Roussillon

16 St Barnabas Street, SW1W 8PB

This was a special occasion. A couple of years ago, I decided to have a major career change and so am currently retraining, as an accountant (I know, but I enjoy it!) This means that at the moment, I am sitting accountancy exams twice a year, with results in January and July. This January marked the halfway point, so we decided to have an appropriate celebration. Banking on the fact that I had passed (it would have been a shit night out if I hadn't), we booked a table at Roussillon.

The reason we picked here? We had seen Alexis Gauthier on Professional Masterchef last year. And we loved the look of his food, and his general approach to cooking. It's very hard to convey, but he cooked very much using his senses rather than precise instructions. So he wouldn't cook something for two minutes, he'd cook it till it was ready. He was about learning how to see, taste, smell and feel that food is ready. We liked his philosophy, and he seemed like a good chef to work for.

We had tantalised our taste buds with a look at the online menus, but were well aware that the seasons had moved on and looked forward to seeing what the winter menu would hold for us.

The Menu:
The menu was beautiful. The first page, which we read knowing we would never order from it, was The Winter Black Truffle Menu. £25 per dish supplement. This comprised a scallop dish, calf's sweetbreads, and a winter vegetable dish.

Roussillon is well-known for providing exciting and creative vegetarian food. Although a confirmed meat eater, I was very impressed by the vegetarian dishes, and the Menu Légumes - every bit as exciting as the meat and fish options.

The à la carte menu was three courses for £60, with a wide choice of interesting and attractive dishes to choose from.

Recently I have firmly avoided tasting menus - I have too often felt that I've eaten way too much, waking up at 4am feeling uncomfortable and bilious. I also haven't been anywhere I've been that excited about what's on offer. But when I read Roussillon's, I thought I would like to try a lot of it, so skipped on to the tasting Menu D'Hiver - eight gorgeous courses for £78.

Our Meal:
We were very, very impressed. It was some of the best food we have ever eaten, and really there was not a course that disappointed.

We started with a crab & clam tortellini with a langoustine velouté (although we had a slightly hairy moment when a plate with one tortellini was put in front of us, luckily the velouté was not far behind!)

This segued into foie gras served three ways, the most unusual of which was the port & foie gras duck egg soufflé, but this worked very well.

We then moved on to the star of the night for us, the winter black truffe risotto with parmesan and brown butter. I'm not usually very keen on risotto, although Mr PP is a fan. But this was so beautiful, I could eat bowlfuls of it and never tire of it. Creamy, perfectly cooked rice with the salty parmesan, musty truffle and rich butter just combined perfectly.

Beautifully cooked halibut then moved us on to the beef with olives, both of which were exceptionally tasty, and from then to cheese and desserts.

I was also impressed with the wine list - not because I'm any kind of connoisseur - but that there was a lot of choice at the cheaper end of the scale. There were several bottles in the £20-£30 range, and we were very happy with our choices. A nice surprise was the dessert wine which was served as part of the tasting menu at the end of the meal.

Coffee and petit-fours finished us off, and we wandered back to Victoria, me clutching my lovely box filled with macaroons (as presented to all the ladies). The whole meal was well-balanced, and whilst indulgent was not too rich.

A celebratory glass of champagne, tasting menu, wine, coffee and service set us back £260. Unfortunately not everyday affordable for us, but worth every penny.

What we liked:
Obviously, the food! But we also loved the restaurant and the ambience. And the service was excellent - efficient and personable, no hint of stuffiness.

My favourite thing though was that, because we loved it so much, I rather gauchely asked for a copy of the menu. Expecting only the paper insert at best, I was delighted to be presented with a whole menu (although I did look rather odd on the tube). A nice touch.

What we didn't like:
Not much really.

The amuse bouches didn't blow us away, but they were still good, and that is a very nitpicky point. Otherwise my only other observation would be that, certainly on the night we were in, it's a fairly old, traditional crowd. While it suits us well enough, many people may find it a bit too quiet and sedate for them.

Will we be back?:
As often as we can afford!

Dhonia

148 Tollington Park, N4 3AD

We love Dhonia. This is our local Indian restaurant, and I really think we would be quite bereft if anything ever changed there.

It's definitely not the busiest restaurant in the area, and we are quite baffled by that. It does great Indian food, lovely staff and good, reliable delivery. What more could you want?

Elvis?

For a while now, they've been doing a bi-monthly Elvis night, with Sal, an Elvis tribute artist. Honestly, I initally, internally poo-pooed the idea. But it kept going, and I thought - this must be doing OK for them. So I tried to book a table. Fully booked out! Apparently most people rebook on the night for the next time, so tables are very limited.

