Nopi Restaurant - London

Sorry, didnt take a picture of any of the food so here's an image from Google

This place has had mixed reviews but all the people who I know have been, have thoroughly enjoyed themselves. However, this was my second visit to the restaurant having been turned away last time because of a cock up with the reservation. Normally I wouldnt bother going back but friends and colleages suggested I make a special effort and get down there. My visit was with my wife, business partner and his wife and after double checking they had my reservation this time, I was looking forward to it.

Nopi is situated just North of Picadiliy, hence the name 'Nopi'....yeah, great! The first thing that hits you about this place as you walk through the door is the smell, it smells amazing! To the left of the entrance they also have what I can only describe as a 'salad bar'...sounds crap I know but it's not. It's an array of salads and things on the menu that dont require cooking and it all looks delicious. That coupled with the smell leaves you desperate to get on with dinner.

After being led to our table, we cast our eye over the menu. The whole affair is like a middle eastern tapas type thing, you choose maybe three dishes each and share away, experiencing difference flavours as you go. It's broken down into Veg, Fish, Meat and Sweets so we ordered around eight dishes between the four of us to start with...couple of veg and the rest split between meat and fish...

The vegetarian dishes were awesome and made you realise what really can be done with vegetables. The French beans, smoked wheat and tahini dressing was lovely, as was the Vadeon cheescake. I could have turned vegetarian had it not been for the arrival of the other courses.

Highlights for me were the seared scallops. pig's ears, black bean and ginger sauce - it was absolutely spot on. The twice cooked baby chicken, lemon myrtle salt and chilli sauce was immense too along with the lamb sadle with pickled aubergine, preserved lemons and ginger sauce. Reading all this back, seems nuts, so many flavours, so much going on but trust me the whole things works a treat.

We tried a few other dishes, too many to mention and they were all really good. I dont think I can fault any of them, each and everyone left you thinking 'WOW' even the deserts.

We'd scoffed a whole load of food, drank far too much vino but had a great evening. Great atomosphere, good service and spectacular food. It's very informal, buzzy, fun and a great way to eat. We absolutely loved it and would recommend it highly.

Marks out of ten? I'd have to give this one a 9/10.

It's one of the best places I've been to in a long time.

Arbutus - London

The 'nice' squid & mackerel 'burger' with parsley, cockles and sea purslane

I visited Arbutus in London whilst looking for a quick bite to eat. There I was in Frith Street and thought why not?! As you might imagine they were pretty busy but managed to find room for my business partner and I at their bar. This all sounded great and we were offered a drink by the barman who enquired as to what we might be ordering - very nice Irish chap, very friendly and also very helpful when it came to the menu too. He suggested we try a couple of glassed of a portugese red which we were more than happy to do and it was lovely. I ordered the squid & mackerel 'burger' to start followed by the Saddle of rabbit with a shoulder cottage pie and enjoyed some more wine and a nibble on some very nice bread while we waited for our grub.

Along came the starters within good time. I'm not sure what I was expecting but basically the burger was a fishcake. A nice fishcake but a fishcake. The flavours were good, the food well cooked and all in all I quite enjoyed it. I liked the herbs on the side, not sure where the sea purslane was or indeed what is was but the dish was a goodun that's for sure. So, for the main course, I'd gone for the rabbit which was ok, dont get me wrong there was nothing wrong with it but it didnt blow me away. The cottage pie that accompanied the dish was good, lots of flavour but for some reason it felt like I had two dishes.

We supped a bit more wine, chatted to an Israeli chap who was sitting at the bar next to us and had a very good evening. Would I go back? Probably not, not by choice anyway as there are tons of similar restaurants all over the place. I'd much rather go back to Wild Honey, depsite the smelly waiter. The food was much more impressive and left me wanting more.

Marks out of ten? I'd have to give Arbutus a 6/10

Wild Honey Restaurant - Mayfair, London

I was invited to Wild Honey Restaurant by our PR agency just before Christmas. I'd heard of the restaurant and understood it had a good reputation. It's situated in George Street, Mayfair and is run by the same team as Arbutus.

