Opera Tavern - Waiting for doom

How do you deal with the impending end of the world? Simple. You drink wine and eat cheese. Obviously we were on a limited time scale, with only one and a half hours till "Rapture", which put La Cave Du Fromage in South Ken out of the question and La Fromagerie too. So Opera Tavern it was.

Massimo

There were several factors that put a lot of pressure on my visit to Massimo. First and foremost, this opening was the one that I had most been looking forward to out of all the other restaurant openings this year. Whilst Dinner and Pollen Street Social (PSS) were what most people were excited about, this one was my baby. Why? Because, I love Italian food and there's a startling lack of decent Italian places that I have found, especially given my issues with Il Baretto. Secondly, because the chef is from Zuma and I love Zuma. This in itself would have been enough pressure to potentially ruin my weekend if it was a bad experience. In addition to this, a combination of factors meant I had not been out to a restaurant in two weeks. The fact that the last time I ate out was at Pollen Street Social,  which set such a high bar didn't help either. And finally, in the same time span, I had been reading Heat by Bill Buford, (I highly recommend you do, too), which has not only increased my knowledge about Italian food, but also has basically had me drooling, so much so that the pages are all a bit crinkley.

Laduree

When I heard Laduree was opening in Covent Garden I almost jumped up and down. It was proof that God does listen to me when I ask for things.  So a Saturday or two after it opened, The Boyfriend and I rolled in to check it out.

Pollen Street Social

This is approximately the third time, I've written down my feelings about Pollen Street Social. The first time, my blackberry deleted what I wrote and the second time blogger did. Clearly, this is a sign from God telling me I should not be writing about my wonderful experience. Oh well, as long as the next sign isn't in the form of being smashed by a bus, I'm going to give it a go anyway and avoid any bus routes for the next week or so.

Machiavelli

Machiavelli just changed my life. No, I didn't just read the Prince and created a plan to take over the world. Rather I just visited for the second time the new Italian/Deli/Takeaway/Store-Selling-Random-Italian-Things-Like-Mugs-and-Cheese place thats moved into Covent Garden called Machiavelli.

Coq D'argent

Finally Britain is warming up and so, The Boyfriend and I are determined to make the most of this weather by eating and drinking outside as much as possible. Sadly, London is a city that makes this a pretty difficult challenge. My list for outdoor restaurants is a small one; 
The Chelsea farmers Market - is the obvious place for sunny weekends, if you can be bothered to queue, but gets cold and quiet at night. The Boundary - again if you can face the queue, is a good option but really slows down past nine pm. 

The Riding House Cafe

I am not going to lie, my memory of the Riding House Cafe is hazy, to say the least, but I definitely remember having a very good time.

Here is what I remember: