Soho Food Feast - Saturday 8th June, 2013

Soho is still probably the most exciting place to eat out in the country. Well, in London maybe. I can certainly say that nowhere else in the capital presents quite the condensed array of varied and exciting options available than the neighbourly west end. Once a year the Soho Food Feast rolls into the area, as a community support programme for the Soho Parish Primary School.

A friend had a spare ticket so I obliged and we spent the afternoon wandering between stalls, paying not much more than a few pounds for fare you'd usually find at Soho venues, repackaged for a festival atmosphere. In some cases, the restaurants were not from Soho but were London institutions keen on supporting a good cause. A half-cut Sean Bean opened the event (I don't think he knew much about this other than being asked to do so shortly before stepping up) and we got stuck in.

The first thing we tried were a couple of oysters from the Wright Brothers, who have a franchise of their chain in Soho (left). These were your standard oyster fare for London: some shallot vinegar with lemon juice and were rather pleasant. Fresh, smooth, properly sea-salty and - as is my usual - one was just enough. When it comes to oysters, I can never eat more than maybe two or three but I always find that, if of sufficient quality, just one can set a meal up beautifully. In terms of this afternoon, it was a nice way to get started.

The next was an interesting-sounding dish from 10 Greek Street, a place I had yet to visit. This was a medley of salad themed around crab (right.) That's the honest description I would give it, because theirs - 'crab with chilli, asparagus, broad beans and mint' sounded a bit more lively than this was. Not the sort of dish I might usually order, my friend was keen and I'd heard enough good things about the restaurant to want to try it. In the event, it was too much greenery, not enough payoff. The idea was sound but the execution wasn't great.

The Union was next up. A place I was entirely unfamiliar with but very tempted by their dish on offer: a salt cod fritter with ailoi (left). This was certainly the first dish of the day where I was excited to get stuck in. It made sense, it looked great and happily it tasted great too. The salt cod was a combination of mild and flavoursome, combined expertly with the soft potato and sharpness of mayonnaise and lemon. For comfort food on a sunny Saturday, this kind of thing was just right.

The Dean Street Townhouse is a place I've often walked past and thought about how much I'd like to see what's inside. It revels in an alluring combination of bustling, chic, grandiose neighbourliness. That might be something of an incongruous description but that's what Soho does to people. In the case of the Food Feast, they'd gone for a home-styled comfortable classic in mince and potato (right). I'm not sure if they were going for a genuine appeal to the sort of traditional fare they offer at the Townhouse, or if they were trying to be overly kitsch and knowing with a simplistic treat. It wasn't bad but the potato could've been either crispier or creamier, dropping in the middle for a slightly confused finish to a dish which confused me.

I'd not heard of the Pitstop Café before. They had a stall at the event and were serving dumplings (left). These were prawn-filled, gyoza dumplings which had a pleasant enough mix of crispy and gelatinous outer layers and moist prawns inside. Finding out more about the Café itself, these became more impressive having eaten them. An exercise in the most appealing, modern take on Asian food which doesn't happen enough in this country, these were a smart representation of what one should be looking for when one goes towards a food truck.

The scent of grilled beef wafted across the parish churchyard and I was happy to embrace the call of burgers. Meatwagon, the founding venture of MeatLiquor had set up a stall on the day and their slider burger with cheese was impossible to resist (right). These were exceptional, happily reminiscent of my first visit to MeatLiquor, rather than the second. Medium-rare cook with proper seasoning and deliciously plastic cheese, these were worth the queue and a real treat.

Next up; some spicy chicken and sweet potato fries from Cabana, a Brazilian barbecue joint with locations across the capital. The chicken was far too hot for me but I ate most of the sweet potato fries. Brazilian barbecue rarely appeals to me. Much of the food is cold by the time it reaches the table and often your seat in the restaurant dictates what you'll be eating depending on how servers are moving. That said, Cabana may be worth a visit some time down the line...

