Honey and Co

Honey & Co

25A Warren Street, 

London 

W1T 5LZ

http://honeyandco.co.uk

SN: Honey & Co is a small, well-regarded establishment on Warren Street, overlooked by the Post Office tower.  They serve what they describe as "food from the Middle East" completely underplaying the excellence of the cuisine.  They have a great reputation.  It is a compact space with a large window at the front, a few tables outside and there is a large counter at the other end groaning with cakes.  The menu is absolutely about Middle Eastern food and its delicate flavour combinations and it is impressive in it's range which changes regularly too.

We started with the Luxury Mezze with six or seven dishes which were just a treat:

First few dishes in the Mezze

LM: everything was delicious and so well balanced. The quality of the ingredients is really clear - the hummous, for example, is smooth and delicate, a million miles away from the gritty, garlicky rubbish you get in a lot of places. Feta cigars had a lovely crunch to them, and there was a good balance of salads to go with the heavier dishes.

tomato and sheeps curd

feta filo cigars with honey

SN: this was very impressive mezze - the dark crusted bread was just gorgeous and at every turn there was something to divert and delight.  And echo what LM said about the hummous - a smooth texture I hadn't encountered at all and none of the cloying after-taste of the worst attempts I've suffered.  There was plenty for two of us.  Colour, flavour and texture brilliantly covered across a range of simple but elegant dishes.

Persian meatballs in yoghurt sauce

SN: It was hard to choose a main course: my decision was based mostly on curiosity about how a yoghurt sauce might match meatballs.  It was just divine with peas and pea shoots and mint balancing the gently spiced lamb meatballs with even more luxurious tastes.  Again I was struck by the high quality ingredients, simple ideas and delightful sense of discovery in this dish. When Honey & Co present a dish it's without fuss, but the real satisfaction is in the tastes and textures that they leave you to explore.

lentil and carrot kofta

LM: my main was a lentil and carrot kofta with carrot and walnut salad and tahini (which you can't see, but was underneth the kofta). Absolutely gorgeous dish - lighter than it looks, the kofta had a lovely crunch to them and were soft and spicy on the inside.

Cold cheesecake, kadaif pastry, honey

LM: My dessert was probably the least exciting of the courses for me - a little bit too much cheesecake topping and not enough pastry base, although the sugared nuts and honey gave it a glorious edge. I had dessert envy over SN's choice...

Warm pistachio and goats cheese baklava with set lemon saffron cream

SN: LM was right to suffer dessert envy.  I like baklava very occasionally and I was interested in the Honey & Co take on it: I was ready for something sickly but there was none of that.  It was the highlight of the meal in every sense.  Delicious understated filling, rich in the fullest sense of the word, delicate pastry and the gorgeous cream to set it off and provide a vivid sense of the Middle East sun. The striking colours, textures and tastes sum up all that I really enjoyed at Honey & Co: nothing offends, mostly it intrigues and everything is of a very high quality.

We didn't get round to cake

SN: But there was a problem - having put all that effort into the food, they fell flat on their faces on customer services.

We were 1 hour 52 minutes into our allowed 2 hours when we were presented with a bill.  This was galling - I'd had no time for a coffee, I was thinking about more wine and even toying with the idea of another dessert (on the advice of Itamar Srulovich who had just responded to a question I had just tweeted).  It was a greater disappointment to be moved on in such a perfunctory, charmless way. Had the service been lightning fast throughout I might have felt the restaurant had kept it's side of the bargain - but it wasn't.  Service was poor: we waited five minutes for our member of staff to get off the phone to order dessert.  When we ordered the sweet no sense of the impending exclusions was given - she could have had one more sale if she had recommended we ordered coffee at the same time as ordering dessert.  At one point a different person came back to check our order.  I don't think they were doing everything they could to maximise our enjoyment in that 2 hours.

This is a venue where you will have great food - food in truth worth more than they charge for it - but a meal out is more than that - especially for us.

