House of Peroni - El Nivel

Friday 2nd May - May got off to a great start with a rambling pub-bar-bar-pub route around Holborn and Covent Garden, talking in two old favourites and a couple of new joints.

The evening started with a quick pint in the Holborn Whippet with Max & Felix who mostly watched Team List from afar last year whilst posted in Lithuania & Afghanistan respectively.  I'm still waiting for a guest blog from their travels...

The Holborn Whippet is a cracking pub in the same family as Euston Tap & Pelt Trader, and is nicely tucked away on the often overlooked pedestrianised Sicilian Avenue near Holborn.  Lagunitas IPA, Redwell IPA and Beavertown 8-Ball impressed as usual.

From there, we decided to drop in to The House of Peroni which had conveniently just opened that day round the corner in Lincoln's Inn Fields.  Four floors of an elegant townhouse have been converted into a celebration of Italian style & culture for the month of May, inspired by the spirit of 1963 - a year when Italian style became renowned across the world, and Carlo Peroni created Peroni Nastro Azzurro beer.  The house is free to enter (for ages 18+), Monday to Saturday (and occasional Sundays) until 31st May from 12 noon til late.

Vibrant colours in the entrance

We decided to start at the top, popping our heads in to the temporary home for Bottega Wapping restaurant.  You need to reserve a spot to eat & drink in this incredibly funky dining room.  Bizarrely, Creative Director Lorenzo Di Francesco and Head Chef Daniele Miconi have reimagined traditional Italian cuisine through the music of 1963 Italy! I'm not entirely sure what that means.

Moving down through the house with a pint that didn't compare too well to the Holborn Whippet's finest, we got distracted by several fun & impressive installations.  

The bars are also part of the design party - The Black and White Bar is a striking nod to Franco Grignani's monochrome designs, and The Concrete Bar is set out like a miniature concrete cityscape that illuminates at night.. Drinks are different on every floor, with several cocktails making use of Peroni Nastro Azzurro in some way.  They have also taken this opportunity to launch a new Piccola bottle, their first innovation in bottle design since 1963.

Felix using all of his army training to move some coloured lights around a wall

Max controlling the world.

What would the army think of you, Felix?

The Black and White Bar

Federico Riezzo's Negroni Bottiglia

The new "Piccola" bottle

We eventually made it down to the al fresco Terrace area outside the entrance, where rotating street food traders will serve up quick eats & The Pavilion Bar is handling drinks.  We had a fantastic round of Orecchiette with Spicy N'Duja Sausage and Tenderstem Broccoli from Pasta e Basta.

Alongside the food, drink & art, there are several workshops to get involved with including Become an Italian Barista, The Art of Gelato and Create your own Silk Scarf which all need to be booked in advance.

Whilst the beer itself isn't much of an attraction, the house most certainly is - get down there before the end of May!

House of Peroni

Our next stop was a short walk away in Covent Garden.  Hidden above Maiden Lane mainstay La Perla, you will find their new sister bar dedicated to all things agave called El Nivel.  Antojitos (small plates) lie in wait to soak up all of the tequilas, mezcals, sotols, bacanoras & raicillas on offer.

We were warmly welcomed by Massi & his bar team, who started us off with some superb Tequila Ocho to sip.  Little did we know, Tomas Estes, Creator of Tequila Ocho, International Tequila Ambassador for the National Chamber of the Tequila Industry. Owner of Cafe Pacifico, La Perla and El Nivel (phew), and all round good egg, was across the room.  We were in safe hands.

Moving temporarily away from sipping, we got a round of cocktails in (all £9-13).  I went for a Siesta, a twist on the contemporary classic from PDT, the New York speakeasy that is high on my American summer holiday to-do list.  El Nivel's Siesta is a refreshing blend of AquaRiva premium Reposado, fresh lime and grapefruit juices, almond syrup, Campari & Merlet apricot, churned over crushed ice.

Max, sporting a medal from working at the Lithuanian embassy, couldn't resist getting a Diplomat's Downfall - Tapatio 110, fresh lemon and orange juices, lemon thyme and pineapple syrups, pimento dram, churned over crushed ice with a port float. Delicious.

