The best things we ate and drank in March

Ixta Belfrage at The Standard (King's Cross) - King prawn lasagne with habanero oil 

Former Ottolenghi chef Ixta Belfrage has just kicked off a three-month residency at The Standard and, judging from our meal there, it's sure to be a very hot ticket. Look out for our full Test Drive next week, but in the meantime this King Prawn lasagne was the the winner of a strong parade of dishes from the pop up - a beautifully balanced creation that will quickly become the must-have dish. 

Josephine (Chelsea) - Saint-Félicien cheese soufflé

This is another restaurant where the entire meal was hugely impressive - Claude and Lucy Bosi have created something pretty special in Chelsea. Vying with the oeuf mollet en gelée for best in show, this dish just pips that for being deeply cheesy and the perfect size for such a rich concoction. A great option for a cold (or wet) spring day. 

Detroit Pizza (Dalston) - Bacon double cheeseburger pie

We'd been hearing a lot more about Detroit Pizza over the past few weeks, following their recent second opening in Islington. Deciding to get a delivery in, via the Dalston branch, demonstrated why their reputation is so strong. Of the two pies we ordered, the version which essentially translated a cheeseburger into a pizza was a meaty delight, those slices of American cheese finishing it off perfectly. Not one to have if you're trying to limit the carbs, obviously. 

Arlington (St James) - Scandinavian Iced Berries, White Chocolate Sauce

Just over a month since opening, Arlington remains a massive hit (even though they lost Jesus along the way). This was the first time we'd actually tried this classic Caprice dish. It's one of those that make you wonder what the fuss is about when you read about it. But now we've seen the light. It's essentially berries in a white chocolate soup but blimey does it taste good. The best dessert all month, for sure. 

The Murphia party (Sea Containers) - Irish beef on sticks

Yes, you might have noticed we threw a little shindig at Sea Containers Events this past month, to celebrate this year's Murphia List reveal. There were some great snacks using everything from Cashel Blue, Clonakilty black pudding and Five Farms Irish Cream, but the simplicity of the excellent Irish beef stood out. 

Hawksmoor (Air Street) - The Tunworth Royale patty melt with gherkin ketchup and shoestring onions

This month Hawksmoor launched a lot of new dishes, but only as lunchtime specials. We tried three of those, but there was one clear winner in this new patty melt, a hamburger smashed between two slices of bread. An American classic, it's been a while since we've had one, and this lived up to the anticipation. Well worth trying if you're near any of the Hawksmoors at lunchtime. 

45 Park Lane (Mayfair) - Chocolate Negroni

We were in 45 Park Lane to try out the Oscars specials (which are still available until 1 April) but we wanted to highlight one thing specifically: their Negroni Trolley. As some readers may already know, we love a bit of trolley action in restaurants and bars and this delivered one of the best negronis we've had in ages, where the strong chocolate flavour really came through. It doesn't hurt that we really covet this enormous glass too. 

65a (Spitalfields) - King prawns with lemon beurre blanc and garlic sourdough

As our Test Drive showed, there's a lot to love about a classic brasserie done very well and 65a does just that. This dish is a must if you're a seafood fan, with the sourdough being a perfect vessel for mopping up every last drop of that amazing beurre blanc sauce. 

Blacklock (Soho) - The All-In

Much like Hawksmoor above, a return trip to the original Blacklock reminded us just what we love about this place. The all-in remains both a great deal and the perfect sharing dish. However we also appreciated that, ordering the last portion of white chocolate cheesecake from one of their serving trays, they gave us the entire tray to scrape out every last bit. 

Beaverbrook Town House (Chelsea) - Room service

Who doesn't love a bit of room service? But while most hotels serve up a basic club sandwich or steak frites to their bedrooms, this Chelsea hotel goes one further with much of what's on their sushi restaurant menu available to be delivered to you without you having to take off your dressing gown. 

Coqodaq (New York) - The Bucket List

We'll have a lot more to say about our short trip to New York next week, but to give you a little taste, we'll highlight one of the hottest restaurants in Manhattan right now. Coqodaq is a very fancy fried chicken spot in mid-town that is extremely hard to get into, and we can see why. It looks amazing inside, but you're also here for the fried chicken, both the house fried version pictured above and also the soy garlic glazed version. The Bucket List set menu comes in at $38 per person which is very good value in a city which can be eye-wateringly expensive. We'll have more to say about this next week...