London Restaurants | London Guide

Babbo Restaurant, Mayfair

 Babbo restaurant, located in the heart of Mayfair on Albemarle Street, offers traditional Italian cuisine within an elegant yet intimate setting. Head chef Douglas Santi, has drawn from his experiences cooking around the world to create a regional Italian menu using fresh Italian produce.

Douglas began his career at the age of 13, working for Laurent Saudeau, the right hand man of acclaimed chef Paul Bocuse. In 1999 Santi took on the role of sous chef, working with Alain Ducasse at the renowned Louis XV in Monaco. During the next 5 years he travelled around the globe, working at many of Ducasse’s restaurants from Monaco to New York’s St-Regis, then Paris Plaza Athénéé and finally to the renowned Las Vegas restaurant Mix.

In 2005, he opened his own venture in Sao Paulo, which consequently received top awards for best chef and best restaurant simultaneously. Two years on, Santi returned to his native Italy where in 2008, he became executive chef of Terme de Saturnia, a renowned restaurant and spa in Tuscany.

At Babbo, Douglas’ menu offers an authentic taste of regional Italy, with starters such as Beef carpaccio, Parmesan cheese, mustard sauce and capers from Pantelleria island and Babbo stone crab salad with tomato chutney. Main courses include a variety of home made pasta dishes including Lasagne with meat ragout, Douglas’ signature dish, created from a recipe over 100 years old which was passed onto him by his grandmother. Other highlights include Rack of lamb with almond crust and Seafood stew with Tuscan toasted bread. A selection of Italian desserts is also on offer, including Torta di mela, an apple tart with pine nuts and caramel sauce and Lemon pie made with home made marshmallow.

Babbo’s interior combines Mayfair elegance with the traditional warmth and old-fashioned charm expected from a family-run Italian restaurant.  Clusters of framed family photos adorn the walls alongside a selection of vintage wines showcased next to the wooden staircase.

Upstairs, Babbo offers a secluded private dining room, which can seat up to 14 guests. Diners can choose from the restaurant menu or Douglas is also on hand to offer a bespoke menu, prepared in consultation with the guests. 

Babbo opened at the end of last year to critical acclaim, with restaurant critic Fay Maschler naming it as one of her top restaurants of 2009. 

Babbo

39 Albemarle Street

London

W1S 4JQ

Real Greek Offers Calorie Counting Menu

For most of us, an increase in temperature means a decrease in calorie in-take as we worry about losing winter weight and squeezing into last summer’s clothes. But how do you avoid starving or stuffing yourself to maintain a healthy diet when eating out during warmer months? Why not head to The Real Greek. Pioneers in transparent nutritional information, this collection of fun and authentic Mediterranean meze bars was the first to offer a calorie count for every dish on the menu. Real Greek diners can totally relax about what they’re eating and trust in one of the world’s healthiest cuisines, rich in unsaturated fats from fish and olive oil. 

With seven restaurants across the capital, the food at The Real Greek is all about sharing. With an extensive range of cold and hot meze; alongside grilled souvlakis; salads; and sides, the excellent value menu encourages diners to explore a real mix and create their own feast. Honest and simple, every dish is freshly prepared. 

For the calorie-conscious, great meze choices to share include crudités (37kcal) with tzatziki (146kcal); melitzanosalata – a light and fragrant blend of smoked aubergine, garlic, shallots and lemon (210kcal); grilled kalamari in a sticky Greek honey and paprika marinade (247kcal); bifteki – light and succulent handmade British beef patties with spring onions and minted yoghurt (253kcal); and grilled halloumi served with house-pickled cucumber and red cabbage (223kcal).

For those who enjoy souvlaki to eat in or takeaway, The Real Greek grills the very best British meat or Greek halloumi over charcoal, before wrapping it in signature flatbread alongside plenty of tzatziki and tomato relish. The halloumi and vegetable souvlaki is just 402kcal, with the chicken being a delightfully low (480kcal). For a simple side, choose the cos salad tossed in a fruity sultana dressing (42kcal). 

Bursting with sun-filled flavours, The Real Greek provides an invigorating culinary vacation from the exhausting rush of the capital, and thanks to a calorie-counted menu, diners can enjoy all the benefits of a holiday without worrying about their weight. 

www.therealgreek.com

New YO! Sushi on Great Portland St

Neon lights dazzle, cocktail glasses clink and delicious new plates glide across the belt - YO! Sushi has hit Noho with a high-energy look, a unique restaurant menu including over 30 exclusive dishes and a contemporary cocktail bar.

