Seymour Place - Restaurant Hopping at London's New Foodie Destination

Words & photography by Caroline Ghera and Luiz Hara

Situated in trendy Marylebone, Seymour Place is home to a small collection of shops, cafes and restaurants, between Seymour Street and Upper Berkeley Street, that have transformed the area into an attractive destination for foodies. I was thrilled to be invited and join a group of food writers on a food safari at Seymour Place, and here I present some of the highlights of that evening.

At the very start of Seymour Place, at the elegant Italian restaurant Bernardi’s, we kicked off proceedings (62 Seymour Street, www.bernardis.co.uk) with a selection of antipasti. Created by brothers Gabriel and Marcello Bernardi, from Melbourne, the restaurant has an outdoor terrace, a casual dining room on the ground floor and a stylish cocktail and cicchetti bar in the basement. Focusing on prime produce from Italy and the UK, head chef Sabrina Gidda presented a fine spread to illustrate some of the specialities of her kitchen.

We enjoyed two well-made pizzettas (£8.00-£9.50), the first topped with prosciutto de Parma and rocket; the second, an unusual but successful combination of Taleggio cheese, sweet confit leek and crunchy celery. The pizzetta base was feather-light with pillowy edges.

Another highlight was the creamy Burratina with finely chopped sweet Marinda tomatoes and tasty Taggiasche black olives – this was a simple and delectable dish with high quality ingredients that could not be faulted (£9.50).

Equally good was the squid served in a flavourful sauce of chunky pieces of tomato, garlic, parsley and a good measure of pepperoncino (chilli), altogether vibrant in flavour and heat (£12.50).

However, the star antipasti was the suppli all' Amatriciana (£4.50 for 2 pieces). A speciality from Rome, and smaller than Sicilian arancini (small fried rice balls), the suppli were made with creamy rice grains, filled with four cheeses and had a delicious thin crisp skin - they were truly moreish - a must at Bernardi's!

Moving on to our second stop, we were introduced to Sandy's, a small and cozy Corsican pizzeria and restaurant where we sampled a board of Corsican charcuterie, bread sticks and flavoursome house-made fig jam (£10.50).

Sandy's uses French T45 flour for their pizza dough and Gruyère cheese for all their toppings. Their pizza base was thin and crisp, but without the raised and charred edges of their Italian Neapolitan counterparts. I enjoyed the French-inspired “Pizza Oignon” with tomato, Gruyère and caramelised onions (£10.25) and the flavourful Pizza Ajaccio with tomato, Gruyère, red onions, oregano and chicken (£12.75).

Across the street, we next entered the elegant, minimalist interior of Basque cuisine restaurant Lurra. With its white walls, pale woodwork and brass fittings, the cool decor contrasted with the open kitchen right at the centre of the restaurant which specialises in charcoal and wood grills - known as "Erretegia" in the Basque Country.

We were served a glass of refreshing Agerre Txakoli 2015, Getaria (£6), a lightly sparkling, dry white wine which was, in the traditional Basque manner, theatrically poured from a height into our glasses to produce extra bubbles.

We also tried two types of croquettas - the cheese variety were made with Basque Ossau-Iraty and Idiazabal cheeses, black onion seeds and béchamel sauce, and were exceptionally creamy in the centre with a very light and crisp golden exterior. Similarly good were the jamon croquettas but for the addition of tiny specks of ham.

Our main course was the house specialty: 14-year Rubia Gallega "Gallician Blond" Txuleta (£65.00 for 2 people). This was a generous serving of 800 grams of beef aged 25 to 45 days. Lurra's owners, Nemanja Borjanovik and Melody Adams import the Galician Blond beef to supply not only their restaurants (they also own Donostia at 10 Seymour Place) but other top spots in the London too. 

The beef comes from rare breed Basque cattle, slaughtered not at the usual age of under 3, but at a minimum of 14 years old and up to 18 years old.  During their lengthy growth, the cattle produces meat finely speckled with droplets of fat. At Lurra, the Txuleta is grilled on the charcoals and sprinkled with rock salt to emphasize the full flavour of the meat. Served rare and with an intensely rich and complex flavour, this was exceptional and worth every penny of its price tag. For me, this dish was the highlight of the whole evening of Seymour Place.

