BoF Goes Quick Fire! Dishoom, The Newbury Pub, The Mandarin Oriental

It’s been several weeks since the last post so I’ve crammed 3 smaller meals of note into this offering. There’s so much on the go currently and it’s been damn chilly out there – I’ve developed a minor addiction to Bikram Yoga as a means of keeping the cold at bay.
Where did January go? I can’t believe it’s the Super Bowl tonight. I hope yo’ all got some buds and wings in.

Dishoom
2 Upper St. Martin’s Lane,
London
WC2H 9FB
02074209320
www.dishoom.com
@DishoomLondon

A cold day in London needed an injection of spice. Covent Garden can present a difficult conundrum when you find yourself cold and hungry but don’t want to eat at one of any number of standard grab and go joints – Pret, Eat, ‘Bucks etc. As my lunch in the week is comprised of staples from these establishments I – like many others I know – feel less inclined to eat here in the week.
I’ve heard mixed reviews of Dishoom since it opened several years ago – everything from it being the saviour of modern Indian fare, to it being a blot on the culinary landscape. When you’re in this area of town you’re never going to stumble on a hidden gem and the rents charged to owners often result in a philosophy of get ‘em in, get ‘em out. Dishoom was balancing these competing pressures well when we visited and I’d definitely go again. The place has an Indian Tapas feel though I can’t say it resembles any of the Bombay Canteen joints in which I’ve ever eaten (something the Dishoom staff will have you believe!)

The signature Dishoom Calamari was incredibly delicious and had definitely been cooked for us from fresh. It was gone in seconds! Best of all the dishes were the spicy lamb chops – blackened on the outside and served with a shuck of sweet tamarind sauce, pomegranate seeds and a wedge of lime. Luckily there were enough in the portion for one each or we’d have had a battle on her hands. EP also enjoyed her Chocolate Chai – the fragrant spices bringing a smile to her face before the liquid had passed her lips.

The Newbury Pub
137 Bartholomew Street,
Newbury,
West Berkshire
RG14 5HB
01635 49000
www.thenewburypub.co.uk
@TheNewburyPub

Burns night found me back out West in Newbury at the newly launched Newbury Pub (currently vying for top spot in my affections against El Sabio). They’d put us on a right good spread of Haggis, Bashed Neeps and Tatties. I’d forgotten how creamy the texture of Haggis can be. It was delicious.
If you’ve ever wondered on the difference between Haggis and Black Pudding I’ve harnessed the power of the internets and discovered that Haggis is made of sheep’s ‘pluck’ (heart, liver, & lungs), onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, salt, stock, boiled in the animal’s stomach. Black Pudding on the other hand is of course Pig’s blood is mixed with oats, salt, onions and spices and usually sliced and fried.

Also of note was their excellent vegetarian option; a stilton and potato pie. Good to see something other than ‘generic goat’s cheese tart’ on the menu. It actually reminded me of Simon Hopkinson’s Cheese & Onion Pie. Not a ‘light’ meal but thoroughly delicious and I’d recommend the Newbury if you’re ever in the town.

The Mandarin Oriental London
66 Knightsbridge,
London
SW1X 7LA
02072352000
www.mandarinoriental.com/london
@MO_LONDON

When I get married I shall spend the first night of my honeymoon with my darling wife at the Mandarin Oriental. We will take a room overlooking the Park and jet to the Maldives the following afternoon. In my dreams!
I’ve wanted to be a guest here ever since I used to cycle past it to work on a daily basis. Luckily a work engagement has now provided me a reason to step over its threshold. Unfortunately they weren’t so generous as to pay for a room for the night or find me a wife. One step at a time.

I’d forgotten what it is to be a guest at a top hotel and make no mistake, this is a top hotel. It isn’t simply the opulent decoration, the excellent quality of the champagne, the wonderful food or the attentiveness of the staff. It is an attitude of mature and attentive service which exudes from the very walls of the place which makes it work.

My favourite of the dinner courses was the main – a lamb wellington with crushed new potatoes, ratatouille and wilted spinach. The lamb was generously pink, melted in the mouth and was ensconced in a roll of the flakiest rough puff pastry. How they perfectly size the portions I will never know and the theatre of the waiters serving a single table at a time in unison really capped things off.
I cannot wait to go back though I’ll dread to check the bill when it’s my turn to pay!

BoF.

Riverplate Restaurant / The Bunk Inn

It’s a hectic time. Workers scurry everywhere glassy-eyed in a state of frenzy, attempting to push work to a reasonable conclusion before the year end. We’re firmly on the Christmas conveyor belt. From here on in, it’ll be one long office party and the dash to buy. I seem to have eaten little but fillet steak over the past few weeks and as decadently enjoyable as this is, I am worried; worried for the health of my heart, worried for the state of my waistline, worried for the state of my gut. Still, musn’t grumble. There’s nothing quite like that post steak glow.

