The other day, the enofile Wine Tipper asked me which areas of London that I thought are currently offering excitement and promise in the areas of food and drink. I have to make a short list about 12; Yes, this is what lip-bizarrely tempting is there at the moment. Recession? What a recession ?!
After a lot of actions with a string-beard and a few brief discussions (arguments) with my collections, I shortened the list to the top 5; 5 suburbs that are currently hotter than the Olympic 100th final ticket.
SW1X
This rich address is broken by Michelin stars. Amaya, Apsley, Gordon Ramsay and Petrs and Zafferano each have one. Marcus Waring in Berkeley has two!
Therefore, it did not take long for people to realize that there might be something in this zip code, and in January 2011, inventor Heston Blumenthal opened his own restaurant, Dinner, in Knightsbridge. A year later, he also became a Michelin star.
The most recent celebrity chef who settled in the area is Mark Hicks, who just launched at the Belgraves Hotel, on the border with Belgravia. This is the brand of the bar on the mezzanine level of the hotel, which I will recommend; and not only because it boasts a garden with a cigar. Just like the sister-bar in Soho, in Mark's bar is the name Nick Strangeway in the entire cocktail menu, so expect a lot of experimentation. The menu of dishes in the bar also deserves attention. Chef Hicks sprinkled it with such charms as a Moyallon Shorthorn sirloin steak sandwich and a decadent scrambled egg of white Braddock duck with sturgeon caviar.
There are two more recent additions to SW1X, which I think you should try. Firstly, the renovated Rib Room restaurant at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower hotel, where you will find seasonal British cuisine (although there is a name in the name: order roast beef ribs) and over 500 wines and champagne. In addition, the menus are futuristic on interactive iPads. Well appointed.
Not to go to the technological front - this is a chic, new Azerbaijani restaurant, Baku (no, not the only Azerbaijani restaurant in London), which also offers a menu for the iPad, which presents a variety of traditional dishes. These dishes use fresh herbs, vegetables, fruits and meat on the grill (although, as they say, the sturgeon of the Caspian Sea is about as authentic as you can get without buying a ticket to Baku, but the capital, not a restaurant). Good selection of Georgian wines.
Portland's Great Street and Beyond
At the end of last year, the Champagne Flute bar appeared in Fitzrovia, and it has been growing ever since. Certain destination bar, especially for lovers (note private niches). This is a game room in this secluded basement thanks to 100 bottles of champagne and champagne; 25 - a bottle; plus 20 varieties of Vietnamese snacks at the bar.
Continuing the underground theme with a look of danger, this is the new bar The Lucky Pig, which also opened at the end of 2011. Again, curtained cabins are a must-have for love affairs. Only this time, cocktails are the chosen libations.
If you prefer something more outgoing, the daily Riding House Cafe - the latest offer from the team that garnered "Garrison" and "Village East" in the back floors of Bermondsey - is almost full to the brim. Popular with the trade in models next to this Brasserie restaurant (which you can order) and the bar (which you can't) is a matter of course thanks to the menu on the trend of small plates (and you need at least four) and funky decor (white light fittings, anyone?).
Mount St. John
Yes, you need to get your Oyster card for this. Combat bikes do not penetrate so deep into zone 2 zones. You, however, thank us. You could spend all day on this one stretch of asphalt and never feel the need to leave. Start with a delicious breakfast in the popular Ben dining room, before heading to the new bar-restaurant with a plow for breakfast with small plates (these two words again), including the famous black scotch pudding (with a pint of ale, of course). Your evening will slowly drift through the sands of time until the Victorian era, when bar-restaurants, such as the new Dynasty of kegs powder, were praised for national pride. Exquisitely made spicy cocktails, fancy circus-inspired decor and a hearty menu that just can't go wrong. Almost everything that is sold in this place is British. Finally, a place in south London where I can find Chapel Down Bacchus 2010! Hooray!
Soho (of course)
Soho Din Street is one of the best streets in London for food: over the past 18 months, everything that needed to be done appeared: Dan Street Townhouse, Duck Soup, Key Tre and Polpetto. Like Bistro Du Vin, the new sister restaurant for Du Vin bistro in Clerkenwell. The menu is splendid with fleshy kindness, and you can set up all kinds of sweets, calf liver and bone marrow. Two points should be noted: the winemaking system and the wines from 200+ wines; plus, Cave au Fromage (Cheese Heaven) of over 70 cheeses. Carefully, however, this unusually large restaurant (for Soho) is not sad on Sundays, unfortunately.
Wardour Street in Soho is also well known for its culinary nightlife, and Carom - an Indian restaurant that rose from the ashes of Mesa - makes its mark more than a simple ascent with its laid-back dishes that combine style.
Further west, at the end of Karnaby Soho Street, the Pitt Kew Co. is the first regular restaurant - so to speak; it's tiny - from the providers of the popular BBQ Shack last week at the South Bank. Presumably, “the best example of a barbecue in Texas in London”, this diner offers stuffed pork and chicken wings, while drinks are to your taste, you are looking at the final barbecue accompaniment: cocktails based on beer or bourbon.
Meat Mayfar
Vegetarians, immediately stop reading. This year Mayfair is mainly engaged in meat, glorious meat. Yes, indeed, the meat is back in fashion (fortunately). London W1 has recently been blessed by the first European restaurant of Wolfgang Pak (Cut on Park Lane), as well as a restaurant specializing in vegetables specializing in fodder-based vegetables, and the Burger & Lobster restaurant under the Goodman brand, which may not win prizes for its cool name years, but if you think that everything they offer, you understand that he is all right.
