Trip Report (Was London Geography and Addresses)

[Jase]

This is a report from this post. http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/648701

Apologies for the long delay. Life and laptop problems got in the way. Also I tried to trim this down believe it or not. But we had such a great time, I was relieving the trip every time I wrote something. I wasn’t sure how to start or end this report.

Thanks again to everyone who responded to the post, especially to Howler and Greedy Girl who provided so many details. The generosity of the London hounds and Londoners overall was amazing and overwhelming. This is rather long and I’m breaking each day up in a separate comment.

Executive Summary for those not wanting to read the whole thing. The places we visited and really liked a lot. St. John’s, Launceston Place, Quilon, El Pirata Tapas, Giaconda, Great Queen, and Magdelen. Also hit two markets, Borough and Portabello.

Where to begin? How about, we had a fantastic time! Both overall and with the food. The food part of the trip started slowly due to recovering illness and jet lag.

[Jase]

Saturday of arrival.

We didn’t get checked in and settled in our hotel until 8 p.m. Most of the suggestions we had were packed full and we didn’t feel like sitting in any of the pubs to even get pub food. As a result, we popped into a random kebab shop where the lamb spit looked decent and got a lamb kebab each. I had forgotten about London and kebabs. This place happily reminded me of a post college trip to Australia and how I stretched my budget by visiting a variety of kebab shops. I took it as a good omen for the start of our trip.

A burst of energy from the food meant we walked around the area some more instead of going to bed. Naturally, we got hungry again. We decided to pop into Sichuan #10 and grab some take away for the hotel room. I think we were both just tired and unfocused at that point and chose wrong. We got the pork belly with rice. The skin was nice and crispy, pork very juicy and greens had a good snap. Good overall, but nothing that blew us away.

[Jase]

Sunday.
Our hotel had toast, yogurt along with ham and cheese sandwiches for breakfast everyday. Everyday, we stuck with the toast, yogurt and some juice for sustenance and saved our calories for better food.

St John’s for lunch. I had looked forward to this restaurant for years ever since I heard about it. It did not disappoint. We liked everything we ordered. My wife and I got our own Roast Marrow and parsley salad dish so we didn’t have to fight with each other. Absolutely wonderful dish that exceeded our high expectations. The roasting to bring out the rich decadence of the marrow was executed better than the few other times I’ve had it elsewhere. We probably looked liked the stereotypical ugly Americans country bumpkins as we scraped every last bit from all the nooks and crannies. I know there was a table of eight next to us that watched us in amazement as we worked away at the dish and then ordered mains on top of that.

For our main dishes, we had the roasted mutton and the braised kidney with bacon. A side dish of the Welsh rarebit. The mutton was a proper red rare. Strong but not overly gamy. Kidneys tender, not chewy or mushy. Loved the chunks of bacon, the richness complimented the kidneys well. As for the rarebit, I feel like I finally had a version that explained its appeal. My past experiences with gloppy runny cheese and charred toast didn’t convey why the dish was so popular. I loved how the bread had a crust that yielded to a softer but not gummy texture inside. The cheese broiled on adding a wonderful richness. We finished everything. I think we scared and surprised the table next to us with how much we ate. Only wished we had room for dessert.

Spent the day exploring the city and snacked on some random items not worth mentioning. We had tickets at the Old Globe Theatre that night. Afterwards, the jet lag was hitting us hard and I had not done a good job of planning a place for late night dining. An amusing aside, as we stood at the Tube station debating where to go for late night eats, the attendant wandered by asking if needed assistance. When we inquired where would be a good place to go with late night options, he replied McDonald’s I’m sure that was an answer that would make most tourists happy. We thanked him for his offer but declined his suggestion and headed back to the hotel.

For our late night snack, we decided to have a hotel room picnic instead. Stopped by a store and picked up several different bags of crisps, a Cadbury chocolate roll and some bread. We always find it fun to eat local snack foods. Amused and enjoyed the roast chicken flavor of the crisps. Wife loved the chocolate roll.