We arrived a little late after a mix up with directions and the taxi so were a little rushed. The entrance to the restaurant is a little cramped, there were five of us but we all felt a little squashed between the bar and the door. As we were led to our table, you couldn't help noticing the oak panelling and massively high ceilings, along with the booths where we ended up. It was a bit of a squeeze in the booth as there were five of us and one person had to sit on the end. This wasn't great as the coat stand was immediately behind him and made things even tighter.

Still, we were starving and looking forward to tasting the food. It took a while to get drinks ordered and they forgot about one of the drinks. It was hard to get the attention of the staff, perhaps because we were in a booth but they just didn't seem to want to serve us, at least that's what it felt like.

The menu on the other hand looked great and I was feeling in a particularly gamey mood, opting for the Shoulder of Hare cooked in red wine, pappadelle, olive oil and Parmesan, followed by Slow Cooked Venison, roast carrots and soft polenta. We ordered a bottle of red and some water and by now things were looking up, plus we were now munching on some rather nice bread.

Our first course arrived in good time and looked very terrific, the smell of the food was lovely too but over powered by the smell of the waiter! I hate to say it but this chap had some serious body odour and it wasn't nice at all. My first course was awesome, absolutely delicious and I'm sure I could have eaten another plateful had I not have the main course still to come. The hare was beautifully cooked, the sauce very rich and tasty and the Parmesan worked a treat. I found the dish top notch and right up my street and almost made up for the smelly waiter!

My main course arrived and again looked lovely, very rich and gamey although very similar to my starter! I was starting to regret ordering another game dish, but it didn't disappoint despite the similarities with my starter. I was soo impressed with my dishes, they were very very good.

Between us we decided to have a cheese board instead of desert, we'd walked past it earlier and all fancied sampling it. It was good, a nice selection of cheeses from the UK and France although I can't remember what exactly we had. We all really enjoyed it.

My conclusion? Well, first class food it has to be said, the restaurant atmosphere and ambiance are great too. It was really lively and enjoyable and the booths would be quite nice if there were four of you. You have privacy and can talk amongst yourselves which was good as it was a business kind of thing but the booths hinder the service, at least it did with us. We really struggled to get the attention of the staff, particularly at the end when we wanted the bill - we had to go and ask for it!! Wild Honey could be SO much better in my opinion. Improve service and deal with the smelly waiter and you'll have an amazing restaurant.

Worth going back? Yes I think so, I'd give them another chance as the food was brilliant!

Bellevue Restaurant - Prague, Czech Republic

For my wifes birthday this year, we decided to head off to Prague, a city we'd heard so much about. We booked a lovely little hotel on the castle side of the Charles Bridge, near the embassy's and did some searching on the internet for a decent restaurant. I came across the Bellevue Restaurant which we understood was in Central Prague and very close to the Charles Bridge.

We booked a table for the Saturday night and had a little look for where the restaurant was situated when we arrived on the Friday. The location is fantastic with great views over the river, straight across to the bridge and castle beyond that. We'd seen a sample menu online and were excited about what was in store on the Saturday night.

So when Saturday night arrived, we wandered down across the bridge heading for the restaurant. Once inside, we were greated by a lady who checked our reservation and led us to our table. Champagne? Oh yes please that would be lovely. An amuse boche arrived which were so memorable that I've forgotten what they were!

Anyway, from the menu we opted for the four course taster with wines to accompany the meal. So to the first course which was a trio of seafood - they called Bellevue seafood degustation and included Lobster in Lardo di Colonata , Scallops with Barley Kuba and Tempura of Tiger Prawns. It was paired with a glass of Chardonnay and arrived at the table, looked great. It was a very pretty dish, served on a long horizontal plate. Tasty? I really liked it, lots of flavours but everything worked really well including the wine.

Second course was a Dashi Infused Cod served with a wasabi potato puree, spinach leaves and shi-take mushrooms with a safron oil. Looked lovely, very nicely presented but couldn't help wondering what happened to the wasabi....it just wasnt there. However the dish was nice and local Czech wine it was served with went very well.