I guess the owners might argue that they would prefer to offend a few people by moving them on than risk having empty tables.  There was a queue of people waiting, but it seemed fewer than the seats available.  But with our departure and the departure of a large birthday party party at the same time, a lot of space was freed up.  The overall impression left for me is that are not well enough organised - certainly that's how it felt. No one awards prizes for restaurants that turn round tables quickly.  They should pay a visit to the Regency Cafe in Pimlico which has a system which shows it can be done. I won't be going back.

They may excuse this by saying that all the other restaurants do it: our experience is that whilst other restaurants may say that, they very rarely do it. So a sad end to a great food experience and if you are booking - beware the sting in the tail!

Grain Store Unleashed

Grain Store Unleashed

St John's Square, 

86-88 Clerkenwell Road, 

London 

EC1M 5RJ

Phone: +44 (0)20 7324 4455

eat@thezetter.com

SN: Grain Store Unleashed is the re-invention of Bruno Loubet's Bistro deep in Clerkenwell hosted in the Zetter Hotel.  It has relaunched recently and we were lucky enough to get a table shortly after the re-opening.  It is a light and airy, casual style eateries during the day and something a bit mor intimate at night.  We went for Sunday Lunch (a rarity for Split the Bill) to see how it matched up to one of our favourite venues - Grain Store at Kings Cross which we first visited for this blog in Oct 2013 and again more recently in February.  We are still big fans - read how Unleashed stacked up....

As you can see - it's a nice spacious spread of tables with a busy bar and a Spring-like French garden feel about it.

Rhubarb Negroni

SN: It's worth just pausing a moment on Grain Store cocktails - always simple on the page and complex and entertaining on the palate.  This Rhubarb Negroni attracted us both.  The Italian Aperol provided rhubarb and floral flavours whilst the Lillet Blanc (a mix of Bordeaux white wine and exotic citrus bitters) provided a foil to that.  The triangle completed with a robust Beefeater Gin.   Fantastic.

Crozes-Hermitage Les Pontaix 2013, Domaine Fayolle, N. Rhône, France 

SN: This wine was on offer as a bin end in February so unlikely to be around now.  But robust enough to cope with the avalanche of flavours.  We know that if nothing else Loubet squeezes every ounce of flavour out of his ingredients and everything needs a pretty robust wine to balance it.

Cornbread with avocado butter

LM: We started our meal with complimentary cornbread with avocado butter. The cornbread was hot and fresh with crunchy seasalt flakes and the avocado butter was spiked with lime to cut through the richness. A very encouraging start...

Vegetal oyster & caviar, ‘Bottom of the Sea’

SN: This was a curious starter and I was expecting something that made more immediate impact but it did excite the taste buds.  A bit more explanation from the staff might have helped I think.  The overall package is very much of 'the sea'.  I enjoy date seaweed sheet a little more than the oysters - the caviar was delicious but the pickle puree was fine on its own without the onion.

Asparagus in brown butter, pomelo & bronze fennel

LM: Asparagus was a really interesting dish - not particularly adventurous looking on the plate, and for a moment I wondered whether I had picked badly, but thankfully not - the asparagus was dressed with what can only be described as magic butter - sweet and tart without being sour, and fantastically complimentary to the asparagus.

Spring vegetable cassoulet, pulled lamb shoulder

SN: The strong broth beneath this dish would have been sufficient on it's own but with carrots, peas beans and epic poached white radish this was already one of the best dishes I've had at a Loubet restaurant.  The pulled lamb was very finely balanced against these lovely delicate veggie tastes.  As usual Loubet gets these subtleties just right.  Idea for a snack or a light lunch this dish was rich enough for a main course and so hearty as to leave me comfortably full.

Kohlrabi & broad bean raviolo, ramson

LM: Raviolo was gorgeous, the filling wrapped in paper thin slices of kohlrabi rather than pasta and served in a rich broth of beans and peas. So simple but so well made, and I loved the lightness of it. Really generous portion as well - but all about the flavours rather than the bulk.