[Jase]

Mon.
We headed off to Diana’s Diner to try a proper English fry up breakfast. Got the tip from the breakfast blog. Really enjoyed everything. Also got the bubble and squeak to go with it. The potato was crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside but there wasn’t any greens in it. Overall, we liked the cozy neighborhood feel and the experience of trying the fry up.

Nothing of note again for middle of the day snacking as we did the sights. But this was good because it meant we were well and hungry for dinner at Quilon.

Ahh, Quilon. We loved this place. Fantastic food and service. We explained about our dislike of fresh coriander and ignorance of their regional Indian and asked for suggestions. The staff kept on dropping by to see how we liked the different foods and seemed to take a genuine interest at our delight and discovery of the various menu items. Although we had explained our dislike of fresh coriander, the waiter had suggested the guinea fowl, because we said we were fine with ground dried coriander. When it was brought out, it was coated in fresh coriander. He immediately rushed over and said there must have been a mixup, but asked us to try it anyway. If we didn’t care for it, he would serve us something else. We took a bite and passed on it. He came out with a piece of the braised lamb shank. Which we liked immensely and placed a full order. The whole time, we never felt any condescension or discomfort from the interaction.

We had crab cakes and spiced oysters for appetizers. We were also given some warm tomato consommé served in a wine glass. Mains were fish curry, prawns byadgi, mango curry, curd rice and the lamb shanks. For sides, the malaber paratha bread and steamed rice to soak up all the wonderful curry sauce.

We were enchanted with the complexity and depth of the flavors. Loved the curd rice and the fried peppers that went with it. I really liked how the pepper wasn’t a blow your head off heat. Started off sweet and you could feel the heat building up from inside, a bite of the rice to cool down and start the cycle all over again. The mango curry was something I’d never had. We both love mangoes. I kept on rolling the flavors of that dish in my mouth trying to see if I could recreate it at home. Everything was just so good and we wished we could have had another Indian meal of this caliber.

[Jase]

Tues.
Launceston place for lunch. Another great meal. We got the set lunch for 19 pounds each. A steal for the quality, ambiance, service and quantity of food. The table was set with some good bread and house made potato crisps. We were given an amuse bouche of yogurt and lime sorbet. Starters were the potted foie and crab risotto. We licked everything clean. Good thing we were in the corner because I tore off a bit of bread and used it to wipe down the inside of the jar and get the last of the foie we couldn’t scrape with the knife.

Mains were the spice rubbed grilled sardines and braised beef shoulder? We call them short ribs here in the US. Just exquisite. We were given a complimentary raspberry sorbet after the mains. Dessert was the apple tart for two, served with a large portion of the homemade clotted cream. We were swooning at this. I’m normally not a big dessert person, but I do love apple desserts. The clotted cream took this dish from heavenly to over the top decadent. Not that we were complaining, we ate everything. I think the staff was amused by how we cleaned off every single plate given to us. I had to fight off one of the waiters earlier in the meal when he was about to whisk off my unfinished crisps before serving the next course.

Unfortunately that meant we were too full to try the tea and pastries at the Orangery even after wandering around the beautiful grounds. Harrod’s food hall was suitably impressive but we ended up not getting anything there.

We had tickets for a show at the Criterion and ended up at The Golden Union, formerly known as The Chippy for fish and chips before the show. We got one Cod and one Haddock. The chips were mediocre. The batter was done well, not greasy. I liked the flavor of the haddock more than the cod. But both were good and cooked right, flaking away properly and not dry at all.

After the show, we decided to wander the streets working our way up to Soho and seeing what kind of food could be had. None of the pubs and stands called out to us and we were beginning to give up. But we came to a screeching halt outside Opuz Kitchen. There we noticed that the lamb spit held actual layers of meat stacked on top of each other. It looked and smelled much better than the usual cone of ground lamb. We immediately went in and ordered one each. Also got an appetizer of the grilled cheese. The cheese was average. But the kebabs were delicious. A good night time snack for us to continue exploring the neighborhood.

