Sunday Roast at The Quality Chop House

12-12-2017 Local Black BookBritish, Clerkenwell, Exmouth Market, London, recommendation, Restaurant, review, roast, Sunday Roast, The Quality Chop HouseLeave a comment

Sunday roast is a big deal.

Especially when it’s this cold outside.

The best ones are made by your mother, obviously.

But if, like me, you don’t have a roast-proficient mum (and can’t bring yourself to do all the roasting yourself), I know just the place.

Tucked away at the very end of my absolute favourite street in London, The Quality Chop House is a gloriously old school British restaurant with Grade II-Victorian-decor to match!

Get a group of 3-6 together and book yourself a booth.

Order up a bottle of something nice (a lovely Côtes du Rhône in our case)…

And tuck into the delightfully light smoked cod roe with pickled onion while you peruse the menu.

Especially delightful atop the Quality Chop House’s own sourdough, still warm from the oven.

The selection of starters is quite lovely, but on Sunday, it’s all about the roasts…

Belted Galloway beef (sirloin & brisket).

Tamworth pork shoulder with crackling and apple sauce.

(There’s also a vegetarian option and a fish dish on the menu).

All served with all the trimmings and a selection of seasonal vegetables.

And when at the Quality Chop House… add on a side of those confit potatoes.

You simply have to.

Pile everything up high onto your (already heaving) plate, top with a bit more gravy and tuck into your Sunday feast.

Try to save a little bit of room for pudding…

Sticky date sponge with Christmas pudding ice cream and pear, paired with the most exquisite Loupiac I’ve ever had.

Truly the most wonderful way to spend a Sunday!

The Quality Chop House, 88-94 Farringdon Rd, Clerkenwell, London EC1R 3EA

Make sure you book ahead – especially on Sundays!

More restaurant suggestions

My absolute favourite London place

A modern British food champion

For those days when you want it all (now you can!)

When only steak will do…

Berber & Q’s Shawarma Bar

26-02-2017 Local Black Bookbarbecue, Exmouth Market, grill, hummus, London, Middle Eastern, Restaurant, review, shawarma, shawarma bar, small plates2 Comments

God, looking for a new flat in London is an exausting task!

So after a loooooong morning of (rather unsuccessful) viewings, when we found ourselves right around the corner of my favourite little pocket of London, we decided to take a break from it all and treat ourself to a nice lunch.

Our spot of choice? Berber & Q’s super-instagramable Shawarma Bar.

A tiny but perfectly formed, new-wave shawarma bar, brought to central London by Haggerston’s Middle Eastern barbecue superstar.

No mystery meat to be seen here.

Instead, the menu’s on the shorter side and full of vegetarian-oriented small plates, shawarma-stuffed pitas dishes and plates and creative sides.

Needless to say, it’s a ‘let’s get one of each and share’-type dinner’s dream, be it for a relaxed weekday lunch, a casual dinner or not-your-usual weekend brunch.

Start with a cock/mocktail…

Followed by a smogasboard of small plates to share!

Za’atar-roasted tomatoes with labneh.

Ezme with pine nuts and red chilli.

Joojeh chicken pita with blackened green chilli sauce & garlic yoghurt.

(which was quite enjoyable as it came, but even better once turned upside down onto a plate, teared up and mixed!)

Signature cauliflower shawarma with sultanas, rose, pine nuts & pomegranate.

And some of the best hummus I’ve had in my life.

A tableful of goodies ready for you to scoop and dip into to your heart’s content!

All topped up with a beautiful, panna cotta-like cardamom malabi.

Delicate and wobbly and all, what a way to wrap it up!

Shawarma Bar by Berber & Q, 46 Exmouth Market, Clerkenwell, London EC1R 4QE

Moro, Exmouth Market

29-09-2016 Local Black BookClerkenwell, Exmouth Market, Farringdon, lamb, London, moorish, Moro, North African, pigeon, recommendation, Restaurant, review, seasonal, Spanish1 Comment

London is so big and buzzy and there’s always so much happening that it can be quite confusing at times.

Many a new-comer to the city has asked me where they should go first, and my answer is always the same.

Walk around, take buses and wander until you find your own little pocket of London. The one that feels like home and makes you go all heart-eyed.

As far as I’m concerned, I found mine a long time ago.

Minutes away from Farringdon station, Exmouth Market has it all: fairy lights, too-cute-to-be-true shops and, most importantly, a fantastic line-up of restaurants (including my London #1 and the best pizza this side of the Alps).

I’m afraid I’m not quite in the position to afford living around the corner just yet, so in the meantime, dinner it is!

This time at Moro, my beloved Morito’s grown-up sibling.

Compared to next-door’s buzzy & loud tapas bar, Moro is a very civilised affair.

Elegant surroundings with a rustic edge to them and service to match, it’s a great spot to take business partners or visiting parents, and an even better one for a romantic date!

Especially with crusty bread and a couple of cocktails, including a blooming lovely Rose & Lime Martini, to start!

