Ham Yard Hotel, Piccadilly Circus

This morning a group of us went with my flatmate Soph and her parents for brunch at the Ham Yard Hotel just off Piccadilly Circus. I don't usually go to brunch in hotels but I'm not sure why- they often have a great atmosphere and actually aren't unreasonable in terms of price... I mean I guess theres a limit to how much you can charge for eggs!

Don't get me wrong, Ham Yard is obviously a really nice hotel but it also has an eclectic decor and quite a funky vibe- there's even a bowling alley downstairs- which we spent a fair amount of time guessing how much they'd charge to hire it out. Probably not 10k like Sophie suggested. I tried to capture the atmosphere in this photo and failed miserably...Meanwhile Alex was really enjoying the water. The best Evian he's ever had apparently.

We all spent a long time deciding what to order. I went for the pancakes, which look bit underwhelming but were actually really tasty- bit stingy on the bacon front though. They were light and fluffy and quite deceptively filling.

Soph had the black pudding with poached egg... which tasted good but was disappointingly small.

Speaking of disappointingly small, Al had his classic- eggs beni. This got a thumbs up and I must admit looked good- minor gripe though- the eggs were slightly cold. We also all got a juice- orange, pineapple, carrot and ginger. It was really good and thankfully not too "carroty" like we feared. Plus we felt cool and bang on trend.

The service was a bit hit and miss- due to the small portions we ordered toast for the table and this didn't come until we had all basically finished eating, plus our waitress certainly wasn't sunny side up... brunch themed puns!!

The menu wasn't that extensive on the brunch front- there wasn't even a full english option. Also, the portions were small. However the quality of the food was nice and the atmosphere was really cool so I would recommend it. Next on the list is The Wolseley for brunch, continuing on with the breakfast in hotels I can't afford to stay in theme....

Meat Liquor, Soho

On Friday night I went to Meat Liquor with some work pals. It seems like everyone has an opinion on where you can get "The Best Burger in London"and this place had cropped up in conversations a few times so it seemed worth giving a try. We were warned of the queue but decided what better place to try on a Friday night... in Central London.. it was probably going to be deserted right?!

Plot twist- the queue was MASSIVE. Luckily my friend and I were running late and managed to jump in with the rest of the gang who had been queueing for an hour so were at the front (yes we were those people) but apparently there was free snacks. Fried pickles- which sound like a snack dreamt up by a heavily pregnant woman. Anyway we finally got in and then were told our table wouldn't be ready for another half an hour.. but of course we were welcome to grab a drink at the bar. Nice ploy. Though obviously we did just that... I mean the place both looked and sounded like a club so I did feel a bit out of place without a drink in my hand.

We finally got our table and having had plenty of time to look at the menu ordered our burgers straight away. Whilst waiting we got stuck into the mojitos which were pretty darn tasty.

Pretty soon after our food arrived on a large platter. I do think they could have thought this through a bit better logistically because it was quite dark and you really couldn't tell what was what but hey, minor issue. I got a cheeseburger and we also got a selection of fries to share- in order of excitement; chilli cheese fries, cheese fries, and normal fries. Apologies this pic is really blurry..

Attack of the burger, and my giant white hand

Now for the verdict... my burger was good. But it wasn't amazing. All the food was quite greasy and I don't mind a little grease but after waiting for an hour and a half if I'm honest I was expecting a little bit more. The fries were good but man this place loves onions- they were everywhere. This might not offend a normal person but I have a bit of an aversion to them so this wasn't a great thing in my book. In my opinion there are better burgers in London; Bryon, Honest, The Diner... It was a fun place to try but I prefer to actually hear people when I'm trying to speak to them... spoken like a true 70 year old!

Flesh & Buns, Covent Garden

If I were to summarise this place I would say: weird name, amazing food.

Freddie and I went here not really knowing what to expect, neither of us having had Korean style "buns" before and slightly dubious on the "flesh" front. We needn't have worried- this place I'd definitely go back to...although having said that, I haven't managed to yet. But I will!!

We had some prawn tempura and edamame beans to start- a classic starter which you'll always find in any Asian/Fusion place... be it Japanese, Korean, Thai...what are the origins of these dishes anyway?! Who cares, I'm not complaining. Both were really good, but what's worth talking about is the main event- the bunz.

Freddie proudly presenting his buns. Bun pun intended.