Well, that was it. I wanted in. So we booked about four months ahead, and anticipated an excellent night in dull and miserable January 2010. Despite such a build up, Sal did not disappoint, and we had one of the funnest evenings I think we will have all year.

The Menu:
The deal is £20 per head for the meal and Elvis - drinks and poppadoms are extra. I thought it would be a set meal, so was surprised but delighted to be offered a choice of set starters (meat or vegetarian), but then any main and side from the normal menu, with rice or nan. So we could have one of our many favourites from the specials. Yum!

Our Night:
We sat down and 7pm, Sal started at 8pm and didn't stop (except a 20 minute break in the middle) until after 11pm. And he was brilliant. A really, really great entertainer. And the restaurant staff were fab too. There was no dip in the quality, they were still doing take-away and delivery, and despite have a table of 16, the food came out promptly and in good time.

Dhonia is quite intimate. Not squashed, but if somebody had told me Sal would be highkicking his way through some songs, I'd have wondered how. But he did. Not only that but people were up dancing. By the end of the night, after the big table left, we were all up dancing.

What we liked:
The food and staff, as ever. And Sal ... he was just brilliant. And the looks on the faces of the couple who came in for a take-away. They were just a little bemused.

What we didn't like:
Nothing - it was all great fun.

Will we be back?:
Just try and stop us ...

The Thai Garden

249 Globe Road, E2 OJD

This is our second visit to The Thai Garden, which we went to with friends. I have to admit I don't really like Bethnal Green much at all. But Globe Road is quite near the tube/buses (i.e. a quick escape at the end of the night), and a bit of a haven, with two great pubs (The Camel and The Florist), and The Thai Garden.

The Menu:
It's a vegetarian and seafood menu only, but it's still extensive and there is lots of choice. As I sat and tried to decide I had a horrible sense of déjà vu - I had had a terrible time trying to decide last time.

We eventually settled on Mixed Seafood Tempura and Prawn Spring Rolls to start (Mr PP and I have the charming/annoying habit - depends on your viewpoint - of sharing all our food. Means we don't waste lots of time on pointless food envy.) Then red and green curry with prawns for mains.

Our Meal:
The food, as before, was absolutely delicious ... when it arrived. Starters were light and crispy, no problems with dirty cooking oil, and soggy batter. The curries were very good, and fully lived up to expectations. But there really was an issue with the service. And it was very difficult to ignore.

I would say that we were patient customers. We were on night out with friends, we were in no rush ... So we weren't overly demanding. But, our prawn crackers never arrived; our beers took over 10 minutes to get from the bar to the table (anybody who is familiar with the Thai Garden will realise you can do that walk in 10 seconds, if you are walking very, very slowly); one of our starters didn't arrived until 10 minutes after everybody else had finished ... despite being asked for three or four times.

And it went on. Beers continued to be in short supply, no rice arrived with the mains etc ...

This was nothing like our first visit, so I'm prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt, just this once. And the food is good enough to give it another go.

What we liked:
The food - it really could not be faulted. And at £7 for a main course, very good value for money.

What we didn't like:
The service (this time anyway).

The fact that the starters are £6 when the mains are only £7.

The restaurant itself is absolutely tiny, and we felt very squashed in. When full (which it always is) I was hemmed in and could not get to the bathroom without disturbing at least two other tables. Maybe that was the strategy in not serving me any beer?

Will we go back?:
Yes, definitely. Although probably not just the two of us - it would always be with friends.

Butlers Wharf Chop House

The Butlers Wharf Building, 36e Shad Thames, SE1 2YE

Every year, for the last few, Mr PP and I have done the Evening Standard reader offers at D&D restaurants. Although occasionally ending up somewhere not that special (yes, Coq D'Argent we are looking at you here), we also had a wonderful evening at Launceston Place, and fabulous cocktails at Skylon, with a great view over the Thames.

This year, we decided to try Butlers Wharf Chop House, so booked ourselves in for an early dinner on a Friday evening.

The Menu:
Being the reader offer this was necessarily somewhat limited. However, it was not the menu we had looked at on the website, and to be honest we weren't enthralled. In fact, so much so, I have no record of it now (not good for a blog - must do better in future!) The limited menu was even further reduced by the fact that they had run out of the potted pork starter, and the fish main course. I think, to be fair they should now have been rebranding it the set menu. Still, at two courses for £10, it should still be value for money?

