• Added: 18th of August 2008
• Area: South Kensington
• Category: Bars and Pubs

London SW7 1EG
020 7584 6926

petrus said
posh pub grub
The Swag and Tails is a small pub hidden on a South Kensington backstreet on the way to Knightsbridge. Bernie Ecclestone can be spotted here lunching from time to time and this may give you some idea of what to expect; it's not your standard London boozer.

I had lunch there today with that blissful feeling that comes with the knowledge that someone else is paying, in this case my work were shaking out the moths from the corporate wallet and picking up the tab. This is an occasion as rare as spotting a red squirrel in the churchyard nearby and so I cherished it accordingly.

The menu is a slightly odd mix of clearly French influenced cooking, with a nod here and there to modern british and right on ingredients, such as Pollack. There are about 6 starters, ranging from soup to the seared foie gras at £10.95 that I plumped for. To my mind if you are going to have foie gras with all the attendant guilt, then seared is the way to go. You can keep your terrines, your pates, cappuccinos or custards, just a very hot pan, coloured on both sides, finished in the oven and taste bud ecstasy is guaranteed.

In this case the chef had decided to add a few bells and whistles to the main event. In fact he or she may have got a little carried away with the squeezy sauce bottle as it came out on a plate that had been deluged in coloured squiggles . The liver, with an appealing brown crust, was on top of a granary crouton, which itself was on a spiced pear compote. The final flourish was a black pepper tuile, otherwise known as wafer with a bit of black pepper on it. As one of my companions commented, "It looks more like a dessert than a starter!" Although all the other components were tasty enough in their own right, and some, the pears, complemented the liver well, overall the dish was overdone in effort. A simpler presentation and fewer flavours on the plate would have allowed the excellently cooked piece of foie gras to shine more clearly.

For the main I had sautéed loin of rabbit, with smoked black pudding and a broad bean and pear salad from a longer list including more simple pub fare such as a burger and steak sandwich. This was a very good dish; the rabbit had been timed beautifully, with a good colour outside and succulent inside. I have never had smoked black pudding before, but I would certainly like to have it again. The smokiness went brilliantly with the rich, crumbly pudding. The salad gave a lighter, summery note to the dish, and I could have almost managed to describe it all as healthy, had it not been for that pesky order of shoestring fries…

The Swag and Tails seems to have a good chef in the kitchen, this is not a pie and chips pub, I guess your average billionaire wants a tad more sophistication when they go out to lunch. The prices are pretty high, but that comes with the turf. The main for example was around £15, which is punchy pricing for a pub. I would definitely recommend it, as long as someone else is paying!

• Added: 16th of August 2008
• Area: Tottenham Court Road
• Category: Restaurants

London W1D 5PR
020 7494 0870

petrus said
Chinatown favourite
Dinner last night in Chinatown stalwart the Four Seasons on Gerrard St. The restaurant is a sister of Four Seasons in Queensway and similarly specialises in roast duck. I’ve been there quite a few times before, as it delivers a good standard of cooking of the basic Chinese menu plus some more esoteric dishes.


One hint is that if you are non-Chinese, like me, is that there is a small specials menu that goes along with the larger main menu and it is well worth asking for this if you are not given it when you sit down. I normally order at least a few dishes from this menu, though not yet the duck’s web with fish lips in hotpot – though that’s mainly due to not finding a dinner companion willing to share it with me!


It’s a busy place, set out over 3 floors, of which the most pleasant is the ground floor, the upstairs is busy and bustling, whereas the basement floor is the a bit more dingy. It’s always pretty full in the evenings, with that layman’s leading indicator of good food of a high proportion of Chinese people chowing down.
The last couple of times I’ve been in unfortunately they have run out of the roast duck. Last night we ended up ordering the soya duck, which was poached rather than roasted. This made the meat very tender, however I felt that this style of cooking the duck left a large amount of fat on the meat that on some pieces was a bit off-putting. Roasting the meat renders a lot more of the fat out, making it more appetising. Despite being tasty I probably would not order the soya duck again.