[Jase]

Wed.
We really felt like we were hitting our stride by now in all aspects of our trip and the food for this day was great. Lunch was Giaconda Dining Room. We walked in right when they opened and was concerned we wouldn’t be seated given the small space and lack of reservations, but luckily they were able to accommodate us. We started with three appetizers. A chicken liver mousse with a side of fig puree, a pumpkin risotto, which was a daily special and crisped pig trotter. I love pumpkin risotto and it’s hard for me to get a good version, I’m never happy with mine. This was a good version, well cooked with a strong pumpkin flavor. Given the choice, I probably would have drizzled some olive oil and added a bit more parmesan, but that might have been gilding the lily. The liver mouse was light, creamy and rich. Both those dishes were licked clean. The crisped pig trotter was good, but not memorable. Glad I got it but definitely liked the first two items better.

Mains were the ham hock hash and the braised tripe. The hash was had an egg on top. I loved the runniness of yolk mixing with the hash. The tripe was tender with chunks of bacon and potato in it. This dish reminded me of the Mexican dish Menudo. But where Menudo is more of a soup to me, served with tortillas and you adjust to taste with the hot pepper flakes, raw onions, limes and fresh coriander served on the side, this dish was more like a stew ready to eat. Menudo is a traditional hangover remedy and usually only served on weekends. This tripe dish could easily substitute for it. Rich and hearty, I could see myself eating this in it’s place and tortillas would also go well with it. No room for dessert before we were off to our next sights. Lovely food and service. A great little gem and we felt very lucky that we got seated considering how few tables they had. It was completely full by the time we were done with our appetizers. Seemed like we were the only ones without reservations.

Dinner that night was at El Pirata Tapas. Didn’t have reservations also, walked in and was easily seated. We decided to get the pre-fixe menu for 21 pounds a person. A great deal considering the quality and quantity of food we received. We contemplated ordering some extras to go with it because we were hungry and generally eat more than most. But as it turned out, we made the right decision by waiting to see how much food we actually got. It came with an assorted charcuterie plate, Calamari, Asparagus with parmesan shavings, ham croquettes, fried chorizo, potato balls with a spicy sauce, 12 hour braised pork belly and a dessert of a rice pudding. Decent bread and good butter on the side.

Loved everything. My only regret was not ordering a side of the more aged ham. The charcuterie plate was good but since we are unable to get anything except the youngest iberico ham, I should have taken advantage of every opportunity I had to get the older hams. Nonetheless we enjoyed what we had. The chorizo was rich without being greasy. You can’t go wrong with pork belly and the skin had that nice crackling, although I thought the meat was just a touch under seasoned. Still pork in London is so much better than in the U.S.

I’m normally not a big dessert fan and rice pudding doesn’t excite me much. But I really liked this version. The cool creaminess had a pleasant texture. The hint of vanilla. I also like the fried rice crispies on top. I had expected to take a few bites and give the rest to my wife, the desert fiend. But I cleaned up all of it.

Happily sated, we enjoyed walking up and down the neighborhood before heading back to the hotel. Another great day in London topped off with two very good meals.

Not posting any Pirata photos, most of the dinner photos didn't come out too well since I try not to use a flash. If I couldn't hold my hand still enough for a decent shot after a few tries, I usually gave up since I would be hungry and my wife would be patiently waiting for me to finish before she started.

[Jase]

Thu.
Nothing noteworthy for brunch.

