London Larder was devised in 2012 to bring you the ultimate eating and drinking guide to London. It was borne out of a need for up-to-date, quantitative and whole-heartedly recommended places to eat and drink.

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

W Does Brunch

W Hotel Leicester Square

There’s no denying that brunch is one of Sunday’s ultimate indulgences – aside from long lie-ins and roast dinners (with giant Yorkshire puddings - naturally), but until visiting W London in Leicester Square, we were feeling pretty at ease about what brunch was all about. It turns out brunch is a much more extravagant affair than we previously realised.

All hail the ultimate W Does Brunch.

You’ve experienced afternoon tea. You’ve experienced brunch. Now mash those two together, add in a sweet shop, slippers, a live DJ, (lots of) sofa, the Sunday newspapers and classic Brit sitcoms on loop, bottomless bloody Marys and Grade-A service and you have got brunch at W London.

Served every Sunday between 12-5pm and a steal for just £25 (cheaper than you average afternoon tea in London), W Does Brunch is the ultimate in lazy Sunday dining. And what’s more, you’re not required to chill out, eat up and move on to make room for the next guests. You arrive any time between 12pm and 5pm and that space is yours for the afternoon (and you’ll need it!).

Feeling ravenous, we gulped down a perfectly blended bloody Mary – one of the best we have had (…well OK– 45 Park Lane is pretty awesome too…) and quickly ordered another while we were brought a charmingly presented jar of natural yoghurt layered crispy granola and red berry compote. This was followed by a magnificent presentation of our first savoury course; smoked haddock and salmon scotch egg, chicken Caesar salad, Welsh rarebit (we have no idea what the cheese was but my goodness we could have eaten that all day!), and two halves of a mini bagel with whipped cream cheese and thick strips of smoked salmon. All absolutely divine: heaven on a plate.

Coupled with our third Bloody Mary of the afternoon, we were feeling pretty full, which fortunately, the staff had already pre-empted, so they gave us some time to digest. So we laid back, kicked off our slippers and spent an hour reading the papers and listening to the DJ playing chill out house and dance (this is not a quiet brunch), before being served a hearty Yorkshire pudding filled with slices of roast beef, mash and veg and a creamy truffle macaroni cheese.

As if that wasn’t enough (yes…there’s more), W Does Brunch offers up a retro sweet stall where you can help yourself at any time and fill up candy stripped paper bags with home-made biscuits, jelly cola bottles, pink shrimps, Black Jacks and sherbet flying saucers.

If you’re feeling a bit fancy, you can top up your brunch (like we did) with a bottomless bloody mary or Prosecco for an additional £25 and by the time you have had two glasses, it is totally worthy it – although one word of warning – after two bloody marys and a massive brunch, you will be struggling to fit in any more. We recommend opting for the Prosecco if you fancy taking advantage of this great offer.

W Does Brunch is £25 per person every Sunday from 12-5pm.

10 Wardour Street, W1D 6QF

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

The Crown and Sceptre

Gastropub
Fitzrovia

We've all got favourite pubs (or sanctuaries) where we can hide away from the hustle and bustle of the city and chill out with friends, cold pint in hand. Yet, often you’ll find that most of London's best boozers are away from the tourist heart of the city, away from watering-holes teaming with tourists and day-trippers, taking up all the tables and preventing us from getting to the bar. That's the problem with living in one of the world's best cities - everyone else wants to visit and it seems they all want a drink.

When you find a central London pub that is not colonised by tourists, it's worth making it your 'local' and becoming a regular. You may not live anywhere near it, but if it's in a central location between your house and that of your friends, what better reason could you have to visit.

The Crown and Sceptre in Fitzrovia is one such pub, too far north of Oxford Street for the visiting hordes, and too far west of Charlotte Street to have been taken over by media luvvies. It exists in the perfect location where it is easily accessible, but hidden away enough to remain secret. Telling you all about it in this feature may not help us get a table next time, but it's too good to keep secret.

We visited The Crown and Sceptre one Thursday evening after work for dinner and drinks. We arrived at 7.30pm and it was already packed to the rafters with a vibrant young crowd, so if you plan to eat, book ahead. The menu at the pub is pretty extensive, throwing up a few difficult decisions as we read through, and the food is well presented and served in very large 'Man v Food' sized portions. We were in a sharing mood so opted for the meat board for two, complete with cured meats along, garlic-flavoured mixed olives, cornichons and crusty fresh bread.

