Locatelli's
We went to Locatelli's, a fairly new restaurant, situated in the redeveloped Sainsbury's wing of the National Gallery. This meant that we actually had to go into the gallery to go to the restaurant, including a security and bag check.
It was a nice warm and sunny evening and when we got there, we walked up to the first floor and were sat down in quite a nice area. During the evening, the lighting varied a bit as somebody was seemingly playing with the dimmer switch inside the restaurant. This was slightly irritating. We really wanted them to pick a light level, and then stick with it.
Because neither of us were massively hungry, we opted to have one of the snacks on the menu, rather than a full starter. My wife went for the Parma ham and Parmesan cheese starter, which came with delightful big chunks of cheese and a slightly salty ham. I had crackers with sesame seeds, and a full flavoured, and delicious whipped goat cream.
For our mains, I selected a Stone Bass fillet, which came with samphire, some mushrooms, and some salad. The fish skin was nicely grilled and crisp, with the fish flaky. My wife had a roast chicken, which came with polenta and some vegetables in a tomato sauce with some crisp sage leaves on top. To drink with our food, we shared a lovely and fresh bottle of wine made with Caterratto grapes.
We really enjoyed it, and the restaurant had a good atmosphere. The service was speedy and friendly from the moment we arrived to the point we left. We didn't stay for dessert though, as we weren’t very hungry, but the dessert options sounded lovely… one for another visit, perhaps.
Overall, dining in part of a gallery, located on the first floor adjacent to a gift shop is slightly strange. But the meal was tasty, the service and ambience lovely, and it was fairly good value for a central London location.
It would be a good place to go on a date, or if you just fancied a meal after some sightseeing, or gallery touring.
Casa do Frango
This restaurant is situated in the new-ish development Sir Simon Milton Square, close to Victoria Station. We've visited this area previously when we dined at the Rail House Victoria, and at Camino Victoria, which are both close by however on a warm summer evening we decided to go for some Portuguese cuisine.
Casa del Frango, specialise in Portuguese grill dishes. We started with a pair of Salgadinhos, crispy filled empanada pastry with kale, mushroom, and caramelised onions. These were hot and fresh and vanished quite quickly.
For my main course, my husband chose the lamb chops, which were also nicely grilled and still moist. I picked the beef skewers, which were also well cooked. Neither of these dishes came with sides, so we ordered some house rice to go with our mains to make a full meal. Without the rice, we'd likely still have been hungry.
Even after that, we still liked some dessert, and had one each. I had a Bolo de Bolocha, a Portuguese biscuit cake with vanilla ice cream and salted caramel, which was possibly a bit too sweet and creamy overall. And my husband had a classic Pastel de Nata, a custard tart. This came served with cinnamon ice cream on the side.
Casa do Franco in Victoria is pretty good, but the service was slower than ideal, and in particular we had to wait a while to order. The food was nice, but the restaurant felt expensive and a little “big box”, lacking something in ambience. So although we like Portuguese food, I’m not sure if we’d return here. However, as there are many other restaurants in this development, we’ll no doubt be back in the area to try another soon.
The Jones Family Kitchen
This restaurant is located in Eccleston Yards, a recently renovated pedestrian-only historic courtyard, not far from Victoria Station. The Jones Family Kitchen is, what might be described as a “steak focused restaurant” but they also have a few other options for those avoiding red meat. As well as a cosy dining area inside, there is a large outside terrace, where on this warm and sunny evening a lot of people were enjoying their meals and drinks.
To start, we enjoyed some cheese polenta balls, which were served with a spicy mayonnaise. These were soft and crispy in all the right ways, and the mayo serving was very generous… so generous that we were able to enjoy it with the chips we had with our main course.
