Barrafina

Whoever said you can't change a person, was wrong. When I first met The Boyfriend,  he knew a grand total of two restaurants,  neither of which took reservations or served food that was unhealthy - Sophie's and Barrafina. The Boyfriend, pre-boyfriend title, was unable to make plans more than three hours in advance, or eat food other than cottage cheese, smoked salmon and blueberries, unless it was only slightly less nutritious. In other words, he was the world's best dinner date. Luckily for our relationship - Barrafina was such a great location for our first dinner date that I didn't mind that no carbs were involved in the whole meal and that he hadn't had to put in any effort. Almost two years later it still serves as "oh-bugger-we-don't-have-a-reservation-for-any-decent-restaurant" - which happens a lot less frequently than 18 months ago. Now of course, he not only knows more than two restaurants, many of which have phone lines, but he primarily eats unhealthy foods.

The Breakfast Club

The Breakfast Club has been on my “to-eat” list forever - they have four branches, the Soho one not too far away, but always I’ve been put off by the lack of reservations and the threat of the queue. Okay temperature, sunshine, and only a slight hangover made it a feasible option for The Brunch Buddy and I. When we arrived at 11am, the queue outside was already snaking up the street, and we waited about 15 minutes before grabbing a table outside next to the ever growing queue. 

Dean Street Townhouse - Brunch

I'm on a hunt for my perfect brunch spot. So far I haven't found it. My brunch spots needs to have:

a) Satisfying food, innovative but not too pretentious (Sorry, Helene Darroze)

b) A cute set-up, but not so "scene" I have to make as much effort as I would turning up to Zuma (Goodbye The Wolseley) 

c) No queue (It's just not meant to be, The Breakfast Club) 

d) Proximity to Covent Garden (It is not you, it is me, 202)

e) Brunch served past midday (Why, Nopi? Why?) 

f) Free papers (What were you thinking, Roast) 

Nopi

I am divided on the small plates concept that has invaded London. Yes, it provides flexibility, and the chance to try many things on the menu, a major benefit when the restaurant in question has a menu that leads to drooling and mentally questioning how many dishes you can order with out being judged by your waiter. But at the same time there are some downsides. Call me old-fashioned, but I like having a rhythm to a meal. I think there is nothing worse than having eight plates show up at the same time, especially if each comes with a hefty price tag, having nothing left to look forward to and not getting a chance to savour each dish.  Ultimately things get cold, the meal takes half as long as it should and the whole experience feels rushed.

Princi - The Happiest Place on Earth

There is one over riding factor that puts me off visiting a restaurant - a lack of information. Apparently, this is cool at the moment  and seems to be a common  theme with new restaurants, I blame Nuno Mendes and Russel Norman. As a control freak, I hate this. A normal trip to a restaurant is incrediby well researched - I tend to know everything about the place before I show up - I know what I am going to eat, what the place looks like, and roughly how much the experience will cost me.

Cox, Cookies & Cakes vs. Hummingbird - A Tale of Two Cupcakes

The corner of Brewer Street and Wardour Street in Soho is a great place to be standing, as both streets have a fabulous cupcake shop. The question is which street to take? One afternoon, The Boyfriend and I decided to taste test. One Vanilla Cupcake (Cox,Cookies and Cake) and one Toffee Apple Cupcake (Hummingbird). Sitting on a step on a random street in Soho we compiled the following list of merits: 

Bodeans -

Often The Boyfriend goes to the office on Sunday mornings. Often The Boyfriend leaves his apartment devoid of any food. Often The Boyfriend loses his spare set of keys and sometimes, he accidentally locks the door as he leaves. This sometimes leaves, me starving stuck inside the apartment, with only juice or tea to provide calories. This is what happened on Sunday.

Spuntino

They Boyfriend and I are polar opposites. I like to organise, plan and book things in advance. The thought of a weekend without a reservation somewhere is a stressful thought. To be fair, this isn't entirely my fault, but restaurants in London seem to be booked so far in advance it is only logical to book restaurants for the next three months. The Boyfriend on the other hand, like so many males, doesn't like to organise, plan or book things in advance. He is a more spontaneous, happy-go-lucky kinda guy and before we started dating there were only two restaurants he knew in London - Sophie's and Barrafina (both reservation less).

Busaba Eathai -

Busaba Eathai has three locations, and so has not yet reached the Wagamama style domination I'm sure Alan Yau, the owner of both, has planned. I am a Wagamama fan and was curious about this place after hearing such good things. So The Sibling, The Leftie and  I headed out one evening.

Gelupo -

I've given up hating February, which I've been ranting about in earlier posts here and here. Instead Ive been acting like its summer. Heading to Baranis, heating my room to 100 degrees, wearing shorts, looking at beaches, booking holidays and most importantly eating ice cream.


In my opinion theres only one truly great place to eat Ice Cream in London, although I'm always looking for more suggestions if anyone has any.


Gelupo is it.

Snog - You'll Never Forget Your First Snog

I genuinely believe that the better things taste, the worse they probably are for you. Think of all great foods- Hot dogs/ Sushi/Fried chicken/ Actually, probably anything fried/ Ribs/Cakes/Cookies/Macaroni and Cheese/Cheese in general/Waffles/Fries/Burgers/Chorizo/Popcorn/Crackling/Cinnamon Whirls/ Alcohol/ Bacon/Foie Gras/ Crisps/Bread/Burritos/Pasta/ Curries/Muffins/ Icing/Kebabs/Paninis/ Risotto/Sausages and a whole host of other things. Obviously some things, few and far between, dont apply to these rules. Take Snog, for example.


I had always considered Frozen Yoghurt (or Fro-Yo as they call it in California) as ice cream for people who cant afford the calories ice cream has and really, where is the fun in that? Given 99% of what I eat is made up of the foods in the list above, I wasnt convinced Fro-Yo was for me. I mean, it really is good for you. Its low calorie, fat-free, filled with calcium and protein and active probiotic cultures, whatever those are.