Zucca - April 2012

Bermondsey Street (South of of the river) has apparently become a destination for foodies! Having read excellent reviews about Zucca, my hubby and I decided to give it a go! The restaurant has become so popular that it is hard to get a table on a Saturday evening. Our reservation was for 7pm but when we walked by the restaurant at around 6pm, it was fairly busy already!
My hubby and I decided to share 3 starters between us and then we each chose our own main course.
For starters, we ordered zucca fritti (fried pumkin), Carpaccio of Sea Bass and Crispy Pork Belly. For main course, my hubby ordered Grilled Veal Chop and I ordered grilled lamb.

Before our starters arrived we were given some bread and frittata which were both excellent.

The starters were excellent, especially the zucca fritti which were pretty light like tempura.

Bread

The foccacia and the bread stick were delicious!

Frittata

The complementary frittata was moist and very tasty.

Zucca Fritti

The zucca fritti is so light. It is a dish I would order each time I come here as it is so nice!

Carpaccio of Sea Bass

The Carpaccio of Sea Bass  was nice and fresh. I can eat very spicy food but there might be a bit too much chilies for some people who can't handle chilies.

Crispy Pork Belly

The Crispy Pork Belly was crispy on the outside but still moist inside. It was very yummy.

Grilled Veal Chop with Spinach

The Veal Chop was nicely cooked, still a bit pink and the spinach was also very good.

Grilled Lamb

The grilled lamb was excellent, it was served pink with a mint sauce and mixed vegetables.

Almond and Plum Tart with Vanilla Ice Cream

The Almond and Plum tart was very good. The base was still very crispy.

Rhubarb and Hazelnut Cake

The Rhubarb and Hazelnut Cake was very nice and moist. 

The service was efficient. The food is simple but nicely cooked and with good ingredients. The bill came to £76 excluding services but including 3 glasses of Chianti (and tap water). The price is much more reasonable than the River Cafe for the same type of food!

The meal was very enjoyable and we certainly would like to come back again if we manage to get a table! 

Zucca

184 Bermondsey Street

London SE1 3TQ

Tel: 020 7378 6809

http://zuccalondon.com/

Opera Tavern - April 2012

On Saturday 7th April 2012, we went to Opera Tavern for lunch as we read some very good reviews about this restaurant which serves Tapas. The restaurant is on two levels: ground floor and 1st floor. The four of  us were shown a table on the ground floor. The tables on the ground floor are rather small considering that we need a lot of space for tapas!

We were advised to order 3 tapas per person so we followed the advice. This is what we ordered: 1) Crispy Pigs Ears, 2) Boquerones, 3) 2 Mini Iberico Burgers, 4) Chorizo with Piquillo, 5) Pinchos Morunos, 6) Jamon Iberico, 7) Jamon Croquettes, 8) Lamb Special, 9) Courgette Flowers, 10) Crispy Egg, 11) Classic Tortilla, 12) Patata Fritas 13) Bread and 14) Mix Salad.

Crispy Pigs Ears

The Crispy Pigs Ears were fun to eat...but maybe not for those who don't have good teeth!

Jamon Croquettes

The Jamon Croquettes were light and very moist inside. The Aioli that came with the dish was excellent.

Pinchos Morunos

This Iberico pork skewer was slightly dry, perhaps it was slightly overcooked.

Boquerones

The marinated anchovies were very nice.

Chorizo with Piquillo

The grilled chorizo with piquillo was excellent! It's one of these dish I wish there was more...

Jamon Iberico

Disappointingly, the Jamon Iberico wasn't the best we've had!

Mini Iberico Burger

These mini Iberico burgers were excellent, the meat was very juicy and tasty!

Grilled Bread

The grilled bread came with aioli and olive oil. The bread was very nice.

Courgette Flowers

The courgette flowers stuffed with cheese was an excellent dish.

Patata Fritas

The patata fritas were not what we expected to see but they were very nice eaten with aioli.

Crispy Egg

The crispy egg served with grilled spring onion was nice enough but not a wow.

Lamb Special

The special lamb was served  pink with some potatoes was nice but not special!

Classic Tortilla

The classic tortilla was excellent. It was very moist inside, slightly runny even!


For dessert, our guests were full so my hubby and I ordered an Affogato and Poached Rhubarb to share between us. The desserts were OK but again not special.

Affogato

Poached Rhubarb

Lunch  was enjoyable enough, there were some excellent dishes.  The food was good but maybe not sensational for the price! The bill came to £130 for the 4 of us including two glasses of red wine (but with tap water). On the same weekend, we went to Royal China for dim-sum and the bill came to £92 for the 4 of us (this includes 2 portions of egg tarts to take away!). The meal at Royal China was much more enjoyable for less money. 

The service was efficient and friendly. The waitress who took our order came to ask us several times whether we were enjoying our food. 

I would definitely recommend this place for tapas if you don't mind paying this kind of money as the food is good, but £32 per person for a quick lunch is rather expensive.

Opera Tavern

23 Catherine Street

London WC2B 5JS

Tel: 020 7836 3680

http://www.operatavern.co.uk/

So Restaurant & Sushi - April 2012

Last saturday our friends introduced us to a Japanese restaurant which they would describe as middle range Japanese restaurant in terms of price.
So Restaurant describes itself as contempory Japanese with hints of European cuisine. The menu offers Starters, Main Courses and also Sushi and Sashimi.
All of us enjoy eating Japanese food but none of us is an expert in Japanese cuisine so we decided to share a platter of Sushi & Sashimi (designed for three people for £68) as a starter. Each of us then chose our own main course. One of our friends ordered Black Cod in Saikyo Miso. The other friend and I ordered Una-Ju (Grilled Eel served on a bed of rice with Teriyaki sauce). My hubby ordered Iberico Pork.
The sushi and sashimi were of high quality, the fish and sea-food were very fresh. We all enjoyed the sushi and sashimi very much.
As for the main courses, I got to taste my friend black cod dish which was excellent. It was very tasty and delicately cooked. My Eel dish was also excellent. This is a classic dish which everyone thought was superbly cooked. The Iberico Pork dish was also very good. I love eating Iberico pork! This way of marinating the pork in miso and then grilled it is an excellent way of cooking it. The dish was very flavoursome.

Sushi and Sashimi platter for 3 people

(10 pieces of Nigiri, 2 rolls and 25-30 pieces of sashimi)

Black Codin Saikyo Miso

(Grilled Black Cod marinated in Saikyo Miso)

Iberico Pork

(Soft textured grilled Iberico Pork in marinate miso for a melt in your mouth flavour)

Una-Ju

(Grilled Eel served on a bed of rice with Teriyaki sauce)

The service was adequat but I have a small criticism with regards to the way they served us the tap water. While they are happy to provide us with tap water to drink, the waitress didn't leave the carafe of water on our table for us to help ourselves. As she wasn't very attentive on keeping our glass filled, it was always a bother for us to catch her attention to ask her for more water. At the end, we asked her to leave the carafe on the table, she eventually did it but with a lot of insistence on our part!

The bill came to around £220 for the four of us including a bottle of Sake (but with Tap water). The service was also included.

All in all, we enjoyed our meal very much and would definitely come back.

So Restaurant and Sushi

3-4 Warwick Street

London W1B 5LS

Tel: 020 7292 0767

http://www.sorestaurant.com/