Apart from Sean Bean, there was another celebrity in the churchyard, with St John's Fergus Henderson pottering about - usually to periodically grab another Pisco sour. The great restaurant group had a stall, serving a dish which was reassuringly rustic and uncomplicated: ox heart bun with watercress and horseradish (right). The combination was predictably excellent and celebrated a pleasant cheap cut of meat with simple side accompaniments. I took too big a bite at one point and got that inimitable feeling of too much mustard destroying one's nose. I did enjoy it and there's something nice about seeing Fergus Henderson in a chef's jacket in person.

Upmarket food retailer Natoora had a stall at the event, and I could not resist the temptation of mozzarella and cherry tomatoes with a little olive oil (left). It was inexpensive and a refreshing dish for a summer day. However, since it had been cut earlier in the day, there was a slight dryness to the outside of the cheese. Having said that, as an advertisement for decent produce from a proper food shop, it worked well.

One place I had heard plenty about before the event was Peruvian canteen Ceviche and we didn't hesitate to sample their signature raw seabass (right). Ceviche as a dish is something I'm never sure about but it's more trepidation around something I've had little exposure to in the past. The dish was enjoyable, a light and fresh-flavoured marinade coating the soft fish. Citrus notes cut through with the addition of onion and sweet potato adding some substance to the dish. If nothing else, I certainly need to try this place out at some point.

Another of London's prominent restaurateurs in Mark Hix was represented with something called a Fish Dog (left). As it turns out, this is simply a case of a snack food being lifted to something fashionable and marketable at various outdoor events. Basically a take on a fish finger sandwich, this was special. Perfectly deep fried fish with mushy peas and tartare sauce in a bun, it was comfort festival food at its best. Plus I was able to adapt an Arrested Development reference and spent the rest of the day referring to them as "F-Hounds".

Naturally, Polpo was present with a casual summer bruschetta (right). This was served with soft cheese, asparagus, peas, broad beans & mint. It was a surprisingly pleasant combination which worked quite well as a finish to the savoury portion of the day. Freshness was the most important part of the dish, as tends to be the case when something as raw and open as this is concerned.

Amongst running into some friends, listening in on St. John co-founder Trevor Gulliver delivering a wine tasting and an unfortunate incident involving a youngster throwing up beer on my shirt, we found our way to desserts. This opened with a black forest pot from The Ivy (left). A festival adaptation of an old classic from a restaurant renowned for their interpretation of classics, this was not bad at all. Some chocolate popping candy as a topping was a nice touch, and the fruit wasn't overly acidic or alcoholic.

There wasn't much I wanted to try in the way of pudding, but 10 Greek Street were back in the mix with an enticing-sounding salted chocolate and caramel tart with crème fraiche (right). It was delightful. Whilst I've never been as enthralled with salted caramel as many seem to be these days, chocolate with salt is something I adore. In this case, the Soho kitchen had got it just right. Dark chocolate with salt contrasted perfectly with the sweetness of the caramel and the pastry was perfect.

We had a few tokens leftover so I headed to the venerable Gelupo cart to see what essentially £2 could buy me. In the event, it was one scoop of ice cream which I thought was a bit rich. I opted for their more simple milk fior de latte (left). It was as delicate, natural and light as ever. A proper, sensible way to sign off a day of eating.

It was a really fun afternoon about the Soho parish churchyard. More reasonable than something like Taste of London, albeit without the top names and demonstrations, it's certainly recommended. Since it's the only big food event I've done in recent times, I feel something akin to a 'menu of the day' would be suitable. As such...

Starter: Polpo - Summer bruschetta. Proper ingredients and edible with just a couple of bites. This is the sort of thing I'd eat inside or out with the days getting longer

Main Course: The Union - Salt cod fritter. Excellent balance of pleasurable, comfortable food and properly dressed to boot

Dessert: 10 Greek Street - Salted chocolate caramel tart. An excellently-made tart with deliciously complimentary touches. I could've eaten several slices

The Soho Food Feast

Burger Night at Joe Allen - Covent Garden, Monday July 3rd, 2013

I've written about Joe Allen before. Especially about what an awesome, friendly place it is and how great the burgers are there. A friend had booked tickets to the burger night event run by American food writer Daniel Young of the award-winning Young And Foodish website and ended up with two spare, so the wife and I joined to make four for the night.

