The Lockhart

Seymour place is one of my favourite places to eat. There are loads of wholesome eateries that take my fancy - it's quaint and quiet and wonderful.

My friend and I decided to pay The Lockhart a visit. It's unassumingly spacious with clear white walls and simple wooden furniture.

The cuisine is not familiar to me. American - with a focus on the South. I was intrigued and picked a table right by the open kitchen after being "greeted" by a rather cold maître d.

The Cornbreads caught my eye immediately I could see them freshly baked and glistening on the counter top - ready for service. We ordered one, which was enough for four. It was odd because it was sweet. Not overly sweet, but definitely sweet enough to be a dessert. So we took a few mouthfuls and saved the rest for the end of the meal...probably not very authentic but it worked for us.

We also shared the Gumbo. In a nutshell, it was spicy and gloopy. It's the first time I've tried Gumbo and it was exactly as I anticipated.

For mains, I had the Smoked Pork Belly with Braised Cabbage and a Barbecue reduction...

My fellow diner went for the southern Fried Chicken with Coleslaw...

My main was absolutely delicious. It was so flavoursome and tangy and the cabbage was the perfect accompaniment. I do love a bit'a cabbage and I'm pretty sure my fellow diner had food envy. His main was super crispy on the outside and soft and succulent on the inside but it tasted a little bland against mine.

We had a lovely meal at The Lockhart and the service was great too. What I liked the most was the fact that this food was out of the ordinary. After many Japanese, Peruvian and Burger restaurants this year, it was refreshing to finish the year with an alternative. A super tasty alternative. :)

Rating:

http://lockhartlondon.com/

Ohisama

So, it was a bit of a strange experience. To sum it up, the food was excellent but the restaurant was just odd. 

Ohisama is a Japanese restaurant in the Baker Street area. It was recommended to me by a friend and was described as 'Nobu but a third of the price'. I do agree with that description but I expected a swanky interior with mood lighting and an uppity crowd. Instead, I found myself double checking that I'd got the right place. I even rang my friend to triple check. 

                                           

On arrival, I was ushered down a dirty staircase. The 'background music' was the sound of chopping and the chefs gassing in Hindi - of all languages! It's safe to say, I was a tad worried.

           

My friend arrived and was equally confused. The restaurant is very basic. Paper napkins, cheap sofas and a glass fridge filled with cans of soft drinks. You can tell it took me a while to get over all of the above and focus on the food...

First up, the Dr Watson Roll...

Super spicy, beautifully presented and just the right amount of crunch. 

Next - one of my favourite dishes of all time - the wonderfully simple Salmon Sashimi...

The Rainbow Roll. This dish alone is more than enough for a quick and healthy lunch. My friend and I both agreed that it was very reasonable at £7.50. 

Crab tacos...not bad. But perhaps a little under-seasoned. 

Fatty Tuna. A new experience for both of us. I loved it and I should say that all of the fish was extremely chilled and fresh throughout. 

Finally, the Yellow Tail Sashimi with Jalapeño. This dish was as good as Nobu, half the price and a more generous portion. 

The food at Ohisama is absolutely on point. And it was pretty reasonable at £25 per head (without alcohol). I'd definitely go back, but probably for lunch or a very early dinner. Unfortunately, the atmosphere doesn't warrant a relaxed evening meal.

I should also say that the chef left at 9pm and we were presented with the bill at 9.15pm. As I said - odd.

If I had to rate this place on the food alone, it would definitely get 5 forks. But based on the experience as a whole...

Rating: 

Spuntino

Yesterday was the first night in a new series of events - "date night." My friends and I have decided to take it in turns to organise one evening a month. It can be a restaurant, a theatre trip or any other weird and wonderful idea that comes to mind. The rules: (1) the evening has to be well thought out; a simple Google search will not do and (2) the organiser pays the bill.

First up, my choice - Spuntino. An upscale American diner with hints of Italian and food designed for sharing. The restaurant is dimly lit with exposed walls and low hanging light bulbs. It is quintessentially cool. Probably a bit too cool for us regular folk but we loved the atmosphere all the same. 

Spuntino is centred around a large bar. The food is served and eaten at the bar and there are further high tables at the end of the restaurant.   

Like many other places in Soho, Spuntino does not take reservations. We arrived at 6pm and the queue was minimal - excellent. However, one of our party was yet to arrive so we nipped over the road for a quick drink. By the time we returned to the restaurant, there was a long line of hungry diners and we ended up queuing for an hour. It sounds pretty ridiculous but for once, I didn't mind the wait. You can have drinks and nibbles while you queue so we went for the Candied Bacon and the Buttermilk Fried Chicken...

The Candied Bacon was very smoky and sweet. The Buttermilk Fried Chicken was the best KFC you've ever had. Very oily but piping hot and super soft.

As our wait was longer than anticipated, the waitress very kindly brought over some Eggplant Chips with Fennel Yoghurt - on the house. So far so good.