For our mains, we both chose the same cut of meat, a 10 oz sirloin steak, medium rare. I opted for no condiments, but my wife added some béarnaise sauce. On the side, we shared a portion of triple cooked chips, and green beans. The steaks were perfectly cooked, well rested, and slightly charred on the outside, with the fat mostly rendered. The beans were nice and soft, and the chips crispy on the outside. Some of those chips got dipped in the spicy mayonnaise mentioned earlier. We also enjoyed a bottle of Rioja, which accompanied our steaks nicely.
Afterwards, we fancied a little dessert. I had a scoop of apple sorbet, and my wife picked a rhubarb ice cream that tasted remarkably like peach ice cream—still tasty though.
It's a bit on the pricier side if you go for steak, but the food was of excellent quality, and the service attentive. There are several other interesting looking restaurants around the same courtyard, so we might be back for those too.
Spicy Grill
We don't usually venture out to this part of North London, but on this warm Friday evening we found ourselves at Spicy Grill, a Korean BBQ restaurant in Golders Green. There is a large Jewish presence in this area, which meant that about half the restaurants were closed, due to it being a Friday evening.
The restaurant itself is an open space with a scattering of smaller tables along the walls, and a larger table for groups in the middle. Each table has its own grill.
The menu is extensive, with salads, appetizers, tempura, different meats for barbecuing, and even seafood. You can grill it yourself, or the kitchen can do it for you.
We settled for some pumpkin croquettes and seaweed rolls to start. The croquettes had a crumbly coating, and were slightly spiced. The seaweed rolls were crunchy on the outside and filled with glass noodles. There were served with a sweet and sour dip, that worked well with it.
For our mains, we ordered Bulgogi marinated beef and pork belly. We opted to have the grill on, and cook these ourselves. The pieces of meat were sliced thinly which meant for a quick cooking time. With this, we had some steamed rice and a selection of sauces. We thought that this would not be enough for the two of us, so we also picked a fried tofu salad. This wasn't really needed though, but still enjoyable to have some freshness. The tofu was prepared to actually have some flavour. With our mains, we also enjoyed a bottle of Cass, a Korean lager.
It was a good spot, although a little far away. We were the only two non-Korean-looking people in the restaurant, which probably says something about its authenticity. If you're in the area, then Spicy Grill will provide a solid meal at a reasonable price. When walking to catch the bus home, we noticed another Korean barbecue restaurant, which may get a visit on another day.
Cottons
It's summer, which means trying out some food from a tropical place makes perfect sense. Cottons is situated next to Vauxhall Bridge alongside the Thames. There is a big outdoor space, where in the sunshine, cocktails, and music would be a ball, but this is a British summer, so it was a bit nippy, and a risk of rain! Instead, we sat inside the spacious establishment. While looking over the menu, we figured out it was happy hour, which meant two-for-one cocktails. That meant two of the same for the price of one, not two different cocktails for the price of one. And that is how we ended up with two cocktails each: An Exotica Sour, and a Rum Punch. Both delicious, and vaguely deadly.
We started of with a starter each. My wife choose the salted cod fritters, and I had the jerk chicken spring rolls. The spring rolls were served with some salad and a sweet chilli sauce. They almost had an Asian flavour to it. The salted cod fritters were served with a spicy tomato sauce.
Mains wise, my wife picked the curried mutton, served with rice'n'peas. The flavour had a good depth to it, and although it was a little spicy, it wasn't overpowering. The meat was soft and tender. As my main, I selected the pork ribs and fried chicken combo. The ribs came in a fairly spicy sauce, which worked well. The red and green chillies that were sprinkled over them, did not add much heat. The fried jerk chicken was a little too salty to my liking, but the sauce that was coating the ribs fixed that soon. Some fried plantains and rice'n'peas completed the meal. The sweetness of the plantains helped with balancing the heat.
We were quite full after this, and decided against pudding while finishing the last of our (second) cocktail.
The restaurant has a good atmosphere, the service was speedy and attentive, and the food delicious and affordable. It's a great spot near the river, and if the sun comes out there will be a Caribbean atmosphere too.
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