Mr. Young organises regular events through his website, inviting punters to participate in comfort food themed nights. His Burger Mondays are over-subscribed successes on a regular basis and, due to excessive demand, the mid-summer outing to Joe Allen had been pushed to two nights. It was on the Tuesday that the four of us headed down to see what the fuss was about.

Now, Joe Allen and burgers are as much a part of Covent Garden as theatres. There is no getting around the fact that the burger is what a lot of people go there for. The atmosphere, staff and decor are nothing to sniff at either, making the offer of spare tickets an enticing one.

Mr. Young is a dab hand at organising food events. Merrily milling around between tables, offering opinions and topics for discussion amongst the diners, the evening was underway in a seamless and spritely fashion. Because of the number of tables and attendees, every table is made up of randomly assorted groups or couples which adds to the spirit of the event.

Without much ado, we were into the starters and boy were we excited. Buffalo chicken wing sliders with celery & apple salad is more or less the most appetising thing one can read on any menu (with maybe the exception of "pulled pork") so we were hankering to get stuck in. The sliders themselves were an absolute vision: chock full of greasy, deliciously tender chicken wing meat slathered in proper barbecue sauce (left).

Chicken wings are some of the juiciest, most flavoursome parts of the bird. They're also very cheap, which is why they're the base for most good home-made chicken stocks. However, removing the meat from the bones and covering them with sauce is a real touch of class. Combine this with the fresh well-balanced salad and blue cheese dressing on the side and you have one hell of a satisfying starter.

The main course was the standard main Joe Allen event: burger with bacon and cheese, onion inside and gherkin on the side, with skin-on fries in sharing bowls on the table. Amazing stuff as usual and we were so impressed/greedy that we tucked in so fast as to forget a photo. That said, I have taken Joe Allen burger photos before so I don't feel too bad about it. The burger, as ever, was a treat and about as good as you'll get in a proper London restaurant.

The dessert had excited me the second we saw the menu. Peach cobbler and clotted cream was a dish I was dying to get into. Cobbler is basically like a pie or a crumble except the top is made up of biscuit or dumpling. It's a wonderful thing but what we were presented with was a strange dish of stewed fruit with a sweet scone on top (right). It wasn't a traditional cobbler but a more modern interpretation, as Mr. Young explained.

Apparently the cobbler is under serious threat in the USA where crumbles are becoming ever more popular. If this was an effort on behalf of the kitchen to remind us how wonderful they can be, they did a good job. The balance was excellent, between spongy topping, soft fruit and a deliciously sweet note all the way through. The whole thing capped off a sensational evening of comfort food at a reasonable price.

Two things to take away from this: firstly, if you still haven't been to Joe Allen, it's high time you paid a visit there. Despite the recent sale of the premises, under new ownership it's still going strong and is the most fun place to eat if you want proper food in the west end. Secondly, Burger Mondays by Young And Foodish are a great event: well-run, properly-priced and damn fine burgers to boot.

Joe Allen

Taste Of London - Regent's Park, Sunday 24th June, 2012

With the yearly trip to Taste Of London, the usual expectations surface. There should be good food, lots of it and a decent selection of dishes to enjoy. Last year we went back with a friend - three is usually a pretty good number for an event like this - and ended up eating more or less as much as I can remember. This being my fourth consecutive Taste Of London outing, you know the drill: summary of dishes, menu of the day, done. Let's begin...

Our first stop was at a special Action Against Hunger pop-up and not a London venue at all. Four different restaurants had their turn at the tent, one for each day, and ours happened to be Michael Wignall's restaurant at The Latymer. The dish itself was one of rich complexity, especially on a tasting plate at a festival: slow-cooked pork belly with pork popcorn, white beans, smoked eel and sage & apple (left). It was a glorious, full-flavoured and well-balanced dish, kicking the day off to an impressive start.

