the eagle

The Eagle is a short walk from Farringdon station and is known, apparently, for defining the gastropub genre when it opened 20 years ago. It embodies the word perfectly.

The space is quite small with a grill kitchen behind a bar that runs the length of one of  the walls. The ceiling is high and chalk boards line the wall behind the bar listing a strong selection of beers, a predominantly Spanish wine list, and the daily menu, which one could argue is more striking than any artwork that could take its place. The atmosphere is excellent – you get the distinct impression that people haven’t simply happened upon the place but are all there because they know and love it. A dark wooden floor and light wood-paneled walls leading up to a dark green ceiling give it an air of sophistication. Every chair is different and I like that. It really is a place you would like to have a meal.

I ate at The Eagle earlier in the year. I arrived early and had the pleasure of witnessing the day’s menu being written up on the boards – each item sounding implausibly sexier that the last. I had already decided on the onglet with red cabbage, potatoes and a horseradish sauce by the time everyone had arrived and it was a great choice. I’m almost positive that  the chef purposefully waited until the rest of the table’s food  was away before she started cooking the meat to ensure that it  was perfect when it arrived. It was, and I loved her for it.

Needless to say I was extremely excited about the prospect of eating there a second time. Again the menu was unsurprisingly superb – onglet with roast potatoes, Dijon mustard and sautéed spinach; grilled bacon chop with lentils;  chowder with john dory and mussels; leg of duck with gnocchi;  grilled whole mackerel; and the usual bife ana steak sandwich, amongst other equally delicious sounding dishes.

I would have gone for the onglet again but its popularity meant that it had all gone by  the time we ordered. So I went for the orecchiette with veal ragù.

Stunning.

Both the portion and the ragù were hearty. It was served in a quaint bowl which gave it that rustic feel that almost goes hand-in-hand with dishes like this. It was flavorsome and had the quality of giving you a sense of warmth with each mouthful.

Around the table there were a couple of bacon chops, which were immense in both presentation and taste, and a steak sandwich, which was as good as ever. There was also a basket of good quality bread to mop everything up with.

Every single item was exceptional. So exceptional that it  would have been a tragedy not to order dessert. Whilst I was extremely tempted by taleggio with pear  and toast, I opted for a pastel de nata – a small portuguese custard tart that can only be described as divine. It was so good that even the possibility of ordering another, at risk of  overdoing it and spoiling the memory of the first one, was simply out of the  question.

It was a meal so special that you felt as if you should end with a shot of grappa or limoncello to celebrate. But we didn’t. We  had a couple more Eagle IPAs and sat in gleeful bliss after what  was one of the best meals I’ve had in ages.

The Eagle

159 Farringdon Road | EC1R 3AL | 020 7837 1353 | no website – google it

Overall:

Blissful

al waha

Dinner in Notting Hill on a Saturday night. Bodean’s on Westbourne Grove was suggested, but that’s now Tinseltown – “a modern twist to the American Diner”, and having spent less than a minute in there, not a place we wanted to eat.

Al Waha however very much was, and considering it was nearby (also along Westbourne) it seemed like the perfect opportunity to visit.

A table for four was pulled apart to accommodate us and what was essentially a plant pot on wheels was slotted between the two to give each a bit more privacy. The exotic leaves also added to the decor massively. It was genius.

We ordered a couple of beers (a choice of only Stella or Corona) and started to puruse the menu. Once we had ordered, a waiter placed a bowl on the table that contained a lettuce, the biggest tomato you’ve ever seen, a small cucumber, a spring onion, sticks of carrot, two radishes and some ice cubes. It was truly odd.

Without any explanation as to what this was all for, we were both presented with some flat bread and quickly everything slotted into place. This was out cover, and all indications seemed to suggest that some potentially amazing hummus was on it’s way.

It wasn’t.

Our starters arrived next, and these were noteworthy. The falafels were exquisite, served with a delightful sauce and a tomato ganrish (this one smaller and actually quatered). The okra (bamia bil zait) with garlic, tomatoes and coriander  was next-level good.

Whilst we were in the midsts of mopping up the last of the okra with the last of our flat bread, still debating whether our hummuss had been forgotten or whether we were expected to order it as a side, we suddenly found ourselves in a game of Twister with the waiters who had rather annoyingly started clearing away plates and cutelery and glasses and uneaten food.

Without a sound the waiters took away our olives, the remaining falafel sauce and what remained of our vegetables and swapped them for our mains.

The smell was horrific. We had both ordered the daily special of fried courgette stuffed with lamb mince and pine nuts, served in a yogurth sauce with rice. However, there was only one left so I took the hit and had a dish that was decribed as similar, which it was.

