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Central London
Yauatcha
15 Broadwick Street, London W1 Tel 020 7494 8888
Dim sum restaurant open daily 10am-11.30pm
Alan Yau's latest dining project, a dark, moody underground dim sum parlour tucked away in the basement of Sir Richard Rogers' classy, glassy Ingeni building next to Soho's Berwick street market, was always going to be a bit of allright.
Parisian designer Christian Liagre, who has already created the come-hither environments of Hakkasan and Busaba Eat-Thai for Yau, has created two very different spaces here. The ground floor tea salon is light, open and glassy, lined with canisters of the 150 varieties of tea and counters of exquisite little cakes by former Pierre Herme patissier, Stephane Sucheta, ready to be boxed and be-ribboned in springtime pinks and greens.
The dim sum stuff is downstairs in a moody room, all low-slung tables and chairs surrounding a central bar lined with a long and luminous aquarium. Dozens of glimmering electric candles are set in the exposed brick walls, turquoise banquettes are discreetly embroidered with oriental motifs, and softly frosted blue glass screens form a servant girl's veil over the steamy hustle and bustle of the kitchen.
At Yau's super-glamorous Hakkasan, the supremely talented Mr. Soon brought dim sum up to the level of sophistication of Hong Kong's mighty Spring Moon and Singapore's Lei Gardens.
His menu is an inviting mix of traditional dim sum (bamboo steamers of har gau prawn dumplings, chicken feet, char shiu bau roast pork buns) and more modern dishes (baked venison puffs, gold leaf dumplings, chilean seabass mooli rolls). There are also various rice congees, stir-fried vegetable dishes and noodle dishes on offer. Forget the bigger dishes, they're a bit gwei-lo ( done for foreign tastes), and don't spend on the puds, they're silly French and Italian fusion stuff.
If you want an absolutely sensational taste and textural experience, order a steamer of deliciously warm and gloopy steamed sweet black sesame balls (£3) instead. It's party time every time at Yauatcha, and the NYLON crowd are more into cha cha than cha, knocking back tea-based cocktails with vodka and lychee juice or crushed red grapes and Champagne. It's great fun, but Hakkasan is still the best.
Cipriani London
25 Davies Street, London W1 Tel: 020 7399 0500
Lunch and dinner daily
If Cipriani London looks and feels familiar, it's because it is. This is the closest you can get to Harry's Bar in Venice and still have red double decker buses passing by outside.
Arrigo Cipriani himself is on the floor, as white jacketed waiters cruise the 1930's Cunard Ocean liner of a room. There are the same low, compact tables, the snug wooden bar chairs, the slightly more luxe padded chairs, the scaled-down cutlery, the gleaming wooden bar, the Murano chandelier – all life-size replicas of the originals. The menu, too, is as I remember it, running from a simple club sandwich to classics such as the baked tagliolini with ham and the iconic carpaccio, sliced raw beef with a mayonnaise dressing, first created by Arrigo's father Giuseppe in 1950. Even the barman looks the same. Omigod, it is Claudio. He is the same.
Signore Cipriani is 72 now, and probably gets rolled out with every new opening in Hong Kong, New York and Costa Smerelda, along with Claudio. Nevertheless, for a restaurant groupie such as myself, it is a thrill and privilege to watch one of the great restaurant legends of my lifetime at work. Immaculately groomed and quietly spoken, he does not stop moving the entire night, unless in conversation with a diner. He clears plates from tables himself, recommends wines, brings small glasses of frothy Bellini aperitifs, removes unwanted chairs.
The food comes too quickly, the waiters are dingbats, and the famous carpaccio is bland, with a horrific 22 quid price tag. But I don't care, I love it, because it is restaurant heaven, the prosciutto is shaved into DNA samples, the pasta is lovely, and the cakes are great. Cipriani deals with childhood memory, emotion and comfort. The brain recognises familiar smells and flavours, the body relaxes, everybody is happy.
PS Its ludicrously expensive.
Fino
33 Charlotte Street London W1 Tel 020 7813 8010
Tapas is something London has never done particularly well, seemingly inspired by the lazier touristic tapas bars of Spain with its emphasis on yesterday's food. The concept of fresh food cooked to order somehow got lost in the translation.
But Fino does it superbly. The menu reads like a dream; an appetising roll call of authentic Catalan and Spanish dishes running from classic plancha (grill) offerings such as langoustine, sardines and squid to more regional specialties such as arroz negro (black seafood rice), and morcilla and octopus with a La Mancha vegetable stew.
Don't miss the fried, salty pimentos de Padron (£2.50) the famous green peppers of Galicia. Usually one in every fifteen or so is hot, but this batch is hot-to-trot, with three out of four like a bonfire cracker for the mouth. Pulpo a la Gallega, marinated and thinly sliced, paprika-dusted octopus, is the best I've tasted outside Combarro in Madrid. Served on a neat white plate instead of the customary wooden board, they practically dissolve on the tongue like savoury discs of jelly.
