The West Cornwall Pasty Co

I love pasties I do. There is nothing to eat at Liverpool Street station, well, that’s actually a gross generalisation, there is a Pontis, McDonalds, Burger King, Ixxy’s Bagels, Costa Coffee etc etc and so the list goes on. There is also a rather good sushi joint but that’s the subject of a whole other post sometime in the future. There is nowhere really nice to sit and eat, but that’s really down to it being a transport hub it’s designed to cater for Londoners on the move. My favourite on the move food is definitely the humble pasty.

The pasty is a work of genius, a very simple concept, far superior to the sandwich. If you think about it every culture has independently invented a pasty, consider the samosa, or spring roll, or burek, or calzone even the fajita and so on. These are actually just pasties. In fact everyone bar the Americans who were too busy eating burgers came up with a form of pasty.

Anyone interested in the history of the pasty (including international versions) investigate

here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornish_pasty Pasties have magical suggestive powers, anyone who walks past someone else carrying a pasty instantly goes and buys one for themselves.

There are two pasty chains in Liverpool Street, The West Cornwall Pasty Co based just outside at the Bishopsgate entrance or The Cornish Pasty Co who have an outlet on the main concourse. The West Cornwall Pasties are much better, although it’s best to avoid their one if there is heavy football traffic, the Hamilton Hall Weatherspoons opposite is a bit of a flashpoint. They make pasties fresh everyday and varieties range from traditional steak, steak and stilton, Chicken Balti, roasted veggies and cheese and bacon. They even do a pork and cider version which is my current favourite. Pasties need to be eaten on the move with brown sauce. I would eat one everyday for lunch but that would make me fat, so best on Friday’s after the pub for the train home. The West Cornwall pasty people have just won themselves an award for the fastest growing business so we may expect more pasty stalls in London soon. Ditch the burger, pasties are the way forward.

Browns, 9 Islington Green, London, N1 8DU

I went to Browns in Islington for my birthday dinner (well it was actually my third birthday dinner, I like to sting it out) and was let down badly. The food was distinctly average, most of it was cold, even the coffee. It’s not hugely expensive and it’s a relatively nice place to sit and watch the world go by, but this doesn’t ever make up for bad food. It wasn’t over ambitious, the lamb shank was done well but served with cold potatoes, the ceaser salad was nice with the right balance of salad, chicken and dressing but the chicken was too dry, the hot chocolate with rum was also cold but the worst part was the desert.

I never really go in for deserts, I don’t know what came over me but I ordered a sticky toffee pudding with clotted cream. The pudding was passable enough but the clotted cream was simply margarine, probably something along the lines of I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter. Browns shall have to be cocktails only from now on.

Sacred Cafe, 13 Ganton Street, Off Carnaby Street, London, W1F 9BL

I’m not a great fan of shopping. I get a bit ratty and flustered and can never go “up-west” on a Saturday afternoon. I can just about cope with a Sunday or a late night Thursday excursion otherwise I suffer queue rage and run the risk of throwing a temper tantrum over something ridiculously trivial (usually not being able to take more than three items in to the changing room or not being allowed to keep the hanger after you’ve just shelled out the best part of a hundred notes on one item.) The problem with central London is that there is a dearth of nice places to temporarily escape. The trouble is that every Starbucks and Costa becomes an equally busy and hectic extension of all the shops.

The Sacred Café on Ganton Street just hidden off Carnaby Street is a peaceful of not slightly disturbing place of respite. It’s arranged cleverly over ground and basement levels and has a supply of plentiful cakes, organic and otherwise, teas, coffees and superb hot chocolates. These can all be enjoyed on big sofas in the basement watched over by Tibetan monk statues… obviously. http://www.sacredcafe.co.uk/

Rodizio Rico, 77 – 78 Upper Street, Islington N1 0NU

This is a novel concept, even for London. For want of a better description it’s a Latin American, all-you-can-eat meat feast. I can only guess what the morning deliveries for this place must look like, it’s probably enough to turn the average customer vegetarian.