Parsnip & white chocolate cream, matcha tea, pink grapefruit & passion fruit gel, caramelised puffed oat

SN: this was something I'd yearned for: a decently done parsnip dessert.  Be in no doubt, it tastes primarily of parsnip but the white chocolate is a surprisingly low key accompaniment and looks just divine.  I recall when making homemade parsnip and apple soup, I always struggled to maintain a pure colour but this is spot on.  The oat adds one sort of bite and the gel quite another - it's a hefty kick of tartness that the cream needs.  The shade grown (and therefore very green) matcha tea is a beautiful complement too.  Delivered as a powder it is sparing but a welcome added dimension.

Lemon & strawberries petit pot, rosemary crumble

LM: My dessert was delicious but probably the least adventurous of the dishes. A layer of macerated strawberries was topped with a creamy lemon layer and freeze-dried strawberry coated crumble. I couldn't taste the rosemary but it was tasty nonetheless.

Gorgeous  coffee too!

LM: Overall I think it's fair to say we were both really impressed with the quality of cooking and the inventiveness on offer, and the service was exceptionally friendly and warm. There were a couple of minor glitches from the soft launch including a light spraying for us as the plants were being watered and being charged for the wrong bottle of wine, but both were quickly rectified and with no drama.

Canteen, Royal Festival Hal

Canteen - Royal Festival Hall

Royal Festival Hall

Belvedere Road

http://www.canteen.co.uk

Book online

Celeriac, leek and mushroom POI and mash - with onion gravy and spinach

Both of us have been to Canteen before but we decided to do a StB because it offers such good value on a traditional English menu.  The atmosphere is busy and sometimes one has to wait a few minutes at the bar for a table - no hardship there are some very fine cocktails on offer.

There are monthly and daily specials and the ingredients are pleasingly fresh.  The canteen approach is not to rush customers which is great - they unfailing put water on the tables and the young front of house team are helpful, courteous and enthusiastic (also very happy to have a laugh).  It presents a wonderfully "open house" effect but the big space allows for privacy at tables too.

I started with an English classic - Devilled Kidneys - there's not much I can say about it other than the kidneys were beautifully cooked.  Anyone who cooks kidney's knows how important it is to get this just right.  The sauce was tangy and the toast ample.  No complaints at all.

Sourdough toast with fried duck egg and mushrooms

LM: I had sourdough toast with fried mushrooms topped with a duck egg and chives. Robust, tasty, nothing to dislike whatsoever.

SN: There seems to be plenty of Crozes-Hermitage about - it is a favourite of ours so the choice was easy and the price was right. The wine list is flexible and comfortable: high quality but affordable.  Casual dining is there thing and the drinks on offer match that aspiration.

SN: We both had a delicious pie - it's worth noting for carnivores and veggies alike - that the pie options change regularly and there is always one of each on offer.  The pies are served with either chips or mash, stacks of greens and a small jug of gravy to match.  Our choices were vegetarian - which I'll leave LM to describe.  For those inclined the offer was spiced mutton for omnivores.  I went for the veggie option on this occasion.  

LM: Celeriac, leek and mushroom pie was light and crispy and packed with vegetables - fresh vegetables at that - in some sort of creamy sauce - an absolute delight. 

SN: I reckon this unnoticed star of this dish are the glorious buttery greens - I'm guessing these could be anything from sprout tops to spring cabbage, but the real point is that they are glorious deep green leaves which are tasty and substantial, not an after thought.  All hail greens and gravy!

sticky sticky toffee pudding

LM: Sticky toffee pudding was divine - rich, unctuous and hefty without falling into stodgy territory. I'd be lying if I said I could remember much more, but it vanished rapidly and accompanied by appreciative noises.

SN: My pudding, not for the first time, was a succulent Apple pie with custard (so old fashioned it should be pronounced the proper way -  cus-Tard) - it ranks highly because there's something massively comforting about an apple pie made properly without the mangling a supermarket might give it, or I dare say a patisserie.  The sauce is pale and not to sweet or too rich and offers no hints of the kind of colour one ordinarily sees for cus-Tard in cans, boxes, cakes and pastries.  It is delicious and a belt-loosener - be warned!