Grilled tiger prawns are smoky and warm inside, the flesh having just turned from transparent to opaque. Best of all, they taste sweet and fresh, which in this country makes them quite miraculous, as if sent from heaven in some divine gastronomic vision. There is a magic to this food that only happens when great produce meets great cooking. And don't come crying "low degree of difficulty" to me - truly simple food is the most sophisticated in the world. Welcome, Fino. Great produce, superb seafood, eager staff and plenty of 'em and an elegance and style that is very much a part of modern Spain means you have what it takes to do the best tapas in the country.
Divertimenti Cafe
33-34 Marylebone High Street London W1 Tel 020935 0689
If this food had a dress code it would be smart casual. To the rear of the lustworthy Divertimenti cookery store, Camilla Schneideman runs a buzzy cafe with an easy-to-eat selection of fresh salads, sandwiches and daily specials such as feta cheese and parsley tart, or curried pea risotto cakes. The big pine communal table is also a serious (Illy) coffee and cake stop, notably for the moist, rich almond friand.
St John
St John, 26 St. John Street London EC1 Tel 020 7251 0848
The bar area - all tall walls, skylight, bare floors and wooden tables - is the hearth and home of Britain's New Rustic cooking - and very reminiscent of The George in St Kilda for any home-sick Melburnians. Here, the sort of door-stopper sandwiches that used to sustain farmhands throughout a day of hard labour are now slipping down delicate City Boy throats after a soft day at the office. Munch into a Keen's farmhouse cheddar and home-made chutney, Middle White bacon and chutney; egg mayo, or roast beef and horseradish.
Busaba Eat Thai
Busaba Eat Thai, 106 Wardour Street, Soho Phone 7255 8686
If you're in the West End, then BUSABA EAT THAI is terrific fun and terrific value, with share tables, Thai food and a space with a great design ethic. Darley Street Thai's David Thompson consulted to help set up the menu, and it shows. Pad Thai is good, Singha beer is good, prices are good. The only problem is that you have to queue to get in.
Chowki
Chowki, 2 Denman Street, off Piccadilly Circus, London W1 Tel 020 7439 1330.
Stop in Piccadilly Circus to admire the newly emerged Eros statue after what seems like years under scaffolding - then find Denman Street by heading for Shaftesbury Avenue and immediately turning left. Chowki is a new post-Wagamama Indian restaurant by the owner of Mela in Shaftesbury Avenue, and it is a very handy place to know about - casual, flexible, fast and cheap. Interestingly, the menu features dishes from three different regions of India every month. Best bet is to go for the ten quid 'feast' - choose your region, and your individual starter and dessert, and the mains come on tailormade white china, along with a choice of Indian bread, rice or lentils. Cooking is light ( even lite) healthy and pretty, but service is all over the place.
Tip: Sit with back to wall, otherwise all seats are backless.
La Galette
La Galette, 56 Paddington Street, London W1 Tel 020 7935 1554
Open daily 10am-11pm Around £40 for two including wine.
La Galette sounds a bit like a theme cafe, being a Breton creperie, but in fact it's a really sweet place with good French crepe-based food and wine off Marylebone High Street. Good for breakfast, brunch, lunch, late supper.
Sardo
Sardo, 45 Grafton Way, London W1 020 7387 2521
Around £80.00 for two with wine and service.
Lunch Mon-Fri noon-3pm Dinner Mon-Sat 6-11pm
My favourite regional Italian restaurant is Sardinian, and it does beautiful pasta, whole sea bass baked in salt, brilliant Sardinian breads, fregola with clams, etc, with a full-on, loud, lively atmosphere. This is a good one to go back to and make your own, and get to know the staff - especially the beautiful Frederica.
Locanda Locatelli
Locanda Locatelli, 8 Seymour Street, London W1 Tel 020 7935 1149
Around £110 including wine and service for two
Lunch and dinner Monday to Saturday
Giorgio Locatelli loves to feed people. He'd have empty tables in the dining room, and standing-room only in the kitchen if he were allowed. At Zafferano in Knightsbridge in the mid-nineties, he cleverly fused the precision he had learned in France with the Italian cooking of his childhood, to spectacular effect.
Now at Locanda Locatelli, Giorgio is fulfilling several of his dreams: an elegant, discreet dining space hugged by sinuous banquettes and booths, his name on the door, his wife Plaxy heading up the floor, and a dream-come-true kitchen to enable him to do whatever he wants to do.
It is London's most Northern Italian restaurant, and at the same time, its best, effortlessly combining a level of luxury with a sense of comfort. The cooking is masterly, from a simple grilled chicken to a sublime risotto, with quite a bit of agrodolce ( sweet and sour) creeping in to keep things interesting. Best dish: An extraordinary pasta parcels of rich lemon cream, lightly coated with a sweet pork ragu.
For updates, check out Terry Durack's restaurant column in the Review magazine in the Independent on Sunday every Sunday.
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Yauatcha Restaurant |
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