Our final stop was the third and newest branch of The Gate. Following the success of its Notting Hill and Islington restaurants, Adrian and Michael Daniel took over the site previously occupied by The Lockhart and converted it into a modern and beautiful restaurant with white walls, dark wood flooring, black-painted metalwork and wood tables and chairs, paired with mustard-green banquettes. The basement has also gained a stylish bar and a wine cellar. 

Our by now somewhat jaded palates were lifted by a Jalapeno Margarita (£9.00) made with jalapeno-infused tequila, Cointreau and lime. Extremely refreshing, citric and very spicy, this was the perfect way to revive the senses. 

The Gate is a vegetarian restaurant influenced by the Indo-Iraqi Jewish background of its owners and therefore, the cuisine fuses Middle-Eastern, Western Asian and European ingredients and techniques. We completed our evening of tastings with The Gate's take on potato dauphinoise: a generous butternut rotolo (£15) was shaped with thyme-infused thin slices of potatoes wrapped around a filling of butternut squash, celery, sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts, sitting on a bed of maple parsnip purée, and topped with a cep sauce and thin strips of pumpkin fries. This was a carbohydrate-loaded feast, warm and comforting on a wintry evening.

Verdict: Only a few minutes from Marble Arch tube station, Seymour Place is a hidden gem in the London gastronomic map. Both Bernardi's and The Gate have stylish cocktail bars that are worth a visit in their own right. Bernardi's impressed with simple but masterful execution of Italian classics, while The Gate will appeal to vegetarians seeking dishes that go past the current trend for quinoa salad or avocado on toast. However, the star of the evening for me was Lurra with its outstanding 14 year Rubia Galegga Txuleta, for me arguably some of the best beef in London right now, which I highly recommend.

Find out more:

Bernardi's
62 Seymour Street, W1H 5BN
tel 020 3826 7940
www.bernardis.co.uk

Sandy's
14 Seymour Place, W1H 7NF
tel 020 7723 8833
www.sandys.uk.com

Lurra
9 Seymour Place, W1H 5BA
tel 020 7724 4545
www.lurra.co.uk

The Gate
22-24 Seymour Place, W1H 7NL
tel. 020 7724 6656
www.thegaterestaurants.com

Duck and Waffle Reviewed - Stellar Cooking in the London Skies

Words and Photography by Caroline Ghera and Luiz Hara

Name: Duck and Waffle

Where: 110 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 4AY, www.duckandwaffle.com

Cost: The average food spend per person is around £45 not including drinks. The All-day menu at Duck and Waffle is divided into snacks priced £3 - £5, freshly baked breads £6 - £7, and small sharing dishes £10 - £14; Large plates are priced £14 - £18 and large sharing dishes for 2/3 diners are priced from £35 to £40.

On the beverage front, Duck and Waffle offers a range of cocktails at £14 while the wines are available by the 125ml glass from £7 - £13.50, a small selection of 400ml carafes from £20 - £43.50 and bottles come priced £33 - £79 with many finer and sparkling wines rising considerably above that mark.

About: Located on the 40th floor of the Heron Tower on Bishopsgate, Duck and Waffle is the highest restaurant in the London skyline, offering the most spectacular views of the city in a buzzy but easy-going setting.

The menu, developed by the group executive chef Dan Doherty and executive chef Tom Cenci, combines traditional British cuisine and flavours from around the world with their own modern, unique interpretation.

The restaurant is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, taking you from breakfast through to brunch, lunch and dinner with different menus for different times of the day though an All Day menu is also available.

Duck and Waffle attracts a variety of diners, from city-types to foodies and visiting tourists, who come for the creative, gutsy cooking and the amazing London views.

What We Ate: We started our meal with two signature D&W snacks – the first was a very posh version of ‘devils on horseback’ a British classic (£3.50) - juicy medjool dates filled with sausage, wrapped around crispy bacon rashers and served on grain mustard sauce. These were utterly delicious – sweet and savoury, juicy and but meaty, these dates are a must for any meal or bar visit to Duck and Waffle.

Our second snack was the equally appetizing barbecue-spiced crispy pig ears (£5) - cut in thin strips, they were super crunchy and savoury, served in a brown paper bag closed with the Duck and Waffle seal. The pig ears were so very moreish and I've been craving to have them again.