The concept is as follows: basically, take a table and peruse very short menu i.e. meat feast or fish feast or meat and fish feast together, await plates and begin. Here it gets a little more complicated, there is a central buffet bar full of salads, pastas, potatoes and other side dishes (not that anyone in their right mind really considered a full blown slab of lasagne a mere side dish). Having been here a fair few times I have learnt the hard way to go easy on this bit - just because it’s there does not mean you have to eat all of it. The trick is to wait for the real show.

A team of waiters circulate armed with four foot skewers dripping with huge sides of meat – beef rare to well done, rump, sirloin and fillet, chicken livers, wing and hearts, pork wursts and lamb chops, the choice is endless. It literally just keeps coming. The staff are equipped with huge knives to slice off as little or as much as you want. People must be regularly rolled out the door at the end of the night.

Best not to eat for three days in advance of a visit to Rodizio Rico! http://www.rodizio.co.uk/index.html

The Pembury Tavern, 90 Amhurst Road, 58 1JH

Way back in early 2005 I used to wander past the derelict building on the Pembury Roundabout where Dalston Lane meets Amhurst and Pembury Road and think, “that’s a fantastic site” or “that would make a great pub”. Indeed it used to be a bar that hosted live bands and was home to local anarchists. Lo and behold slowly hoardings went up and builders moved in. Frantic internet research revealed a licensing application submitted to Hackney council for a bar. Hooray, thought we, and eagerly peered in the windows monitoring progress, (as it happened progress was phenomenally slow).

Nonetheless we somehow missed opening night but turned up the following weekend armed with greasy bank notes ready for the fun…..….and I hated it. Inside something was horribly amiss, there was a huge imposing old wood bar but the rest was an exposed emptiness of All Bar One proportions. There was no music, no smoking, no food, no customers and no atmosphere. We determinedly stayed and had a couple of drinks which were cheap and well chosen, the bar specialises in Real Ales, hundreds of them. I went away feeling as if an opportunity had been missed.

Now, however, through perseverance I am a convert! Slowly, as time went by, changes for the better sneaked in: pictures and maps of historic Hackney and a collection of beer mats from round the world went up on the walls, bigger comfier chairs appeared along with board games, puzzles, a huge pile of newspapers and magazines. And so the customers had also appeared and suddenly the lack of music didn’t seem to matter any more. Now the Pembury Tavern has been well and truly claimed by the white middle classes of Hackney as their own. London’s diversity never seems to quite make it into pub culture which is odd, but the subject of a whole other post.

Best of all was the appearance of menus and a kitchen - and the food is superb. It’s a traditional British style menu: scrambled eggs and salmon for breakfast, sausage and mash for lunch, roast meat and two veg followed by apple pie and ice-cream for dinner, all perfectly executed (although eating that every day would result in extreme fatness).

Go visit once in a while, it’s certainly different; play cluedo, drink ale and eat pie. http://www.individualpubs.co.uk/pembury/

Why does no one want to eat out in Hackney?

I've discovered that two of the best prime lettable sites (with A3 use) in Hackney have gone to ......... wait for it........ another bookies and a parking shop. How depressing can you get?!

Exquisite, 167 Black Stock Road, N4 2JS

Exquisite is a tiny Mexican restaurant hidden away on Blackstock Road near Finsbury Park. I can’t claim to be an expert on Mexican food but judging by this place Mexican’s must have very big appetites. Do not eat all day before visiting Exquisite. Further advice; do not eat for two days if you’re planning on ordering one of their chimichangas, they truly are enormous. Other giant dishes include fajitas, with a choice of king prawn or salmon as well as the ubiquitous chicken.

The burritos are beautifully done with just the right balance of meat, chillies, refried beans and sour cream. Other specialities include the grilled swordfish steaks and mixed seafood with mole sauce. The carafes of house wine are cheap (beware this is for a reason, it’s simply not very nice), nachos and spiced hummus come free and the music is all pop-Mexican madness.

