Recommendation for S E London
Moderators: karadekoolaid, THE MOD TEAM, Stokey Sue, Gillthepainter
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Re: Recommendation for S E London
Thanks Pampy, we had quite a few Brunning and Price places near us, and if I’m honest they are always a bit hit and miss.
I hadn’t realised that he had sold the pubs and Northcote, - I knew that he had stepped down as head chef and Lisa had taken on the role, but not that it had been sold. Now I think about it I haven’t had anything marketing wise from them for some time, probably since I moved here. I really enjoyed attending the cookery school, my OH bought me a couple of days there as a special birthday present.
We have eaten at The Clog and Billycock when it was fairly newly opened and really enjoyed our meal. What Ribble Inns offered was very innovative with the focus on traceability and local when they first started, however all the others caught up with them and they no longer seemed quite so special.
Oh well, looks like we won’t be going there when we visit in June.
BB
I hadn’t realised that he had sold the pubs and Northcote, - I knew that he had stepped down as head chef and Lisa had taken on the role, but not that it had been sold. Now I think about it I haven’t had anything marketing wise from them for some time, probably since I moved here. I really enjoyed attending the cookery school, my OH bought me a couple of days there as a special birthday present.
We have eaten at The Clog and Billycock when it was fairly newly opened and really enjoyed our meal. What Ribble Inns offered was very innovative with the focus on traceability and local when they first started, however all the others caught up with them and they no longer seemed quite so special.
Oh well, looks like we won’t be going there when we visit in June.
BB
Re: Recommendation for S E London
Interestingly, I came across this site https://www.nigel-haworth.co.uk/haworth-at-home/ when I was looking for "at home" meal boxes.
- karadekoolaid
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Re: Recommendation for S E London
It always worries me when you get a set menu and “roll and butter” is listed as an item - somehow it’s a harbinger of rock bottom mass catering with faint pretensions
Do places still impose a "cover charge"? I have to admit, there was a time when that really irked me!
Re: Recommendation for S E London
Pampy wrote:Interestingly, I came across this site https://www.nigel-haworth.co.uk/haworth-at-home/ when I was looking for "at home" meal boxes.
I do like Nigel’s cooking, I had thought that he was retiring when he stepped down at Northcote - he is obviously still very busy working.
BB
- Stokey Sue
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Re: Recommendation for S E London
karadekoolaid wrote:It always worries me when you get a set menu and “roll and butter” is listed as an item - somehow it’s a harbinger of rock bottom mass catering with faint pretensions
Do places still impose a "cover charge"? I have to admit, there was a time when that really irked me!
Stokey Sue wrote:I haven’t seen a cover charge in ages though, and most of those places where you can only have a set menu give you bread and water as a matter of course
However I just looked and the Wolseley has a £2 cover charge so they are still out there in the mainstream, I maybe don't notice them as the friend I most often ate out with and I tend to go for set menus
Re: Recommendation for S E London
I have a feeling that cover charges went when rules came in about standardisation, i.e. VAT being included in the item price and people thought therefore it was the price they'd pay. Didn't it coincide with upselling, when owners preferred to sell profitable desserts rather than people filling up on bread which became a separate charge as a disincentive and so thus to leave room for pub.
- herbidacious
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Re: Recommendation for S E London
I live near Penge. The station I use to get to the office is Penge East. There is nowhere decent to eat in Penge (ok maybe the Goldsmith's Arms) and nothing great in Sydenham (where I live) and not a lot in Beckenham (Pizza Express, Zizzi etc. There are some Turkish chain-style restaurants too but quite ordinary.) In between Penge and Beckenham is a lovely little Sicilian restaurant called Sicilian Art which has a lovely cosy atmosphere and decent food, and very friendly service.
Crystal Palace is far better. The pubs the Sparrowhawk and the Alma do the best food. (The Alma is, or was, very good.) Joanna's is not great imo although it has a lovely interior. Maybe it's better for meat and fish eaters. It's quite old fashioned...
edit: I didn't mention the Crystal Palace Market because it's not so good for vegetarians.
There are actually lots of nice places in CP though. There's a nice Sardinian restaurant - Mediterranea - (in)famous for sometimes (in the past) having Casu Maru
Belair House is worth a try. West Dulwich en route to the picture gallery so doable by train from Penge East (two stops.)
However if they have a car, the best fanciest restaurants are Babur (posh Indian food) in Honor Oak and Franklins in East Dulwich.
Of all of these, Franklins is the standout best, but quite up market. I once spotted Timothy Spall in there
All of these are subject to 'have they survived?'
