Tag: ealing

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Time for some Tapas

Went out for Tapas at La Rueda Spanish Tapas Bar in Ealing. We were there in the early evening, so it wasn’t busy, and we could sit in the (open) window area looking out onto the street. With the hot weather, we weren’t that hungry, so we had only a few dishes.

We had the Patatas Bravas, triple fried potatoes, spicy brava and infamous Spanish aioli garlic mayonnaise sauce. Not sure if the triple frying helped, as the potatoes weren’t that crispy. However they were nice, I liked the spicy brava, and the mayonnaise was an interesting addition. 

Another of our dishes was the Pollo a la Plancha, described as grilled spicy boneless chicken thighs served with Spanish alioli garlic mayonnaise sauce. Now the photograph in the online menu shows whole chicken thighs, so I was a little surprised when we were served with chicken skewers. They were served on a flat bread, well more of a wrap than a flat bread. The chicken was moist, tender and full of flavour. 

Alongside the chicken we had the Pinchos Morunos, grilled spiced lamb skewers, chimichurri served with humus. These were tender chunks of lamb with peppers and onions. Like the chicken cooked well and full of flavour, as well as being served on a flat wrap. It came with a small portion of hummus, I probably would have liked more hummus, but then I probably needed to order hummus off the menu.

Out final dish was the Calamares, fried squid rings in batter. Lovely crispy batter and tender squid. Delicious.

Completely forgot to take photographs of the dishes, which is unlike me.

The service was excellent, I liked how they served ice with their tap water, I also had an alcohol free beer. If I wasn’t driving I would probably have had a red wine.

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Seafood Bibimbap

I was in the mood for something more than just a sandwich for lunch. I was working around Ealing to see what was on offer. Yori was a Korean place on The Green which has a lunchtime deal of a main dish, a side dish, and accompaniments.

I went with the seafood bibimbap. This was hot rice, vegetables, seafood, with an egg yolk on top.

 It was a tasty bowl of food, though the contrast between hot and cold ingredients was surprising at times. Seafood was a little disappointing, but only a little disappointing.

Alongside was some cold accompaniments and some chicken gyoza dumplings.

These were tasty.

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Gail’s Flat White

flat white coffee

I had arrived earlier than planned in London and headed to Ealing. I went for a short walk and then went for coffee. I was going to go to Artisan, I had enjoyed a coffee there on a previous visit. It was though very busy, and it was also very warm (what with the hot summer weather and all).

However, in the end, I went to Gail’s Bakery and had a flat white. 

The service was friendly and warm. The coffee looked nice and I took a seat. Only downside was the cup had no handle and I had no tray, so I had to carefully carry the hot beverage to my chosen table.

Coffee was delicious.

Did like the cakes and snacks they had available, the bread also looked delicious.

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Crispy Calamari with Asian Salad

For a number of years, I’ve been staying at the Drayton Court Hotel in Ealing. It’s a budget-friendly alternative to pricier central London options. Plus, the Elizabeth Line makes getting downtown a breeze. West Ealing Station, just a short walk away, whisks you to central London in under 20 minutes by train.

I was eating in the restaurant and for my starter I went with the crispy calamari with asian salad and miso mayonnaise. I have found that how a restaurant cooks calamari is a good indicator of how they approach their menu and their cooking.  I wasn’t sure what to expect, so what I got was quite a surprise.

I wasn’t really expecting the asian salad to be so dominant on the plate. I was expecting a little more calamari than what was on the dish. I am not sure how well the batter worked, it was certainly crispy, but I do feel that it overpowered the squid.

I think the best way to describe this plate of food was “interesting”. I don’t think I would order it again if it was back on the menu. However it was a very different interpretation of crispy calamari and I would applaud Drayton Court for putting this kind of starter on their menu.

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Burger and Chips

For years, the Drayton Court Hotel has been one of my favourite hotels in London. It offers a fantastic alternative to pricier central locations. Thanks to the Elizabeth Line, getting to the heart of the city is a breeze.

I had been busy in London all day and though I had eaten a nice lunch, by the evening I was a little peckish. Looking over the menu, I did think I quite fancy a burger, so I went with the cheeseburger and chips. I always think that if you buy a burger in a hotel or in a pub, that it needs to be special, something better than you would buy from a high street burger chain, especially when you consider that you are paying a lot more money for the burger as well.

The burger was dressed with Monterey Jack Cheddar, pickle, burger sauce, lettuce and tomato; all served in a brioche bun, along with a portion of chips.

burger and chips

This was a tasty burger and I enjoyed the chips as well. The burger was intense and meaty. The accompaniments worked well. I also liked the chips.

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Caesar Salad

I was staying at the Drayton Court Hotel in Ealing, it is  of the regular places I stay when in London It is significantly cheaper than central London, and with the Elizabeth Line, hitting central London is really fast.

When staying away I don’t usually have salad in the evenings, as partly I want something more substantial and filling, and partly as I probably would have had a s salad for lunch as I generally don’t do sandwiches. However this time I was quite hungry (as I had missed out on lunch) so I went with a pizza and the Caesar salad alongside.

The pizza was excellent, fresh base, freshly cooked in a proper pizza oven. The Caesar salad was described as coming with cos lettuce, pickled anchovies, confit egg yolk, sourdough croutons and Parmesan.

Caesar salad

Well there were some overlarge sourdough croutons, there were anchovies, Parmesan and lettuce. However the described confit egg yolk had been replaced with a halved boiled egg. Didn’t mind that replacement that much.

The salad was delicious and I really enjoyed it, so much so, that I have recreated the dish a few times since at home.

