• Added: 12th of October 2008
• Area: East Dulwich
• Category: Food and Drink

London SE22 8HX

FoodStories said
Local Restaurant Opens Neighbouring Farm Shop
Franklins (East Dulwich), is a fantastic local restaurant that consistently serves up great, seasonal, British grub. They've now expanded to open a shop on the adjacent corner, which is championing the best of British. I saw English apple varieties, native oysters, parsley root, UK cheeses such as 'Lord of the Hundred's' and all manner of 'Franklins' sauces and soups for your pleasure. When I visited the place looked a little sparse but they have literally just opened and so a little time to find feet should be granted. Of course, gorgeous ingredients aren't coming cheap - this is East Dulwich after all but the place has a nice modern farm shop feel about it and the people were very friendly. I will practice some watchful waiting to find out if this place becomes another local gem like Franklins restaurant.

• Added: 9th of October 2008
• Area: Clapham
• Category: Restaurants

London SW4 0JG
020 7622 1199

FoodStories said
Sunday Supper Deal at Trinity
We visited Trinity recently for the 'Sunday Supper Deal', having really enjoyed it the first time we dined there. I love the focus on British ingredients and their style, which is one of sophisticated comfort food. The Sunday supper menu is a lot more rustic than the regular Trinity fare but even the latter, despite being a damn sight more fancy - has a very honest and soothing quality about it.

We first fell in love at The Taste Festival earlier this year, where I must have given them my e-mail address as I have received drool-worthy teasers since, that have worked exactly as intended. Our first real visit, we were a party of six and on arrival, found we had been allocated the chef’s table, which was a rather pleasant surprise. I remember enjoying a delicate crab and avocado salad and a main of juicy, tender suckling pig - that night’s special, advertised as using every bit of the piggy - oink oink.

Just when I was undecided about where to dine last week, another superbly timed e-mail dropped into my inbox. Trinity have introduced a Sunday supper deal. You get three courses - a choice of two starters, a set main course (a whole roast joint or fish, to be shared between a couple or group), a choice of two desserts, a pre-dinner drink, and coffee - setting you back 30 of your finest pounds (sans booze).

There are many things I love about Trinity and this is the first - the bread. Those little rolls are the most adorable angular shape and oh-so cheesy. They are wonderfully warm and when you break them apart and get ready to give them what they want (a good buttering), you get a poof of cheesy steam right up in your face. Fantastic.

To start, we were offered either Jerusalem ‘artichoke soup with hazelnut Chantilly’ or ‘hand chopped terrine of middle white pork, prunes and pistachios with chutney and warm country bread’. I opted for the terrine, which was bloomin’ marvellous. Great chunks of meatiness interspersed with fantastic sweet date pockets and flecked green with pistachios. Great textures too, soft ham, even softer dates and then crunchy nutty fun in between.

The main course for the week was oxtail (”sourced from Long horn cattle which graze in the pastures of Appleton Farm in Essex”, apparently), slowly braised overnight in red wine - this is basically what sealed the deal for me in the first place. It arrived with honeyed Chantenay carrots, super buttery green beans, some seriously smooth creamed potato action and mellow roasted garlic cloves.

To finish, a choice of chocolate pot with ice cream or rice pudding with damson jam. I opted for the chocolate pot, which I expected to be quite small, but when it arrived - what a monster. I couldn’t actually finish it but before I gave in I found time to re-name it chocolate goo. A cake-y circle around the edges but in the centre - pure chocolate goo. It’s a chocolate fondant but bigger and with ice cream. I think that’s enough said really.

The service is also fantastic, never a foot wrong and yet it’s all very relaxed and the staff are genuinely charming. A little heads up about a couple of things though. Firstly, if you are vegetarian - this restaurant ain’t for you. This Sunday supper menu for example, offered a set main course of oxtail, there is no vegetarian option. Secondly, if you want to dine on the Sunday supper deal, you have to eat at 7pm. I’m thinking either the word hasn’t got out yet or the 7pm time slot may be a problem, as the restaurant was really quiet - even for a Sunday. Do not fret over this minor detail however, Trinity can offer you food at other times, on other days! In fact, I’d rather you didn’t go much anyway because then I know I always can..

