Brunch, Brunch, Brunch

Literally. Brunch, brunch, brunch. One benefit of falling a bit behind on writing up places is the ability to then group together a bunch of brunches. Hooray for tardiness!

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First up, brunch at Brunswick House in Vauxhall where it is actually labelled as "Weekend Lunch". Pipe down at the back. Lunch, brunch, brunch didn't have the same ring to it.

Vauxhall doesn't have a lot going for it, food and drink wise, and it's a pretty ugly place by all accounts. Dirty Burger was a welcome addition in 2013, but not somewhere to sit and enjoy a meal. There are really only two places worth going - Italo Deli in Bonnington Square, and Brunswick House (ask Marina), both of which are run by members of the talented Boxer family who are also responsible for the absurdly popular Frank's Café in Peckham.

Italo Deli in Bonnington Square - owned by Charlie Boxer, father of Jackson

Lassco (an architectural salvage firm that you know from Maltby St. Market) lovingly restored Brunswick House in early 2000s, paving the way for Jackson Boxer and his brother Frank (of rooftop car park fame) to found a coffee and sandwich shop in 2010 that was initially known as the Brunswick House Coffee Rooms. After a tough first month, they relaunched as Brunswick House Café, which then eventually became Brunswick House as years went by. You can read the whole story on Jackson's blog here.

It's been fascinating watching it grow in to the confident restaurant that it is today, and it's a magical place to spend a few hours, surrounded by Lassco's chandeliers and knick knacks.

Jackson opens up at 9.30am every day for breakfast (10am at weekends), switches to lunch for a few hours at 12pm, and kicks dinner off at 6pm (except on Sundays when Brunswick House closes at 4pm). In between, you can hang out in the bar which has a great menu of snacks and cocktails, plus an array of hot drinks that will be familiar to Italo Deli regulars.

"Weekend Lunch" therefore kicks off at around 12pm, but there's no harm in settling in before that for a healthy juice concoction or a daily loosener and a Ham Hock & Coolea Cheese Muffin from the breakfast menu. Much like at The Manor and The Shed, they've got one of those "I want it all" menus. Jackson is usually on hand to go through it all in ludicrous amounts of detail, though it doesn't really help with the decision making.

Between four you could definitely tackle the whole menu anyway, with space for dessert. We nearly managed it:

- Cauliflower, Fennel & Pecan Butter
- Girolles, Burnt Bread & Chard
- Blackberries, Cow's Curd & Sea Aster
- Tomato, Aubergine & Riseley
- Coco Beans, Poached Egg & Coppa
- Fried Lamb Breast, English Corn & Spring Onions

Every plate (intended for sharing) was carefully thought out beautifully presented, as you can see below. Cauliflower, Fennel & Pecan Butter was a tough one to share, but all was soon forgotten as a gorgeous plate of Tomato, Aubergine & Riseley made its way round the table. I could go in to more detail, but you'd be better off hearing it first hand from Jackson. That said, we were so mesmerised by his plate descriptions that a lot of it went in one ear and straight out the other as we tried not to drool on the table.

Cauliflower, Fennel & Pecan Butter

Blackberries, Cow's Curd & Sea Aster

Tomato, Aubergine & Riseley

Coco Beans, Poached Egg & Coppa

Desserts weren't listed on the Weekend Lunch menu, but they do have a list of puddings tucked away in case of emergency. We ordered three:

- Raspberries, Sorrel & Sour Cream
- Greengage Sponge & Yoghurt Sorbet
- Toasted Ginger Cake & Spiced Plums

I usually prefer something in the Treacle Tart or Tarte Tatin direction for dessert, but it's hard not to be seduced by a Toasted Ginger Cake with Spiced Plums, especially at this time of year. You could just pop in for a slice of this with a cup of tea and leave very happy. In fact, I might do that tomorrow.

Toasted Ginger Cake & Spiced Plums

OK, so it's not really brunch, but it was at brunch o'clock and a poached egg did make an appearance. There are so few places where you can have "brunch" in London at a leisurely pace with room to move your elbows, and it doesn't get much better than at Brunswick House. Oh, and you can book. How novel!

Keep your eyes peeled for their "Sinning on Sunday" events aimed mainly at those in the industry. The next one is an enticing Jordanian Mansaf Feast in collaboration with Arabica Bar & Kitchen on Sunday 8th November. Get tickets here.

Brunswick House - www.brunswickhouse.co

30 Wandsworth Road, Vauxhall, SW8 2LG

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For brunch #2 we're off to Egg Break in Notting Hill, Soho House's contribution to London's egg revolution. Knowing Soho House (Pizza East, Dirty Burger, Chicken Shop), this site will be the first of many, but it's not a chain yet and this cosy brunch spot is full of character.

