food, reviews and of course coffee
On a recent stay in London I did quite fancy going to Wahaca on the South Bank. I have enjoyed previous meals there and at other branches of Wahaca.
They have installed some splendid Day of the Dead decorations across the restaurant.
However upon arriving, there was a huge queue to get in, so much so, that I decided in the end to go somewhere else for lunch. Maybe next time.
I was staying at the Doubletree Hilton in Ealing and was eating in the hotel restaurant.
I decided to go for a starter, choosing the lamb kofta, which was served with mint yoghurt and pomegranate.
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised with the dish and how the food was presented. I did enjoy the lamb and it was an interesting mix of tastes, textures, warm and cold. If I get the chance I think I would order it again.
I was staying at the Doubletree Hilton in Ealing and was eating in the hotel restaurant.
I had initially decided that I wouldn’t have a burger, as I have eaten quite a few burgers recently. However I haven’t had a chicken burger for some time. Reading the description, fried butter milk chicken burger with red-hot sauce, blue cheese sauce, pickled cabbage slaw, lettuce, mayonnaise, tomato, pretzel bun, I wasn’t sure I was going to like that.
I did think about modifying the burger and getting rid of the sauces, but in the end I went with what was described. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but I do like to try new things and see how they taste.
It arrived and it did look quite good.
The pretzel roll was a nice change from the brioche roll which seems to have become the standard across gourmet burgers these days.
The chicken was nice though it wasn’t as crispy (or crunchy) as I would like. The sauces I thought might be overpowering actually weren’t.
The accompanying chips were crisp and tasty.
I was staying at the Doubletree Hilton in Ealing and was eating in the hotel restaurant.
I recently had fish and chips in a different hotel which I had enjoyed. So I decided to order it at the Doubletree.
It was described as traditional fish and chips with garden peas, chunky chips and tartare sauce. I received an excellent looking plate of food.
I wouldn’t have said the chips were that chunky! However it was nice to have the lemon as well. The fish was well cooked, the batter was excellent, lovely, light, and crispy. The chips were nice as well. Overall I really enjoyed the dish.
I was staying at the Doubletree Hilton in Ealing and was eating in the hotel restaurant.
I decided to go for a starter, choosing the nachos. I quite like nachos and have had them back home. These nachos were described on the menu as tortilla chips with sour cream, tomato salsa, guacamole, jalapenos and cheese.
I was quite surprised by the size of the dish, it was a large plate of nachos and I was unable to finish all the nachos!
The nachos had been toasted, so the cheese was melted. The sour cream, tomato salsa, guacamole, was all fine. I didn’t eat too many of the jalapenos though.
Overall a simple dish, which was quite tasty.
I was working in London and wanting a coffee so headed out to one of my usual haunts, Coco di Mama on New Square.
I ordered a double espresso and took a seat, always like it when they bring the coffee to you rather than hanging around by the counter until they’ve made it.
The coffee arrived in a real china cup with a square of delicious dark chocolate on the side.
This was an excellent double espresso and I enjoyed the chocolate too.
Great tasting coffee and friendly staff.
I was staying at the Doubletree Hilton in Ealing and was eating in the hotel restaurant. I had a look over their menu. There is something about hotel menus that can be rather depressing. Sometimes you find places that inspire and bring joy. Other times you think, I should have gone out to eat!
Now I will say having had steak and chips a fair few times recently at hotels, this dish was just a little disappointing in comparison.
The menu didn’t indicate the weight or the size of the steak, but I got what I felt was a rather thin piece of sirloin steak. The chips came in a small metal fryer basket. Alongside were some roasted cherry tomatoes on the vine, a roasted field mushroom and some watercress.
Having said it was a little disappointing, the accompaniments were all rather good, I think the dish was just let down by the main act. The steak was rather bland and lacked flavour. It was rather thin as well. It was cooked medium rare as ordered, but apart from that I was not impressed.
I was in London and staying at the Fox and Goose close to Hangar Lane. This is a Fullers Hotel and is part of the same chain at Drayton Court, which I have stayed at for a few times now. When I was staying at the Drayton Court Hotel I had some excellent meals. The Fox and Goose had a slightly different menu than the Drayton Court, but there were similarities.
Looking over the menu there was a lamb dish, pan-roasted Dorset texel rack of lamb with pine nut pesto crust, Jersey Royal potatoes, crushed minted peas and anchovy & caper butter.
I did like the sound of that, so I ordered it.
The dish a bit of a mix of good and not so good. The lamb was lovely and tender and had a great flavour. I wasn’t enamoured with the pine nut pesto crust, which I think could have had a stronger flavour and a firmer crust. I enjoyed the Jersey Royal potatoes and the peas. I wasn’t sure about the anchovy & caper butter, I wasn’t sure if I liked it or not.
Overall it was a nice dish and I enjoyed it. It’s not the best lamb dish I have had, but it was a good plate of food.
I was in London and staying at the Fox and Goose close to Hangar Lane. This is a Fullers Hotel and is part of the same chain at Drayton Court, which I have stayed at for a few times now. When I was staying at the Drayton Court Hotel I had some excellent meals. The Fox and Goose had a slightly different menu than the Drayton Court, but there were similarities.
That evening I really fancied the idea of fish and chips after my excellent steak starter.
The menu described this as Fuller’s Frontier battered haddock, triple cooked chips, crushed minted peas, tartare sauce, lemon.
The plate had a large portion of fish, the batter was nice and crisp and it was cooked well. I quite enjoy the crushed minted peas and it was a nice accompaniment to the dish.
Well, I was looking forward to the triple cooked chips, but what I got was fries. They were nice, but they weren’t triple cooked chips! Sometimes when I order a dish I want fries, but other times I want triple cooked chips. Having said that, these were nice fries.
Overall a great plate of food and filled that craving for fish and chips.
I was in London and staying again at the Fox and Goose close to Hangar Lane.
On my last visit there I had a great breakfast and some good coffee. So I was expecting another great breakfast and the good coffee.
The breakfast was superb. It consisted of pork sausage, Mrs Owton’s bacon, Hampshire black pudding, grilled tomato & field mushroom, hash brown, Heinz baked beans, and two poached eggs.
Alas the coffee machines were broken, so they had to revert to standard breakfast coffee, which was disappointing. Well the breakfast was excellent.