We got the crispy piglet belly and the crispy duck leg (notice a crispy theme here?!) and shared both. You order the fillings and then some buns- they recommend 2 per person, so we went with that. Although both piglet and duck were delicious, the piglet stole the show... and my heart. It was served with pickled apple and a mustard miso sauce and the flavours were incredible- I did not want my bun(s) to end.

The buns themselves were so soft and pillowy and were a perfect accompaniment to the "flesh". If money were no object and neither were calories I would have sampled a LOT of the fillings and gone to town. However, we were somewhat saving ourselves. In the classic nosey manner you adopt at restaurants I had been checking out what other people had ordered/generally people watching and we had seen people with these incredible looking fire pits... toasting marshmallows. Obviously we had to ask the waitress to "bring us whatever they were" (whilst pointing not very subtly).

It turned out that we were presented with something a little like this...

Basically you get to fat marshmallows on sticks, some biscuits to sandwich them with, and slices of green tea chocolate- which was way better than it sounds. You then toast them in the mysterious Asian looking fire bucket which is obviously the best part. They were delicious- and I'm not even a dessert person. A gimmick yes, but still- we thought it was worth it, and as the photo shows, clearly I was excited to dig in...

Me with freaky iPhone eyes staring at my s'more in a very creepy way

As seems to be a theme in my posts so far, this place isn't exactly cheap as chips- a main is about 17-20 pounds when you include the buns, but I would say worth it. You get enough food for your money, it is very tasty, and the concept is pretty unique if you haven't had the buns before. The people behind this place are the same as Bone Daddies so that has gone onto my constantly being updated "restaurants to go to" iPhone list. Stay tuned...

Balthazar, Covent Garden

I had heard a lot of raving about Balthazar, so was pretty excited to go. As it's a french restaurant and I have been known to spend weeks stuffing my face with cheese, wine and steak frites it seemed right up my street. And let me tell you, it didn't disappoint.

Its got a classic bistro vibe with a lot of low level lighting and wood panelling. We sat at the bar for a drink before heading to our table. Not sure why we all look so uncomfortable here, it was actually very nice.

Once we were seated, I scanned the menu and made my mind up pretty much instantly. Whenever I see steak tartar, I get it- the rarer the better in my books. People who order well done steak are in my mind the culinary equivalent of men who wear short sleeved shirts.

Anyway...it was delicious.

The next course proved a little more tricky. We obviously all wanted steak, but there was macaroni and cheese on the menu. With bacon. I mean come on... obviously we had to order it and it did the rounds as a kind of "extra side"- not that we needed it. But look at it!!

I still think of it occasionally. Balthazar mac'n'cheese- I won't ever forget you!

Here is the steak- it was cooked perfectly and served with a huge mound of skinny crispy fries and a dollop of herb better. Just how I like it!

I would definitely recommend Balthazar if you like this sort of thing. Price wise, it is on the slightly more expensive side (I think the steak was about 20 quid) but I would honestly be tempted to come back just for the mac n cheese and a glass of water! You really can't go wrong if you're after a slightly fancier failsafe meal in central London.

I'll end with a photo of me and my siblings mainly because I miss my brother, doing his thang in Australia!

Duck & Waffle, Heron Tower

Having already sampled the delights of Sushi Samba, I was very keen to try out the Heron Tower's other much talked about restaurant, Duck & Waffle.

There is something very glam and exciting about going out for dinner in essentially what is just a very tall building. Having said that, the views were amazing and I spent a fair amount of time gazing out of the window at all the little cars and people whizzing around the capital. The service already got top marks from me before they even asked for our order, considering they had held our window view table despite us being 45 minutes late due to problems on the central line (classic TFL right?!).  The view looked a little something like this....

To start, we had ox cheek which was served with some cheesy polenta thing- I was so hungry I started digging into before I could take a photo. It was really good- the meat was very tender and flavoursome and I do like a bit of polenta, despite the fact I still don't really know what it is. We also had foie gras creme brulee...

Man this stuff was good. It was served with lobster and toasted brioche and the flavours were incredible- but be warned, it was rich. So, so rich. We were already feeling quite full at this point but both ordered the classic main, the duck & waffle itself. When in Rome hey?!

This was good. It was essentially a crispy duck leg, served with a duck egg on top of a half a waffle with a mustardy maple syrup sauce. Quite an innovative mix and definitely not your average dish- but once again, very rich.

