Time Out have just posted their
Best of 2011 and I have to say on the whole I very much agree. I've been to some wonderful restaurants, had some incredible meals and some great memories. It's funny that I used to rush to the "Best of the year - music events" on previous years, this year, who cares about Dubstep, Adele and Gnarls Barclay (seriously?!). This year, it's all about the food.
So here are my top restaurant experiences of 2011.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal - Proper grown up, real fun, exciting food. I want to go every week to have the salted butter pudding. I won't sleep quite as well until I eat that again.
Pale Blue Door - In a higgledy-piggley house in Hackney with a boistrous cabaret tranny, unlimited gin and some exciting sharing platters. Everyone becomes great friends and smiles a lot.
Mishkins - The same pair own Polpo, Polpetto, Spuntino and now Mishkins, the NY Jewish Deli opposite Shrek. I went. I ate a Reuben sandwich. I got seated by Russel Norman - swoon!
MeatLiquor - It opened early amid a Twitter storm, off Regent St burger joint from the travelling meat van MeatEasy is dead simple, dead reasonable and always busy. Go early, it's great.
Brixton Village - Honest Burgers, Mama Lans and very many more excellent market-units-turned-cafes in rebranded Granville Market is almost too hipster for its own good. I love it.
Pollen Street Social - I have dragged so many people to this place and it doesn't disappoint. There's a dessert bar where the chefs tell you all about the puddings and you can try stuff. You can order two main courses and two starters as a tasting menu. You can walk in and sit at the bar. The chef - Jason Atherton is very often in the kitchen.
Corner Room - Nuno Mendez's little secret upstairs from Viajante. Reasonable, sometimes confounding food from the Portuguese chef.
Jun Tanaka Pearl - £39 for three courses offer could so easily disappoint, but it really didn't. Really delicate, elegant food, served by in a stunning room by attentive waitstaff with very many lovely extra courses. If you see this offer again, don't miss out.
Taste Festival - So much wonderful food (and oysters too) and I gave Omar Allibhoy my number, he still hasn't called. Wonder if he's lost it...
Maltby Street - This really was a surprise, little pockets of people enjoying St John baked goods, Monmouth coffee, sausage sandwiches and hot cider. Really worth a wander.
Hawksmoor - Steak, cocktails and in my case about six side dishes. Grown up meat restaurant, take a date, just don't expect them to be able to move afterwards.
Young Turks - When people talk snottily about pop up restaurants, I will think about The Young Turks and tell them they've just not been to a good one. A restaurant in a Canary Wharf tower, on a car park roof, and upstairs in an historic boozer. Each time you come away in love with your wait staff, best friends with your neighbour, treasuring your menu like a manscript and saying the most ludicrous things about your dinner "THE CHICKEN SKIN WAS DIVINE", "WAS THAT AUBERGINE DIP? WHAT WAS IN IT? IT WAS INSANE!" You know, stupid stuff. It's the Young Turks fault. They're too damn good.
Spuntino - I want to eat truffled eggs on toast whilst pretending I'm in Lower East Side New York every day forever.
Still to do
Boce De Lupo (Twice booked, twice cancelled. One day...)
Copita (Bar Chocolat was great, I'm hearing the new restaurant in its place is pretty awesome too)
Actual Tooting Curry Houses (where to start?)
.JPG)
.JPG)
