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Marrakesh: NOMAD restaurant review

Posted on August 4, 2016 by Farrah Kelly

I’m not entirely sure, but I think the way we got the best seat in the house might have been because I pestered the reservations team on the day of Eid. Panicking,as I’m wont to do when it comes to reservations, I’d sent a flurry of emails trying to get a table for the 6th of July- Eid ul Fitr 2016- before a quick consultation with the NOMAD Facebook page informed me they were going to be closed that day to celebrate with their families.

Ah. I emailed (a fourth time, now) to apologise for harassing them, and Eid Mubarak while I’m at it.

When we were led to our table on the 7th, semi-private with a tiny terrace overlooking ‘Spice Square’, glowing lanterns overhead- I couldn’t help but wonder if this was chance, or if they took pity on my gushing, rushing emails and let me have the loveliest spot as a quiet nod to my desperation to have a perfect evening.

Or maybe it’s just that every table feels especially laid out for you here. That’s quite possible.

The sun, melting into the sky throughout the evening, threw a golden light across our table and tempted the mojitos from the menu and into my hand.

We ordered the tagine, lamb burger, roasted fennel and greens.

It was all excellent. The tagine is a modern- read, ‘deconstructed’- take. I was a touch worried about ordering this- this kind of modernisation of any tried and tested tradition can feel a little dehydrated- a Masterchef wannabe trying to reinvent old favourites with foams and microveg and sous vides- but am pleased to report that this was nothing of the sort.

A refreshing twist on the hearty tagines of Marrakesh, the chicken is succulent and slowly cooked. The sauce is a little sweet, offset nicely by the tiny bowl of a spicy, velvety dipping sauce. I devoured it.

Nomad’s burger received lipsmacking rounds of approval from Jonathan- who also doubles as your local friendly burger aficionado, so you know you can trust him on it. We’d seen many attempts at ‘western’ junk food- dreary pizzas and so on- but this, possibly Marrakesh’s best burger, uses the best of Moroccan and American flavours blended.

Sweets were verbena leaf and spiced chocolate sorbets, and saffron and ginger ice creams. These stood head and shoulders above ice cream we’d tried elsewhere- the flavours fresh and interesting- at once complementary to the warmth of our main’s flavours and also a pleasant final note of sweet soothing cold to round of an evening of hot food.

Food finished, we sank back into our seats and watched the sun ease itself away from the peak of the sky to behind the pink-orange buildings, gently lowering across the corrugated roofs and satellite dishes that pepper the horizon.

As the light turns from crisp blue to melting pale purple into darkness, candles and lanterns illuminate the restaurant. This restaurant is so pretty- it took every ounce of restraint not to try to Instagram it from every angle (disclaimer: this is nonsense, I absolutely did try. I had to stop when the food arrived so I could, y’know, eat.)

In short, this was an absolute belter of a meal. Romantic, not fussy, delicious and beautiful, which makes it a ten out of ten for me.

NOMAD, Place des Epices, Marrakesh.

L’ETO Caffe, South Kensington London Review

Posted on April 28, 2015 by Farrah Kelly

L’ETO Caffe has one of those windows that you don’t just walk past. You double take, retrace your steps, and gawp in the window for a moment. Then, if you’re anything like me (i.e. total lack of self restraint) you head straight in to order a cake to go.

So when news came by that they don’t just serve perfectly formed cakes, but also a full dinner menu, I thought that I owed L’ETO Caffe the courtesy of at least taking them for a date before I leered at their baked goods.

I started, as every good meal should, with a cocktail.

My passionfruit copacabana was creamy, just a little bit sweet, and lasted me the whole menu. It was like a lighter Baileys, with just a touch of fruitiness. This might not be the greatest description in the world, so you’ll have to take my word for it, or go down and try it out yourself

For starters, we were both feeling fishy.

That’s Jonathan digging into his crab and avocado salad before I got a chance to photograph it in it’s pristine glory, and on the bottom is my tuna tartare- which, puzzingly, was spelt TAR-TAR on their menu. Have I lost my mind, or is this weird?