We then plumped for the southern fried chicken with fries and grilled sea bass with spinach and sautéed potatoes, and (ambitiously) a side order of mac 'n cheese. The chicken was delicious; four giant pieces coated in a crunchy, softly peppered coating served in a presentation fryer basket. The portion size was huge and contained more meat than any fast food family bucket. The chicken alone would have filled us up, but the accompanying ‘skinny’ fries were addictively moreish. The macaroni was, in hindsight, overkill and perhaps the one negative of the meal, with more garlic than the dish really needed.

The sea bass was much lighter, but still a huge portion that left us struggling to finish it. Again, a little too much garlic masked the delicate subtleties of the fish, but it was very well cooked, along with a generous portion of potatoes and green spinach.
Far too stuffed for a dessert, we finished our meal with a shot of Patron: a coffee flavoured tequila that isn't half as harsh on the throat as it sounds.

The food at The Crown and Sceptre is very good (if a bit garlicky), but it was the exceptional service and vibrant atmosphere of the busy after-work crowd that will make us want to visit again and again. Paradoxically, despite the liveliness of the venue, our little table tucked in a corner near the bar made it very it is easy to relax; a combination which is pretty unusual in central London. Well worth a visit.

86 Great Titchfield Street, W1W 6SD

Average price of main course: £12.00
Food/drink: 4/5
Value: 5/5
Service: 5/5

WEBSITE / MAP / MENU

Monday, March 24, 2014

Bianco 43

Italian
Trafalgar Square

London is not short of Italian chain restaurants. There seems to be a Zizzi, Strada, Prezzo or a Bella Italia on every corner, with many of the menus at these outlets being very samey. Wouldn't it be great if another, more genuine line of Italian restaurants started proliferating around the capital? Well, as it happens we are in luck, as one of the stars of South East London, Bianco 43, has opened the doors of its latest branch, and its right by Trafalgar Square. What could be more convenient?

Bianco 43 claims to be London's 'most authentic Italian pizzeria' and they may well be entitled to do so. Serving Italian staples alongside delicious, doughy pizza, the menu has a solid range of pasta and an impressive meat and fish section, including a rather creative looking Italian beef burger, which proved sorely tempting before other choices won out.

We chose the calamari and the bruschetta to start, both of which were very good, but the topping of the bruschetta only consisted of tomatoes, olive oil and garlic, and could have possibly benefitted from a few extra ingredients such as an onion to break up the flavour a little more.

For main course we selected from the pasta menu and extensive pizza selection, plumping for the Gnocchi alla Sorrentina and the Cotto e Funghi (ham and mushroom) pizza. The gnocchi was baked beautifully in a tomato sauce and covered with balls of melted fresh mozzarella which you could have probably stretched for miles. The pizza was reminiscent of the type you would expect to get in Naples and southern Italy. It was extremely thin and crispy, cooked very quickly at a high temperature in the stone oven, contributing to a feeling of freshness that came with every bite. It even managed to win over a staunch fan of the thicker American style of pizza, which is high praise indeed!

For dessert we tried the Torta Con Crema al Cioccolato, which was sadly a bit dry for our taste, and the Fruttini, which despite its name, is not a colourful cocktail; ‘shells' of fruit and nuts had been scooped out, flash frozen and filled with similar flavoured sorbet. It was a very unique and attractively presented dessert: we wouldn’t have imagined that we would enjoy a nut sorbet!

The main courses were all very reasonably priced, as were some of the starters. By contrast the dessert was a little overpriced, as undoubtedly delicious as the Fruttini was. However, it would be fair to expect that, if the right menu choices were made, that two people could easily enjoy a two course meal at Bianco 43 for about £30 before drinks. Not bad considering the price of a similar meal in one of the more prolific Italian chains, and even better when you consider the location. The rustic, home-made food seemed like it would be much more at home in a whitewashed, simple location in Greenwich, where Bianco 43 usually plies their trade, than in a marble pillared room with hanging chandeliers and a richly decorated ceiling just up the road from Whitehall, but any thoughts we had about the décor of the restaurant did not detract from the high quality of the food.

The new Bianco 43 is definitely worth a visit if you feel your tummy rumbling after a trip to the National Gallery and similar nearby tourist destinations, and if you fancy some reasonably priced, top-quality, authentic fresh Italian food, but if you want the real trattoria atmosphere to go with it you might be better served by paying a visit to one of their two original venues in the south-east.