Crystal Palace is far better. The pubs the Sparrowhawk and the Alma do the best food. (The Alma is, or was, very good.) Joanna's is not great imo although it has a lovely interior. Maybe it's better for meat and fish eaters. It's quite old fashioned...
edit: I didn't mention the Crystal Palace Market because it's not so good for vegetarians.
There are actually lots of nice places in CP though. There's a nice Sardinian restaurant - Mediterranea - (in)famous for sometimes (in the past) having Casu Maru
Belair House is worth a try. West Dulwich en route to the picture gallery so doable by train from Penge East (two stops.)
However if they have a car, the best fanciest restaurants are Babur (posh Indian food) in Honor Oak and Franklins in East Dulwich.
Of all of these, Franklins is the standout best, but quite up market. I once spotted Timothy Spall in there
All of these are subject to 'have they survived?'
Last edited by herbidacious on Sat May 08, 2021 6:59 pm, edited 2 times in total.
- herbidacious
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Re: Recommendation for S E London
karadekoolaid wrote:Found it. It ´s called Llewelyn´s, in Herne Hill. Here´s the link:
https://llewelyns-restaurant.co.uk/
Yes, Llewlyns is good. Also en route to Penge East on the train. 3 stops.
Re: Recommendation for S E London
herbidacious wrote:There's a nice Sardinian restaurant - Mediterranea - (in)famous for sometimes (in the past) having Casu Maru
I first came across casu maru when I lived in Sardinia. We had been invited for a meal to the house of a couple who had the older family members living with them. After we finished the dessert, grandad got up from the table and brought back something wrapped in brown paper and string, which he proceeded to unwrap and then sat quite happily digging a spoon in and eating the contents. How I kept my meal down, I don't know!
Re: Recommendation for S E London
Ughhhhh .... of course I had to look up what it is, Pampy ... and I kind of wish I hadn't, straight after my lunch
- PatsyMFagan
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Re: Recommendation for S E London
Ooh, I think I know what that is, without looking it up. I think Rick Stein tried it on one of his food tours
- Earthmaiden
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Re: Recommendation for S E London
I was reading something the other day that suggested that people used to happily eat Cheddar infested with maggots in this country. Not heard that before.
- Stokey Sue
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Re: Recommendation for S E London
Elizabeth David quotes a country woman who didn’t think feathered game like pheasant was adequately hung until maggots dropped from it
Personally I think the pendulum has swung too far the other way, and most pheasant sold in London is not hung long enough so it is tough and tasteless and nobody under 60 understands why it’s supposed to be special
Personally I think the pendulum has swung too far the other way, and most pheasant sold in London is not hung long enough so it is tough and tasteless and nobody under 60 understands why it’s supposed to be special
- herbidacious
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Re: Recommendation for S E London
Casu Moru is actually illegal, I think... I think when they did have it in the CP resto it was by invitation only.
Re: Recommendation for S E London
It's illegal to sell it or serve in restaurants, Herbi - but telling a Sardinian that something is illegal is seen as an open invitation to do it
https://www.eatcrickster.com/blog/casu-marzu
https://www.eatcrickster.com/blog/casu-marzu
Re: Recommendation for S E London
In our family older pheasant and birds shot later in the season are hung and then pot-roasted or casseroled, but we serve young pheasant without it being hung for more than a day or so, and then it’s quickly roasted and served pink ... preferably with a fruity jelly .. crab apple, Rowan, medlar etc ... delicious.
- herbidacious
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Re: Recommendation for S E London
Pampy wrote:It's illegal to sell it or serve in restaurants, Herbi - but telling a Sardinian that something is illegal is seen as an open invitation to do it
https://www.eatcrickster.com/blog/casu-marzu
I thought it was pretty much illegal full stop. Local restaurateur got round it by not officially having it on the menu. Question is how did he get it into the country? Well one can imagine, but it doesn't bear thinking about!
- Stokey Sue
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Re: Recommendation for S E London
When we and Sardinia were both in the EU almost nobody was stopped coming across the border were they? And if you were stopped I imagine:-
What’s in this big Tupperware?
Just some of nonna’s home made cheese
Cor, bit whiffy innit!
What’s in this big Tupperware?
Just some of nonna’s home made cheese
Cor, bit whiffy innit!
- herbidacious
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Re: Recommendation for S E London
Grace Dent reviewed the Alma, which I mentioned earlier, in the Guardian today. Rave review, I'd say.
https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/m ... fgcLAaz9WY
https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/m ... fgcLAaz9WY
Re: Recommendation for S E London
BusyBee - it seems that Nigel has taken over The Three Fishes again - https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/n ... b-country/
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