Next we moved on to one of the freshly baked breads, our choice was the charred baby aubergines with sumac yogurt and fresh coriander on flat bread (£6). The bread was crispy on the outside with a pillow-y centre while the sweet, soft aubergines were well complemented by the spicy yoghurt and herbs.

The highlight of our dinner however was the delectable foie gras crème brulee served with a small brioche topped with weightless crispy pork crackling and chopped chives (£13). The crème brulee was luscious, silky and rich with the distinctive flavour of foie gras and a crunchy top caramel layer, while the brioche was light, buttery and fluffy (as all good brioche should be). The crackling added texture and flavour to this winning dish.

A hot mini cast-iron pan of baked haddock covered in rich lobster cream and parmesan crumble (£12) was our next dish. The flaky haddock and creamy lobster sauce were utterly delicious with the generous Parmesan crumble adding extra umaminess and texture. Another faultless and indulgent dish.

We  proceeded with a cooling salad of grilled octopus, with raw fennel, lemon, red chilli and a refreshing green herb sauce (£13). The octopus was succulent and well paired with the zingy dressing.

We  also could not resist the corn on the cob with jerk mayo and toasted coconut (£8). Nicely presented on corn husks, the sweet corn was soft while the jerk mayo and coconut flakes adding texture and flavour.

Finally, our meal came to an end with a sharing plate (2-3 persons) of roasted whole seabass (£36), with potato and samphire ragout, radicchio leaves, oyster emulsion and pickled seaweed. The seabass was large and rather meaty, accompanied by the heavenly potato and samphire ragout which was rich with butter and herbs. The silky oyster emulsion, radicchio and tangy seaweed added extra interest and textures and the whole dish was another triumph, one of the best plates of fish I have ever tasted.

What We Drank: Richard Woods, Duck and Waffle's head of spirit and cocktail development, has created a summer cocktail list entitled Urban Foraging versus Urban Decay. As the name suggests the cocktails use ingredients foraged in the city or discarded in our daily lives. 

We started our evening with an Urban Foraged Woodland Negroni (£14), a concoction of "damp gin", Campari, sweet vermouth and formica rufa (red wood ant!) infusion slowly dripped through layers of "nature". The tumbler with the familiar flavours of gin, Campari and vermouth was served on a bowl filled with a patch of grass, perhaps referring to the layers of "nature" among the ingredients. Apparently, formica rufa has a flavour reminiscent of lemon and lime with a touch of lemongrass but the overall end result had the intriguing scent and taste of musky garden foliage.

Our second cocktail was a less adventurous Meadow Spritz (£14) from the Urban Decay list. We found this to be a refreshing mix of Bombay Sapphire "Spring" gin, aspargus ends, cut grass cordial, preserved elderflower, verbena and citrus with an iced orange peel garnish. The lightly carbonated drink with elderflower and citrus tones had a slight hint of grass and asparagus but was perfectly cooling and refreshing.

To accompany our meal with ordered a bottle of 2012 Dog Point Chardonnay, Marlborough, New Zealand (£67). A bright yellow colour with golden hues and an intense nose of citrus fruit melded with brioche, minerals and gunflint, this rich chardonnay had a fine balance between sweetness, acidity and minerality with a long  finish. An excellent Chardonnay and it went really well along with our meal.

Likes: We enjoyed the wonderful views and excellent service but most of all, the food served by Duck and Waflle was outstanding. We loved the dates wrapped in bacon, the crispy pigs ears, the foie gras crème brulee, the haddock with lobster sauce, the whole baked seabass with the heavenly potato and samphire ragout…

Dislikes: None.

Verdict: I cannot believe this is my first visit to Duck and Waffle – I have always disregarded it as a place for tourists or flashy City types, but how wrong was I! In addition to the spectacular London views, the cooking is highly creative, gutsy and faultlessly delivered. These guys really know what they are doing and I cannot wait to return. Very highly recommended.

The Frog's Tasting Menu Reviewed

Words and Photography by Caroline Ghera and Luiz Hara

Name: The Frog Restaurant

Where: 2 Ely's Yard, Old Truman Brewery, Hanbury Street, London E1 6QR, http://www.thefrogrestaurant.com/

Cost: The Tasting Menu offers a selection of four snacks, three small dishes, one pre-dessert and one dessert, and is priced at £45 per person. The A La Carte menu is divided into snacks priced £4 and a selection of dishes under the headings Garden, Sea and Land costing £7 - £18; desserts are priced £7 - £10.