The seating comprises 27 bar stools. I am 5ft 1" which means I have to mentally prepare myself every time I see a bar stool. Once I'd hoisted myself up we were presented with a mug of popcorn with chilli salt and then we got straight to ordering:

The speciality Spuntino Sliders - Pulled Pork and Pickled Apple, Chicken with Honey Mustard and Prawn Po' Boy:

Can I please note that the sliders were five quid a pop! Quite a generous portion and we cut them up and shared them between us. We noticed that lots of other diners were doing the same. To sum them up in three words, messy sloppy deliciousness. 

Beef Chilli Dog and Pickled Fennel...

Hands down the best chilli ever. In our opinion, there was no need for the frankfurter or the bread. Give me a whole plate of that chilli and I'm sorted. It was spicy, tomato-ey and everything chilli should be. 

Mushroom and Gorgonzola Pizzetta...

Another excellent dish. Stone baked, thin, crispy...and I used it to scoop up all that chilli :)

My friends focused on the "stupid coolness" of the place. It's the type of place that you should really hate - but I loved it. Some examples of stupid coolness:

1. no signage whatsoever, so you walk up and down Rupert Street demonstrating how uncool you are;
2. no telephone number;
3. unisex toilets;
4. very random sweet machines; and 
5. wine served in high-ball glasses (grr..)

We absolutely loved the food and after what seems like a long while, I'm very happy to give out another 5 forks! The only advice to future diners would be to arrive as early as possible to avoid that queue!

Rating:  

http://spuntino.co.uk/

Bourne and Hollingsworth Buildings

If you haven't heard of them already, the Bourne and Hollingsworth Group own cocktail bars and run themed events in London. B & H Buildings is the first culinary venture by the B & H Group. This lovely little spot is tucked away in Clerkenwell. The bar and restaurant are absolutely lovely; you are transported into a concrete conservatory with big comfy arm chairs and plants galore. 

There are unusual little touches like a daily menu complete with a weather update...

My friend and I picked the same cocktail - one with alcohol and one without. The Eton Fizz is made with gin, strawberries, lemon juice, honey, Greek yoghurt and soda. It had a light smoothie-esque taste and it was delicious. 

The food however...

The problem was that my expectations were too high. The maitre d was kind enough to send me the menu beforehand. It looked carefully thought out with fuss free options to suit all. My mind was set on the slow cooked feather steak with red wine sauce, baby carrots and sweet onions. On arrival, we were told that the steak was not available. So I went for the curried grilled chicken breast, honey pineapple, red bell pepper coulis and crunchy rice. Unfortunately it was bland, and overly creamy. Having said that, the crunchy rice was an unusual but nice compliment and the chicken was well cooked. 

My friend ordered the tempura cod fillet, potato rosti, mushy peas and tartare sauce. She loved the lemony mushy peas but described the meal as overly priced fish and chips. 

The food went from average to bad when it came to dessert. The caramel fondant was burnt and therefore extremely bitter. The saving grace was the chocolate ice cream (which there wasn't enough of). Our waitress very kindly removed the fondant from the bill. 

Following on from that, I should say that the service was excellent throughout the meal and we loved the ambience and general feel of the place. It's perfect for a quiet catch up with a friend or a relaxed romantic evening out.

I'll definitely be returning for drinks at the bar but the food wasn't up to par. There are some excellent brassieres in London and B&H Buildings will really have to focus on the food in order to keep up.  

Regretfully giving this one 3 forks. It may be teething problems - the restaurant only opened last week; but I had such high hopes! On a more positive note, I can't wait to try out the Group's bars, Bourne and Hollingsworth and Reverend J.W. Simpson for more cocktail fun! 

Rating: 

http://www.bandhgroup.com/buildings/

Hakkasan

Keeping this one short and sweet guys. 

My family and I are regular diners at Hakkasan in Mayfair. The food is consistently good, the cocktails are lush and the atmosphere - dark and sensous. 

  

Our most recent visit was to celebrate my sister's recent qualification as an Optometrist (or Optician, for those of you who are wondering what an Optometrist is). We decided on an early dinner which meant we were just in time for the 3 course menu for £35; not bad for a restaurant in Mayfair with an excellent reputation and a Michelin star.   

First up, the Dim Sum Selection. We ordered the vegetarian and non-vegetarian options for maximum variety. It was a decent sized starter and all of the dishes were as expected. My favourite was the venison puff, which is peaking out on the bottom right hand corner of the photo below. 

Next, the mains. They were all lovely but the Chicken and Cod were very similar in flavour with sweet undertones.

Stir Fry Silver Cod in Sweet and Sour Sauce...

Sanpei Chicken Claypot with Sweet Basil, Chilli and Spring Onion...

Stir Fry Black Pepper Rib-Eye Beef (our favourite main course)...

All of the mains were also served with yummy Pak Choi and Jasmine Rice.

We ended the evening with two orders of macaroons (to take home) and the following, which need no introduction...

If set menus aren't your thing and you're ordering off of the a la carte menu, definitely check out the following:

• Crispy Duck Salad
• Black Truffle Roast Duck
• Hakka (an amazingly refreshing cocktail with vodka, sake, lychee juice, lime, coconut and passion fruit).

A quick and light meal at a fabulous Michelin Star Cantonese Restaurant at £35 per head. I highly recommend it!

Rating:  

http://hakkasan.com/