BRASSERIE GUSTAVE

London, UK

Located at the border of Chelsea and South Kensington, Brasserie Gustave serves traditional French cuisine with a seasonal twist. The low-key street presence of the entrance hints to the fact that this is not a show-off place, but somewhere you come for great quality food. After being greeted by Richard Weiss, the friendly sommelier and restaurant manager, we were seated in a red leather booth. Like the exterior, the interior is pretty relaxed, with comfortable furniture and just enough decorative accents to create the French brasserie atmosphere. 

We started off with two refreshing glasses of Kir Royale while scanning the menu. For my starter, I chose the venison carpaccio with black truffle, while my friend opted for the hand-dived scallops, also with a generous helping of truffle. The venison had a melt-in-the-mouth texture, and was lightly dressed and not too oily. I managed to get a taste of the scallops as well, which were served with a delicious and slightly bitter parsnip mash. The scallops themselves were seared to a light brown, crips perfection, while being almost sashimi-like inside. So far we were very pleased with our meal. For the mains, I went for the fillet of sea bass with roast garlic and vegetables. The crisp skin worked wonderfully with the succulent fish. My friend had the entrecote, which he happily devoured and said it was to a very high standard. For my dessert, I had the chocolate fondant, which I believe is a good gauge of the quality of a French restaurant. It was gooey and dark, but it was served with banana ice cream rather than the usual vanilla. This didn't work too well, and a classic combination like that should be left as is. My friend ordered the caramelised apple tart, one of their specials, and it is intended for two people. He did his best to finish it on his own, but after our huge and tasty meal it proved challenging. I helped him out as best I could, but at the end we had to give up and consider ourselves done with a great, classic meal. 

In addition to the honest, high quality food, something that really stood out to me at Brasserie Gustave was the atmosphere. By 8pm the room was buzzing with people, and you almost felt like you knew the strangers sitting on the next table. Everyone was happy and friendly, and the slight bravado of the sommelier helped with this. The couple next to us ordered a bottle of champagne, which was sabered in a performance for all the diners to enjoy. Despite this showiness, I would say there was very little pretence in Brasserie Gustave, and that it seems like a true neighbourhood restaurant where food and good company comes first.

www.brasserie-gustave.com

We were invited to review Brasserie Gustave, and the opinions expressed are our own.

CAFE GREY DELUXE

Hong Kong

Located in the ultra chic and stylish Upper House Hotel, Café Grey is a Hong Kong landmark for fine dining and some of the city's best panoramic views overlooking Victoria Harbour. With world-renowned formerly New York based Gray Kunz as the patron and head chef, expectations were very high and the hard-to-get reservations were made 2 weeks prior to my arrival in Hong Kong. The interior of the restaurant does nothing but raise the expectations even higher; the beautifully decorated dining room is in line with the modernist and simple theme of the hotel, adorned in dark timber tones that are elegantly lit up with bespoke light fittings that gild the dining room. Tables are arranged in an open yet cozy space, where our table was perfectly located in the centre and seats were in a comfortable and plush sofa/booth style. Everything from the sterling silver candle holder, to the high thread count napkins and fine bone china made us even more excited about our meal ahead, which lasted a solid three hours. 

The menu, presented in a leather bound book, made our mouths water and stomachs rumble. To start, we opted for the crab cakes that come served with a lime and mango salsa, the steak tartare with gaufrettes on a bed of beef carpaccio, and the yellow Hamachi carpaccio tartare. All were delicious and beautifully presented, with special mention to be made to the Hamachi which was just sublime; we had to order another one. For mains  I  requested to try the burger, which is not on their dinner menu, but allegedly the best burger in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia (unfortunately I forgot to take a picture before I  devoured it). Despite people giving me strange looks for having ordered a burger for dinner in such a place, it was definitely worth it. It was perfectly cooked and the beef was a fine mix of Australian beef and wagyu. My friends opted for more socially acceptable items of the dinner menu. The sea bass in a creamy white wine sauce with chives, topped with caviar was a rich and delicious choice, as well as the sea bass stew which came served in a lobster broth with mixed vegetables. To conclude our epic meal we ordered the deconstructed banoffee pie and the panna cotta, which were both prepared to perfection and perfectly capped our perfect dinner. The high quality of the food, the beautiful presentation, the exceptionally attentive staff and incredible vistas across Hong Kong, make Café Grey one of my favourite restaurants and worth every penny spent.

