City Eating

Afternoon Spice: Elephant Walk's New Ceylon Tea Room

Run by a passionate husband and wife team, Elephant Walk has been serving quality curries to West Hampstead locals since 2005. They are one of only a handful of Sri Lankan restaurants in London and their extensive menu features classic dishes like kothu rotis, fragrant buriyanis, kiri hothi, and delicious string hoppers (rice noodles spirals) that are perfect for mopping up their spicy curries. There are South Indian inspired dishes too, like Keralan chicken and the delicious masala thosai – a savoury pancake stuffed with potatoes and onions, served with chutney and sambhar.

At the beginning of 2009, the Elephant Walk team transformed the front of the restaurant into their new Ceylon Tea Room – a warm and relaxing space that looks out on to West End Lane. On a breezy Sunday, we settled in and browsed the impressive tea menu which offers everything from green to oolong, Puerh to flowering, with classics like mint and jasmine in between. “Delicate yet full-flavoured, with a hint of melon,” murmured my companion, sipping Silver Needle white tea from the smart Jing teacups.

I opted for the house blend – a smooth blend of Darjeeling Pekoe and Ceylon Orange Pekoe, which is grown on the eastern slopes of the Sri Lankan mountains. The large leaves are often used in breakfast blends as the full-bodied flavour works well with milk and sugar, if you need either. (I'm no tea snob but I think you should let the sweet and earthy flavours speak for themselves).

The tearoom serves traditional cream tea with scones, jam and clotted cream, as well as the full afternoon tea with dainty finger sandwiches and a glass of chilled Champagne if you’re feeling decadent. There are pancakes and thick slices of homemade cake on offer too, as well as savoury snacks like samosas, bhajis and ulundu vadai (lentil doughnuts). As we had missed lunch, we chose the vegetable and chicken curries of the day, with rice and a spinach and chickpea side dish that was so hot and delicious we were grateful for the accompanying red onion, tomato and yoghurt dip. The curries themselves were wonderfully fragrant, with the familiar scent of cinnamon and coconut reaching our noses before the plates hit the table.

If there’s anywhere better to enjoy a cup of tea and escape the bustle of West Hampstead, we’re yet to find it. You don’t need to be a spicy food fan to appreciate the Ceylon Tearoom’s charms, but if you are – you won’t be disappointed!

Want to discover more North London tearooms? Check out High Tea of Highgate, Yumchaa (Camden), and Chaiwalla (Hampstead).

For more Sri Lankan food, try Hop & Spice (Balham), The Ceylon Tavern (Clapham), The Meeting Palace (Harrow), or Papaya (Ealing).

High Timber: South Africans Launch ‘Wine Dining’ Concept

So far, 2009 has seen a lot more restaurant closures than openings, with only a handful of restaurateurs daring to launch high profile eateries in the middle of a recession. Luckily for us, one of these brave new ventures is High Timber – a ‘wine dining’ restaurant with an unbeatable location and a serious team of experts behind it.

The restaurant is the brainchild of Gary and Kathy Jordan, who own the award-winning Jordan Wine Estate in South Africa, and their friend and business partner, Neleen Strauss. (If the name sounds familiar, it’s because Neleen co-founded Vivat Bacchus in 2001).

“This is a natural progression for us - we make wines that should be enjoyed with great food and what better place is there to do this than in our own London restaurant, where Jordan wines will be showcased alongside the very best in the world,” said Gary Jordan.

Just a short walk from the Millennium Bridge, St Paul’s Cathedral and the London Stock Exchange, High Timber is the only venue in the City with tables on the banks of the Thames. The restaurant features temperature and humidity controlled red and white cellars, where customers are welcomed to view and choose their wines from the 40,000 bottles on offer. They will range from the affordable to the priceless, and will include a range of British wines – both established names and new discoveries.

Dates Announced For The London Restaurant Festival

Fay Maschler and her business partner Simon Davis have announced that the inaugural London Restaurant Festival will run from Thursday 8th October to Tuesday 13th October. The six day event will be ‘a citywide celebration of eating out to acknowledge the pleasure and sustenance provided by London’s extraordinarily diverse range of restaurants’. Maschler explained, “Like all good ideas, you think, why hasn't this been done before? London is an exceptional city and restaurants play a huge part in its warp and weft. That needs to be celebrated.”

