The Balcon - As chic as Chanel?

This time last year, The Boyfriend and I headed to Brasserie Roux, as a pre-Nutcracker pit stop, and ate a selection of rather uninspiring food in their grand but empty dining room. This time, we headed back to visit their new version – The Balcon, as a pre-Nutcracker pit stop and found it to be a very different experience. They've clearly tried to make the place cool - it's inspired by "Coco Chanel's 1920's Paris apartment". They are possibly under the misguided view that if they throw the words "Coco Chanel" in a restaurant blurb, the place will automatically become the new "scene" place. Last time I checked Ms. Chanel was known for the 2.55, the LBD and tweed suits but not her interior design skills.

Vinoteca

I had high hopes for Vinoteca. Its near to my new place of work and I had hoped this would be my "Dear God, I need a drink and some fattening food" place.  Sadly, I don't think this is it. It wasn't that it was bad, it wasn't by any stretch of the imagination, it was just very familiar.

La Cave a Fromage

La Cave a Fromage may not seem like the obvious choice for breakfast,  given it is essentially a glorified cheese shop that serves wine, but what a wonderful brunch I had there last week. Most people can't handle wine and cheese first thing in the morning and by first thing I mean noon, luckily my new brunch buddy could. 

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.

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. 

La Petite Maison -

Valentine’s day. Two words that strike fear into the heart of every male in a relationship and every relationship-less female. Even as a girl in a relationship I think it’s the most pointless of holidays. No one sums up my dislike of the holiday then my friend Tracy in a very entertaining article you should all read here. As much as we want to, The Boyfriend and I have not been able to escape the pressure forcing us to celebrate. The furthest we have managed to is going out for dinner on the 15th rather than the 14th. Some rebellion, eh? But, at least it is easier to get a dinner reservation and romantic themed set menus aren't involved.

Androuet - When is a fondue not a fondue?

For those who don’t know, Androuet is a Parisian cheese shop/restaurant that has been brought over to Spitalfields market. The place itself is tiny, just accommodating 12 people snuggly. Given their space shortage, they have done a lot to make the place feel lively. I was really excited to try Androuet. I was so excited I spent the day preparing. I managed to survive 10 waking hours on smoothies, olives and dried fruit. By the time I rolled up to Androuet, I was ready and willing to eat the whole shop. We ordered a fondue for two to share, wanting to get straight on to the good stuff - although I was tempted by the truffle grilled cheese (if I worked in the vicinity I think that I would be here every day and at least 50lbs heavier).

Baranis - I'll take you to the South of France

Wikipedia, the source of all knowledge, describes Pétanque as "a form of boules where the goal is, while standing inside a starting circle with both feet on the ground, to throw hollow metal balls as close as possible to a small wooden ball called a cochonnet (literally "piglet") or jack."

Sounds fun, right? It conjures up images of the South of France, wine, sunshine, beaches... ahh. Oh wait, it’s February. Its cold. It’s London. But fear not, if you think a taste of the South of France is what you need in these depressing months, Baranis will help you out.

L'atelier - Heaven

Im deliriously happy. I think I might be in heaven.  I've never felt so wholly satisfied after eating a meal. Rewind 5 hours. 
I've heard a lot about L'atelier de Joel Robuchon. How could I not? The guy has about a zillion michelin stars and unlike the other oh-so-glamorous chefs,(ahem *Gordon Ramsey*) all of Mr Robuchon's restaurants, bar 1, have Stars. Thats 26 stars between 11 restaurants. Some achievement. Mr Robuchon has more star's than any other chef on the planet and his London restaurant is the proud holder of 2.

Terroirs

I'm clearly a little behind in terms of the London food scene, as when all of London's food bloggers and critics have hit the East End to check out Brawn, I have only just visited Terroirs the original wine bar of the two. Terroirs seems to get mixed reviews from most bloggers and to be honest I wasn't too excited about the prospect, but it ticked all of my boxes which are; a) easy to get a last minute table b) not on the otherside of town, (unlike Brawn) and c) starts with a letter at the end of the alphabet, (also unlike Brawn).

Cigalon - Perfect.

I had a good feeling about Cigalon before I went. Maybe it was because it had been getting perfect reviews. Maybe because the restaurant looked gorgeous. Maybe it was because it was within walking distance of my home. Maybe it was just meant to be.

Brasserie Roux – Perfect for the price

Brasserie Roux is, according to the website, “Inspired by Albert Roux”. I dont know if that means Monsieur Roux had/has any role in the running of the restaurant or if they just persuaded him to let them use the name but either way I enjoyed this experience much more than my previous Roux excursion at Le Gavroche.

Roussillon – A story of Romulus and Remus

The story of Romulus and Remus, a story of two siblings, one who eventually overpowers the other. The success of one is linked to the demise of the other. Sounds a bit like Roussillon and Gauthier.

Comptior Gascon – Food, Food, Everywhere but Not a Bite to Eat.

Comptior Gascon is part of The Gascon family: a trio of restaurants all around Smithfields with Club Gascon (the daddy of them all with one Michelin star), Cellar Gascon, the relaxing Wine Bar, and Comptoir Gascon the low key bistro.

Bar Boulud -

Daniel Boulud is America's equivalent of Gordon Ramsey except he's not American, or bankrupt or having a public fight with his mistress/father in law/mother in-law and wife but you get my point - incredibly successful with numerous restaurants and Michelin stars . Despite being from Lyon, Bar Boulud at the Mandarin Oriental is his first venture in Europe and when it first opened in May it received a lot of acclaim. In fact it took about 2 weeks before it became tough to get a table less than a week in advance. So finding a table on a Wednesday, for that very evening made me a very happy camper indeed.

Le Gavroche - A trip to 1967?

I wasn't going to write about my trip to Le Gavroche. Instead, I was going to relax and enjoy the experience, which is why I failed to take photos. That was until they annoyed me.