It took me a long time to put two and two together and realise that the restaurant ‘Barbooloo‘ that everyone kept going on about and Daniel Boulud could possibly be linked. I’d read his short book Letters to a Young Chef while at cook school and was suitably in awe of this veteran Frenchman-made-good-in-NYC.

Bar Boulud, the London outpost of his NYC bistro of the same name, is famous in foodie circles for one thing: the BB burger. Here’s how the website describes it:

beef patty, foie gras
red wine braised short ribs
truffle, frisée, horseradish mayonnaise
confit tomato, black onion seed bun

‘Nuff said, really.

Continue reading TigerBites: Bar Boulud, Knightsbridge »

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. In the case of some food blogs, this equation is a bit of a moot point, when the pictures are so blurry / orange / flash-exposed that you feel sorry for the chef, and the words are a listing of What-I-Ate peppered with adjectives in the vein of ‘delicious’, ‘tasty’,  ‘yum’ and ‘nom-ilicious’.

Previously tiny sushi bar Sushi of Shiori has re-opened in a new incarnation, The Shiori, with at least double the seats and a [...]

Continue reading Restaurant Review: The Shiori, Bayswater

Queue at 7.30pm

The one good thing about London restaurateurs’ current obsession with not taking reservations is that 5.30pm is now a perfectly acceptable time to meet for dinner. Whether your boss will think so or not, as you scoot out the revolving door at 5pm, is another matter entirely.

Thankfully, both my dining companion and I are our own respective bosses (at least on a Friday), so we dutifully turfed up outside Bone Daddies at 5.45pm, and prayed for our early-bird keeness to be rewarded. As we left, almost two hours later, our prayers were answered with a queue that snaked round the inside and out the door.

So is it worth the queue?

Continue reading TigerBites: Bone Daddies Ramen Bar, Soho »

You know a new restaurant (or mini-chain of restaurants) has blown its way out of the trend-seekers-only bracket when your parents, down in the deepest depths of Surrey, have heard of it. Not only have they heard of it, their friends (also in the deepest depths of Surrey) are Facebooking about it.

To anyone who grew up with the idea that love is communicated via food, and especially seafood, Burger & Lobster doesn’t bleep your radar because it’s yet another funky dining concept [...]

Continue reading TigerBites: Burger & Lobster, Soho

Everyone should have a Kerbisher & Malt within walking distance of their home. Unfortunately, at least for now, London will have to be satisfied with just two branches of this modern no-fuss fish-and-chips joint: the original, just north of Hammersmith, and the recently opened second branch in near Ealing Broadway tube.

Chips are double-fried, made in shop, and rather good. The fish, on the other hand, is simply the best: cooked to perfection and no further, in a thin and crispy batter, [...]

Continue reading TigerBites: Kerbisher & Malt, Hammersmith

An entirely random picture of a stuffed wild boar (?) wearing reading glasses

A few months ago, I came down with a nasty bout of restaurant fatigue.

No, I hadn’t traded in the day job for the life of a commis. Rather, it was a weariness from chasing down the latest ‘must-eats’; ennui from flavour combinations designed to elicit lofty thoughts instead of smiles; and wallet exhaustion from a few too many good-but-not-great meals where the final bill vastly exceeded the [...]

Continue reading My Top 5 “Return Anytime” London Dinners

Looking for a sophisticated, quirky afternoon tea in Central London? Then I’ve got just the thing for you.

Set in the sun-filled atrium of the Sanderson Hotel, this Alice-in-Wonderland-theme afternoon tea was just what the doctor ordered for nine mildly hungover girls celebrating a friend’s engagement. To the soothing sound of the atrium fountain, we mulled over a choice of tea-infused cocktails or a glass of Laurent Perrier. The majority opted for the ‘Vivid Hour’, an earl-grey-infused vodka cocktail [...]

Continue reading Review: Mad Hatter’s Afternoon Tea @ Sanderson Hotel, London

The Royal Garden Hotel is as swish inside as it’s ugly on the outside. Given its hulking boxy concrete exterior, that makes it rather swish indeed.

I felt decidedly underdressed as I step out on the 10th floor and was faced with all the polished surfaces of hotel fine-dining decor. Having high-tailed it over straight from yoga to make it in time for our 6pm booking (the only time-slot available at short notice on a Thursday evening), I somehow ended up compensating for [...]

Continue reading Restaurant Review: Min Jiang, High Street Kensington