DATE NIGHTS: CÔTE, KENSINGTON COURT

Believe it or not, I have already broken two of my new years resolutions: eat less meat and eat out less. But hey ho, it's early days and we are all allowed to make mistakes.

Mat was in town the other day and we decided to enjoy a nice evening out after work. We are both big fans of French bistro cuisine and since being taken there for Monday morning breakfast meetings with work, Côte has been our go to restaurant for a tasty and affordable steak frites and a glass of vino. Not only is it affordable (especially if you go for the lunch and early evening menu) but the portions are more than reasonable, everything is cooked to perfection and the atmosphere is pleasant and relaxing.

For starters we had ham and celeriac slaw and calamari with homemade tartar which were all delicious. The ham was tender and flavoursome and the slaw creamy and earthy making the perfect combo. I love calamari and have to say these were pretty high up there on my list of favourite starters: soft in the centre, crispy on the outside, sprinkled with a little garlic and parsley and served alongside a creamy and tangy tartar and, most importantly, a wedge of lemon.

For mains it had to be steak frites. We are not talking about a fancy ribeye or sirloin steak - this is simple cheap food and at £13.90 for three courses you can't expect an expensive cut of meat.
The steak frites are prepared like you'd expect them to be at any bistro in France. The meat is first beaten in order to even out and flatten the surface, then griddled for literally seconds and served with a slice of herb butter and the perfect crispy fries. That's it, no salad or any other fancy garnishes. Pure flavour!

For pudding we just had a very simple apple tart and vanilla ice cream (very yum, but nothing special) and a creme brulée (which Mat said was so creamy and yummy and the caramel so intense it almost tasted like coffee).

And that's that. We've probably been at Côte for dinner about four times now and it has always been very good. They have other branches all around - but I can only vouch for the one at Kensington Court. Rating 7.0/10 (I would rate it higher but unfortunately the wine wasn't very good and our waiter slightly creepy)

Anyone else been before? What did you think?

Love,






 

Early evening three course menu for two, including a bottle of wine and 12.5% service charge £49.90. 

CÔTE,

47 Kensington Court,
London, W8 5DA

+44 (0)20 7938 4147

www.cote-restaurants.co.uk

 

DATE NIGHTS: CADILLAC DINER, SHIRLEY

Excuse the rubbish photos once again. The light was atrociously fluorescent!

When you live in rural, suburban London finding a good cheap eat isn't the easiest task. Our friends have been bigging up the Cadillac Diner in Shirley for quite some time now and all of you know how much we love a burger 'n' chips. So on a rainy Friday night we ventured to Shirley to check out this diner.

First impression, yep it looked like an American Diner. Bright red leather seats, chrome, a jukebox and loads of display cabinets with figurines of the Godfather and Elvis.
The staff were super, super friendly and attentive and, first thing, we were enthusiastically informed that they had a singer coming that evening.

I wanted the whole diner experience and decided my drink of choice for that night was going to be milkshakes. We went for banana and chocolate. Now, these were no milkshakes of genius - only ice cream with a squidge of flavoured sauce, but they were so fake they were absolutely delicious.

For mains we ordered a Classic Cheeseburger with Fries, a Bacon Chilli Cheese Dog and Onion Rings. I was pleased they asked me how I wanted my burger cooked (which means their burgers aren't frozen). The portions were absolutely humongous, there was fresh lettuce and tomatoes and lovely gooey swiss cheese and the meat had been cooked as requested. Mat's Chilli Dog tasted much better than it looked but could have been a little spicier.

This is no Byron-standard American food experience, the meat doesn't come from a small boutique farm in the mountains of Scotland, the fries are tasty but a little dry and a lot of the ingredients are bought-in and frozen. Part of me would have liked to have homemade, crispy and chunky Onion Rings and a rustic Coleslaw that wasn't oozing with runny mayo on the side, but hey-ho. Over all everything was well cooked and tasty and at £7.75 for a huge cheese burger, chips and coleslaw you really cannot complain.

The entertainment was really nice and the place was pleasantly buzzing with just the right amount of customers. Also the owner was so lovely, offering us an extra cup of espresso on the house so we could stay for a couple more songs and enjoy the music.

