Platform

A relatively new addition to the Tooley street line up, Platform is one of the new breed of gastrobars hitting London. It's about 2 years old now (hence the relatively part) and is proving to be very popular as a drinking spot and moderately intriguing as a place to dine.

The menu is mostly British with a slight European influence. It's not terribly extensive (or expensive for that matter) but it has sufficient variety so that everyone can find something to suit (even my picky housemate!). I opted for the deep fried pig's cheeks in order to keep to the goal of trying something new and usual if it's on the menu. The waitress's enthusiastic endorsement of the choice further enhanced my excitement for trying this out. For my main, I opted for a seared chard with polenta cakes and a creamy mushroom sauce. I had no idea what chard was but more on that later.

Deep fried pig cheeks

Unfortunately, the pigs' cheeks turned out to be the McNuggets that don't make the cut. Small pieces of dark meat, they are battered in plain flour and deep fried to an inch of their gastronomic life. All flavour was sucked out and even the creamy sauce they were served with seemed to lose its taste to the oil soaked void of the batter. I couldn't even finish the small serving I had from sheer boredom and the feeling each bite was taking 6 months of my life.

Seared chard with polenta cakes

The mains arrived and I discovered to my surprise and disappointment that chard is a vegetable. Why oh why didn't I google this first? Still, undeterred (and very hungry) I dug in. I'll admit, the chard and polenta were actually quite good and filling. It probably needed a bit more salt (and a lot more spice) but that's more my personal taste. Despite the lack of meat, I did enjoy this dish and would recommend it, especially to my veggie friends. The chicken my housemate had looked pretty damn good and the thick cut chips were deliciously crunchy.

Chilli Mojito

Other thoughts: The old fashioned was excellent but the bellini the housemate had tasted like Miller Lite. So it's hit or miss on the cocktails apparently. The atmosphere is nice with the dining room being sufficiently high to allow for conversation. The soft rumble of the trains overhead is not much of a distraction until you realise that means many tons of metal are right above you and you hope they got the strength of the roof right!

Chocolate fondant

Overall, pretty good value especially for the location. I think I'll opt to stick with the drinks and head to  Suchard for my food fixes when in the area!

Betsy Smith

Ah Betsy Smith! What did you do, I wonder, to get a pub named after you? Whatever it was, I'm glad you did it!

Lamb Roast with steamed veggies

I ventured over to the Betsy Smith for a farewell roast for a friend from Oz who had popped by for a couple of weeks. On a Sunday afternoon, it was fairly empty and we had managed to reserve the entire raised section for our merry group. This also entailed having our own waiter (although since there were just a handful of people in the pub maybe it was just by default) who was incredibly friendly and helpful.I opted for the lamb roast (you can also get beef and I believe chicken) which consisted of two slices of lamb, a handful of potatoes, and some carrot slices and cauliflower. The Yorkshire pudding was more like a biscuit and had none of the soft fluffiness you'd expect for the soaking up of gravy. Rather, it was hard and chewy and not at all enjoyable. The lamb slices were tender with an excellent brown meaty sauce. The downside is that the few ounces of meat was not sufficient to satisfy my hunger. The potatoes and other veggies soon followed as did the Yorkshire pudding cracker. But still I was hungry. This is unusually as a proper Sunday roast typically puts me in a food coma. I even polished off the remains of a couple other peoples' food (one of my friends refuses to eat veggies...his loss) but eventually came to the conclusion that based on the portion size, Betsy Smith must have been a slight lass with a small appetite. 

Sticky Toffee Pudding with a mega serving of ice cream

Then we got to dessert. Wow. Each serving of sticky toffee pudding was enough to serve a group of 4. The pudding itself was incredible with soft airy cake soaked with sugary date sauce. The vanilla ice cream was similarly delightful although I remain puzzled why it was served in a thick cold pastry bowl. An interesting presentation but one that overall diminished the enjoyment of the dish. I was a bit disappointed in the roast but the dessert more than made up for it!Other thoughts: The drinks are creatively named (I had a Tequila Mockingbird) and in general are tasty. Prices aren't too bad with the roast, dessert, and a drink coming to around £20. The atmosphere and setting is brilliant and tends to cosy and comfortable with rich old woods. The location could be more accessible although since I live SE London pretty much anything in this area is "not easily accessible" as far as I'm concerned. Oh, there are bike racks right in front with is a definite plus.Overall, a good place to relax and catch up with friends but not if you are starving!