The Frog's drinks menu has a good choice of crafts beers from £3.50 to £12; cocktails are £6.50 - £13.50 while the wines are both available by the 125ml glass from £4.50 to £13 and bottles from £21 to £72.00. If you are having the tasting menu, it is possible to choose between a beer pairing at £25 and a wine pairing at £35 per person.

About: The Frog is the first restaurant by Adam Handling, a Scottish chef who captured the public's imagination when he became one of the finalists of Masterchef The Professionals in 2013. Since then, Handling worked as Executive Chef at the Adam Handling at Caxton in the St Ermin's Hotel in Westminster, and went on to be awarded Chef of the Year 2014 by the British Culinary Association.

At the beginning of 2016, he decided to set out on his own and created The Frog, where his love for fresh produce and elaborate techniques is free to leap forward. Located in hip Spitalfields, at first you might mistake the entrance into Ely's Yard for an unused industrial backyard but will soon be faced by a large marquee framing the restaurant's outdoor bar.

The main restaurant is reached through an entirely glazed wall, revealing a high-ceilinged white space with polished concrete floors where the industrial open kitchen is visible. A long bar with a thick oak worktop and shelves occupies the wall to the right while the dining room is furnished with a mixture of galvanized steel and reclaimed furniture.

What We Ate and Drank: The Tasting Menu (£45pp) caught our eye as an opportunity to try 10 dishes also available on the a la carte menu. Our dinner started with a crispy chorizo croquette with a deliciously soft centre, served on caramelised onion puree topped with yet another layer of puree, a slice of Manchego cheese, a sprinkling of smoked paprika and a micro nasturtium leaf. I enjoyed the contrast of textures and flavours of this delectable morsel which quickly disappeared from the plate.

As  a vegetarian alternative to the croquette, we were brought a salt-baked celeriac slice cooked al dente and filled with cream cheese, then covered with shaved truffle and salty egg yolk flakes.

Our second snack was a stunning plate named "Beetroot, beetroot and more beetroot". Two translucent sugar cannoli were filled with beetroot pannacotta, beetroot gel with a hint of yuzu and covered in vibrant beetroot powder and micro red amaranth leaves. This was a wonderful dish where the crunchy sugar casing paired beautifully with its beetroot cream and yuzu gel fillings, while the powdered beetroot added chromatic drama.

The third snack to reach our table was a light and crunchy beer cracker topped with beef tartare, with aromatic chilli and egg yolk flakes. So fresh, spicy and salty, this was another moreish snack.

The non-red meat option was a beautifully pearlized tapioca and squid ink cracker topped with little pieces of salt cod tartare, baby cucumber slices, parsley cream, caviar and micro herbs.

Our last snack arrived in the form of thick slices of freshly baked spelt sourdough served inside a hessian pouch and accompanied by two quenelles of churned butter, one plain salted and the other flavoured with rich roast chicken gravy. We adored the warm lace-textured bread and the intense flavour of the roast chicken butter, which I believe is one of the most flavourful bread and butter combinations being served in London at the moment. A must.

Our wine pairing for the above snacks was a glass of Prosecco Glera, Italy (£4.50). Fresh and dry, with hints of citrus fruit and grass, this prosecco was a little too high in acidity for my liking but light and versatile enough to accompany the wildly different flavours of the snacks.

We then moved on to our first small plate from the "Sea" section of the main menu - an attractive composition of curled thin apple ribbons, white crab meat, daikon, grapefruit, samphire, dill & gin granita, avocado cream, micro sorrel and nasturtium leaves. Beautifully presented and with some great textures, it was however bland in flavour, and despite all the lovely ingredients, it did not come together as a whole dish in my opinion. An example of when less would definitely be more.

Our next dish was a perfectly cooked hake loin with crispy skin, served with limestone mashed potatoes, baked radishes, tarragon leaves and a delicious sauce of beurre blanc and tarragon oil. Well presented on a stunning piece of ceramic pottery, the smooth mashed potato was accompanied by a generous drizzle of tarragon beurre blanc sauce, while radishes added colour and crunch.

