Week Thirty Three: Powder Keg

Week Thirty Three

  Another short read for you guys this week you'll be pleased to know, as I only visited one place this week.  Clapham was the destination and it was four of us going for a spot of dinner at a recommended place on St. John's Hill near Clapham Junction train station.

  Other events which went on this week was SW4, which was fantastic, and my first appearance at the Notting Hill Carnival.  Don't think you can write a review on the carnival due to it being an event rather than a place.  Same goes for SW4. That's my opinion anyway.

    

Special guests include: Tom Grimes, Marion Kutter, Chloe Smith and Laura Cramphorn.

Summary of Powder Keg

Name: Powder Keg Diplomacy

Type: Restaurant and cocktail bar

Location: 147 St. John's Hill, Clapham Junction, London, SW11 1TQ

Website: http://www.powderkegdiplomacy.co.uk

Date Visited: 22/08/14

Price: Not Cheap

Rating: 4/5

Review

  

  The week had quickly passed and before I knew it was Friday.  Tom Grimes was in London visiting so we went for dinner in Clapham with two old friends, Chloe and Marion.  Chloe, who fancies herself as a bit of foodie, highly recommended the Powder Keg as being one of the best places to eat around the Clapham parts.  A big claim I initially thought, especially with the name Powder Keg which sounded more like a brewery or a pub which only served ale.

  I was wrong.  This place was pretty trendy with it being split into two different areas.  The area at the front is a cool and funky cocktail bar sort of thing.  At the back of this place is a lovely sit down dining area or a restaurant as people like to call it, this was where we were spending our evening.

See from the outside it looks pretty pedestrian

But actually its pretty smart inside

 Powder Keg really backs itself as a big dog restaurant, heres a little snippet from the website: 'Head Chef Thomas Cooney and Restaurant Manager Katie Parfitt have scoured centuries of gastronomy knowledge, endeavouring to create a unique, wholesome and thoroughly satisfying experience for the modern, discerning and ethically conscious customer.'  Steady on guys.....there's a lot of adjectives in that long sentence.  Despite this centuries old menu, we decided to stick with the classic starter....bread and olive oil but importantly not forgetting the medieval balsamic vinegar.

  For mains we all went for four different things to mix things up (crazy bunch you lot are!) and due to the lack of burgers on the menu I was forced to try something new.  With Tom taking my desired choice of the slow cooked pork belly, I went for the Romney Marsh lamb rump with jersey royals, braised pea, and baby gem.   The waiter, who was very good, funny and efficient, asked me and Tom which wine we would like to order.  Not wishing to look like we didn't know what we were talking about, I took charge.  I went for the wine third from the top (the order started with the cheapest at the top) and ordered it in a slight french accent to show I knew my stuff.  

  Unfortunately when the waiter brought the bottle over I had to perform the old tradtional wine tasting routine.  It smelt like wine, it swirled around the glass like wine and it tasted like wine.  'Hmmm, very good, thats superb' was how I conveyed that to the waiter and then he left us the two bottles for us to crack on with.

Four old friends having dinner

  Fair play to Chloe with the recommendation, the food was superb with all four us being extremely satisfied with our dishes.  I must say, that when a place which operates mainly as a cocktail bar in Clapham, bigs up it's food as it does on their website, it has to pretty damn good.  It was pretty damn good so fair play Cooney and Parfitt, you've nailed it.  We didn't have any cocktails, which in hindsight we should of done, but we did do four shots of Tequila (waheyyy....you never stop do you Jack!?)

  The bill came to £45 a head, which included two bottles of wine between 4, a main course and 4 shots (mentioning it again) of Tequila.  Not bad value really and it has to be the best food I have had in the Clapham vicinity for some time, if not ever.  That said Pizza Metro is around the corner and I do love that place.

  Definitely worth coming here if you haven't before and as due to it being further up the hill and past Clapham Junction train station, it seems relatively unknown and undiscovered.  Give it a whirl as it's well priced, nice decor, a good atmosphere, perfect lighting, exceptional food and magnificent service.  See we can all through in an exceptional adjective when we want to.

