This is a bit (ok, quite) late, but here are some of the highlights of our eats in London during our trip there in September 2014.
Dabbous
Possibly the best meal we had in London. When it first opened it was one of the hardest tables to get, but it’s been a couple of years, so I managed to get an online reservation for 6 pm on a weekday very easily.
Funnily enough, the things that we remember most about the meal are the awesome bread, the butter, and their olives – all were simple, unadorned and absolutely delicious. The meat course was also stunning – meltingly tender veal with a very light parmesan-flavoured broth.
Dinner by Heston
We can’t afford, nor do we have the patience to get tables for, The Fat Duck, so Dinner by Heston was our way of having a Heston Blumenthal experience, minus the exorbitant cost or fuss. Yes, it was still fancy, but in a less intimidating way. Because we didn’t have very high expectations, we were very pleasantly surprised by the food and our overall experience.
The signature meat fruit, where liver pate is made to look like fruit, is even more impressive up close, and still very tasty.
The roasted duck breast was outstanding, and one of the best duck dishes I’ve ever had. It was cooked perfectly, was still juicy and tender, and packed a ton of flavour.
The upside down cake for dessert was also stunning, and for the experience was also ordered the liquid nitrogen ice cream, which was prepared tableside amidst much pomp and fanfare.
Duck and Waffle
This seems like ‘the’ place to visit in London (besides Burger and Lobster which we didn't try). Maybe it’s because of the views, but we didn’t think it was worth all the hype.
Some dishes, like the smoked eel with horseradish gelee and foie gras creme brulee were tasty but their actual waffle dishes were disappointing – the waffle was too thick and heavy compared to the rest of the dish.
Wolseley
The Wolseley is an institution, and quite the ladies who lunch/brunch place. Case in point – we actually spotted Gwyneth Paltrow at a nearby table!
Food-wise, the only thing worth coming back for is the duck eggs with haggis, which to be fair, was very very good indeed.
Kensington Creperie
If A had his way, practically every meal in London would be at Kensington Creperie. Because we didn't have that ‘luxury’, we went twice and loved every bit of both visits.
Their crepes are not for the faint hearted, unapologetically loaded with cream, cheese, butter and other diet disasters, but that’s what makes them so special, and so so good.
Borough Market
After we fell in love with Borough Market on our last trip back in 2008, we specifically planned our trip such that we’d be in London over 2 weekends, so that we could fit in 2 visits to Borough Market. Alas, it’s gotten so touristy and so crowded that it's just too manic an experience now.
Going early helps, but then that means some of the food vendors aren’t open yet. Go later and the crowds are just insane. You can’t really saunter around sampling each stall’s wares because crowds can be 3 people deep, and even after buying your food, it’s a challenge finding an empty place to sit down and eat. Will we go back? I’m not sure. Maybe, but it’s certainly no longer worth planning our trip around it.
A says:
Kensington Creperie! Kensington Creperie!!! Kensington Creperie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love it!
Dinner by Heston was interesting (as expected) and not astronomically priced. Definitely worth a visit. But for "fine" dining, the food at Dabbous was better overall.
Oh, and Borough Market has become so touristy that I'd just skip it next time.
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