June was a busy affair that saw us try almost everything at Taste of London, check out the latest from Jeremy King, visit a hot new Maida Vale pub and preview the next from the Four Legs team. Here's our pick of the bunch.
Plates (Shoreditch) - Mung & urad bean lasagna, baby turnip, morel, rainbow chard, miso & chive sauce
This stunning-looking dish by Great British Menu chef Kirk Haworth appears on the tasting menu at his about-to-open Shoreditch restaurant where we got an early preview. We're still thinking about this ravioli of charcoal pasta filled with mung beans and tomato ragu with a sauce made from miso, toasted yeast and cashew milk and topped with chive oil.
SOLA (Soho) - Kanpachi with buckwheat ponzu, myoga and sansho
A return trip to the Michelin-starred SOLA for their new theatre menu meant a chance to try some of the new dishes on the menu, with this Hawaiian kanpachi (aka yellowtail) tartare, being a glorious and so very pretty addition.
Claridge's Restaurant Terrace (Mayfair) - Chef’s crumpet selection
Just in time for the temperature hotting up, the Claridge's Restaurant has just opened its Mayfair terrace, complete with a brand new menu. The Montgomery gougeres and the Claridge's Fried Chicken are recommended, but we particularly enjoyed the mini crumpets. These change daily, and on our visit included lobster cocktail and lardo & truffle. Perfect sunny weather food.
Tollington's (Finsbury Park) - Chips with bravas sauce
The devilled crab is probably going to be the must-try thing at this new opening from the Four Legs team, but on a preview visit it was this dish that really sang for us. As they've taken over an old fish and chip shop, it was particularly important that the chips were up to scratch and these were just that. Crunchy chips with excellent bravas sauce, we could have eaten these all night.
The Hero (Maida Vale) - Cod cheeks with curry sauce
The Hero, the new pub from the team behind The Pelican, is already a massive hit, filled to the brim on a Saturday lunchtime. Right now it's just the pub downstairs serving food, with the grill restaurant opening next month. But with truly excellent pub snacks like this (the curry sauce in particular was fantastic), you should pop in for a bowl of these as soon as you can.
Akira Back (Mayfair) - Wagyu fried rice with crispy garlic and sesame
There's a lot to love about the new restaurant at the fancy new Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, not least the extremely impressive looking triple-height dining room. While the signature AB tuna pizza is very good, it was this serving of fried rice with wagyu mixed in that immediately became one of our dishes of the month. Extremely moreish and almost a meal in itself, this is a side dish not to be missed.
Kioku by Endo (Whitehall) - King crab chawanmushi, ginger kaffir and yuzu
Fans of the savoury Japanese egg custard dish chawanmushi should hotfoot it to chef Endo Kazutoshi's new restaurant up on the rooftop at The OWO for this exemplary version, studded with caviar and topped with the sweetest crabmeat.
Kioku Bar (Whitehall) - Cocktails and sake
Although the restaurant at the top of the OWO gets deservedly high praise, it's also worth highlighting the excellent bar downstairs, easily one of the very best in the area (and there's decent competition there). A highlight was the Kinoko cocktail (on the left, which features Japanese whisky, sake, roasted hazelnut, mocha vinegar, cacao nibs and sake lees caramel). The bar's also an excellent place to try some unique sakes.
Meatball Challenge (Mortimer House) - Ruben's Reubens merguez meatballs
Our personal favourite of the eight meatballs we tasted at the inaugural meatball challenge was this option from Ruben's Reubens by Chef Ruben Dawnay which is currently popping up in Peckham Arches. The pickled onion topping, the baba ghanoush setting - all glorious.
The Counter (Soho) - Gently marinated tuna with tomato pulp, cherry, avocado and lumpfish roe
The Counter came in for a bit of flak this month, but we really enjoyed this, one of their signature dishes. It's pictured here before the whole thing is mixed together, creating a pitch-perfect dip.
Made in Oldstead (Delivery) - Made in Oldstead picnic, chicken liver parfait with hedgerow jelly
Now that the weather has finally arrived for picnics you couldn't do better than ordering this option from chef Tommy Bank's delivery operation. The whole picnic was impressive but what we particularly loved was the ultra-smooth parfait with a glassy jelly topping of incredible intensity.
The Park (Bayswater) - Dita di parmigiana
Destined to be a huge hit, The Park from Jeremy King features a menu with a lot of crowdpleasers but if there's one thing that has already made us think about going back, it's these deep-fried cheese fingers. Paired with a cocktail, these are the perfect bar snack.
Taste of London (Regent's Park) - Angelina's sausage and shiso leaf tempura
Once again the team at Angelina won our hearts over during the judging of this year's Taste of London's Best in Taste awards. This dish was both clever and delicious, just what we were looking for from a competitive bunch.
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