London Restaurants | London Guide

SO UK Celebrates Its Tenth Anniversary with A Full Refurbishment

Sumptuous North African themed bar SO.UK will celebrate its tenth anniversary this month and owners Leslie Chapman and Leslie Ash have ordered a full refurbishment in honour of it.  The first style bar to open in Clapham ten years ago, SO.UK is a South-West London institution and with an updated look and brand new menu it looks set to continue as one of the best neighbourhood bars for many more decades to come.
 
Lee and Leslie have owned bars and restaurants for over 10 years, with previous ventures including private members club and restaurant, Teatro, and JuJu, a stylish Chelsea champagne and cocktail bar that they still currently own.   They have personally designed the refurbishment of SO.UK themselves and no expense or detail has been overlooked.  New design features will include inlaid gold leaf on the elevated DJ booths, several walls and alcoves.  The walls have been painted in warming browns and neutral greys creating a relaxing and calming atmosphere, with the opulence of the East supplied by the low slung brass round tables, antique Moroccan pendant lamps and blue, grey and beige marble tiled floor.
 
Guests can recline in comfort on the plush velvet, leather and chenille cushions scattered on the snakeskin-lined banquettes.  In honour of their birthday SO.UK have also created a tenth anniversary cocktail which is a traditional Moroccan mint tea with a modern twist. Served hot in a teapot this delicious concoction of Apples, Cinnamon, Fresh Mint, Orange Juice, Rum, Cinnamon Liqueur and Grand Marnier is the perfect seasonal drink, as the long winter nights start to draw in.  They are also offering a selection of cocktail jugs for a limited period in honour of their birthday with mixtures such as Mojitos, Raspberry Collins and Mango Mai Tai for an extremely reasonable £14.95 for six glasses before 9pm.
 
SO.UK also offers a delicious Pan-Asian food menu including delights such as Steamed Prawn Dumplings, Soft Shell Crab and assorted Noodle, Stir-fry and Curry dishes.  Food is extremely good value, with dishes starting at £2.50.  With Christmas party season almost upon us, SO.UK is the ideal place to book all types of events, whether large or small. 
 
Head down to SO.UK and be transported to a Bedouin paradise.
 
SO.UK
165 Clapham High Street
London
SW4 755

Tel: 020 7622 4004
www.soukclapham.co.uk
 

Phoenix Palace Chinese Restaurant

Phoenix Palace Chinese Restaurant has been providing first class authentic Chinese cuisine in a luxurious vibrant oriental backdrop for many years. The restaurant is a popular venue for both Asian and British diners and is host to many famous dignitaries from around the world. In August 2009, the restaurant embarked on a major refurbishment project which included a fully modernised new kitchen.
 
Improved guest facilities include exquisitely decorated new restrooms, a new cloakroom, baby changing facilities, wireless broadband access, a spacious entrance lobby area and disabled facilities which include a disabled toilet and a ramp pathway* at the front entrance.
 
David Chan, General Manager at Phoenix Palace said: ‘We have served the local community and our loyal customer base for many years and have listened to their needs. A new shop front is the final part of our refurbishment and will include a ramp pathway to allow easier access for wheelchairs and families with young children. Not many Chinese restaurants in London provide this facility and we are extremely proud to deliver this service to our customers.’
 
The restaurant is lavishly decorated with authentic historical artistic wooden carvings, oriental lighting and artwork, marble flooring, cultural decorations and quality traditional oriental furnishings. In line with the refurbishment, Phoenix Palace has updated their branding to include a new website, a new logo in brown, yellow and gold tones and the distinguishable circular signature logo remains strong within each element of design and décor.
 
David Chan comments: ‘We worked really hard in the refurbishment period to update the restaurant with modernised facilities and maintain its traditional oriental vibe. We are extremely pleased with the results and the restaurant is more beautiful than ever. We strive to work hard in continuing to serve our loyal customer base and look forward to welcoming new customers to experience Phoenix Palace.’
 
Phoenix Palace can cater for up to 250 covers, seated comfortably and spaciously, has two private function rooms, a mezzanine dining area and a spacious lobby area near the bar for cocktail receptions.
 
The ‘Palace’ function room can hold up to 30 people seated and the ‘Phoenix’ function room can seat up to 12 people. Both rooms hold premium plasma screens and a karaoke system which can be used for social parties as well as corporate conferences or seminars.
 
Menu
Phoenix Palace has 8 different menus and a well stocked wine list. There is the A La Carte menu, Dim-Sum menu, Chef’s Specials, In-house Set menu, Party menu, Deluxe menu, the popular Banquet/Wedding menu and a Take-away menu.
 