The alternative consisted of bland, tear-shaped lamb mince meatballs with pine nuts, served in the same unpleasant, hot yoghurt sauce as the stuffed courgettes. Both were served with dull pilau rice, that on its own as a side would have cost £4.

I can’t remember the last time I left food in a restaurant. It was a shame.

Having read such good things about Al Walha and after beginning the meal with some truly excellent starters, it was crushing to end feeling so disappointed. Obviously we could have simply made bad choices on the mains, but even if we had, the bizarre, impersonal service was enough to put me off. The fact that our unfinished food was stolen away from us, despite the olives, breads and vegetables costing us a whole £3 each, was inexcusable.

Al Waha

75 Westbourne Grove | W2 4UL | 020 7229 0806 | www.alwalharestaurant.co.uk

Overall:

Disappointing

bocca di lupo

A short while ago I went out for a birthday night and awoke the next morning to discover that I had lost my phone. When I called it, a girl in Clapham answered and it emerged that the phone must have fallen out of my pocket in a taxi, she had picked it up and taken it home. We arranged to meet that afternoon , which whilst being a hassle, also held an element of intrigue. What if this led somewhere…

It felt like the start of a movie.

An hour before I called to say that I would be on time. Having never been in this type of situation, I believed this to be etiquette. The girl was still on for 2pm and apologised because she had answered a call, believing it to be me. It was a restaurant confirming a table for two that night, so that was still on. She then asked whether I was taking her out as a thank you gesture?

Thank God it was, and no. I had got my hopes up for nothing.

After all this I had just about enough time for a much needed nap before throwing on a shirt and making my way to meet my actual date in Soho at an Italian restaurant called Bocca di Lupo, for one of the best meals I’ve had in a long time.

Translating from Italian as ‘mouth of the wolf’, Bocca di Lupo is perhaps the best, most exciting restaurant name I’ve ever come across. The menu is, in a word, stunning.

Most items are available in two sizes: £ small and £ large, and to emphasise that what’s on offer is ‘Italian regional cuisine’, the origin of each dish is also listed. Paying half the price for half the portion, with the potential to order twice as many items is a brilliant concept, especially when applied to a menu as good as this. However, having already developed a crush on the menu, it was hard to narrow the order down to a sensible number, even with the option of being able to opt for a selection of smaller versions.

The service was ok. After seeking advice from the sommelier we ordered a bottle of perfectly good Montepulciano and our waiter brought us over some gorgeous bread, with a very nice olive oil and no balsamic. The accompanying olives were exceptional, even the big green ones.

From where we sat in the main dining area, we had a view of the sleek and sexy marble-topped bar next to the kitchen, where other diners sat watching the chefs work their magic. The space in which we ate was nice and it was a pleasant place to talk whilst waiting for our meal. Having booked our table a month in advance, I was more than ready for it.

To start, we delved into a fantastic radish, celeriac and pecorino salad, with pomegranate and truffle oil, which was pretty and tasted so. Slithers of lamb prosciutto were even prettier, arriving on a wooden board that exuded both rusticity and elegance. The intricacy of flavour of the lamb was divine. Cresentini with finocchinona, speck and squacquerone cheese was how a toasted ham and cheese sandwich would be if it had been given a high fashion makeover.

Quite simply, all were the perfect overture to our next wave of dishes. These were the heartier choices – veal and pork agnolotti with a light meat sauce (which we should have ordered in the large version), a stew of wind-dried cod, served with what I’m sure was a piece of swordfish, and finally, the rustic pork and foie-gras sausage, with farro and porcini (which we obviously did order as a large version).

I could have eaten the pasta all night, and it was genuinely heartbreaking that we had opted for the small version. The stew was lovely, and serving it with another type of fish was a nice touch – like having a cocktail where the mixer is another spirit. Although, as expected, it was the sausage that was the highlight – juicy, meaty and flavorsome, with the bold porcini and farro backing up it’s rustic namesake. I have it on good authority that the wet polenta with sausage and pork ribs, which features on the lunch menu is also out of this world.

A quick glance at the desserts menu revealed a pudding called Sanguinaccio – a sweet pate of pig’s blood and chocolate. Of course I needed to order that.

It was so good it gave me a nosebleed.

The (what was essentially) pig’s blood nutella was wicked, but our other choice, the brioche sandwich of hazelnut, pistachio and chestnut gelati was one the best dessert I’ve even had the pleasure of eating. The accompanying dessert wine we asked the sommelier to pick for us was also heavenly.

I’m sure the espresso was very nice, but unfortunately it was cold by the time my nose had stopped bleeding. I would have liked a grappa, but we forgot.

Overall, a delight – plus one of the chefs was sexier than the menu. I wish she had found my phone.

Bocca di Lupo

12 Archer Street, W1D 7BB | 0207734 2223 | www.boccadilupo.com

Overall:

Visionary