The hake was paired with a glass of Paper Road, Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand (£28.80 per bottle). A youthful wine with hints of gooseberry, grapefruit, lime and cut grass, this had an intensely refreshing finish.

Our final small plate came from the "Land" section of the main menu - pieces of caramelised beef bavette with a juicy pink centre were served with delicious crispy potatoes, micro onions, onion puree, green herb cream and micro nasturtium leaves.

We  requested the mac & cheese from the "Garden" section of the a la carte menu as a non-meat option. Handling's version of this comforting dish displayed macaroni standing on their end in a circle at the centre of the plate which were then generously covered in a super light cheese sauce of Gruyere, Montgomery Cheddar and Parmesan, aerated with CO2 and sprinkled with shaved truffles. This was delicious and one of the best versions of macaroni cheese I have ever tasted.

The beef bavette and mac & cheese were paired with a glass of Primonero Livelli, Negroamaro, Italy, 2013 (£34.50 per bottle). Fine and intense with a rich ruby colour, this had aromas of plums, leather and spices, and on the finish had soft tannins and fruit.

A cheese course can be added to the tasting menu for a supplement of £4 and consists of fried doughnuts filled with cheese and topped with shaved truffle. The rich combination of crispy sweet batter and a creamy, salty cheese centre was absolutely delicious, and a highlight of our dinner.

I was looking forward to my pre-dessert as a refreshing palate cleanser. Sadly, a dish of red cherry sorbet with crumbled almonds, pecan nuts, and what seemed to be granola (?) and chocolate proved to be sweet, filling and confusingly reminiscent of a breakfast bowl. I could not believe I was eating granola after 8 savoury courses.

For dessert proper we ordered a nitro tiramisu which was a rich chocolate ganache on a crunchy biscuit topped with chocolate soil, nitro-mascarpone cream and amaretto crumbs. The billowing nitrogen created quite a spectacle, but I found the chocolate mousse and biscuit were again for my palate too sweet and rich, and the dish did not match up to the finesse of the savoury courses.

Our second dessert was a yuzu bavarois with a raspberry coulis centre served with a quenelle of milk ice cream, crumbled toasted meringue and chunks of aero white chocolate. As with the other desserts, this was also out of synch with the rest of the meal - the yuzu had an unfortunate, overpowering and artificial flavour, and the dessert as a whole was excessively sweet.

Accompanying our dessert we had a glass of Kombucha Bellini (supplement £5) made with Prosecco, 20-day yeast-fermented silver leaf tea and roobois tea. 

Likes: We loved the beetroot, the wonderful bread with intense chicken-flavoured butter, the weightless indulgence of the mac & cheese as well as the luscious hake with tarragon sauce. Both food and drink menus are reasonably priced.

Dislikes: The desserts were a bit of a let down. The wine pairing at £35 per person only provided 3 glasses of wine throughout the meal, which arrived in a random order. At £70 per couple I feel it might be better ordering your own bottle.  

Verdict: There is real culinary flair on display in The Frog – the beetroot, mac n cheese and sourdough bread were some of the best things I have eaten lately, and I can’t wait to have them again. Recommended. 

Bellanger - A French-Alsatian Restaurant in Islington by Corbyn & King

Words and Photography by Caroline Ghera and Luiz Hara

Name: Bellanger

Where: 9 Islington Green, London N1 2XH, http://www.bellanger.co.uk

Cost: Average spend per person is £35 (not including drinks). Bellanger has a comprehensive all-day a la carte menu including Tarte Flamblées (£4.95 - £8.85), Oysters (£12.75 - £16.50 for a half-dozen), Salads and Sandwiches (£5.50 - £11.50), “Les Pots” or Hot Stews (£14 - £18 for one person) Fish and Meats (£12.50 - £24.75), and Desserts (£4.75 - £7.75). The restaurant also has a breakfast menu while brunch is served on Saturdays and Sundays.

About: Bellanger is the latest addition to restaurateurs Corbin & King portfolio of popular London eateries, many of these inspired by the grand Parisian brasseries of the early 20th century. The Wolseley and The Delaunay, at the higher end within the group, are established institutions in London, while Colbert in Chelsea, The Colony Grill at the Beaumond Hotel, and Fischer's in Marylebone attract a faithful following that includes among its regulars various London chefs and food critics. At the other end of the scale, Brasserie Zédel offers classic French cuisine as an affordable experience.

