London’s best tapas | Barrafina

04-08-201504-08-2015 Local Black BookBarrafina, best of london, Covent Garden, croquetas, London, London restaurant, Restaurant, review, Spanish, tapas7 Comments

Barrafina is legendary for how long the queues are at each of the group’s 3 restaurants.

I’ve only heard rave reviews from anyone who visited, so I knew I’d eventually have to cave up and see it for myself.

As we got out of the Lyceum Theatre after having seen The Lion King the other day (best musical I’ve ever seen, in case you were wondering!), dinner at the newly opened Barrafina Drury Lane seemed to be the perfect way to finish off the evening.
Barrafina Drury Lane review | Cake + Whisky And at 10-something PM, we didn’t even have to queue for a couple of seats at the counter! #WinWin
It didn’t take us long to order: just a quick look at the menu and a lot of staring over the counter and pointing at everything that looked good!We started off with the best croquetas I’ve ever had (and god knows I’ve done extensive research!). So good and melty I regreted not ordering a second plate! I quickly found consolation in the plate of crispy Chipirones that was swiftly put in front of me.
The specials had almost all disappeared from the board by the time we arrived (I suppose that’s the drawback from arriving that late…), but the sardine toast was still available… Sardine “à la plancha”, parsley salad and roasted pepper aioli… Basically perfection on toast!
Lamb’s sweetbread are one of those love-it-or-hate-it ingredients. That said, I believe Barrafina’s version (with a rich gravy, parsley and capers) could convince the most dubious of people! We finished off the meal with the best cooked, most tender Roast Milk Fed Lamb I’ve ever had. Truly incredible.Not that we were still hungry, but we couldn’t resist ordering Leche Frita, if only to satisfy our curiosity… I mean, wouldn’t you want to know what “fried milk” is?

If you must know, it’s some kind of Creme Catalane, battered then deep fried and served with tangy plum compote and my very own idea of dessert heaven. And the perfect (sweet) ending to this fantastic meal!

Barrafina Drury Lane, 43 Drury Lane, London WC2B 5AJ (closest stations are Covent Garden and Temple)

London’s best ice cream | Gelupo

08-06-201508-06-2015 Local Black Bookbest of london, gelato, Gelupo, ice cream, ice cream parlour, London, London's best ice cream, Restaurant, review, summer12 Comments

Summer’s coming! Which in my book only means one thing: ice cream! And I think I might just have found London’s finest! Gelupo is a cute little ice cream parlour down Archer Street and was opened by the team behind always-packed Italian restaurant Bocca di Lupo. Saying those guys know their gelato would be quite an understatement. They also quite possibly have the cutest window display I have ever seen. 🌸 🌸 🌸
But soon enough my attention was dragued by all the goodies on display. Not that I had any intention of trying any (I was there for the ice cream!) but it all looked very tempting indeed! After much debating on which flavours to get (we might have had to get 4 since we couldn’t decide on 3… #sorrynotsorry), we ignored the tables at the back of the store and sat in the sun to ~~devour~~ savour our selection!
Out of the flavours we tried, my favourite was the Ricotta & Sour Cherries gelato: each mouthful was so creamy, slightly acidic from the ricotta, and so, so indulgent!
I really loved the Blood Orange sorbet as well. I don’t usually like orange-y things as they tend to be too sweet and carry no similarity with citrus fruits whatsoever but it wasn’t the case at all here. The sorbetto was the perfect balance of sweetness, bitterness and acidity and basically tasted like summer.

I still can’t decide which of the Salted Almond or the Amaretto & Apricot flavour I prefered (those where also the two we couldn’t pick between!). Both where quite different from your traditional gelato flavours, and equally interesting, so you might have to go and try them for yourself! This is the GOOD stuff! Look at that sour cherry ripple! 👌 It’s been 2 days and the taste is still on my mind! So I suppose it’ll have to be a permanent feature of my London Summertime then… Oh well… As Mary Poppins says, “When you have to, you have to!”

