London's Best Independent Pubs - Fox and Anchor

Whenever I feel like having well made, traditional British food with a contemporary twist I head down to Charterhouse Square. Tucked away from the excitement of Charterhouse Street and Smithfields Market, the Fox and Anchor has, for years, been my local gastro pub of choice.

Despite its discreet location, the pub is always popular with regulars ranging from the nearby meat traders and City professionals, to students and tourists. There is a fine suite of six luxury hotel rooms above the pub. I have not stayed there myself but they look elegant from their website pictures and at £95 for a special "Lazy Weekend" rate, I feel it is also good value considering the central location (click here for details).

On a busy autumnal evening, Dr G and I found ourselves perusing once again the familiar menu. To kick off proceedings, we shared a delicious bowl of "Crab and Seafood Bisque" @ £6.95. The broth was creamy and rich, and unlike the more usual smooth bisques, it had small pieces of fish and seafood.

This was followed by another favourite Fox and Anchor dish - "Potted shrimp on toasted crumpets" @ £6.50. I really loved the texture and flavour of the Morecambe Bay brown shrimps served on toasted/buttered crumpets, and the delicious aromas of mace and nutmeg. I would struggle to find a better accompaniment to our first round of pale ales than this dish.

I am always slightly at a loss as what to drink when I visit the Fox and Anchor - the choices of draft and bottled beers can sometimes be mind boggling. The staff are always at hand and are more than happy to advise on their range of beers. On that evening, Dr G and I started on a couple of pale ales, "Sierra Nevada" and "Mad Goose" which were both excellent.

Being a real "Steak Tartare" fan, I just had to have a small "starter" portion @ £7.50. The meat tasted fresh and had been finely chopped - it was well seasoned with onions, gherkins and fresh herbs and was delicious.

The "English asparagus with poached duck egg & hollandaise sauce" @ £7.50 was also very good. The asparagus spears were tender but not overcooked and the accompanying duck egg and the hollandaise sauce were richly contrasting.

For main course, Dr G opted for "Calf's liver, onion gravy and mashed potatoes" @ £14.50. The liver was yielding but still slightly bloody, with the mashed potatoes creamy and perfectly textured to soak up the onion gravy.

Every time I visit the Fox and Anchor, I try and order something other than their burger, and as always, I failed on this occasion. "The Fox and Anchor burger with goose fat chips" @ £12.50 is in my opinion usually one of the best in London. On this visit however I felt the patty was minced a little too finely, making it rather dense, dry and hard. On the other hand, the goose fat chips were faultless.

To accompany our main courses, we shared a large bottle of "Meantime Indian Pale Ale" @ £6. Made in Greenwich, the brewery has its own pub - "Greenwich Union Bar" on Royal Hill which is another favourite of mine south of the River.

The wine list at the Fox and Anchor is comprehensive and well thought out, with many bottles below the £20 mark. On that evening Dr G and I struck up a conversation with Christine, Rob and Estelle, a friendly trio who were merrily working their way through a few of the bottles on offer.

Cost: Around £25 for a 3-course British meal per person excluding drinks.

Likes: Unfussy British cooking, seasonal ingredients at reasonable prices. Excellent range of beers on tap and bottle as well as a decent and well price wine list. I would strongly recommend the goose fat chips, the steak tartare, and the seafood bisque. I also love their pies, particularly the steak and ale.

Dislikes: The large TV screen in the main bar area feels somewhat out of place and can be rather intrusive for those after a relaxing dinner. The burger patty was not up to their usual high standards on this visit.

Verdict: One of my favourite gastro pubs in London, serving great food and a wide selection of beers and wines at very reasonable prices. A very good place to experience what British cooking is all about. Highly recommended.

London Restaurant Reviews - The Petersham Hotel

Living as I do in Islington, Richmond is not an area I visit regularly but every time I do I am impressed at what a gorgeous part of London it is. The borough is home to Hampton Court Palace and The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, but it is the River Thames as well as Richmond Park (London's largest park) that dominate the atmosphere of the area. It feels green, village-like and very well to do, with the most beautiful open areas and walks along the river.

Last weekend I made my way to beautiful Richmond to visit The Petersham Hotel and try Alex Bentley's "Glorious Game Menu". Built in 1865, and still privately owned, The Petersham Hotel lies on the top of Richmond Hill and boasts the most amazing views over the Thames and the surrounding Petersham meadows (cows could be seen grazing happily there), making it hard to believe that we were still in London.

