Hei Cenato - Have you had dinner?

 

Jason Atherton, ignores recent downturn in the service sector and opens yet another restaurant, Hei Cenato, for our delectation and delight. Temple and Sons, based in the City, opened to rave reviews a few weeks ago and now he's heading south into relatively unknown territory, Nova, Victoria. 

This is Jason's first venture into the Italian restaurant scene and I sense a possible theme that could be replicated in other parts of the UK...Jamie Oliver watch your back!

Frustratingly, this restaurant is very hard to find. Located in the middle of a building site and well hidden from obvious view it is only 5 minutes walk (when you know where you're going) from Victoria main line and underground stations.

Nova, is a massive development boasting 17 restaurants. A smorgasbord of culinary delights, including Shake and Shack, Aster, and Greenwoods, to name just 3.

The restaurant officially opens on 7th February but I was lucky enough to have a sneak preview of what to expect. Once through the curtained doorway your straight into the restaurant and immediately two huge pizza ovens grab your attention. This is where all the action is and the closeness of the tables to the kitchen adds to a buzzy but relaxed atmosphere.

The menu is extensive with a wide variety of 'small plate' starters, pizzas, pastas and desserts. Many dishes are available to share. This will suit  the business brigade and hordes of hungry shoppers looking for a glass of Prosecco and pizza combo before heading home. Early morning commuters will also be able to pick up their caffeine shots and pastries to go.

This new venue also has its own bar, The Drunken Oyster, which will serve classic Italian Cocktails with typical Jason Atherton twists.

Starters of Octopus and Black Bean and Sea Bass are beautifully presented on colourful plates. Whilst presentation is fairly minimal and some might even say rustic the overall flavour and tenderness of the octopus was awesome as was the ceviche of Sea Bass which was again full of wonderful flavours.

 

It should be said that the team are full of energy and keen to explain every element of the menu. Unsurprisingly, they almost all seem to be Italian!

 

Artichoke Pizza - New York

Obviously, pizza, features heavily on the menu. Each pizza is presented on a stand which encourages you to share with your dinner date. 

 

In comparison to a typical New York pizza from Artichoke Basille, these have been scaled down to suit the UK waste lines and it just goes to prove that size isn't everything especially when it comes to pizzas! The fennel sausage topping was delicious and not at all overpowering, perfectly balanced.

 



Artichoke Pizza - New York

 

 

Whilst starters and main courses received high praise I could not say the same for my dessert, Brioche and Gelato Burger,  which had me beaten. It was just too much after pizza. It didn't help that it was also lacking any colour.

 

Overall a promising start and an enjoyable and tasty meal. Fairly pricey for an Italian. Jason and his team seem to have every hour of the day covered!

Hei Cenato - 2 Sir Simon SW1E 5DJ, Milton Rd, London SE24 0NL

  

SushiSamba

Gherkin and Shard

If you're a bird of prey, perhaps a Peregrine falcon, then this is where you should hang out for your meals, mostly pigeons from what I can see.  However, if you're just a simple human that is scared of heights or suffers from motion sickness then this restaurant might not be for you.  Unfortunately, I suffer from both afflictions so, it was not without some trepidation that I stepped aboard the SushiSamba express, a glass fronted lift, that elevates you at great speed almost to the top of London's newest skyscraper in a matter of seconds. Apparently, the views are amazing! I only had eyes for the lift buttons they're very stylish you know. 

SushiSamba, located atop the Heron Tower, floors 38 and 39 to be exact, just a hop skip and a jump from Liverpool Street station, is London's newest and possibly highest restaurant.  According to their website blurb, "customers will be able to experience a unique blend of Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian cuisine, culture, music and design". Wow, I'm exhausted already and I've only made it out of the lift.....all my senses are screaming, get out!  Gaining some control and composure I stumble towards reception to be greeted by serenely orange attired hostesses.......are the Dutch hockey team moonlighting?  I finally remember my name and we're quickly whisked off to our table. Everything happens so quickly in SushiSamba!