Mid afternoon Snack was The Great Queen Pub. We sat in the bar downstairs and had their guest ale. Which I lost the label and apparently didn’t write down the name. But this was a very enjoyable rest stop. The bartender was extra friendly. We split a chicken liver terrine. It was a very large portion and came with plenty of bread and butter. The terrine was more like molded chunks. It was more appetizing than I make it sound. Liked the richness of the liver. The chunkiness gave it a firm texture but it was still smooth enough to put on bread easily. A great place to put up our feet and rest. I would like try other items in the menu next time.

Dinner was at Hereford Road. Ordered two starters, the pig head terrine called Brawn on the menu. Being ignorant we had to ask about it to find out exactly what was Brawn when we saw it on the menu. We also had the tongue and sweetbread salad. Mains were partridge and grouse. Dessert was a Cornish yarg and chocolate pudding.

Although we liked this place, I’m not sure if it would make our list on a return trip. The service while friendly seemed distracted and not as attentive as other places. The food was good but nothing really blew me away. Being new to partridge and grouse, we looked forward to trying it. We had told waiter we had never tried it before and he never gave us any warning or explanation. Luckily I was aware that they were supposed to be served on the rare side. I’m not sure if my grouse was bled properly. When I cut into it, one side had a lot of dark red streaks. Similar to blood that was just cooled. The other side looked like it was cooked rare as expected. The contrast between the two sides really stood out. The meat was strong as expected. I didn’t care for the bitterness of the skin. I did like the toast on the side that was smeared with a liver paste.

My wife liked her partridge, which wasn’t as strong but still had a distinct taste. I liked the skin of the partridge better. It was an interesting experience. I would like to try it again but probably not here. The desserts didn’t make an impression on us. Overall, it was good but not memorable.

[Jase]

Fri.
Our last full day in London. We were energized yet sad, having had such a great time so far. We hit the ground running and was at Borough Market early while the stands were still being set up. We started off at the Roast stand with a skewer of the liver wrapped in a date. A good start but nothing special. Proceeded over to Northfields farm for a sausage sandwich. We were torn between getting a hamburger or this, went with the sausage figuring it would be harder to get sausage like this in the U.S. Loved the plumpness and juicyness. With our hunger dulled, we wandered around getting a feel for the layout until Brindisa and Ginger Pig were ready to start serving. We started with the sausage roll. I think we went into foodgasm mode. We were amazed at the huge portion. The meat was just so flavorful, juicy and packed with porky goodness. And I sound like a broken record, but what constantly amazed me about UK pork was the combination of deep flavor and juiciness without greasiness. The pastry shell was light and flaky complimenting it perfectly. I could easily eat this every day. With that polished off, we split a chorizo sandwich at Brindisa. Loved the balance of flavors here. Just the right amount of tasty chorizo with the bread and greens. Since I’ve been back in the U.S. I’ve been contemplating how I could replicate this.

We walked and got a Chelsea roll from The Flour Station, and a wild boar sausage sandwich from a stand whose name I can’t remember. For the meal on our flight home, we picked up a dried venison sausage from the stand that does all the different sausages, a loaf of bread from Flour Station, a hunk of Stichelton. We also splurged and got some of the four and a half year aged Gran Reserva Joselito ham at the Brindisa stand. When we first walked up, the counterperson asked if we wanted a taste, naturally we said yes. If it isn’t obvious by now, we love pork and all pork products. I have never ever tasted anything this good. I can’t even describe how well it tasted. There was absolutely no hesitation in me to order some for our flight home despite the price.

The Market was getting quite crowded at this point and we decided to leave. But we can now fully understand the appeal. We really enjoyed the wide variety of food there and thought the quality and prices was quite decent. It would be someplace I’d visit regularly on an early Saturday morning, similar to what I do with our weekend farmer’s markets. We would have loved to have tried several more items but thought it wouldn’t be prudent to be so full.

We concluded our sight seeing of the area by coming back round to Southwerk Cathedral. After walking around the Cathederal, we had worked up a bit of hunger again. We popped into the cafeteria to try their tea special. We couldn’t believe the size of the scones! And two each for the price? The counterperson was very generous with the clotted cream. We received a big fist size of it. I also took some raspberry and strawberry jam. After all that walking about, it was so relaxing sitting in the beautiful Refractory nibbling on the delicious scones lathered generously with the clotted cream.