The hotel and restaurant were elegantly furnished, and had a warm and comfortable feel with plenty of natural light. Service was efficient but unobtrusive which is always a big plus (waiters seemed to unexpectedly materialise whenever you needed them).

As we perused the menu, Dr G and I ordered a glass of Joseph Perrier Champagne. The champagne was lemon-green in colour, with a nice mousse and toasty/yeasty notes on the palate. At £13.50 I was impressed that we were served a whole 200ml bottle each rather than a glass of champagne that we had ordered.

The "Glorious Game" lunch menu is priced at £21 for two courses or £24.50 for three courses and is only available during October and November. There is also an option to upgrade many of the starters and main courses to more sophisticated ones at a little extra cost.

As a starter, I had "Seared partridge breast" (£3 supplement). The meat was perfectly cooked with the leg wrapped in a crisp vine leaf, and served on a bed of choucroute and mushrooms, and black truffle toast. The flavours of game and autumnal vegetables were well matched in this dish.

Dr G decided to start with a "Ballotine of foie gras with pistachio & green peppercorns" (£6.50 supplement). This was also excellent - the foie gras was creamy and served with a slice of smoked duck, green beans and golden raisin and camomile jelly.

Another "Glorious Game" main dish was the "Roasted pigeon breast". This was served with smoked Morteau sausage (richly flavoured uncooked/smoked sausage from the Morteau region of France, smoked for at least 48 hours in sawdust from conifers and juniper) and choux farci (stuffed cabbage parcel), fondant sweet potato, blackberries and red wine reduction.

The "Pot roasted grouse" was well worth the £18 supplement tag. The meat tasted deliciously rich but not too gamey. It was served with game croutons, celeriac puree, braised red cabbage, and a fantastic bread sauce.

To accompany our game dishes, we ordered a lovely but entry level bottle of 08 Private Margaux Reserve @ £33.50 (Schroder and Schyler). As with most Bordeaux wines, this was a blend of cabernet sauvignon and merlot, and had a good balance of fruit, tannin and acidity. I was pleasantly surprised to see the low mark up for this wine since it normally retails online at £17.99.

To finish off our bottle of Margaux, we had a selection of English and continental cheeses and quince jam or membrillo (£2.50 supplement) like Colsten Basset Stilton, Bosworth Ash Goats, Epoisses de Bourgogne, Reblechon Sovoi Alps, Livarot Normandie, and Comte Jura extra mature.

For dessert I ordered a "Pina colada rum baba" served with poached pineapple and coconut sorbet. The rum baba was light, similar to a souffle and tasted delicious with tropical fruit flavours.

Dr G opted for "Chocolate Moelleux" served with caramelised bananas and ice cream. The Chocolate Moelleux was very soft and yielding in the middle, with a lovely bitter chocolate flavour. I loved the presentation of this dish.

We were so entranced by the food, wine and the views from our table that we could scarcely believe three hours had passed when we rose at the end of our meal. We went for a brisk walk along the Thames path, which is at its most charming in Richmond and was the perfect end to our lunch.

Cost: the "Glorious Game" lunch menu is priced at £21.50 for two courses or £24.50 for three courses excluding drinks.

Likes: one of the best views in London, excellent standard of cooking, elegant surroundings. Perfect place for a lazy Sunday lunch followed by a stroll along the Thames.

Dislikes: although most wines were well priced, there were no options below £20.

Verdict: I can think of very few restaurants in London with such splendid views, outstanding British cooking, nor with such an impressive and well priced wine list. I was extremely impressed by The Petersham Hotel Restaurant in every respect. A really special place to take a relative or visitor you would like to impress, or as a treat for yourself. Very highly recommended.

Win One of 10 Pairs of Tickets to MasterChef Live and The Wine Show – A Must Visit for Lovers of Food and Wine

To celebrate MasterChef Live’s return to Olympia for its second year, The London Foodie has TEN pairs of tickets to give away worth £41 per pair – and this year it includes entry to The Wine Show too!

Many MasterChef celebrities are taking part including John Torode, Gregg Wallace, Dhruv Baker and this year’s Celebrity MasterChef winner Lisa Faulkner. Rick Stein and James Martin will be cooking live at the show in the Chefs’ Theatre. MasterChef Live will also host a speciality market with over 120 producers from all over the UK. Slow Food, Great Taste and Foodloversbritain.com will all have a collection of the best producers of artisan food and drink.

