[Restaurants and sites that are underlined and appear in color have web sites that are reachable by clicking on them.]
TWO MUST-VISIT SHOPS (Places we are most
likely to visit whenever we’re in
Rococo
Chocolates -makes their own chocolates, very, very unusual and
extremely good. Dark chocolate in every level of cocoa up to 99%; incredible
combinations (e.g., dark chocolate with chili pepper, white chocolate with
cardamom); ginger wafers to die for. And
they let you sample everything! No easy
way to get there, except by bus. May be
worth taking a taxi. (M-Sa, 321 King’s Rd at
Neal's
Yard Dairy near
RESTAURANTS:
PLACES WE’VE EATEN:
The Square This attractive, comfortable room off
Hélène
Darroze at The Connaught In July 2008, one of the only female star
chefs of Paris (who has a famous eponymous restaurant there) took over the restaurants
at The Connaught. She has created here a
fine French restaurant of world class quality.
With exquisite service, gorgeous décor, and luxurious comfort, the place
is a perfect setting for the sophisticated and delicious food M. Darroze is
preparing. In addition to the fabulous
things we ordered (I had an appetizer of Chipirons [small calamari] sautéed
with chorizo and confit tomatoes, in a black [squid ink] and creamy Carnaroli
Acquarello rice, with a Reggiano parmesan foam; followed by a main course
of “Le Chevreuil,” ribs and fillet of
venison with chicory butter, autumn fruits and vegetable fondant, in an intense
coffee sauce; an a Poire Comice [pear poached in vanilla jelly, crystallized
ginger pannacotta, with pear granite]), there was a seemingly endless
presentation of other extraordinarily delicious treats that appeared
unbidden: several amuses bouches (A foie
gras crème brulée with apple sorbet and peanut emulsion, a creamy soup of
cèpes, a fine ham, bread sticks with tomato, et al.), a signature L’Escaoutoun (a traditional
polenta-like dish from Land, made with ewes’ milk, mascarpone, sheep cheese,
cèpes, etc.) which appeared between the appetizer and the main course, a
pre-desert, etc., etc. It was truly an
exquisite feast. We accompanied it with
a bottle of Billecart-Salmon Rosé and a spectacular Vosne-Romanée “Reignots”
2003 from Cathiard. All-in-all, it was
an extraordinary meal, though quite expensive. There is a much more reasonably priced
lunch. Like most great French restaurants,
Hélène Darroze at the Connaught is closed weekends. In The Connaught Hotel, on
Pied a Terre Shane Osborne is the first Australian chef to
receive a coveted Michelin star and after glancing at his menu, you might
conclude that his cooking is perhaps no different from his mentor Gordon
Ramsey. Look again; amidst the mainly French-influenced dishes, there are
some subtle Asian and
Zafferano On Thanksgiving 2003 (and 2004), we ate dinner here as a gesture of support for Calvin
Trillin’s campaign to replace turkey with spaghetti carbonara the national dish
for Thanksgiving (q.v., www.RLRubens.com/Thanksgiving.html). This interesting and highly touted Italian
restaurant is located on
The
Wolseley This excellent French
Bistro-style restaurant, located right next to the Ritz Hotel, is a true
find. Everything was delicious (although
their deep fried Whitebait and their steak tartare were particularly
outstanding). And this place is one of
the few places in
Moro This really interesting, small Moorish restaurant (with Spanish, North African, and Eastern Mediterranean influences) is all the way out by King's Cross—a ten minute walk north on Farringdon Road from the Farringdon tube stop. There is an excellent inexpensive to moderately priced wine list (featuring mainly Spanish and Portuguese wines)and wonderful breads (baked while you are dining). The menu, which changes daily, features spectacular appetizers (the best grilled squid I’ve ever had, a divine chestnut and chorizo soup, and wonderful grilled sardines), and very good main courses (lamb, chicken, fish, or vegetables) (M-F, 34-35 Exmouth Market, Tube: Farringdon, 020.7833.8336)
River Café Italian. If you happen to be in
Hammersmith—although who in his right mind would just ‘happen’ to be in
Hammersmith, which is a thirty minute taxi ride from downtown—this is the place to eat. [If you do go for dinner, three practical
things to remember due to its isolated, residential location: bring a map of the area (as our cab driver
had a hard time finding it—and be aware that it is very poorly marked even once
you are in front of it); know that, due to the zoning, you have to be out by 11
PM; and remember to have them call you a car, as there is no way that you will
be able to find one in that neighborhood, and it is not at all close to the
Tube station.] It is an extremely interesting, albeit somewhat cold,
industrial-chic dining room, quite informal, and, in the daytime it must have a
beautiful view of the river. The food
was a bit uneven: when we ate there, it ranged from a totally sublime
appetizer of wood-oven roasted fresh
sardines over pine nuts and hot peppers to one main course that was rather
pedestrian. One of the two women who own
the place is Ruthie Rogers, wife of the renowned architect Richard Rogers (who,
among many famous projects, did the Pompidou Center in Paris with Renzo Piano);
and his organization has its home just next to the River Café (allowing one to
look in at models of his many famous buildings). (
St. John This old
Hakkasan This striking underground room is done mostly
in black with blue highlights and is dramatically spot lighted. It serves delicious and innovative Chinese
food—especially the incredible dim sum (a vast variety of unusual and tasty
morsels to choose from), which is available only at lunch. (
The Ivy which felt like 21 with good,
homey, upscale food. Perfectly located
for the theatre district, but impossible to get
a reservation. (Daily L&D,
Le Caprice Run by the same people who own The Ivy, and
with a related menu (and easier to get a reservation at)—and serves dinner
until midnight, and has a good brunch.
