REVIEW: Verru, Marylebone Lane, Marylebone

Verru sits on the small but bustling Marylebone Lane, which is just off the main high street. With the likes of the Golden Hind with its BYO booze and L’Entrecote with its famed steak frites there is a lot of competition for this tiny restaurant. Verru opened its door back at the start of 2011 occupying a premises seating only 26, being so small the restaurant retains a cosy atmosphere but well polished decor in a modern setting.

The restaurant is headed up by chef and owner Andrei Lesment who decided it was time to inject some Estonian flavours into London which he was brought up on, combining Scandinavian influences too.  Before opening Verru Andrei was chef at Maze restaurant and the Savoy.  Looking at the menu, I found there were far more French/English influences to it, the steak frites they serve is probably in light of competition round the corner.

First out was a smoked haddock and bacon burger, accompanied by some light leaves and sauce. I’m not quite sure what I was expecting but I wouldn’t really call it a burger. It’s more of a fish cake, but without the breadcrumbs. The texture was somewhat interesting too, slightly rubbery and a consistency similar to scrambled eggs, but seasoned well. I wouldn’t order this dish again and recommend you go for something else.

Cured duck with truffle brown cabbage and apricot was one of the other starters we ordered. The duck, which is served cold, was nice and very tender for a cold serving; it also retained its succulence and was not dry. The truffle brown cabbage was slightly tangy and far too overpowering for the duck. The apricot, which is served as a sauce, adds some much needed acidity to the dish but unfortunately is lacking in flavour. The dollop of Hoisin sauce was nice but a strange addition with the rest of the flavours, completely throwing you off from thinking this restaurant is Scandinavian/Estonian. The dish was nice, but unfortunately not amazing.

Before I carry on I should point out that I’m eating from their set-menu at £12.95 for two courses, which for the quality and portion sizes of the food is a steal, I’m not sure how they make a profit, especially from the next two dishes we had. The grilled lamb leg, potato, anise carrots and mint sauce, was to say the least, very British in style, but tasted very nice. The lamb was a nice cut, although slightly overcooked. The carrots were beautifully aniseed with a real depth of flavour and the mash was light and fluffy. Unfortunately the sauce had far too much mint and dominated the dish but it was still very enjoyable.

The simplest on the menu and for me the star was perfectly grilled Entrecote, Verru chips and a side of nettle and herb sauce. The chips which were shaped as if they had been taken out of a potato with an apple corer were extremely fluffy and golden on the outside with a soft crisp, seasoned to perfection. If you’ve seen the McCain chip perfection TV advert (Google if not), the same chip testers must have been involved in the production of these! The Entrecote was heavenly, no effort had to be put into cutting as it was so tender, cooked medium rare (of course you can specify how you would like it) the meat simply melted in the mouth, an absolute bargain! The nettle and herb sauce was light and had just enough flavour to not overpower the meat.

I never got round to sampling dessert but I’ll be heading down again soon so will be sure to update you. If you’re in the area then I recommend you book a table for lunch as this is a bargain not to be missed, plus the wine list is pretty good.

7/10

REVIEW: Meat Liquor, Welbeck Street, Marylebone

I’m probably the last person to blog about Meat Liquor and having eaten there far too many times then my stomach can take I decided it was time to throw another opinion into the blogosphere. The good thing about having eaten here so much and not blogging about it till now is I’ve had the chance to see the much talked about queues, let you know when you can avoid them and it has also given me time to see if the quality and service have been consistent.

The first time I went to meat liquor was a week after it opened and I was very excited, I had heard all about the food truck and the famed owner Yianni but never found the time to catch the food truck it started the company off with on its travels. Meat Liquor is located on Wigmore Street in Marylebone and is very inconspicuous, with passersby wondering if it’s a nightclub or an extended queue for the strip club around the corner. The main giveaway is the aroma of burgers which can be smelt half way down the street. Tip; head down at around 2-3pm weekday lunchtimes for fast service and no queues.

Inside the walls have been adorned with artwork, foul language and barn lights. The venue is very dark inside so don’t expect to see what you’re eating. The prices on the menu are very reasonable here, with burgers starting at £7.50, sides such as chips and onion rings are a measly £3, great value considering the size and cocktails coming in at around £7. The much raved about Soulshakers team are behind the cocktails here which are definitely strong contenders for good drinks in this area.

The chips here at Meat Liquor, sorry I mean fries are nice enough but nothing special, I must say though I’m more of a chip man so don’t trust my judgement on these. The deep fried pickles with blue cheese dip, which on the menu are classed as a starter, but I have them as a side are delicious, lightly battered and full of flavour while the blue cheese dip is lovely and creamy, also not too intense, it converted a blue cheese hater so that’s saying something.

The onion rings on the other hand are nearly just as good, nearly. Large thick cuts of onions and a thick, light, crispy batter, oozing millions of calories. The southern style slaw is great, very fresh, creamy and also compliments the burger really well.

The chilli cheeses fries our also good, though extremely messy and have a strong heated kick, which requires some hard liquor to wash it down. Just don't be fooled you can eat these alone as a starter; two of us couldn't even finish them with our main course.

Getting round to the most important part now, the burgers. The standard cheeseburger, encased in a soft airy bun with American style cheese is a joy to eat, albeit messy. Always juicy and firm but as to if it’s cooked medium or well done, varies from time to time. The seasoning is also sometimes slightly out of balance and other times the burger is extremely greasy which leaves you feeling very dirty indeed. Still despite these sometimes inconsistencies I always come back, simply because they are delicious.

The dead hippie burger, which is my favourite is ultimately a double sized cheeseburger, the chilli cheeseburger is great if you want some spice and I've yet to order the chicken burger but have been well informed it’s just as good as the beef. All the burgers come with sauce, cheese, onions and pickles as standard. Unfortunately I have yet to try the desserts, I just never have any room left.

So my advice is get down to Meat Liquor and join the queue now, you won’t be disappointed. Then once you’ve tried here get down to their new venture, Meat Market in Covent Garden, which is where I’m heading next!

8/10

REVIEW: Tapasia, Old Compton Street, Soho

Tapasia sits on Old Compton Street in Soho and has been open now for around 2 months. I know these premises have had quite a few different establishments opening here in the years and never managed to survive, generally because they serve bad food, and restaurateurs seem to think this road is only for cheap vegetarian buffets of chains. Therefore, with the opening of Tapasia I was looking forward to some good grub near my drinking Haunts in Soho.

If you haven’t already guessed by the name the restaurant focuses on Tapas sized Pan-Asian dishes. I understand Pan-Asian food is Fusion cooking from Southern Asia but I felt some of the dishes here had too much of a European influence.

The menu boasts only a small selection of dishes but with equal offerings of meat, fish and vegetables and also a set menu, which by the looks of it are more a la carte sized as opposed to tapas sizes. They also offer a good selection of cocktails and iced teas and a small seating area out-front, which is great for people watching while sipping on one of their cocktails or iced teas.

We opted for a modest selection of Tapas and first to arrive was a Grilled Aubergine with yoghurt Hummus. The aubergine was well cooked, very soft and coated in what I think was honey, which gave it a nice sweetness. The bed of hummus it was sitting on was also very nice, although the combination didn’t really work too well, but it was far from terrible.

The tempura vegetables were quite frankly, rubbish. The vegetables themselves were very bland and had no flavour, presumably cheaply bought. The tempura batter was also strangely sweet and for me tasted like it should have been on a fruit or with a dessert. The dish was served alongside some Ponzu sauce (rice vinegar, seaweed and citrus to name a few ingredients).

I love any kind meat on a skewer, especially if it’s been sitting on a grill of fiery flames, so the grilled beef skewers with a duo of spicy and tarragon sauces were my immediate choice. The beef was very tender, juicy and well-seasoned but it was too smokey and left a lingering taste in my mouth. The sauces went very well with the beef but there was a bit too much and drowned the meat slightly, so apart from it being overly smokey I did enjoy this dish.

Slow roasted Shichimi pork belly & apple salad was the highlight of the menu for me. Still sizzling as it arrived at the table and in a delicious sticky sweet sauce. While the meat was juicy and tender the top was lovely and crispy. Again this dish was notably overly smoky. The apple salad was nondescript but lightened up the dish.

Getting full but was really looking forward to the Chocolate spring roll with soy caramel, but they were sold out, so I went with the Rose tapioca pearl with coconut sorbet. The tapioca was lovely and light and the coconut sorbet was just the right intensity with a nice soft creaminess, the rose infusion went well but was a tad too much and dominated the coconut, the dried rose petals were a nice touch.

Overall the food here was just ok and is somewhere I could maybe see myself coming with some friends after a few too many drinks, but wouldn’t go out of my way to book. I came here during the soft launch so the bill was slashed in half but a meal for two with cocktails is around £80, which is not cheap.

5/10

REVIEW: Seagrass @ Manze's, Chapel Market, Islington

Seagrass opens up Wednesday to Saturday evenings from 7pm taking over the premises of the old pie and mash shop, Manzes. It sits on the run down Chapel Market in Islington and is a wash away from anywhere you would expect to be sitting down for a three-course meal, but after all this is Islington. They operate only one menu, three courses for £30.

Loaded with our wines and being the first to arrive we were greeted with a warm welcome as the restaurant operates a BYOB with free corkage, which is great as it keeps down the cost and means you can bring along your favourite tipple, or two. Although the place looks like a typical pie and mash shop its floor to wall tiles and mirrors gives it a nautical feel, which works great as the menu is mainly seafood.

An amuse bouche of smoked mackerel pate was offered which was very pleasant and was pasted onto a nice slice of soda bread with lots of pepper and a good splashing of olive oil for the soda bread to soak up.

There were two starters on the menu, one fish, and one bird. The duck breast with ratatouille, crispy Parma ham and basil oil was slightly on the small side. The duck was cooked well, pink in the middle but skin crisp on the outside and the ratatouille was well seasoned. The Parma ham I felt was simply decorative and the basil oil was a slightly odd accompaniment to the dish but was still enjoyable, I could have just done with it being slightly larger.

The smoked salmon and crayfish tails with cucumber and dill salad and a citrus dressing was slightly larger and more filling then the duck, but it was a very simple dish. Easily thrown together and something I feel could be easily copied back at home, the dish showed no flare or creativity. It was a light refreshing starter and the ingredients tasted were fresh, but unfortunately, that was about it.

Three main course to choose from now, and I didn’t pick the Cornish crab, which keeps passing me and it looks delicious. Venison fillet with triple cooked chips and red currant jus swiftly arrived at the table. Firstly, I must say these did not look like triple cooked chips, but look and taste like chip shop chips, just a little bit crispier and covered in black spots, which makes me think I had an ill bunch of potatoes. The venison which sat on a watery bed of spinach was cooked medium rare and very juicy but was either not seasoned enough, or not at all as I had to do this myself, this again was a rather small portion so its lucky I ordered a side of the delicious Seagrass slaw.

The pan fried king scallops with mash and sauce vierge was delicious, cooked beautifully and had a lovely soft texture but managed to take on some of the butter they were cooked in which gave them a slight crisp browning. There were far too many scallops on my plate though and the small dollop of mash that sat in the middle of the dish was just not enough, I would have been happy to have less of them and more mash. The sauce vierge just lifted the dish into summer and was great to dollop the scallops into. A lovely dish.

Not being extremely full with the surprise size dishes that came out dessert did make us chuckle. Sticky toffee pudding with caramel sauce. I must admit it was delicious, very rich and moist but not overtly sweet. The size of it was the funny part and only took two mouthfuls to eat and it was gone.

While the dainty sticky toffee pudding had been demolished, the cheese boards were only a tenth of the way through being eaten. Three cheeses were on the board, blue, cheddar and brie; the brie had not had any time at room temperature and was straight out of the fridge, cold and slightly hard. The chutney had a nice depth of flavour and good acidity.

While Seagrass uses some nice ingredients I don’t feel it was worth the £30 asking price, courses were slightly on the small side or outbalanced and kept very safe in terms of cooking as there were no signs of real creativity. Not sure I would hurry back anytime soon.

6/10

REVIEW: Medlar, King's Road, Chelsea

Medlar sits on the Kings Road in the Worlds End area, where shoppers wouldn’t venture about two or so years ago, but with new shops and restaurants opening up frequently this is turning into good place to eat and drink, especially now they have shut down the conservative club, which means no drunks falling out onto the pavement! Just Riley’s left to go.

I’ve passed this place before and always assumed it was another typical Chelsea restaurant, overpriced and with no substance, but I was wrong. They have a small seating area outside which is worth a mention as Alfresco-eating space on the kings road is scarce, which would be great if we ever have a summer. Upon entering we were greeted with a warm welcome but this somehow lacked personality and felt a bit awkward, this was soon rectified with the attentive service throughout the meal.

Medlar offers a three course set menu only, lunch (£26) and dinner (39.50) of three courses, both menus are the same, so this is not the place for a light snack. The restaurant boasts an extensive wine list prepared by Sommelier Clement Robert (who won UK young Sommelier of the year 2010). With a bottle entry price of around £24, which isn’t bad, but not great when it consists of cheaper grape varieties such as Airen and Aligote, fine for me, but maybe not for the uneducated wine consumer, but I guess this is what Clement is here for.

The first starter (and the best) was the Crab raviolo with samphire, brown shrimp, fondue of leeks and bisque sauce, it was truly stunning. The raviolo, cooked to perfection, stuffed with soft warm crab and the tiny brown shrimps hold so much flavour in them. The Bisque itself is stunning and brings the whole dish together, slightly salty, smooth, creamy and delicious, the best I’ve had in a while, I even had to ask for bread just to mop up the plate.

The Halibut ceviche with avocado, keta, tempura baby squid and radish was pleasant enough and the piece of Halibut tasted incredibly fresh. The avocado was set out as a puree and I thought the radish added nothing to the dish (I can’t even remember it so that says something). Overall very fresh and vibrant, great summer dish, but I wouldn’t order it second time round.

Coming onto the mains I opted for the Assiette of pork with sauce vierge, crackling, peas, green beans and white anchovies. As soon as the dish arrived I could smell the pork, which had a lovely rich aroma. The pork itself was of very high quality, cooked medium and very tender. The menu didn’t mention that it was on a bed of Tomatoe and girolle’s but it was a nice surprise and brought the dish into summer as I was expecting a heavier plate.

The Roast rump of lamb with braised marrow fat peas, sweetbreads, grelot onions and jersey royals was good but the gravy was very rich and buttery (maybe too rich). Lamb was cooked to perfection and very tender, not sure if the marrow fat peas worked with the dish, I would of used some green beans instead. Overall nice dish but I wasn’t blown away.

Out of all the courses dessert is always my favourite, unfortunately I felt Medlar slightly lacked in this department. The Individual parkin (a kind of ginger loaf, normally eaten around the 5th November as a tradition) with walnuts, stem ginger, roast pineapple and crème fraîche was mediocre. I found the loaf did not have enough structure to it and simply fell into crumbs when delving into it so it ended up as a plate full of mess, which I had to spoon up. The pineapple, crème fraîche and stem ginger did compliment the parkin very well though.

The Chocolate delice with milk ice cream, griottine cherries and pistachios was again quite mediocre; it reminded me of blackforest gateaux. The complimentary chocolate truffles and delicious coffee they serve won dessert over for me and brought me back into highly recommending this place. I think I need to go for the cheeseboard next time, I hear it is excellent.

Overall I Would highly recommend Medlar and the Lunch time deal is a steal, just go for a different dessert or opt for the cheeseboard, then do a spot of shopping after.

8/10

REVIEW: Buen Provecho, Lower Marsh Street Market, Waterloo

Mexican food in London is big business at the moment, with street food traders setting up across the city and New Mexican restaurants opening up on a regular basis. Mexican food is one of my top ten cuisines, thick cuts of juicy meats, super fresh salsas, guacamoles and my favourite herb coriander added to almost everything, what’s not to like. Buen Provecho is certainly not new in London and has been trading for a few years but still manage to lead the way in high quality Authentic Mexican streetfood in London.

Everything they sell on the stall is lovingly prepared with great fresh ingredients. A large mountain of Avocados can be seen early in the morning but a couple of hours later they are mashed up to serve alongside the food. The three condiments offered, guacamole, tomato salsa and Salsa asada (roasted tomatoes and chipotle with a fiery kick) are so delicious and left for you to add to your dish yourself.  According to my sources, they used to sell pots of the salsas at the stall and some Mexican products, but sadly, I didn’t see this anymore.

I was having trouble on deciding what to eat as it all looked so good but opted to start with the cheese quesadillas loaded with a dollop of refried beans, unfortunately it was a bit too plain for me but a great stomach filler and cheap at £1.50.

The stall offers two ways to eat there fillings, either in a Taco (£2.50 each) or as a meal box (£5/6 depending on size). Personally I prefer the soft tacos and the messiness of it all. The Cochinta Pibil (pork marinated in orange juice, achiote and spices) is definitely the highlight, soft melt in your mouth pork with a fragrant acidic hit from the oranges while the spices come though in the juice, it’s even more special once topped off with guacamole, salsas and beans.

Tortas De Carne (meatballs with dry chilli in green sauce) was also good, a nice heat but not overpowering and the meat was lovely and tender and really infused from the chilli. They also had Tinga d’Pollo (chicken with chorizo & chipotle sauce) and Calabazitas (squash and vegetables with garlic and herbs), the vegetarian option.

Buen Provecho set up most weekdays at Lower Marsh Market around the back of Waterloo station and can sometimes be found at EAT.st market in Kings Cross. You need to be quick though as they regularly sell out of dishes before 1:30pm, especially the Pork marinated in Orange Juice and spices.

In my opinion this is the best Mexican street food in London at the moment and is worth the journey. I only wish they still sold their salsas.

8/10