Ozone, Old Street

This afternoon I met Laleh and Jesse at Ozone for a cup of coffee. After I read the menu it ended up being lunch. It's a big, industrial roastery and has quite a cool vibe - to be expected on this side of town of course.

The flat whites were good and strong. I really should start rating them so I'm going with 7/10 for now. The steak sandwich was served with beetroot so I couldn't resist it but there were some good breakfast choices and 'lunchy things' (to quote the menu) as well.

Excellent steak sandwich and chips

Where all the action takes place...

...and where all the cake is. It was bake day.

Coffee #2. I can' t sit across from the cake and be expected to resist.

We sat downstairs in the basement in amongst the machinery. The staff didn't forget about us down there and the service (all NZ!) was good. They didn't even kick us out til 5pm when they subtly brought the bill an hour after closing.

The Balcon, Pall Mall

Today Laura, Jaimee, Natalie and I had our monthly long lunch. This time it was my choice and on the basis of an Emerald Street (regular email) recommendation I went for The Balcon in town. It's in the Sofitel Hotel which would normally make me run a mile, but the £17 Bloody Mary Lunch was appealing so I set my judgement aside.

The dining room is big, high-ceilinged, light-filled room which I liked. And the decor is (I think) part french, part art deco and I really liked that too. We were seated at a big round table by the window with a banquette which afforded a great view inside and out (the London Marathon was on today so we could see the fit & healthy types wander past while we ate our 3 courses!).

The service was impeccable. Our coats were checked, and we had a selection of fresh warm bread with two types of butter to choose from as soon as we sat down. Natalie doesn't enjoy a Bloody Mary (I know, how couldn't she!?!) but they happily swapped it with any other drink of her choosing. And throughout the meal the staff were very attentive but not overbearing or rushed. And there was no hint of the service being downgraded just because we were opting for the special lunch menu (which I am always suspicious of).


I enjoyed the meal as well - it was really quite good considering the price. The Bloody Mary was good. We could choose how spicy we wanted it. It came with celery (mandatory for me) but could have used an ice cube. The charcuterie was a tasty, simple starter (from an extensive charcuterie menu). We had roast chicken with a sausage, bacon, roast tomato and potato wedges with a side salad for lunch. Again, very simple but very meaty! I probably didn't need the sausage. Dessert was a cherry clafoutis which was lovely and moist. They do tend to be a bit dry but I was nicely surprised. I had a coffee to finish which was disappointing and a little cold but the french never do good coffee so I let them off the hook.

A really good choice I think. I'll be going back to check out the bar for a cocktail sometime soon. And I may be forced to review my opinions on hotel dining.

Notes, Covent Garden

I'm glad I tried the Wellington Street branch of Notes Music Coffee because I've also been to the Trafalgar Square cafe which is swamped with tourists thanks to its location and it makes the atmosphere unpleasantly chaotic.

I've popped in twice now and enjoyed both visits. The first time was at 9am on a weekday when I had the place practically to myself. I had half an hour for a quick breakfast of coffee and a scone and enjoyed the peaceful start to the day. The second time, this afternoon for a flat white and brownie, every table was full and chair taken bar one. But my stool at the bench at the back was a good spot and despite it being so busy, calm still reigned. It has a nice, buzzing vibe. I'd like to have a third visit to try it for a glass of wine and charcuterie one evening.  

Yalla Yalla, Soho

A couple of weeks ago Lucy and I were keen for a bite to eat and a movie in town so headed to Yalla Yalla in Soho. It's popular for good reason, so we sat at an outside table under the heater having a glass of Lebanese red wine while we waited for a table. Once we got inside we ordered a spread of the mezzo plates and shared halloumi, dips and pitta bread, vege and lamb filled pastries and a lamb shank casserole. It's a small place with a tight fit of tables. Combined with the plentiful and tasty serves of Beirut street food it makes for a cosy, relaxed atmosphere we spent a few hours happily enjoying and missed the film altogether.

Hoste Arms, Norfolk

The Hoste Arms has a Michelin Bib so it seemed a good choice for dinner on Saturday night in Norfolk with Laura, Jaimee and Natalie. 

To start I had a local Cromer crab served with pink grapefruit, avocado salsa and cucumber noodles. Very nice, and this is an unfair comparison, but it wasn't as good as Pollen Street Social's Dorset crab!

For main course, I had the sesame crusted fillet of sea bass, chilli spiced potatoes, bok choi, bean sprout & cashew nut stir fry, with coriander & spring onion dressing. I enjoyed it. I don't often have asian flavours so it was a nice change and the dressing didn't overpower the fish.

And for pudding I had an iced lemon parfait with raspberry dust, served with raspberry sorbet and two sweet little raspberry and white chocolate macaroons. It was packed with lemony punch and more than large enough to share.

The Hoste is a good pub with its menu featuring lots of fresh seafood, a good wine list and friendly, efficient service. I ordered quite well but there were a couple of disappointing dishes on the table. Natalie didn't love her salmon and tiger prawn main, and Jaimee's espresso creme brûlée was far too overpowering (the dessert chef might have a sweeter tooth than me!). There are lots of different rooms in what is actually a large pub but the individual rooms feel small and intimate.

If you ever happen to be on the north Norfolk coast then I would recommend going.

Cromer crab

Lemon parfait

Sorry about the very yellow photographs. I am slowly working on my food photography skills!

Albion, Shoreditch

After a mid-afternoon wander through Broadway market and Columbia Road flower market, Conran's Albion cafe seemed like a good spot to warm up. Nat and I queued for maybe 20 minutes to wait for a table - everyone else had the same idea as us - but the floor manager chatted to us and asked if we needed anything while we waited.

Once seated, we happily whiled away a couple of hours. I felt like a chicken, lettuce and mayonnaise sandwich and a glass of rose for a late lunch. It turned out to be two sandwiches (a bargain for £6) served on large slices of wonderfully fresh white bloomer loaf and I really liked it. A day of enjoying simple pleasures! Nat had coffee and carrot cake which she enjoyed.

Having been to Albion a few times since it opened a couple of years ago I was pleased to see the food standards haven't slipped which can sometimes happen. And I like the light filled room, especially on a grey day, and browsing the ridiculously priced deli / grocery section is fun too.

I didn't eat dinner after these two enormous sandwiches for lunch.

If only I knew how to poach my own rhubarb, I could have bought some from the cafe!

Railroad Cafe, Hackney

On Sunday Natalie and I trekked east for brunch. I'd seen the Railroad Cafe on an ABC news segment Mum told me about that also featured Lantana. I love Lantana so I thought Railroad would be worth a try.

Set on a main road opposite the railway, the small cafe was busy and filled up with east end hipsters quickly.

My two favourite things about the place were the mix of old school desks and big timber tables in the two rooms which are charming; and the crockery. The square mile coffee (nice but not amazing) was served in a cute little pottery cup and saucer.

The breakfast menu only had 4 items so choosing was easy - I had yoghurt with granola and poached rhubarb (I can never go passed rhubarb on a menu) - simple but nice. Nat had a bacon sandwich. The kitchen is pretty small so I guess they can't put anything too complicated on the menu. If you were hungry you'd be a little disappointed as there's nothing hefty on offer.

I thought it was odd that such a tiny place didn't have table service as the waitress clearing tables had to race back to the counter to take orders when she could have easily been flagged down for a second coffee as she was passing by.

I liked the place, but for an hour's journey I wouldn't necessarily go back. If it was my local I'd pop in quite often, especially for a quick, cheap breakfast. My two coffees and yoghurt were a very reasonable £9.

Breakfast