Our Meal:
We had to wait around half an hour at the bar for our table. As we sat and waited it soon became clear that the shit was hitting the fan all around us. To be fair, front of house were doing a very good job at trying to keep things going, but I could see into the open-ish kitchen, and there were a LOT of checks waiting ...

Eventually, we were seated next to the door. I don't know if you remember London in January this year, but I was not best pleased. I spotted a table for two next to the window, and asked to be moved. I was, albeit nicely, told that this table was being saved for somebody else who had come in after us - in other words, somebody better than us. At that moment I knew I'd never be back.

They did however reseat us away from the door, and despite the ongoing chaos we were efficiently dealt with. Our starters, which I can no longer remember were fine and probably the best course. We both opted for the chicken pie, the contents of which were tasty, but had the worst, thinnest, most-like-cardboard pastry discs I have ever seen laid on top - a very poor show!

Inevitably, two courses for £10 means they will charge for all the extras. We had a side of roast potatoes and a side of cauliflower cheese, at £3.50 each - yikes. Nothing amazing, but good, solid dishes.

What we liked:
We did like the staff. Despite the obvious difficulties and being rushed off our feet, our waitress was very attentive, and we never struggled to catch her eye or get attention when we needed it. We appreciated that, and felt the service charge had been duly earned. The bar itself was comfortable enough, and once we got moved I was quite happy with the table.

What we didn't like:
I didn't like feeling that other customers were being treated as though they were better than us. I didn't like having to pay extra for sides when I've turned up for an advertised £10 menu.

Will we go back?:
Very unlikely

Garufa

104 Highbury Park, N5 2XE

First lunch out of the New Year. If there's one thing I like for lunch, it's a decent burger. Garufa is part of a small chain of Argentinian restaurants, also comprising Santa Maria del Sur in Battersea and Buen Ayre in Hackney. Despite being only a short walk from home, we hadn't been here before. Time to change all that ...

We turned up without a booking, which at a busy lunchtime is not to be advised, but the staff managed to squeeze us in. The restaurant seemed to be very popular with young, middle-class locals - it seemed family friendly, which I guess is a blessing or a curse depending on your viewpoint.

The Menu:
The breakfast and lunch menu boasts a range of traditional Argentinian dishes, but there are some vegetarian options for those not so keen on beef in various guises. I guess it's a little pricey and it is possible to eat much cheaper in the area. But does the quality justify the cost?

Our Meal:
We were tempted by the breakfast, but in the end I opted for the beef burger and Mr PP ordered the breaded rump steak with chips. I wasn't asked how I wanted my burger cooked, although this was a minor niggle. Much less of a problem than asking (medium-rare) and then delivering well-done - amazing how often that happens!

The food arrived in good time, and while good it didn't blow us away. We therefore decided not to order any of the rather lovely looking desserts, in case they too failed to excite. The menu did have several different coffees - I had a Babyccino (I know I'm not a child, but they are lovely) and Mr PP had a latté.

In the end we decided the food needed to be better to justify the bill. Our meal, one beer each, coffee and service pushed the bill up to very nearly £40.

What we liked:
Very friendly waiting staff, who were helpful and efficient. Relaxed surroundings, and comfortable seating - despite it being busy, we didn't feel squashed in or intruded on by surrounding tables.

What we didn't like:
Mainly the price. Knock 25% off the bill and we'd have been a lot happier.

Will we go back?:
Unlikely.

The Pickled Peach ... Take 2

The previous Pickled Peach blog (which is still in existence on another well-known blogging site) was about cooking. At that point in my life, I cooked. I cooked a lot. And I was generally considered to be very good at it. My brother-in-law, who I consider to be fierce competition, has conceded that he thinks I'm a better cook. And so does his wife. From them I take that as a huge compliment.

Funny how things move on. I now cook very rarely, and I eat out lots. This is bad for my bank balance, my waistline, and my cooking blog. But I really wouldn't have it any other way. I've also found that I spend much more time reading restaurant review blogs than cooking blogs. I find them interesting and useful when I'm looking for somewhere to go, or to check out a recommendation I may have had.

But that's not the main reason I'm starting this one - after all London restaurant review blogs are aplenty out there, and most of them are faithfully updated by better writers than me (and people brave enough to take photos of their food in restaurants - I've tried and I'm just too self concious!). The reason for doing this is that Mr PP and I would love to have a record of the places we've been and what we ate there. Neither of us are very good diarists and our 11 years of culinary adventure have so far gone undocumented.

So for 2010 I'm going to try to remedy that, and hope that I can create something that we can look back on with fond memories. And if anybody else finds it interesting or useful, then that's a good thing too ...