Spellings aside, it was lush. Generous portions of meltingly good tuna and a really sharp sauce to contrast the avocado. Jonathan’s salad was nice- though the soy and lime dressing didn’t blow my mind- I like my dressings potent, not gentle. I’ll stick to my tune tar tar/tatare.

Mains were a game affair.

Jonathan was boring and had a steak. With so many cool other things on the menu, amazing pastas and all sorts of slow cooking going on, I was hoping he’d go for something more adventurous I could pinch a few forkfulls of, but steak it was. He enjoyed it, in any case.

I had veal’s cheek, slow braised (how else?), on lemon potato creme, with a five spice jus. The veal was lush, falling apart at the meerest glimpse of my fork. The potato- essentially posh mash- was amazing. I would never have expected to love lemon potato mash- it sounds like a Blumenthal pudding- but I did. Top marks, L’ETO.

The main event in L’ETO is the desserts. I’ll let the cakes do the rest of the talking.

After some serious discussion, Jonathan and I made the most important decision of the day. I went for L’ETO’s famous honey cake, and Jonathan had the chocolate cake.

Aww shit.

They were, obviously, perfect. The honey cake was light, crisp, fluffy and insanely moreish. The chocolate cake was decadent, the way all chocolate cakes try to be, and the little squidge of sharp raspberry jam in the centre was like finding a little treasure chest of fruitiness. We fought over who got to eat the last spoonfuls of each, and nursed our full stomachs off into the night…

L’ETO Caffe, Brompton Road and across London.

STK, London Review

Posted on April 23, 2015 by Farrah Kelly

I may be a million years late to noticing this, but there really is something to be said for a restaurant that does one thing, and does it well. Industry bods might call it a ‘hero menu’, but little old me simply calls it a ‘good idea’.

I mean, I’ve been let down before. Shoddy ramen at ramen restaurant Tonkotsu left me running back to ramen gods Bone Daddies weeping a promise to never leave them again. So it really sucks when you go into a place, scan the three item menu, and they manage to somehow cock it up.

I feel like that’s what happens when tourists go to (shudder) Angus Steakhouse and the ilk for their meat fix. Which brings me to, gloriously, my new favourite steak restaurant, STK.

They do other things- range of starters, few bits for the vegetarians in house- but, as you can well imagine, the main event here is the meat. I popped down to their last blogger evening with some foodie friends for a cocktail masterclass and a steak step-by-step chef experience. Forks at the ready.

After knocking back a lovely, sweet and light Vanilla and Goji cocktail, we headed behind the bar to make our own STK Martini.

Needless to say I was better at drinking them than I was at making them. Though Mary might’ve pipped me to the post on the martini-o-meter, I still think I did pretty well.

Thanks Mary for the photos and for the shake off!

We then snuck past the waiters to go into the STK kitchens. I’ve worked in restaurants before, so I know I shouldn’t still be wowed by them, but they do look impressive. And they’re hotter than the centre of the sun, so half the wow-factor comes from sheer disbelief that anyone could work in there.

Head chef Jared took us through the differences between USDA and wagyu meat, gave us a quick lesson in knife skills and a tour of the kitchen, and spent the rest of his time fielding aggressive questions from us bloggers on why we couldn’t make our Tesco value steaks taste as good as his. He was gracious, funny, and had a corking accent. Nice guy!

Wagyu vs USDA #meatmeatbaby #steak #STKLondon

A photo posted by Farrah Kelly (@farrahkelly) on Apr 14, 2015 at 1:22pm PDT

We’d worked up an appetite watching the orders come and go, so after poking around, chopping, a bit of frying, and bribing the chefs to give me the best cut of meat, we went back upstairs for our dinner.

The steak. It was about four times as much as I would have expected. This is SO much food, and it took a good me a good long while to get through it. Obviously, I ordered rare. I don’t usually like ordering rare because I’ve been burned before by bad steak, but having seen the chefs in action, I felt as though I could trust’em, and they delivered. It tasted exactly how a rare steak should, and the sides were all fab (I didn’t get a look in on the mac n cheese, but the speed the sharing dish went down with speaks volumes)

And finally for dessert, a deconstrcuted STK snickers bar. This was weird and wonderful and I wish I’d ordered about seven of them- not because they weren’t filling (the beef had seen to that), but because if there was any way I could’ve snuck them into my pocket to have one a day for the rest of the week, I would have found it.