The Rose and Crown, 199 Stoke Newington Church Street, N16 9ES

The Rose & Crown is at the Highbury End of Church Street and is almost the last pub on the street. It looks as if the interior hasn’t changed in a hundred years – a proper old school pub. It also boasts a real fire, a rarity these days, and one table tucked away in the corner has two seats formed out of coopered barrels. It’s a pub frequented by oldies as well as trendies which give it a nice atmosphere, serves a good Sunday Roast and shows the football on big screens. All of which should keep everybody happy.

Tiblisi, 91 Holloway Road, N7 8LT

I love all things Eastern European, Balkan and ex-Soviet. Despite the increasing numbers of peoples from this part of the world arriving in London the number of restaurants serving their food isn’t increasing at all which is disappointing. With a bit of effort even stroganoff can be made sexy.

Tiblisi is a smart, slickly decorated Georgian restaurant hidden in Holloway Road which I am desperate to like, so I will start from the good points. Georgian wines can be very good, try their house white, it’s beautifully light and crisp. Observe also their heavy silver engraved cutlery. After that maybe escape without eating. It’s not that all the food is bad, it’s just a bit dull. The borscht is good as a starter, rich and full bodied like borscht should be. Their breads are heavy and cheesy. Main course wise, a series of dumplings or potato bakes are the order of the day. There’s only so much that can be done with pepper and parsley alone.

The Square Pie Co, Spitalfields Market, E1

Spitalfields Market has recently undergone a £80m renaissance. It now boasts a Nandos and a Strada, no doubt a Pizza Express and an All Bar One will appear in due course. The mighty Tesco Metro have already put their marker down. The market itself retains a measure of independence and boasts ethnic food stalls all over the place. It also contains a Square Pie Co outlet. I have been curious about the Square Pie phenomenon since this summers World Cup when they devised a variety of pie for each country taking part and kept a total of pies sold during the matches, this I thought was the plan of a genius and I paid more attention to how the pies were selling than the football. The final ended up with Japan’s Chicken Teriyaki versus England’s Steak and Kidney (England won). Amongst the more unusual offerings were Serbia’s grilled lamb and sour cream and Australia’s kangaroo pie.

At the weekends the Square Pie stand, along with all the food stands, is jam packed and seats are at a premium, but never worry your pie comes in a box (square box obviously) and with mash and gravy and a wooden fork. There are only a few varieties on sale now sadly all the World Cup pies are no more. I opted for a roast chicken version and I’m a fan, flaky pastry, good quality meat and proper old school mushy peas. I’ll be back soon to have another go, although can we have the Serbian Square pie back please?

Le Sacre Cour, 18 Therberton Street, Islington, N1 0QX

This is by far and away my favourite restaurant in Upper Street, and indeed the environs of Islington. I normally visit on a Sunday evening, I imagine getting a table on a Friday or Saturday might be a bit of mission. It’s a French brassiere with traditional chequered table cloths and theatre posters all over the walls. The food is exquisite, the cod in white whine sauce and garlic mash, red snapper and saffron, lamb in red wine are all perfect examples of some traditional French cooking. I could easily eat there every night. They specialise in moules and gourmet sausages including wild boar and pork and cider. Word of warning though, check your bill carefully because they never ever get it right.

Rendezvous, 48 Leicester Square, London, WC2H 7LT

It might not be the weather for eating ice-cream but who cares. Ice-cream parlours, Italian style, are thin on the ground in London, although credit is due to the Patisserie Valerie chain for their new Gelaterias in Bishopsgate and the Kings Road.

One prime example not to follow is Rendezvous in Leicester Square. Now, I do know that it really is just for the tourists but they should have some grasp of reality. Two scoops of ice-cream comes to nearly £11, served up to you by possibly the grumpiest waitress in London. Not to mention the Las Vegas meets Al Capone interior. Anyone tempted would be better off in the Haagen Daz café across the square.

