Sunday 29 June 2008

A culinary landscape

I've been celebrating my new found freedom this week, whilst I take a sabbatical between jobs. This offers the opportunity to take advantage of London's rich culinary landscape by partaking of some of my favourite meals out as well as sampling some new restaurants.

I began the week with one of my personal indulgences, which unfortunately Beth doesn't share - dim sum. I always head for the Imperial China in Lisle Street. It's a traditional place, and not quite as glaringly contemporary and trendy as some recent additions to the area but it suits me none the less. You enter over a little wooden bridge spanning a small pond and then indulge yourself in a heady world of succulent steamed char sui buns and a perfectly crisp Vietnamese spring rolls. To me it's perfection.

The next day, my mum and I headed down to the Horniman Museum in Forest Hill and then decided to have lunch at the Rosendale in West Dulwich, voted London's best gastro pub last year. The lunch menu was sufficiently creative and we feasted on a shared platter of barbecued meat and prawns on skewers. The quality was great and washed down with half a Leffe, it certainly hit the spot.

Later in the week Beth had a day off work, and so we ventured into town again. This time our destination was Ottolenghi in Islington, somewhere I had desperately wanted to visit, so much so that I was willing to haul my cookies into North London for the pleasure! Did it live up to expectations? Well the answer is..I don't know! But one thing is certain, the service is crap. We waited ten minutes to be seated in a half filled restaurant, despite there being an abundance of staff. Our anxious looks were ignored, whilst "supposedly" more trendy and affluent North Londoners' needs were swiftly catered for. Eventually we saw them clearing a small table for us, to then see it being nabbed under our noses by someone already seated at the communal table. No apologies, nothing. Were they aware that we were going to probably spend a nice sum of money, plus splash out for a bottle of lunchtime vino? No idea, but somehow I just think our faces didn't fit.

How did it end? We headed down to the safety of South London. Borough Market to be exact. We feasted on chargrilled burgers in Black and Blue and experienced swift, friendly service throughout. And yes the place was full of suits, but it didn't matter, everyone was treated as an equal. As they say "it's grim up North!"

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

How absolutely beastly of them to treat you that way! I am appalled!

Appalled (formerly of North London, now residing Norwich)

Barbarella75 said...

Yes, I don't think we were suitably "yummy mummy" enough for the crowd. I think a baby is a new designer accessory when you go out to eat now!

Anonymous said...

You write very well.