Partners of the festival include big names like Visit London, Vanity Fair, the Evening Standard and toptable.com. Mayor Boris Johnson has already pledged his support and said that London’s restaurant scene is ‘a testament to the vibrancy of our city and the many communities living and eating here’.

After a glamorous launch party at Quaglino's on Wednesday 7th October, the festival will run a wide range of food-themed events including:

• ‘Gourmet Odysseys’ on London buses travelling from course to course;
• a Vietnamese street food festival;
• a Dragon’s Den open pitch where would-be restaurateurs can try their luck with industry bosses;
• a food film festival (‘Eat Film’);
• a University Challenge event where London chefs will compete against their New York peers;
• and special festival menus in some of London’s top restaurants.

The culmination will be the London Restaurant Festival Awards on Tuesday 13th October.

We know October is a long way off, but make sure you put the dates in your diary now because it sounds like its going to be six days of non-stop foodie fun!

Coming Soon: The Swan & Edgar, Marylebone

The team behind the popular Bourne & Hollingsworth in Fitzrovia are opening a new pub in the heart of Marylebone . Like its sister venue, The Swan & Edgar will combine a quirky interior with a first class food and drink menu. The new addition will appeal to local literati with regular poetry readings, book signings, and quizzes.

The décor will centre around two unique design features – a bar made entirely out of second hand books and seating crafted from leftover tweed, which has been generously donated by fashion-conscious Londoners and Savile Row tailors.

Where the Bourne & Hollingsworth concentrated on classic cocktails, The Swan & Edgar’s focus will be on fine wines, beer and ales, and spirits. Extensive and inclusive, the wine list also features a good selection of Ports, Sherries and Dessert wines, and a carefully chosen selection of fortified wines and rare spirits will be available. The venue will also host regular talks and tastings from wine and spirit experts for drinks enthusiasts.

Instead of cocktails, The Swan & Edgar is introducing the notion of ‘serves’ – a classic style of drinking that has been lost in the recent trend for complicated mixology. ‘Serves’ are simple concoctions that mix two or three ingredients, adding an extra flavoursome kick to a particular spirit, but keeping it simple. Drinks falling under this category include the classic Bloody Mary, Pimms, Elderflower Spritzer and Kir Royale.

The food menu will focus on hearty British dishes like Shepherd’s Pie, roasts and stews, with some of these served in larger dishes so diners can share. The menu will also feature traditional pub grub like Ploughman’s Lunches, pints of prawns, freshly cut sandwiches, and steamed puddings. At the weekend, they’ll serve up an English manor-house style breakfast buffet, to which diners can leisurely turn up and help themselves.

The Swan & Edgar will be situated on Linhope Street (not far from Marylebone Station) and is set to open in early April. Watch this space!

Log On To Join Jom Makan’s New £2 Club

Set your alarm clock now because every Tuesday from today, Jom Makan are giving you the chance to win an exclusive invitation to their £2 club. All you have to do is log on after 9am and register at www.jommakan.co.uk. If you’re among the first 200 people to do so, you can enjoy all starters, mains and desserts for just £2 on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays.

Don’t worry if you don’t win first time – just try again the following week! Besides, Jom Makan’s Malaysian menu is reasonably priced all year round, with starters priced at under £5 and mains under £10. (We recommend the roti canai, mee goreng and the spicy sambal prawns). The restaurant is located on Pall Mall East – (just turn left when you reach the end of Haymarket) – so it’s ideal for a quick pre-theatre dinner or a snack before a night out in the West End.

Want to eat Malaysian elsewhere? Check out our full list of Malaysian restaurants here and don’t forget to tell us if we’re missing your favourite.

Mum’s The Word: Ten Of The Best Mother’s Day Venues

Don’t forget, this Sunday is Mother’s Day so if you haven’t already booked a table somewhere – you’ll need to get a move on! You know best when it comes to what your Mum likes but if you need a bit of inspiration, here are ten Mum-friendly options for you to take a look at.