Yo Sushi

The Yo Sushi chain was a real eye opener when they first introduced their line of conveyor-belt raw fish; us natives had never seen the like. When I first arrived in London in 2001 I thought this was a sight to behold and an experience beyond compare. Now, in 2006, Yo Sushi hasn’t changed, it’s been left behind in a sea of other sushi and Japanese food emporiums. Reputedly the best sushi in London is to be found in the Japan Centre on Piccadilly, the best Sashimi in Nobu etc etc but back then we didn’t know the difference, never mind care. The Yo I fondly remember as being exciting and different hasn’t changed from then, which is exactly the problem.

I paid a visit to the one in Islington recently and a strange phenomenon has occurred. Almost everyone in there on a Saturday night was on their own and desperately reading a book. The Yo of days gone by was where groups went, “look at us, we’re so trendy” was the refrain. Now Yo has become the preserve of single people in transit, like McDonalds for those with more money.

Those wise to the Yo procedure know the drill; do not just lift any dish, specifically order what you want, ignore the conveyor belt unless you keep a close eye on the chef (easily done give the stage the poor men have to operate on) and grab instantly what leaves his hand. The Yo promise is that no fish is left on the conveyor for more than two hours, personally I think two hours is a long time in the life of raw fish and I don’t believe them anyway. That said I left with a satisfactory belly-full of raw fish and tempura no real complaints to be made now I know the drill. McRaw fish is all it is really.

The Dove, 24 - 28, Broadway Market, Hackney

The Dove on Broadway Market is a very popular hackney bar-slash-pub. Its official title is a gastropub, I believe. I personally don’t go in for this gastropub nonsense, you are either in a restaurant or a pub, stop pretending. It serves Belgian beer, even the horrible cherry stuff and has a gastronomic stylee menu of burgers - all Thai spices and salsa. Despite the fact that it is generally populated by the insufferable Hackney media types, it’s actually quite good. Chips (note the use of “chips” not French fries or wedges, these are proper chips) come in a pint glass with mayo and chilli and are excellent. Their burgers are fantastic, wild boar, pork and cider, thai lemongrass varieties as well as a more traditional straight-forward-no-messing-about beef version. And once you negotiate your way though the three hundred beers on offer to find something drinkable it’s actually a nice venue.

The Dervish, 16 Stoke Newington Church Street, N16

When I was in Istanbul I saw some whirling dervishes. Now that is an odd one. It’s kind of dancing and spinning in a big flared skirt so you look not unlike a spinning top. In Stoke Newington the Turks have taken over and a good thing too, without them the place would be dead on its feet. They run the bars, restaurants, kebab joints, grocery shops, jewellery shops, dry cleaners, barbers, hairdressers, and so on. Stoke Newington was on the verge of near wasteland isolation until the Turks and Greeks took it for their own.

Everyone who comes to visit me in London from further a field gets fed flatbread and proper Turkish Delight, humus and iskender. Not one of them leaves without loving every minute of it. The Dervish restaurant on Church is always my starting point, (unfortunately there is no whirling). I wish it could be La Sera on the High Street but not everyone likes fish. The staff in the Dervish are brilliant, no matter how many people we bring there or how late and loud we are they go out of their way to make sure we have a good time. Now I’ve been to nearly every “little turkey” restaurant in London and I genuinely think that this one is the best, their Iskender is superb, just the right balance of yogurt versus meat versus pitta. The Church Street Special is a mix of charcoal grilled meats so tender and so tasty. Skip desert and wait for your bill and the apricot surprises that come with it. In fact stay there all night.

The Coach and Horses, 178 Stoke Newington High Street, N16

I’ve never been that much of a fan of the Coach and Horses on Stoke Newington High Street. It always seemed to be a bit too brightly lit and ever-so-slightly scruffy with inflatable Guinness stools (a heinous crime). I went in there recently for a further look to find pleasingly that it has changed for the better. The harsh lighting levels have been softened in favour of Turkish style candle pots at table level, the MDF panelling on the walls has been distressed and aged deliberately to make it look, well, a bit less like MDF wall panelling really. The bar has also been smartened up and lit stylishly and the horrible inflatable Guinness stools which only belong in a holiday camp theme bar have mercifully disappeared. It’s the little things that make the different. Altogether this adds up to a nicer place to sit and have a drink, and it’s cheap too!