www.cafegrayhk.com

THE KITCHEN

Boulder, CO, USA

I only had two days to spend in the charismatic mountain city Boulder in Colorado, and thus had to pick my meals carefully. After doing a lot of research, I settled on a recommendation from the Boulder-based blogger Use Real Butter, and went to The Kitchen. This community-based, non-profit restaurant uses locally sourced produce, and even recycles cooking oil to power the car of one of the employees. Located on the lively pedestrian Pearl Street, the interior follows the typical homey look of exposed brick and simple wood furniture. After some delicious bread and butter, I chose tomato soup as my starter, which was very simple, but tasty. There were many exciting choices on the menu, but one that stood out to me was the Hand Rolled Gnocchi with bacon and summer vegetables. This was a beautiful looking dish with unusual but brilliant flavours. I wish the bacon had been cooked for slightly longer, but apart from that the dish was perfect. My friend had a tomato salad and the steak, and he was reasonably content, but not as excited as I was about my food. The service was friendly, but they didn’t seem too happy with me taking pictures with a huge camera, which I guess is understandable. I had to eliminate a lot of photos from use in this post because there were angry faces staring right into the camera. I’m very happy I got to try the delicious The Kitchen while I was in Boulder, as I really feel like the restaurant’s philosophy exemplifies the attitudes of the town.

www.thekitchen.com

CHURCH & STATE

Los Angeles, USA

Church & State is a French bistro in the hip arts district of downtown Los Angeles. It is on the ground floor of the huge, converted National Biscuit Company building. I made reservations for two on the day, after a recommendation from a friend. I was a little sceptical towards eating French in the States, but I had over dosed on tacos and burgers for a few days and wanted a change. We entered the exposed brick and column restaurant and were immediately put off by the poor acoustics of the room. The crowd was a mixture of hipsters and business men with girls to impress. Luckily, they had tables outside, so we sat in a peaceful area with perfect temperature. As a starter, we shared the Roasted Bone Marrow, one of their specialties. It is served with bread and chimichurri, but I quickly realised that the sauce just hid all the flavour of the marrow, and that it is best enjoyed just with a spoon on its own. And it was really good! We scraped the bone clean and I wish we had ordered more. My next dish was also wonderful though. I had the Bouillabaisse, a fish stew with shellfish. The bread that came with it was smothered in bright yellow aioli, which was amazing. My friend had the Steak Frites, which he said was ok, but nothing special. There was no point ordering the Salade d’Endives we had on the side, as it was quite flavourless. As none of the dishes were bad, and some of them very good, I’d say Church & State was worth the trip, and if I lived in LA I would definitely go back for the Roasted Bone Marrow.

1850 Industrial Street, LA, 90021

www.churchandstatebistro.com

TRANCHER

Trancher is an entrecôte restaurant in Oslo, Norway. It is located in the lively Grünerløkka, the city’s equivalent of Shoreditch in London. There is only one main course on the menu: roasted entrecôte. They also have a small range of starters and sides, which makes choosing easy. I went for the small steak with potato gratin, onions and mushrooms and chips on the side. You cannot choose how well done you want the steak, as it comes from one large piece roasted whole. The trade mark salad that is served in all steak places like this forms the first impression of the restaurant, and it was unfortunately not a very good one. The dressing tasted too strongly of mustard and there was a lot of water in it. It didn’t do the place justice, as the rest of the meal was much better. The food arrived swiftly, after we had a few sips of a decent Côtes du Rhône. To me the beef was a perfect size, although one of my friends regretted not having ordered the large size. It was however a tad too cold by the time I had arranged all the different sides and sauces on my plate. It was very tender however, and I enjoyed it. I tried most of the sauces, and my favourite was the delicious and punchy peppercorn gravy. Another interesting and successful condiment was the foie gras butter. I wasn’t fond of the mushrooms, but both types of potatos were good. Even though there were several things that were far from perfection, I liked Trancher a lot because it felt like a falvoursome, home cooked meal, and the price is also very reasonable.

Thorvald Meyers Gate 78, Grünerløkka, 0550 Oslo, Norway

LA CUCARACHA

La Cucaracha is a French restaurant, with a bit of inspiration taken from across the border in Spain. It is located in Bidart, near the charming town Biarritz in the South-West of France.  I have been to this place three times now, as I love the atmosphere and the food. Their house special salad is a must, although its contents change often, so it's not always equally good. The last time I went it was served with calamari fritti, but I enjoyed it the most when it came with grilled scallops. The faux filet is juicy and amazing, and the portion is huge. The two-person serving is more than enough for three, given you supplement it with some of their delicious starters too. The oven-baked mussels with butter and cheese are a must, as is a plate of Serrano ham and bruschetta. If you are not in the mood for a huge steak, go for one of their fresh, grilled seafood dishes. The house rosé wine is wonderfully pale, but their cocktail mixing skills are not good. Stick to the wine. La Cucaracha is always lively, especially when the anthem of the Bayonne rugby team is played to commemorate the birthday of a guest. The older crowd (60 +) gets up to sing and dance, and I really want to go back there one day far off in the future to celebrate my 65^th birthday and have the time of my life.