Special Shoutout

Winner: Laura Cramphorn

Now this special shout out is long overdue and I have been feeling guilty about how long its taken for me to give this person the deserved recognition.  One of my most dedicated readers and she heads the international fan membership of the blog.  She has been responsible for the regular hits I have received in countries such as Sierra Leone and more recently Kenya.  In all seriousness, Laura has worked abroad for the past few years and despite limited internet activity (not entirely sure if that's true) she ensures that she reads it every single week.  Your support is and will always be much appreciated.  Keep spreading the blog, I hear it's now getting big in Kenya? Many thanks Laura and sorry for the delay.

Poem Advice

Want A nice restaurant in Clapham
While having cocktails too?
Then you must go to the Powder Keg,
because that's the place for you


  Guys thanks for tuning in again and keeping the hits high.  As I've said before if there's anywhere you can recommend or feel I 'must' go to, then please do let me know.  For all media enquiries please contact my agent at jackgravestock@hotmail.com.


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Week Thirty Two: Bentley's and Exit

Week Thirty Two

  

  Well hello there.  Thanks for tuning in once again and you'll be pleased to know that this is a small edition with only two places visited.  More good news, The Financier was back in town so another subsidised quality meal was on offer for me this week.   The other place was a bar called Exit on Brick Lane which I went to after our company staff party.  

    

Special guests include: The Financier, Sonia Gravestock, Will Porritt, Rosie Lehman, Catherine Rafferty and Tom Wright.

Summary of Bentley's

Name: Bentley's

Type: Oyster Bar & Grill

Location: 11-15 Swallow Street, London, W1B 4DG

Website: http://www.bentleys.org/#/

Date Visited: 12/08/14

Price: Ask Dad

Rating: 3.3/5

Review

  The Financier was back in London once more and fancied a change of scenery to the usual Burger or Steak drill.  Fish was on the menu so Bentleys was chosen and Dad had wanted to take me here since Gaucho due to it being right next door to it.

  The first thing you realise is that this place has been knocking about for a while and it oozes class.  We were placed in the dining area upstairs and the surroundings, it must be said, were very grand and extremely pleasant.  Bentleys was established in 1916 so it has got some pedigree and I kicked it off in style by ordering the Bentley's rooftop smoked salmon, blinis and creme fraiche and for the main I played it safe and went for the Royal Fish Pie. 

Bentleys Oyster Bar and Grill

  This was what we ordered but it took a while for these to be noted down as the service was pretty slow to say the least.  The Financier tried to get the attention of a waiter who was walking past and the man responded to Dad with 'just one minute sir' before tootling off. The Financier had been rattled and was fidgeting in his seat like an impatient child before announcing numerous times how hungry he was. To be fair to him so was I.

  Once the orders were finally done, the starters did arrive fairly quick.  The smoked salmon was pretty good, I must say.  However the one thing with smoked salmon is it's never going to blow your mind as its not really an incredible dish is it?  It's fairly basic and never packed with flavour.  I did order it though so I can't complain about that and it was nice.

  Unfortunately after the starters, the service reverted back to the slow precedent set before making our orders.  The Financier's trademark sighs, which I haven't seen in London for some time, were out in full force before the food eventually was presented in front of us.  Similar verdict as the starter, it was pretty damn good.  In the pie was lobster, scallop, haddock and tiger prawn.  Exceptional combination and that coupled with my love of mash potato really made it a pleasant dish.  Perfect for me anyway.

  Overall due to the shoddy service I cannot give this too high a rating and the food wasn't out of this world.  It's a decent place to come to though and I would recommend coming here if your a fish person.  Probably suggest having the oysters as it's in the name but I don't like oysters.  Actually I tell a lie, I have never tried them.  Another time maybe.

