THEGAYUK

Tag: Three Star Restaurant Review

The latest Three Star Restaurant Review from THEGAYUK.

  • RESTAURANT REVIEW | Rocket Holborn

    Were there fireworks at Rocket Holborn?

    Holborn is the home to the British Museum, the ancient Guild Church and was once a haunt for Charles Dickens. Back in the early 20s Kingsway’s neoclassical and neo-Baroque streets would have shared the smoggy air with the likes of Virginia Woolf and John Maynard Keynes. Nowadays, the smart architecture of Kingsway is riddled with chain eateries, coffee shops and boozers – there’s no Great Expectations that a current-day Bloomsbury Group aren’t hangin in Holborn, or would even want A Room of One’s Own is this borough. A clear case of Macroeconomics.

    The Gay UK were invited to try the wares of Rocket’s 5th sibling and newest venture on Kingsway, Holborn, to see if their Food, is Glorious Food, with the view that we’d be asking “please sir, can we have some more”.

    We sidled up at 7pm on Friday: it was like a Bleak House that had fallen on Hard Times – empty. Kingsway’s pavements are well trampled during daylight, but it’s like the City at the weekend after dusk. A warm welcome nevertheless. We perched in the bar area and were offered pre-supper cocktails.

    On recommendation, a Summer Tonic: Martin Miller’s Cointreau, elderflower, fresh lime, grapefruit and orange juice topped with tonic. Apparently, this orangy little tinker has a trophy cabinet. The elderflower gave a good measure of tartness and a floral bouquet – it was blooming good.

    Negtroni: Beefeater, Martini Rosso, Campari, orange zest and a dash of angostura bitter. A powerful glass of resonant mouthwash, a high-end one at that – delish.

    A bowl of home-made salty popcorn was constantly replenished while we were serenaded by Boney M and the Bee Gees.

    Rocket’s décor: Eero Aarnio Abstract luminous Dogs, dark wooden walls, tables and chairs, mixed with pink and orange cushions – struggling to find an identity? The lighting was bright enough for makeup reapplication and to notice the imperfections in some of the tired furniture.

    One pre-dinner sharpener is never enough: next up, a Spiced Pear Mojito: Rebellion spiced rum, Xante pear cognac, fresh mint, lime and sugar topped with apple juice. Potent, and rampant with ripe pears – it was like Christmas compressed in a tumbler. The best Mojito ever.

    Tropical Wave: Koko Kanu, Passoâ, fresh watermelon and lemon juice, topped with pressed apple. We had a sudden desire to be horizontal and surrounded by the Indian Ocean. Fresh, and slipped down like a still bottle of San Pellegrino.

    It was as though we were dining on a well-manned ship – the timings were impeccable between courses and we needed for diddly. By now a few other diners had come aboard.

    For the starters we opted for: Panko Crumb and coconut King Prawns with warm green and yellow zucchini ribbons, red chilli and mango dressing. They looked like they’d arrived straight from Thailand, but tasted as though they were bought from Iceland. The coconut seemed to have jumped ship – bland.

    Seared beef fillet “Carpaccio” rolled in cracked black pepper and topped with dressed rocket, shaved parmesan and sun-dried tomatoes. The snappy leaves and pungent cheese elevated the tender, amply-sized cuts of moreish meat.

    To encourage metabolism we lubricated with a bottle of Campo Nuevo Tempranillo 2014. Full-bodied, sturdy structure with a raspberry perfume and a truffle tease.

    For our mains: Rocket’s famous rare beef and chip salad with rocket, green beans, red onion, radishes, crispy garlic, fried chilli, black bean dressing and ginger-mustard mayonnaise. This reads beautifully – if we’d guzzled black Sambuccas until 5am, this dish would be great to soak up the aftermath. The black bean dressing is genius, but the dish as a whole, cumbersome – slight overkill.

    For our mains: Rocket’s famous rare beef and chip salad with rocket, green beans, red onion, radishes, crispy garlic, fried chilli, black bean dressing and ginger-mustard mayonnaise. This reads beautifully – if we’d guzzled black Sambuccas until 5am, this dish would be great to soak up the aftermath. The black bean dressing is genius, but the dish as a whole, cumbersome – slight overkill.

    The Rocket Calzone, filled with chorizo, king prawns, roasted tomato, olives, red onion, jalapeños and mozzarella. A fusion of indigenous Mesoamerican and Italian cooking. Not for the faint-tongued – spicy, porky, hints of paprika – garlicky and smoky. Reminiscent of a stone bake oven.

