Tag Archives: dinner

Lyle’s, Shoreditch

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Lyle’s is a beautiful, stripped back restaurant located within the colourful chaos of Shoreditch High Street. The focus here is on the food which is seasonal, inventive and exquisite. Co-owner and head chef James Lowe is from the St John family of restaurants, so it is hardly surprising that the establishment is white and minimalist in style.

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The set menu changes daily, four courses for dinner cost £44 and a vegetarian option is also available. The ‘no choice’ menu eliminates all food envy and decision dilemmas and instead forces guests to concentrate on the food put in front of them and the kitchen’s staggering creativity. When I like the look of a chosen menu but there is an ingredient I’m not fond of, my mood turns bitter!

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Due to my fish aversion I tried a combination of the standard and the veggie menu and every mouthful was delicious. After crusty sourdough bread and dandelion-yellow whipped salted butter, we ordered a carafe from the reasonably priced wine list. Several extras were placed on the table: Italian lardo (cured pork fat) and peas still in the pod – in the stark white room all the food looked bright and beautiful.

Menu for the night:

Asparagus, Burford Brown Egg & Buckwheat / Onion Broth & Ramson

Monkfish & Cauliflower / Riseley, Cornish News & Lovage

Saddleback, Burnt Apple & Onion

Rhubarb, Elderflower & Goat’s Milk

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For me, the simplest dishes at Lyle’s were most thrilling. The onion broth was stunningly simple, an intensely flavoured soup with delicate ramson (a relative of chives with a garlic like scent) and chargrilled smoky soft onions. My next course was an airy, creamy delight, using little known cheeses. The Cauliflower was also lovely, gently cooked to give a sweet taste and served with a pristine white, meaty piece of fish. The Saddleback cut of pork was lean and carefully seasoned, paired with a sweet burnt apple puree and grilled onions. Silence fell over the table as we gobbled up every last bit. Dessert was a pretty pink assortment of textures and tastes, the granita made it refreshing and summery while the shards of powdery meringue added a sugary luxury.

Lyle’s lived up to my high expectations – a really special meal, and definitely one of my favourite restaurants I have discovered this year.

More information here: www.lyleslondon.com

Zalacain, Madrid

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Zalacain is located in a quiet part of Madrid, yet this doesn’t deter it’s loyal and elite clientele. We seemed to approach by the back door… hesitantly we followed a dark leafy path peering through the windows to see white-jacketed waiters busy polishing cutlery and adding the finishing touches to the ornate dining room. At 9pm when we took our seats at a discreet corner table as the first guests of the night (the Spanish eat very late, we learned) we had the waiting staff’s full attention.

Zalacain celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2013 and there is still very much a feeling of proud achievement amongst the staff, they serve with a smile and obvious enthusiasm. Traditional and grand, it is clear to see why this restaurant is favoured by the King and Queen of Spain. We found that the staff ensure every guest is treated like royalty. Over the years Zalacain has accrued a series of prestigious awards, is included in Le Grande Tables du Monde and has retained a Michelin-star for many years.

The decor reminded me of a grand stately home. The formal dining room is decorated in heavy, luxurious dark red, with silver plates and autumnal floral centrepieces adding colour to the tables. On the walls the restaurant showcases their impressive art collection. Those guests desiring more intimacy and exclusivity can choose to dine in one of the private rooms, which are equally beautifully dressed.

Alongside the 40th anniversary set menu (which they have kept in use), there is a seven course tasting menu or a full a la carte. Highlighted on the main menu are the Zalacain Classics, specialities of the chef. Wanting free reign, we chose from the a la carte. Ravioli stuffed with wild mushrooms and fresh goose-liver with “Melansporum” truffle was a petite but rich dish with a woody flavoursome filling and thin but creamy sauce. Seasonal vegetable stew was a much healthier option, a simple peasant dish, softened vegetables with a touch of saltiness from the tiny chunks of pork.

For mains, beef steak in red wine with marrow of young veal was the star dish. Perfectly marbled meat cooked exactly to specification and served in a tasty red wine jus, every mouthful was savoured. The little grain roast chicken was a lighter alternative, crispy salty skin and white tender meat. As is customary in the restaurant, the dishes arrive with a sharing plate of hot homemade puffs of potato, airy and delicious.

Of the wines we sampled, the Cava aperitif and Zalacain’s carefully selected Rioja stood out.

My dessert was a little odd, described on the menu as coconut cake it arrived as layers of cream separated by thin chocolate slices, all sitting in a pool of pale green minty sauce. In contrast, the hot chocolate volcanic with four spices and pistachio ice-cream was very successful, a gooey chocolate fondant and refreshing nutty ice-cream.

Zalacain is a place the Madrileñas come for a special meal out; for us tourists it was a wonderful insight into the culinary and dining traditions of this gastronomically exciting country.

More information and book here.

Many thanks to the Madrid Tourist Board for their help with this trip, more information here.

Faulty Towers Dining Experience, Charing Cross Hotel

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The main difference between Fawlty Towers the TV series and Faulty Towers the dining experience, is the faulty ‘u’ that replaces the famous ‘w’ in the tv name, every other detail is almost identical in this marvellous spoof performance.

The Fawlty Towers series has a worldwide reputation, and soon I expect so will Faulty Towers the dining experience. The three cast members have already travelled over the globe presenting their rendition of the classic Fawlty Towers mealtime moments. In London the magic takes place at The Charing Cross Hotel in a cleverly dressed and disguised room with the traditional music to accompany. The room is smart but dated and suits the theme of the evening precisely.

After buying a rather nice glass of white wine from the bar, we gathered among a crowd of fifty guests, all excitedly anticipating the night ahead. There was enough time to recount and refresh our brains with the most memorable Fawlty Towers moments before the three actors came to revive the jokes in the flesh. Basil, Sybil and Manuel are played by Jack Baldwin, Suzanna Hughes and Terence Frisch.

Peanuts are thrown (at us), false teeth found in the soup, a fire extinguisher employed, even Manuel’s pet rat makes an appearance. Every favourite line manages to sneak its way in, amazing considering only a third of the production is scripted, the rest is just genius improvisation. The mannerisms, voices and characteristics are captured perfectly by the three talented impersonators. The show is fully immersive, the actors work hard to include all the guests, making us giggle but never humiliating anyone. Visitors can choose to be as involved as they desire, the birthday boy on the next door table was mocked merrily and received an embarrassing rendition of ‘happy birthday,’ others stole extra bread rolls and paid the consequences, having their bottoms smacked.

The food was rather bland and disappointing: Leek and potato soup was under-seasoned and too thin, chicken with potato was lukewarm and unexciting and the cheesecake was certainly not freshly made. Of it all the bread rolls with butter were the most palatable. However you don’t visit this show expecting haute cuisine, in fact just like every other detail of the night, the food was just as it would have been in the tv programme.

It was, without doubt the best worst meal I’ve ever had. An experience I will never forget and a must for Fawlty fans!

More information here.