BBQ Prawns @ Parrillan
A DIY dinner could sound like a swizz when you’re paying for the privilege, but not the way Barrafina do it – their table-top coal grills just add to the amusement (and ensure zero conversational lulls). Newly opened, Parrillan is the terrace outside their Coal Drops Yard branch, up on the stately viaduct level, forming its own restaurant where guests are equipped with personal portable cookers on which to char their own food once it’s been prepared by the chefs at the open kitchen-cum-bar. Think tapas meets barbecue meets fondue, with bucket loads of sherry on the side.
But before you get to work, you first need to settle in on the heated (and mostly covered) terrace. There is a satisfying list of gin and tonics, and a series of Mediterranean cocktails including the exceedingly refreshing Flore de Oro, which blends bitter orange Tanqueray gin with vermut blanco and lemon tonic. These are to be enjoyed alongside the smaller nibbles: almonds, olives, anchovies doused in olive oil, cured meats and Barrafina’s beloved tomato bruschetta (fresh, simple and gurningly good). Then you're ready for the theatrics: take your pick from a list of scallops, prawns, kidneys, prime cuts of pork and beef (the latter aged for 50 days) and vibrant vegetables like the giant peas in their pods, and then scorch at your leisure. A selection of sauces is placed on the side – make a beeline for the mojo rojo – and staff linger artfully nearby in case of hazards and to suggest cooking times.
We’re all being told to engage with our food more these days so not only is Parrillan mighty good fun but it’s bang on trend. Oh, and it’s fricking delicious, too.
Coal Drops Yard, Stable Street, London, N1C 4AB; parrillan.co.uk
Black Pudding & Apple Cheese Toasties @ Morty & Bob’s
In other Coal Drops Yard news, this week heralds the first in a series of month-long collaborations between cheese toasty gods Morty & Bob’s and some of their favourite chefs and restaurants. First up is former Esquire columnist Mark Hix, who has combined cheddar from Neal’s Yard Dairy with black pudding and apple sauce on sourdough bread, then topped it with more cheese and some spring onions. If you need a hangover cure, this should sort you out in a flash. Or, you know, if you just need some melted, heart-warming goodness. As a bonus, £2 from every sale will go to Unicef’s Yemen appeal.
Until end of May
49 Coal Drops Yard, London, N1C 4DQ; mortyandbobs.com
Lamb rump @ No. Fifty Cheyne
Is there a more attractive street in all of London than Cheyne Row? Not many, that's for sure. The spot on Chelsea Embankment is the stuff of Richard Curtis's wildest dreams. It also the location of No. Fifty Cheyne, a new restaurant from Sally Green whose eclectic CV includes the Old Vic Theatre and legendary Soho joint Ronnie Scott's.
Like those two venues, No. Fifty has the making of a London classic. Cosy as Christmas inside, the menu is full of soul-pleasing dishes like white and brown crab in shellfish roasting juices and (our fav) and excellent Herdwick lamb rump with celeriac, pistachio pesto and a hot pot. And afterwards, where best to walk off your full stomach?
50 Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, London SW3 5LR; fiftycheyne.com/
- Sam Parker
Malted Pain Au Chocolats @ Chelsea Barracks
You may find yourself somewhat spuriously showing an interest in this year’s Chelsea Flower Show when you learn that Michelin-starred chef Ollie Dabbous is running a pop-up restaurant there for the duration. In a newly renovated building (which, at some unknown point in the future will house a restaurant by a chef as yet also unknown – stay tuned), Dabbous will be bringing a task force from Hide, in Mayfair, to operate both a daytime bistro (turning into a bar with snacks come evening) and a fine dining restaurant. You will need to book for the latter, which will be well worth it for dishes like his Loch Duart salmon tartare; done with cucumber and lemon zest, it is clean and crisp with a creamy sauce that is, in fact, made with oysters, plus lovage and gin. The accompanying granita boasts eucalyptus and mint to waft through your airways like a cool sea breeze, and it’s served with what Dabbous calls “some smoke and mirrors”. Hint: dry ice.
But if you’d rather keep things simple then try breakfast in the deli, because any pastry chef who decides to make a malted pain au chocolat is, we’ll be honest, a genius in our eyes. Roasted buckwheat and malt extract are added to the buttery dough “for a little extra moreishness” and the team even makes the chocolate in the middle. No dry, disappointing morning croissants here – this thing is positively resplendent and clearly made with loving glee. Go. Devour.
21st – 25th May, 9am – 10.30pm daily
Chelsea Barracks, 1 Garrison Close, London, SW1W 8BG; chelseabarrackskitchen.com
Celebratory Mutton Chops @ Ekte
This Friday is Norway Day. Hadn’t you heard? But if you’ve forgotten to throw your own party then never fear: Ekte has you covered. This wonderful Nordic kitchen in the City’s Bloomberg Arcade will have a live DJ from 5pm to entertain any and all dinner guests, who will be able to enjoy a special three-course menu for just £35 per person. Options include cured lamb leg with peas and flat bread, hot smoked trout with pickles, grilled salmon with butter sauce, and roast mutton chops with crispy fried onions. Finish up with waffle pastry and cloudberry cream or, as we’re rather taken by, cinnamon bun ice cream. Booking is now open and, if you do so ahead of time, then you’ll get a complimentary glass of the national spirit: aquavit.
17 May; reservations from 5pm
2 – 8 Bloomberg Arcade, London, EC4N 8AR; ektelondon.co.uk
Wellington Sundays @ The Lygon Arms *
Cry sacrilege all you want, but The Lygon Arms’ decision to add beef wellington to its Sunday lunch menu – and then rename the day ‘Wellington Sundays’, for good measure – is one we can fully get behind (and not just because it’s the kind of thing that insufferable people try to get debated in the House of Commons.)
It takes a lot of chutzpah to direct everyone’s attention to a single dish – especially one so notoriously tricky to pull off – but the historic Cotswold hotel more than meets the challenge. The Lygon Bar & Grill’s ample slab of Scotch beef, recommended rare and served rarer, is rich, juicy and tender. The golden, flaky pastry is cooked perfectly. Rules exist to broken, and beef wellingtons like this deserve to be eaten any day of the week (although we’d suggest coming back to try out the 30 day aged sirloin Sunday roast, too).
Every Sunday at The Lygon Arms, High St, Broadway, WR12 7DU, lygonarmshotel.co.uk/
*Words by Nick Pope
