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Yosma
A TURKISH MEYHANE, MANGAL & RAKI BAR INSPIRED BY THE STREETS OF ISTANBUL.
I love Turkish food and eat it often; so it was an absolute delight to find a restaurant in Baker Street that doesn’t do generic Turkish food but excellent Turkish food with a twist. Every dish melted in the mouth from the bread and humous to the lamb dumplings. Even the salad was amazing. Mouthwatering, with excellent ingredients where I could taste the quality. This is a true find for Turkish cuisine. Beautifully presented and served with a smile. Easily the best Turkish inspired restaurant I have eaten at in London thus far.
Edith’s House N8
If you need cake; and let’s face it, at some time in life, even if you are savoury, you need cake, then look no further. Well if you are in North London look no further. Specifically Crouch End. White chocolate Scones and condiments like black pepper and raspberry? Whaaaaaat? Yes they do have more foodie stuff because a place can’t survive on flour alone, but if you crave the sweet Edith’s House is a treat.
Gymkhana
Where to begin with the feast that was laid before us? Gymkhana, needs some booking ahead. Why? Because if you like this sort of food they are at the top of the game in London. I use opentable, book one month ahead and take the £35 tasting menu for a late lunch. Oh you may think it may not look much as a three course meal (you can do four courses should you wish) But I dare you to roll out of that restaurant wanting more.
Veneta – Sunday Lunch in London Review
This picture is not mine. It’s far better than what I can take so I used it rather than a blurred picture of goat ragu pasta.
I went for the glorious lunch on a Sunday at Veneta. A restaurant part of the ever so good Salt Yard Group. My friends and I lazed the day away on Sunday for more than a few hours drinking free-flowing Prosecco and wine – all decent and all included with the price with a tasting menu of £35.
To not go for a traditional lunch on a Sunday made me nervous but I cannot even begin to say how worth it, it was. To be able to be eaten over time, some incredibly tasty dishes and not be rushed from the table is a sign of a place worth keeping in the book.
Looking around I was struck at how everyone working there was in a good mood, and helping each other. Looking out for each other’s tables and making sure their customers were not left waiting for anything, but nor were they intrusive. Our waitress even had her family turn up to eat with her between shifts and sat next to us chatting.
The food was plentiful and incredibly tasty and we couldn’t finish it all, but somehow still made room for dessert?! This out of all Sunday meal deals is worth it.
Serpentine Pavillion
I wouldn’t normally post something to say don’t bother, as I like to focus on the positive, but this is how they have made the new structure look on their website. I was very excited and planned a day around it.
And this is what it looks like. And I was VERY DISAPPOINTED. Spend money better elsewhere. I know art is down to the individual but one definitely worth missing. A big paper mache mess.
Castellammare Del Golfo – Sicily part one
The port at sunset
We landed in Palermo and were driven to Castellammare Del Golfo, a place we had randomly picked at the last-minute, from a Sicily promoting website that said it had a great beach and was just simply brilliant. Well it does have a beach, the size of someone’s living room. And even though it was tempting to put a towel down it was like the idea of sunbathing topless in a London park. Just not done. It’s a very pretty port, with literally a handful of restaurants and a town behind it, that looked quite cool even though no one was present in any of the towns we drove through. Everyone for the summer seems to be working on the beach so if you want to drive through little towns at this time of year to discover a hidden world, Don’t.
A port with a view
We thought that we had made a terrible mistake but I have to say that the people in the Hotel Cala Marina that we stayed in could not have been nicer to us if they tried. All of them were genuinely warm and helpful. It’s worth mentioning that if you don’t have a car than book taxi’s ahead, as you will need them, unless you like to cycle. We are glad we didn’t do air b n b on this occasion as we would have been stuck. If you are driving the roads are really good and though mountainous they do have rails on the sides.
When they attempted to sell us the discount voucher for the restaurant next door but onem that had excellent seafood, I met their eyes with the usual traveller’s suspicion. But we were tired so we walked all of the one minute to the restaurant and sat outside staring at the parked boats. We ate and I have to say it was the best meal we had in the four days, amazing seafood and pistachio prawn pasta (which we had three more times in different restaurants in a bit of an obsessive way.)