8 Northumberland Avenue, WC2N 5BY

Average price of main course: £10
Average price of glass of wine: £5.50
Food/drink: 4/5
Service: 5/5
Value: 4/5

Monday, March 17, 2014

Benito’s Hat

Mexican
Farringdon

Benito’s Hat is a fast-food Mexican restaurant now in five locations around London. We went to check out the new restaurant in Farringdon, full of hope for a tasty, quick bite to eat before heading on to the pub. We were greeted on arrival by a friendly waitress and given menus to browse before we ordered two frozen margaritas. Frozen margaritas, however, were off the menu (we assumed the blender was broken) and we were told classic margaritas were available. These were tasty enough, although perhaps not as strong as we usually like.

We ordered food from the counter and chose two burritos; slow braised pork and steak. Steak was off the menu so brisket was offered instead. We were happy and took our seats again and where we were served some tortillas and a selection of salsa from the salsa bar. The plain tomato salsa was delicious and before we knew it we had devoured half the bottle. The pineapple salsa was an interesting concept but a bit too sweet for our taste.

We waited half an hour and after no indication of our food arriving anytime soon, we decided to check, only to be informed they had lost our order, so we had to order again. We were concerned because we thought we might have confused the staff by ordering from the counter instead of the table, but to their credit, the food turned up in two minutes.  We had requested one of the burritos to be dairy-free (so no cheese or sour cream), but upon biting into the burrito, we quickly realised we had been given an incorrect order.

When we finally got the correct meals, we found that the burritos were very tasty.  The meat was tender and the guacamole was fresh. We had opted for the extra hot ‘salsa diabla’ and it punched a fair kick and suitably complemented the remainder of the salsa from the tortillas earlier.

Feeling in the mood for something sweet, we ordered a serving of fried tortillas to share, coated in sugar and cinnamon and dished up alongside a scoop of vanilla ice cream. In contrast to the former, this was a bit underwhelming; we couldn’t work out if the tortillas were supposed to be crispy or soft like churros - they were neither) and ultimately gave the effect of coming over a bit stale.

Overall, Benito’s Hat has potential, but we found our experience mixed. The service is friendly but not very efficient service and the food is good (with the exception of dessert). For a fast-food establishment, the over-arching sentiment is that it is just not very quick!

12-14 St John Street, EC1M 4AY

Food/drink: 2/5
Service: 2/5
Value: 3/5

WEBSITE / MAP / MENU 

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Rodizio Lebanon

Lebanese
Fulham Broadway

We love meat. We also love Brazilian food. So, it’s no surprise that we can sometimes be found taking advantage of London’s share of churrascos (Brazilian barbecues) serving up mountains of beef, pork, lamb, chicken and various other meats, many of which are served rodizio style, where waiters bring huge skewers of meat to each table to serve you what could essentially be a never-ending feast. Rodizio Rico is one such example, with branches in Islington, Notting Hill and at the O2, but its branch in Fulham Broadway has recently been transformed from ‘Rodizio Rico’ to ‘Rodizio Lebanon’; a departure not just in name, but also in cuisine, with Brazilian dishes substituted for Lebanese food.

Lebanon? And Brazil? Together? Sounds a little crazy but it’s important to note that this is not a fusion restaurant serving some sort of South American/Middle Eastern hybrid. This is an entirely Lebanese menu, cooked by a Lebanese chef, except it is served in a Brazilian style - rodizio style. Once we stopped to think about it, it begun to feel entirely logical. Lebanese meat is often cooked on skewers (a shish kebab for example), and so serving in this way makes perfect sense.


So, for a fixed price, customers at Rodizio Lebanon can have an unlimited amount of food, with waiters serving meat for as long as you want it. All customers are issued with a double-sided card, one side being green to indicate to staff that they can continue to side to load your plate, the other side being red, meaning you would like a break.

The meat was delicious, and so we were tempted to leave the card green side up all night. We enjoyed crispy chicken wings and chicken legs, smoky steak, marinated chicken breast, garlic bread and squeaky soft chunks of halloumi. Our highlights were the spicy chicken sausages (with real chillies bursting through) and the lamb cutlets, both real treats that we could eat all night. The lamb was barbecued to perfection, slightly pink in the middle and melted in the mouth. There were two types of sausage, the second being bright red lamb. Both had a kick to them that tingled the tongue in a very pleasant way and are the first things we’ll be looking out for when we next visit.