New this year, MasterChef Live runs alongside The Wine Show where you can learn how to choose wines in tasting sessions at the Drinks Tasting Theatre with experts including Oz Clarke and Tim Atkin.

For more information about MasterChef Live and The Wine Show click here.

How to enter the competition - leave a comment in this post with your full name and e-mail if I haven't already got it, and stating your preferred date: 12th November (Friday) or 14th November (Sunday).

The 10 lucky winners will be randomly selected using random.org and their names will be announced on Monday, 8th November at midday, so keep your eyes peeled!

The winners of this competition were randomly selected using random.org and are as follows:

Susan Haddleton @LondonFoodFinds
Roisin (roisin.hanratty@gmail.com)
Jo (jokruczynska@hotmail.com)
charliepoww@aol.com
Matt Heath (Manchild815@hotmail.com)
Ute@HungryinLondon
paul.burrows@clearcast.co.uk
Rick Reiley (rydidian@yahoo.com)
Cooking the Books - becky@thorn.me.uk
jenn-m-w@hotmail.co.uk

PLEASE ENSURE YOUR COMMENT HAS BEEN PUBLISHED IN THE BLOG POST BELOW TO ENTER THIS COMPETITION.

Terms and Conditions: Tickets are general admission only excluding Saturday, Non transferable, non exchangeable for cash. Entries for competition to close by November 8th.

A Sneaky Preview of Top 20 London Blogs

London Blogs - A New Blog Category by Wikio

As you may know, Wikio publishes Top Blog Rankings every month on various categories including Gastronomy, Politics, Sports, to name just a few. These rankings are compiled by taking into account the number and weight of incoming links from other blogs or articles. In other words, the ranking position will depend on how well "linked" up a particular blog is within a certain category.

Wikio is now launching a new London Category which will include blogs that reflect the many facets of London Life - culture, haunts, clubs, eateries and more. As with other categories, this aims to create a community that will be the home for similarly themed blogs (including The London Foodie) and a great place to discover some exciting news about the Capital.

I was asked to present you with a sneaky peek at the very first ranking for the Top 20 London Blogs (November 2010), and surprised to find The London Foodie listed. Thanks Wikio!

A full listing will be published on Wikio this coming Friday.

1	dezeen
2	IanVisits
3	Going Underground's Blog
4	853
5	MayorWatch
6	Brockley Central
7	diamind geezer
8	London Reconnections
9	Spitalfields Life
10	Transpontine
11	LondonNet -
12	HOOKED
13	Tired of London, Tired of Life
14	The Blackheath Bugle
15	Londonist
16	The London Foodie
17	The Great Wen
18	The Greenwich Phantom
19	Baroque in Hackney
20	Visit London Blog

London

Ranking made by Wikio

London Restaurant Reviews - Camino @ Puerto del Canario

Tapas aboard the Ferry Sherry and Camino @ Puerto del Canario

Being so obsessed with food, I enjoy the variety of flavours and textures and whenever I find myself eating out, I tend to order a lot of dishes. I find that tapas, dim sum, mezze or zakuski are the perfect meals where I can taste all the variety I want without ordering a silly amount of food. So when Krista Booker invited me aboard the "Sherry Ferry" heading towards Camino's newly opened branch at Puerto del Canario (aka Canary Wharf) with a bunch of other food bloggers, I did not have to think too hard.

We boarded the ferry (Thames Clipper - £4.80 for a single journey using an Oyster Card) at London Bridge by the Hayward Gallery, making our way through the scenic Thames route to the restaurant in less than 15 minutes. On disembarking, Camino was right in front of us - I cannot think of a more hassle free or enjoyable way to get around London.

Following the success of the original King's Cross location, the new Camino at Canary Wharf, opened in September 2010 with stunning river views. The decor is casual but stylish with exposed Victorian brickwork, reclaimed oak and pine floorboards, and patterned Andalucian tiles.

On our visit, head chef Nacho del Campo had put together a tasting to show some of the highlights from his menu. Commendably, all meats are free range and the fish and seafood are from sustainable sources with the provenance clearly declared on their website.

We were served a selection of tapas dishes including "Anchoas con Pimientos" @ £5.25 - anchovies and piquillo peppers with sherry reduction - these had a nice balance between the saltiness of the fish and the sweetness of the peppers and sherry sauce.

"Higos con jamon" @ £5.50 - grilled stuffed fig with Mahon cheese, wrapped in ham with rocket and sherry reduction - this was another delicious dish with a sophisticated combination of flavours and textures (definitely a dish I would like to replicate at home).

