The Devonshire Arms
Not to be confused with "The Devonshire", an extremely popular pub, near Piccadilly Circus, which we also have reviewed.
The Devonshire Arms is a cosy pub situated in Kensington, between Earls Court and High Street Kensington tube stations. The pub itself has the feel of a local, but upmarket boozer—it is Kensington—where everyone (not just the locals) are welcome.
We had a cheeky half when waiting for our table to be ready. My wife had an alcohol-free Lucky Saint as she's doing Dry January. It's good to see that there were several alcohol-free options on their menu.
After a little wait (we were early) we were seated at a cosy table in the dining room to have a look at the menu.
As starters, we had some Padron peppers, and Wild Boar, pork and ale sausages, served with an English mustard. That sharp mustard, gave you a good slap in the sinuses, as all good mustards should.
From their specials menu, my wife chose the fish pie as her main, which was served with green beans. To accompany it, she had an alcohol-free Amalfi Spritz cocktail made with Lyres Italian Spirit. It looked like an Aperol Spritz, but it did not taste like it.
I selected the trout dish, which was served with salsify, roasted potatoes, and prawns. I also ordered a glass of wine that was recommended on their menu for my dish. To my surprise, a glass of red wine showed up, and not the customary white wine for fish. However, to my surprise and delight the flavours combined well.
After this, we were full enough and had no place for dessert. Our bill came in at £63 as we had a half-price main course voucher, a special for early January, without it would have come in at just under £90. The food was tasty, the service good, and the ambience lovely. A good night out all round.
Le Vieux Comptoir
Situated at the end of a side-street of Marylebone High Street, Le Vieux Comptoir has been serving as a wine shop and restaurant for more than a decade. We first went many years ago, and have returned several times, with friends and family, as well as just having dinner a deux. However, we've not been recently, and so hadn't written a review. We also fancied seeing if it was still as good as we remembered. .
In the run-up to Christmas, we decided to do a re-visit to Le Vieux Comptoir. Upstairs is the wine shop, where you can get a bottle to take down into the restaurant if you wish. But you can also select your wine for dinner downstairs in the cosy restaurant. I felt like a little celebration was in order, so we started with a lovely glass of Cremant, served with some bread and homemade butter, while waiting for our starters.
For the starters, my wife went with the cheeseboard; two slices of four different cheeses, served at the perfect temperature, allowing the flavour of the cheese to come through. I selected the snails in parsley and garlic butter. I have always found snails interesting enough, but would only ever have it at a French place.
For our mains I ordered the confit duck. Sometimes that is exactly was looking forwards to, and in this case the whole week leading up to our visit. I remembered it being excellent on previous visits, and this time was no exception. It was served with roast potatoes, and cabbage leaves with a dressing. The same side dishes accompanied my wife's onglet steak. This was served medium rare, and was splendid. With our mains, we also enjoyed a glass each of a full-bodied red wine.
We still had some space for pudding, and we enjoyed a sharing platter of enormous profiteroles while sipping on a Sauternes dessert wine. It was a great meal, and quite indulgent. Something to do once in a while!
Broken Eggs
A restaurant that focuses on one specific thing, Spanish tortillas. They come in different flavours. From classic (egg and triple cooked potatoes), to courgette flavoured ones, and Jamon Iberico. That, and a few starters and drinks makes for a unique and rustic place, especially when it is cold and windy outside.
We visited Broken Eggs on such a stormy and slightly damp Friday evening, just before a storm would arrive. The restaurant is cosy with a homely atmosphere, with friendly and welcoming staff. Spanish classics on the radio.
We had some Padron peppers and cheese croquettes to start. As is common, the croquettes came as three pieces. Which I always find odd, because many bookings are likely to be couples, and dividing three portions among two can be tricky. However, they kindly offered to produce four. This was good news, because they were excellent, and my wife said she wouldn't have wanted the third one to share.
We however, did share the tortillas. Instead of picking a big one to share, we chose two different flavours to split between us. One with courgettes, and the second one with Jamon Iberico. They were both flavourful, and slightly gooey in the middle. Perfect for scraping up with some bread at the end.
With our starters and tortillas, we also had a bottle of their house red. It wasn't anything special, but on a cold, rainy, and windy evening that it was, it was the perfect accompaniment to our meal.
It was a relaxed evening out, with good rustic food, for a reasonable price.
Demartino
Styling themselves as a New York neighbourhood Italian restaurant, Demartino is situated on Great Portland Street. When we visited it was busy, with elderly couples, a bunch of friends, and a birthday party. Very much a low-key neighbourhood restaurant. Unfortunately, that meant we had a small table right in the middle of the restaurant, which meant we were on something of a busy thoroughfare with serving staff and fellow diners moving around close to us.
For our starters we picked courgette fries and arancini, or rather, one big arancino. The courgette fries were nicely seasoned, and were served in a cone — just like Belgian fries. The big arancino was served in a spicy sauce, that had a very nice strong tomato flavour.
As her main, my wife selected a ravioli filled with ricotta and spinach, served in a lovely butter and sage sauce. I had the wild mushroom risotto, with the rice just a little al dente. A decent sprinkling of Parmesan added the right level of cheesiness.
We had a lovely bottle of red wine to go with our excellent meal. The service at Demartino was good, and the atmosphere lively.
The only downside to our visit was the position of the table we were seated at, so if we returned we'd try to be seated elsewhere (almost anywhere else).
Het Schilderij
Het Schilderij (The Painting) is a gastropub in the small village of Dieren, where I grew up. The pub has been around for as long as I can remember, and I've had many a merry evening there in my youth. But it has evolved, and now has the feel of an English Gastropub, with a decent (although hardly changing) menu, with seasonal additions. They also have a great selection of interesting beers. It is a spot we frequently eat in as well, when we visit my parents.
In that context, we found ourselves here on a cold and rainy autumn evening. As a starter we shared an "Oerbrood", a rustic loaf, with butter, (very garlicky) butter, and some tapenade which worked well with a glass of Hertog Jan's Grand Prestige beer.
In autumn, it is quite common to see game on restaurant menus, and Het Schilderij is no exception. My wife and I both selected the venison steak, served with a thick wine jus. The venison was still moist and a little pink in the middle, with a nice grill-seared outside — adding a bit of colour and flavour. My parents both had wild boar loin which looked similarly delicious.
Accompaniments are shared with the table, and the chips, pan fried potatoes, and brussels sprouts with lardons (a seasonal addition) worked very well with our choices. Although the sprouts aren't everyone's favourite, I thought they were cooked just right.
We had a lovely evening, with enjoyable food and drink in a good atmosphere. We'll certainly be back.
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