Prices have sadly gone up since I went in September, in some cases by as much as 33%, but there were some bun bargains in there that were too good to be true.  The technicolor Fried Chicken Bun with Pickled Green Tomato, Red Onion, and Mayo was an absolute steal at £6, but it's still affordable at £8, though it doesn't come with any sides. Speaking of which, you should definitely get yourself some Fennel Sausage for £3 and their rather special Hash Browns, also for £3.

Fried chicken bun, fried egg, pickled green tomato, red onion, mayo

Fennel sausage

Elsewhere I can recommend the intriguing plate described as Farro, 63° Egg, Avocado, Radish, Beetroot, Feta, and Sorrel Pesto which has crept up a quid to £9. So many questions... well, two. What is Farro? And why is my egg acute?

Google to the rescue as ever. First off, farro is a whole grain that's a bit chewier than rice when cooked - duh. Secondly, I have discovered that people are truly obsessed by egg poaching. Read this ridiculously detailed post from The Food Lab. Basically, the eggs are slow cooked, sous-vide style (in a water bath) at 63°, for an hour or so (or something slightly more precise than that) to achieve the perfect runny yolk - ideal for #eggporn.

Farro, 63° egg, avocado, radish, beetroot, feta, sorrel pesto

Farro, 63° egg, avocado, radish, beetroot, feta, sorrel pesto

We finished off with Baked Salted Caramel & Creme Fraiche (£4) which wasn't as exciting as we hoped, but it did give me a chance to get channel my inner Andy Warhol (see below). 

Baked Salted Caramel & Creme Fraiche Pop Art

All in all, we had a lovely time and a filling brunch that didn't break the bank. There's plenty else on the menu that I'd like to try, as long as the prices don't continue to rise! It's a good spot to know about in the back streets of Notting Hill, and has earned its place on Map The List.

It's open 7 days a week from 8am-10pm serving a variety of eggy plates (from Eggs Florentine to Spaghetti Carbonara), but expect to queue for a spot of brunch at the weekend.

Egg Break - www.eggbreak.com

30 Uxbridge Street, W8 7TA

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Brunch #3 is a quick one. Some of the Honest Burgers outposts do brunch. Did you know that? Nobody else seems to. We dropped in to their Clapham Common branch early one Saturday morning, hoping to beat the crowds, only to find the restaurant completely empty, comme ça: 

Photo provided by Honest Burgers

Photo provided by Honest Burgers

Perhaps everyone was in Fields or Brickwood round the corner. So what do Honest Burgers do for brunch? A big fat fry up for £8.50 (see below), stuff on toast (e.g. chipotle bacon beans with a fried egg for £5), and super cheap brunch buns.  The Honest bun with smoked bacon, cumberland sausage, fried egg and garlic mushrooms is a mere £5, and ludicrously it comes with a big portion of their rosemary chips too - this isn't marked on the menu by the way, for some reason. Unlimited refill coffee or tea will set you back £1.50, and cocktails are £5. Bargain. Go nuts.

Smoked Bacon, Cumberland Sausage, Black Pudding, Fried Egg, Garlic Mushrooms, Bubble & Squeak, Chipotle Bacon Beans and Sourdough Toast for just £8.50 - photo provided by Honest Burgers

N.B. Only a couple of branches currently offer brunch / breakfast - Clapham, Tooting and Liverpool Street at the time of writing. 

In Clapham, brunch is served from 9.30-13.00 every Saturday and Sunday on Venn Street opposite the Clapham Common Picturehouse. During the week (Mon-Thu) you can get a burger and a cinema ticket for £15 - another burger bargain.

Honest Burgers - www.honestburgers.co.uk

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None of those doing it for you? Here are some of my other favourite brunch spots:

Milk - Balham // Fields - Clapham Common // Pimlico Fresh - Pimlico

Top of my brunch to-do list: The Good Egg - Stoke Newington

Blacklock - The Shed - The London Pignic

It's my birthday today (hooray!), so I think I can get away with a writing-light, photo-heavy post, don't you? I had two stonking meals in London last week that will still be in my mind in a year's time.

I'll start with Soho's buzziest new joint, but you can skip ahead for some farm-to-table dining at The Shed by clicking here.

And if you are just here to read about an upcoming popup involving TINY PIGS then click here.