Summary of Exit

Name: Exit

Type: Bar

Location: 174 Brick Lane, Shoreditch, London, E1 6RU

Website: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Exit-Bar/222599707751319

Date Visited: 15/08/14

Price: Standard

Rating: 3.7/5

Review

  Friday had quickly arrived and it was time for our work's summer party.  It had started off with a spot of rounders and food before heading to the Grand Union in Brixton on Acre Lane.  On a separate note, the Grand Union in Brixton is up there with one of my favourites in Brixton.  The beer garden is fantastic and has really cool tree-houses dotted around really adding to your surroundings.

  Anyway after a few drinks there, only a few staff remained and we headed off to Brick Lane for a few more drinks.  We firstly ventured to a bar and the name of the place escapes me but I can tell you it was pretty quiet inside and wasn't great as we only had one drink there and swiftly moved on.  After the unknown bar we found ourselves at this small little bar with loud and funky music called Exit.

This was taken at the unknown club.  Me, Cathy and Will

  I like this place.  The atmosphere inside was fantastic, the place was busy but not too busy so you could actually move around and breath.   If you type in Exit on Brick Lane into google you will see that it gets fairly positive reviews and its a fair reflection of the place to be honest.  Exit was good fun, everyone in there is up for having a laugh and because its quite small and narrow it creates a real buzzy atmosphere.  It reminded me of Be at one in Clapham Junction was like a couple of years ago.

Shortly before we headed for the Exit

 Again we weren't in here too long and we soon headed for the Exit........

All hilarious and witty jokes aside, I would definitely come back here for drinks when I'm around these parts again.  Great cocktails and a lively bar.

  

Special Shoutout

Winner: Tom Wright

This man, one of my oldest yet also most controversial friends, deserves a lot of praise.  At the last minute he was able to sort out 4 free weekend camping tickets to V festival which was an awesome weekend.  Critics may point out to the fact that for the 3rd straight festival in a row he brought a tent with no poles causing serious sleeping difficulties.  Also the 4 tickets he had were for the other V festival 200 miles away which caused a small state of panic before the authorities decided to be nice and let us attend the one we had wrongly come to.  Despite these small things, the boy sorted us out and it was a great weekend.  Well played and thanks very much again mate.  A deserved shoutout.  Legend.

Poem Advice

If you're a fan of oysters
or more importantly fish
Then Bentleys the restaurant for you
Oh theres many a varied dish

You've got the London look haircut,
Out and about on brick lane
Then the Exit bar is a must
Atmospheres cool and the cocktails insane


Before I leave you I will show you what Tom Wright thought was adequate for sleeping in at the V festival.

Tom's 'Tent'

See you next week fans and your readership is very much appreciated.


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Week Thirty One: Porterhouse, Shake Shack, The Rookery and WC

Week Thirty One

  Hello again fans.   Let's just get straight into it.  This week involved four new places with two of them on the Tuesday night (maverick!) and the other two were a few places we went to on a Saturday pub crawl.  All had varied performances.  One place in particular was horrific.
  
    
Special guests include: Chris Kroeger, Charlie Hayter, Tom Maynell, Freddie Dixon, Tom Wright and my biggest fan (Chris Hazell)

Summary of The Porterhousse

Name: Porterhouse

Type: Pub

Location: 21-22 Maiden Lane, London, WC2E 7NA

Website: http://www.porterhousebrewco.com/bars-london-coventgarden.php

Date Visited: 05/08/14

Price: fair

Rating: 3.8/5

Review

  Do not come here intoxicated as I fear you will never get out alive.  The place is just one huge maze.    Porterhouse proudly boasts being the biggest pub in London with it situated over 12 floors and they are probably not wrong to be fair.  It is difficult to convey just how confusing this place is but I'll give it a try.  The Porterhouse has barely any natural light leading to it being extremely dark, there are also numerous staircases which just lead to dead ends and it all just looks so similar.  The whole venue is rather confusing. 

 Upon arrival I set off for the toilets and it took me around 10 minutes to get there and about 15 minutes to return to the bar where the rest of the group were.  I am convinced there are still people there who entered the place drunk and have now been there for weeks, still unable to find the exit.