The imaginatively and quirky designed restaurant, bars and terraces are set for al fresco eating. Perhaps, no one has told them about the British weather and a few minutes later the rain sets in and everybody is whisked off the terrace. Wind speed has also increased and now the terrace is closed for eating and photos. Fortunately, at this time of day there is room within the restaurant and bars to seat these guests. God only knows what happens when they're full?  A few moments later some burly looking men in overalls turn up with stainless steel buckets. The roof is leaking. Parts of the bar are taped off like a crime scene. 

So much excitement and we haven't even looked at the menu!  Our waiter introduces himself and starts to explain the menu. He's enthusiastic and obviously knows a lot about the dishes explaining how he can help us with menu choices. This is always good to hear as this menu is somewhat confusing.  Essentially you share your 'plates' with your guests which is all good fun. 

Edamame with sea-salt and lime go nicely with our drinks. Not looking to eat the whole menu we decided on a starter of Chicharron de Calamar,  crispy golden squid, to you and me, served with mint, tomato and tamarind.  Our main courses of Tamales, one plate of Churrasco, grilled meat, including Flank Steak and Lamb chop were both tender but rather salty, served with what I can only describe as rather leathery cabbage and re-fried beans, a side of sweet plantain, the best I've tasted in a long while. As you'd expect sushi was well presented. Main course presentation wasn't as dramatic or flamboyant as I expected especially when compared to the likes of Nobu and Asia de Cuba, but overall flavours were pretty good.

We decided to economize on the wine and went for an Argentine Malbec, priced at £25.00. Unfortunately, I had to send this back as it was served chilled and I mean chilled. The wine waiter was very apologetic and explained how they keep their wines at such and such temperatures. Yada yada. It was freezing OK!   I'm pleased to report that the replacement was excellent and certainly good value for money. 

Desserts included Red Chocolate Chili, Mango mousse and Yuzu tart which was very cleverly presented.  Saki shots finished off the meal and help was at hand again to explain the various nuances of this delicious drink.

This restaurant is fun, views are amazing and majority of staff are charming and engaging. The chairs are so heavy you need to be built like Arnold Schwarzenegger to move them and the tables are perhaps too small considering there are so many plates. The menu is a really strange mix and unless you're familiar with these dishes always ask for assistance. 

A 12.5% discretionary service charge is added to your bill. Expect to spend £70 per head with a bottle of wine. The views and quirky designs are amazing and I would love to come back to see the place at night.

Posted by Richard....

Street Food = Good Food?

Having recently visited the Olympic Park to soak up the atmosphere and gaze open mouthed at the swarms of people wending their way through the carefully planted, landscaped meadows. I thought I'd do the dirty and moan about the food as everything else seems to be going so well. On my particular visit I found the food offering to be pretty mediocre and as you'd expect highly priced. I suspect the coffee was was made from water drawn from the Steeplechase water jump and pies were warm and filling but all flavour had been surgically removed somewhere along the line.  I didn't attempt to visit one of the four McDonald's apparently located on the park as the thought of fighting through those crowds was just too much. Don't get me wrong I've enjoyed a McDonald's burger on many occasions.  We all know that McDonald's and Cadbury's contribute to the games and it would be ridiculous to assume that feeding the masses could be done without them.  Or, would it?  Can you imagine a venue without McDonald's?  Personally, I think we took the easy option and if Danny Boyle had had anything to do with organizing food vendors at the games I'm sure we'd have had something far more palatable and interesting in our mitts.  As a nation we have so much to offer in terms of food.  Where was Jamie Oliver when we needed him most?  Perhaps, when it comes to food at large venues we're just apathetic, lacking in imagination and just too darn tired to care. 

Andy's Mum at EAT MY PIES!