What: The BEST gelato (seriously)!

Why: That Ricotta & Sour Cherry gelato! Looking forward to trying the Dark Chocolate sorbet on my next visit though!

How much: £6 for 4 flavours

Where: 🍦 Gelupo, 7 Archer Street, London W1D 7AU 🍦

10 things to do in London with your parents

01-05-201530-04-2015 Local Black Bookbest of london, Borough Market, Covent Garden, London, London parks, Monument, must-do, must-see, parents, parks, South bank, top 10, tourist, Tower Bridge, what to do in london4 Comments

My parents are visiting next week. Which would be all good and exciting and everything if my dad didn’t happen to not be the biggest fan of big cities (this sentence is quite an understatement of his actual feelings towards them) and wasn’t sacred of “being bored” (his words).

So obviously, I started compiling lists (yes, plural!) of things for them to do when they’re here (boredom doesn’t stand a chance against my list-addict superpowers!!). Here are my top 10 must-do!

1- Walk along South Bank … It’s been proven that it is impossible to get bored of these views!

2- Notting Hill It simply would be rude to ignore pretty pastel houses.

3- ALL THE PARKS! Are we actually in the middle of one of the biggest cities in Europe? Yes? Really? (Also, deers. If that doesn’t win my dad over, I don’t know what will.)

4- Borough Market Markets in France are very different from what we get here in London (mostly produce-focused vs mostly street-food focused) and the Borough Market miraculously manage to mix both concepts perfectly. Plus litterally ALL THE FOOD!

5- Climb the Monument Best view at the best price (+ extra exercise!)

6- Walk around Covent Garden It’s just so pretty. Also, there are pies. And tea. Which is basically my idea of heaven.

7- Take a peak of the best museums My favourites include The Tower of London, the V&A and the Museum of London.

8- Have a pub dinner. (pictures from last week’s very succesful dinner at The Pig & Butcher. Really good food inc. *THAT* Brulée Rice Pudding.)A great way to prove that British food can be very (VERY) good indeed and make your mum stop sending absurd care packages (my own mum has gotten better lately though, she doesn’t send pasta anymore!).

9- Teatime!

10- And most importantly, catching up on everything and spend time together!And if this happens to be over a few rounds of cocktails or some cake, well, what can I do about it?

What do you like to do in London with visitors? Anyhting I should add to my list?

Tostado | Ceviche bar | London

18-03-201517-03-2015 Local Black Bookbest ceviche in london, best of london, ceviche, London, London restaurant, lunch, where to eat in londonLeave a comment

Until I visited Tostado, I had no idea Ecudorian food was a thing. Now that I know, I wish I was working closer so I can grab lunch from them everyday!

I love the restaurant; it’s simple but has a lot of charm!

❤ And those tiles! ❤ Cake + Whisky | Tostado London Pop-corn! Or THE best side dish for ceviche EVER! (who would have thought?!)Tostado’s ceviche mixto: very fresh (loads of orange & herby notes) + crunchy (thanks red onions and peppers)!Forget British breakfast, from now on, I want Plato Ambateno for brunch! The new breakfast of champions! 💪 Cake + Whisky | Tostado London Oh, and if you’re in the area around lunchtime, Tostado does a FANTASTIC lunch deal! Yes, that is £3.50 for stew + side. Deal of the century? I sure think so!!

What to get: The Ceviche Mixto with pop-corn. Weird, I know (I had the exact same thought!) but staff knows best!

How much: It might be a small plate concept but said plates are still generous! For a light lunch, one dish should be enough (around £10), for dinner, I’d say 3 plates for 2 to share!

Where: Tostado, 16 Saint Anne’s Court, London W1F 0BF

Cake and Whisky

Life in London and other almost-grown-up tales

Menu

best of london

London’s best tapas | Barrafina

London’s best ice cream | Gelupo

10 things to do in London with your parents

Tostado | Ceviche bar | London