Riverplate Steak House
36 – 38 The Calls
Leeds
LS2 7EW
01133912792
www.riverplatesteakhouse.co.uk

Riverplate professes to be Leed’s best source of a good steak. Initially we turned up at the hour of 4pm on a Saturday – neither lunch nor dinner time – and were kindly requested to return at the more reasonable hour of 7pm. We wandered the streets of Leeds for three hours, Zombie like and managed to bump into the England Rugby League team. It was all very surreal. The welcome at the anointed hour was certainly warm, wafts of steaky smoke emanating from the open grill at the far end of the room. The shi-shi set of Leeds are here; groups of oranged girls gaggle whilst muscled males treat the missus to a slap-up dinner.
We neglect the starters and dive straight into the mains of Fillet and Riverplate’s take on Surf n’ Turf – an 8oz Sirloin alongside Tiger prawns with a spicy salsa. We add in sides of chips, salad and buttered new potatoes but I’m disappointed to find they don’t do onion rings. “You won’t even ask the Chef? No onion rings” What Chef can’t turn out up a couple of onion rings on request? “You’re not full, will you ask them? No?….OK, I’ll have a grilled tomato though please. You only do those on the £40 Porterhouse to share? You can’t put one on my plate for an extra £1.50?”
I’ll leave the contrived mock conversation there but you get the point. I keep replaying this exchange over and can accept I’ve probably put my own spin on it through it’s repeated playing in my head. The waiter was polite and attentive, but why wouldn’t they even ask the Chew? Even maintaining the charade of going off to ask would have sufficed but no. Who’d have through it; no onion rings or grilled tomato in a Steak joint. I think they’re trying to maintain their image.

When it arrived, my Fillet was freshly rested but the merest shade overcooked (I ordered blue). I can forgive this as it was only a shade. The flavour was good but we were all in agreement that this wasn’t the best steak we’d ever had and that we’d regularly eaten better in London (***cough*** snobs). The surf and turf looked good but seemed lacking in the aforementioned salsa. When we ordered more we were told the prawns were already dressed in it and the additional ramekin which was provided seemed to offer little more than sweet chilli dipping sauce. The chips and salad were fine but nothing special. The whole meal was OK and mostly tasty. The place has a good atmosphere but it was all somehow a little underwhelming.

The Bunk Inn
Curridge Village
Thatcham
Berkshire
RG18 9DS
01635200400
www.thebunkinn.co.uk

This was my second visit to ‘The Bunk’ and I have already been again since this particular visit. Needless to say it is currently in vogue with the set from work. Again I ordered the Fillet (with bone marrow jus, sides of chips and salad) but I also took a starter of Venison Carpaccio. The food at The Bunk is very good. I already know this and the numerous positive reviews will chime with this constant in the world. When you couple this with good wines, a great atmosphere and good service you hit the golden mean.
The Carpaccio was wonderful; thick slices of meat lain under a tangy dressing of red onion and caper. The dense flavour of the gamey meat stood well against this formidable combination. Meat like this has a definite umami quality.

The Fillet was similarly stunning. What can only be described as a dense ‘brick’ of meat stood perfectly cooked (blue again) in a red wash jus and was topped with tapioca-like globules of bone marrow. I have eaten bone marrow on previous occasions but not in this way. When coupled with the steak, it gave the meat a quality of flavour which I have never previously experienced. It was excellent and I am ashamed to say I could not finish it. The chips were also worthy of a specific mention. Huge – ‘steak cut’ – as they were they were some of the crunchiest examples I have ever eaten. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were quadruple fried and doubt if the Chef will ever part with the secret of his particular technique. We washed all of this down with several bottles of good French Pinot Noir (Bourgogne, AC, Latour 2009), great value at £22.

After this protein marathon I had little room for further indulgence but my compatriots ordered the Eton Mess, Cappuccino Crème Brûlée and Cheese Board for dessert. The Eton Mess came brimming over the sides of a glass which can only be described as well proportioned and was the sort of desert to inspire a feeling of “I wish I’d ordered…” in even the most full of diners. An incorrectly flavoured Crème Brûlée is a dish which will inspire genocidal thoughts in even the calmest of diners but this example of the genre was well executed, with exactly the right ‘crack’ emanating when it was assaulted with a teaspoon. The Cheese Board didn’t hold anything unexpected (a blue, a cheddar, a French goat) but was well executed. What more can you say. Well done ‘The Bunk’.

I urge you to visit if you are ever in the vicinity of West Berkshire.

Wagyu Beef at Hoggit and Hoof

Hoggit and Hoof
17 Market Place
Newbury
Berkshire
RG14 5AA
01635 550770
http://www.hoggitandhoof.co.uk

I’ve eaten only 2 steaks in the past 6 months. The one I’m going tell you about and one before that. Both were at Hoggit and Hoof. One is worthy of a post, the other is not. You’ll find it hard to read about that one. This one was only 1/4 of a steak. We shared it…
So, eating here the first time around was an enjoyable affair but I had a fair amount on at the time and didn’t feel like a post. In summary, first time around it went something like filletblue/peppersauce/onionrings/notbad.
BUT on the way out someone noticed they do WAGYU BEEF.
Seeing as a whole genetic spin off of cattle seem to have their minds solely intent on producing a beautifully marbled cut of beef for our enjoyment, not getting on this might count as a waste.
It’s a tough life.

This time around was more like orderwhatyoulike…we’llgetonewagyutoshare…(between four…)
Again I took a blue Fillet (is there another cut to be had?) To be honest it was gritty.
I don’t mean a Marion Robert Morrison challenge. I mean there was grit in it. Let’s not talk about that.
The Wagyu was superb. Tender, flavoursome, moist and everything you hope for when you’re not sure how much better something else could be.

All in all HAH is a decent restaurant. I’d go as far as to recommend it.
Hats off to Owner James Allen, Head Chef Graeme Forrest and Owner / Meat Supplier Nick Vine – the staff are attentive, the Chefs obviously care and all around me were certainly enjoying proceedings.
I’m just saying that this one customer got grit in his Fillet but that the Wagyu was f@#*ing great.

BoF