If you're looking for a culinary experience of genuine American nosh, don't bother. However, if you're after an affordable, pleasant meal and live in the Croydon/Bromley area, give the Cadillac Diner a try.  Rating: 6/10

Love,









Dinner for two, including two main courses, one side, drinks and coffee £23.70.

 

THE BARBECOA EXPERIENCE OR THE CLOSEST I'VE EVER BEEN TO ST. PAUL'S

I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but hey here it goes again for those of you who don't know: I really, really like Jamie Oliver. I like his passion for food (good, not poncy food), the way he talks about it, how his recipes are so inaccurate that they animate your own creativity and how he bish-bash-boshes everything into delicious, messy platters you just want to dig into.

When it came to our anniversary, the logical pick seemed to be a nice meaty dinner at Barbecoa - Jamie Oliver and Adam Perry Lang's barbecue restaurant in the city.

I so wanted this to be amazing...

The location is absolutely mind-blowing. A vast space in the New Exchange Passages, the restaurant is basically surrounded by one large window, sitting right next to St Paul's Cathedral. The interior of the restaurant was extremely well thought through, going for a slightly industrial look with a mixture of oak, black iron, leather and amber stained glass. Sadly it has started to look a little tired: the paint's peeling in places, the chair legs are battered and people have started to carve their initials in the tables. 

But that's not what we were there for... so let's get to the food.

The bread, oh the bread...was probably the best I have ever had (and I eat a lot of bread!). Served with a dollop of creamy homemade butter, there was a selection of sweet black treacle bread, a slice of a grilled sourdough loaf, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and rubbed with garlic and a melt-in the mouth, warm sesame flat bread. I would've been a happy girl, had I only been served the bread :)

For starters we decided to go light and went for the Seabass Ceviche with Yuzu (a veeery expensive Japanese citrus fruit) Chilli, Garlic, Pomegranate and Coriander Cress and the Lyme Bay Crab Plate with Avocado, Chervil and Tomato. Both dishes were absolutely delicious, light and full of flavour and the perfect choice to start what was about to come.

Barbecoa's main course selection is my idea of food heaven. They've got the steak, the burger, the lamb chops... No wonder this felt like making my life's most difficult food decision. After a long time of thinking about it we went for the Pit Beef with Smokey Baked Beans and the Pulled Pork Shoulder with a Waffle, BBQ Sauce and Coleslaw and a side of Duck Fat Chips.

I hate to admit this, but when we got our plates, a second of disappointment crossed our faces. The presentation was ok but the plates were a little dirty and it just wasn't really what we had expected.

Although everything tasted really nice, the meat was melt in the mouth tender, the waffle fluffy, the baked beans creamy, smokey and spicy - it still felt like our main courses weren't 100% up to scratch. It was that little bit too sweet, too cold... Our probably biggest disappointment were the chips, which were cold, not crispy, not seasoned and didn't come with the Volpala Vinegar or Salt.

Part of me wishes that the reason for all this was the chef having a bad day or that maybe we just chose dishes our palette didn't get.

I'd definitely go back for the bread, the starter and probably a steak (the people next to us had the steak and it looked ahamaaaazing!) or a burger ... oh and the butchers downstairs.
If you love meat the Barbecoa butchery is a sight out of this world. Beautiful cuts of meat, sausages and ham hang in the massive glass coolers. There are blocks of wood, black iron, impressive butcher's knives and the brown paper bags, with the navy stripes and white, stamped on Barbecoa logo everywhere - absolutely beautiful to see! All the meat comes from happy animals that were reared on English, Irish and Scottish farms. Will definitely get my Christmas roast from there. :)

And that's how we spent our anniversary on a gray and rainy London summer day... eating food and drinking wine!!

Try it for yourself!

Dinner for two, including a bottle of Santa Rosato Merlot, Sparkling Water, bread, starters, main courses and service charge came to £100. 

BARBECOA,

20 New Exchange Passage

London, EC4M 9AG

+44 (0)203 005 8555

www.barbecoa.com