Signature dishes include Traditional Roasted Suckling Pig with Jelly Fish, Baked fresh Lobster with Noodles, Five Spices Pork Belly with Peking Buns, Pan Fried Black Cod Fillet with Asparagus, Steamed Chilean Sea Bass Fillet with Tientsin Cabbage & Garlic and from the Dim-sum menu: Wasabi Prawn Dumplings and Pan Fried Cheung Fun with Yellow Chives.  The restaurant also offers a variety of game dishes like wild boar, venison, kangaroo and Ostrich meat to name but a few. Fresh oriental vegetables are available daily.
 
With a choice of over 300 dishes and an accommodating one-level capacity, Phoenix Palace is an ideal choice for special occasions. The restaurant hosts a large number of functions throughout the year including Wedding Receptions, Seminars & Conferences, Birthday parties, Corporate Business meetings, Christmas parties and other special celebrations. Tailor-made menus can be provided for party bookings as well as decorations, balloons and other bespoke requests.
 
London Restaurant Festival**
Phoenix Palace is taking part in the inaugural London Restaurant Festival which takes place on 8-13 October 2009. A special Festival Menu** will be available at Phoenix Palace during the festival week where customers can devour some of the restaurant’s signature dishes at a set price of £15 for lunch or £25 for dinner for six-courses.
 
David Chan, General Manager at Phoenix Palace comments: ‘We are very happy to support the first London Restaurant Festival. With so much choice in eating out in London, the restaurant menu needs to capture everyone’s unique taste buds. Phoenix Palace has 8 different menus and over 300 dishes to choose from which shows the diverse range of Chinese cuisine that we can offer. Everyone’s palate is different – there is certainly something for everyone at Phoenix Palace – and the Festival menus offer just a sample of what we are about and why customers return again and again.’
 
Phoenix Palace Chinese restaurant is open seven days a week:
Monday to Saturday 12pm-11.30pm  
Sunday and Bank holidays 11am-10.30pm
 
Dim-sum is served daily:
Monday to Saturday 12pm-5pm         
Sunday and Bank holidays 11am-5pm
 
The restaurant is outside the congestion zone in between Baker Street and Marylebone train stations. There is parking available outside the restaurant and the nearest NCP car park is just next door.
 
For further information on Phoenix Palace Chinese Restaurant, 5-9 Glentworth Street, London NW1 5PG please visit the website at www.phoenixpalace.co.uk or email info@phoenixpalace.co.uk.
 
For restaurant reservations and enquiries please telephone 020 7486 3515.

Shawarma arrives at Paddington

Middle Eastern fast-food restaurants are becoming increasingly popular in the UK, and within 20 years may rival Indian takeaways[1].  Tony Kitous, founder of Comptoir Libanais, is not surprised as he opens the doors of his latest branch in Paddington and finds commuters departing from their usual fast food choices in favour of Comptoir Libanais’ zingier and healthier options, all available at fabulously affordable prices.

 An exotic and exciting mix of Middle Eastern café, shop and delicatessen, Comptoir Libanais has a touch of the souk about it. Fabulously fresh and authentic food from delicious baked breads to colourful mezze plates jostle for space with embroidered handbags from Marrakech and a vast array of specialist ingredients. 
However, the most exciting arrival at Paddington is the introduction of Middle Eastern staple, the classic shawarma. Driving out the dreadful doner kebab with its reputation for grease and unidentifiable processed meat, the shawarma features fresh cuts slowly grilled on a spit so it stays juicy and bursting with flavour.
These authentic culinary creations are not just for picking up on your way home after a night of drinking. The Comptoir shawarma should be savoured and appreciated. Only quality ingredients are used including marinated Aberdeen Angus beef and corn fed chicken. These are combined with tomatoes, red onion and parsley or aubergine and lettuce with yoghurt and cucumber, before being wrapped in a soft flatbread.

 At just £4.50 per wrap, the shawarma represents excellent value and, as the Paddington Comptoir Libanais is fully licensed, you can enjoy it with a chilled bottle of Almaza pilsener, the only beer brewed in The Lebanon. Alternatively, choose from a succinct selection of Lebanese Massaya wines or why not bring your own – no corkage charges apply!

Alongside the shawarma, Comptoir Libanais continues to provide an oasis of Middle Eastern flavours that have gained a loyal following. Delicous mezze plates, salads, dips, breads and pastries reveal why the cuisine is often sited as one of the world’s healthiest, with dishes typically using an abundance of fresh fruit, vegetables, herbs, lemon juice and spices rather than heavy sauces. Choices include hommos with pitta; lamb kibbeh - minced lamb wheat parcel with pine nuts & onion, with yoghurt & tahina sauce; tabbouleh – chopped parsley, tomatoes, mint & spring onions with lemon & olive oil dressing.
 