Min Jiang – If your Mum loves Chinese food, head for Min Jiang where their exotic five-course menu is guaranteed to impress. Priced at £45, it will include dishes like Gong Bao chicken, king prawns in black bean sauce, Sichuan hot and sour soup, and – of course – their legendary wood-fired Beijing duck. For dessert, save room for the sweet chilli and lychee pannacotta with pistachio crunch. If you can’t get a table on the 22nd, try for the 24th when the restaurant is hosting a five course dinner and whisky tasting with expert Roger Mallindine.

Chilango – If you’re strapped for cash, head for the new Upper Street branch where your Mum can claim a free burrito! (Plus, if you work in the area, they can deliver your lunch to desk between 11am and 9:15pm – perfect if you’re working late).

Mela – If you fancy adding some spice to Mothering Sunday, try any branch of Mela where your Mum can eat for free! Their menu includes authentic Indian dishes like Luft-e-Dariya (tiger prawns marinated in saffron, caraway seeds and fresh coriander); Ameenabadi Aloo (potatoes stuffed with paneer and spices); and the delicious Seafood Moilee, a Keralan speciality of fresh mussels, scallops, prawns, squid and fresh fish simmered in saffron and coconut curry. Mains start at just £4.95 so you can afford to treat the rest of the family as well!

Snap Of The Week: Top Tapas Restaurant Fino Reopens

When floods forced one of the West End’s most popular Spanish restaurants to close earlier this year, London’s tapas fans were heartbroken. Thankfully, Fino on Charlotte Street has now reopened and looks much the same, if a little smarter, after its refurb.

Owners Sam and Eddie Hart, together with Head Chef Nieves Barragan, have used the time to adapt Fino’s menu to feature a wider variety of tapas, as well as a number of new specialty dishes. These include a soupy rice dish called Arroz Meloso and Marmitako, a fish stew made with tuna and potatoes that is popular in Nieves' home town of Bilbao. For the first time, the team has managed to source ‘Calcots' - Catalan spring onions, which will be served with Romesco sauce. As tradition dictates, the menu will change twice daily and will feature weekly seasonal specials.

Regulars will be pleased to hear that they can still dine at the counter, with its view of the busy kitchen, and that the menu has retained old favourites like crispy pork belly, crab croquetas and Pyrenean milk-fed lamb.

If you can’t get a reservation at Fino, why not try their sister restaurant Barrafina on Frith Street?

London Foodies Pay Over The Odds At Little Bay

In February, Little Bay in Farringdon shocked London foodies and hit the headlines when they asked their customers to pay only what they thought their meal was worth. The restaurant was fully booked for the whole month and owner Peter Ilic declared the scheme a roaring success.

“I’ll admit I was nervous about letting people pay whatever they liked,” he explains, “But it has restored my faith in people’s honesty. The average spend per head was higher than normal and we’ve had great feedback from a lot of new customers.”

Over 10,000 customers were served in February and each paid £17.25 on average - nearly 30% higher than the restaurant’s usual average food spend of £13.50. The most paid by a diner was £40 per head and the lowest was just one penny per person, plus a £5 tip, from two students who said they wanted to prove that the promotion was genuine.

“Most surprising has been the new customers we’ve attracted,” says Ilic, “I’d say over half were City workers. I guess even the big spenders are looking for a good value meal right now. I can categorically say the promotion has been a success, putting Little Bay’s fresh, good value meals on the map for a lot of new customers.”

In March, Little Bay are putting the prices back on their menus but bargain hunters needn’t panic – they are still very reasonable. Starters and desserts are just £2.25 from noon until 7pm (£3.25 after), while mains are £5.25 during the day and £7.45 in the evening. One of their Aberdeen Angus burgers will set you back £5.80.

If you fancy saving some money this month, without cutting back on dining out, then check out our Special Offers page and see what takes your fancy.