Street Food in London has been growing at a fast and furious pace popping up in all sorts of places with eager vendors keen to fill the stomachs of office workers. All manner of weird and wonderful food offerings are appearing, some better than others. Companies have been closing their canteens or increasing prices to reduce subsidies, eroding benefits and ultimately pushing their workers onto the high street to fend for themselves and eat on the hoof.  

The variety of food available is huge and a recent visit to Kings Cross Station provided some delicious and interesting food offerings.  Andy's mum from Eat My Pies , sorry Andy's mum I forgot your name, was a delight providing a fantastic range of Scotch Eggs including, Black-pudding, Chorizo, Thai Red Curry and Haggis were amazing and freshly produced.  The egg yolk was cooked to perfection!  Pork, Leek and Ham Pie also went down a treat.  

Other stalls included The Ribman with his Holy F*~k chili sauce and portions of pulled pork that were so huge they could feed a small family for a week, Fleisch Mob with their Emmental Austrian sausage which oozed alarmingly but tasted delicious!  To finish off enjoy an ice cream from Sorbitium Ices, the Lavender, Chili Chocolate and Sea Salted Caramel flavours were fantastic and a great way to finish our little trip. Stall holders are knowledgeable and love their product with such enthusiasm that you just cant help yourself.  If you fancy working off some of those calories you can even enjoy a game of table tennis!

To enjoy Street Food you need to listen to the vendor, look beyond the surroundings and enjoy the experience.  Dive in, get to grips with those dribbling Austrian sausages and enjoy! 
Visit Eat Street for more information on stall holders and venues.  

Start your day with Monmouth Coffee!

Doh! Bankers you've done it again. Off to the naughty step with you! They lose all our money, ask for more, which they get.  They decide to sit on this huge pile of wonga and keep it all to themselves not one penny is given up to the struggling first time buyer or entrepreneur. God forbid!  Next, they work out some fantastic pay rise scheme for themselves, because if they don't get their bonus they'll be off to some tax haven or perhaps America. Well, America, you can have them!  Interest rate fixing is probably just the tip of the iceberg and what will happen to them......nothing. A few red faces in the boardroom and then back to thinking up new ways to swindle us! Daylight robbery...surely it's time to call in the Police? Ok rant over......I need coffee, well Monmouth coffee to be exact.

If you are looking for a place of refuge and a decent cup of coffee in London then why not visit Monmouth in Borough Market.  My picture is slightly deceptive as a few minutes after this picture was taken the queue was backing up to Neals Yard! 

The Monmouth Coffee company roast coffee sourced from single farms, estates and cooperatives. They travel extensively throughout the year, visiting the producers and cooperatives looking for new coffee varieties. Monmouth Coffee started roasting and retailing coffee in 1978 and have a large roasting house on Maltby Street, Bermondsey. Their coffee is sourced from a variety of countries including Costa Rica, Colombia, Ethiopia, Indonesia and Guatemala.

There are plenty of enthusiastic staff on hand to assist, even at 8am they're cheerful while the rest of us are in duvet mode. Coffee experts are on hand if you're buying filter coffee for home use. The team are efficient, cheerful and fairly laid back, bohemian style characters with bushy beards, that's the men just in case you're wondering! 

One thing you can guarantee is that they will not ask for your name which made my day.  Starbucks, you've gotta give that idea up. Filter coffee is made to order using the cone system so 'fresh' coffee is guaranteed. Expertly made flat whites, cappuccinos and lattes also available from two beefy barista machines.

Customers are encouraged to share tables and you can enjoy a rustic baguette with self help butter and jam for £3.10 while checking your Facebook status. This system does rely on customer honesty but, there is only so much bread you can eat. Mountains of delicious croissants, danish pastries and chocolate brownies are also available from £2.30 each. My advice is to arrive early, enjoy a coffee and watch the world go by.

There should be a Monmouth on every street corner but I for one am glad they're not! I could have stayed their all day but decided on taking a trip to Leather Lane to enjoy some of the Street Food stalls but that's another story.