The Tardis of London pubs

  The reason we were at the Porterhouse was because it was another old school boys evening and we were having a few drinks before heading out for dinner.  I do really like this pub as it has a good atmosphere and serves good beer with a great variety.  The decor inside is pretty cool too.  

  We weren't there long unfortunately as dinner awaited, so we had to make tracks after only a couple of drinks.   Shame but I'll definitely come back to this place again as it had a proper pub feel to it and I quite like the challenging aspect of working out how to get to certain places in the venue.

Summary of Shake Shack

Name: Shake Shack

Type: Popup burger restaurant

Location: Covent Garden, 24 Market Building, The Piazza, London, WC2E 8RD

Website: http://www.shakeshack.com/location/london-covent-garden/

Date Visited: 05/08/14

Price: Ok

Rating: 2.8/5

Review

  Charlie Hayter had organised another old boys dinner which was attended by me, him, Kroeger, Dixon, Maynell and my biggest fan (Chris Hazell).  Shakeshack was the destination.

  This place comes with a lot of hype and an international reputation for serving some of the best burgers around.  I thought it was good but nothing special and as you all know....I like a burger.  The Shakeshack is a little popup restaurant opened in Covent Garden and is right in the mix of it all.  The queue is fairly efficient but the staff were fairly rude and poor I thought.  Admittedly I greeted the staff member in French and thanked her in Spanish but for her to openly laugh in my face and give me jip with her colleague, I thought was unfair, unprofessional and embarrassing for myself.  

  This wasn't the only faux pas of the evening.  It took them a considerable amount of time to get me my order, which I remain convinced was due to my multilingual ordering style earlier on.  Anyway after the drama of ordering, the food was in front of me and it was time to crack on with eating.

  I had gone for the double Smokestack burger, cheese fries, a beer and a black & white milkshake.  This was too much for me in the end.   The burger, fries and the beer (obviously) was easily dispatched but it was the milkshake which produced the big stumbling block.  The milkshake isn't a milkshake....I've had more drinkable ice cream.  That said it was delicious but too sickly so after 4 mouthfuls/sips it was difficult to do anymore.  I must say the burger itself along with the fries were superb but it was certainly not the best burger in London.

This is where ShakeShack is

  Another thing which I found disappointing with this place was where you have to eat.  The eating room had the same atmosphere, look and feel of the waiting rooms you get at train stations when it's too cold to stand on the platform.  No atmosphere and offensively light.

  In conclusion this place had bloody good food, poor service, average atmosphere and the eating facilities were dros.   All of that for £24....I'm not too sure if it's worth it.  Is it harsh for me to call it a posh McDonald's?

 This was at Punch and Judy afterwards.  This is the eating group minus Freddie. Oh yer that's WKD

  Summary of The Rookery

Name: The Rookery

Type: Pub

Location: 69 Clapham Common South Side, London, SW4 9DA

Website: http://www.therookeryclapham.co.uk

Date Visited: 09/08/14

Price: Pretty expensive

Rating: 3.25/5

Review

  Saturday had arrived and myself, Tom Wright and my biggest fan (Chris Hazell) fancied a few beers (what are you like?) as the sun was out.  Not wanting to venture too far out of our comfort zone we agreed to go to a few watering holes along the Clapham Common. 

  The first one was the Rookery which is a pub I had wanted to visit for a while, as I've heard good things and driven past it many times.  The place itself is actually quite small but it is pretty cool inside with a good selection of beers and a nice outside area.

  This however is also its biggest fault.  The outside area, which to be fair they can do nothing about, is situated in between Clapham South tube and Clapham Common tube.  Effectively it is situated on the busy road called the Clapham South Side if my memory (google) serves me correct.  This means that although the weather was glorious and we were sitting outside drinking the highly sought after Becks Vier, it meant we had the traffic blaring behind us meaning it didn't have the most tranquil feel to it.  

The Rookery with the 'busy' and 'noisy' road clear to see

  Critics among you will say that is evidently clear before you enter the venue and is a choice you decide to make as a paying customer when you go there.  100% correct and is why I can't criticise it too much but it is the main reason as to why The Rookery isn't considered one of the 'greats' in Clapham.