Ceviche Soho

17 Frith Street
London W1D 4RG
020 7292 2040

I love a good ceviche. So I figured, what better place to try it than a place called Ceviche? And since my failed attempt with Tracy L a month earlier (although it wasn't a complete fail as the Soho Food Crawl came about a result), I've been looking for an opportunity to give it a go.

I went with two of my friends and we were seated immediately (it pays to book in advance - otherwise expect 30-45 min waits at least). Our gorgeous waitress was quick to suggest some pisco drinks based on our likes and dislikes and I must say she had good taste. I opted for the Soho which is a chilli infused Pisco drink with elderflower and cucumber. The Soho had a nice mix of sensations with a  fiery bite and a cooling aftertaste and definitely a drink I'd recommend. My companions opted for a traditional Pisco Sour (perfectly made but nothing exciting) and the Pasión de Ceviche (a ginger infused Pisco with passion fruit puree and lime). All in all, it's easy to see why Ceviche is a favoured Peruvian drinking spot although and expensive one at £8 per small cocktail.

A range of Pisco Sours

Our starters consisted of both the vegetable (chard) and chicken relleños (think deep fried balls of batter, meat, and chillies) and a Causa Mar (prawn and avocado on a Peruvian potato cake). The chicken relleños were excellent with a sharp bite, tender meat, and soft fluffy batter. The chard ones were also tasty but lacking that zing from the spicy marinade on the meat. The Causa Mar doesn't stick out in my mind as anything I'd care for again. There was nothing particularly wrong, it was just meh.

Multiple Ceviches

Naturally, we had to order some ceviche and opted for the Don Ceviche (seabass), the Alianza Lima (a mixed ceviche with seabass, prawns, and octopus), and the Drunk Scallops. The seabass ceviche was what you expect when you think of ceviche with tender slivers of white fish lightly cured in chilli and lime. Excellent taste and texture so top points for that. The Alianza Lima seemed to have lost its way with the octopus being too rubbery and the prawns failing to cure sufficiently. Minus points for not bringing the dish together there, Ceviche. Finally, the Drunk Scallops were just thinly sliced scallops. While the quality was tops, I expected them to do something more although I do have to give props for the large portion for a very reasonable price.

Drunk Scallops!

We rounded out the meal with a Peruvian Corn Cake (absolutely spiffing but quite rich in comparison to everything else), Arroz con Pato (confit duck with rice that was tasty but again nothing special), and the Lomo Saltado (suggested by our waitress again). The Lomo Saltado was the highlight of the meal with incredibly juice slices of seared fillet in a delicious smoky and slightly spicy sauce. I'd eat that over and over again without complaint (and with a few cheers!).

Delicious Lomo Saltado

My Chocolate Physalis Volador for dessert (basically deep fried dough coated in cinnamon sugar and placed on a chocolate mousse) was tasty but very messy to eat. I think a different presentation would have been in order given that I managed to stay clean for the meal up to that point.

Chocolate Physalis Volador

Overall, a nice place and a good option for Peruvian food but a tad expensive for the quality and quantity. And I'd definitely recommend asking for help from the staff as everything our waitress suggested was golden!

Admiral Codrington

I've got a fever...and the only prescription is MORE COWBELL! Or rather, more cow. Preferably in burger form. 

Hot Dinners recently reviewed the Admiral Codrington with a focus on their burger offering. Based on this, and my quest for the best burger in London, I headed there with Tracy L for a lunch time feast.  

The AdCod burger

Note:  £15 for a cheeseburger seems pretty high (and makes the £20 burger for B&L not too outrageous) so for that price you expect excellence without peer. And you get it, mostly.
As described by HD, the meat is personally selected by the Chef and then aged in house (I imagine in the cold cellar that seems to run the entire length of the restaurant and is accessed through door in the floor next to the bar). It is then coarsely ground and formed into 8oz patties with light seasoning in an effort to let the meat speak for itself.