London : Deals/News/Events

Santi Graces Babbo

BuzzEditor — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:00:00 GMT

Douglas Santi, who worked for Alain Ducasse at Louis XV in Monaco, St. Regis in New York and MiX at Vegas, is now at a new Mayfair restaurant specialising in Tuscan cuisine. At Babbo (no relation to the Mario Batali Greenwich Village favourite), family recipes feature squarely on the menu – including the signature lasagne al ragout di chianina, prepared according to a secret 100-year-old recipe, passed to Douglas Santi by his grandmother. The ingredients and wine have all been sourced by Santi from his native Tuscany (open Monday–Saturday, lunch noon–3 PM, dinner 7–11 PM; set lunch £22 for two courses and £24 for three; 020-3205-1099).

– Roger Clarke

Pick a Pop-Up

BuzzEditor — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:21:00 GMT

Sketch pop-up cafe

Photo: courtesy of the restaurant

The holiday season tends to stir up surprises, which this year include two pop-up restaurants of note: Serpentine Bar and Kitchen's Christmas marquee in Hyde Park, and a bespoke eco-friendly Sketch pop-up cafe from Pierre Gagnaire at the Royal Academy of the Arts in Piccadilly.

From tomorrow, 19 November–23 December, you can feast on long wooden communal benches with up to 250 diners while listening to live jazz and festive music in the Serpentine cafe. A distinctively Christmassy – almost Dickensian – air is created by the menu, which includes mulled wine, ciders and Cornish cask ales along with hog roasts, cheese and cured meats. For pudding there's housemade ice cream, stewed fruits, plum pudding and mince pies, plus locally made brandy and flavoured schnapps (10 AM–8 PM daily; £35 per person; 020-7706-8114).

Fancy something a little more refined? Sketch is hosting a pop-up cafe at 6 Burlington Gardens to coincide with an art show at the Royal Academy. The emphasis is very much on sustainability, with an oyster bar featuring local native varieties, plus an array of tartlets, lunettes, salted caramels, quiches and treats you can have boxed up to go. The cafe runs 3 December–31 January, 10 AM–6 PM daily, with late opening on Fridays (for more information click here or call 020-7659-4500).

– Roger Clarke

The Cow's the Limit

BuzzEditor — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:09:00 GMT

The gastropub brand Geronimo Inns is slowly introducing a whole cow concept to a select number of its eateries across London, including The Builders Arms, The Crown, The Eagle, The Northcote and The Prince Albert. Starting in January, chefs from each gastropub will regularly take delivery of an entire Dexter cow carcass, sourced directly from a single Yorkshire farmer, which will be butchered on-site and aged for five weeks instead of the usual two. Diners can expect a host of less common cuts with archaic and slightly startling names (including flank, clod, sticket, Jewish fillet, blade and knuckle). Prices will range from £5–£20 (currently in a trial run, call locations for specific dates).

– Roger Clarke

Tip-Off on Tiffing

BuzzEditor — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:43:00 GMT

Rum Old Fashioned with seared scallop and smoked bacon tian with bitter orange pan juices

Photo: courtesy of Tiffing

Word has reached the Buzz of Tiffing, an exclusive new monthly dining club that allows members of the public to mix with restaurateurs and food writers – as well as enjoy a meal cooked by top chefs like Nahm's David Thompson (January 2010) and Mark Hix of the eponymous Hix (February 2010). At the time of writing there are still about 20 tickets left for a six-course, eight-cocktail dinner cooked by John Campbell (Dorchester Collections Coworth Park, opening 2010) to be held on Monday, 30 November, at Il Bottaccio in Belgravia (£150 per person; 9 Grosvenor Place).

Conceived by the creative cocktail folks at Bamboo Test Kitchen, spirits are very much part of the deal, and bartenders and mixologists will work closely with the resident chef. Over the months the format and location will move, and prices will range from £75 for an open kitchen event to £150 for the more pricey sit-down dinners. See here for more information, to buy tickets and to get yourself on the mailing list. Or e-mail eatmedrinkme@tiffing.co.uk.

– Roger Clarke

Another Look Through the Prism

BuzzEditor — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:40:00 GMT

Prism

Photo: courtesy of the restaurant

Prism at Harvey Nichols in the City has reworked its menu to have more of a brasserie feel, offering simple British and Modern European dishes laid out in three sections. "Little picks" includes dishes like freshwater prawns marinated in lemon and chilli; mini chorizo with aïoli; and spicy peppadew peppers with goat cheese and lemon. The "something potted" section features traditionally potted sea trout, salt beef, ham hock, brown shrimp and mushrooms. Finally, a "grill" menu sourced from The Ginger Pig has a 170g Longhorn beef burger, Gloucestershire Old Spot chop, spatchcock poussin, calf's liver and speck, and 50-day-dry-aged rib-eye and sirloin (147 Leadenhall St., EC3V; lunch Monday–Friday 11:30 AM–3 PM, dinner Monday–Friday 6–10 PM; starters £5–£13.50, mains £18–£22.50, sides £1.95, desserts £6.50; for reservations, call 020-7256-3875 or visit here).