Our next stop was a double at Jamie Oliver's city restaurant Barbecoa. Their menu was one of the more expensive of the day but two of their savoury barbecue treats looked good to us. Pulled pork is something anyone who eats meat should like so the pulled shoulder with coleslaw was a no-brainer. Along with this, we had the crispy pig cheeks with piccalilli (both right). These were both enjoyable but reminded me too much of a mass-catered barbecue to be as great as they might be in a restaurant.

Next up was a dish from Pollen Street Social's stand. Following a Christmas meal which blew our socks off, the wife and I were determined to try something from them. Their main course dish of slow-cooked ox cheek with apple pomme purée and turnip was comforting, soft and rich (left). It was never going to be as fine as the outstanding food in the restaurant but it was a rather pleasant dish in all.

We swung by Gary Rhodes' Rhodes 24 stall, a standard of festivals past, for the main course dish of braised lamb with fondant potato and onion with gravy (right). The lamb was nice - though perhaps a little too similar to the dish we'd just tried - and very soft. The onion and gravy was delicious but sadly the potato tasted a little undercooked, a mistake that anyone who has watched MasterChef will tell you is pretty poor.

Whilst the wife and I were debating our next move, our friend went off-piste and snuck over to Bocca di Lupo to buy their signature dish of foie gras & pork sausage, served with polenta and balsamic vinegar (left). It wasn't something I'd been keen to try and after tasting it, I was convinced. Confusingly flavoured and constructed, the components of the sausage were lost amongst the sides and the seasoning. Not a good use of rather a lot of our crowns.

Despite our ups and downs with Gauthier Soho, there is one dish that holds a place in our hearts: the truffle risotto (right). It is still gloriously rich, creamy and indulgent, balancing the brown chicken jus with the light parmesan cheese and al dente rice. It's a great dish and one that I was happy to pay the equivalent of £6 per plate for.

The Savoy Grill was up next, with their Lake District sirloin steak served with Café de Paris sauce (left). I'd not heard of this sauce before and it is similar to Béarnaise without the strong tarragon flavour. In the event, the steak - which was cooked perfectly - did not really sing along with the sauce and left us wanting a bit more. Not a disappointment but nothing to write home about either.

One of London's finest (and now purveyor of a Michelin Star), Launceston Place was up next. They were serving a main course of slow-cooked pork belly with truffle mashed potato, apple jam and pork popcorn. The pork itself was pleasant enough and the combination was classic but the overall dish wasn't cohesive which I suppose is the very problem with Taste of London: restaurants have to pare their dishes back to be marketable as snack plates and sometimes it just doesn't work.

Oysters were next on the menu, as the signature dish from Kensington Place (left). At 4 tokens (£2) per oyster, they were about average for a market or festival and they were pretty fresh. What was nice about them was the break from some of the heavier food we'd been eating. However, as simple oysters, they were not a lot more than 'good'.

Continuing our seafood break in the day, we went for salt & pepper squid from Gordon Ramsay's Maze as another of the lighter dishes on show (right). It was indeed salty and spicy with chilli scattered throughout but it missed the mark on flavour overall. The squid itself was lost amongst all the seasoning and dressing, leaving us a little disappointed with the dish eventually.

We went back to meat with a stop at the Opera Tavern's stall and ordered their signature burger dish of Ibérico pork and foie gras (left). Slider-sized for easy festival eating and topped with truffled pecorino cheese, it was succulent, well-flavoured and perfectly-sized. My only criticism was that it was a little dry. It was certainly enough to pique my interest for a future visit. One thing that must be said is 14 tokens (£7) for a slider is rather dear, no matter how rich it is.