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Wednesday 4th March - First up though is Blacklock on Great Windmill Street, your one-stop shop for chops, cheesecake and cocktails on Great Windmill Street.  Despite only opening a couple of weeks ago, the queues are already forming up the stairs and down the street for this buzzy basement brothel hangout from Hawksmoor alumni.  

They aren't taking reservations at the moment, but this should be changing fairly soon.  The wait in the bar flies by when there is wine on tap and £5 cocktails, including a cracking Aperol Negroni and "Grandma's Spiked Lemonade".  You can even get yourself a £45 bottled cocktail for the table if you know you are in for the long haul.  A short but interesting beer list struggles to compete on prices.

You can order bits and bobs from the concise menu, but there's only really one option. ALL IN.

Pre-chop bites followed by Beef, Pork & Lamb chops piled on charcoal-grilled flat bread to share with a choice of side for £20 per person.  No brainer.

When a large group goes for this, the chop pile is truly a sight to behold.  The only slight issue is that you will find it difficult to choose one from a mouth-watering selection of sides:

- 10 hour ash roasted sweet potato

- Barbequed baby gems

- Charred courgettes, chicory and stilton

- Heritage carrots and meat radish

- Kale and parmesan

Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself.  We started with the Cheese & Pickle and Filthy Ham pre-chop bites which shouldn't be overlooked.  These seemingly measly starters are in fact little mouthfuls of joy, packed with flavour.

Filthy Ham

Cheese & Pickle

They are soon a distant memory when the plate of chops piled on top of deliciously soggy flatbread arrives, surrounded by sides.  We opt in the end for the charred courgettes, chicory and stilton and 10 hour ash roasted sweet potato - both outrageoulsy good.  The glorious chops, cooked over charcoal, do not disappoint.  My partner in crime for the evening is usually defeated by her over-ordering and leaves the rest to me, but this was sadly not the case at Blacklock as she happily hoovered up her half of the table, save for a sliver of bread which I gratefully demolished.  

All The Chops.

All The Chops.

Charred Courgettes, Chicory & Stilton

10 Hour Ash Roasted Sweet Potato

All In.

No more chops

And to finish, if you have any space, the witty staff bring round a tub of their baked New York cheesecake with a hint of white chocolate, with a "say when" approach to portion sizes.  A teacup of rhubarb coulis is thrown in for good measure.  At £4 for a monstrous portion, you won't leave feeling short changed.

How much do you want?

White Chocolate & Vanilla Baked Cheesecake with Rhubarb Coulis

As long as you know what you are in for, Blacklock is an absolute triumph.  It could easily be a stressful experience, but the staff handle everything in style and keep everyone happy with a good dose of humour.  Go hungry and thirsty with a group of friends, and don't be in a rush.

If you like the like the look of Blacklock, you might also enjoy Soho's Smoking Goat

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Saturday 7th March - I wrote about The Shed a loooooong time ago, but I thought I'd just post a few photos from a wonderful lunch there last week.  Any thoughts that The Shed might suffer as a result of opening their second restaurant Rabbit (also wonderful) were quickly dispelled as the outstanding small plates started to build up.

As you may know, both restaurants are run by two Gladwin brothers, one of whom was in the kitchen on our visit.  The majority of the food and wine is sourced from their Nutbourne farm (where a third brother earns a living), and the drinks menu shows off the best of British with the likes of Chase, Sipsmith, Sacred and Compass Box heavily featured.  The bar is worth visiting just for the booze.

It's an eye-catching little space, full of rustic charm, with mirrors at either end that cleverly extend the room. They still insist on a variety of uncomfortable chairs which could do with a rethink, but the food provides ample distraction, as does the occasional live music.  The staff do a very fine job, displaying solid knowledge of the menu, and being generally cheerful throughout a busy lunch period in a confined space.

We happily ate all of this:

- the shed malt star sourdough bread 2.0

- white bean hummus, cinnamon dukkah, heritage carrots 7.5

- stout smoked mackerel, pumpkin, kale, cranberry, linseeds 7.5

- rainbow beetroot salad, nutbourne feta, sunflower seeds, star anise 8.0

- salsify, pear, walnut, endive, chanterelles 8.0

- carrot, potato noodles, sesame seeds, coriander 7.5

- venison cigars, shed mustard, tarragon 8.0

- spiced salt beef, barley, preserved lemon, shallot, lovage 9.50

- pan fried goat’s cheese, hazelnut, honey, thyme 6.5

- spring greens, field mushrooms, shallots, linseeds, sherry 7.0

- nutbourne venison, smoked potato, artichoke, three cornered garlic 11.0

- cheese plate - tornegus, montgomery, mayfield swiss, finn 4.50

- the shed magnum vienetta parfait 6.0

- honeycomb crunchy, chocolate, mascarpone, tarragon sugar 6.0

The Shed Malt Star Sourdough Bread

White Bean Hummus, Cinnamon Dukkah, Heritage Carrots

Rainbow Beetroot Salad, Nutbourne Feta, Sunflower Seeds, Star Anise

Pan Fried Goat's Cheese, Hazelnut, Honey, Thyme

Carrot, Potato Noodles, Sesame Seeds, Coriander

Spring Greens, Field Mushrooms, Shallots, Linseeds, Sherry

Spiced Salt Beef, Barley, Preserved Lemon, Shallots, Lovage

Venison Cigars, Shed Mustard, Tarragon

Nutbourne Venison, Smoked Potato, Artichoke, Three Cornered Garlic

Honeycomb Crunchy, Chocolate, Mascarpone, Tarragon Sugar

Oustanding from start to finish - The Shed is another one to go for in a group to make the most of sharing a variety of small plates.

If you like the look of The Shed, you might also enjoy reading about Rabbit, their new restaurant.

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I don't often do previews, but when TINY PIGS are involved, one must make an exception:

Yelp, Petpiggies and The Proud Archivist presents The London Pop-Up Pignic! 

When: May 21 - 22, Thursday and Friday, 6 to 10pm 

            May 23 - 25, Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday, 2 to 6pm

Where: The Proud Archivist, 2-10 Hertford Road, London N1 5SH.  

What: This will not just be a sit-down experience but a multi-room, piggy educational evening. Yelp will be working with both animal charities and animal welfare groups to educate about Micro Pigs and Micro Pig Ownership. They want to make it clear that a potential journey towards pet pig ownership must start with realistic size expectations. This is where Yelp, Petpiggies and The Proud Archivist will work to educate the public with The Pignic in the hope that fewer pigs will end up being abandoned. 

Price: £30 per ticket, which will include the full evening, including food, a piggy themed cocktail, pig themed education and activities, and, above all, time with the most adorable litter of pigs you've ever seen. Money from every ticket will also go to their charity partner, Farms not Factories.

Learn more about the #LondonPignic here.  

Just a tiny pig.

Monkey Shoulder Phone Booth - New Angel

Tuesday 29th April - A night out with the Monkey Shoulder Scotch team is never dull.  There were horses, scalectrix races and hay bales at Malt Jockey last March, and cannons, bouncy castles and (literally) tonnes of popcorn at Popcorn Flip in November, so I hastily rearranged my dinner reservation when the monkeys came a calling last week.

Several of us gathered in the Goodge Street branch of London Cocktail Club where Brand Ambassador Grant  Neave, previously Head Bartender at Monteith's Edinburgh, took the opportunity to showcase his new Monkey Shoulder Scotch serves for 2014.  The cocktails included the Illicit Still, Shoulder Shrub and the Blackbird (created with thanks to Ali Burgess at Happiness Forgets). 

The drinks will tour the country during the BBQ Bootcamp Monkey Shoulder Trailer Tour which kicks off 9th-11th May in Liverpool, before making its way down to London on 14th & 15th June and reaching its final stop in Edinburgh on 12th & 13th July.

But that wasn't the only reason we were there...

Inside London Cocktail Club, Monkey Shoulder have sneakily built themselves a "phone booth", complete with a London street lamp, a bespoke barrel icebox,  and plenty of graffiti (which can be added to). Soon, a phone book full of fake adverts will double as a menu, and will light up as you open it.  But best of all, there is a phone attached to the wall which actually serves Monkey Shoulder cocktails out of the receiver. Ridiculous.

The booth is free to book (!) so I would get on the phone (sorry) to London Cocktail Club asap.

Phone that serves Monkey Shoulder cocktails at London Cocktail Club

The scotch:

Monkey Shoulder is a malt whisky blended from three of Speyside's finest single malts.  The name is rooted in malt whisky history and inspired by the malt men who still turn the malting barley by hand. The skill of the malt man is demonstrated when he turns the malting barley using a shiel (wooden shovel).  Years ago, some malt men used to develop a temporary strain known as Monkey Shoulder. Thankfully, practices have changed and the condition no longer exists.  

