Friday 8 June 2012

Dining out this week

This week we had friends in from the States, it was my daughters birthday (7th), and over that and this week, we have been out to eat more than at home...
Here is the round-up and the assessment:

Bills~ one of my favorite places in town for a casual breakfast. It was sunny and 75 outside and a perfect day to sit out in their courtyard in Slingsby Place off of Long Acre.  But i must say this was my first disappointing experience at Bill's.  Usually I get porridge which is a too-big portion but with the honey and hazlenuts sprinkled over top, its dee-lish.  But since my yankee doodle friends, settled in to their seats, and first thing ordered was bellini's and bloodies (Monday morning no less!), I succumbed to peer pressure, dissed the idea of porridge and we all went with sausage sandwiches. Diet out the door; a great way to start a week with an "elderflower fizz".  But  I forgot! Sandwiches in England always seem to disappoint.  The bread was white, cut too thick, not toasted, and it just ended up being a hunk a bread with a teeny tiny bit of sausage.  Not good.
Bellini:  8/10
Food 4/10
atmosphere: 10/10


Fifteen London~  Jamie Olivers place off City Rd...really really good.  Loved the line up of cocktails, loved the atmosphere and loved the food.
Drinks:  10/10
Food:  8/10
Atmosphere: 9/10 (would prefer to sit upstairs



XO ~ My kids LOVE asian food. In fact, I think they'd eat it 7 days a week if possible...so on birthdays,  b-day kid gets to pick any restaurant they want.  And, yes, you guessed it. Its always asian.  The fan favorite this past year has been XO in Belsize Park.  It manages to be hip enough that there is always a nice crowd there (mostly adults), and yet happens to be quite kid friendly too. I'm not saying its a place for strollers (pleeease!), but for 6 yrs old +, its perfect.  We order a big selection of starters and then mains range from sushi, curry, black cod, salads -- its almost a perfect menu. And our yankee friends were still with us and they LOVED it.  Its a neighborhood favorite.
Drinks: 8/10
Food: 10/10
Atmosphere: 9/10


Olivers Fish & Chips ~ Another family favorite and doesn't ever, ever fail.  It is quaint, small, has a beer and wine licence, and excellent fish & chips of course. And, if you are watching calories, you can choose from a long list of grilled fish dishes and salad side courses.  And value for money is exceptional, as well.  I am very, very embarrassed to say that after my kids cleaned their plates, i actually allowed  them to order the deep. fried. mars. bar. for dessert.  I mean, OMG.  I resisted (easy actually because it looks like sin on a plate) but there was not a morsel left.
Drinks: fine
Food: 8/10
Atmosphere: 7/10



Flute~ So I'm never one to buy food & bev vouchers on Living Social mostly because I'm kinda embarrassed to present them at the establishment, followed by I don't normally want to be confined to what they want you to order. And thirdly, well...it just appears kinda cheap.  So, that being said, I had a voucher for a food and bev establishment. Ho hum. Yes, I bought it because it kind of popped into my email in a timely fashion when I was contemplating where to bring a friend to celebrate her new job.  I duly purchased it for immediate use, but due to some glitch, the voucher didn't pop up for use, until a day later. So, now I've had the voucher for 5 months and paid for it, so thought I'd drag my husband to Flute which was relatively near where we could go see a movie i was dying to see: Moonlight Kingdom .
Umm, what do I say? I don't know if I have been in a worse bar in London. Ever.  Generally absolutely terrible. I had this feeling that it was going to be "french" styled as they have one in Paris. I envisioned Parisian cafe Jazz music -- sipping great FRENCH champagne -- sitting on beautiful velvet couches...Let that thought come to a screeching halt.  Picture this. Basement. Leather. VERY dim lighting.  Techno music (whAAt??), and just an air of ...alotta coke(aine) use.  Not my speed at all. We drank. we ate. we left in a flat 22 mins.
Champagne: 10/10  excellent selection and we had a tasting of which all were excellent
Service: 6/10: lovely server but slow and not attentive.
Food:  5/10
Atmosphere: 0/10

And last but not least, to round out this week up to today, we went to see Moonrise Kingdom at Curzon Soho.  THIS is a must see movie. I predict it is going to have a cult following like 16 Candles, Pulp Fiction, and Fargo.  Its kinda strange, but so so so good. I loved it.  The soundtrack is outstanding and man, do I want to have a vacation in that red house!  Amazing. And of course, the Curzon cinema is awesome too.  To see films. Not to have a vacation in.

Until next week.....



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