The newcomer Bellanger, whose name is inspired (as in the other Corbin and King restaurants) by a piece of automotive history - the Société des Automobiles Bellanger Frères which manufactured French cars from 1912 to 1925 - brings to Islington a menu with all the old French classics but with a focus on hearty Alsatian cuisine.

The interior was designed by Shayne Brady, who previously created several of Bellanger’s sister restaurants under David Collins. The spacious restaurant is divided into a buzzy and more luminous front area with a gorgeous bar, perfect for solo diners; while quieter, cosier booths, small tables and larger group areas can be found towards the back. The Parisian cafe ambience is brought to life with use of glossy dark woods, antiqued mirrors, brass fittings and a fine attention to detail, such as the typical Alsatian green stemmed wine goblets on every table.

What We Ate: We decided to focus on the typically Alsatian dishes for which Bellanger is quickly gaining a reputation. For starters, we chose two of their Tarte Flambées - a crispy and paper-thin oval-shaped baked pastry, smeared with a faint layer of crème fraîche and finished with a choice of toppings. Larger than we had expected, our first Tarte Flambée was goat’s cheese, honey and thyme (£5.50), a deliciously light and satisfying combination that due to its thin nature was promptly consumed.

As our second Tarte Flambée we chose champignons and fine herbs (£7.00): a fine example of buttery and fragrant chanterelles and girolles mixed with fresh herbs, at the same time light and fresh but containing a mouth-watering depth of flavour. Even those who do not particularly like mushrooms should give this a try, no other nation can cook mushrooms like the French!

Moving on to the main course, I could not resist the Choucroute a l’Alsacienne (£16.00).

Brought to the table in a richly decorated ceramic pot, the lid was lifted to reveal an authentic porky feast: a mix of flavourful frankfurter, two choices of garlic sausages with meltingly tender pork belly and ham hock that fell apart into soft chunks at the touch of the fork, all sitting on top of sauerkraut which had a good balance of sharpness and saltiness. Altogether, the dish was very well accomplished and perfect on a very cold winter evening.

A second identical ceramic pot also reached our table but this time containing Coq au Riesling (£14.00). Tender pieces of chicken mixed with more mushrooms, fresh herbs, Riesling wine and cream created a delightful and much more enjoyable white version to Coq au Vin. A recipe I would certainly like to recreate at home.

By now we were already feeling quite full but could not finish the meal without giving some of the desserts a try. We started with a feather-light textured Baba cake, served with passion fruit purée and whipped cream (£7.00). The Baba was then soaked with a generous dose of rum at the table. The mix of textures and flavours worked really well but I thought it was a little too heavy on the alcohol.

Our second dessert was the Caramelised Banana with Melted Chocolate Tarte Flambée (£4.75). It too proved to be a highly indulgent choice with bananas that were perfectly caramelised but maintained a pleasantly firm texture, on top of which milk chocolate was melted with abandonment with a further flourish of double cream.

What We Drank: Bellanger has an extensive wine list which includes a good range of choices by the glass (£6.75 - £14.75), a few half bottles (£24.00-£59.00) and full bottles from £22.50 to £295.00.

Sticking to the Alsace region, and after tasting a couple of different options, we settled on a bottle of Pinot Blanc, La Cabane, 2014, Domaine Leon Boesch (£41.00). A biodynamic wine created from 70% Pinox Auxerrois and 30% Pinot Blanc, it sported a zesty, clear cut, with notes of lemon and spice which stood up well to the meaty Choucroute and the flavourful buttery character of our meal.

Likes: The Tarte Flambées were some good I found them almost addictive. The thought of returning to Bellanger to try out the other flavours is indeed very tempting. Altogether the menu is competently executed with reasonably priced dishes. The stylish retro decor is warm and welcoming.

Dislikes: On a week night with the restaurant a third full, we were given the worst possible table at the back of the restaurant in a totally empty room, I just wonder why? They promptly moved us to another table as I requested. The wine list has been expertly put together but few bottles come below the £35 tag.

Verdict: Bellanger with its Tarte Flambées is a good addition to the Islington restaurant scene, with a restaurant that brings affordable high-quality French cooking that can appeal equally to solo diners, couples or family meals. Recommended.