Tag Archives: london getaway

home again…

06 Thursday Apr 2017

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This didn’t really count as a “last day in London” since we basically just got up, got dressed, had a quick coffee and then got an Uber at 9 am to the train station, which then got us to the airport in plenty of time. But you know… all I could think about was seeing (and snibbling) the cats again. And this is where I say thank you once again (because I told her lots before, during and after the trip) to my friend Ania who stayed at Casa Azahar while we were away, and looked after my darlings.

For Ania it was also a bit of a treat because she loves cats but can’t have any of her own as she travels so much. And it was also a bit of a “staycation” in that she got to live in the centre of town for almost a week. I knew she would take good care of the beasts, and she didn’t even mind the list of “stupid cat rules” on the fridge door. But what I appreciated most was Ania sending me daily pics of the cats, because she knew how much I would be missing them. Especially that little monkey, Morcilla.

Muchas gracias Ania!

london getaway 2017 | day 6

05 Wednesday Apr 2017

Posted by in food & drink, friends, gastronomy, london, restaurants, travel, trips, welcome

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Greek olives at Old Spitalfields Market

Our final full day in London started and finished at Old Spitalfields Market. We had plans to meet Julie & Steve for lunch at Quality Chop House, but as it was such a lovely day we wanted to get out early and get a walk in before meeting them. Which actually turned into quite a long walk through not very picturesque streets, but we enjoyed the market and I also got to see the Smithfield meat market, which is housed in a surprisingly beautiful building. Along the way I got a message from Julie saying that they were on the train and, if they got in early, they were going to stop for a “quick one” at The Eagle (London’s first gastrobar), across the street from Quality Chop. As it turned out we all arrived there about the same time, and half an hour early for our lunch reservastion, so The Eagle it was.

Then lunch at Quality Chop. I was introduced to QC by the FoodieHub people, when I was invited to the FH Awards back in 2015, and this was my third visit. It is one of my favourite places to eat in London – always amazing food and terrific service. You may even recall that when Julie & Steve came to Sevilla last Christmas I made – or attempted to make – chef Sean Searley’s iconic confit potatoes. And Sean even gave me some advice on Twitter, which I thought was very sweet of him.

Anyhow, this was a chance for Julie & Steve to try the real deal potatoes, along with THAT hereford mince and various other wonderful QC dishes. It was an outstanding lunch and by far the best meal of the trip (you can see details below). Many thanks to Sean and the QC team.

After lunch there was another treat in store for us as Julie & Steve decided we should have a penúltima at a hidden gem of a pub called Ye Olde Mitre. En route Julie told us stories of her time working in the area, and we passed the shop where Steven bought her engagement ring. Although they no longer live in the city, they spent many happy years there and are full of insider knowledge. We were joined at Ye Olde Mitre by my pal @CityJohn. Whenever people dis social media (and in particular Twitter) all I can say is that many of the people I hold dear in my life are people I met on Twitter. And John is one of the most special ones.

Finally it was time to say goodbye, and Peter and I decided to walk over to the Sky Garden bar atop the hideous “walkie talkie” building, to try and catch a glimpse of MY SHARD at sunset. It had suddenly occureed to me that I hardly had any photos of the Shard from this visit. And so over we walked, and up we went, only to find that we were too late to walk outside on the viewing platforms (which close at 6 pm). So close and yet so far! And so I had to make do with taking a shot of my beloved Shard from inside. I’ll know better next time.

By this time a few hours had past since lunch and we were thinking that a snack before going home would probably be a good idea, and so that’s how we ended up back at Old Spitalfields Market. But not before passing through Leadenhall Market, which kind of popped up out of nowhere. So by the time we got to Taberna do Mercado (almost 20,000 fitbit steps since leaving home in the morning) we were ready for a drink and a snack. We shared chef Nuno Mendez’s fabulous tempura green beans, and a couple of the Portuguese butties. And then it was time to find an Uber back to the apartment and start packing for home.