Rue de l'Hubahia, 64210 Bidart, France

PETITION TO SAVE LA CREPERIE DE HAMPSTEAD

We have previously written about the quality crêpes and galettes at La Crêperie de Hampstead on the blog (see link). When I went there again for a Chocolate, Banana and Coconut Crêpe I learnt that the pub on the corner are trying to have them evicted. If you have been there and liked it, or if you want to try it, please sign the petition to save this piece of history on Hampstead High Street.

The following is copied from their website:

La Creperie has been in business on the site next to the King William IV pub at 77 Hampstead High Street for 33 years. It is a gem in the heart of Hampstead and is much loved by the Hampstead community and visitors and helps in part to provide the Bohemian feel in this part of theworld.

It is under threat from the actions of King William IV pub and the ultimate landlord of the pub, which is Heineken UK Limited.

The Hampstead community:

(a)       call on Heineken UK Limited immediately to grant a new sustainable lease to the creperie which would regularise its trade from these premises and permit it to continue to serve its customers with certainty;

(b)       call on the King William IV pub to leave the creperie alone and immediately to cease and desist from impeding its operations and facilities, part of which are on the premises of the pub so that it and its customers can have quiet enjoyment of its business;

(c)       call on the King William IV pub to work out a way of co-existing with the creperie which leaves it to enjoy its business.

The manageress and owner of the company which leases the pub has, on a number of occasions, made it openly and aggressively plain to the proprietor of the creperie that she wants him to leave. The community want this action to stop so that the creperie can continue to exist
for the enjoyment of residents and visitors alike.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/save-la-creperie-de-hampstead/

LITTLE SOCIAL

Little Social, the casual offshoot of Pollen Street Social, has been the talk of the town for quite some time now, and I finally booked a table way in advance. Even though this is the ‘cheaper’ version in the 'Social' group, it is still a pretty upmarket restaurant. We got a great table, the only one by the window. Nevertheless it was quite dark, due to the dim lights and the dark leather booth interior. There were some nice maps and pictures on the walls, but I don’t think they quite managed to achieve the relaxed, bistro look they were going for, as it looks a bit fake. The menu is a fusion of English and French food. I went for the Steak Tartare with a quail egg, which was very cute, but I did want a bigger egg. The meat tasted very fresh, it was almost the perfect steak tartare. For my main I had the braised Irish ox cheek with bone marrow and horseradish mash. The ox was amazingly tender and yummy, and the roast marrow tasted kind of like caramel. My companions who had the cote de boeuf, lamb, and crab salad were all very pleased with the food as well. We drank some great wine and champagne, which the sommelier convenitently went across the street to the Michelin starred main restaurant to pick up. After the main course I was really full, but had to try the strawberry and yogurt foam dessert. It was refreshing and full of flavour. The service was great, the atmosphere cool and the sound levels allowed us to have a conversation. Little Social lives up to its reputation!

 8/10 Pollen Street, Mayfair, London, W1S 1NE

MAGGIE JONES

Maggie Jones has been a landmark in Kensington for over forty years, and has embraced a cult following amongst the area's locals as being one of the best places to dine. With its black and bright orange sign, it is not hard to miss as you walk down Kensington Church Street. The ambience of the restaurant is reminiscent of a fairytale with its warm, rustic and romantic décor. The dining rooms on both ground and first floors are adorned with lavender baskets, antiques and picture frames hanging all over. The place is truly a delight, albeit slightly overwhelming and dark to dine in (but the good kind of overwhelming). The menu offers the best of both British and French food and on my last visit, which was on a Sunday, they were serving the fixed Sunday roast menu. The menu includes a starter, a main dish and a dessert. For my starter I ordered the asparagus with hollandaise and my brother ordered the prawn cocktail salad. Both were good, but did not manage to excite us; the asparagus was neither cold nor warm but the hollandaise sauce was good, although a bit too runny; it could stand to be a bit thicker. Moving onto the main dish, we both opted for the roast beef, which came served with the usual Sunday roast trimmings of Yorkshire pudding and grilled vegetables. The roast beef was tender and delicious and the portion was extremely generous. For dessert my brother ordered vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce and I ordered the apple crumble with vanilla ice cream. I would definitely recommend Maggie Jones but I would suggest anytime other than Sunday lunch as the menu is too restrictive and doesn’t offer their best a la carte dishes that can be ordered at any other time.

6 Old Court Place, Kensington Church Street , London W8 4PL