restaurant reviews of British

 

 

Old Tom & English, restaurant review: Soho's latest white-hot spot bucks the no-reservations trend in exclusive style

There they are, loitering on the pavement outside a firmly closed, discreet door. The couple hunching over their smartphones, glancing up at the large brass bell. It takes me back (well, apart from the phones) to late nights in Soho and all-night hidden drinking dens that were hard to get into – and even harder to get out of.

These two might be in the heart of Soho, but what they're hoping to access is not a dive bar but a restaurant. The snag is that Old Tom & English, for this is where we meet them, is an entry-by-invitation, reservations-only place. I've snagged two seats but am told they're likely to be at the bar – the intimation is that a week in, the place is white-hot.

So when the doorperson lets us in, I experience an unseemly flush of smugness. But what's this? She lets them in too and the five of us are sardined into a ground-floor hall, all looking and feeling a bit uncomfortable. Well, really, and after they'd made a big thing about it being "reservations only", unlike everywhere else in town… *Inwardly huffs, stamps foot*

Once downstairs I feel a bit more bonhomie – the low-ceilinged rooms are a good combination of icily chic and cosy. Marble panelling and accessories, mid-century chairs and cabinets and 1960s art all tick the cool box, while comfortable sofas and supremely flattering lighting welcome me in.

The décor should be no surprise: the designer is Lee Broom, who has a keen eye for beautiful detail and whose products – from cut-crystal lightbulbs to chairs trimmed in neon – are desirable statement pieces (I go home wondering how I can get the circular marble fireplace from Old Tom in my home). He's been well briefed by brother and sister owners Maria and Costas Constantinou – also owners of the Arts Theatre Club elsewhere in Soho – who are in evidence when I visit, beetling about making sure everyone's happy.

I certainly am. I'd gone in expecting "fashion" and it remained that way until I taste the first dish (small plates, natch). Nibbles include popcorn cockles and there's crispy fish skin, and kale. As Chandler Bing might have said, if he wore a Play by Commes des Garçons top and Norse Project jeans, "Could this place be any more 2014?"

But it's the standards on this British-themed menu that stand out. Triple-cooked chips with a pot of heavy mayonnaise might be the best I've had anywhere, any year. Pan-fried king scallops with black pudding and a courgette purée seizes back a dish from MasterChef shame, and crispy pig cheek with cider apple and fennel is a joyous cylinder of crunch with very, very melty meat inside. The sauce is piquant and lovely.

Smoked wood pigeon with beetroot, pine nuts and samphire is my least favourite, as the plate has a watery pool of blood-like liquid (sauce it ain't) and the flavours don't marry. Egg and mushroom on Melba toast is fab, though (even if it is a lie – the toast is on top!). It comes with an earthy Jerusalem artichoke purée and a hefty blob of butter spiked with Marmite. If that's not a plate to send a hangover on its way, I don't know what is.

I wend past sexy little alcoves, where guests are guzzling cocktails, to the loo. The ladies is lit like… actually, it's not lit. The cubicle has one bulb, I'm guessing 20 watt. Surely some mistake? Especially from Broom, for whom lighting is everything. Perhaps this is part of a theme. Those alcoves at Old Tom, I learn, are named after famous prostitutes and madams ("tom" being a bygone term for prostitute. Ugh); an "homage to the old Soho". Not as sexy as I'd thought, then.

After that harrumph, I must report that the puddings are wonderful. A flourless salted-chocolate cake is neither too fudgy nor crumbly, just potent; and two little lemon-and-thyme doughnuts with chocolate sauce and a frill of fluffy cream float down the gullet with ease.

Dishes range from £4 for chips to £11 for lamb rump and it's recommended to have six between two, plus puddings. You could get away with four and a cocktail if, like most here, you're alighting as part of a night out like a brightly coloured butterfly. We, and the doorstep couple, are here as restaurant punters. Open at night only, this place makes us all feel welcome and so it is with few reservations (groan) that I recommend it.

 

 

Light green: opinion of the reviewer

Yellow: description of the physical surroundings

Red: how waiters and waitresses comport

Under line of light blue: explanation of the menu

Green: price range

Pink: description of what the reviewer orderd

Light blue: description of facilities

Blue: Recommendation

Roquefort Cheese

 Today, I'm going to introduce Roquefort Cheese.
Roquefort Cheese is the most famous cheese that is matured by penicillium, which is called "blue cheese" Also, it is said that Roquefort Cheese is the oldest cheese in France.
 At first, I'm going to write about its history and background. Thousands of years ago, penicillium accidentally attached to the cheese that a shepered left in the caves of Combalou, and this is said that the origin of Requefort Cheese. And even now, the cheese which is matured in cheese-maturing chamber of Combalou's cave by the penicillium of Combalou's cave is the only cheese which is accepted as Requefort Cheese.
Next, I'm going to give you some examples how to use Roquefort Cheese. There are some popular ways to use it.
・scatter to a salad
・it is eaten as it is with wine
・put on bucket with dry fruits or jam
・make it sauce used in and on a grilled meat
like these it is normally eating in very simple way because Requefort Cheese has very rich taste and is very delicious.
When it comes to other countries, it is a little bit difficult to get Roquefort Cheese in other countries because the producing district is limited. So in order to eat Roquefort Cheese in other countries, going to French restaurant in other countries,and eating it like French way are usuall.
Finally, I'd like to write about my personal relationship with Roquefort  Cheese. Unfortunatelly, I have never eaten it, and had not known even the name of Roquefort Cheese. But, now, I have been very interested in Roquefort Cheese since I searched about it. So, if I have a chance to eat it, I want to it with honey and bucket because I love honey very much. Possibly, it suits to my palate.
Thank you.

How to STOP Cravings | 8 Natural Appetite Suppressants That Work

This is the video which is related to my food-related book, especially, it is related to chapter 2.  This video will help you understand chapter 2 of the book.

ALL MANNERS OF FOOD

 Hello.This is my first post in this blog.

 Today, I'd like to introduce the food-related book that I'm reading now. It is "ALL MANNERS OF FOOD" by Stephen Mennell. Now, I've just read the introduction of this book. In the introduction, it is mainly written about taste. So, I'll tell you some interesting parts of the introduction.
  It is said that people have 4 basic tastes innately; sweet, sour, salty and bitter. When people encounter unfamiliar flavor, what they experience is not really taste, but a sort of "pre-taste". It's not really taste until they have learned how to interpret it. The good example is coffee. Many people must think that coffee is one of the great marvellous flavous. But, it must be also true that anyone drinking coffee for the first time would deny it, because it is very bitter. This is "pre-taste". However, by the time you have drunk a few thousand cups of it, you feel it delicious and cannot live without it. And it is real taste.
 I think that it is very interesting, because I had the same experience about coffee. At first, I couldn't drink it, but when I was a high school student and had to study hard for university's entrance exam, I drunk it many times to wake up. Now, I think that coffee's taste is very good.

 Like this, I will sometimes introduce some interesting parts of this book.

Thank you for your reading.