Comptoir Libanais is also open for breakfast and offers some exciting alternatives to the traditional toast and sugar loaded muffins prolific on the high street. Take advantage of the free WiFi with a coffee and a zaatar or halloumi croissant or indulge in savoury Man’oucha flat bread. The more adventurous can enjoy a typical Arabian street breakfast of crushed beans & chickpeas with olive oil or Eggs with Awarma - two fried eggs with slow cooked lamb and pitta.

Although Comptoir Libanais is the perfect takeaway, the canteen’s fresh interior may beg you to settle in for a little longer with 30 covers being provided by bench seating and intimate tables.  True to its roots, Tony Kitous has chosen those materials that you would find in a typical Lebanese café including specially imported tiles, short metal stools and formica-topped tables, all given a modern touch though the use of contemporary graphics and bright flashes of orange and turquoise, together with Comptoir Libanais’ trademark mural inspired by a Middle Eastern movie star, Sirine.

 Don’t forget to browse the market with its floor-to-ceiling shelves showcasing a treasure trove of products from across the Middle East, from harissa to halva, tahini to Turkish Delight and chocolate to cookbooks.

 Open from 8am until 12pm everyday, Comptoir Libanais signals a positive change in modern convenience dining, providing new, exciting alternatives for breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea through to dinner and late night bites.

Comptoir Libanais, 26 London Street, London, W2 1HH
0207 262 1111
 www.lecomptoir.co.uk

London Restaurants Celebrating Diwali

Diwali, also known as the ‘festival of lights’, is one the most important dates in the Hindu calendar. A reaffirmation of hope and renewed commitment to friendship and goodwill, Diwali is a celebration of the simple, and not so simple, joys of life.
Falling on the 17th October this year, London’s most innovative Indian restaurant, The Cinnamon Club and fine-dining Malaysian restaurant, Awana, are serving fantastic festival menus over Diwali, inviting diners to gather their nearest and dearest for lunches and dinners of indulgent revelry.

AWANA

Situated in the heart of Chelsea, Awana’s decadent Diwali menu, showcasing six dishes, is unbelievable value at just £13.50 per person.
Created by executive chef Mark Read, Awana’s Diwali dishes are all beautifully presented with banana leaves. Offerings include deep fried king fish marinated in turmeric, curry powder, ginger and garlic; stir fried corn-fed chicken with spices, curry leaf, oyster sauce and dark soy; curried lentil and root vegetables flavoured with coriander and mint; chilled cucumber salad with onion, chilli, carrot and coconut milk; and stewed spinach with aubergine, potato, curry leaf, birds eye chilli and coconut, served alongside steamed fragrant rice.

Available from 13th - 21st October and at just £13.50 there is no reason not to make the most of this amazing menu.

Awana, 85 Sloane Avenue, London SW3 3DX

020 7584 8880 www.awana.co.uk

THE CINNAMON CLUB

Housed in the Old Westminster Library, the grandeur of The Cinnamon Club is a wonderful setting in which to honour the pleasure of savouring modern Indian cuisine at the top of its genre. Head chef Hari Nagaraj, under the guidance of executive chef Vivek Singh, has created a luxurious Diwali five-course set menu, showcasing a collection of the restaurant’s finest creations.
From an appetiser of pumpkin and pine nut ravioli in pumpkin and coconut soup; to a starter of rose petal and poppy seekh with yoghurt kebab; main of aubergine steak and tandoori paneer with morel and peas; and second main of grilled cauliflower with tandoori broccoli and chutney pilau, diners will discover why The Cinnamon Club is heralded as one of London’s most exciting and innovative Indian restaurants. A trio of traditional Indian desserts – rice kheer, apple jalebi and caramelised milk dumpling, followed by coffee and petit fours completes the menu, ensuring this is one of life’s greatest pleasures.

The Cinnamon Club’s Diwali Menu is available from 12th – 17th October and is £45 per person.
The Cinnamon Club, The Old Westminster Library, 30-32 Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3BU

020 7222 2555 www.cinnamonclub.com

Virgin1 turns up the heat with Restaurant In Our Living Room

When is it on people? Thursdays, 9pm on Virgin1

Virgin1 unveils hot new series Restaurant In Our Living Room this October, a programme truly designed to tickle your tastebuds.  This new concept in competitive dining sees culinary couples going head-to-head to create the ultimate dining experience in their own homes.

However, this is no intimate dinner party – this is dining out credit-crunch style. Couples will be opening their homes to complete strangers but will they decide to cater for 60 diners or just a table of 2?  All contestants know is that they have a strict budget and just three days to transform their homes into a fully-functioning restaurant, and it’s really not as easy as it looks! This is dining out with a difference, guests only have to pay what they think the meal is worth and the winning couple is the one which takes the most on the night.

