The Imperial, Kings Road, Fulham London

My latest tastecard adventures took me to a part of London that I am not too familiar with. Kings Road, Fulham. Or “The Kings Road” as it’s fondly known as. What perception is conjured up by Kings Road? Well, it was famous in the 1960’s for style icons Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren.

Nowadays, it still has a reputation for being one of London’s most fashionable shopping streets. In addition to this, it is also known as being residency for Fulham’s 4×4 mums and Made in Chelsea.

Rucoletta Italian Restaurant | Hidden Gem in the Heart of St Paul’s

I love Italian food, so was delighted when I was offered the opportunity to visit Rucoletta, a quaint Italian restaurant, just a stone’s throw from St Paul’s cathedral. What exactly is Italian food? Ask many this question and they will tell you “pasta and pizza”. Even if it were “just” pasta and pizza, I think you’d be hard pressed to find a cuisine so refined. Wikipedia states that Italian food is tomatoes, all kind of meat and fish and pecorino cheese. I was about to put this to the test.

The Wharf Restaurant, South Bank, London

Last week I visited The Wharf as part of a tastecard review with my mother.

My tastecard reviews can be hit and miss. Sometimes they are pretty decent and a surprising delight. A lot of the time Sometimes they are a bit of a bore and you wonder how the restaurant is surviving at all let alone trading with offers on. It’s worth noting that tastecard does have some high end restaurants on its portfolio such as Marco Pierre White. You tend to find that restaurants are simply wanting to fill their doors during periods of quiet – because, with the amount of restaurants we have in this country, it does happen!

Clockjack – Rotisserie Chicken in the heart of Piccadilly

Last year, the UK was still partaking in the burger revolution. I couldn’t keep up with the number of restaurants springing up dedicated to burgers, some of which I am still yet to work my way around. Meanwhile, for those that wanted something a little more “clucky”, two and a half years ago, Clockjack opened its doors in London as the first specialist rotisserie chicken restaurant featuring high tech rotisserie ovens.

I recently visited Clockjack on behalf of tastecard to sample review, on a day when I was hot-desking in London and wanted a tasty but healthy lunch which would give me energy for my gym session I had planned for the evening. Clockjack fitted the bill as it’s extremely rare that you find chicken that has been cooked in such a healthy manner.

Barbican Lounge Lunch – Hidden Gem amongst Brutalist Beast

It’s all been a bit quiet on the tastecard front recently. Work, life and finding nice places to visit has been a slight challenge – but I had a nice treat a couple of weeks ago when I took my key agency contact out for lunch around the corner from her office.

The Barbican Centre is an institution in itself. Famous for the arts and located in the City of London – it is the largest of its kind in Europe. The design of the building is Grade II listed and a brutalist style building – most people would think hideously ugly but brutalist buildings are very sought after and a big deal these days! I LOVE them.

Would you consider eating there? I wouldn’t have until last week, but largely because I didn’t know you could! However my latest tastecard adventure took me small plate exploring at their exquisitely designed Barbican Lounge.

Cristina’s Restaurant – The Best Steak in Barking

There are times where I think about my first childhood home. It was a great house. Largely because of the space. A massive loft, cellar and kitchen as well as a through lounge, in “proper” East London – Forest Gate to be exact. All this despite it being a terraced house. My parents decided we should move when I was nine years old because they didn’t rate the secondary schools in the area and wanted better schooling for me – many parents have similar challenges in life! To this day I always say “if only you could pick up your house and move it to your ideal area”. The same could be applied to restaurants in some cases.

Ardleigh and Dragon – Thai Cuisine in your Local Pub

Ardleigh and Dragon in Hornchurch, Romford is one of those restaurants you have to either know about, be told about, or stumble across to really appreciate the beauty and fresh flavours inspired by Thailand. Housed in a former pub that wasn’t really the type of venue that attracted savoury types, Orchid Pubs and Dining took over the site over seven years ago and have done a sterling job of making it a fine pub and restaurant to visit.

What’s that you say? It’s a pub and a restaurant? Yes, that’s right. When you arrive, that’s made clear from the start, with “English pub” one one side of the building and “Thai Dining” on the other. Make no mistake that the Ardleigh & Dragon intends to give its customers an authentic Thai dining experience in an English pub, with an Oriental theme throughout.

To think I grew up less than five miles away from Ardleigh and Dragon and never visited is shocking. Why did I not know about this beauty?

When Mac Met Cheese Met Elisha and Claire

So yesterday I overdosed on cheese. MASSIVELY.

After months of being nagged by my sister, we finally went to “When Mac Met Cheese“, which is a… oh right – you worked it out for yourself. Nice.

The Ape and Bird Public House, Shaftesbury Avenue, London

When I told Russell Norman that I was initially a bit sad when the Marquis of Granby pub at the top of the road where I work closed, he replied “really?” with a look of disbelief on his face. Russell, sometimes when you work in a pressured environment such as retail – closest pub for a gin and tonic takes precedence over “best location”.

It’s fair to say now that he has snagged “best location” for his latest venture of The Ape and Bird which opens next week.

The Marquis of Granby may have not been the best pub but it was an old boozer and conveniently located on the way home. You could often find most of my office stood in a circle inside or outside the pub on pretty much any evening having a drink. A drink, which would eventually lead to five. I even ate lunch there once which was a mistake. Their fish and chips were awful and unless I’m at a Wetherspoon pub or a football match, I DO NOT expect to be served condiments in sachets.

Le Relais de Venise L’Entrecôte – City of London

I made a bit of a faux pas – I went out to eat and I didn’t take photos! Imagine that! *covers face* In my defence it was a business lunch so it wasn’t really appropriate to take pics – also in the city of London with all of those toffee nosed stuck up City B-Wankers – it’s really not the sort of environment to take pics. I had to just tell you about my visit to Le Relais de Venise in Throgmorton Street, London.