Suitably refreshed, we spent the next few hours at the Tate Modern. We then walked over to Magdelen for dinner. Magdalen was a wonderful experience and a great place to have our last sit down meal in London. After a fantastic week of wonderful experiences and great food, Magdelen was the perfect topper. Great service, lovely atmosphere and delicious food.

Michael the manager was absolutely delightful. He came over to talk to us when he heard that we were from out of town. Wanted to know how we found out about the place. He was surprised that we found them as they were off the beaten track for tourists. I told him about Chowhound and how a native had suggested.

During our conversation, I mentioned that I would want the cheese plate for dessert but asked if there was different third cheese besides Stichelton. I explained about our Borough Market activities and all the cheese and sausages we had in my bag. He excused himself to check with the chef. Apparently he explained to the chef our situation. The chef and Michael officered up the use of their vacuum machine to seal up all our sausages and cheeses to make transport easier. What absolutely fantastic service. I did not take them up on the offer but was utterly impressed by the service.

Meanwhile while all this was happening, we were happily enjoying the food. We had started off with the sweetbread terrine and the foie. Mains were the middlewhite pork and braised hare. Dessert was a Damsen tart, salted caramels and the cheese plate.

Everything was cooked perfect. Great textures, depth of flavor. Loved the terrine and foie. Was tempted to order another foie, just for the heck of being a sheer glutton. I could wax rhapsodic again about the pork but I shall refrain. I so dearly wish we could get pork like this in the U.S. easily. The hare was so rich and comforting. The handmade salted caramels were superb, warm liquid contrasting nicely with the chocolate outside. We’ve never had Damsen before and we liked it a lot since it reminded us of plums and we both love plums. They didn’t have a third cheese on hand and gave me larger portions of the aged cheddar and goat instead.

Another example of their good service which stood out in contrast to Hereford Road the night before was how they treated the couple seated next to us. They were a somewhat younger couple who looked like they were out for a treat. The staff treated them respectfully the whole time. When one of them inquired about the grouse and how they’ve never had it before, it was explained gently how the bird was usually cooked rare and it had a very strong flavor. When the dish was delivered, the waitress didn’t make a perfunctory inquiry. She took her time to make sure the dish was acceptable. Just a complete contrast to our experience the night before at Hereford. Even though we had explained we never had it before, there was no warning about the rareness and it was just a drive by check to see how we liked it after the dishes were delivered.

Greedy Girl, if you go there anytime soon, please thank Michael the manager for us again. I had

All in all a great way to end a wonderful day.

[Jase]

Departing Sat.

We had a deadline of being on the tube by no later than 1 p.m., meaning we had to be back at the hotel before then to pick up our bags Which limited our possibilities and I didn’t have much high hopes for a great food experience. I had wanted to go to Rough Trade records, the west location. The CH gods must have been smiling at us. I did not realize that there was a farmer’s market in the Portobello street area. I didn’t have the market down in any of my notes. Rough Trade wasn’t open until 10 p.m. and we had decided to get there early and just walk around the area to explore.

As we got off the tube station around 8:30, it was really pleasant to see a quiet local neighborhood and we were happy with the decision to get there early. But as we got closer to the store, we were shocked to discover merchants setting up. We were in absolute joy to have stumbled upon this for our last adventure before our flight.

We stopped at The Coffee Plant for some coffee. We really liked the look of the bakery stand right outside the shop. Bought some cheese straws and scones to nibble on while we walked. Loved the straws, crisp and cheesy. The scones were a good texture and we really regretted not buying a dozen to have thrown in our bag for the flight home. Especially later on when we finished the rest at the airport.

