The Hungry Housewife!
She knows her place – and it’s not in the kitchen.....
Louisa Walters is Features Editor at the Jewish News and specialises in food and travel writing
Honey & Co
For my birthday, we went to Honey & Co – there’s no T-shirt yet, but I have got the book and read lots of glowing reviews. I started with a lychee and pomegranate bellini, which went down a little too quickly. I munched hopefully on the seeds as one of the girls said that they had been soaked in alcohol.
True to the rumours, the mixed mezze starter was out of this world. We’re talking red pepper falafel, hummus, feta dip, borlotti beans with roasted tomatoes, cheesy puff things, homemade challah and pitta, pickles and something that didn’t sound great on paper, but was so tasty – peach and goat’s cheese salad with roasted almonds.
My main dish was hot tomatoes, manouri cheese (lovely), lots of garlic, potato bread and mint. My friend had the minced lamb with pine nuts and a baked yogurt topping (pictured, left) – stunning.
To conduct a fair test, we tried all the desserts. The famous cheesecake with its unusual kadaif pastry bottom (above, right) was divine and there was a darling white chocolate concoction, too.
Go if you’re looking for a casual, unpretentious and very nice night out. Don’t go if you want to lose weight as there is just too much not to be missed – cheesy, creamy gorgeousness
by Angie Jacobs
Honey & Co
25A Warren Street
London W1T 5LZ
t: 020 7388 6175 w: honeyandco.co.uk
New Place in Town:
Picture Marylebone
Midweek lunch with the girls normally means a salad somewhere local, and there is an increasingly good choice of places to go for that, but when my foodie friend Kate suggested we try a new place just off Marylebone High Street (“after all, it’s only just past St John’s Wood,” she reasoned), I was easily persuaded.
Picture Marylebone is the second outpost of young, charming Tom Slegg’s well-established Fitzrovia restaurant of the same name. Having garnered a reputation for adventurous menus and sublime flavours and presentation, Tom has a lot to live up to with his new venture. I love new restaurants – the shiny cutlery, the sparkling glassware, the smell of freshly honed wood and newly painted walls. And I love them even more when they have got it absolutely right, even at the beginning, which Picture has. Warm greeting as we entered, shown to a lovely table by the window (a bright spot even on a dull day), offered drinks and menus swiftly but not hurriedly. And oh, what a menu. There is a set lunch at £22 for three courses, a six-course tasting menu at £40 and an à la carte with dishes hovering around the £10 mark (smallish plates – it’s advisable to have around three each). We ordered 10 dishes between four of us – the entire menu, in fact, plus all three sides!
A ravioli of caramelised onion with peas, a charred spiced cauliflower and a kind of deconstructed bruschetta with shaved feta paved the way for cod with tenderstem broccoli and white beans, hake brandade (mashed potato mixed with flaked fish – an outstanding dish) with smoked haddock and red onion, stonebass with aubergine and orzo pasta. Then a meat course – 28-day aged beef with marrow crumb, melt-in-the-mouth lamb neck in a rich gravy, tender roast chicken with Portobello mushrooms and cavolo nero.
For dessert, there’s warm almond cake with frozen lemon thyme yoghurt, iced mascarpone parfait with strawberries and granola and
dark chocolate mousse with salted caramel crumble. And it has to be said, every single dish is as pretty as a picture.
• Picture Marylebone and Picture Fitzrovia offer exclusive discounts to holders of The Restaurant Club card www.therestaurantclub.com
Picture Marylebone 19 New Cavendish Street London W1G 9TZ t: 020 7935 0058 w: picturerestaurant.co.uk
On the side:
CUTEA
Cutter & Squidge all-natural bakery in Soho is hosting a Hello Kitty Secret Garden themed tea until the end of August. Dine on sandwiches in the shape of Hello Kitty, savoury cheese scones, strawberry milkshake biscuits, apple pie mousse, Kitty’s chocolate mud pie and ‘chococat’ dipped strawberries, all washed down with Mimmy’s Pink Lemonade and a choice of teas. A real treat for little girls (and grown up ones, too)!
ON THE MONEY
Korean street food venture On the Bab opened in April in Covent Garden. I popped along last week to try it out. With branches in Shoreditch and Marylebone, and another due to open near St Paul’s, this concept looks set to stake a firm claim on the growing small plates dining trend. Bab is the Korean word for rice, and there are lots of dishes served with it. We enjoyed Korean fried chicken with chopped peanuts, marinated Korean beef on rice, broccoli with Korean spicy mayo and deep fried arancini rice balls with cheese and tomato. Dishes are keenly priced, service is fast and the food is seriously tasty — perfect for a quick pitstop.
SHAKSHUKA 2 FOR 1
Café Loren in Camden is celebrating its first anniversary tomorrow (Friday) and is offering 2 for 1 on its signature shakshukas all day. Largely claimed to be the best shakshuka in town, this is a great opportunity to give it a try.
LOCAL HOTPSOT
Soho House has its eyes set on Mill Hill as the newest location for not one, but two of its branded restaurants. Dirty Burger and Chicken Shop are due to open up on the site previously occupied by HSBC. “This will bring a much-needed vibe to the street,” says local resident Alan.
•Restaurants not kosher unless stated
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