Week Thirty Forty Three
Welcome again in another addition of the blog. This week we have two places visited, one a meat restaurant and the other an Alpine ski themed Lodge.
Special guests include: Gabriel Langford, Ed Cracknell, Al Russell, Will Wright and My Biggest Fan (Chris Hazell)
Summary of Grillshack
Name: Grillshack
Type: Restaurant (All day grill)
Location: 61-63 Beak Street, Soho, London, W1F 9SL
Website: http://www.grillshack.com/
Date Visited: 29/10/14
Price: Very good value
Rating: 2.5/5
Review
Ed, Al and Gabriel were keen to go for some midweek food at the much talked about Flat Iron. I have been wanting to visit the place for a while because it's had a lot of hype about it recently. Unfortunately we weren't able to go, the reason for this was because you can't book at this place and the 2 hour wait for us was too long. We had chosen the one in Soho which is famously more busy than the branch at Tottenham Court Road.
This meant we had to chose another restaurant and a couple of doors down was a restaurant called the Grillshack. A quick google search told us that it served meat and had a decent review rating, so in we went. This was a bad decision in hindsight. The moment we walked in I saw very few customers, music at a dangerously quiet level and I instantly felt the severe lack of atmosphere.
The four of us having our photo taken by the tipsy couple next to us
The polite waiter kindly sat us down in between two tables, which did help create a bit of pretend business. The good news was that they had Brooklyn Lager, so four of them were ordered. Thanks again Mr Hupfield, my new favourite go to beer when at restaurants now. It was then time to order food and I was unsure what to go for. I asked the waitress for her recommendation and quickly discounted it after she recommended the most expensive thing on the menu along with the expensive sides.
The couple next to us then piped up, both were fairly hammered and they strongly advised us to order the BBQ Ribs. Best ever apparently. I took their advise and ordered the ribs. Then as a table we ordered sides of onion rings, cheese bites and nuggets for everyone to share.
The ribs were pretty nice, nothing special though. The sides were nice too. Nothing remarkable about any of it and certainly not the best ever. In conclusion, if it wasn't for the company, I would of been thoroughly unimpressed. The company quite simply saved it. The menu is too small and thats even with 5 new recent additions. It basically reminded me of a slightly better TGI Fridays. Too harsh maybe. It was bloody good value to be fair at £25 pp. Doubt I'll ever come back.
Here's the bill. Good value.
Summary of The Lodge
Name: The Lodge
Type: Popup Restaurant
Location: 9 Hildreth Street, Balham, London, SW12 9RQ
Date Visited: 30/10/14
Price: Quite expensive
Rating: 4.3/5
Review
This place is pretty awesome in my opinion. I'll give you a bit of background (oh please do Jack), Jimmy Garcia is the man behind this place and he is responsible for the creation of many successful pop ups in the past. This is his new one and due to his growing reputation it has come with a lot of publicity upon opening. Will Wright had booked a table for four as soon as it opened and the earliest we could get in was 4/5 weeks in advance. Lot of buzz.
The restaurant has been turned into an apres ski Alpine themed lodge. It's impressive when you walk in, it's been fully kitted out with wooden planks on the wall, wooden tables (YES!) and various things attached to wall such as a set of skis. He's gone full out and it does feel like a ski lodge so fair play mate.
The Lodge. Impressed.
Mike Sedcole had been overly celebrating earlier in the day so there was now just three of us, Will Wright, My Biggest Fan (Chris Hazell) and me. We sat down at the table and ordered from a very wide and impressive drinks menu. I went for the mulled cider and the others went for a Baked Alaska (fancy cocktail) and an Eggnog. Don't get eggnog personally, I find it repulsive. The mulled cider however was superb.
Just the three of us.
For the food and the only thing you can order is the communal fondue. I mean there are other things you can order but this is the signature dish. The communal fondue arrived in the giant pots and came with lots of bread for you to dip in. Although very simple, it was extremely tasty and I loved it. I've always been a champion of bread and here I was, able to dip this in a pot of melted cheese unashamed. The dream some would say.
Another great thing about this place is that the owner, good old Jimmy, is there on site taking orders, rushing around and fully getting involved. Not only that but he sits down at all the tables and has a nice chat with all the customers. He told us the history behind it, his intention of how long he'll open it for and to be fair, he just seemed like a good bloke. Nice touch and it was the icing on the cake for a great performance by the lodge. Bravo.
Jimmy the man behind it all.
If you have time, then I would book this in for the New Year at some point. Fits in perfectly with the desperately cold months of January and February. Be warned though, it isn't cheap. The bill came in at £50 a head roughly and they forgot to bills us for 3 beers (you scoundrels!). Nonetheless I thought it was worth it.
The bill. Not cheap.
Special Shoutout
Winner: My Biggest Fan (Chris Hazell)
Poem Advice
Can't get in the Flat Iron,
So you'll settle for the Grillshack
The place is pretty average,
I'll be surprised if I go back
Trendy little popup,
Alpine Ski Themed Lodge
Really tasty fondue,
A few of the cocktails I would dodge
Anybody spot the hilarious deliberate error earlier only my part?. I am so witty aren't I? Muchos gracias for the continued reading and support.
Lots of love and see you next time
VIVA LA BLOG
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