"Chipirones a la andaluza" @ £5.75 - crispy fried baby squid with alioli and lemon - one of my favourite tapas, the baby squid was very tender with a crisp batter and went well with the citric/garlic flavours of the alioli.

"Pulpo a la parrilla" @ £9.75 - octopus tentacle with olive oil, mash and paprika - the grilled octopus was surprisingly tender with a delicious char-grilled flavour from the "parrilla". I loved the abundance of sweet, smokey paprika which seasoned both the meat and the mash.

"Arroz negro" @ £6.50 - black rice made with cuttlefish, squid ink and Calasparra rice, with baby squid and alioli - a Valencian dish, this was in my opinion one of the best tapas of the evening and one I will certainly order again. The rice, blackened by the squid ink, was creamy and tasted of the sea.

"Croquetas de jamon" @ £4.75 - Serrano ham croquettes - lovely and crisp on the outside with a generous filling of cured serrano ham.

"Pinchitos de pollo" @ £5 - herb marinated free-range chicken skewers - I can't think of a better accompaniment to a chilled glass of beer.

"Presa Iberica" @ £9.50 - Iberian black pork shoulder cooked medium rare - another seriously good dish, this was one of my top three tapas of the evening. Iberian black pigs are raised semi-wild in Spain; they eat large quantities of acorns which gives them their unique flavour. The ham from this animal is highly prized, and is aged for 30 months. It is beautifully marbled and can cost four to five times more than other hams like Serrano. It is the daddy of all hams.

"Chuleton a la parrilla" @ £9 - Scottish 'Mathers Black Gold' rib eye steak, matured for 28 days and served basque style - all beef at Camino's is sourced from free range cattle from Tanner Farm in Somerset. The steak was perfectly cooked and seasoned simply with sea salt. I really enjoyed this and at £9, I thought it was well priced.

To accompany the meat dishes we had "Papas arrugadas" @ £3.75 - sautéed potatoes with 'mojo picon' and "Pimientos de padron" @ £4.50 - sautéed little green peppers with sea salt. These were both adequate if slightly unexciting.

I enjoyed the "08 Pinot Noir from Vinas del Vero" @ £24.50, it had some subtle red fruit characters, and despite its youth, showed some complexity and hints of vanilla from the 10 months maturation in French oak.

For dessert, we had a medley of some of their signature desserts including "Tarta de Santiago" @ £5 - almond tart from Galicia with warm vanilla ice cream, "Bombita de Crema" - mini doughnut filled with custard, and "Helado con Pedro Ximenez Sherry" (ice-cream with PX) @ £5.50.

To accompany our desserts, a delicious 75 ml glass of chilled "Moscatel from Vall de Xalo" @ £3.50 was served. This was highly aromatic with honey and orange peel on the palate and great acidity.

The wine list is exclusively Spanish and has a comprehensive representation of 22 regions throughout the country from Jerez and Galicia to Priorat and Ribera del Duero. There are many choices of both red and white wines below £20 per bottle and I note that the mark up on most bottles is little more than double the retail price. This is commendable considering that the standard mark up in UK restaurants is now a whopping 4 to 5 fold.

For the deeper pocket, there is also a special selection of "Los Canones Grandes" or "Big Guns". These are iconic Spanish wines like the "07 Naiades Naia Vina Sila" @ £45 which won the Decanter Magazine best white wine, or the "99 Vega Sicilia Unico" priced at £290.

Cost: The London Foodie was a guest of Camino but I have indicated prices of all the dishes I tried. I estimate that a meal for one person including 4 tapas dishes would cost around £25 (excluding drinks and service).

Likes: excellent quality ingredients and cooking at reasonable prices. My top three recommendations are "Chipirones a la andaluza" @ £5.75 - crispy fried baby squid with alioli and lemon, "Arroz negro" @ £6.50 - black rice made with cuttlefish & squid ink and "Presa Iberica" @ £9.50 - Iberian black pork shoulder cooked medium rare.

Dislikes: the lack of a clear separation between the bar and restaurant areas may not make for a very relaxing dining experience (if that is what you are looking for).

Verdict: I enjoyed the excellent, authentic tapas at Camino, and was impressed by the comprehensive and well priced wine list. The crisp baby squid, black ink squid rice and Iberian black pork shoulder steaks were truly delicious and I cannot wait to have them again. Highly Recommended.

If you fancy a free bottle of Platinum Brut Cava with your meal from either Camino Kings Cross or Canary Wharf, click here.