Overall I like Canteen as the kind of place I can drop in with a friend and have a grand meal or sit after work on my own, eating and communing with my social media world over a light meal and glass of wine.  If I'm lucky someone will swing by...when they do Canteen welcomes them too.  With Louise, the critical faculties are sharper, the wit is drier and the meals much longer :-) StB isn't always about fusion, tasting menus and £100 bills - Canteen is in our top ten.

PS - worth looking at how responsive Canteen is to the comments on Trip Advisor - their overall rating is way off my 5 star dining experiences over the last 3 months, but they seem determined to address that.  Just shows how it is worth reviewing your experience.

Grainstore again

GRAIN STORE

Granary Square

1-3 Stable Street

King's Cross

London

N1C 4AB

This is a review of a meal in late February 2015 - the menu changes constantly.

Tuberose Collins

SN: It was our fourth visit to Bruno Loubet's oasis with a veg emphasis just north of Kings Cross - our previous write up was full of admiration in October 2013 found here:-

http://splitthebill.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/grainstore-garden-of-earthy-delights.html

Our affection for this place remains.  The overwhelming sense is of great food done well without fuss, comfort before show, and busyness being the way to keep customers happy.  Our Table was served by an enthusiastic food lover who knew her way round the kaleidoscopic menu and specials. She was the front of house for an organisations which puts food first.  It was remarkable looking around the tables at the variety of people there - from all walks of life, all ages and vocations. Parties, couples and single diners - all find something here.  We find solace that so little has changed around the ethos but the menu os as varied and fascinating as ever.

Onion Bread with homemade creme fragile butter
LM seizes on this so I have to be quick to take a photo ;-)

Wild Mushroom Croquettes with pine needle salt

Tasty tipple -
Gigondas 2012, Domaine du Grapillon d’Or, Southern Rhône, France:
Robust enough for game but not so strong as to ruin the delicate flavours elsewhere.
We also had Monbazillac 

This mushroom and truffle risotto was divine, spare in texture, smooth as silk and as you might expect, aromatic and busting with flavours.

Poached egg on buttery leeks and sourdough toast was simple, well executed and tasty - generous portion as well

Wild fruit puree, potted cabbage, parsnip crisps, bacon, roast wood pigeon breast and sausage
Amazing well done - crisps were fat-free and so tasty, rich and earthy

Split the billers

Vegetarian Paella was bursting with smoky flavours -
the veg was grilled to perfection and had plenty of bite - a wonderfully punchy dish.

Nice to have the appropriate glassware

Goats milk and yoghurt panacotta, poached rhubarb, wild strawberry sauce
Perhaps the creation of the night (v hard to choose).
Certainly  ongreat variation on the rhubarb theme, creamy texture but with a little structure still intact 

Dill ice cream - simultaneously the weirdest and most fantastic thing I've eaten this year - with gorgeous soft doughnuts.

Dill Ice cream hits the spot!

In conclusion: still one of our favourite places to eat in London.  We will go back again and again.  More pertinently we're also looking forward to GS Unleashed in April to explore with Bruno and team even further.

Riding House Cafe

Riding House Cafe

43-51 Great Titchfield Street, 

London 

W1W 7PQ

020 7927 0840

http://www.ridinghousecafe.co.uk

LM: Riding House Cafe has been on our extensive list of places to try for a few months now, so my mum visiting seemed like as good a reason as any to give it a go. The interesting vegetarian options on the menu had really drawn my interest, so off we went.

It's not particularly easy to find, located on a backstreet near Oxford Street, but was fairly busy at 3pm on a weekday; nonetheless staff were polite and effective throughout and we weren't kept waiting at any point.

Artichoke dip with crostini

We started with some fantastic buttery nocerella de belice olives which I forgot to photograph and the artichoke dip with crostini. The dip was hot and fresh which is always a good sign with a fantastic grilled crust - more bread would have been nice but we were quite happy finishing it off with our spoons.