If I'm honest, I probably wouldn't chose to go back to Duck & Waffle for dinner. It isn't the cheapest place and although obviously in these types of places you are partially paying for the view, I'd rather save my pennies for Sushi Samba. I would however come back for brunch. A very fancy brunch. Maybe when I earn double than I do now.....

The Breakfast Club, Islington

Now what I'm going to say here might be controversial....

I don't actually love the Breakfast Club. I have been twice now so feel justified in my opinion- both times I left not disappointed per say, but not exactly raving to my whatsapp contact list. When I looked at the menu online before I went I was basically salivating... so many OPTIONS! Having said that, both times I went I got the same thing (originality!) and both times I was a bit underwhelmed.

It's got quite a quirky vibe, and like seemingly all popular brunch places in London, if you go at a time you would actually want brunch... expect a queue.

Onto the food. I guess I have a bit of a biased approach as I got the same thing both times, but I did order something which isn't especially difficult to nail in my opinion- chorizo, poached egg and avo on toast.

This looks very photogenic I know. But I just wasn't loving it... the avocado they must keep in the fridge because it was oddly cold, there was no butter on the toast, the chorizo was a bit fatty. I think the coldness of the dish was the killer though- I know it was very busy but both times this happened and both times I just didn't feel totally satisfied.

Freddie got eggs beni...

He also wasn't overwhelmed... I think they were slightly heavy handed on the sauce which didn't rock his world.

We also shared some of the home fries, because we were feeling hungry, and they were a little on the greasy side but obviously I still ate them all.

I don't want to sound too negative- I wouldn't be adverse to going again and there are probably things on the menu that are better. However, I'm still on the hunt for somewhere that will topple the mighty Granger's in Westbourne Grove off the brunch top spot... and the Breakfast club ain't it.

Welcome to my blog and Hartwood, Tulum

Welcome to my first blog post! Hello Dad, probably the only person reading this. Except maybe Mum- Hi Mum. Yes I know the colour scheme is crap- I'll sort it!

The premise of this blog will be me writing about restaurants I have been to, with a few (mostly rubbish) photos and some commentary that I will attempt to make slightly witty. They will mostly be in London but some will also be from my travels, because I'm obsessed with food whatever country I'm in. Hopefully this blog will be entertaining and even a bit helpful- I know I use blogs for inspiration when I'm wondering where to eat on a Friday night so perhaps my musings might do the same.

Anyway- to kick things off I'm going to go back into the archives. Basically I have wanted to start this blog for a while and am only now finally getting off my arse and doing it... meaning that my camera roll is full of poorly lit food photos from restaurants I never got round to writing about. So you might have to excuse the fact that a lot of my first posts might not be "current" as such, but my opinions won't have changed and I have a pretty good memory where food is concerned!

So first up, Hartwood, in Tulum. I went to Mexico in May and if you have never been to Tulum then book your flights now because it's amazing. Hartwood seems to be the "it" restaurant there, with a long queue present by 6.30pm most evenings. Considering the resort of Tulum is basically one long road with various beach cafes/restaurants/hotels/bars this is quite the achievement. Freddie and I joined the queue somewhat sheepishly, feeling slightly self conscious in that way that you do when you have to queue for a restaurant when there are plenty of others around (basically every weekend at Grangers).

The menu was limited and to soothe our sunburnt selves the first thing we did was get stuck into the cocktails...

They were pretty delicious.

It was an outdoor restaurant meaning I was at the mercy of the mozzies- luckily they had bug spray on hand. Which I applied liberally. The vibe was like this....



We both ordered the same thing (imaginatively) which was the ribs. I quite like when it's a short menu as it makes the ordering process a lot simpler and you'd hope if there's only a few items on the menu the restaurant is pretty confident they can do them well...which in the case of Hartwood seemed true. The food was good and the portions generous....the meat literally fell off the bone.

Now this wasn't the cheapest place... from memory the whole meal was between $100-$150. If I'm 100% honest I've had better and cheaper food in London but comparing a beach resort with a huge city probably isn't a fair comparison. I think part of it was being "in the know" and the trendy vibe of the place. However if you do go to Tulum, I would recommend visiting for a "treat/special occasion meal". The rest of the time just go wild on the gaucamole!!

I'll leave you with a photo of the beach just because it is that incredible....