Another non-London venue had set up shop as a regular stand for the festival, with Heston Blumenthal's Hinds Head crashing the capital. As such, it was always going to be one of the places near the top of our list, and their braised ox cheek with smoked mash was a hearty plate, despite costing the equivalent of £6 (right). The meat was deliciously cooked as one would expect, with a delicious rich gravy. I couldn't really identify what the smoked mash brought to the dish; as a menu item it's something that tends to rile me as a diner: showiness for no real reason by and large.

Benares were of course one of our top targets, having long been held as the very best Indian food I've eaten anywhere. Their starter dish was a rustic-sounding chicken tikka pie with spiced berry compote (left). It was very rich, filling and satisfying, but it didn't work as well as I would have hoped. The crust was a bit too hard, making it more of a tart than a pie. The contrast of compote to filling was fun, but there was too much potato in it and I wanted more chicken pieces to contrast with the filling and sauce. Unfortunately the whole thing was just a touch too mushy.

In search of yet more meat (remember, there were three of us), we headed over to the Pétrus stand for their appetising-sounding main course dish of suckling pig belly, apple & prune compote and sage jus (right). It was pretty good, despite being about as stereotypical a London festival dish could be. The mash on the plate was smooth and the pork was delicious. The compote was very tart and there may have been too much but it was good food for sure.

After some fifteen savoury dishes, we were (un)comfortably ready for desserts to start. Our first stop for pudding was the usually dessert-reliable Rhodes 24 for passion fruit tart with strawberries (left). Made in mould of a classic lemon tart, the texture was perfect. The strawberries added some lightness and contrast to the sharp sweetness of the tart and the excellent pastry. A fine effort and no mistake.

Our next dessert was another re-visit, to the Savoy Grill stand for their peach melba (right). This should have been great - an easily-produced, refreshing, summer dessert - but ended up being a damp squib. Too mushy and simplistic, it ended up being fruit salad with cream. The flavours weren't bad but it could've been so much more.

Our next stop was one that has been as much of a fixture as any on festivals past: the heavenly chocolate mousse cake from Theo Randall (left). Still a sumptuously rich and moist chocolate cake with light, sweet mascarpone cream, this is something that I could (and will) happily eat once a year for as long as I can hold off diabetes.

Club Gascon presented the penultimate dish of the day, with a typically extravagant dessert. Their dessert for the day was a 'Wahoo Cornetto', imitating the popular commercial ice cream (right). Instead of actual ice cream, they combined mousse, fruit, crumble and armagnac, topped with "space dust". It was fun, light and charismatic in every way but taste, leaving little or no impression on us as a single dessert.

By this point, we were outrageously full and the only reason we had a dish more was to take the count up to an even twenty for the day. And the fact that we had precisely six crowns left. Usually priced at ten, Bar Boulud were trying to clear out their dessert of a berry cupcake and chocolate éclair, so we tied off the day and our spending by indulging (left). These were perfectly acceptable but no more: lesser versions of what you can enjoy on their afternoon tea menu. Besides, at this point I was in no mood for any more, particularly rich pastry. The cupcake was the better of the two, with a fruity twist adding something lively to the plate.

After a few deep breaths, we were done. It had been a fun day, but a pretty exhausting one. And it had only taken three or four hours. As we reflected, we decided this would be our last Taste of London for a while. Several years in a row had taken their toll and a bit of the magic has been lost for now. Given that the 2013 edition is a few weeks away now (again, I hang my head in shame as to how long this has taken to post), I can't say I've been dying to go back this year and we won't be.

If you have not been, Taste of London is a great day out with some wonderful restaurants offering exquisite dishes. But it isn't cheap and it can get quite repetitive if you go for three or four years in a row. I would recommend it, but maybe every other year is the way to go.

