Oystermen
The Oystermen is a restaurant not far from Covent Garden. We've been before, but many years ago, probably pre-pandemic. As the name suggests they specialise in oysters and henceforth we had plenty of them.
For our starter we picked a raw Jersey rock oyster each, which were fresh and delicious. However, this spot also does cooked oysters, which is more unusual, so we also enjoyed a couple of seaweed oysters which were served with a seaweed butter, and two tempura oysters.
As our arrival drink we fancied a cocktail, and we're quite keen on Martinis. We decided to have a Martini with an oyster in it, because, you know… when at an oyster restaurant! It worked even better after we added a drop of the leftover oyster juice to our cocktail. The Oyster garnish took the place of the more usual olive and added a similar salty, briny tang. Definitely one to try if you get the opportunity.
For our mains my wife ordered a mackerel, which came with a horseradish sauce. I ordered the Gurnard, curried, with a few chilli flakes. We also chose to have some fries on the side. These were crispy, with a lightly spiced coating which worked well with both main courses. We also ordered a glass of Chardonnay each.
We still fancied a digestif. My wife had a glass of the Sazerac Straight Rye, which in my opinion could have done with a bit of ice. I selected a Somerset cider brandy, which I had never had before.
We really enjoyed our time at the Oystermen. The food is excellent, the ambience is great, and on top of that they play recordings of the shipping forecast in the toilets, which are located downstairs. I think we'll be back at some point.
Richoux
Richoux is a French bistro restaurant that used to be situated on Piccadilly near the Ritz, but they've now moved to Regent Street, next to the BBC Broadcasting House.
We went when they still hadn't quite opened yet, their so-called "soft opening".
I choose, as one of my favourite starters, the Escargots de Bourgogne: snails in a pesto-like sauce. The sauce was fairly oily, and I sort of wished I'd had some bread with that. My wife had the Rillette de Saumon, a nice enough (but not overly exciting) salmon pate with some toasted bread.
As her main, my wife picked the Steak Frites with a Béarnaise sauce. She ordered it medium rare. It was well cooked and well seasoned, but not too well rested. I had a Filet de Saumon, which was also quite nice, but nothing particularly very special. With our main, we also had a bottle of wine. Wines start at around £40.
In the end, we thought the meal was a little disappointing and on the pricier side. One thing that was useful, is that because they were in their "soft opening" mode, all the food was half price.
I don't think we're going back to Richoux. But if you're in a mood for some French food, near Regent's Street, then they'll be able to provide you with a solid meal. To be honest, if you really want French food, you’d be better heading to Le Vieux Comptior, which isn't very far away in Marylebone, or Le Garrick in Covent Garden.
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.
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