Eating away in London

I finally had the chance to try this amazing address this winter thanks to my friend Margaux and definitely recommend you to book a table asap. As Margaux is a regular (wink wink), she would highly recommend you to go there before 12:00 in order to get the breakfast menu. We went there after 12:00 and had the lunch menu which we had nothing to complain about :) We went for some healthy options and shared a little savoury treat, parmesan and truffle chips! I would like to draw your attention to the beautiful colours layered in our plates and on our table :)

Granger (for the regular ones) has become an institution on Westbourne Grove. Healthy foodistas, show-off-West-London-hipsters, trendy neighbours, or just… brunch loverzzz, everyone will feel at home Bill’s cozy restaurant – well, if you are patient and not too hungry to stand in the queue for 30mn to an hour (honestly its worth it but I must admit it, I have committed the crime of leaving the queue to go across the street to 202 Café instead ;) ). Moving on to the menu, LYA’s all time favorites are featured in the pictures below. For the savoury pallets: the classic scrambled eggs (which are particularly creamy and melt in your mouth) with some avocado, grilled tomatoes, portobello mushrooms and a cripsy warm piece of toast (with melted butter on top). As there can never be enough food, don’t hesitate to order a corn fritter on the side to share! For the sweet pallets, you have to order the unique ricotta banana maple syrup warm pancakes. For the healthy bunnies again, a nice plate of fresh fruits to share will do :)

Located on Marylebone High Street, this sophisticated address offers a fusion of spanish, asian and European dishes displayed on the menu like a tapas list. Unlike many brunch addresses in London, one of the advantages is that you can book a table in advance – I recommend a table on the ground floor as the atmosphere is more cozy than upstairs. We got ourselves several dishes to share: eggs Benedict, burgers, lemon pie, a trio of yummy ice creams, tapioca apple crumble with a red fruit sauce… A nice touch on the menu is that you can choose the type of fresh bread you’d like to accompany your meal.

Yauatcha is not the type of Chinese restaurant where you eat duck and dumpling soup. There is quite a ceremony around each dish and every plate arriving made me more curious and excited to know what was inside! The first surprise was the Dim Sum looking like cotton balls :p Wondering what’s inside? Well, you’ll have to taste to find out. The goal of an evening at Yauatcha is to awake your senses and taste a few plates of dim sum before having the duck (which you MUST try). The price was pretty decent considering portions fill you up and service and quality or perfect and… it is a Michelin restaurant. We had 2 cocktails, 4 plates of dim sum and one duck to share and ended up with approximately £70 bill. You can chose to dine upstairs which is more casual or downstairs, which is more high-scale

One of the beautiful roof terraces and view London has to offer is located behind Regent’s Street and part of a fancy trendy cocktail bar & Japanese restaurant called Aqua Kyoto. Aqua Kyoto is part of the 3 restaurants managed and owned by the KYOTO group based in Hong Kong. Please note that there is a strict dress code – no destroyed jeans or trainers allowed. Moreover, you should take your ID if you plan on getting there after 11:00 PM for drinks. Before getting straight to the food menu, we decided to start celebrating by trying out 2 Aqua signature cockatils: apple & celeriac martini in green and a passion/mango martini in orange. Both of them were super fresh and the size of the glass was perfect. Further to the drinks, we decided to get a bit of everything. Sampling is always the best to get a try at different dishes and as food fans, which is what we went for: shrimp tempuras, teriyaki chicken, maki rolls, crab salad, and more! The only negative point was that the portions are really small… I recommend you get a nice portion of vegetable udon noodles to fill you a little more (this dish is also a must try!!). But the part of the evening we will remember is definitely the desserts: panna cotta and choco/coco dome… OMG, if you don’t know what you are getting, you will definitely be surprised by the originality of the tastes and Japanese ingredients.

If you are a North London kinda guy, you may have crossed the road of Mme Gautier. Perhaps in a farmer’s market, perhaps in a food fair. But now, you’ll have the chance to enjoy Mme Gautier’s specialties in their newly opened restaurant in Kensal Rise, North West of London. Once seated inside and after a bit of wait, we finally had our food in front of us: granola & yoghourt and a nice English breakfast, fresh grapefruit juice and some tea. Presentation was a bit bulky and eggs a bit dry, but oh well, it had just opened at that time so we forgave you Mme Gautier ;) . We liked the fact that French waiters are working in the restaurant, it gives some authenticity to the place. We also love the design with this huge main room, cozy terraces in front and in the back of the restaurant, big brown traditional leather sofas and seats. And if you can’t take some time to enjoy the food on the spot, you have the opportunity to take away some daily dishes, pastries, sauces and salads.

In order to truely enjoy a burger, you might want to take some of your friends along, especially for P&B as you’ll need some entertainment while queuing for hours outside the place! ;) But my oh my.. Its worth it! During this hour you will be picturing the meat and will almost feel it in your mouth already! P&B’s signature burger is called Ari Gold and is by far the best burger I have had in town: medium rare meat, brioche warm bun, caramelised onions, really good cheese… all the key ingredients were just perfect, fresh and tasty. And the bonus is that even the chips are amazingly perfectly cooked and seasonned. My boyfriend was intrigued by the lamb and vegetable burger which turned out to be surprisingly good. The cheese used was feta and it was a tiny bit spicy which added a nice twist. The whole P&B experience was flawless but my only regret is that I did not have enough room for the peanut butter or salted caramel ice cream :) I might as well have to go queue again! Finally, not only the food was over-delicious but the atmosphere and interior were just as fabulous! The overall budget for a burger, fries and a glass of wine is approx. £15. A little pricy for a bun & meat, but totally worth the experience!