Smithfield Meat Market

The Eagle

cheers!

chef Shaun Searley and his famous confit potatoes

[click to enlarge pic]

Quality Chop House

  • Smoked cod’s roe, cured egg yolk
  • THOSE confit potatoes
  • THAT Hereford mince, dripping toast, watercress
  • Nettle gnocchi, walnut, Cornish Yarg cheese
  • Middle White pork, beetroot, seabeet
  • Chicken livers, prune, mustard, pear, hazelnut

Ye Olde Mitre

Peter, Steven, Julie and John at Ye Olde Mitre

obstructed view from the Sky Garden

Leadenhall Market

the Spitalfields goat

Taberna do Mercado:
prawn rissoís, presa pork bifana, rump steak prego
and THOSE tempura green beans

 

london getaway 2017 | day 5

04 Tuesday Apr 2017

Posted by in food & drink, friends, gastronomy, getaways, london, restaurants, sherry, travel, trips, welcome

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So this was it! The day I’d been looking forward to and dreading in equal measure. Also it was the main reason for being in London for this particular London Getaway, to be one of the judges at the first World Sherry Awards. I say “dreading” because I had never judged anything at this level before, and wasn’t sure what would be expected. Happily my friend Owen @sherrymonster44 (another sherry educator and co-owner of four fabulous tapas bars in southern Wales) had also been invited as a judge, so I knew there would be at least one friendly face. As it turned out, I needn’t have worried. The people running the event were super friendly and I immediately felt right at home. Or as “at home” as possible at the elegant Caledonian Club, where the tasting was being held. You will have to wait until May to find out which wine was chosen as the winner, and I hope to be invited back again next year.

After the tasting Owen had to get back to Wales and I met up again with Peter, who had spent the afternoon visiting a couple of museums. As we were near Harrod’s – and as I had never been to Harrod’s – we went to Harrod’s! In fact, we decided to do a three-posh-store circuit and after Harrod’s we also stopped off at Harvey Nichols and Fortnum & Mason. I think a few years ago I would have found these places more interesting, especially the food courts. Anyhow, we stopped for a drink in the upstairs lounge at Harvey Nicks, as we still had a couple of hours to go before meeting up with John again. Then we found out John was going to be delayed, so we went off in search of a pre-pub snack in nearby Soho.

My first choice, Boca di Lupo, was already packed at 6.30 pm and we were told to come back in an hour or so to see if there was any space then. Uh… no. Then I remembered Zelman’s. This turned out to be an excellent choice. We were immediately shown to a comfy spot in front of the glass-walled “open” kitchen and our server couldn’t have been nicer. So different from the “fake-friendly” treatment elsewhere the previous day. Our snack was a massive smoked beef short rib, which we shared with a side of triple-fried chips. We honestly wished we were hungrier so we could try more dishes – Zelman is already at the top of the list for my next London visit.

By the time we met up with John I was pretty tired, so we just had a couple of drinks and a nice chat before I called an Uber to take us home.

Owen finds a secret passage behind fake bookshelf door at the Caledonian Club

cool Tudor style buildings just off Regent Street

the Egyptian escalator in Harrod’s

chillin’ and rechargin’ at Harvey Nicks

fall-off-the-bone smoked beef short rib at Zelman Meats

triple-fried chips with Holy Fuck mayo (their name, not mine)

pubbing with John and Peter

 

london getaway 2017 | day 4

03 Monday Apr 2017

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This was the only day I had actually planned both lunch and dinner meet-ups with friends. And I knew I’d be fine lunching light with Thane @thaneprince since we’ve done this before, and as it turned out she also had a dinner date that same evening. Last summer Thane and I thought we’d made a mistake by choosing newly-opened Calcutta Street over our original choice, Clipstone. So this time we thought we would make it right by going to Clipstone for lunch.

Needn’t have bothered. I really have no complaint about the food or service per se, other than it was way overpriced for what was an uninspired and totally forgettable meal. I mean, just look at it… 40€ each for that (mostly vegetables other than the 2 scallops)? With some wine, of course.

After lunch I met Peter to do some SHOPPING. I was hoping to find some cute sandals at the official Mephistos shop (nope) so we just ended up wandering around Soho until it was time to meet Sara & Steve for dinner at Kiln, the new sister restaurant of Smoking Goat. Thai fusiony fabulousness was promised. Sad to say, Kiln failed to deliver.

Peter and I got to Kiln a few minutes early, so we were ushered to an area next to the bar and drink orders were taken. When Sara & Steve arrived (who were also given drinks) we were then ushered to a small room downstairs and were shown to our table. When I booked I was told that we would only have the table for two hours. And well, okey-dokey, but it was a full half-hour before our food order was taken – wtf is that about? In fact, the service was lacking throughout the entire, uh, two hours. We ordered a bottle of white wine for the ladies (guys were on beer and soft drinks) and after serving two glasses the bottle was plunked down on the table with no option for keeping it chilled. When we asked the waitress she said she could stick in back in the fridge for us and bring it out again later. WHAT? Given that an easy 20 minutes would pass without seeing our server again this was not an option (nor would it be anywhere).