Time for the menu of the festival, with this being one of those years where not a great deal stood out for me. In the spirit of equality and a big nod to my partner in crime, this is the wife's menu of Taste of London 2012:

Starter: Truffle Risotto from Gauthier Soho - "Still really good: creamy, nice taste and the truffle flavour is delicious"

Main Course: Slow-Cooked Ox Cheek from Pollen Street Social - "Creamy mash with delicate textured ox cheek and well-balanced sauce"

Dessert: Passion Fruit Tart with Strawberries from Rhodes Twenty Four - "The passion fruit was really strong and very nice with the strawberry. Excellent texture"

So there you have it. Not too dissimilar from what I would have picked if I'd been forced into it but it's good to get a slightly different perspective on things. I won't be there this year but I maintain that Taste of London is a great event in the food calendar and one which deserves to keep coming back.

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.

Top 100 UK Restaurants 2011

It seems to be the season for handing out awards. Following the early publication of the 2012 Michelin Guide, the National Restaurant Awards for 2011 have taken place. As usual, I have listed the London-based ventures within the 100, along with their overall ranking.

There have been a few big moves but not at the top, where the Ledbury holds on to the prestigious honour of being number one. Coupled with a spot on the world's 50 best restaurants earlier this year, Brett Graham's Notting Hill stronghold seems to be riding a wave. As I found when I went there, it certainly is a special restaurant, but maybe not quite what I would expect from a two-time best in the UK winner.

The biggest achievement for me is the new entry at number two for Jason Atherton's Pollen Street Social. Not a bad month, considering it started with a Michelin Star. It seems as if this place is right at home in the west end already. Dinner by Heston Blumenthal also shot in at number three (one place above the Fat Duck interestingly) to go along with its new recent star also.

Four other restaurants did well to hold on to roughly the same positions they had been in for the previous couple of years: Hibiscus, The Square, St. John and Chez Bruce all show the value of consistency and quality in this year's list. It's good to see some of the best recognised as such.

Have a look and start devising lists of where you want to go in the coming year. As usual, there is loads of quality food to be eaten in London - 57 of the top 100 UK restaurants are here - and a hell of a lot of enjoyment therein.

1 The Ledbury

2 Pollen Street Social

3 Dinner by Heston Blumenthal

6 Hibiscus

7 The Square

10 Bar Boulud

11 Le Gavroche

13 St John

15 Chez Bruce

16 Roganic

18 Hawksmoor Seven Dials

20 Arbutus

21 Viajante

23 Koffmann's

25 Polpo

26 Brawn

27 Galvin at Windows

32 Scott's

35 Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley

37 Bistrot Bruno Loubet

38 Galvin La Chapelle

40 L'Anima

42 The Ivy

43 Restaurant Gordon Ramsay

44 The River Cafe

46 Bocca di Lupo

47 Hélène Darroze at The Connaught

50 Texture

51 Zucca

54 José

55 The Gilbert Scott

56 The Dock Kitchen

57 Murano

61 J Sheekey

62 Opera Tavern

64 Terroirs

65 Zuma

66 Nahm

68 Hakkasan Mayfair

70 Bentley's Oyster Bar & Grill

71 Les Deux Salons

73 La Trompette

75 Goodman Mayfair

76 The Quilon

78 Cambio de Tercio

80 Hereford Road

81 The Cinnamon Club

84 Nobu

88 Koya

89 Hix

90 The Greenhouse

91 Locanda Locatelli

92 L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon

94 Medlar

97 Theo Randall at the Intercontinental

98 The Modern Pantry

99 The Bingham

London Restaurant Festival comes around again

Hello everyone you, it's been a while, eh? Not to worry, reviews are being written as we speak (so to speak) and there is lots more to come in terms of food I have eaten both last and this year.

In the meantime, why not treat yourself to a spot of set-menu cheap eating in October? London Restaurant Festival is back and that means two weeks of discounted decent restaurant eating for all and sundry. There are some pretty fine places signing up for this year's adventure, so have a gander at the website and get stuck in. I fear this year may only see me attend one or two places, but money talks. Or yells vociferously in my case at the moment.

As well as restaurants, there are the usual multitude of events, lectures, debates and tours on offer. They cost a bit more, but (assuming they're better than the Big Roast from two years ago) they are a good day out too.

