• Added: 20th of June 2007
• Area: Kensington
• Category: Food and Drink

London W8 5SE
020 7368 4500

helenlewis said
26 kinds of tomato
Whole Foods - it's a supermarket, for posh people!

You would not believe how excited the denizens of Kensington were in early June when Whole Foods opened. There were queues to get in, scrums over the biscotti and literally thousands of yummy mummies with Anya Hindmarch ethical bags and Jimmy Choo flats, desperate to talk about nanny problems and work-life balance over falafel.

I sort of see the excitement: Whole Foods, split over three floors, is a veritable temple of consumerism, albeit an extremely refined ten-quid-for-some-air-dried-ham consumerism. In the States, smug macrobiotic celebs like Gwyneth Paltrow, Brangelina and Madonna get their weekly rations there and I can imagine Whole Foods Kensington attracting oligarchs and A-listers too.

On the ground floor, there's a deli, plus a mound of cantaloupes, a florist, various expensive foods, people handing out cheese, a pile of Icelandic bottled water and a stack of Veuve Cliquot bottles. Oh, and some queues. I probably should have mentioned them earlier, as in the first week of the store being open, the queues took up a quarter of the ground floor. There was even a sign up indicating how long you could expect to queue for the pleasure of being charged extortionate prices for (fairly readily-available, these days) organic food.

The second-floor reminded me of the world's most expensive service station. There are various 'bars' (Oyster bar, sushi bar... juice bar) and lots of seating. Oddly, though, you can't eat from the 'bars' unless you are sitting at the 'bars'. "So what's all this seating for?" I asked a flunky. She pointed mutely at the take-away shelves. "So, you can eat your takeaway food here, but not the food that's served here?" She smiled grimly in reply.

There's also a basement. God knows what they have down there. Perhaps some authentic artisan peasants chained up and forced at gunpoint to make high-quality individually fashioned loaves in the shape of this season's It-handbags... darling, the mini-Paddington is just just perfect for a dinner party!

• Added: 4th of June 2007
• Area: Surrey Quays
• Category: Restaurants

London SE16 2LS

helenlewis said
Mellow Yellow
This is everything a neighbourhood restaurant should be - friendly, intimate and with a short (but stunning) menu.

The Yellow House is an Italian restaurant in SE16. Actually, it may be the ONLY restaurant in SE16, if you discount Arbuckle's and Pizza Hut.

The outside is a garish yellow (hence the name) but the inside is much more soothing, in reds and dark wood. There are probably less than 30 covers, and the place is full every night it opens (currently Wed PM - Sun brunch).

The menu is bijou: Half a dozen starters, half a dozen mains, and eight or so pizzas from the wood-fired oven. There are also usually several bits of paper floating round with a few specials on, plus the daily-changing dessert menu.

There's a similar scattiness about the wine list, which comes supplemented with a 'special wine list' and another bit of paper - presumably with really, really special wines on.

Luckily, the quality of the food makes all that wanton tree-destruction quirky, rather than irritating. On our last visit, the boyfriend and I had between us an oyster and asparagus soup; asparagus and parma ham with a satsuma hollandaise; entrecote and chips; venison with parsnip crisps; and an assiette of chocolate.

Of those, the only bum notes were the satsuma hollandaise (didn't taste of satasuma - and why would you want it to?) and the parsnip crisps, which I suspect are done to make the chef feel 'chef-y' rather than to enhance the dish.

Everything else was delightful, though, and it ill behoves me to carp because this is clearly the best restaurant for miles around and I'm almost supernaturally lucky to have it within bloated-staggering distance of my house.

• Added: 1st of June 2007
• Area: Paris
• Category: Arts and Culture

Paris 75007

helenlewis said

This being France, the lifts to the top were closed due to strike action.

Nevertheless, the view from the bottom was magnificent.

• Added: 31st of May 2007
• Area: Wandsworth
• Category: Restaurants

London SW17 7EG
020 8672 0114

helenlewis said
Chez Bruce, my spiritual home
Trust me, I'm a (reformed) restaurant critic - this is the best restaurant in London.

Yes, getting there is a bit of a performance (involving, horror of horrors, National Rail) but coming out of the train station at leafy Wandsworth Common feels like leaving grimy London far behind and stepping into a scene from a washing powder advert.

That impression continues when you walk into Chez Bruce as the decor is traditionally French, with acres of crisp white linen and judiciously placed mirrors giving the small dining room the impression of freshness and space.

Chez Bruce has a Michelin star, and rightly so. I've never had a bad dish here (and it's become me and my boyfriend's 'occasion restaurant') and the sommelier is charming, friendly and not in the least snooty, ensuring you can get the perfect glass (or bottle) of wine to match your food.

Highlights from the last meal I had there include the foie gras with brioche (a staple of the starter menu), served with a glass of dessert wine and the perfectly-cooked entrecote and chips.

Chez Bruce is so good that I almost don't want to tell anyone else about it; it's hard enough getting a table there as it is.

• Added: 31st of May 2007
• Area: Barnsbury
• Category: Bars and Pubs

London N1 1RG
020 7226 6276

helenlewis said
Summer in The Garden
The Garden has a reputation as - how shall we put this - a chav pub. Still, it shows that some chavs have extremely good taste, because there are very few pubs in central London with an outside seating area. It's not exactly a beer garden, as it's at the front and paved in concrete, but they've prettied it up nicely with trellises and vines.

Inside the L-shaped pub has a look optimistically described as 'shabby chic', but it's none the worse for it. Food and drink are both cheap (this is part of a chain) and cheerful.