Much like Morito, Moro build its menu around seasonal ingredients given a moorish treatment with touches from Spain and North African and carefully balanced spices aplenty.

Seared pigeon breast with rainbow chard, pine nuts, currants and rose jam being the perfect example of this.

Moro, Exmouth Market, London

With perfectly cooked, just pink pigeon meat, melty chard, crunchy pine nuts & sweet currants, it’s basically autumn on a plate and everything I want to eat at the moment.

Cecina (dried beed) with carob rusk, tomato, preserved lemon & olive salad.

The perfect end of summer salad, combining ripe tomatoes, zingy condiments with delicate, umami dried beef rolls, all rounded up with smooth walnut oil.

Moro, Exmouth Market, London

A moorish take on the Italian panzanella, and a very good one at that.

But then, it seems ‘very good’ is the norm at Moro…

Wood roasted cod with braised celery, cauliflower, coriander, barberries and chickpea purée with harissa.

Moro, Exmouth Market, London

Charcoal grilled lamb with chopped grilled aubergine and red pepper salad, cumin yoghurt, walnuts and chilli butter.

Chocolate and apricot tart wasn’t quite what I expected it to be, but in the best of ways.

I anticipated a rather homely slab of roasted-apricots-topped-with-ganache tart.

What we got instead was this lighter-than-air yet intense warm chocolate mousse sort of thing and it was divine.

But the true highlight of the meal was our last dish (and the simplest of them all): Rosewater and cardamom ice cream. Fragrant and delicate, it took the BF straight back to his childhood and within seconds, he declared it was the best thing he’s had all year.

A pretty bold statement and the number one reason why you should book a table.

More-ish, moorish, food doesn’t get much better than that!

Moro, 34-36 Exmouth Market, London EC1R 4QE

Morito, Exmouth Market

08-02-2016 Local Black BookClerkenwell, croquetas, Exmouth Market, Farringdon, London, Morito, recommendation, Restaurant, review, Spanish, tapas4 Comments

There are no places in London I love more than Clerkenwell.

Tucked away at its heart is my favourite little pocket of London, Exmouth Market.

It has absolutely everything I like.

Pretty brick houses and retro-looking stores with just the right amount of hipster to them.

Some seriously strong sign pun game.

Enough stationaries to make any addict’s heart happy.

Some of the most beautiful plants I’ve ever seen.

And most importantly, A LOT of lovely, independant and very good little restaurants.

Some of London’s very best have recently moved onto Exmouth Market, including Macellaio, an excellent ‘Italian butcher with tables’.

No matter what you’re after, be it British food, Korean chicken, cocktails or pizza, you’ll find it on Exmouth Market.

Unfortunately I haven’t had time to try it all just yet.

Not because I rarely am around, oh no, rather because I always find myself making a beeline for my absolute favourite restaurant in all of London.

Morito is a tapas & mezze bar, opened by hospitality legends Sam & Sam Clark, of the nearby Moro fame.

Morito,l, London | Cake + Whisky

It’s a somewhat small but oh-so-lovely space, with its signature orange bar and monogrammed wooden bar stools.

And more importantly, the atmosphere and food rival that of the best tapas bars across Spain, with a touch of Northern Africa meets the Middle East thrown in for good measure.

Not over-ordering is always a challenge. The menus might be short, but I always want to try everything.

From the short but carefully crafted cocktail list, we tried the Aperitivo (vermouth, cava, bay & orange).

But my current favourite is a bit of a twist on a classic G&T, the Oliver (white vermouth, gin, tonic, orange slice).

The bread basket is an absolute must-order. All breads are made in house and are basically heaven in dough form.

Morito, London | Cake + Whisky

The herby za’atar flatbread is my favourite, especially when dipped into rich, green olive oil seasoned with a few pinches of sumac.

Croquetas are such a tapas staple and so delicious I’m never, ever able to skip them.

We went for the salt cod version this time, with heaps of parsley and a generous dollop of punchy aioli.

The tortilla is not as pillow-y here as it is at Barrafina, but the current leek and lemon thyme combination is so delicate and more-ish.

An absolute lunch winner.

My favourite dish was a little Confit duck, escarole & hazelnuts number.

Such a simple, yet vibrant and perfectly balanced dish.

The Crispy aubergine, whipped feta & date molasses, topped with fresh mint leaves, is basically next level dirty fries and another crowd pleaser (and it seems a favourite amongst the staff as well…).

Last but not least was the Chicken, chorizo, spinach & oloroso a la plancha.

Perfectly grilled chicken, with heaps of chorizo and just soft spinach leaves.

A match made in heaven.

The dessert list is really rather short (olive oil mousse or ice cream on our visit) but even I don’t mind as I’m usually too stuffed to even consider dessert and settle for a caffè con leche instead.

The perfect end to a perfect meal, just like every other time I’ve visited Morito.

Morito, 32 Exmouth Market, Clerkenwell, London EC1R 4QE