Books For Cooks: Seven Of The Best New Releases

Even London’s most insatiable gourmets can’t eat out every night of the week, so we’ve compiled a list of some of the most exciting food books on offer this month. All are available now or can be pre-ordered online – go on, treat yourself!

The Seasoned Vegetarian - Simon Rimmer

Following the success of his highly acclaimed book The Accidental Vegetarian; Simon Rimmer returns with another helping of innovative and flavour-packed vegetarian recipes. Based on the menu at his award-winning restaurant, Greens, The Seasoned Vegetarian features internationally-inspired dishes and creative flavour combinations that will appeal to vegetarians and carnivores alike. Fans of BBC Two’s Something For The Weekend won’t be disappointed and novice veggies will love Rimmer’s simple and easy-to-follow style.

Eat vegetarian in London: Saf; Vanilla Black; Food for Thought; Maoz; Manna; Tibits.

Serendip: My Sri Lankan Kitchen - Peter Kuruvita

Tired of Thai? Uninspired by Indian? Try Sri Lankan - a must for anyone with an insatiable appetite for spicy curries. In Serendip, chef Peter Kuruvita describes the kitchen experiences of his grandmother and aunties, as well as his own visits to the bustling markets and food stalls in Sri Lanka. The beautiful photographs and heart-warming stories add colour to traditional recipes for curries, breads, snacks and sticky sweet treats.

Eat Sri Lankan in London: Elephant Walk; The Ceylon Tavern; Hop & Spice; Papaya.

New Bistro - Fran Warde

Written by London-based food writer Fran Warde, New Bistro is a fascinating introduction to twelve chefs at the forefront of France’s bistro revolution. For each of them, Fran outlines their approach to French country cooking and introduces four of their recipes, in addition to 50 of her own recipes, inspired by bistros and eateries from all over France. Alongside recipes for accessible and affordable classics like steak frites, pot au feu and cassoulet; she also recommends the ‘runners up’ at the back of the book – ideal if you’re travelling to France this summer.

Eat bistro-style in London: Cote; Savoir Faire; The Lobster Pot; Gazette; The French Table.

Get Your Claws Out For Trishna's Week-Long Crab Festival

From Monday 9th to Sunday 15th March, Trishna in Marylebone is hosting their inaugural Crab Festival. The week-long celebration is a tribute to the original Trishna restaurant in Mumbai which is famous for its seafood dishes, including the signature whole crab with butter, black pepper and garlic.

The London outpost will be serving a wide range of crab dishes, inspired by Indian coastal cuisine and created by head chef Ravi Deulkar, who previously worked at the Michelin-starred Rasoi Vineet Bhatia in Chelsea. He has built up an impressive network of British seafood suppliers for the occasion and will cooking Cornish brown crab, spider crab, snow crab, Norwegian king crab and blue swimmer crab throughout the week.

“We’re proud to follow our Mumbai counterpart’s lead by putting crab at the heart of our menu,” explains Ravi, “We thought it would be fun to celebrate this wonderful ingredient in all its different guises with our own festival. It’s a bit of fun for our customers and it’s a brilliant culinary challenge for the kitchen. We’re going to be coming up with some amazing new dishes that may end up on the menu long term.”

The special crab menu will include dishes such as shellfish rasam; blue swimmer crab and white lentil cake; and Tandoori king crab with ginger kachumber. There will be seafood-themed events throughout the week including wine tastings, a ‘crab-cracking’ class, and a competition of ‘Guess the weight of the king crab’ to win a free meal for two.

If you’re not a big fan of crustacea, why not pop in on Sunday to try out their new brunch menu? Priced at £12.75, diners begin with traditional ‘Rasam’ – a South Indian soup made with yellow lentils, tamarind juice, tomatoes and pepper – and then choose an Indian-inspired main dish. The menu includes scrambled eggs with sigri smoked salmon; seafood biriyani; Goan sausage hot dogs with mustard chutney; and fresh green lentil and fennel stuffed with homemade masala paneer.

A traditional drink is also included in this set price: either one of three different lassi flavours – mango, salt or roasted cumin – or a bloody Mary infused with either tamarind or horseradish. Children under six eat free so why not take your little curry lovers along too?