Alongside the rodzio, customers are also encouraged to help themselves to the large mezze selection in the centre of the room. A huge range of cold dishes from tabbouleh and houmous, to tahini and stuffed vine leaves. There’s also a number of hot dishes, including lightly spiced chicken stews and vegetable dishes. Much as we loved the meat, the mezze provided a necessary counterweight. Luckily, we had a little room left for dessert and enjoyed a few cubes of sweet baklava to round off the meal.

As a brand new concept, it may take a little while for the public to understand what  Rodizio Lebanon offers. We visited early one midweek evening and guests were few and far between, although it did begin to fill up later which helped develop the atmosphere. Churrascarias need a lively atmosphere, and so next time we visit we’ll be going for a weekend evening instead. Ultimately, the food is excellent and unlimited meat can never be a bad thing. Maybe more cuisines need to be served rodizio style…

11 Jerdan Place, SW6 1BE

Food/Drink: 4/5
Service: 5/5
Value: 5/5
Rodizio: £25

WEBSITE / MAP 

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Tommi's Burger Joint at the Princess of Wales

Pop-up
Primrose Hill

High quality burger joints have been proliferating London in recent years, thanks in no small part to Adam Richman’s antics on Man vs Food. Whereas four or five years ago you'd be lucky if the best burger you could find in the city was a Big Mac. Nowadays, names like MEATliquor, Patty & Bun, Lucky Chip and Bleecker Street are on everyone's lips. Or at least they are on our lips at every possible opportunity…

So, good burgers are in fashion, but one of the things that doesn’t seem to have made the leap across the pond in the high popularity stakes are the eating challenges that accompany this sort of diner food. They do pop up occasionally; take Hoxton’s Red Dog Saloon for example, but it is with some rarity that they do, and it certainly isn't guaranteed when a new place springs up. So, when we heard that as part of its monthly residency at The Princess of Wales in Primrose Hill, Tommi's Burger Joint would be offering a 'Man vs Food' challenge, we felt obliged to check it out.

Tommi's has been in residency at the Princess of Wales for a while now, popping up on the third Thursday of each month. We arrived at 7.30pm on a Thursday night and it was already full: a testament to just how popular this residency is. We sat down and enjoyed a couple of delicious cocktails; a Ginger Ninja and a Breakfast Margarita from the frequently rotating menu of unique cocktails, to ignite our Dutch courage and got ready for the challenge.

Once we had built up the confidence, we prepared ourselves. The burger that we had to consume consisted of three 7oz patties, each separated by a bun, slathered with homemade horseradish mustard and topped with pastrami, Monterey Jack cheese, deli pickle and onions. We thought, 21oz of beef doesn't sound that much (it's 'only' 1.25lbs) and when you consider that the majority of the challenges undertaken by Richman consist of upwards of 3 or 4lbs of beef, this challenge sounded like it would be a walk in the park.

It wasn't.

The rules of the challenge state that you have to eat it ALL in under five minutes. So, imagine having to knock back a quarter pounder burger (not forgetting the toppings) once a minute for five minutes. We girded our loins as we were seated at the special challenge table. The burgers were put in front of us, and the timer was set off. We went out of the blocks like a shot, separating the layers into three. Burger one was down in under a minute, but burger two really took its toll, and we spent most of the remaining five minutes on it. Our companion on the other hand took a more measured approach. If we were the hare, he was the tortoise, and we’ll spare you the gory details and simply tell you that in this case, the tortoise won and the hare did not.

The burger itself was good. The beef was good quality, and the bun was nice and light. The toppings for the challenge were unusual. It is a scaled-up version of Tommi's special; the New York Burger, and it really made for an interesting flavour. Overall, it was very good, but frankly, we have had better burgers in London. This is a very subjective statement, and the circumstances of our eating it were admittedly unusual, but we would certainly be very interested in giving it another go under slightly less stress.

The Princess of Wales is really a great setting for the residency. Pubs often work well as bases for pop-up burger joints and this is no exception. Like the pub's cocktail menu, Tommi’s Burger Joint keeps a rotating menu of specials that change regularly (the New York Burger is not on the standard menu) so the two seem to be a dream partnership. They'll be back working in combination on 20 March, so start building your appetite.

The Princess of Wales, 22 Chalcot Road, NW1 8LL

Average price of main course: £9 
Average price of glass of wine: £4.50 
Food/drink: 4/5 
Service: 4/5 
Value: 4/5

WEBSITE / MAP

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Pancake Day

Pancake Day has almost 'creped' up on us again (4 March) and not only is it time to use up all our incredibly good bad jokes, it's also a good time to make the most of what we believe to be one of the best (and should be more celebrated) gastronomic days in the calendar.