Up next was Grilled Saddle of Venison (pictured above) which claimed to have roasted mushrooms and a rosehip sauce. Couldnt find any mushrooms anywhere but the spinach spatzle was fantastic enhancing the texture of the dish. This was my favourite despite the missing mushrooms and I could have eaten another one. I'm not sure the picture does it justice but it was absolutely lovely...perfectly cooked and the sauce worked really well. The wine was good too, nothing special but a nice red to go with the venison.

The final course for me was cheese, not being big on deserts but my wife had the Apple Strudel which she loved. My cheese was delicious, a really good selection which I'd had my eye on all night. I was persuaded to have some port to go with it, that went down a treat.

All in all, we had a lovely experience and would go back again if we visit Prague. It's a lovely restaurant with spectacular views over the river to the bridge and castle. Great ambience, good service, very friendly and not at all snobbish. The food was splendid too and represented excellent value for money. I'd certainly recommend it as somewhere special to go in Prague if you get the chance.

HIX Restaurant - Soho, London

I visited HIX recently for a business lunch with our PR agency and a journalist. Having never been there before but know of Mark Hix I was very much looking forward to it.

On arrival, I wasnt really greeted by anybody but having already spotted my colleague headed straight to the table. The restaurant was very busy and with a great atmostphere although probably not ideal for a business meeting, particularly given my dodgy hearing! We were offered some water while we looked at the menu and waited for our guest. On his arrival we got down to business and started checking out the menu - somebody brought along a board full of raw meat, the various cuts to select. I liked this, and I liked the guy explaining what everything was...despite knowing what they were it was a nice touch.

So we decided to dive straight into the main course, ordering a few nibbles to keep us occupied til they arrived and a bottle of Rioja to stop us getting thirsty. My choice being the Hangar Steak served with Marrowbone which I was very much looking forward to. We ordered some veggies and some chips as these didnt come with the dishes and were extra.

Our nibbles arrived, which were parsnip crisps (they were nice) and some Pork Crackling which was tasty but rock hard and went all over the place when you tried to break it or it it. Grease all over my napkin which was a bit annoying!

Main course arrived, it looked great even though the Marrowbone was quite big but the steak looked lovely. it tasted good too, although a little chewy and not so succulent. I ordered medium rare but would say that it was a little under that.

Consclusion? Well at £170 for the three of us, I didnt think it was great value, considering we only had the main course plus some nibbles. The food was average, service informal but very good, the wine lovely and the atompshere buzzing. I wouldnt go back in a hurry but will try it again at some point, even just to try out Mark's Bar downstairs from the restaurant - that looks a great place to chill out.

Apsleys - The Lanesborough, Hyde Park Corner

Apsleys: Recently re-launched in September, Apsleys is situated in The Lanesborough Hotel on Hyde Park Corner. Their new Head Chef, Heinz Beck already has a fantastic reputation running one of Italy's best restaurants the three Michelin starred 'La Pergola' in Rome. Regarded by many as the best chef in Italy, this is his first venture in London.

Review: My wife and I had booked our table for 9pm as we'd decided to take advantage of staying at The Lanesborough overnight for her birthday. At just after 9pm, we headed down to the restaurant with high hopes, having eaten at La Pergola in Rome back in April where we were fourtunate enough to meet Chef Heinz Beck after an amazing meal.

We were led to our table in a quiet corner of the restaurant and ordered a glass of Champagne whilst we decided on the food. We pretty much knew that we were going to have one of the tsting menus, it was just a case of deciding whether it would be the five or seven courses. Within minutes, we were ready to embark on the seven course menu with accompanying wines paired to each course.

With our Champagne, we were brought a surprise from the chef, a tiny soup and mushroom shaped aubergine starter. This was very nice and kicked things of rather nicely. We then cracked on into the full seven courses with some lovely bread on the side.

Sea Bass Wafer, Tomato Confit & Avocado2007 Cuvee Anna, Tiefenbrunner, Alto Adige, ItalyThis was a very delicate, light and pretty dish with some lovely flavours and great textures all perfectly matched with the wine.

