolutely a lovely afternoon. A few corking dishes and generally decent weather will always suggest a good day's work in the park, and 2011 lived up to expectations. As usual, here is my menu of the day, made up of the dishes we sampled:

Starter: Truffle risotto from Gauthier Soho. A no-brainer in the event. They'd taken the dish that was so amazing in the restaurant and seemingly improved upon it. Quite a feat considering the circumstances.

Main Course: No stand-out winner here, but for sheer invention, taste combination and originality, the tikka pie from Benares edges out the pork roll from Launceston Place here.

Dessert: Perhaps surprisingly, the mild and decadent flavour of the custard tart from The Ritz Restaurant takes the prize here. Somehow managing to be both understated and grand, it's the kind of pudding that should be tried by all and sundry.