So, if like us, you're not the remotest bit religious, but want to embrace all things edible and pan-shaped, here's a rundown of some of London's 'increpeible' (sorry!) menus featuring on Tuesday 4 March:


45 Park Lane
Mayfair

The cream of the crop! Whilst not traditionally celebrating pancake day, this is a must-visit either for a leisurely brunch, or if you're a bit more canny, an 'important' client breakfast. The thick buttermilk pancakes are a batch of thick, soft-centred, creamy loveliness, and coupled with whipped maple butter and streaky bacon, you will be skipping your way around London for the rest of the day. Bloody Marys mixed directly at your table make this one a hard-earned dollar well spent.

Buttermilk pancakes, whipped maple butter, seasonal berries with sausage or streaky bacon £20

WEBSITE


The Gun
Canary Wharf

Flip any idea of a traditional pancake on its head and head to The Gun in the Docklands, taking the concept of a pig in blanket one step further and filling their 'pancake' batter with hog roast, apple, watercress and smoked paprika.

Smoked salmon, chive and cream cheese crêpe £8.50
Hog roast pancake, apple, watercress, smoked paprika £11
Pancakes, strawberries, chocolate, whipped cream £6

WEBSITE


The Botanist
Sloane Square

If you're west this Shrove Tuesday, The Botanist is going super-luxe with a Shorthorn fillet pancake ‘Wellington’ with seared foie gras, truffle and bone marrow sauce. You can double up at dessert with the mind boggling strawberry soufflé pancake - we'd be interested to see how this turns out.

Shorthorn fillet pancake ‘Wellington’, seared foie gras, truffle and bone marrow sauce £28
Strawberry soufflé pancake £7

WEBSITE






Automat
Mayfair

Another consistent favourite amongst the regular breakfast crowd is Dover Street's Automat, which serves up another triumphant dish of buttermilk pancakes, mixed berries and maple syrup; soft, fluffy, moreish and delightfully naughty. The service can suffer during busy times, but if you're out for a leisurely brunch, who cares. Just sit back, relax and eat.

Buttermilk pancakes, mixed berries and maple syrup £10.50

WEBSITE


Chiswell Street Dining Rooms
Barbican

Seafood lovers can journey central and tuck into some crab and sweetcorn pancakes with lobster sauce, or if your struggling to choose between land and sea, go mid-way with pancakes filled with roast mallard breast and spring onion pancake with star anise jus.

Crab and sweetcorn pancakes, lobster sauce £9
Roast mallard breast, confit leg and spring onion pancake, star anise jus £28
Valrhona chocolate and Cointreau pancakes, vanilla ice cream £7

WEBSITE


Other suggested locations: The Water Poet, Shoreditch; a variety of booze infused pancakes served with everything from beer through to spirits, from £6; The Jugged Hare, Barbican; brown crab and sea vegetable pancake, lemon and chive cream £9; Pan fried Herdwick mutton loin, braised leg pancake, roasted parsnip, mint jus £26; Valrhona chocolate and Cointreau pancakes, vanilla ice cream £7

Monday, February 24, 2014

Bunnychow

South African
Shoreditch

South African food is not as commonplace in London as you might think, so Bunnychow’s expansion from event and street truck to pop-up diner was immediately of interest. The diner sits in the Boxpark: an urban culture-port housing East-end-chic stores, restaurants and bars just off Shoreditch High Street. There’s a bustling and lively feel to the place, adjacent to a tailor and a gaming pop-up, offering what we believe to be a welcoming street-food atmosphere.

Bunnychow takes its name from its signature dish: a hollowed out piece of bread with a saucy filling, the origins of which trace back to the Indian migrant community of Durban during the 1940s looking to keep their lunch intact at work. Henceforth, the bunnychow was born.

An interesting menu boasts a unique range of fillings, from traditional dishes such as the Monkey Gland Meatball or the Flat (Bobotie) Burger, to more European or Italian style dishes with salami and mozzarella. Whilst none were made with ‘real’ monkeys, Monkey Gland Meatball had to be sampled and did not disappoint. Fresh, crunchy vegetables and juicy meatballs were an indicator that these guys care about the quality of their food. The artisan bread was too, a delightful experience, soaking up the sauce to leave an almost nostalgic feeling you only get from home-cooked food.