    While we pondered over the pudding menu it was as though we’d been momentarily transported to Monaco during a sluggish Grand Prix, minus the glamour: three wheelie bins were inexplicably wheeled past our table, and we were still nowhere near the finish line.

    Puds: Affogato, Amaretto, espresso & vanilla ice cream with amaretti biscuit. The ice cream was nondescript – pleasant.

    Sticky Toffee Pudding with salted caramel ice cream: much like Channing Tatum in Magic Mike XXL – tacky, but with the right amount of sweet.

    Our digestifs: Espresso Martini’s: Thunder toffee vodka, Khalua, sugar and shot of espresso. Syrupy-coffee with an alcoholic implication – superb. Rocket’s mixologist would fit nicely at the Savoy.

    Should you risk The Voyage Out to Holborn to experience their culinary fare, you can be reassured that they’re not Scrooge when it comes to portion sizes and the service is Oom-Pah-Pah perfect. A meal for two won’t blow the purse strings, even on a Bob Cratchit wage.

     

    REVIEWED BY: Thabian Sutherland

    Rocket Holborn

    36-38 Kingsway, London, WC2B 6EY

    Tel: 0207 242 8070

    Email: holbornbookings@rocketrestaurants.co.uk

    Nearest tube: Holborn

    Star rating; ★★★ (explained)

    Price Rating: ££ (explained)

     

     

     

  • RESTAURANT REVIEW | Q-Grill, Camden

    Around five minutes stroll from either Chalk Farm or Camden tube is the Q-Grill, and no introduction necessary with the main method of cooking here. Plenty of smoky dishes on the menu using their house smoker, in fact they have a special smoked beer ‘Rib Tickler’ designed to be paired with one of the rib dishes on the menu. I had a small sip of the beer just to try, and could have easily had a pint of the stuff.

    The vibe is very Camden, the décor channelling a beach bbq shack, and has an open kitchen on view. Our waiter, Armand, had impeccable customer service and clearly knew the menu well, he suggested his favourites for the starters – to which we had all 3 between us both.
    Baked Butternut Hummus (£6.00), not the usual hummus as not a chickpea in sight! A vivid orange pool of spicy thick butternut puree, adorned with fat feta chunks lightly charred, and some cubed butternut too. Homemade flatbreads charred & chewy make good for mopping up all that nutrition in neon.

    The Seabass Ceviche (£9.75) was so lovely, it couldn’t have been any fresher. A healthily herbed dish spiked with flecks of chilli. So many ceviche can be spoiled by being overly acidic, but the proportions here were spot on. This dish also came served with golden boat-like shaped strips of fried plantain which provided some texture contrast against the silky sea bass.
    Our final starter was rather odd, but totally moreish. The Spiced Cornbread Waffle (£3.50) which was screaming out “WHERE DO I BELONG”, being served with an absolutely heavenly scoop of maple syrup whipped butter, but then all of a sudden the chilli kicks in and the whole dish makes perfect sense. I will be dreaming about that naughty dirty maple butter for the foreseeable future.
    For our mains we decided to maintain sharing (there is a separate menu for sharing platters but we wanted to make our own up!). Chargrilled Tiger Prawns (£19.75) came in a generous portion, although the unnecessary inclusion of the heads on the plate gave the impression there were more. Lovely lime and chilli notes, and prawns perfectly plump and cooked beautifully. For me this was the star of the meal. This really did make me feel like I was on a beach, and then wish that I was.

    What should have been the star of the meal, was the Rare Breed Pork Baby Back Ribs (£15.00) off the specials menu. Even though the flesh was as you’d like ribs to be, flaky, falling and soft- its spice rubbed exterior had been burnt leaving a bitter taste on your palette. Even the chipotle sauce served alongside the ribs could not act as flavour saviour, unfortunately being watery and tasteless. Again, like the sauce, the pot of ‘slaw tasted tired and far from the freshness we had experienced from everything else on the table. Such a shame!
    Parmesan Truffled Fries (£4.00), served beautifully crisp, smoky, and with a heavy shaving of parmesan- I don’t normally have fries so to have a touch of truffle in there too was a total treat. Green Beans (£3.75) – sadly these were extremely greasy, I’m not entirely confident how these were cooked, as the smoked aioli they were smothered in made it all overly oily. I think it would be received better if the aioli was in a pot on the side.