Stoke Newington Rumours and Gossip

Rumour has it that the people who own the Birdcage bar in Stamford Hill, The Londesborough in Stoke Newington, The Spustow in Hackney and the Talbot in De Beavior (reviews to follow) have taken over the troublesome site at the end of Stoke Newington Church Street, formerly inhabited by The Three Crowns, Bar Lorca and most recently Bagabon.

Fingers crossed!!

Karnaphuli - 20 Stoke Newington Church Street, N16

I would freely admit that I am definitely no expert on Indian food. Until I moved to London five years ago I’d never even had so much as a take-away. I’ve made an effort at broadening my horizons since then by taking a few adventures into Indian cuisine: a few trips to Tooting, down Brick Lane and so on. I’ve tested out a variety of baltis, jalfrezies, kormas, bhunas……..the list is endless, but my favourite Indian restaurant is in Stoke Newington of all places, Karnaphuli lurks at the not-so-trendy end of Church Street.

Their attitude to service is different, you are genuinely waited on hand and foot without being smothered. Their food is impeccably fresh and purports to be without genetic interference, totally free range and without any artificial flavourings or colourings. It tastes good to boot. I love their King Prawn dishes, with genuine king prawns, no tiddlers. Their Sag Aloo is delicately spiced and the naan breads are airy and evenly cooked, never burnt. At the end of your meal they bring chocolates and a strange, slightly fizzy, slightly alcoholic pineapple shot which despite many attempts I can never get a straight answer as to what exactly is in it.

The wine list is varied for an Indian Restaurant with choices from Chile, France and South Africa. I’ve also tried a few home deliveries and despite being marginally outside their delivery range my food always arrives on time and temperature with courtesy. The quality of food is the same high standards of that served to sit in dinners.

Can’t recommend it highly enough.

The Hen & Chickens Theatre Bar, St Paul's Road, Islington

The Hen & Chickens Theatre Bar is a cosy little hide away, insulated away from the Upper Street madness in Islington, it’s actually on St Paul’s Road on Highbury Corner, which is possibly the ugliest roundabout in London, or at least a contender for that dubious honour.

It has a small intimate theatre on the first floor which shows an eclectic mix of comedy and dark drama. See www.henandchickens.com for their listings.

It’s open later than most and serves a nice pinot grigot which means I like it, but I am easily pleased. It has the benefit of being never too busy to get served and there is even a fair to middling chance of getting a seat.

The Yard, Ravey Street, Shoreditch

The Yard used to be called the Fire Station and it wasn’t really ever up to much. At some point in the last few months it has had a face lift inside and out and metamorphosed into The Yard. The building is set in a courtyard recessed away from the traffic horror that is Old Street, where Paul Street meets Ravey Street. It also means it has only a touch of Hoxton Square in it, being on the other side of the road. Hoxton Square itself is never a pleasant trip unless suitably inebriated.

The restaurant space is dark with low level lighting, very dark interior finishes, granite slab flooring and is spread over two floors. We opted for the basement level and settled ourselves comfortably, although in summer, the weather being reasonable, hiding in the basement makes you feel a bit guilty for not being outside.

The Yard has a basic Italian Style menu, with all the usual suspects; garlic bread or brushettas to start, followed by lasagne, carbonara or an extensive range of pizzas – all very run of the mill options except you can literally order your pizza by the yard. I chose the crayfish, crème fraiche and rocket combo, something I’m fond of in a sandwich but never really had in a pizza and indeed it does work well, but they were a little light on the crayfish. I had a quarter yard which comes on a wooden chopping board with your own pizza cutter which is a nice touch. My fellow dinners went for a half yard of the rocket, parma ham and parmesan combo which was truly huge and needed a fair dose of chilli oil to bring it to life. The prospect of a full yard of pizza is actually slightly terrifying. If it wasn’t for the concept of pizza by the yard, The Yard would be another run of the mill Italian restaurant.