Some places in Primrose Hill, London

[limster]

• Trojka
A menu with Russian, Polish, Georgian and Urkrainian dishes, cooked by a Polish chef.

Borscht was pleasant, if not as hearty as the version at Potemkin, leaning more on the vegetables, and perhaps a shade more Polish.

A solid and satisfying rendition of blini with smoked salmon and a fair amount of sour cream/smetana with a salad on the side.

I love kasha/buckwheat and was glad to have its toasty nutty flavours beneath a brawny Ukranian goulash (don't know what makes it Ukrainian, it's the menu's description) that had notes of peppery sweetness and spice.

Chicken Kiev is an enjoyable rendition of the classic, the melted butter gushing with a cut. Pleasant surface breading, tender chicken. The side of ratatouille was ok but nothing special.

Good flavour in the apple filling of the crepes, thin with a gentle bit of chew. A bready/cakey roll richly filled with gleaming poppy seeds that give off countless delicious pops.

Unassuming but fairly enjoyable dishes. Perhaps a notch below Potemkin for the stuff I had, but a nice bit of colour nevertheless. Maybe worth trying some of the Polish dishes.
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• Limani

The smaller, more intimate sister restaurant of Lemonia.

Pretty good fried anchovies, with a light coating of batter. I prefer the crispier and slightly more flavourful rendition at The Lighthouse in Archway, but this wasn't bad.

A fairly good squid, tender and snappy. A side of ordinary spinach.

Aromatic halva (made with ground sesame), disintegrating to an enoyable sandy textur.

Not bad, perhaps a touch more pricey than I would have liked.
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• The Queens

More ham than mushroom in the porky ham and mushroom terrine, the saltiness combining well with the sweetish apple chutney, and sharp gently bitter cress. Warm toast for contrast in temperature and texture.

Lamb chops were tender, with a good rim of fat, but I would have liked lamb to have a slightly deeper flavour, even though it was nicely cooked and somewhat tasty. A herbal, minty mash and dark green kale made pretty good accompaniments with a fairly savoury sauce. A solid if fruit forward pinot noir was a decent match.

A very likable sticky toffee pudding, I loved the deep vein of salt than ran through this dessert, and the sauce penetrated every pore of the moist pudding.