• Added: 26th of September 2008
• Area: Nunhead
• Category: Food and Drink

London SE15 5DP
020 7639 8007

FoodStories said
Persia in Peckham
Entering Persepolis, (owned by Sally Butcher - writer of 'Persia in Peckham' cookbook) is like opening the door on an Aladdin’s cave. You are greeted with bright colours, floor to ceiling excitement, exotic ingredients crammed into every nook and cranny. Intoxicating smells waft across from the huge selection of sweets and baklava in the window display.

The shelves are absolutely jam packed with all manner of spices, herbs and exciting jars of undiscovered foodstuffs. I spied some smoked sturgeon minding their own business in a quiet corner. The shopkeeper, explained that this Iranian delicacy is traditionally eaten at New Year, fried or steamed and served with herbed rice (usually dill).

There are dried fruits, including sour cherries (SO delicious), sour orange peel, figs, limes and seeds, including roasted and salted and black melon seeds, which I shall be rushing back to get my grubby little mitts on (visiting the day before pay day, perhaps not the best idea….).

I also want to stock up on some of the exotic teas, along with dried flowers - chamomile flowers, rose buds and ‘green flowers’.Time to start working out what to do with them! You can also buy all manner of legumes, lentils, dried herbs (sabzi) and mixes for falafels, pasta for ash-e-reshteh (a kind of soup) and reshteh polo (Iranian noodles).

Food isn’t the only reason to visit Persepolis though, you can find tagines, rugs, hookahs, tea sets, books, ‘I love Peckham’ stickers, shoppers, t-shirts and even greeting cards. Yes, greetings cards, specially commissioned with a unique Peckham stamp.

Persepolis is special, not only because the owners keep their shelves stocked with the most dizzying array of ingredients but because they are a true local shop. Sally is a passionate and active member of the Peckham community, hosting story-telling evenings, promoting local events and artists and even producing a newsletter to keep us up to date on the whole lot. Yes, Peckham has its problems but Sally does what many others don’t and that is highlight the positives. The community is a proud, diverse and vibrant one and Persepolis is right at the heart of it.

• Added: 21st of August 2008
• Area: East Dulwich
• Category: Bars and Pubs

London SE22 8HX
020 8299 9598

FoodStories said
A Local Gem.
Franklins is our local restaurant, a leisurely 10 minute stroll from our front door in fact and oh, how lucky we are. It’s been said before and I don’t mind saying it again, this restaurant is a little gem to have ticking away in such wonderfully close proximity. Franklins is not a fine dining resaurant, it is ‘just’ one that serves consistently good grub and pays attention to detail. Such as good, freshly baked bread and solid side dishes - I always order the seasonal greens and they always arrive perfectly cooked with just the right amount of bite and wrapped in a blanket of buttery goodness, well seasoned and slippery.

this time around, I had smoked quail with raddichio and aioli. The quail was so intensely smoked it left a musky scent even after I wash the mitts I was using to chew every last scrap from its little legs.Fantastic aioli too, not overpowering but good and garlicky at the same time. Franklins has a way with meat - always loads of flavour and bold simplicity.

My partner chose the crab tart, a perfect mixture of brown and white meat - a really strong crabby flavour. The texture of the meat was well preserved too.

For our main course, we both immediately ordered the ox tongue with endive, snails and chorizo. When the dishes arrived they had forgotten the snails and chorizo but the waitress was very professional and,our plates were whisked away with the bare minimum of fuss, arriving back promptly adorned with bits of spicy pig and mollusc. From what we could gather the chefs were very embarrassed…

The ox tongue was beautiful, tender and melty with a fine blob of fresh, pungent horseradish on top. The chorizo was a very good one, spicy and rich, coating everything in its delicious oil. We felt the snails didn’t really add anything though. I don’t think they really taste of much anyway and you honestly wouldn’t have realised they were there - apart from the fact you could see them, of course.

We thought about cheese and/or dessert but were too damn stuffed to contemplate it. We ambled the short walk home contented, slightly tipsy and really rather happy, as always.