The restaurant offers have been divided into four separate sections this year: £10, £15, £20 and £25 for two courses. A lot of the old familiar faces are back (sadly not The Square, though Helene Darroze is), with a few new additions. Have a look below and treat yourself to a meal or two in mid-October. There's a lot to enjoy out there.

London Restaurant Festival

Booking a Table

Taste Of London – Regents Park, Saturday 19th June

Well, summer really is in full swing. Taste of London is a wonderful event in the London food calendar, and one that I hope I will be able to attend as long as it remains interesting. Since last year, my tastes have changed a little, but the appeal of the event is twofold: sample some dishes that have previously hit the spot, plus try a few new things too. The hopeful upshot..? A load of places get added to the 'to visit' list and a great day had by all.

This year, the organisers had obviously cottoned on to the fact that if they split up the allotted time available into separate sessions, they would make more money and sell more tickets. So myself and two others went for the afternoon session on the Saturday to hopefully sample the best London had to offer.

The day (or afternoon) as a whole was enjoyable and eye-opening. Unfortunately, London's classic fickle weather didn't bestow us with the sun-drenched glory of yesteryear, so eating a variety of dishes in the wind and rain of a gloomy June day didn't have the same appeal. However, we weren't about to shy away from some good eats, so off we went in search of food.

It's always helpful if you can start a day of eating off with a bang, so when we managed to experience two quick high points at the beginning of the event, things looked good. We immediately headed for a throng of visitors surrounding the Trinity stand and realised that they were serving their signature pigs trotter dish (left). Served well diced with gribiche sauce (fancy pickle mayonnaise, really) along with a quail egg and crackling, it was definitely worth the extra crowns and the slightly long wait.

Whilst all this queueing was going on, we spread the net a little wider to gather another three dishes to start the day with. Trinity was also offering the more standard pork belly (right), which was correctly seasoned, accompanied and served, even though the crackling was a little hard. We also stopped in at L'Anima's stand for some rabbit Siciliana (above left). This was delicious - well-stewed rabbit meat served with a rich, luxurious tomato sauce which was punctuated with delicious sweet, tart shallots. A fine dish and no mistake.

Having munched our way through a fairly rich set of first courses, we gave our bodies no rest at all and hit Fino for a double-whammy of some rather fresh and tender suckling pig and some surprisingly excellent squid (left). The latter was the show-stealer, ticking all the boxes for how baby squid should taste. Often you can get rather chewy or dry stuff, but I was very grateful for my companions' insistence that we give it a go. Top stuff indeed.

We made a stop in at Tom's Kitchen, which seemed a formality after last year. Fortunately for us the foie gras and chicken liver parfait (right) was still on the menu, as well as 'seven-hour confit lamb'. Those two descriptions alone are enough to make a lavish carnivore like me salivate, and the pay-off was as expected. The two dishes did the job: the parfait in its own right as a rich, full and stunning starter; the lamb as yet another reminder of how much I want to try the kitchen, or indeed Tom Aikens' main restaurant near Sloane Square. The lamb was intensely flavoursome, coupled with sharp balsamic onions and a classic mash. We drifted back past there to complete an Aikens clean sweep later on in the day to try their Eton Mess for dessert. As it turned out, this was something of a let-down; a pale if pretty take on an English summer classic. However, the proficiency of their first two courses made the stand a winner.

We stopped in at the Launceston Place stand for their (apparently) famous goose egg and chips. Disappointing, given how good I know eggs at the restaurant are. I don't know what they'd done with this, but it tasted like smooth mayonnaise spread over overcooked chips. Perhaps this is something they'll do on their menu one day, but until then I remain unconvinced.