Scallops, Amaranth & Black Corns

2005 Verdicchio di Matelica Riserva, Belisario, Le Marche, ItalyThis dish wasnt quite what we were expecting, as the scallops were served raw on top of the back corns. Never the less, it was very tasty and beatifully presented and the wine worked very well indeed.

Foie Gras, Cereals & Mushroom Consomme2007 Riesling, Schloss, Johannisberg, Rheingau, Germany
We were both aprehensive about the foie gras, not because it was foie gras but beacuse we'd had this dish at La Pergola and had been left slightly dissapointed. However, this time around it really delivered on flavour with the foie gras wonderfully caramalised with balsamic it really was a delight. The wine worked well too, not being a fan of Riesling it was very good.

Carbonara FagotelliN.V. Prosecco Garbel, Adami, Veneto, Italy

The Carbonara Fagotelli, or Fagotelli 'La Pergola' as it's called in Rome is an absolute delight. We'd had high hopes for this dish as in Rome, it was absolutely amazing. A Heinz Beck signature dish, it's one of the best plates of food that I've ever eaten. Not bad for a bowl of pasta!!

Dover Sole & Fine Herbs2008 Verdejo, Jose Pariente, Rueda, SpainAn unusual looking dish, its flavours and textures were lovely, reminding us of our trip to rome and a similar dish with little rice crispies in every bite. Another winner here.

Lamb Crepinette2007 Nebbiolo Langhe, Produttori del Barbesco, Piemonte, ItalyAs you would expect, the lamb came with a wonderfull red wine from Italy. The meat was so soft, delicate but the dish was packed with flavour and a realy joy. Another amazing dish from a great chef.

Setteveli, Chocolate & Hazelnut2005 Tokaji Aszu, 5 Puttonyos, Royal Tokaji Co, HungaryLast up was the pudding, a fabulous chocolate treat with hazelnuts and gorgeous ice cream. It looked amazing too as you'll see in the photo I took! The wine on the other hand wasnt up to scratch, but then I've never been a big fan of desert wines.

Conclusion: This restaurant is the business, it delivers on every level. The food is excellent, with wonderfull flavours, textures and truly beautiful presentation from my point of view it knocks spots of Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester and it head and shoulders above many other London restaurants. Heinz Beck's winning combination has to make this one of the best places to eat in London and it will surely only be a matter of time before this restaurant is awarded multiple Michelin Stars.

The River Cafe - London

The River Cafe: Situated on the banks of the River Thames, The River Cafe is run by Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers and has been there for over 20 years. The likes of Jamie Oliver, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Theo Randall have all trained here and so our expectations were high.

We struggled to find the place to start with, I knew that it wasnt far from Craven Cottage but couldnt quite work it out. Once in the restaurant, we were greeted by a very attractive lady who showed us to our table, near the window and with a good look at the River Thames.

I'm not sure what hit us first, the amazing atmosphere of the place or the fact that all the staff appear to be extremely good looking, both male and female, everybody was good looking! As I said the atmosphere was really good, a busy busy canteen type environment and lots going on. I really liked that about the place.

Service was great too and the staff made us feel at home, no pressure and always with a smile. I ordered the Chargrilled Squid, served with fresh chilli and a rocket salad. It was nice, just nice and nothing special but then it was exactly what I ordered. We selected a bottle of red (can't remember what) but it was nice and tucked in. The waiting staff, still attentive and making sure we had everything we needed.

Main Course for me, was Grouse. Served with pumpkin and an Amarone sauce. The Grouse was a bit fiddly to eat, nice but a bit hard work and I struggled to get all the meat off the bone. It was tasty though and the Amarone sauce was tremendous...really loved it.

Yet again we skipped desert in favour of liquers, becoming a bit of a habbit. Out came the Frangelico (a hazelnut liquer) and Strega which was great.

The whole afternoon was good, great service with a fantastic atmosphere but sadly the the food was a little short. I'd go back for sure, but next time around I would order something different.