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For our last couple of anniversaries, we have splurged on a really fancy meal out - Pied a Terre in 2007 and The Square in 2008. Both were exceptional meals (unfortunately before I started this blog) and a lovely way to spend our anniversary. This year, our anniversary fell two days before moving flats and three weeks before a visit back to Australia. With the finances already feeling a little pained, it was hard to justify a super-expensive, Michelin-starred meal out. In the end, we decided on Moro, a restaurant that always gets great reviews, including recently being recognised as the Best Restaurant in the 2009 Observer Food Monthly awards.
Being so close to my work, we were fairly early and so headed to The Ambassador across the road for a drink. The Ambassador is a restaurant (and the food smelled really good - I'd like to go here one day), but they were more than happy for us to grab a drink at one of the tables. There was a great wine list (I had a glass of Deutz champagne) and a few beers on tap (Kyle had a Budvar). The service was great and it had a really lovely vibe. Unfortunately, by the time we were ready to go, it was absolutely pouring down! Luckily, Moro was close.
We had a reservation, which you absolutely need - they were busy the whole time at both tables and the bar. There was a real buzz to the restaurant. We were shown to our table and given bread and olive oil, offered tap water and then asked if we had any questions about the menu. This was a bit of a theme for the night - our waitress was very intent on making sure we didn't order something we didn't like.
For starter, I chose the grilled squid, rocket and coriander salad with preserved lemon. The squid was so soft, it was silken in texture with just a few crispy bits on the edges. The rocket and coriander salad was coated in an oily, lemony dressing and dotted with pieces of chilli, adding a spot of heat to that soft calamari. The recommended drink was a glass of Tio Pepe sherry, which I have had before in Spain but struggle to order. As it was recommended, I decided to give it a go. It is an amazing drink - cold and oily to start, then immediately warm and exploding with flavour in your mouth.
Kyle's starter was the very simple para negra jamon with figs. As this contained only two ingredients, it was vital they were amazing. I think the ham was - it was so meaty, deliciously salty and almost tannic like. Two out of three of the figs, however, were a bit average. They didn't look that good and were slightly mealy in texture.
My main was the wood roasted pork with field and wild mushrooms and braised chard. I was warned by the waitress that the pork was roasted whole and cut into slices, so contained some fat and crackling - was that okay? I agreed it was, but when the dish arrived, I can see why she mentioned it. It was very fatty, but the fat was meltingly soft against the crunchy crackling and pork meat. It was a huge portion and was piled onto an equally large portion of chard. All of that was sitting on a pool of jus and piled with mushrooms. The mushrooms were really tasty, lots of flavour and meaty texture. Initially, the jus tasted similarly beefy flavoured, but the salt in the jus became increasingly overwhelming and ended up being the predomiant flavour in the whole dish. I do like salt in my food, but this was just too much.
Kyle's main was charcoal grilled sardines with salpicon salad and corn migas (fried corn breadcrumbs). We did have to ask what both of these accompiments were and the waitress also checked Kyle liked oaky wines before he proceeded with his order of an oaky white Rioja. The dish was very summery and almost like an over-sized tapas plate. The oiliness of the fish was balanced by the crunchiness of the migas and the freshness of the salad. And the oaky white Rioja went well.
After these enormous (well, mostly mine) main meals, dessert was a bit of a challenge, so we decided to settle for the malaga raisin ice cream and a couple of glasses of Pedro Ximenez sherry. In fact, in retrospect, this was also the anniversary of when we first discovered PX at Pied a Terre. Truly one of the most amazing drinks - liquid raisins. The ice cream was a perfect conclusion - light and creamy but with chunks of fruit and the odd hit of rum to give it a kick.
I think Moro mostly lived up to expectations. It can be a risk going to places like this that carry a lot of hype, but the restaurant did offer a great night out. It wasn't perfect - there were some problems with some of the food, the chairs were pretty uncomfortable and I did find it somewhat disconcerting that the couples sitting either side of us were Australian (do they group us?!). That being said, some of the food was really good, the service was excellent, the menu was interesting and the atmosphere was brilliant.
Food: 8/10
Drinks: 9/10
Service: 9/10
Ambience: 9/10
Overall: 8/10
Moro
34-36 Exmouth Market
London EC1R 4QE
I have written about Dotori before and we have been a few times, but this time, I finally convinced Kyle to have something other than the Katsu Curry. I was really keen to try the Japanese set menu, particularly the sushi and sashimi. This is probably not the kind of thing you should admit as a bit of a 'foodie', but I do find sushi quite intimidating. It is expensive and so difficult to just randomly pick off a list, but I do enjoy it when I have it.
