Humorless, regardless. And, yes, the food was good.
luxeat was a fan too as well as some other bloggers at the time. i only went once and remember it being quite an intense experience sitting at the bar overlooking the kitchen. really fantastic bread. also a bit of an unusual location in chiswick.
I suggest you consider Noble Rot in Soho (2 Greek St) then take the short walk to Tottenham Court Road Station and get on a Elizabeth Line train to Heathrow.
Thank you! Much appreciated.
That would certainly be a good option as well, though Google Maps still says the Piccadilly Line is the faster route from Noble Rot Soho, a couple fewer stops than Russell Square/Lambs, which I hadn’t thought of.
Clos Maggiore at Covent Garden. Take the Heathrow Express with first class ticket and that includes security fasttrack.
This is the way*
*if the Lizzie Line is doing what it’s supposed to be doing, which it often isn’t.
There is an Elizabeth Line entrance on Dean Street, .2 miles from Noble Rot Soho. And the trains are better. ![]()
You are clearly more knowledgeable than I am. And than Google Maps. ![]()
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Looking for recommendations for dinner before a ballet on a Friday night near covent garden. Last time we kept it simple and had dinner at Flat Iron. Open to just about any type of cuisine and would appreciate a decent wine list.
I see Steve recommended Clos Maggiore, anything else I need to add to my list while we’re there?
Barrafina Drury Lane (Spanish tapas) is three minutes walk and very good. Also consider the Barbary, also nearby. Both are comfortable counter seating.
As is our tradition we started at Brawn. Lovely lunch. Spring bounty has not arrived yet so they were still working with some winter like ingredients.
After lunch we went over to see Bar Etna which is Joe Beddia’s new spot. Looks to be about 3-4 weeks from opening. It is in Newington Green which seems to be a very cool neighborhood with lots of promising looking shops and restaurants. Cadet wine bar is close to Bar Etna. We definitely intend to explore this area.
Heading to Yuki Bar for dinner and then the BBE Records 30th anniversary party!
Finally got to Dishoom Battersea which I’ll note is a family friendly option (pro tip: start at Battersea park, then you can head over to the power station, put your name down and have the young’n play at the it park while someone waits for a table. They serve mint tea and sherry to the line which is a gracious touch).
I have to say I really didn’t like the interior of the restaurant; it felt like an upscale TGIF in its booth and row table orientation.
Nonetheless, the food was outstanding. Maybe I’ve just been starved good India food which is not a common in South Florida. Just an excellent cadre of dishes including their chicken curry (has real complexity and depth), lamb briyani (almost reminded me of an Uzbeki version with Indian spice in terms of its richness of fat), and an outrageous Bhatti chicken which was the star of the meal.
Not fine dining but a fantastic meal. Wine list is piddling, didn’t inquire on corkage.
Yuki Bar was lovely. Yuki was waiting in the outdoor area to great us. We had the kitchen cook for us and ate the entire menu. The onion rice dish was the star. And we enjoyed a beautiful bottle of Labet chardonnay. We first met Yuki 15 years ago when he was a somm at Noma. We have since seen him all over the world. His dream was always to open a wine bar that featured Japanese home cooking. He has done just that. It is such a lovely place.
Post Yuki Bar we hit the BBE 30th Anniversary party. London is such an amazing city. Over 2000 (maybe more) people came out. They had 4 curated rooms. We were the only guests allowed to bring in wine which made the experience even more incredible. One thing I love about London is that music events bring out people of all ages. And where else in the world do people dance to Jazz in clubs!!! Going on almost no sleep for 36 hours we were disappointed to learn Gilles Peterson was running late and would not go on at 1:45 so left about 2:30 and were just about to get an uber when I heard someone calling my name and lo an behold it was Gilles so back in we went! It was a late night!!!
We started the day at the day at The Tate and experienced the incredible Tracey Emin show:
Up next was lunch at Planque. It was an overall excellent experience. The food was on. Chef was in the kitchen and sent out several extra dishes. We did the stereotypical American wine geek thing and order the hyped up producers that are both impossible to find and silly expensive in the U.S. - Tino Kuban, Johannes Aufricht, and a great recommendation for the somm a 23 Cecile Tromblay Chambolle Musigny. The Aufricht Completer was stunning and my favorite. The owner of Planque is the UK Importer for Kuban and Aufricht. I will post some picture from our lunch at Planque.
For dinner we hit St John and it was just perfect. We brought a couple of wines and were lucky to open a stunning bottle of 1970 Von Schubert Spätlese that created a magical pairing with both the Crab toast and the Welsh Rarebit.
Up next lunch at Mountain…
Joe is opening in London? Wow, so cool. Please tell me he’s serving hoagies, the brits deserve an elite sandwich lol
This scallop dish deserves its own post too. Had to order seconds when I was there last week, incredible stuff. Sat at the far end of the counter right by the kitchen, tons of fun.
Hell yes. He is 3-4 weeks out. I keep pestering him about doing a fish and chips Hoagie!
He is going to make a Curry Pizza which sounds incredible.
Mountain lived up to the hype. The food was all around excellent. The wine list was deep with so much to choose from. I had more old riesling to open so we did a combination of corkage and list. One thing I will note is that many restaurants in London are super cool with corkage. The staff was so enthusiastic and kind.




