• Added: 13th of August 2008
• Area: Bankside
• Category: Restaurants

London SE1 2TU
020 7403 1342

FoodStories said
Lovely meal, so why haven't we been back?
We visited The Magdalen for a romantic dinner and having read the menu on the website, we were drooling at the prospect. The Magdalen offers a menu featuring dishes such as, ‘rare grilled haunch of venison’, ‘confit rabbit leg’ and ‘hot foie gras, prunes and armagnac’. I was very excited (some might argue, a little too much) about ordering the ‘thinly sliced pigs head, pickled red cabbage and fried potatoes’ but unfortunately it wasn’t on the menu last week. As it was, I opted for potted Devon crab and toast and roast rib of longhorn beef, dripping toast, spinach and meat juices. My partner chose the hot foie gras mentioned earlier (I knew he would, he can never resist foie gras) and a rabbit, white bean and bacon dish that I can’t quite remember because I was drooling over my beef too much.

The food was lovely, honest, simple and respectfully treated. You might complain that the portions are a little small. My potted crab was smooth, buttery and thoroughly delicious (the texture of the crab was somehow perfectly retained in the pot). I also ordered the roast rib of longhorn beef which was thin, rare, so tender and so full of flavour. The dripping toast was nice despite there not being a lot of it and it came topped with delicious, parmesan laced spinach. I could tell that my partners rabbit wasn’t quite so pleasing by the way he looked longingly over at my plate, his eyes begging me for a tasty morsel. His foie gras was apparently, ‘mmmmm, mmm, mmmmm’, but then foie gras always it isn’t it?

We liked The Magdalen, the atmosphere was informal and friendly, the service was fairly good, although nothing special but something made us leave without ordering dessert. I can't quite put my finger on it.

• Added: 13th of August 2008
• Area: East Dulwich
• Category: Restaurants

London SE22 8QP
020 8693 3111

FoodStories said
Cash Cow
I was so excited about visiting The Sea Cow after hearing so many good reports from others. This is a ‘posh’ fish and chip shop. By this I mean you can eat in, seated in the pleasing modern and minimal surroundings, you can choose your own fish fillet at the wet fish counter, you can drink wine with your meal and you will be charged around 4 times as much for the privilege. Now all this would be wonderful if the food were any good, but it isn’t, at least it wasn't when we visited.

Having said that, our whitebait starter (which we shared) was nice; crispy and meaty. We were disappointed to find the tartare sauce to be shop bought, but gobbled everything down hungrily anyway. The main courses were so disappointing though. I had crab cakes, which were patties of reddish-brown mush in which I couldn’t identify any individual flavours; certainly not crab. They had then been deep fried until just this side of burnt. My partner opted for haddock and chips but the chips were soggy and limp and the haddock left a pool (yes, a pool) of grease on the plate. This came with mushy peas, described as ‘freshly minted’ and they were – someone had added some mint to a tin of mushy peas! To top it all, the waitress took our entire order while gazing absent-mindedly out of the window. I really, really haven’t enjoyed writing this but I felt it necessary to make sure we share the bad as well as the good. Maybe we went on a ‘bad day’ – it is possible I suppose, although the place was half empty on a Saturday lunchtime…

• Added: 13th of August 2008
• Area: Chelsea
• Category: Restaurants

London SW3 5UR
020 7352 4071

FoodStories said
Totally Gut-Bustingly Fab!
The ‘Big Easy’, which describes itself as a ‘BBQ & Crabshack’ is around 5 minutes walk from Sloane Square tube. The occasion was a friend’s birthday and we all but one opted for surf and turf with the 1-kilo steak and lobster combo. This place has won numerous awards and I can see why. So often this kind of food is so disappointing. It is the sort of cooking you need to get just right, with fresh ingredients, cooked with a little love. The ½ lobster was delicious and we all relished the opportunity to get messy (we all donned the optional, ‘now make yourself look really stupid’ bibs) The steak was cooked perfectly and there was a variety of sauces available; I opted for béarnaise as usual (I can never resist the unctuousness of it oozing all over my uber rare steak). This was served with onion rings which were actually very good, crispy and light and of course, plenty of cold beers were sunk too.

The atmosphere was lively but not oppressive; the one slight grumble being the really loud 2 man act that started knocking out a variety of early ‘90’s chart ‘classics’ towards the end of our meal. It was entertaining, just not if you're sat right next to them. It just stifled conversation a little.

All said, this place is a winner and I highly recommend it to all Londoners and visitors alike. We had a delicious meal which I think came in at a little under £30 each (a bargain really, check out the portion). I was the only one to leave any on my plate but then I was dining with a group of ravenous men who fought over my scraps at the end. Good stuff!