The cocktails:

Illicit Still

45 ml Monkey, 20 ml cocchi torino, 12.5 ml yellow chartreuse, dash peychaud bitters

Stir and strain into chilled coupe, discarded orange twist

Shoulder Shrub

45 ml Monkey, 50 ml raspberry/sherry vinegar/agave shrub, 20ml rose vermouth

Shake and double strain into old fashioned glass with block ice, garnish w/ seasonal berries

Blackbird

45 ml Monkey, 20 ml wee van rose liqueur, 12.5ml amontillido sherry

Stir and strain into chilled coupe, lemon twist garnish

Monkey Shoulder 2014 serves : Illict Still - Shoulder Shrub - Blackbird

After several of Grant's fine drinks and a lot of messing around with the phone booth (resisting the urge to skip out the unnecessary glassware middleman when using the receiver), Tim, Natalie and I made our way over to The New Angel Notting Hill for a late night feast.  We made use of my new favourite app, Uber Taxi, to speed our way across a tube-struck London for a couple of quid.  Sign up with The List promo code, LTEJ8, to receive £10 credit.

Tucked away in the backstreets of Notting Hill, The New Angel is the latest restaurant from Michelin starred chef (and former I'm a Celebrity... contestant!) John Burton-Race.  

"Set in a converted Victorian pub in Chepstow Place, Notting Hill, The New Angel offers John's unique style of contemporary European food with a French influence and an eclectic wine list in an elegant dining room."

Arwa completed our quartet, and we wasted no time in unanimously opting for the 7 course tasting menu.  The next 3 hours flew by, with the amusing Desiré keeping us well informed as the dishes kept arriving.

We started with Amuse Bouche - Mushroom velouté attractively presented with a moreish parmesan tuile:

Amuse Bouche - Mushroom Velouté w/ Parmesan Tuile

Next up was "Asparagus".  Wye Valley Asparagus is so on trend, it has its own twitter feed.  Here it arrived with leek purée, hollandaise sauce and truffle shavings, similar to a dish at Jamie Oliver's Fifteen last week.  The strong flavours worked well together, though an entire pot of hollandaise was slight overkill!

Wye Valley Asparagus w/ leek purée, hollandaise sauce and truffle

A pretty plate of fish tartar (salmon, tuna and swordfish) followed, with wasabi emulsion, sesame and soy dressing.  The flavours were much subtler here which allowed the fish to do most of the work.

Salmon, tuna & swordfish tartar w/ wasabi emulsion, sesame & soy dressing

Next up, roasted breast of quail, pancetta, quail's egg, baby leaf salad and walnuts dressing.  Plenty going on here, though the baby leaf salad could perhaps have been something slightly more interesting. The gooey quail's egg was greatly appreciated.

Roasted breast of quail, pancetta, baby leaf salad & walnut dressing

My favourite course of the night was the Day boat turbot with cockles, tomato, chilli, coriander and tagliatelle.  Familiar flavours cooked without fuss - I would happily have eaten an extra large plate of this.

Day boat turbot, cockles, tomato, chilli and coriander

The last of the savoury dishes (and Tim's favourite) was a fillet of Scottish beef, with garlic snails, broccoli purée, spinach, and bone marrow & red wine jus.  It was the richest dish in a well paced / judged tasting menu, and the portion was rather generous as was the case all night.

Fillet of Scottish beef, garlic snails, bone marrow & red wine jus

"Pre-dessert" was course #6 (not counting the Amuse Bouche).  3 mysterious lollipops arrived and we attempted to guess at the flavours.  It was a fun interlude after 5 pretty serious courses, and also served as a palate cleanser of sorts.

Mystery "pre-dessert" lollipops

The final course on the menu was "Strawberry" - Gariguette strawberry sable with lemon curd and basil.  As a pesto lover, I couldn't think of a better way to round off the meal.  I might have to try and recreate this one.

Gariguette strawberry sable with lemon curd & basil

Although we didn't stick around for coffee (midnight was approaching), Desiré was kind enough to bring us some Petits Fours - Raspberry Macaroon, Dark Chocolate Truffle & Walnut Ganache were a colourful end to a delightful meal.

Petits Fours

It's obviously not cheap at £75, but Michelin starred chefs and Notting Hill fine dining come at a price! I haven't had too much experience at this end of the restaurant scale, so I won't overanalyse.  The New Angel will no doubt be compared to the 2 Michelin Starred Ledbury nearby, recently voted 10th best restaurant in the world, which has a £110 8 course tasting menu.  We all left happy after a night of confident cooking and excellent service.  

The New Angel officially opens on 7th May. To make your reservation, call 0207 221 7620.

Other exciting recent London restaurant openings: James Lowe's Lyle's, Simon Rogan's Fera at Claridge's, Stevie Parle's Rotorino, Ollie Dabbous' Barnyard, Florence Knight's Polpetto, Nuno Mendes' Chiltern Firehouse, and Jason Atherton's City Social.