  Definitely worth a visit and I didn't sample the food which again I have been told is fairly decent.

Summary of WC

Name: WC (Wine & Charcuterie)

Type: Wine & Charcuterie Bar

Location: Clapham Common South Side, London, SW4 7AJ

Website: http://wcclapham.co.uk

Date Visited: 09/08/14

Price: Horrific

Rating: 0.8/5

Review

  This place is toilet (see what I did there) and deserves the crown of being the worst place I have been to in 2014.  I cannot see a place beat this god awful thing.  This could work in shoreditch as an edgey bar but in Clapham it just comes across as pretentious and to put it bluntly...rubbish.  

  It does have an outside area, which we decided not to sit in, so we headed downstairs as it was getting a bit cold.  Chris and Lefty found a free table while I headed to the bar.  I was quickly joined by them as they were rudely told to leave the table by a member of staff as it was clearly booked.  Clearly? Where was the reserved sign mate?

  I chose not to respond and instead ordered 2 beers and an ale for Tom Wright (he loves an ale).  The beers were red stripe (No choice in the matter) and were served in cans along with an empty half pint glass.  Tom's ale was also served in a half pint.  I didn't mind too much as we had had a few but when I was told that it came to £15 (£5 each for those slow on maths) I couldn't hide my despair.  Seconds later two guys arrived and told us they had reserved the two stools at the bar we were standing next to.  The barman confirmed this so we had to move again, with our stupid little beers standing in the middle of the entrance to this offensive establishment. 

No we're not giants, these are us holding our 'full' beers. 

  A table for 2 became free and a member of staff asked us to sit at the table. We politely informed them that we were ok as there was three of us.  He insisted that we had to sit down, so me and Chris were forced to sit at this table while Tom awkwardly towered next to us.

 One of us made a comment about how poor this place was, only for a waiter overhear us and strongly say 'its a restaurant not a bar!'  A restaurant where no one was eating.  We finished our drinks and left.  I will never return.

  Maybe we missed the point and I'm being harsh but I don't think so.  WC is meant to be this 'trendy'  place in what was the old toilets behind the Clapham Common tube station. It isn't trendy and the fact it used to be toilets is very fitting indeed.

Special Shoutout

Winner: Charlie Hayter

This man deserves a shout for a number of reasons. Firstly, he has been key to the new places I have been to in recent times as he organises the mid week dinners and constantly recommends new places for me to try.  Secondly, the man has just got a contract to play for England 7's for the whole year playing all over the world.  Fair play mate, great effort.  Not bad for someone who looks like Louis Theroux when he puts his glasses on.

Poem Advice

Never been on the Crystal Maze
but wanted to give it a try
The porterhouse is the closest you'll get
but you could get lost and die

Fancy the guilt pleasure of Mcdonalds
but can't handle the shame
Shake Shack is the posh version
But the service is poor and lame

The Rookery is good but noisy
but its not from the clientele
still a very classy pub
which considering the location is swell

 Toilet by name
Toilet by nature
Toilet by name 
Toilet by nature

  Not quite as joyous and happy as usual in this week's blog.  The places weren't up to the usual high standard.

Thanks again for reading guys.  Your support is and always will be much appreciated. 

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Week Thirty: Lupita, Toy Shop Bar and Goodmans

Week Thirty

  

  I do feel that over the summer months I seem to start each week with an apology.  This week is no different, to my loyal readers/fans I apologise about the hiatus between the blog entries over recent weeks.  I have been a busy man but that is no excuse.  It won't happen again and I have now refocussed.  I'm back.

  This week saw a week of three meals in three days at various different places in London, catching up friends who I hadn't seen for a while.  Oh and the Financier was back in town again with Steak very much on his mind.  3 very different meals of varied quality.  Good week though.

  
    
Special guests include: Sarah Collins, Charlie Jordan, The Financier, The Brother (Joe) and Ed Cracknell.