The Ginger Chicken bunny (a Thai spin on the Bunnychow classic) was equally tasty - an unusual combination, but it worked really well. As with any good Thai food, the quality of the ingredients shone through.

Bunnychow is a great little diner, serving up great quality, unique food perfect for a hearty lunch or evening bite to eat. My guest and I left very happy ‘bunnies’.

Boxpark, 2-4 Bethnal Green Road, E1 6GY

Average price of a bunny: £6
Food/Drink: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Value: 4/5

WEBSITE / MAP

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Bidoche

Supperclub
Walthamstow

This month sees the debut of a brand new superclub, with Bidoche bringing meaty treats to Walthamstow. Fans of all things meaty, their menu promises to be a carnival for carnivores. A fusion of French cuisine and classic British home-style cooking, the one-off event kicks off with a starter of duck rillettes with cornichons and homemade piccalilli, before introducing the main course of slow cooked pulled pork, cauliflower cheese and corn on the cob. The meal is completed with either cherry or apricot clafoutis, a classic baked French dessert. Classic comfort food with a gourmet twist, it’s a menu to satisfy any appetite.br />
As if this menu wasn’t enough, the event is being run to raise funds for the Whizz Kids charity, an organisation helping disabled children to lead independent lives, so it will be an evening of nourishing your conscience as well as your stomach.

Bidoche is a one-off event taking place on Friday 28 February from 7.30pm and tickets can be booked by visiting grubclub.com. Tickets are £25 each. The location is a closely guarded secret and will only be revealed nearer the date, although we hear it will be a chic café environment in the Walthamstow area. The event is BYOB, so don’t forget to bring your own wine!

Book your tickets now at grubclub.com.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Rosa’s Thai Café

Thai
Soho (Carnaby)

Thai food is pretty ubiquitous in 21st century London. From fancy fine dining at Crazy Bear or Bam-Bou, right through to local neighbourhood pubs with extensive Thai menus, you’re never far away from a pad thai. But while exclusive upmarket restaurants are great for special occasions and the pub is ideal for a swift lunch, we would still like, now and again, somewhere that meets us in the middle. Somewhere that won’t break the bank, but still feels pretty authentic; that has more to the menu than just green curry, but doesn’t focus on stir-fried lobster.

Rosa’s is a Thai restaurant that perfectly encapsulates the best of both; a convenient middle ground with great food at affordable prices in pleasant surroundings. We recently visited the newly-opened branch just off Carnaby Street, the fourth in its mini-chain encompassing Westfield Stratford, Soho and its original branch in Spitalfields. This new outpost is Rosa’s largest yet with an extended menu to match. A bright, modern looking restaurant, the emphasis is on relaxed casual dining: the perfect place to meet with friends, to shelter from the winter rain and catch up for a gossip after work over dinner.

We first got stuck into a dish of Thai calamari and a plate of soft shell crab. Unlike most calamari, Thai squid isn’t battered. Instead it is marinated in herbs and grilled without the usual crunchy coating. Delicious and no doubt healthier, it’s incredibly moreish. The soft shell crab is equally delicious, with a sprinkling of fresh chillies giving it a piquant kick.

A wide range of salads, stir fries and curries are available as main courses. We tried two dishes that we had not tasted in a Thai restaurant before; grilled smoked duck breast and spicy scallops. The duck breast was beautifully grilled; rich, smoky and packed full of flavour. A naturally fatty meat, the accompanying steamed veg and jasmine rice prevented the meal from being overly rich. The spicy scallops are noted on the menu as being very spicy, and when they say spicy, they really mean it - a dish for lovers of real fire in their food. The scallops were fried with ginger, green peppercorns and red chillies, giving every mouthful three different kinds of heat. Luckily, our side-order of coconut rice provided a cooling accompaniment.

We were too full for dessert but we couldn’t leave without sampling the Thai-rish coffee for dessert. Irish coffee includes a shot of whisky, so naturally Thai-rish coffee includes Mekong Thai whisky. Whether it measures up against a single malt scotch is a moot point, as it certainly makes a cracking boozy coffee.

So, if you’re looking for a relaxed, informal place to shelter from the madness of central London with some excellent food, you’d struggle to find somewhere better than Rosa’s Thai Café.

23 Ganton Street, W1F 9BW

Average price of main course: £10.00
Average price of glass of wine: £4.75
Food/drink: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Value: 5/5

WEBSITE / MAP / MENU