There is the option to do a selection of sharing dishes but on this occasion we decided to share the two vegetarian mains and leave room for dessert.

Polenta with goats cheese, tomato and basil

Grilled polenta was buried under a mound of salad, confit tomatoes and goats cheese - very generous portion size and well balanced tastes and textures - we had no trouble polishing this off between us.

Macaroni Cheese Fritter on pea salad

Macaroni cheese fritter was one of the dishes that had made me so excited about visiting RHC - I'd been imagining a rich, crisp on the outside, gooey fritter filled with well seasoned pasta. Maybe less high expectations would have made the reality less disappointing - it was extremely bland, like school-dinner mac and cheese that had been coated in breadcrumbs and fried in not very hot oil. I did enjoy the salad underneath it although it had a little too much black pepper for my taste.

So, onto dessert...

The Infamous Souffle

Peach soufflé with raspberry ripple icecream. Standout. I'm a sucker for a souffle at all times; they feel like the most guilt free pudding and yet so tasty - add in peach and raspberry and mum and I were sold. As you'd expect, there was a ten minute wait; the soufflés were brought to the table, steaming hot with little bowls of divine raspberry ripple ice-cream which certainly tasted homemade and was one of the highlights of the meal. 

The soufflé? Delicately flavoured, beautifully crispy on top, and raw on the inside. I mean, absolutely liquid. Oops.

The waiter gave us a slightly disbelieving look when we queried this.

"I think this is always what a soufflé looks like" he said, "But I'll check with the kitchen."

It was probably only about two minutes until he came back with the chefs apologies, confirming that yes, the soufflé was meant to be cooked in the middle, and a two replacements would be out within the next ten minutes. The manager also came over to apologise which was a really nice touch - these things happen in a restaurant but it's good to see genuine disappointment from the staff when it goes wrong.

Unfortunately it's difficult to be so forgiving when the same mistake happens twice in such quick succession, and within the promised ten minutes we were served two more raw soufflés, admittedly with slightly more impressive height than the pictured ones. The manager was mortified - understandably - and we decided against trying another dessert option, got the bill and left.

It's a shame, because I left thinking RHC has a lot of potential. The staff are friendly, cheerful and polite, the menu has a decent variety of non-standard options and there's a lovely atmosphere. It's fairly reasonable for the area too - a tasty and filling lunch for two with wine came to less than £60 (although we weren't charged for dessert). 

The problem is that all of that pales into insignificance if the basics aren't done right. I hope we got RHC on a bad day but I can't bring myself to want to go back or recommend it on the basis of the visit.

Ink, Mile End

Ink

44 Palmers Road 

Mile End

London, 

E2 0TA

020 8983 6634

https://www.facebook.com/inkrestaurant

SN:  We had been warned it would be hard to find Ink - we phoned and they talked us in.  But for the avoidance of doubt Ink is in the block at the end of cul-de-sac - it's set back from the road and up some stairs.  DO NOT GIVE UP in your search and if you are struggling give them a ring - it is sooooo worth it.  Ink's creative force is Martin Meid, a Lithuanian chef who clearly likes to try squeeze every last ounce of taste and texture from his ingredients (all seasonal so the menu is rarely static) by whatever means.  So the basis of our 5 course tasting menu was similar to our ventures to Grainstore and Viajante - so by the side of the Regent's Canal on chilly February night we approached Nordic cuisine with some excitement. 

LM: Happily after a few disappointing vegetarian experiences the kitchen were more than happy to provide a meat and fish-free menu for me. I started with smoky charred chicory served with a soft poached egg and nut and stilton crumbs. It's not something I would have picked ordinarily but the flavours and textures worked fantastically.

Charred Chicory with Soft Egg, Nuts and Stilton

SN: I thought the chicory starter was a great way to set the tone - they are not afraid of taste or texture or striking presentation.  Everything your mother may have taught you about burnt food was put aside here - and it worked.