Sunbathing in the storm.
When everyone goes on holiday they expect it to be sunny but it wasn’t. So we went to the beach and sat in the café praying that the sand storm going into our beer and tapas wasn’t actually happening. When the huge plant fell over for the third time even though they had tied it to the barrier, we did what anyone else on holiday would do. We walked to the shore, sat protected from the rain under the umbrella and carried on.
Barcelona – supermarkets and paella – discuss
We arrived and for once did not go to the main area of Las Ramblas and the Gothic District. I’ve been to Barcelona a few times before so it was time to go off piste and see what the city had to offer. We air b n b’d a great apartment in the area of Rambla del Poblenou and it was less than £100 a night for a two bedroom. I took a photo of the street name on my iphone as it was particularly difficult to pronounce. This proved a life saver when getting home in a cab.
We searched for a supermarket because everyone knows that European Supermarkets are ridiculously good and should be high on your list of important points of interest to see as soon as you land. Never has fruit tasted so good. It puts England and the States to shame when it comes to tasty fresh produce.
Things that you immediately need to buy to keep for a weekend away in spain. Chorizo, nectarines, tomatoes, tortilla, bread, emergency drunken pizza, sweet peppers in a jar, fresh anchovies, Strawberry twizzlers, milk, condensed milk to make iced coffee, coffee. Rose wine, red wine, beer. Water, fresh limes and lemons.
This photo does not do the Paella justice in Vell.
We went on the hunt for Paella and Sangria. Which isn’t hard being in Barcelona, but it had to be right. We had a gourmet Paella from what was like a local cafe looking restaurant in a place called Vell. Not the real yellow type this was a treat gently simmered in stock and tasted like it had been cooked in a top restaurant even though we were in what felt like a cafe. We had a great paella the day after which was the dirty saffron kind but once I’d had the gourmet one it was like comparing steak to a greasy kebab . Both have their own merits but are right for different times in life.
Need Meat and Malbec in Barcelona? Go Patagonia
I was too greedy to stop and take a picture of my steak so took this pointless picture of the wine instead. But it was a good wine.
We had had enough of the tapas and we needed steak. And not small bits of steak but lump sums. We saw the ribeye. It was for two, but we wanted it split in half and cooked two different ways. This was no pizza hut. Could they do it? Would they do it? It was tense for about two minutes. But the answer was positive and service swift and friendly. There was a plethora of Malbec to choose from too. We were too drunk to eat dessert. Was it the best steak I’ve ever had? No, but it was very good. And local peoples were eating in there, which is always a good sign.
Reims – Champagne Weekend in France
Cathedral in Reims
Everyone has a different version of how to say it and the one we went with sounded like ‘Rance’ as if choked from the back of the throat. I went on a coach ride, with a bunch of people I didn’t know and lets just say alcohol does wonderful things to bond strangers.
The ferry took just over an hour to get to France. I had it in my head that it was three hours, so this was bonus number one . Getting to Reims only takes another few hours. Bonus number two.
There’s a lot to be fermenting and drinking in these.
I went to visit Pomeroy which had auspicious cellars but that was about it. But then over a couple of days we saw three other independent and smaller champagne producers and that’s much more fun. They talk away about how they make it and everyone nods politely, whilst downing the first glass quickly to get the six more. No one was pausing to comment on any aromas of pear. Within the hour I and my motley crew were smashed and buying enough champagne to fill our imaginary cellars at home.
I don’t know why this is in a champagne house but maybe it represents how you feel after one too many bubbles.
You get drunk, buy champagne, store it in the coach and take it home. Some champagne did not make the coach journey back. Some places put on a lunch. Reims is also a great place to stay in. There’s not a lot to do there bar see the cathedral and drink, but apparently there’s a great Xmas Market too. This champagne weekend is the ultimate hen do waiting to happen.
Here’s a couple of places
http://www.champagne-lacourte-godbillon.com/content.asp?IDR=114273
http://www.champagne-dauby.fr/welcome_172.htm
Here’s some info.
Click to access Group-tours-in-the-Champagne,-the-Marne-BD2.pdf
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