Theo Randall's stand made an almost-winning contribution to the day, as we tried all three of the dishes they were offering. As expected, the orgasmic chocolate cake I fawned over last year, as well as on the visit to his restaurant, was still wonderful. I believe we ate three of them by the time the day was out. We also sampled some aubergine and tomato penne, which was as you expect from Theo Randall - an exceptionally-presented, unexceptionally simple dish. Unfortunately, the pan-seared scallops with chilli and lentils served only to annoy me. Mushy, poorly-flavoured and just bad. My companions got a kick out of it, but it was not something I'd ever want to waste time on again.

What followed were two slightly less impressive takes on dishes from a year ago. Again, Le Gavroche was serving beef, but this time with polenta (left). It wasn't bad, but as with last year, you get a sense that they're just wheeling this out in their sleep. It's not a dish that made me think "I have got to get to this restaurant". I do actually think that, it's just because of reputation, as opposed to what I tried here. Similarly, the show-stealing lamb from Odette's had dropped from last year. Still served with peas and mint, the dish had lost some of its impressive smoothness and finesse (above right).

After a short break for a juice cocktail and the nice surprise of bumping into a couple of other friends, we headed for the Grill at the Dorchester. Now I usually have to remind myself that this is comfortably apart from Alain Ducasse's venture at the same hotel, but even so I was looking forward to sampling what they had to offer. There was average and there was spectacular. The former was some fairly undersold lamb with tomatoes and shallot pureé. Even if the Odette's dish wasn't quite up to 2009 standards, it still knocked spots off this one. However, the other dish we sampled was quite simply one of the very best of the day. Sardine pie with scallop sounded amazing, looked amazing and tasted outrageous (above left). Flaky, buttery pastry with sharp, salty sardine, complimented perfectly with the sweet, warm scallop on the side. Cauliflower pureé too, which adds pizazz to any dish. The Grill is now on my list after a dish this good.

As we surveyed the festival and our watches, we realised that we'd eaten just about all we could - in terms of capacity and available funds - so we turned our minds to desserts. We still had room to revisit Theo's delectable cakes and Tom's average Eton Mess as I mentioned earlier, but we also discovered a couple of stunners to see us off. We wandered back past L'Anima to try their Delizia de Limone, which was less the classic lemon tart I'd anticipated and more a delightfully crumbly mess of a dish (right). By no means a pick of the day, but very enjoyable nonetheless, and a classic summer dessert to boot.

We saved two of the best for last. Whilst the Maze stand hadn't captured our imagination with it's first two courses, the dessert choice of strawberry cheesecake was sufficient to tempt us. And it looked ridiculous (left). A frankly unnecessary and pretentious re-working of a classic dessert. I thought. I was wrong. The choice of sprinkling the base crumbs over the top of wonderfully creamy, thick cheese, then lacing the whole thing with fresh strawberries, strawberry sauce and a sheet of strawberry sugar was perfect. We ate three of them overall. It's a good job we hadn't found them sooner because we might've spent even more of our day eating them if we had. The final piece of the day was a simply superb custard tart from Rhodes 24 (above right). Served with a gloriously dark and sweet raisin syrup, the smoothness of the dessert was sensationally complimented. A top dessert to close the afternoon.

So that's what we tried. And we were highly satisfied. It was a lovely day, despite the driving wind and occasional rain. If you have any sort of interest in food, events or what's out there in London, fork out £40 or £50 next year and have four hours of fun in Regents Park. As for a menu of the day... Well, it's really difficult this year, because there were a good few stand out dishes and very little I didn't like. However, the pressure is on, so here's what I'm going for:

Starter: Scallop and Sardine Pie from the Grill at the Dorchester. Maybe not a starter in the conventional sense, but it worked wonderfully well for me and I would love to eat this at the start of a meal.

Main Course: Pigs Trotters from Trinity. Give me trotters with quail egg and sauce gribiche any day and I will be a happy man. The dish was a winner.

Dessert: Chocolate Cake from Theo Randall. Sorry, but I won't budge on this one: the very best there is. Despite a huge effort from the Maze cheesecake and the Rhodes custard tart, nothing can knock my appreciation from the Theo torte.

Taste Of London