After my visit to STK, I feel like charging into the Leicester Square Angus Steakhouse and Pied-Pipering them all the way to Holborn, so they can actually experience London’s best steak, and not just an unmet promise.

STK London, 336 Strand

Where to eat in London

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Farrah Kelly

If you’re looking for a place to eat in London, it can be really hard to avoid the rubbish restaurants. They’re everywhere, and give you absolutely no idea of how Londoners actually eat. No, we are not Pizza Hut, and no, we are certainly not queuing for Angus Steakhouse.

Instead, we’re sneaking off from the hoards of tourists looking lost in Leicester Square and heading to our favourite jaunts. Sure, we have to wait 45 minutes for a table, but if it’s that or a stale pizza-buffet, I know which one I’d choose.

You’re in Covent Garden

My favourite place in TheatreLand to eat is definitely Shackfuyu. They’re definitely flavour of the month with Londoners at the minute, if Grace Dent’s review is anything to go by (it is). Order at least three things per person and pig out on their incredible Japanese inspired dishes. You’re definitely meant to play with your food here, so get stuck in. Website here.

You’re in Kensington

Dirty Bones is to die for, and many of my friends have noticed my next-level obsession with them since my visit earlier this year. I’ve been back a few times since that review, and I just love it. Classic, dreamworthy American comfort food, my faves are the dirty fries and the Kimchee Dog. Will there ever be something on that menu that doesn’t make me drool? No. Go immediately.

You’re in Clapham

Firstly, Clapham is massive. Once you’ve figured out which part of Clapham you’re in, mission your way over to Southsider for amazing cocktails (Happy Hour until 8pm every night, toot toot), then when you’re nice and drunk head to the Roxie. They’re usually pretty quiet for Clapham Junction, and the platters are such good value for gorgeous steak medallions.

You’re in Brixton

You need to be in Brixton Market, where you have a million choices. The best place in Brixton Market, for me, is Chicken Liquor. It never lets me down and no matter how many ties I try and recreate the Korean fried wings I’m yet to master it. My top tip for Chicken Liquor is to forget the cutlery and accept the messiness. If the queue is too long here though, you’re in a good spot as I’ve never heard a bad word about any of the places in the Market. Then, go to Kaff Bar for the best five quid mojitos ever.

You’re in London Bridge

Um, duh. London Bridge can seem like a crap area for food, but actually is home to one of the most famous foodie spots in the country- the market. Go to Borough Market if you need something cheap and cheerful, or if you’re pining for something snazzier, whizz up the Shard for dreamy views, cocktails and food. I like the food at Hutong best, and they do a v reasonable lunch set menu.

You’re in Kings Cross

I have a real soft spot for Bonnie Gull. It’s this kinda refined seafood place that’s got a lotta sea-shanty vibes with less demon seagulls, and more delicate slurpy oysters. Wander up to Exmouth Market for a dainty dinner where you also get to wield a hammer (with good reason!)

You’re fucking lost

So you’re God-knows-where in London. That’s fair, doesn’t mean you’ve got to eat rubbish. Chains in London have loads of seriosuly good competion to be dealing with, so they’re really some of the best in the country. My favourites are all over the show, so check the locations for:

Wahaca- fast casual Mexicana for those with a burrito inclination.
Breakfast Club- loud and easy diner with epic breakfasts and chuggable cocktails
Pho- it’s not as tasty or as cool as Bone Daddies, but these bad boys are everywhere and they’re pretty good bang for your buck.
Byron- good, solid burgers that are reliably tasty and pretty reasonable. And everywhere.

No doubt I’ve heinously undersold a fabulous spot- and as you may have noticed I’m definitely a south-of-the-river girl- so apologies in advance for any angry foodies who are outraged I’ve missed a trick. Let me know where I should’ve included and I PROMISE I’ll go there soon!