I tried to order something new, superior poached chicken with spring onion and chilli, only to be told by two waitresses that they would not recommend it for non-Chinese people! Apparently the chicken is not fully cooked and the dish is served on the bone and the bone may be slightly pink. In the end we played it a bit safer and went for grilled, fried lotus root stuffed with minced pork and pork chop with red bean sauce.

The lotus root with pork arrives more akin to patties of minced pork blended with the root and fragrant with spices. Very tasty and the portion of about 10 disappeared in no time! The pork chop had been cooked in paper and was served to the table as such. The sauce had caramelised around thin slices of pork and was delicious. The meat was perhaps slightly chewy but again there was none left by the end.


I like the Four Seasons, it’s always buzzing and offers a good selection of safe favourites to more adventurous dishes. Though get there early for the roast duck!
Including service and tea - £16 a head.

• Added: 15th of August 2008
• Area: Battersea
• Category: Restaurants

London SW8 3RH
020 7622 0555

petrus said
Tom Ilic
I finally had dinner last night with 4 friends at Tom Ilic in Battersea. The restaurant has had consistently good reviews since it opened and only a slightly inconvenient location had kept me away so far. As a fan of all things meaty and offaly so I was looking forward to the experience, particularly the chef's treatment of the cheaper piggy cuts.

We all found the menu very appetising and unanimously agreed that we would happily eat it all! Waistlines and budgets precluded this tempting option and we set about the hard task of picking a starter, main and eventually dessert each. I went for the braised pigs cheeks with chorizo on garlic and parsley mash to begin. Around the table others went for tartare of tuna, poached duck egg and leek terrine and picked Cornish crab.

We had a bottle of Californian vignoier to accompany the starters, which was beautifully perfumed on the nose and light and clean on the palate. My pigs cheeks were excellent, perched on dollop of richly flavoured, smooth mash and topped with a thin slice of strongly flavoured chorizo plus a strip of crispy crackling. The meat was very tender and fell apart, the chorizo added a smoky, spicy note and the crackling was delicious. The rest of the table seemed very happy with their starters, with particular praise coming for the perfectness of the poached egg and the clean, light flavours of the tuna.

I stuck with the unashamedly carnivorous option for the main – fillet of beef, horseradish soufflé, girolles and oxtail raviolo. Other choices were lamb – roasted saddle and braised shoulder, the signature scallops and belly pork and ballotine of rabbit with roasted langoustine. To accompany a bottle of Argentinean Malbec that was full-bodied, smooth and very moreish.

One slight hiccup occurred when a waiter began to lay plates down on our table to general oohs and aaahs, but then the plates were whisked away when one of his colleagues realised they were destined for another table! Disappointment all round, but we had another sip of wine and waited for it to be our turn.

I have to say the beef was superb, an excellent cut that was very flavoursome. The horseradish soufflé was relatively dense; almost cake like, with the distinctive bite of horseradish shining through. The plump oxtail raviolo was stuffed with tender threads of meat interspersed with carrots and a rich sauce. A red wine reduction and sautéed girolles completed a heavenly dish.

The rest of the table seemed very happy with their selections, judging by the silence whilst initially tucking in and the empty plates at the end. We were all pleasantly full by this stage and felt the portion sizes were just right, not too small and not supersize-me-style big.

There was a gap before we made our dessert choices, long enough for us to persuade ourselves that a second bottle of Malbec was an excellent idea….

I finished off the evening with the chocolate fondant with pistachio ice cream from a dessert list that was full with lots of other desirable choices. When it arrived, it was beautifully presented and on cracking through the top it oozed out a very indulgent thick chocolate sauce. Often with fondants I find they have been slightly overcooked so the cake/sauce ratio is too much in favour of the cake, not so here! The pistachio ice cream was beautiful, almost a mousse in texture and had an exceptional flavour.

All in all we had a great time; the staff were efficient and not over-attentive. Tom himself came round the tables at the end and spent a few minutes having a bit of banter. He explained he is trying for a relatively informal style, where the waiters do not try and refill your wine glass every time you take a sip. I for one found that to be a relief and made for an enjoyable meal where the conversation could flow without constant interruption. The only real fault I could find, like others before me, is with the décor and layout, which are not great. But then when the food and wine are this good, who cares?

Total cost per head, with service - £56