Then out came the food, which was fine. I mean, it wasn’t bad. It just wasn’t really good. In the end it was the poor service that stood out. Staff were not well-trained, and exuded the sort of OTT “fake friendliness” that I assume they think will cover for their ineptness. Well… nope. It didn’t.

But in spite of two seriously mediocre meals, the company couldn’t have been better, and I had a great time with my friends anyhow. But I am NEVER going back to either of these restaurants. xx

london getaway 2017 | day 3

02 Sunday Apr 2017

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They say you can never go home again, or step in the same river twice, or… WHATEVER. This time round it wasn’t me that had changed but the fabulous Maltby Street Market I had fallen in love with last August. That had been a day I was out on my own in London, and somehow the whole market seemed to welcome me, and I spent a few wonderful hours talking with everyone there and even making new friends. So I was eager to relive the experience and made a plan to meet up with my dear friend John @cityjohn.

As it was a very pretty morning Peter and I decided to walk there from Wapping, which takes about an hour, and is a very pleasant walk along the riverside and across Tower Bridge. On our way there another dear friend José @jose_pizarro called me and said that, although pressed for time (he was between trips to Spain), he wanted to at least pop over and say hola, so we also arranged to meet at the market. In the end we all met up at good ol’ Bar Tozino, where we stopped in for a quick manzanilla with John and his friends, and then José also stopped by. Considering José’s crazy schedule, it felt very special that he made the time to come over and we got to catch up a bit.

By this time it was feeling like we should try to get some lunch so, after José left us, we had a look around the market. Which was jammed in every direction. I managed to find my pal Mark @thegayfarmer and we had a nice chat (he also very generously gave me some of his newly harvested evoo). Then John had to leave because his friend was suddenly ill, so it was just me and Peter left, looking around this once charming but now super over-crowded street market and we decided – let’s get outta here!

I mean, by then it was 3 pm and breakfast had been quite awhile ago, and we’d been walking A LOT, so our first necessity was to eat SOMETHING before deciding on what to do next. Luckily José’s tiny and perfect tapas bar in Bermondsey was just around the corner, so we stopped in there for a drink and some of his sublime squid ink croquetas. Thus fortified we ventured out to find some non-Spanish food and I remembered the fabulous Arabica, just outside Borough Market, that had been recommended to me last summer by my friend Thane @thaneprince. And I knew I had to try the muhamarra (roasted red pepper, harissa, toasted walnuts) again. Well, imagine my surprise when we walked in and the barman Emanuel remembered me (!!!). Seriously? I mean, how many people have passed through those doors since last August? And so, feeling very welcome, we had a lovely late afternoon lunch.

After that we did something I had planned on doing last visit but time (and Panic Attacks) got in the way. We walked along the South Bank from London Bridge to Westminster Bridge, then crossed over, making our way past Big Ben, etc and ending up in Covent Garden. By then we seriously needed to sit down and so stopped in at Rules for a drink in their upstairs cocktail bar. Rules is London’s oldest restaurant (and was also featured in Downton Abbey – where the Crawley family dined while “in town”), so what the heck. Perhaps a bit too formal and with too much plush velvet for my taste, but it was an experience. After that we thought a small snack before going home was probably a good idea, so we stopped in at Polpo (across the street from Rules) for a small dish of their delicious pork meatballs. And then we caught the bus home… with front row seats on the upper deck.

the Bar Tozino team

Mark the Gay Farmer – makes fabulous olive oil and pesto too

José Pizarro’s famous squid ink croquetas

THIS. Turkish Muhamarra (roasted red pepper, harissa, toasted walnuts)
Arabica just outside Borough Market

hola Shard!

the Globe Theatre

the supports for the old Blackfriar’s rail bridge (new one on the right)

walking past the London Eye

Big Ben and Parliament buildings

wheel closeup with serpents

London Eye – no filter!

drinks at Rules – London’s oldest restaurant

quick snack before heading home – meatballs at Polpo, Covent Garden

upper deck, front seat view