I have never been to the Ritz. This maybe because I can’t afford it, or it could equally be because, to enjoy the Ritz fayre, I would have to bypass The Wolseley, right next door at 160 Piccadilly. This is something I have not yet achieved.
Just time for a quick review of a very funky little Albanian owned place in London’s West end. Hidden behind Wyndham’s Theatre on an alley opposite famous fish resto, J Sheekey, it is a wine focussed place with a short but interesting and not over expensive wine list. It also has a decent looking bistro menu. We stopped for a quick glass on the way to buy show tickets.
Cacophony. That’s the only word to describe the number and range of restaurants on Charlotte Street. This bustling part of London seems to be the very epicentre of eating out. I was dining with someone who knew the area and we agreed on Italian so he suggested Bertorelli’s which I learnt had been founded by the Bertorelli family some 90 years ago.
So I was, frankly, bloody annoyed to find that Chez Gérard Group now owned the restaurant and had turned it into yet another one of their chains. I’ve always considered Chez Gérard to be high on price and low on quality and you may remember my Livebait experience… I find most chains, in any case, are a triumph of formula over inspiration, of laziness over perspiration.
When we arrived at St Alban for Sunday lunch there were only three other tables occupied! This despite the day being the biggest sporting day in the UK calendar – men’s final at Wimbledon, Tour de France starting at Trafalgar Square (just round the corner) that morning, British Grand Prix at Northampton (Silverstone), and me dancing at Live Earth the night before (and that is a rare occasion). This despite the fact that St Alban had telephoned us the day before to push our booking back from 2:0pm to 2:15pm – hmmmm.
The wine bar in the lower ground floor of F & M Foodhall on Piccadilly is so cool, and I’m not talking about the ambient temperature. Staffed by a range of nationalities with a variety of experiences in wine. Our Polish waiter, Artur Zarzycki “vaz early on hiz vine joornee” but seemed to know plenty despite his claimed one year of experience. And he almost knew how to operate a camera!
Queuing outside F & M on a Sunday at midday (the bloody shop opened late by about 2 minutes 30 seconds), because we had an hour to kill before our reservation at St Alban (more anon). So, as all the restaurants and cafes in F & M were being refurbished, we dashed down to the wine bar “1707” where, for £23.90 (inc. service) we got to try a fantastic range of wines. Who says the posh shops are expensive?
I did once manage to get some sort of degree from Leeds University Business School which is not exactly the Ivy League. Still it stood me in good stead for being comprehensible – occasionally. Sadly this was not true when I visited The Ivy with the wife.
Being in the West End we opened with a quick glass at the Cork & Bottle on Cranbourn Street and swiftly moved on to the surprisingly quiet location next to the St Martin’s Theatre where The Mousetrap has been playing since 1436:
Shepherd’s Market in Mayfair is one of the most charming places in the capital. It’s totally unique.
By contrast, Turkish resto Sofra, has a number of branches across London. My myopic view of restaurant chains is that they totally lack flair and employ cooks rather than chefs to dish out someone else’s imagination…poorly.
So when invited to Sofra (Mayfair)Â I attended with some trepidation, that turned out to be totally unwarranted.
Me and my Chairman finished a meeting in the City and decided to go for a quick beer………which turned into erm, two bottles of wine.
The reason being that we stumbled upon Clause on Lovat Lane off Eastcheap EC3.
This bar must think it is Christmas every day. Between 5pm and 7pm they have a happy happy happy hour where all wines (except house) are half price! So we “invested” in an Errazuriz Sauvignon Blanc, Chile 2005 at £17.50 (or rather £8.75). It would have been rude not to have ordered some nibbles to go with it, so we didn’t.
Then after a second bottle we ordered the bill and, including service, it was less than 20 quid – what in London? In the City? At a posh bar? “Yaw ‘avin a larf” my chirpy cab driver said to me on the way back to Kings Cross.
Oh the wine? Er yes, it was full of rich fruits and –  oh who cares – it was very very very drinkable and at that price I suggest you get down to Clause the very next time that the big hand is on the 12 and the little hand is on the, well er, 17 to be precise . . . . .
Clause. 1 Lovat Lane, off Eastcheap, London EC3R 8DT. +44 (0) 207 283 6191.  info@clause-bar.co.uk. www.clause-bar.co.uk.
Deep in Jack the Ripper territory just behind Bishopsgate Police Station lies a dark secret. Whitechapel is legendary for the murders committed by one of the first serial killers to gain notoriety. Nowadays an altogether different cereal is found in the back alleys, and the only murder is evidenced by an occasional squealing lobster.
The back alley known as Widegate Street is where I found Sri Thong, a Thai restaurant with a name that brings back haunting memories of that famous and heinous picture of Peter Stringfellow on the beach.
My day job took me to the City and after a morning of extreme hard work, a lunchtime visit to TKs on Lovat Lane.
Paul Hacker took me so I figured we might be there all afternoon.
Stumble It!