The restaurant was quite full on a Sunday lunchtime and rather than share a table, we opted to sit at the bench at the window. The downside is that all your chopstick skills are on display for everyone walking past, so pressure is on not to drop anything!
The set menu started with Gyoza - hot, crunchy fried dumplings filled with chicken mince and served with a delicious soy dipping sauce.
The next course was a somewhat dramatic plate of tempura king prawns. The prawns were meaty and large enough to stand up to the crispy tempura batter. Another dipping sauce complemented this dish.
The next was the sushi and sashimi platter, beautifully presented on a traditional wooden board and comprised of 4 pieces of sashimi and a special roll. Neither of us have ever had sashimi before, so I'm glad this was good. There were two pieces of salmon, one tuna and one that we weren't sure of! The salmon and tuna were better than mystery fish and had an incredibly clean, fresh taste and a surprisingly firm pleasant texture. I really enjoyed the sashimi. The sushi was also excellent, in my opinion, although being far from an expert, I couldn't really say how it compares to others.
We had a choice for the final course between chicken teriyaki and seafood yakisoba. As the chicken teriyaki is my equivalent of Kyle's katsu curry, we went with the yakisoba. The thin noodles were coated in a delicious sweet rich sauce interspersed with plenty of big chunks of seafood, including prawns, calamari and mussels.
Unfortunately, the service was not quite up to its super-friendly standards on this day - the waiter seemed to be having an off day. Still, all of this food was excellent value at £25 (it would have included a coke or green tea as well, but we had Asahi instead, which was extra) and a brilliant way to try some different dishes from a Japanese menu. If you're a Japanese philistine like me, anyway!
Food: 9/10
Drinks: 6/10
Service: 7/10
Ambience: 8/10
Overall: 8/10
Dotori
3 Stroud Green Road
London, N4 2DF
I rather fancied a drink after a particularly awful day at work and recalled a recent post by Dos Hermanos, where they raved about a new cocktail bar near Angel called 69 Colebrooke Row. After a suitably decadent cocktail (Blush - Rose Infused Wybrowa Vodka with Rhubarb Syrup, Perrier-Jouet and a Grapefruit Twist), we went for a wander up Upper Street and then off the beaten track to find The Drapers Arms, recently reviewed by Giles Coren. Amazingly, I managed to find it based on my memory that the street started with B and it was equal distance from Angel and Highbury & Islington tube stations.
The Drapers Arms is pretty classic gastropub fare and was a world away from 69 Colebrooke Row - from fancy stools and cocktails to mismatched chairs and real ale on tap. The daily menu was a typed one pager containing a selection of 'solid' dishes, nothing too fancy, good sound English fare. The wine list, however, was actually quite good and included three types of sparkling wine by the glass - to be commended, in my opinion.
We chose a table in the corner and were surprised to be offered table service. After placing our order, we were given some complimentary bread and butter, including one of the best sourdoughs I have tasted in such a long time. There was a real yeasty sourness to it that meant I ate far more than was strictly necessary. The butter, unfortunately, was unsalted. What is the point?
After gorging myself on bread, I moved onto the razor clams and a glass of prosecco, while Kyle opted for a pint of Spitfire and the devilled kidneys on toast. I've never had razor clams before so I can't comment on the relative qualities of this example, but for me, they were delicious. They were more remiscent of squid than, say, scalllops, with a pleasingly chewy texture. The accompanying red onion pickle was surprisingly good for someone who doesn't like uncooked onion. It had a softness and flavour that must have involved some lengthy soaking. The dish was fresh and summery and I really enjoyed it.
Kyle's starter was as far from fresh and summery as you can imagine (and to be fair, the weather was hardly fresh and summery!). The kidneys looked like little sausages on the toast, but carried an amazing depth of flavour from plenty of worcestershire sauce and mustard. They were served on more of that excellent sourdough, soaked through with the sauce. Very traditional, very good.
After our wonderful salt beef experiences in New York, Kyle found it difficult to go past the salt brisket served with mash, carrots and green sauce. The meat was soft and succulent and the very herby sauce cut through the fattiness of the meat.