In each episode two pairs of food fanatics are pitted against each other to create the best Restaurant In Our Living Room. The series is inspired by real underground restaurants, or supper clubs, where disillusioned foodies, fed up with over-priced, over-hyped restaurants, are fighting the recession by opening their kitchens to paying customers. Even celebrities are tucking in, with Jo Wood creating her own home restaurant this summer serving customers organic fare straight from her Richmond garden.

It’s up to each couple what they serve, and the pressure of catering in their own home leads contestants to draw upon a range of innovative tactics to win.  Viewers will see everything from outrageous themed nights and seven course gastronomy to the ruthlessly practical. From pet hairs in the wine and tongue-reading at an organic health themed night to a drive-thru diner with a chuck-wagon, a Bollywood evening and an Italian feast complete with opera singers, whatever is on the menu these couples will go to almost any lengths to get diners opening their wallets. 

Everything is at stake as guests take everything from service, entertainment and restaurant design into account when paying their bill. Was the food more greasy spoon than Michelin star? Or the service closer to Fawlty Towers than Oxo Tower? It’s up to the diners to decide.

When service closes, the two couples meet to share their experiences from the heat of the kitchen. Once takings have been counted the winning restaurant and ultimate foodie prize are revealed – a meal anywhere in the world at one of the globe’s finest restaurants.

Each week the Facebook fan page will be feature money saving tips, hints and recipes. You can become a fan here:

THE RESTAURANT IN OUR LIVING ROOM USER MAP

You can also be a part of the hottest foodie trend of the moment – ‘pop up’ restaurants with the Restaurant In Our Living Room user map. This concept offers a way for existing or prospective restaurateurs/diners/sellers to get in touch with each other and discover what is available in their area.
 
Be a Host:
Decide a theme, put your details online and then set up a dining room in your home. Food suppliers and potential diners can then contact you for more details
 
Be a Seller:
Are you an allotment owner with a ton of veg for sale, or perhaps you keep bees and have pots of honey that would be perfect for glazing and basting? If so, get in touch with Hosts via this site.
 
Be a Diner:
If you’re after a dining experience with a difference, and want to be a part of Virgin1’s biggest pop up restaurant experiment, then sign up online and check out the myriad ‘pop-up’ dining options available in your area.

For more information and to register, head to: http://restaurantinourlivingroom.virgin1.co.uk

The Ebury Restaurant Updates Menu

The Ebury is a chic bar and brasserie located just a minute’s walk from Sloane Square. The menu offers a diverse range of modern European food complemented with a cultured selection of wines.  There is a large area downstairs for the bar and brasserie with grand windows giving a feeling of space and light to the room, and upstairs a beautifully designed private room available for hire.

The Ebury’s menu marries traditional British fare with well-cooked European dishes. Each dish contains ingredients sourced in the UK wherever possible, with British meats and locally sourced produce being championed. The new winter menu includes delights such as Organic Smoked Salmon with Cucumber Ribbons, Beetroot and Horseradish, along with Goat’s Cheese Tart, Tomato Chutney and Rocket.  The Ebury also serves a great selection of salads such as Black Pudding, Apples, Hazlenuts and Poached Hen’s Egg Salad. Fish dishes include Whole Torbay Sole with Champ Potato and Shrimp Butter Sauce.  Classic meat dishes such as Châteaubriand, Toulouse Sausages and Braised Lamb Shank are also the perfect warming dishes for winter.   If any room is left, round off the perfect meal with one of the indulgent desserts, including Apple and Blackberry Crumble and Chocolate Fondant.

Living up to its reputation as a great neighbourhood bar and restaurant, The Ebury currently offers several extremely good value deals. Two examples of this are the Set Lunch Menu and the Pre-Theatre Menu both offering two courses for a mere £16.50, and three courses for £19.50.  It is the perfect place to unwind at the weekend and enjoy a relaxed meal with friends, sample the Brunch menu from 11am-4pm, or the perfect roast with Bloody Marys on Sundays.

The Ebury’s impressive walnut bar is the central feature of the downstairs room and there is also a discreet lounge area for people preferring to drink and order from the extensive bar menu.  The bar menu feaures many sharing dishes to enjoy with one of the great wines or cocktails available.  There is an extensive cocktail list, offering everything from the classic Bellini to those with a modern twist such as the Kawa Martini, a refreshing blend of vodka and fresh kiwi juice.  Wines have been sourced from the all over the globe, offering a huge range of choice at reasonable prices.

Upstairs the private room can seat up to 50 people and accommodate 100 people standing.  It has a luxurious but relaxed feel and is perfect for any event, whether it be an intimate dinner or a cocktail party. The team at The Ebury can create bespoke canapé and cocktail menus for each specific event and help with any other theming or decoration requirements.

The Ebury is one of London’s best neighbourhood finds, catering to all tastes and needs seamlessly.

The Ebury
11 Pimlico Road
London
SW1W 8NA

Tel: 0207 730 6784

www.theebury.co.uk