    After the waffle as a starter and the fries, we were struggling for room for dessert. Our waiter suggested the peanut butter cookie stack but a stack at that point felt like our Everest. But there is always room for ice cream, right? Homemade delights, (£1.50 per scoop) we chose firstly the peanut butter, which was really well balanced with just the right amount of peanuts. Overdoing the PB can make dishes claggy. Lastly, a G&T sorbet which would have been a crime not to have picked. Refreshing, icy and strong in citrus, you could definitely detect the gin! An odd combination peanut butter and gin, but we didn’t even care.

    It’s such a shame that our ribs were ruined by being overcooked on the outside, and the ribs dish as a whole being a little underwhelming with flavour (other than burnt). The starters were fantastic and the homemade ice cream were both winners, and I wish we did have room for the peanut butter cookie stack as I’m sure it would have been cookie monster heaven.

    The food was delivered to the table at a good speed and with stupendous service. I would definitely eat here again, especially as you are also presented with a £20 gift card off your next visit (you must register the card online initially). Q-Grill also has another restaurant opening this Summer, check their website for details. Home delivery is also available through Deliveroo.

    Reviewed by @LohanJordan
    ADDRESS: 29 – 33 Chalk Farm Road, London NW1 8AJ
    PHONE: 020 7267 2678
    PRICE: ££££ (explained)
    STAR RATING: *** (explained)
    TIPPING POLICY: http://q-grill.co.uk/camden

  • RESTAURANT REVIEW | The House of Ho, Soho, London

    Bang on Old Compton Street lies The House of Ho (and according to a rather comical page on their menu; “We might be called Ho’s but we are, at least, classy ones”.

    Hos aside, the restaurant was busy for a Tuesday 7pm. Our initial welcome was lukewarm from a waiter clearly feeling the burn of “suicide Tuesday”, but this was swiftly rectified by the lovely waitress that hadn’t lost the will to live, could actually speak, and presented us with the wine list & suggesting some edamame beans and Asian crackers for the table.

    Bobby Chinn owns the restaurant, as well as another in Hanoi, and has a successful TV series “World Cafe Asia”. Bobby is clearly a man who knows his food but also how to have fun with it. Both food and drinks menu include a page bound to make you giggle; “Duct tape is available for hyperactive children”, and Bobby’s “10 Stages of Drunkness”, my favourite being number 4: Clairvoyant.

    The décor is far more serious, showcasing some dramatic red drapery, low lights, grey tones, and brushed steel. An odd pairing of artwork, being sat adjacent to a painting of people with no heads, and tables decorated with a couple of token touches of copper via candle votives.

    Their drinks menu is extensive, some fantastic and relevant to the Vietnamese theme including ingredients; lemongrass, coconut water, cucumber, lychee, Vietnamese coffee etc. Loving some of the great rose wines out there now, I opted for the Terra Vecchia Rose 2013 (£29), a really light, clean tasting and fresh wine- a great paring for the robust and fresh flavours we were about to enjoy.

    Ho serves food in the same manner as tapas, there are no strict starters/mains etc. They recommend 3-4 dishes per person, and left it in our waitress’ hands to decide what we had, to great success across 7 dishes that was the perfect amount of food for two.

    Bobby’s Warm Duck salad (£10.50) a touch disappointing after being advised of its spiciness and the heat being a little underwhelming. It was however lovely, light and crispy, although coriander’s presence was overpowering. The Grass Fed Angus Fillet Rolls (£6.50) were a triumph. My friend had visited Vietnam and said the flavours of this dish enchanted fond memories of his time there. Light rolls filled with fresh mint that complimented the rich wok tossed beef perfectly, with a little bit of sweetness in there too from some crispy onions- one to try.

    Seafood Ceviche (£12.50) – prawns, sea bass, and scallops combined with mangosteen (a fruit with amazing health benefits, a joy to see on the menu), nestled amongst peppers and avocado in a light coconut fresh lime jus – fresh to death! A lovely dish to have alongside the crispy 7 Spice Vietnamese Squid (£8.50), where its real winner was the dip accompaniment; perfect proportions of sweet & fiery with interesting flavour layers.

    The next dishes were the ones that made the meal. Shaking Beef (£12), 30-day grass-fed Angus beef. Ridiculously tender bite-size morsels. Plain in its seasoning with a strong peppery flavour. The meat speaks for itself here. Griddled Duck (13.50), in my notes I actually cussed against this dish it was that good. Only a little pink, and the notoriously fatty element of the duck almost going undetected it was cooked so well. Another bringer of ‘nam memories for my friend. Heavy smoky flavours, and comes served with a cabbage leaf stuffed with black rice. The stuffed cabbage was very plain and verging on under seasoned, but as an avid fan of both black rice and cabbage, I loved its purpose on the plate.