As we explored, we came to a screeching halt in front of The Hog Roast. How could we not, with a name like that. The smell of roasting pork didn’t hurt. We immediately placed an order for a pork sandwich. The sandwich not only came with a generous portion of meat but was also topped off with quite a bit of cracklings. Crunchy, crispy skin full of flavor which then gave way to the luscious juicy meat within the roll. A bit more exploring and shopping at Rough Trade before we headed back to the hotel to pick up our bags.

We just had a ton of fun walking along and exploring all the food and non food items, buying some last minute items for ourselves. We could not have planned the end of our trip any better. Too bad we had to leave before the Paella was done. Our only regret was the restraint we showed not to stock up on some more food. We should have thrown caution to the wind and bought some more baked goods and other foodstuff.

<edit> the last two pics got duplicated, can't delete them for some reason.

[Jase]

In conclusion, our main food regrets was not being able to visit some of the other places suggested. Would have loved to have tried Needo Grill among others. Some of the meat pies at Lidgates. More tea, scones and just patries overall. Just not enough time. Being sick for the first part of the trip didn’t help. Not to mention being overwhelmed for part of the trip by how much there was to see.

Hounds, thank you again so much for all the help. I cannot overstate how much of a great time we had. My poor writing skills cannot accurately convey the absolute joy we had exploring London and all the things we discovered in the city. The sights were lovely, the food was fantastic, the generosity and friendliness of everyone we met was amazing. I have many other non food stories I have related to my friends as to the friendly and generous nature of Londoners. I know I cannot adequately express how all the advice I receive contributed to a fantastic trip. A thousand times thank you. We are already dreaming about our next visit. I hope that on any Los Angeles visits, I can start repaying the great tips I received.

Last photo of our plane picnic. The ham, the sausage, cheese and bread. Much better than the mystery chicken and sauce we had. Also bought a couple more bars of Cadbury chocolate for our dessert. As I said, we should have stocked up some more at the Portobello Market.

<edit> same dupe problem with the last three pics. Sorry!

[Plantie]

Amazing report, thanks for taking the time to post this. I have really enjoyed reading it & have added a few restaurants to my growing list of places to visit!

[Jase]

Glad I could help. The London hounds were amazing. In my original thread, there were so many great ideas. I did not have a single bad meal that came as a result of those suggestions.

[greedygirl]

Jase, I'm so glad you had such a good time in this great city of ours and thanks for the comprehensive report. I'm sorry that I wasn't around to meet up for a pint or two - I was actually in the US while you were in London, funnily enough! I'm especially glad that you had such a good experience at Magdalen, having recommended it!

I was actually at Needoo Grill today for lunch and it was excellent. It's in an interesting area of London too - next time you're here go on a Jack the Ripper tour and then go there for dinner.

[Jase]

Thank you for your help in making it a fantastic trip. Great city, lovely people. My unchecked part of my To Do list is substantially larger than the checked part. By the second day of our trip we already knew we had to come back.

Magdelen really worked out well both in timing and location. Still amazed at how nice they were and the offer to vacuum seal our food purchases. Of course the food was very good too. Say hi to Michael for me. I gave him my email in case he ever decides to come out to LA. Tell him it was a sincere offer. Really wished we could have made it to Needo. We didn't get to explore that area which was disappointing.

If you visit Los Angeles, please do let me know. I will happily stand you to a pint or two then. Hopefully I will be able to help guide you to some of the great food in my city. Experience the glories of Mexican, Korean, Chinese and Thai. Those are probably the foods where LA could offer experiences unmatched elsewhere. Not to mention the Santa Monica farmer's market, with their vast breadth of produce. I will stop here before the mods interevene for me going off topic.

[fat boy slim]

Wow, what a good read,and what good appetites also, thanks for reminding me of some very good meals I have enjoyed at the places mentioned.
I'm grateful that you have starting my day off on a high, am really looking forward to my Michelin restaurant meal a bit later