london restaurants

Going to Tayyabs tonight...what's good there?

the lamb chops are a must. i also love the 'dry meat' (a lot better than it sounds trust me). the masala fish is supposed to be great too.

Haven't been for a bit but I used to go quire a lot and often order for the table something like:

Masala fish*
1 seekh kebab per person*
Lamb chops
Chicken tikka

Dry meat*
Karahi chicken keema*
Baby pumpkin curry if they had it
Dhal baigun

1 plain naan each*

* means always, others added if more people were there.

I would generously allow people to choose their own drinks, with a strong recommendation that they join me in a salt lussi.

I'm very boring when it comes to curry so I just had chicken Karahi keema and some form of kebab, both were bangin'. So busy though.

yeah it's too full on for me tbh, even if the food is amazing.

Had a good time at Rotary in Old Street last night. Modish burgers / barbecue stuff but really well executed. Surprisingly empty, though.

I'd been wondering about that place.

i'd be v appreciative of a mini sushi primer along the lines of tim's curry post if anyone can be bovd... many times in life have i stared blankly at the window menu of pham on whitecross street and thought eh fuck it

I've read they have deep-fried soft-shell crab sandwiches that are substantially cheaper than those at Shrimpy's.

You could just go for a sushi bento... but I usually order a mixed sushi set to share as a starter, then a sashimi salad as a main if i'm really feeling the need for fish, or a regular rice or noodle dish if not. Maybe throw a miso soup in there too. Using fingers for sushi is fine, I normally make a little dipping sauce of soy and wasabi which is a bit gauche but whatever.

Rotary burgers are gorgeous. The one thing I didn't like was, I was talking to my cousin & the waiter came up and talked right over us to ask how the special was because apparently it was the first time they'd done it. Rude as fuck.

I am very interested in this black pudding scotch egg, and where should I go to get one?

There's normally a stall at broadway market iirc. Also a guy on twitter called egg boss. Oh, or the ship in wandsworth.

also waitrose?

i know waitrose is not a restaurant.

Yes!

the broadway market stall is good.

one of the few good stalls there.

Anywhere round Borough Market to take my mum for brunch on Saturday? My mum's term - on days when I have enough leisure to consider something like it my breakfasts such as they are slide into that territory anyway.

elliot's cafe, if anchor & hope type food and atmosphere will suffice?

http://www.elliotscafe.com/

looks ideal from the url: http://thetablecafe.com/menus/weekend-brunch

Perfect, ledge, thank you!

We went for dinner at Elliot's Cafe, as mentioned three posts ago. Small plates! Remember them? They were how people ate in ancient times, before the bright dawn of re-thought street food put an end to such primitive habits.

As it happens we were very pleased indeed with our meal, from cocktail start to bacon ice cream finish. Will certainly go again.

Heh, I thought small plates was still ruling with an iron fist, no?

(Yeah I might just have been going to other sorts of places tbf.)

Went to the Social Eating House (Soho offshoot of Pollen Street Social) last night and it was SO GOOD. The flambeed porc I had was like eating a massive thick piece of delicious bacon. I never normally do this but I took a photo of the (duck) ham, egg and chips I had as a starter because it was awesome:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7432/9265570401_bd759f71d7.jpg

i read a review of this place recently and it sounds amazing. dying to try it. it's pricey though i'd imagine?

Reasonably pricey but not prohibitively so by the standards of higher-end London dining and way way better than somewhere like Hix.

The other place I've been recently that I really liked was the Delaunay over at Aldwych. Run by the same people as the Wolseley but with a Parisian grand cafe kind of thing, like a smaller Brasserie Zedel but with much better food. Had a bit of braised lamb that I could have eaten with a spoon. It was a work lunch thing but I really want to go back in a proper social situation.

Yeah my cousin swears by that place, been waiting for an excuse to go. Apparently the breakfasts are really good.

The breakfasts at the Delaunay are blimming amazing. It has become my local place for 'important business meetings' at around 10am with my favourite colleagues.

did any of you go to the "feast" event last week near brick lane? i got a free ticket, which was helpful, cos like all of those street food things it was a real ripoff compared to sitting down in a restaurant.

is the success of these events based on the fact that their customers don't go to restaurants or prefer this kind of setup? cos to me i'm now kinda done with them, the very idea of paying in to a place to then pay for food is ludicrous in itself, and the queues/overselling etc just adds to it.

the only time i didn't feel ripped off was the one where brooklyn lager sponsored it and you got a beer and one dish for your 6 quid ticket.

We went to (I think) Ginstock last year and it was irksome.

Having said that, two different food-related things in Peckham this weekend which I will give a go: http://www.theskintfoodie.com/1/post/2013/07/peckhams-summer-of-food-love.html <- this is currently the only food blog I can tolerate, fwiw.

Honestly the whole idea of those things is terrible. You're never going to eat enough to justify the entry fee and standing up in a crowd (or sitting on a crowded bench or table) is pretty much my least favourite way to eat.

Like I get the street food thing but I'd much rather have it out in the wild.

yeah it's totally crazy. i don't get the buzz at all. the best thing i had was from copita tapas which kinda says it all really.

xpost yeah street food is basically something i wish i could have for lunch at work, if i was near kerb or whatever.

Yeah I work near Leather Lane and not too far from Exmouth Market so I'm spoiled for that sort of stuff really.

hammersmith has a street food market but it's shit, like most of hammersmith.

Went to Frog on the Green the other week - anyone been?

The lamb and halloumi wrap stall at the bottom of Leather Lane is stunning (and filling for £5). If I'm flush, I'll stop there after a rootle around the cheap Euro-deli stall.

I haven't been in its new/coming meze guise, Suare - I hear it's been v good. I liked it a lot in its old guise but didn't seem to get aver there very often (which is ridiculous considering I live 10 minutes walk from there).

Anyone been to Five Guys and/or Shake Shack in Covent Garden yet, and if so, is either any good?

Muted reviews in the media so far but I suspect that's because British people have a thing about burgers being "squidgy."

i only ever buy ~street food~ when the stalls are close enough to a park (or my home) that i can eat it there. eating amidst the actual stalls themselves, esp as most street food is quite messy, is not appealing.

meant to say here that i was down at crate in hackney wick at the weekend. had never been. excellent pizza, nice beer, and a nice canal-side setting. really good place.

there's also a new pop-up bar called (awful name) urban sessions. very strong beer selection, quite a nice space. has potential tho it was only soft launch when i was there so a bit rough around the edges.

I might go to that wrap stall at lunchtime actually, never really noticed it before.

Attempted a visit to Shake Shack last weekend but the queue was horrific (though weirdly there were lots of free tables).

feel like i'll be out that way at some point in the future with no other option besides a quick burger.

If either are better than '90s Wendy's I'll be super-surprised.

I remember '90s Wendy's very well. One in Praed Street and another in Shaftesbury Avenue and neither lasted very long but they were really good.

Anyone been to Restaurant Story on Tooley St yet? Booking a table appears to be slightly more difficult than getting a Glastonbury ticket but it's had some amazing reviews.

Been once and enjoyed it, but while the food is good/very good for the most part, it lays on the Fat Duck-ish gimmickry (i.e. rote 'humour' delivered in an entirely humorless manner) so thick that I doubt I'll be back.