    The richness of both duck and beef dishes would require something light like a salad next to it. Our waitress had decided that we would receive Morning Glory (£6) – cooked spinach and toasted shallot oil with peanuts, a great simple side- but would have preferred a raw element at this point of the meal.

    With always room for pud, we chose the lemon scented crème brulee (£5.50) – lovely strong citrus, and overall a good brulee, but it came fridge cold which I’m not a fan of, believing it should always be served a little warm, even if it’s room temp to take away the image of bundles of brulees sat in a fridge.

    Also chosen was the trio of homemade gelatos- keen to see what varieties would be served due to the restaurant’s constant compliance to a Vietnamese theme. Apparently, a lemongrass was served but I could not identify between this one and another that only appeared through apparent pods, to be vanilla. A chocolate was also served and despite the gelato in their consistency being superior and luxuriously creamy- the flavours lacked any identity. I would have loved to have seen some flavours like on their cocktail menu. A Vietnamese Coffee Gelato sounds lovely!

    In my view, there were a few errors with a couple of instances involving overpowering flavours, and where the flavour lacked altogether- the dishes otherwise had clever composition. The House of Ho offers stylish dishes packed with exciting and fresh flavours that would definitely make me come back to explore the rest of the menu.

    The restaurant will also now be open till 1 AM on Fridays & Saturdays for “Late Ho”, with a resident DJ and Vietnamese bar snacks.

    Reviewed by @lohanjordan
    ADDRESS: 55—59 Old Compton Street, Soho, London, W1D 6HW
    PHONE: 020 7287 0770
    PRICE: ££££ (explained)
    STAR RATING: ★★★ (explained)
    TIPPING POLICY:
    http://www.houseofho.co.uk

  • RESTAURANT REVIEW | Pennethorne’s – At Somerset House

    There is something rather enchanting about Somerset House, and what a lovely setting it makes for Pennethorne’s Café Bar. Just standing in their courtyard you feel removed from the chaos of the city. Situated in the New Wing, Pennethorne’s is adorned in dramatic décor that seems to be ever so in right now. Black walls, brassy tables and dim pendant lights lined in rows. Unsurprisingly the majority of the crowd appear a little bit swanky-socialite.

    The staff are a bubbly bunch (shout out to Phoenix & Paulo for looking after us so well). Speaking of bubbles, their champagne menu is small but comprises of three carefully selected essentials; Brut (£33), Prosecco (£27), and a Cuvee (£66) made in Sussex.

    Seven PM and we appear to be the only guests eating, our waiter confirms most dining trade is over lunch period. Good to know if you prefer a quiet eat in the evenings.

    The menu consists of breads, tinned and potted dishes, salads, meat and cheese selections and items served on toast. Probably why this attracts a lunch-time crowd- but the dishes are sophisticated enough to translate into dinner. As some of the dishes are on the small side it makes good for sharing- just be aware of what and how many of your dishes come with bread as we found ourselves looking like a bakery at full swing.

    The bread was really well made (freshly baked by their in-house baker) and the menu boasts some lovely combos such as; Fig & Apricot, Bacon Brioche, and Walnut & Raisin.

    Kale was on the menu in the form of Crispy Curly Kale & Ham Hock Salad (£6). Of course we felt the need to order the kale, as much as most restaurants feel the fear that their menu without kale on it will deem them as non-foodie-friendly. Although that looks set to change with cauliflower soon to be the new kale, as said by someone as insignificant as this very sentence. A pleasant dish of warm kale, salty ham with small jewels of onion run through it. Bringing a much welcomed lightness amongst the richness of the other dishes.

    Potted Beef (£8). The meat appearing as pulled pork would, but in a cute little pot. Like the best bit of an amazing pie, tender flesh nestled amongst it’s own garlic, black pepper and red wine gravy. Sod the pot, bring me a trough. This was gorgeous.

    Another favourite of mine was from the Mortadella as part of the Selection of Meats (£16). Rosette, Mortadello and Iberico Ham all being of fantastic quality- no yucky plastic textures that a lot of restaurants tend to fob you off with. Both Mortadella and Rosette cuts had great marbling. The Iberico was smooth and melt in the mouth, but my least favourite out of all three.

    The favourite dish of our servers, and apparently a popular choice from diners, was the wild Mushrooms (£5) atop softly toasted bread. A good handful of wild mushrooms that still retained their lovely earthiness but amongst garlic and wine, and with a hint of something almost balsamic. I can see why this is popular as it all works very well together and is served in a perfectly sized portion.