Summary of Lupita

Name: Lupita

Type: Mexican Restaurant

Location: 13-15 Villiers Street, London, WC2N 6ND

Website: http://www.lupita.co.uk

Date Visited: 29/07/14

Price: Fair

Rating: 3.65/5

Review

  It was a Tuesday night and the sun was out (I did warn you that this blog might be a bit behind now).  Sarah Collins, an old friend from home, was desperate to feature in the blog (who can blame her) again, as we hadn't seen each other since Week 3 (worth a read).   

  We firstly met up at Southbank and had a jug of pimms at the rooftop bar which overlooks the Thames.  Not sure if it is actually a place or just a pop up bar which just happens to be there.  Well whatever it is, I don't know the name so it isn't getting a review but what I can say is that is very nice and had a nice buzzy atmosphere to it.  Couldn't get pints though which was a shame.

The rooftop bar at Southbank...I'm not looking my best, view's tidy though

  Anyway after the Pimms we went for food as I was moaning about being starving, which if you know me isn't a pleasant thing to be around, so Sarah booked a table at a Mexican restaurant recommended by Matthew Gilleard (Shout out for you bro).  

  The Mexican restaurant is tucked away nicely in between Charing Cross and Embankment.  The restaurant is very authentic especially with all the waiters originating from Mexico (always a good start) and speaking very broken english.  This did result in a bit of a mix up in orders and it wasn't the most electric service I have received but it's all part of the experience, I told myself.

 The food was proper Mexican food too.  Now I am sure the majority of you guys have been to Wahaca, which for the record is bloody brilliant.  The difference, however, between Wahaca and this place is that Wahaca sort of has that fast food vibe but with the food quality being high of course, unlike Nandos and Chipotle (I don't care what people say).  Each Lupita dish looks like it has been freshly cooked and done from scratch which you don't get from Wahaca.  Well thats what I think anyway.

  Phenomenal food as I was able to avoid everything spicy on the menu. The Clasicos totopos were very nice. The Pollo Encebollado quesdallias were my favourite by quite some distance.  Avoid the cactus tacos....they were a mistake.  It is completely tasteless and bland.  That's coming from me and not Sarah, who seemed to quite like them.

  Really do recommend this place and if you like your mexican food then this place is spot on.  Good date spot.  Well done Sarah and Matt.

Summary of Toy Shop

Name: The Toy Shop Bar

Type: Bar

Location: 32 Putney High Street, Putney, London, SW17 1SQ

Website: http://thetoyshopbar.com/index.php

Date Visited: 30/07/14

Price: Hmmm

Rating: 2.3/5

Review

  So Tuesday was done and it was time for Wednesday.  Charlie Jordan was the lucky reader this time, where we were meeting up in her home town (area) in Putney.  I had missed her birthday night out the weekend before due to being at the Silverstone Classic and the Rose bowl.  To make up for missing her festivities I said we would go for a few drinks midweek.   Charlie lives in Putney and I have wanted to try the Toy Shop Bar for a while so we went there for all blog purposes.  

  As the day went on I was getting more and more hungry so I was keen to get a bite to eat.  I booked a table and after a few G +T's, beers and H20 it was time to order some food.  Heres a tip for you folks, if a place has the word bar in its name...it isn't going to be anything special.  That said it was still ok but not great.  We went for the Rosemary and Garlic meatballs to start which came in a chipotle and pepper sauce.  I asked the waitress if this was spicy and was assured it wasn't.  This was her first of a few mistakes in the evening.    It was very spicy.  I may be exaggerating slightly as I do consider the Tikka Massala a spicy option at a curry.   That said it was still spicy and my tongue was on fire and that had nothing to do with my electric chat.

  For the main, I went for the Lobster and Crab burger (surprise surprise).  This was pretty poor to be honest.  The burger was a lobster and crab fish cake, yes the bun kept its consistency but it's not hard too with a fishcake to contend with.  It was disappointing.