(Daily,
E &
O An excellent and informal—if
trendy—pan-Asian fusion restaurant; inexpensive and very good. The program here involves ordering a series
of small portions with no difference between starters, main courses and
desserts: dim sum, BBQ/Roasts, sushi and sashimi, salads and curries. (Daily,
Bistroteque This hip, white brick, industrial room
in Hackney (not far from a street full of warehouses that have been turned into
thriving, happening art galleries) serves tasty, simple fare—and it is most
certainly the place to eat when in
this neighborhood. It is a fabulous
place for brunch on Saturday and Sunday (11-4), and it is open until 10:30 or
11 every evening for dinner.
Wapping Food This industrial eatery, set in a former power substation, is an out-of-the-way little treat. The food is tasty and good, if in no way particularly wonderful; but the setting and related art venues are quite extraordinary. The owner, Jewels, has created something of a miniature, and earthier version of the Tate Modern. In the midst of rusting machinery, she has created spaces that provide a magnificent home to visual artists, filmmakers, designers, writers, and choreographers—not to mention her quite respectable eatery. (Wapping Hydraulic Power Station, Wapping Wall, E1, Canary Wharf/Docklands, Tube: Wapping, 020.7680.2080)
The Black Friar Pub Not really on this list because
of its food as much as for its atmosphere, this wildly decorated pub stands in
the shadow of
RECOMMENDED
BY OTHERS ON GOOD AUTHORITY, BUT NOT TRIED:
(Sally)
Clarke's another favorite. You've
probably heard her described as the Alice Waters of
Assaggi excellent Italian. (
Australian
Chefs in
Rasa a
south Indian vegetarian restaurant, out in Stoke-Newington, Tiny, full of
students, really delicious, fresh-tasting interesting food for ten pounds per
person. terrific AND cheap (
THINGS TO DO:
The Courtauld
Gallery is an incredible treat: a very small collection with some of
the most absolutely magnificent impressionist and post-impressionist treasures
in the world (upstairs). There are
paintings by Cézanne, Pissarro Monet, and Derain that may rank among the finest
done by these extraordinary painters.
The Courtauld is one of our very favorite things in
Of course, there’s The Tate: the Tate British (great Turners and Constables; my view of British art: “Ugly painting, ugly painting, Turner, ugly painting, ugly painting, Constable, ugly painting, ugly painting...”) and the Tate Modern, in its renovated power station home: The original building, the Bankside Power Station, was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott—also the designer of the famous British red telephone box. The Tate Modern has some spectacular art in its permanent collection, but is a simply dreadful example of what I consider a most damnable trend in current exhibition philosophy, in which art is grouped according to some conceptual scheme of the curator, rather than chronologically or by artist. Thus, instead of being able to go and look at the Schwitters collages you might want to see, or the Rothko paintings (on the other hand, there is one fabulous room devoted entirely to a series of Rothko paintings, which was designed in consultation with the artist himself), or marvelous works by Duchamps, you have to wander through various arrays of works dealing with “Still Life/Object/Real Life” or “Landscape/Matter/Environment” or some other conceptual groupings, and sort through any number of other works the curator thinks you ought to see along with those you might want to see. There is usually a magnificent installation of some sort in the turbine hall (the mammoth entrance area to the museum which housed the power plants turbines). In November 2004, it was a gigantic sound sculpture.
After a visit to the Tate Modern, one should return
back across the
If you've never been there, the War Cabinet Rooms are really
worth seeing. (
If you can stomach the imperialist plundering, the The British Museum has many incredible treasures (including the Rosetta Stone, the sculpture from the Parthenon, etc.); the new inner court yard designed by Norman Foster joins the space between the various buildings of the museum and creates a magnificent central area under its beautifully vaulted glass roof which houses the recently renovated and totally amazing Reading Room (open to the public for the first time) at its center.
The National Gallery is one of the world’s great museums; among its many world class treasures, it is the home to one of the three unbelievably wonderful paintings by Uccello of the Battle of San Romano (the other two being at the Louvre and the Uffizi)—these incredibly modern 15th century paintings are among our favorite works of all time. (This Uccello is in Room # 55 of the Sainsbury Wing.) Among the other magnificent paintings are the National Gallery’s collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings (in Rooms 43-46 of the main building)—including some magnificent Manets, Monets, Cezannes, Pissarros, etc.
The Soanes Museum, the preserved townhouse of the great Regency architect, Sir Joan Soanes, is a treasure of the highest order, decorated as he lived in it, it is filled with an unbelievable collection of architectural fragments, models, drawings, sculpture, paintings (a must if you like Hogarth)—and even the alabaster sarcophagus of Pharaoh Seti I! The domes and other top-lighting of the spaces and the colored glass he employed are truly wonderful.
The Wigmore
Hall is one of the nicest
concert halls in the world, so check out their programs. And the Royal
Opera Company in