– Roger Clarke

Getting Streetsmart

BuzzEditor — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:24:00 GMT

maze

Photo: courtesy of the restaurant

After raising a cool £435,000 last year, Streetsmart’s little cards are back on the table of many restaurants, with high-profile support from the likes of Gordon Ramsay, Fergus Henderson and John Torode. By adding £1 to your check November–December, Streetsmart gathers contributions for 95 charities across 18 U.K. cities helping to feed and shelter the homeless during the cold winter months. The 15 London restaurants that raised the most last year? They include Arbutus, Al Duca, Joe Allen, Le Café Anglais, maze and Nobu London. For more info on contributing restaurants, click here.

– Roger Clarke

Playing Ping Pong

BuzzEditor — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:26:00 GMT

Ping Pong, the modern Asian “tea room” chain from London, is steaming across the Atlantic Ocean to open an outlet in Washington, D.C.'s Penn Quarter next month. As a side note, check out this nifty dim sum demo from the restaurant.

Dinner Reservations Nixed at Polpo

BuzzEditor — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:32:00 GMT

Polpo

Photo: courtesy of the restaurant

Soho is one of the few areas of London where restaurants can survive by relying on passing trade, so perhaps it's not surprising that hot new Polpo has ditched its dinner reservation policy, following the likes of Barrafina, Busaba Eathai and Randall & Aubin. The man behind the bacaro eatery, Russell Norman (former operations director of Caprice Holdings Group and general manager at Zuma), made the change after deciding that Soho locals should be able to pop in casually for dinner without having to book in advance (020-7734-4479).

– Roger Clarke

That's One Dom Expensive Dinner

BuzzEditor — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:30:00 GMT

It's as if the recession was already a distant memory: from now until December 19, Apsleys will offer a wallet-busting, nine-course tasting menu during which each course will be paired with a Dom Pérignon champagne. Dishes include scallops, amaranth and black corns teamed with a rare vintage OEnothèque 1995 and lamb crépinette with OEnothèque 1969. Reservations must be made 48 hours in advance, with party sizes ranging from four to eight people. To see the full menu, click here [PDF] (£950 plus 12.5% service; to book call 020-7333-7254).

– Roger Clarke

Cooking With Coco

BuzzEditor — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:13:00 GMT

David Chang's pork neck with succotash

Photo and recipe: courtesy of Phaidon Press

For its latest cookbook, Coco, Phaidon Press turned to 10 world-leading chefs – Ferran Adrià, Mario Batali, Shannon Bennett, Alain Ducasse, Fergus Henderson, Yoshihiro Murata, Gordon Ramsay, René Redzepi, Alice Waters and Jacky Yu – to each pick 10 contemporary chefs from around the world. In turn, each of those chefs then wrote a menu and recipes for the book. The final product is more than 400 pages of gorgeous photographs, mouthwatering recipes and interesting tidbits from kitchens around the world. Want a taste? After the jump, get the recipe for pork neck with succotash from New York chef David Chang (of the Momofuku empire).

Pork Neck with Succotash
Serves 4
Recipe by David Chang

For the pork neck
300 g kosher salt
270 g sugar
6 liters hot water
2 bay leaves
25 g black peppercorns
6 liters cold water
10 g pink salt
1 pork neck

Mix the salt, sugar, hot water, bay leaves, and black peppercorns.
Mix the cold water with the pink salt.
Add the pork neck and confit 5 hours at 300°F (150°C) covered.
When tender, press between 2 sheet trays. Portion into serving size pieces.
Crisp on a griddle or pan to heat through.

For the succotash
100 g ground (minced) smoked, think-cut pork belly
12 g chanterelle mushrooms
250 g lima (butter) beans
175 g corn (sweetcorn) kernels
Butter for sautéing
1 tbsp tarragon, chopped
4 ml buttermilk
120 g butter
130 g arugula (rocket)

Sauté the pork belly, chanterelles, lima beans, and corn in a pan.
Finish with a pinch of salt and pepper, chopped tarragon, buttermilk, butter, and arugula.