Cured Cod and Elderflower

SN: The main business of a tasting menu is to confound your expectation and my second dish in our contained a icy cold pickled fish and not much else. The deal was that it had been pickled in Elderflower vinegar.  I'm not a big fan of elderflower as a flavour and yet the delicate remanents of it against the cod and and acid were brilliant.  I would never put elderflower with cod in a million years: but this combination worked beautifully.

LM: My veggie alternative was in the same presentation (the rocks, apparently, have come from Brighton!) but filled with pickled vegetables. Lovely light, flavoursome course but not quite as standout as some of the others for me...

Seared Salmon with spinach, quinoa, daikon, onions and vanilla mayonnaise

SN: There's something about these burnt vegetable flavours which carries me past the usual domestic horror of burned food.  It was delightful to lift those tender onion halves which are delicate at first and then deliver a punch of their basic, carbonised form.  The spinach and Daikon were lovely too - the winning part of this dish was the vanilla mayonnaise,  Again a very simple idea applied in an unusual context.  It worked very well with the finely seared salmon - again a mixture of delicate and robust flavours but wonderfully mediated by the sweet mayo.  This is one I'm determined to try at home - it lifted the salmon beautifully.

LM: My next course was quinoa, spinach, morels, raisins and burnt onions with vanilla mayonnaise. As with SN's dish, the sweetness of the mayo really lifted it into something more than the sum of its parts - fantastic mix of salty and sweet flavours and the burnt onion was a revelation both in terms of taste and texture.

Beef Cheek, Belly Pork, Mashed Potato, Heritage Carrots and Black Cabbage

SN:  Now there are times to rave about new flavours and there are times just to relax with a job well done on familiar themes.  This beef and pork plate was quite conventional - the beef cheek collapsed under the slightest knife pressure,  The pork belly was robust and fatty but not greasy.  The only link to our previous courses was a superbly judged crispy black cabbage.  It reminded me of Sunday lunch fresh garden veg and the comfort of a well mashed potato.

LM: Heritage carrot 'risotto' with a mushroom stock and black cabbage was a really interesting take on my usual nemesis of a dish - instead of rice they had used pearl barley which gave it a wonderful bite. The sauce was rich and creamy - by this point in the meal I could probably have done with a smaller portion but it was delicious.

Winter Rhubarb, Soft Cheese, Vanilla Chocolate Mousse, Biscuit

SN: Just divine - I could go on but I won't - absolutely the right things together.

LM: Hands down one of the best desserts I can remember eating. The different components were light as feathers - even the flower was edible and complimented the flavours! Rhubarb was soft and sharp while retaining enough bite and the vanilla mousse and cream cheese married into a sort of deconstructed cheesecake except better. Absolutely amazing.

Service was prompt and friendly - there was just one waiter covering but he had everything under control and had time to sit and have a chat with us about the concept of the restaurant as we were paying up.

SN: the wines were very pleasant but not the dizzying distraction they could have become.  Three glasses - Prosecco, white and red came with the tasting menu.  We had a discount too thanks to an offer LM found.  But even without it Ink is a gem of a restaurant that cares about it's customers, produces marvellous very fresh ideas with very fresh food and delivers in every respect.  We had white port to finish as we chatted. I've seldom come out of a meal feeling so relaxed and looked after.  Brilliant!

POST SCRIPT

We try to be positive about great food and drink at Split the Bill but our night at Ink was preceded with a very different experience just the other side of Wellington Green

SN: Our quest for culinary excitement took us to Mile End, and so we chose the nearest thing to a cocktail bar we could find for the pre-meal snifter.  The East London Liquor Company looked so promising with a magnificent still, beautifully lit and there were customers in at just after 6pm which bodes well.  The service was pretty dire: there was no cocktail menu, the reluctant and graceless bar man couldn't have done more to make it clear he didn't want to be serving us.  He brought out drinks to our table without any explanation of what he'd made.  The lemon flavoured gin-based concoction was one dimensional, the ice should have been crushed and the rosemary was insufficiently infused. Thankfully things picked up from here...