 The evening itself was a lot of fun and I found myself rather tipsy after only a few beers and a few Gin and Tonics.  Charlie was also feeling a little merry and the reason why was quickly explained.  The waitress had been plying us with double Gin and Tonics all night despite us ordering singles.  To make matters worse we were presented a ghastly large bill which included these doubles rather than singles. We complained, I hate to say, but you can't reward dishonest up-selling.  That's the salesman in me talking.

 To the managers credit he knocked it off the bill for us, but not before asking us if we felt like being honest and contributing a bit as we did have doubles, cheeky bugger.   He did eventually knock it off so we had the correct bill and paid before stumbling out (you nutters).

  Now despite bill gate and the average food I do really like this place.  The decor is cool, it has a really buzzy atmosphere inside and is definitely somewhere you should go for a few drinks/night out with friends.  Toy shop bar is cool and I would come again.  Just never for food and only drinks.  

The infamous bill.  Is it good value or not?

  If you are reading this and feel we are being a bit 'tight' for not paying for the doubles then you are wrong.  This waitress had been doing it all night, to all the tables around us and we were told that we were the fifth table to complain.

  Despite what may seem a very negative review I would suggest coming here for drinks.  Just be very clear with your order otherwise you could find yourself crawling out of the joint.

Summary of  Goodman

Name: Goodman Restaurant

Type: Steak Restaurant

Location: 24-26 Maddox Street, London, W1S 1QH

Website: http://www.goodmanrestaurants.com/home

Date Visited: 31/07/14

Price: Ask Dad

Rating: 4.8/5

Review

 Thursday had arrived for the final leg of the three restaurant days and The Financier was strutting his stuff in London once again.   The restaurant of choice this time was Goodmans and we were joined by my brother and Ed Cracknell who had earned himself a call up.   

 Goodmans is a steak restaurant and there are three of them dotted around in total in London.  We went to the Mayfair one and it was quite simply....exceptional.

  Now I could be lynched for this, especially with the Hawksmoor faithful, but it was the best steak I have had in London.  Fact.  Put that in your pipe and smoke it.  The steak was, and I'll say it again, exceptional.  Mouthwateringly good.

Best steak in London. Fact.

 I went for the T-bone USDA steak with it cooked medium rare.  It was cooked to perfection and was delicious.  I went for the Gravestock sauce combo (Bearnaise sauce and peppercorn sauce) which again worked beautifully, especially accompanied with the beef dripping chips.  Getting hungry yet?  Well one of the recommendations I had from this place was that you have to try their famous mac n cheese.  Now (do I write now quite a lot?) I am not a huge fan of the mac n cheese dish but this particular mac n cheese was out of this world.  Incredible food and this feeling was felt amongst us all around the table.  

Lovely photo this. Eh?

  I then threw the big statement down on the table, that this was the best steak restaurant in London.  After much debating over the big three (Hawksmoor, Goodmans and Gaucho) we came to a decision.  Now (damn it) I have been lucky enough to go to all three.  They all have a great service, great steak and a great atmosphere but others specialise in different aspect to the others.

Here is the perfect combination:

For the best steak: Goodmans 

For the best atmosphere: Hawksmoor

For the best service: Gaucho

Thats my opinion.  I hope you agree with me. You should do because it's correct

Anyway this place was superb and I cannot recommend it any more.  If you're a lover of steak you must come here.  Hawksmoor steak is unreal but Goodmans takes first place.  Controversial.

Well and truly full

Special Shoutout

Winner: The Readers/The Fans

You all deserve a shout out this week guys.  You have been patient with me during a spell of  only a few blog posts over the course of a month.  I'm back and more will be posted regularly.  Don't worry.  Thank you for your patience and continued support

Poem Advice

After an Authentic Mexican
And your near Charing Cross
Then you have to go to Lupita
If you don't...it's your loss

If you live in around Putney 
and fancy a cool place
Then the Toyshops for you
Order a single, they'll charge a brace

Goodmans restuarant 
is a place you must eat
Best steak in London
and thats no small feat

Song of the Week

Western Disco feat. Lura - The Sun (Black Box remix)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxAf9lUH-oo

  Thanks again as always for reading. The support is very much appreciated


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