Best of the bunch though was the Felix's Mezcal Fix featuring QuiQuiRiQui mezcal, roasted pineapple syrup, fresh lime, Cynar and saltwater spray.  I had such cocktail envy that I ordered it for myself later.  QuiQuiRiQui mezcal is owned by Melanie Symonds who you might spot boozing away in Catrina, her Mezcal ambulance, or in the QuiQuiRiQui mezcaleria which is due to reopen permanently underneath Golden Grill kebab shop on Hackney Road after a popular stay there in 2013

Due to the nature of their license, you have to eat something with a knife and fork at some point during your stay at El Nivel, so we ordered some Guacamole & Hummus.  Make that President Carter's Hummus and Guacamole "Yim Fun Ho" (with fresh strawberries, mango, jicama, topped with pomegranate seeds, served on an edible Shiso leaf, accompaned by Chinese pancakes).  If you are feeling fancy, you can go for the Roasted lobster & monkfish tail, served with lobster bisque and sangrita reduction or the Fillet of Beef Barcelona Style with caramelised onions and seared foie gras.

After our first round, Massi brought Tomas Estes over for a chat, which bizarrely led to a comprehensive Vestal Vodka tasting as William Vestal had recently dropped off some of his finest bottles.  Vestal are leading a vodka revolution in the UK (expect more to emerge this year).  Hunt some down - it will really surprise you.

Vestal Vodka

The Tequila Ambassador book by Tomas Estes

Moving back to agave, we sipped on the QuiQuiRiQui Matatlan and San Juan del Rio, even better served neat.  Following Tomas' advice, Max finished with La Poderosa - Vida mezcal, agave nectar, lime juice, cardamom and lavender bitters, topped with sparkling wine.  I wasn't convinced that mezcal and sparkling wine would be a winning combination, but I was very much in the wrong.  What do I know anyway?

QuiQuiRiQui Mezcal

La Poderosa

El Nivel is one of my favourite new finds.  The location is obviously excellent and the hospitality was second to none, but most importantly, the spirits collection is fantastic and the cocktails were consistently impressive.  I'll be back soon.

Completing the pub-bar-bar-pub route, we couldn't walk to Charing Cross without dropping in to The Harp for a couple of beers.  Still one of the best pubs in London despite the new wave of craft beer bars, and a great spot in summer when the doors are opened up.  Read more here.

Thanks to (soon to be) Captain Felix & (kind of) Ambassador Max for keeping me company this time around.

Coal Vaults - Scoop - The Harp - Maison Bertaux

Monday 26th August - Restaurants are opening left, right and centre at the moment (Chop Shop, Le Coq, Smokehouse, Gin Joint and many more), and Team List managed to grab a table for the first soft opening night at Coal Vaults on Wardour Street.  This restaurant & bar is situated in an underground space that was used for storing coal in the early 19th Century, and focuses on tapas style British food, with matching cocktails.

As it was a soft opening, we had 50% off the food bill, and a free glass of champagne to start us off.  There were a few teething problems - no aircon, lingering paint smell, broken dishwasher - that will no doubt be fixed shortly.  We were very well looked after anyway, and it's all part of the fun of opening night!  The cocktails are designed to match the food, though no pairings are suggested on the menu.  Wine and beer are also in good supply, with bottled beers from the Crate and Camden breweries on offer.  We decided to stick with the champagne and get stuck in to the food.  Our first two courses to arrive were 'Pulled' Rabbit with smoked black beans, sweetcorn and pineapple relish, avocado, sour cream & flatbread and '5 hour' shoulder of lamb cooked in hay & lavender with caper, mint and spiced anchovy couscous.  They set the bar extremely high, especially the rabbit which was beautifully cooked, though I would never have guessed at there being any anchovies present in the delicious couscous.

"Pulled" Rabbit & Lamb cooked in hay - both wonderful

Next up we had Charred courgette, caramelized red pepper, goats curd and hazelnut salad and I Camisa antipasti platter with black olive and fennel bread & home pickles. Two more good choices, though they should perhaps have brought these first? The food menu reminds me of The Shed in Notting Hill (read more here) where the chefs decide on the best order for dishes to be brought out once you have made your decisions.  Everything on the antipasti platter deserved its place - the pickled broad beans were lovely, and we fought over the last piece of bread.  The goats curd was wonderfully light and complimented the other flavours in the salad.

Goat's Curd & Hazelnut Salad & Antipasti Plate with fresh bread

We finished off with a generous portion of Bombay chips with roast tomato, mango & lime chutney, and coriander yoghurt - interesting to serve the chips with dips traditionally associated with popadoms.  The chips were fantastic even on their own, and the roast tomato was a welcome addition.  We decided to skip desserts, though I might need to go back to try their Earl Grey Bread with vanilla butter and homemade strawberry jam as a loaf of the bread was taunting me from a distance.

We turned our thoughts to cocktails, and discussed some ideas with one of our entertaining waitresses.  She brought us over some tasters of Roasted Fennel Seed Vodka and Toasted Macadamia Liqueur to give us some ideas.  After a while we all decided that we were not drinking anything with macadamias in - it turned out to be some concoction of bitters left on the side by the barman!  We eventually decided upon New Rose (Gin, Cucumber, Dry Vermouth, Pink Pepper, served with Pickled Celery & Cucumber), Marano (Mirto Rosso, Gin and Crushed Blueberries, with a matching glass of Prosecco) and a Rodeo Drive (Bourbon, Roasted Macadamia Liqueur, Lemon & Egg White, with a fresh Cherry).  We were sadly quite underwhelmed by our choices, and felt they all lacked a bit of a kick.  Perhaps they come across better when drank alongside particular dishes, but this is not really an achievable plan if you are sharing several plates.  That said, I don't think it would take much to improve them, and the food was outstanding across the board.  Even without 50% off, Coal Vaults offers good value for high quality dining which will only get better as they settle in.  The decor is a little rough around the edges, and varies depending on where you sit.  Your best bet is hiring out one of the secluded vault spaces with a group of friends.  The atmosphere was enjoyable with just the right level of noise to enjoy chatting over dinner and drinks.  

Verdict: Sublime food outweighs our issues with cocktails (Crate IPA would do for me anyway) - give them some time to get air conditioning and then head on down!

Luke & List Leader Natalie were keen to get another List point so we headed back out into Soho to see what we could find. Before too long we found ourselves in Scoop on Brewer Street, ordering a load of ice cream.  It's a lovely little gelateria that also has waffles, crepes, cakes, milkshakes and "scoffee" - a blend of espresso coffee and ice cream of your choice.  They don't have any particularly crazy flavours that you might find at Gelupo or Chin Chin Ice Labs, but making your choice is extremely difficult.  Luckily they are happy to let you taste several varieties before you make your decision.  If you are feeling particularly indecisive, just order one of their mammoth cones that holds up to 6 flavours.  Hopefully they will have some Torroncino left next time, made from hazelnuts from Piedmont and almonds from Montelimar.  They also have shops in Covent Garden and South Kensington, and stay open as late is 23.30 most days.

Sunday 25th - A few quick mentions from the day before as I ended up in Soho with the same team on Sunday as well.  We started the day off at the Real Street Food festival on Southbank (which I have blogged about before - read more here), drinking some excellent craft beers from Craft Beer Rising, the Meantime Fresh Beer Truck and Look Mum No Hands beer popup - truly impressive to have three interesting options for quality beer in such a small space.  We munched our way through several dishes, starting with yummy Dirty Fries  (chips with cheese, lettuce, salt beef and probably more) from The Bell & Brisket van.

The Bell & Brisket Blowtorch

We also tried out Dosa Deli (delicious vegetable dosas), Community Kitchen (meaty wraps), and Kirsty's Kitchen (homemade scotch eggs) whilst soaking up the sun with our beers, before wandering over the river. There was no real plan for the day, so we decided to stop off in the Harp Pub, one of central London's greatest boozers.  It's a tiny little place which can get stupidly busy, but it is worth fighting through the crowds to get to the wonderful array of beers on offer.  It constantly wins awards, and was impressively crowned CAMRA National Pub of the Year in 2010/11.  They serve "award-winning" sausages which apparently run out very quickly.  Try and get a seat at the open windows where you can do some Covent Garden people watching, and chat with drinkers the other side of the wall.

We weren't sure whether to eat or drink anymore and so we rambled around the Seven Dials before heading in to Soho in search of inspiration.  We eventually settled at Maison Bertaux, a cosy patisserie and Soho institution - the perfect place to watch the world go by with a pot of tea and a cake.  We were served by a charming lady (Madame Bertaux?) who pottered around the café making chit chat, and made us feel at home.  Upstairs is not quite as glamorous as the ground floor and pavement seating, but there is interesting art on show all over the place, including stuff by Noel Fielding (The Mighty Boosh), Harry Hill and Sigur Ros, organised by Maison Bertaux co-owner and "Hooligan Art Dealer" Tania Wade.

Points aplenty for Luke and Natalie with more coming this week.  I'm off to celebrate National Burger Day at the Street Feast site in Dalston.  Many restaurants over London are offering 20% off burgers today - head here to get a voucher.  Mummy List has expressed concerns that I eat too many burgers (obviously looking at the pictures rather than reading) - this evening is not going to help my case.