I ordered the guinea fowl with bacon and mushrooms for main. What's that you say? That's not guinea fowl? No, that's what I thought too. This was most defintely lamb leg, which I had not ordered. I finally re-located our waiter, who agreed I had ordered the guinea fowl, took the lamb away and then came back to say apparently they're out of guinea fowl, don't know why they gave you the lamb. Slightly odd to be out of something and just choose the replacement yourself. In the interests of time, I chose to take the lamb back and the waiter agreed not to charge us for it. All well and good, but unfortunately the lamb was the least successful dish of the night. It was okay, but it was pretty boring and the lamb managed to have both excessively fatty sections and dry sections. I would never normally order something like as it would be too easy to cook myself and this proved why. Shame.
Still, it didn't put me off trying the chocolate cake with cherries for dessert. I wasn't quite expecting it to be literally served with cherries, but as cherries are so good at the moment, it was actually really lovely with the rich dense chocolate cake and clotted cream. The chocolate cake definitely made up for the disappointment of the lamb.
The Drapers Arms was a really lovely gastropub, with generally well-executed British food based on simple, seasonal ingredients and a good range of ales and wines. The atmosphere was lovely and the service was good (apart from the issue with my main, but I guess they compensated as much as they could). I would return to The Drapers Arms, but would definitely choose the more unusual dishes from the menu.
Food: 7.5/10 (But would no doubt be an 8 with the right dish)
Drinks: 8/10
Service: 8/10
Ambience: 8/10
Overall: 8/10
The Drapers Arms
44 Barnsbury Street
London N1 1ER
Being so close to my work, we were fairly early and so headed to The Ambassador across the road for a drink. The Ambassador is a restaurant (and the food smelled really good - I'd like to go here one day), but they were more than happy for us to grab a drink at one of the tables. There was a great wine list (I had a glass of Deutz champagne) and a few beers on tap (Kyle had a Budvar). The service was great and it had a really lovely vibe. Unfortunately, by the time we were ready to go, it was absolutely pouring down! Luckily, Moro was close.
We had a reservation, which you absolutely need - they were busy the whole time at both tables and the bar. There was a real buzz to the restaurant. We were shown to our table and given bread and olive oil, offered tap water and then asked if we had any questions about the menu. This was a bit of a theme for the night - our waitress was very intent on making sure we didn't order something we didn't like.
For starter, I chose the grilled squid, rocket and coriander salad with preserved lemon. The squid was so soft, it was silken in texture with just a few crispy bits on the edges. The rocket and coriander salad was coated in an oily, lemony dressing and dotted with pieces of chilli, adding a spot of heat to that soft calamari. The recommended drink was a glass of Tio Pepe sherry, which I have had before in Spain but struggle to order. As it was recommended, I decided to give it a go. It is an amazing drink - cold and oily to start, then immediately warm and exploding with flavour in your mouth.
Kyle's starter was the very simple para negra jamon with figs. As this contained only two ingredients, it was vital they were amazing. I think the ham was - it was so meaty, deliciously salty and almost tannic like. Two out of three of the figs, however, were a bit average. They didn't look that good and were slightly mealy in texture.
My main was the wood roasted pork with field and wild mushrooms and braised chard. I was warned by the waitress that the pork was roasted whole and cut into slices, so contained some fat and crackling - was that okay? I agreed it was, but when the dish arrived, I can see why she mentioned it. It was very fatty, but the fat was meltingly soft against the crunchy crackling and pork meat. It was a huge portion and was piled onto an equally large portion of chard. All of that was sitting on a pool of jus and piled with mushrooms. The mushrooms were really tasty, lots of flavour and meaty texture. Initially, the jus tasted similarly beefy flavoured, but the salt in the jus became increasingly overwhelming and ended up being the predomiant flavour in the whole dish. I do like salt in my food, but this was just too much.
Kyle's main was charcoal grilled sardines with salpicon salad and corn migas (fried corn breadcrumbs). We did have to ask what both of these accompiments were and the waitress also checked Kyle liked oaky wines before he proceeded with his order of an oaky white Rioja. The dish was very summery and almost like an over-sized tapas plate. The oiliness of the fish was balanced by the crunchiness of the migas and the freshness of the salad. And the oaky white Rioja went well.
After these enormous (well, mostly mine) main meals, dessert was a bit of a challenge, so we decided to settle for the malaga raisin ice cream and a couple of glasses of Pedro Ximenez sherry. In fact, in retrospect, this was also the anniversary of when we first discovered PX at Pied a Terre. Truly one of the most amazing drinks - liquid raisins. The ice cream was a perfect conclusion - light and creamy but with chunks of fruit and the odd hit of rum to give it a kick.
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