Had a few days in London. Went to Kiln which is a Thai spot of some regard in like peak nightlife hell that is Soho. Waited an hour at 930, but dare I say it was worth it. (Also, this is a no reservations spot which real ones know is, in my opinion, what all restaurants should be. Grab a glass and wait an hour if you want to eat here. Go somewhere else if you don’t want to wait.) Real charcoal-grilled, clay pot open-fire kitchen. This type of cooking is so common in Bangkok, but I don’t see it too much in the US. This is a serious spot. I’d recommend it–my only wish is a few more veggie dishes would have been nice to cut through all the meat.
Hoppers: I’ve praised Hoppers in the past, but I thought this visit was a little less inspired. Admittedly we went at 1030 on a Thursday, so I understand if the kitchen wasn’t firing on all cylinders. Still, there’s three locations, it’s a pretty easy reservation, and it’s very good Sri Lankan. With that being said, there is a new Sri Lankan place called Rambutan that actually looks incredible. I really wish I’d made it here but couldn’t convince my traveling party to eat Sri Lankan two meals in a row. Look at this menu!!!
Dishoom: Nobody should ever wait to eat here, but we went at 11:20 pm after the Fulham-Brentford game (Iwobi is a real player) and it worked out great. I do not get the hype here. My wife called it the Houston’s of Indian food which is remarkably apt. It’s going to be consistent, you will like it, it would also be a shame if you wasted a normal meal in London here. (Small caveat that I just might not like Indian food that much. I’ve had tons of Sri Lankan food (long story there) and not a ton of Indian (relatively-speaking) and whenever I’m eating Indian I just wish I was eating Sri Lankan. Kinda like how as a rule I’d rather eat Portuguese food than Spanish? I dunno.)
Elsa is a wine bar / Alsatian restaurant in Fitzrovia. Sat at the bar and drank some wine with a young Alsatian somm who was a great hang and pointed us in the direction of some tasty stuff. Specifically liked this bottle: champagne laherte freres ultradition extra brut, which he just gave us a glass of because apparently I’m a decent hang.
St. John Marylebone was hectic! I’ve never been to a St. John before and we were staying in Marylebone so this was an easy lunch. Honestly, it was chaotic. Two hours start to finish, thirty minutes to get our first dish which was the fried rarebit. The John Dory that was served 1.5 hours after we ordered was really nice. The ox liver was the offal we did. It was fine! Paired well with a little green chutney that accompanied it. Type of dish that’s meant to be split between 4, not 2. I don’t need that much liver. Not sure I’d recommend, though I still want to go to the OG.
Anyways, London is good. Weather sucks though. Still would recommend.