All Hallows' Eats

BuzzEditor — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:44:00 GMT

Photo: Hanna Horwarth

The Brits don't have a long Halloween tradition – historically it was celebrated in Ireland, but every year that tide of pumpkins seems to grow and grow. In the darkening daylight hours, how about the Halloween party at Newburgh St. (6–9 PM), with its pronounced NYC influence, bagels, salt-beef, jack-o-lanterns and prizes for best costume. It's only yards from the London residence of Legend of Sleepy Hollow author Washington Irving at 8 Argyll St. Worth trying too is the more sedate Halloween slow-food market on Southbank. Buzz isn't much given to ghost tours (the dead don't eat, after all), but how about a three-course meal and a screening of The Exorcist (pea soup not included) at Axis at One Aldwych (two showings, dinner at 6 PM, film at 8:30 PM or dinner at 9 PM, film at 11 PM; £38.50 including VAT and service; additionally, Moët & Chandon Imperial is only £25 a bottle; book by calling 020-7300-0300 or e-mail on axis@onealdwych.com; more here). Also, themed cocktails are everywhere, but the Long Bar at Sanderson caught our eye with its Great Pumpkin chilled martini (El Dorado, amaretto, cinnamon syrup, butternut squash puree for £13).

– Roger Clarke

Loosen That Belt

BuzzEditor — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 18:10:00 GMT

Cassoulet of foie gras, cèpes, butternut squash and spinach at Le Bouchon Breton

Photo: courtesy of the restaurant

The season of gastronomic blowouts begins. East it's foie gras, West it's turducken. Kilburn gastropub Paradise by Way of Kensal Green has introduced its version of the formidable turducken – a distinctly medieval-sounding dish in which a duck is stuffed with a pheasant that's been stuffed with a partridge – to its "Host Your Own Roast" menu. It's served with duck-fat roasted potatoes and all the trimmings, and is carved at your table by chef Tim Payne (£75 total to share between five people; available through Christmas, though allow 48 hours notice; more details here or call 020-8969-0098).

Richer yet are the seasonal foie gras specials at Shoreditch's Le Bouchon Breton starting November 1. Matched with optional wines, dishes include a cassoulet of foie gras, cèpes, butternut squash and spinach, teamed with Qupe Viognier/Chardonnay, Bien Nacido Cuvee 2007, coming in at £29 total for both. Entrees average about £15. Book here or call 020-7377-1839.

– Roger Clarke

ZAGAT.mobi, Now With Your Tweets

BuzzEditor — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:33:00 GMT

Read the latest Twitter entries on ZAGAT.mobi

ZAGAT.mobi just got Twitter-fied. Now when you look up restaurants on our award-winning mobile website, not only can you access our trusted ratings and reviews, you can also read up-to-the-minute comments about the restaurant on Twitter. You don't have to download or install anything to get in on the fun – simply visit ZAGAT.mobi on any web-enabled phone and see what people are saying about your favorite spot. Now that's something to tweet about.

Sipping While Shopping

BuzzEditor — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:08:00 GMT

Harvey Nichols has just refurbished its ladies-who-lunch venue, the 5th Floor Champagne Bar, which offers a salonlike setting inspired by Émile Gallé's champagne bottle design. Cocktails include the "Wild Flower" (vodka, fresh apples, pomme verte, hibiscus, served with griotte cherry and hibiscus flower) and the "Garden Party" (gin, mint and elderflower combined with apple, green grape and a touch of wasabi and topped up with champagne). Meanwhile, executive chef Jonas Karlsson's menu features upmarket snacks with a Baltic tinge – think lobster cocktail, oysters, caviar, a "Rossini" burger. and raspberry and white chocolate mousse (cocktails are priced between £10.95–15.95; food items are near the £10 mark, except the £180 Sevruga; 020-7235-5250).

– Roger Clarke

Cafe Culture

BuzzEditor — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:54:00 GMT

Espresso Bar

Photo: courtesy of the cafe

Visitors to the British Library in Euston can now grab a superior cup of joe between book-browsing marathons. Oliver Peyton has just opened Espresso Bar there, serving churros, cakes, sandwiches and 21 varieties of coffee under £2 (Monday–Friday 8 AM–7 PM, Saturday 10 AM–7 PM, Sunday 11 AM–6 PM). Meanwhile, Cocomaya has finally opened a much anticipated cafe extension to its established chocolate shop. Described as a boutique bakery, it's owned by celebrated designers and fashionistas Walid Al Damirij, Joel Bernstein (former head of concept at Liberty) and Serena Rees (founder of Agent Provocateur). Its selection includes allergy-free items, and also features artisan bread, flourless orange cake and Gorgonzola and pear savoury biscuits (12 Connaught St., W2 2AF; Monday–Friday 7 AM–7 PM; Saturday 8 AM–7 PM; Sunday 9 AM–6 PM 020-7706-2770).