De Ruif
De Ruif (The Hay Rack) is situated at the edge of one of the Netherlands' national parks, de Veluwezoom. It's popular with walkers, but in the evening it is more of a traditional restaurant. They serve mostly French cuisine, but also some local classics.
We visited not with just the two of us, but also with my parents to celebrate a birthday. We selected our dishes from the three course set-menu.
My wife chose a seventies classic, the shrimp cocktail. In this case, it came with brown shrimps instead of the more usual prawns. It was well-dressed with Marie Rose sauce, and came with some lettuce and a lemon to squeeze. For my starter, I picked the "watermelon" carpaccio, although it came with three types of melon (watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydew). The chunks were served on top of long strands of flavourful and thinly sliced parma ham.
After our main, we both opted to go with the swordfish. This was served with a red risotto, a dressing, grilled baby tomatoes, and some vegetables. The portion sizes were on the larger side for both starter and main, but we still found some space for pudding.
I selected the Aperol Spritz Sorbet, which turned out to be massive. But it was all the right kinds of sweet and bitter and juicy. My wife chose the Limoncello Tiramisu, served with a strawberry on top. This dessert was creamy, light, and refreshing.
After all these courses, we were properly satisfied. We will likely be back, as there are not too many options in the area for dining out. But perhaps we won't have three courses again.
OPSO
OPSO styles themselves as a modern Greek restaurant. They're based just off Marylebone High Street. We first ate here when they opened, just over a decade ago, and recalled that experience positively, and as it was a lovely warm summer evening, perfect for some Greek food we thought we'd return.
It seems however, that in the last decade, the prices had gone up significantly. Wine starting at £58 is a bit of a joke really… but it's Marylebone, so perhaps the locals don't notice or care? Instead we settled on some beers from Greek breweries that we hadn't tried yet.
We were not overly hungry, and as a result decided on a slightly lighter meal. We started with a duo of souvlaki kebabs, which were served on top of a slightly charred pitta bread. They were dressed with a dollop of yoghurt and red onions. With the kebabs, we also had some tzatziki and slightly spicy flatbreads. The tzatziki was fresh and the flatbreads crispy.
For our mains, we shared the slightly seared tuba, which was dressed with sugar snap peas, tomato, mint, and capers. This combination really worked well, and the tuna was spot on. I always think that tuna is better mostly raw, but seared on the outside To accompany the tuna, we also shared a spanakorizo — spinach, rice, and goat's curd, baked in the oven.
The food was delicious, and the atmosphere lively, but we did think that perhaps some value has been lost along the way.
Artean
San Sebastián, a city in the basqueland region of Northern Spain, is known as a culinary hot spot. It is therefore not short of plenty of pinxtos restaurants, fine dining, and a galaxy of Michelin stars.
Artean is a small restaurant in the Gross area, not far from the beach. It has twelve seats, at the bar only. The bar chairs are comfy, and sitting at the bar creates an intimate atmosphere. The chefs are from Peru, and have worked in Michelin starred places, but the person serving was Danish. Artean does not have a start (yet?).
We were the first customers that evening and got to choose our seats, which we did, near the kitchen towards the end of the bar counter.
They offer a seven-course tasting menu (at €90), but also have an à la carte menu. We picked our meal from the latter. As our starters, we picked a selection of tapas. While waiting for them to be served, a lovely bread and a shot glass of a fresh and flavoursome gazpacho got us in the mood. A lovely crisp white Leirana wine made it to our table too.
Our selection started with dressed oysters, and topped with salmon roe, served in a boat shaped bowl. They were slightly acidic, but the dressing toned it nicely down. Fat and juicy anchovies on toast, with a nice layer of butter in between then followed. And finally a duo of scallop gildas. Each consistent of two scallop halves slightly seared, on a bed of creamed parmigiana reggiano, roasted tomato, and topped with an olive, some anchovies and pine nuts. It was plated up right in front of us.
After the starters we each chose a different main. My wife selected the catch of the day, a moist piece of hake on a pea oil, served with a couple grilled shrimps with a piece of samphire on top, which was delicious. I decided on the grilled octopus with green beans and pine nuts. It was a little sticky from a dressing, and cooked perfectly with a little bounce.
After we finished our meal, we moved to a separate set of stools in front of their window for our dessert. That was all our doing as we had probably been a little slow with dinner. Here we enjoyed a dessert wine each, and a sheep's milk curd, topped with blue cheese, cider ice cream. Yum!
Artean was a perfect meal, incorporating local flavours and ingredients with hints of Peru. And all at a very reasonable price. We would certainly return if we're in town again.
Le Garrick
We have been to Le Garrick several times over the last decade. Once for my birthday, where I learned that Cassoulet is based on beans, not my favourite category of food. Although it is not a fine-dining restaurant, the meals we had there, have always been solid, albeit a little rustic.
They also do a pre- and post-theatre menu, which is what brought us here this time. With a play in the early evening, a post-theatre menu is often good value, and usually speedily served.
We both opted for a main and dessert. My wife chose the Onglet steak with a Béarnaise sauce, and I had the Moules Frites. While waiting for our meals to arrive, we enjoyed a lovely glass of Cremant — we had something to celebrate.
The steak was juicy and served with a good amount of fries. My Moules were well-prepared in a rich and flavourful broth. The accompanying fries were excellent for dipping into this bowl of flavour.
We picked the same dessert, the Tarte au Citron (lemon tart). This came served with lovely dollop of cream.
Le Garrick was reliable as always, and after our meal we walked to our theatre. If you're in the neighbourhood for a similar reason, Le Garrick is a safe choice, with good food.
Sicily
After a trip, we wanted something more relaxed and non-fussy. Sicily, close to Victoria Station, seemed to fit the bill on a warm summer evening. My wife commented that the restaurant had been here for many years—and like Chakra a few weeks ago—she’d walked past many times without ever visiting. Something we were rectifying.
We were seated upstairs, and when we arrived, it wasn't very busy with only two other parties seated in the upstairs area. However, within half an hour, the place was full, with nearly every table occupied. Despite the influx of diners, the service was attentive and speedy.
For her dinner, my wife chose the Fiorentina pizza, with tomato, fior di latte mozzarella, spinach, oregano, free range egg, and flaked parmigiano reggiano. The crust was crispy, the spinach wasn't overly wilted and dry, the cheese flakes across the top were generous, and the pizza wasn't too humungous overall. I picked the Rustichelle Salsiccia pasta—twisted pasta with pork and fennel sausage, with mushrooms, saffron, and cream. The sausage is what gave it the flavour, and the pasta and mushrooms the texture.
We both had a glass of their Sicily Pilsner on draught to enjoy with our meals, which paired well with both our dishes. We decided against dessert.
The price for the meal was very reasonable, the ambiance great, and the food well worth going back for again.
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