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Beef short rib bao bun

One of the regular places I stay when in London is the Drayton Court Hotel in Ealing. I have been staying here for a fair few years now. It is significantly cheaper than central London, and with the Elizabeth Line, hitting central London is really fast. West Ealing Station is a few minutes walk from the hotel, from there you can catch a train to central London in less than twenty minutes.

Having dinner there, for my starter I went with the Beef short rib bao bun with bourbon maple glaze, aioli, coriander and peanuts.

bao buns

I have had these twice before and really enjoyed them. These though looked very different to the bao buns I had before at Drayton Court.

The beef was very tender, but I am pretty sure it wasn’t short rib. I couldn’t really taste the bourbon maple glaze. They were good, but I did feel something was missing from the dish.

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Pumpkin Ravioli

A favourite spot I frequent in London is the Drayton Court Hotel in Ealing. It’s been my go-to for years now. Compared to central London, it’s much easier on the wallet, and the Elizabeth Line makes getting downtown a snap. West Ealing Station, just a short walk away, offers trains that zip you into central London in under 20 minutes.

They have an ever changing menu and they have a specials menu. One of the specials was a roasted pumpkin & sage ravioli with maple roasted prince pumpkin, herb pesto, creme fraiche & toasted seeds.

This vegetarian dish sounded interesting, so I had it for dinner.

Pumpkin Ravioli

It wasn’t the most appetising looking dish I have had at Drayton Court. I think a swirl of creme fraiche would have enhanced this dish. The menu description said creme fraiche, but I am not sure if either it was missed off, or mixed in with the pesto.

The ravioli was cooked well, too easy to overcook filled pasta, but this was still al dente. I liked the deep fried sage which added flavour and texture to the dish, as did the toasted pumpkin seeds. I enjoyed the chunks of maple roasted prince pumpkin which were quite tasty. Overall it was an interesting dish, not sure I would order it again though.

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Mediterranean pizza with mushrooms, artichoke & olives

Drayton Court Hotel

One of the regular places I stay when in London is the Drayton Court Hotel in Ealing. I have been staying here for a fair few years now. It is significantly cheaper than central London, and with the Elizabeth Line, hitting central London is really fast. West Ealing Station is a few minutes walk from the hotel, from there you can catch a train to central London in less than twenty minutes. The hotel has an Ealing comedies theme, there are rooms named after films, and there are numerous photographs from the films framed on the walls in the bedrooms.

The staff are always welcoming and friendly, and the whole place has a real charm to it. The dinner menu is excellent and unlike other Fuller Brewery hotels they also have an extensive pizza menu.

I usually avoid pizza in hotels as they usually use pre-cooked bases, or even prepared pizza. I remember once having a pizza at the Doubletree Hilton and being very unimpressed with that pizza.

I think they had used a pre-cooked base, rather than making it fresh. I wasn’t too surprised by that. I was a little surprised that the tomato base was tomato puree and not passata or other kind of tomato sauce. This I wasn’t too impressed with. The toppings were nice and fresh though.

The Drayton Court Hotel however has a proper pizza oven and use proper pizza bases. I had enjoyed the time I had pizza there back in March 2023. I had the Florentine Pizza, which included spinach, mushrooms, olives, and an egg. It is one of my favourite pizzas and I have quite often when visiting pizza places.

This time I ordered the Mediterranean pizza with mushrooms, artichoke & olives. This is in fact a vegan choice, so I asked to swap the vegan cheese for “normal” cheese. I am not really a fan of vegan cheese.

It wasn’t long before my pizza arrived, in a box. I wasn’t expecting that. As the weather was nice, I headed out into the beer garden and had my pizza al fresco with a beer.

There was a generous amount of mushrooms, artichoke and olives on top of the pizza. The base was freshly cooked, crisp on the outside and soft and doughy on the inside. I really enjoyed the pizza, it was very tasty.

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Florentine Pizza

Whilst writing another blog post I realised I had not written about a meal I had eaten last year. Back in March 2023, I was staying at the Drayton Court Hotel in Ealing. I have been staying here for a fair few years now. It is significantly cheaper than central London, and with the Elizabeth Line, hitting central London is really fast. West Ealing Station is a few minutes walk from the hotel, from there you can catch a train to central London in less than twenty minutes. The hotel has an Ealing comedies theme, there are rooms named after films, and there are numerous photographs from the films framed on the walls.

I was going to have the steak sandwich, but I misread the menu, they stopped serving sandwiches at 5pm. So instead, I had the fish tacos and then the Florentine pizza.

I usually avoid pizza in hotels as they usually use pre-cooked bases, or even prepared pizza. I remember once having a pizza at the Doubletree Hilton and being very unimpressed with that pizza.

I think they had used a pre-cooked base, rather than making it fresh. I wasn’t too surprised by that. I was a little surprised that the tomato base was tomato puree and not passata or other kind of tomato sauce. This I wasn’t too impressed with. The toppings were nice and fresh though.

The Drayton Court Hotel however has a proper pizza oven and use proper pizza bases. So I was quietly looking forward to see what I would get.

I ordered the Florentine Pizza, which included spinach, mushrooms, olives, and an egg. It is one of my favourite pizzas and I have quite often when visiting pizza places.

I wasn’t to be disappointed. This was an excellent generous pizza. A great base, cooked well, and delicious toppings. The dough was crisp with a soft centre, the toppings were full of flavour and there was just the right amount of tomato and cheese. The egg was a little overcooked for my preference, but this didn’t detract from the whole pizza eating experience.

All in all a delicious pizza.