Tyler Udall

Tyler Udall exhibition at The Little Black Gallery. Opens 11th February.

Upstairs at The Ten Bells

Only a year old, Upstairs at The Ten Bells already has a loyal following. Set in the first floor of an infamous pub, not just known as the last drinking location of a Ripper victim but also as a recent stripper joint, this place has already had an interesting history.

With a simple, refined menu, you aren’t overwhelmed with choice which as a hugely indecisive individual, makes things easy. For starter I decided on the buckwheat pancakes with smoked mackerel and cucumber. It was delicious although the pancakes were a little big but the flavours mixed well. My friends went for buttermilk chicken that came placed on some old pine leaves, who said recycling Christmas trees was hard.

Main came and although delicious,Ii was slightly disappointed with the lack of size and variety in the meal. Braised swede with salsify and mushrooms implied a hearty meal and although bursting with winter flavour. I would have liked something with it or on the side. The fish on this course looked amazing with a thick piece of hake on a bed of vegetables and the addition of potted shrimp. The meat also looked grand with pork, lentils and vegetables. In this case, I think the veggie option looked like the poor relation to the other dishes but all the same it tasted great.

Finally, I couldn’t resist desert and this was the showstopper for me. Milk crisps with buttermilk ice cream and rhubarb sorbet was delicious. The sourness of the buttermilk went well with the sharp rhubarb and the milk crisps balanced it all whilst adding a new texture to the dish.

Overall, this was a great meal. The charm of the shabby decor, paired with the interesting history and delicious, yet innovative food makes this a top Shoreditch find.

Recent fun

Gingerbread Man getting me through the day// Coffee and productiveness at Browns of Brockley//Cocktails at The Ritz//Food at Whitecross Market//Sunday Roast at the Owl and Pussycat//Street art in Shoredicth during my many ramblings around the city.

La Bodega Negra

Billed as the new, trendy Mexican to hit London, La Bodega Negra has two locations giving you the option of visiting the café for lunch or the underground, cryptic restaurant for dinner. L

London is having a passionate love affair with all hispanic influenced food at the moment but in my experience it can be a hit or miss situation. 

Similarly to El Camion, the evenings here have a party vibe with a DJ and you have the added novelty of walking through a sex shop but Iafter an intense day of shopping I decided to re-energise with some lunch at the cafe location that immediately grabs your attention with its bright décor of turquoise and black.

The lunch menu is relatively short and we found that it is better value if you choose the set menu of a drink, taco selection and a side rather than a selection of dishes. On this occassion I had the fresh lemonade which had a real citrus kick, the prawn tacos and a side of rice and beans.

The tacos were delicious but tiny (and I mean tiny) portions and the beans were tasteless; I did choose to have them without meat which was a rookie error in this case. My friend had the mushroom and cheese tacos and these lacked flavour and any innovation. I know vegetarian food isn’t always exciting but they could at least come up with something better than bland mushrooms and cheese.

Unfortunately for me, La Bodega Negra isn’t a new star restaurant for Mexican food.  It was £10 for the set menu which was pretty steep for a few small tacos and sides. The atmosphere and good service saved it and after hearing rave reviews of the restaurant for the evening, I think I will have to try it another time to get a better impression. For lunch, I would much rather nip to Benitos Hat or a market stall for a tasty burrito to give me my Mexican fix.

Layers

I do love a crisp white shirt, I found mine at Uniqlo and teamed it with a black high necked jumper, polka dot shorts and a beautiful ethnic necklace I found in a vintage store. Here's to colder weather that allows for layering.

Recent fun

Bowling at All Star, Brick Lane// Treats from Hong Kong//Coffee and Banana Loaf at Flat White//Watermelon fro'yo at PinkBerry//Tower Hill (feeling like you aren't in London//

Nopi

For me food signifies the best things in life; it’s a way of learning about culture, bonding with family and friends and is a wonderful cathartic process to de-stress after a long day. This year for my birthday, food was pretty much the focus of all my celebrations. I prepared a three course dinner party on the day of my birthday to take the opportunity to make some recipes I’ve been dying to try and treat my friends to something that I enjoy doing ( I revel in the glamour of a dinner party with candles, flowers and wine). During my stay to Portugal, my grandma treated me to a meal by the Chaine des Rotisseurs who had a two-star Michelin chef visiting to cook a special 7 course gourmet lunch and to top it off, two of my lovely friends, who I have a huge food bond with, took me to Nopi, the restaurant by famed Yotem Ottolenghi.

I’ve wanted to try Nopi for a long time, Ottolenghi is a chef I really admire for his ability to make innovative food that isn’t too eccentric and uses a good variety of vegetables. The setting was simple and calming with white walls and dusted matte gold furnishings. We were promptly sat at our table by the window and were delighted to see a wine menu specifically promoting Team GB with some British wines.  As we’ve never tried British wines before, we were given some samples to decide and went for a lovely medium bodied red.

Every detail has been thought of in this restaurant which distinguishes it as one of the top restaurants in Soho. The gold ‘O’ is incorporated into the furnishings including the napkin rings and cloakroom tickets. The toilets are also an experience, taking you into a magical setting of mirrors jutting out like glaciers.

We chose 7 of the sharing dishes which were more than enough for three of us, although I must admit it was hard to choose as every dish looked delicious.  The service was impeccable with the waitress helping in our choice and recommending dishes as we tried to get a good balance of textures and flavours. All the dishes were delicious, from the sweet potato with figs and goats cheese to the aubergine with pomegranate and feta but the stand out dish was the savoury cheesecake with beetroot. I am not exaggerating when I say this is one of the best things I have tasted..Ever. It was melt-in-the-mouth warm cheese which went so well with the sweet beetroot, basically a dream.
We made sure we had room for dessert and shared the strawberry mess and sweet filo pastry served with plum compote.  As it was such a special occasion we also treated ourselves to some after dinner drinks and coffee.

The food was delicious. Ottolenghi creates recipes that savour the flavour of quality ingredients. Everything was cooked to perfection and combined with the beautiful, ethereal-like setting and stellar service, it was a night to remember.