    For those unfamiliar with Nduja – traditionally, is an Italian spicy pork pate and is also set to be one of our food trends for 2015. No doubt it will be popping up on menus everywhere shortly! Pennethorne’s Nduja (£4.75) smells like it will blow your mind, and it will. Expect hot lips. If you like a chilli hit, then this is your dish. We found ourselves going back for more and more of this one- addictive.

    Pennethorne’s have some real gems on their menu, and I really love the fusion of simple British traditions “…On Toast” and the tinned/potted dishes mixed with Italian influences. A bonus for garlic lovers, as Pennethorne’s love it too. The quality of ingredients you receive is great value for money.

    Sad to see no desserts on the evening menu, their breakfast menu does list pastries/muffins/doughnuts/sticky buns/bakes etc; sounds delicious! It could be well received for them to also have these appearing on the evening menu.

    Any fashion freaks visiting Somerset House for London Fashion Week this year, be sure to say hello to Pennethorne’s and go for the Mushrooms on toast, or Potted Beef.

    REVIEWED BY: Jordan Lohan
    ADDRESS: Pennethorne Cafe, New Wing, Somerset House, Strand, London, WC2R 1LA
    VENUE PHONE: 020 3751 0570
    PRICE: £££ (explained)
    STAR RATING: ★★★ (explained)
    TIPPING POLICY:

  • RESTAURANT REVIEW: Rosa’s Thai Cafe, Chelsea

    Rosa’s Thai Cafe which have venues situated in; Spitalfields, Soho, Westfield Stratford, and Carnaby, recently opened their first restaurant that has a bar inside in Chelsea, which I visited recently with a friend.

    The restaurant was quite busy with clientèle appearing to be well off, middle-aged socialites. The restaurant eventually reached maximum capacity which felt a little cramped at times. As much as the large novelty Christmas tree adorned with quirky cute toy stuffed crabs was a talking point, and good show, it probably didn’t help with the spatial availability.

    Obviously inspired by their festive deco, my friend ordered the Soft Shell Crab – crispy crab topped with Thai herbs, shallots, and spicy fresh chilli sauce. This starter came served with a fresh salad of peppers which was a really nice cool contrast to the crispy spicy crab.

    I went for the Spicy Pork Patties – lightly deep fried spiced marinated minced pork with galangal, lemongrass, garlic and chilli. These were cooked really well being uber crisp on the outside and tender, herby and well spiced on the inside. It came served with a smokey honey sauce that was so good I could have done with the double the amount served. Lovely.

    In the space between courses, even with a busy restaurant, the staff were so attentive always ensuring that our water and wine were topped up as required and done so with such stealth it almost gave the impression we had magic never ending glasses.

    For a main I chose the Grilled Jumbo Prawns with spicy fresh chilli sauce, and cooled steamed vegetables. Unfortunately, this dish was really underwhelming. My reason for this being that the prawns had been butterflied and cut in half and not stated to be served in that manner on the menu. I felt they were overcooked and awkward to eat picking the flesh out of the charred outer half shells. It took the fun out of jumbo prawns for me. The cooled steamed vegetables were verging on raw, however, I would much rather vegetables be overly al-dente than mush. The side I chose was Garlic Brown Rice- and considering the amount of crispy garlic it had on top of the rice, it was rather bland unfortunately.

    After then seeing and tasting my friend’s main course, however, I would be interested in going back to Rosa’s Thai and exploring the other curries they have on offer. My friend had Salmon Red Curry- deep fried salmon fillet in light batter in Thai red curry and Thai herbs. The fish was beautiful and the curry sauce it came in was superb. An array of flavours elegantly executed with nothing too overpowering which so many curries can be. The coconut rice that we paired with this was also delicious.

    Lacking a dessert menu the restaurant do offer a coconut or green tea ice cream (not homemade unfortunately) of which we had and shared both. Both these flavours beautiful, my favourite being the green tea. They don’t appear on any menu so you will have to ask and I recommend that you do as it was a really lovely end to the meal.

    It’s a shame my main was not what I was expecting, but the flavours of the other dishes we tried were really good and the fact the restaurant was packed mid-week with locals shows that the Rosa’s Thai in Chelsea must be doing something good. Next time I visit a Rosa’s Thai I will most certainly be having one of their curries.

    REVIEWED BY: by Jordan Lohan
    ADDRESS: 246 FULHAM ROAD LONDON SW10 9NA
    VENUE PHONE: 020 3773 8384
    WEBSITE: http://rosasthaicafe.com/chelsea
    STAR RATING: ★★★ (explained)
    PRICE: ££ (explained)
    TIPPING POLICY: