[Restaurants and sites that are underlined and appear in color have web sites that are reachable by clicking on them.]
TWO MUST-VISIT SHOPS (Places we are most
likely to visit whenever we’re in
Rococo Chocolates -makes their own chocolates—very, very unusual, and extremely good. Dark chocolate in every level of cocoa up to 99%; incredible combinations (e.g., dark chocolate with chili pepper, white chocolate with cardamom, milk chocolate with sea salt—and, as of my most recent visit, dark chocolate wafers with coffee and cardamom); ginger or mint chocolate wafers to die for. And they let you sample everything! There is no easy way to get to the original Chelsea store (321 King’s Rd at Beaufort St., +44 20.7352.5857)—unless you are stopping by Norman Foster’s shop nearby; and it is probably worth taking a taxi, unless you’d like to take the long walk along “the KR” from the Sloane Square Tube stop. But there are now two new shops in London: one in Belgravia (5 Motcomb St., +44 20 7245 0993), and one in Marylebone (45 Marylebone High St., +44 20 7935 7780) Unfortunately, you can no longer order online outside of the UK.
Neal's
Yard Dairy near
RESTAURANTS:
PLACES WE’VE EATEN:
The Ledbury Currently
our favorite place to dine in London!
We never go to London without dining
there! Every time we have gone, the food has been better than the time
before—and the starting point had been pretty incredibly good to begin
with. Chef Brett Graham is
another of those chefs from Australia (of all places) who has been
revolutionizing and improving the cuisine in London (q.v., the bit below by our friend Nina Simonds, “Australian Chefs in
London”)—and he worked for years at The Square (which had been our favorite place to eat in
London for decades: q.v.,
below). His cooking, and that of his
amazing Head Chef, Greg Austin, is truly awesome—brilliantly inventive
yet totally solid. The Ledbury is
beautiful room, stylish and comfortable, but less formal than The Square, with
great service, and fabulous food. To
celebrate after the London opening of our friend’s musical of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown,
we took Davis Yazbek (who did the music and lyrics) and his wife Betsy, along
with a couple of my very best foodie friends from Paris. Our celebratory meal was built around one of Chef
Graham’s magnificent tasting menus (click here for a
current version)—in which every single
course was ambrosial—accompanied by some truly outstanding wines from Anja
Breit’s brilliantly assembled cellar (Anja was not
there that evening, but we were ably assisted by the extremely talented Ted Kandylis, who is her Assistant Head Sommelier
). We have been back a number of
times since that dinner, and Anja is now gone, replaced by the equally talented
Seamus Williams-Sharkey. The GM, Darren
McHugh, runs a totally efficient, friendly, and highly professional dining
room. Dining here is an extraordinary
experience, not to be missed. It can be
an extremely hard reservation, however, so plan well in advance so as not to be
disappointed. (127 Ledbury Road, Notting Hill W11 2AQ. +44 20 7792 9090.)
All the
dishes were totally magnificent—intensely flavorful, creative, beautiful, and
profoundly delicious—except for the lamb course, which was OK, but not special…the
slow cooked lamb shoulder was not interesting “qua meat,” and there were no
sauce or spices able to rescue it (interestingly, Eaves, who—much to my
liking—uses salt liberally in his cooking, failed to add nearly enough to this
dish). We had a fabulous ’02 Gevrey-Chambertin, Les Jeunes Rois from Geantet-Pansiot, and a
glass of a delicious ’05 Trockenbeerenauslese from Nittnaus to accompany the foie gras
course. (34 Charlotte Street, +44 20.7636.1178.)
Hélène Darroze at The Connaught In July 2008, one of the only female star chefs of Paris (who has a famous eponymous restaurant there) took over the restaurants at The Connaught. She has created here a fine French restaurant of world class quality. With exquisite service, gorgeous décor, and luxurious comfort, the place is a perfect setting for the sophisticated and delicious food M. Darroze is preparing. In addition to the fabulous things we ordered (I had an appetizer of Chipirons [small calamari] sautéed with chorizo and confit tomatoes, in a black [squid ink] and creamy Carnaroli Acquarello rice, with a Reggiano parmesan foam; followed by a main course of “Le Chevreuil,” ribs and fillet of venison with chicory butter, autumn fruits and vegetable fondant, in an intense coffee sauce; an a Poire Comice [pear poached in vanilla jelly, crystallized ginger pannacotta, with pear granite]), there was a seemingly endless presentation of other extraordinarily delicious treats that appeared unbidden: several amuses bouches (A foie gras crème brulée with apple sorbet and peanut emulsion, a creamy soup of cèpes, a fine ham, bread sticks with tomato, et al.), a signature L’Escaoutoun (a traditional polenta-like dish from Land, made with ewes’ milk, mascarpone, sheep cheese, cèpes, etc.) which appeared between the appetizer and the main course, a pre-desert, etc., etc. It was truly an exquisite feast. We accompanied it with a bottle of Billecart-Salmon Rosé and a spectacular Vosne-Romanée “Reignots” 2003 from Cathiard. All-in-all, it was an extraordinary meal, though quite expensive. There is a much more reasonably priced lunch. Like most great French restaurants, Hélène Darroze at the Connaught is closed weekends. In The Connaught Hotel, on Carlos Place, Mayfair, Tube: Bond Street, +44 20.7592.1223)
Zafferano On Thanksgiving 2003 (and 2004), we ate dinner here as a gesture of support for Calvin Trillin’s
campaign to replace turkey with spaghetti carbonara the national dish for
Thanksgiving (q.v., www.RLRubens.com/Thanksgiving.html). This interesting and highly touted Italian
restaurant is located on
Moro This really interesting, small Moorish restaurant (with Spanish, North African, and Eastern Mediterranean influences) is all the way out by King's Cross—a ten minute walk north on Farringdon Road from the Farringdon tube stop. There is an excellent inexpensive to moderately priced wine list (featuring mainly Spanish and Portuguese wines)and wonderful breads (baked while you are dining). The menu, which changes daily, features spectacular appetizers (the best grilled squid I’ve ever had, a divine chestnut and chorizo soup, and wonderful grilled sardines), and very good main courses (lamb, chicken, fish, or vegetables) (M-F, 34-35 Exmouth Market, Tube: Farringdon, +44 20.7833.8336)
St. John This old Smithfield smokehouse, opened by Fergus Henderson and Trevor Gulliver in October 1994, is a
rather earthy setting for some marvelously earthy but delicious food. Describing itself as specializing in “Nose to
Tail Eating,” this place is only for the serious carnivore—and even at that,
there are items on the menu that will challenge all but the very most
adventurous: appetizers of Welk,
Sausage, & Trotter, Roast Bone Marrow and Parsley Salad, and main dishes
of Ox Heart & Mash, Mallard and
Swede, and Lentils & Goat Curd. Many more familiar dishes are also readily
available—including a Lemon Sole, the one fish entrée on the menu. We were
there for a banquet built around a whole roasted suckling pig (which must be
ordered a week in advance) which was simply the best I have ever had to
pleasure to taste. The place is most
unusual, but totally wonderful. (
+44 20 3301 8069
River Café Italian. If you
happen to be in Hammersmith—although who in his right mind would just ‘happen’
to be in Hammersmith, which is a thirty minute taxi ride from downtown—this is the place to eat. [If you do go for dinner, three practical
things to remember due to its isolated, residential location: bring a map of the area (as our cab driver
had a hard time finding it—and be aware that it is very poorly marked even once
you are in front of it); know that, due to the zoning, you have to be out by 11
PM; and remember to have them call you a car, as there is no way that you will
be able to find one in that neighborhood, and it is not at all close to the
Tube station.] It is an extremely interesting, albeit somewhat cold,
industrial-chic dining room, quite informal, and, in the daytime it must have a
beautiful view of the river. The food
was a bit uneven: when we ate there, it ranged from a totally sublime
appetizer of wood-oven roasted fresh
sardines over pine nuts and hot peppers to one main course that was rather
pedestrian. One of the two women who own
the place is Ruthie Rogers, wife of the renowned architect Richard Rogers (who,
among many famous projects, did the Pompidou Center in Paris with Renzo Piano);
and his organization has its home just next to the River Café (allowing one to
look in at models of his many famous buildings). (
The
Wolseley This fun French
Bistro-style restaurant, located right next to the Ritz Hotel, is a true
find. Everything was delicious (although
their deep fried Whitebait and their steak tartare were particularly
outstanding). And this place is one of
the few places in
La Petite Maison. This
Mayfair French bistro is a new find, and, while crowded and noisy, it is
extremely enjoyable..
Particularly wonderful are its many delicious and varied appetizers,
which are superb (and far better than its main courses, which are fine but not
special). I’d suggest a meal entirely composed
of a large selection of the appetizers; it will thrill and satisfy you. (53-54 Brook's Mews, LONDON W1K4EG, +44 (0)
20 7495 4774)
Hakkasan This striking underground room is done
mostly in black with blue highlights and is dramatically spot lighted. It serves delicious and innovative Chinese
food—especially the incredible dim sum (a vast variety of unusual and tasty
morsels to choose from), which is available only at lunch. (
The Ivy which felt like 21 with good,
homey, upscale food. Perfectly located
for the theatre district, but impossible to get
a reservation. (Daily L&D,
Le Caprice Run by the same people who own The Ivy, and
with a related menu (and easier to get a reservation at)—and serves dinner
until midnight, and has a good brunch.
(Daily,
E &
O An excellent and informal—if
trendy—pan-Asian fusion restaurant; inexpensive and very good. The program here involves ordering a series
of small portions with no difference between starters, main courses and desserts:
dim sum, BBQ/Roasts, sushi and sashimi, salads and curries. (Daily,
The Square [WARNING:
After years of this being our favorite restaurant in London—wonderful and
totally reliable—we had a truly disastrous, horrible experience our last visit!
We still have not recovered from the shock, but are fears about the place’s
decline have been confirmed by knowledgeable friends in London; and we have not
returned since.] This attractive, comfortable room off Berkeley Square provided
the perfect setting for the truly delicious New French cuisine of Philip Howard, chef and co-owner since
its opening in 1991. Howard, supported for over 10 years by the talented head
chef Robert Weston, used the best
available seasonal ingredients to create elegantly creative, wonderfully tasty
dishes that never failed to thrill me.
One meal we had, right from it beginning with an amuse bouche of a
seared scallop in a frothy broth, through the exquisite appetizers (roasted
foie gras with late harvested grapes, and a crab
ravioli), and perfectly cooked main dishes (rack of hare, loin of lamb, and
medallions of pork), everything was wonderfully delicious. The wine list deserved special mention
because, in addition to its impressive array of both French and Italian wines,
it had options that were as affordable as they were delicious. This was for years our favorite restaurant in
London, and we never missed the chance to pay it a visit. (
Bistroteque This hip, white brick, industrial room
in Hackney (not far from a street full of warehouses that have been turned into
thriving, happening art galleries) serves tasty, simple fare—and it is most
certainly the place to eat when in
this neighborhood. It is a fabulous
place for brunch on Saturday and Sunday (11-4), and it is open until 10:30 or
11 every evening for dinner.
Wapping Food This industrial eatery, set in a former power substation, is an out-of-the-way little treat. The food is tasty and good, if in no way particularly wonderful; but the setting and related art venues are quite extraordinary. The owner, Jewels, has created something of a miniature, and earthier version of the Tate Modern. In the midst of rusting machinery, she has created spaces that provide a magnificent home to visual artists, filmmakers, designers, writers, and choreographers—not to mention her quite respectable eatery. (Wapping Hydraulic Power Station, Wapping Wall, E1, Canary Wharf/Docklands, Tube: Wapping, 020.7680.2080)
The Black Friar Pub Not really on this list because
of its food as much as for its atmosphere, this wildly decorated pub stands in
the shadow of
RECOMMENDED
BY OTHERS ON GOOD AUTHORITY, BUT NOT TRIED:
(Sally) Clarke's another
favorite. You've probably heard her described as the Alice Waters of
Assaggi excellent Italian. (
Australian
Chefs in
Rasa a south
Indian vegetarian restaurant, out in Stoke-Newington, Tiny, full of students,
really delicious, fresh-tasting interesting food for ten pounds per person.
terrific AND cheap (
THINGS TO DO:
The Courtauld Gallery is an incredible treat: a very small collection with some of the most absolutely magnificent impressionist and post-impressionist treasures in the world (upstairs). There are fabulous paintings by Cézanne, Pissarro, Monet, and Derain that may rank among the finest done by these extraordinary painters. The Courtauld is one of our very favorite things in London, and we literally never go to London without paying it a visit. It is located in Somerset House, an impressive Neoclassical building by Sir William Chambers (late 18th century). In the central courtyard of Somerset House, a magnificent space which formally only served as a car park for the Inland Revenue, which is the building’s main tenant, there is now an ice skating rink (www.somersethouse.org.uk/ice-rink) that is open to the public for eight weeks starting the end of November.
Of course, there’s The Tate: the Tate British (great Turners and Constables; my view of British art: “Ugly painting, ugly painting, Turner, ugly painting, ugly painting, Constable, ugly painting, ugly painting...”) and the Tate Modern, in its renovated power station home: The original building, the Bankside Power Station, was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott—also the designer of the famous British red telephone box. The Tate Modern has some spectacular art in its permanent collection, but is a simply dreadful example of what I consider a most damnable trend in current exhibition philosophy, in which art is grouped according to some conceptual scheme of the curator, rather than chronologically or by artist. Thus, instead of being able to go and look at the Schwitters collages you might want to see, or the Rothko paintings (on the other hand, there is one fabulous room devoted entirely to a series of Rothko paintings, which was designed in consultation with the artist himself), or marvelous works by Duchamps, you have to wander through various arrays of works dealing with “Still Life/Object/Real Life” or “Landscape/Matter/Environment” or some other conceptual groupings, and sort through any number of other works the curator thinks you ought to see along with those you might want to see. There is usually a magnificent installation of some sort in the turbine hall (the mammoth entrance area to the museum which housed the power plants turbines). In November 2004, it was a gigantic sound sculpture.
After a visit to the Tate Modern, one should return
back across the
If you've never been there, the War Cabinet Rooms are
really worth seeing. (
If you can stomach the imperialist plundering, the The British Museum has many incredible treasures (including the Rosetta Stone, the sculpture from the Parthenon, etc.); the new inner court yard designed by Norman Foster joins the space between the various buildings of the museum and creates a magnificent central area under its beautifully vaulted glass roof which houses the recently renovated and totally amazing Reading Room (open to the public for the first time) at its center.
The National Gallery is one of the world’s great museums; among its many world class treasures, it is the home to one of the three unbelievably wonderful paintings by Uccello of the Battle of San Romano (the other two being at the Louvre and the Uffizi)—these incredibly modern 15th century paintings are among our favorite works of all time. (This Uccello is in Room # 55 of the Sainsbury Wing.) Among the other magnificent paintings are the National Gallery’s collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings (in Rooms 43-46 of the main building)—including some magnificent Manets, Monets, Cezannes, Pissarros, etc.
The Soanes Museum, the preserved townhouse of the great Regency architect, Sir Joan Soanes, is a treasure of the highest order, decorated as he lived in it, it is filled with an unbelievable collection of architectural fragments, models, drawings, sculpture, paintings (a must if you like Hogarth)—and even the alabaster sarcophagus of Pharaoh Seti I! The domes and other top-lighting of the spaces and the colored glass he employed are truly wonderful.
The Wigmore Hall is one of the nicest concert halls in the world, so check out their programs. And the Royal Opera Company in Covent Garden is a treat that is well worth partaking of.