YO! Sushi Market Place reinvents what we have come to know and love from this familiar favourite, offering a cutting-edge futuristic new Tokyo inspired restaurant with an extraordinary addition – toilets that simply have to be experienced!

Adding a further notch to its culinary conveyor belt, a new line of premium dishes served on yellow plates along with must-try items on red plates take centre stage, allowing customers at YO! Sushi Market Place to choose from 8 different coloured plates (green, blue, purple, orange, pink, red, grey and yellow) starting from £1.70.

Luxury yellow plates are incredible value of just £6 each and include Seared Beef & Truffle Soy Tataki (seared beef, garlic and chilli daikon with a white truffle soy); Ponzu Glazed Sea Bass (pan-fried fresh sea bass with a citrus and soy glaze); and Hotate Katsu (crispy Japanese breaded scallops with wasabi mayonnaise).

With red plates priced at £4.30 each, highlights include Braised Pork Belly (pork belly braised in sake, soy and mirin), Truffle Seared Beef Nigiri (truffle seared beef with Japanese mustard, garlic, ichimi chilli powder and chive and Snow Crab & Cha Soba (snow crab, green tea soba noodles and Keta caviar with a coriander pesto).

As the belt zig-zags around diners, other tempting treats on the menu include; Ama Ebi Sashimi (sweet shrimp and Keta caviar with a shiso leaf); Unagi Tempura Hand Roll (tempura barbecued eel with cucumber and spring onion); and a first in the UK, Ice Cream Mochi (Japanese glutinous rice cake filled with delicious ice cream of various flavours; green tea, sesame, chocolate and coconut or mango and chilli). 

Celebrating the colourful side of Tokyo, flashes of neon blend with chrome and black gloss to ensure the cocktail bar doesn’t disappoint. As the first restaurant with it’s own dedicated bar, guests will be spoilt for choice with nine perfectly pitched blends including; Geisha’s Ruin (gin, yuzu umeshu, elderflower and a touch of shichimi); YO! Sakura (cherry blossom liqueur, honey umeshu, lychee juice and ginger topped with soda); or the indulgent Choc-A-Juku (white chocolate, cream and raspberry with green tea on top, finished in a martini glass). 

Starting from just £6, you’ll soon find yourself lost in translation as the meaning of ‘kampai’ (‘empty your cup’ or ‘cheers’ in Japanese) hits home.

Sake fans will enjoy a host of varieties on offer alongside Japanese plum wine, shochu, beer, wine and fizz as well as a range of select speciality teas like Flowering Dragon Eye (a light and fragrant green tea scented with marigold and jasmine blossom).

Inspired by critically acclaimed Japanese designer Toyo Ito* (the man behind some of Tokyo’s most iconic buildings), wooden branches rise up through the restaurant and a clever mirrored ceiling creates an overhead canopy instilling a sense of calm and balance. Wood and leather work together with a selection of low-rise banquettes, bar stools and sunken seating allowing guests to choose their favourite spot, all within easy reach of the dishes.

The iconic YO! Sushi conveyor belt weaves its way around guests as the open plan kitchen allows diners to watch sushi rolling and sashimi slicing in a visual display of technical talent.

Not limiting the design and technical achievements to the restaurant and bar, YO! Sushi, Market Place, has a rather noteworthy addition. Teaming up with TOTO, the innovative, eco and design led Japanese bathing specialists – YO! Flushi is set to transform the way Londoners ‘spend a penny’. With 15 buttons to choose from including cleanse, oscillate, massage or dry, - this revolutionary WC is sure to tickle your bottom happy.

YO! Sushi Market Place

4 Great Portland Street, London W1W 8QJ

T: 0203 130 9251

Opening Times

Mon-Sat: 12noon-11pm

Sun: 12noon-9pm

www.yosushi.com

The Tommyfield Opens in Kennington

The first British chip shop opened and 150 years ago and today sees the official launch of The Tommyfield in Kennington, which takes its name from the Oldham market where it was located.

The latest venue from Tom Peake, Mark Reynolds and Nick Fox of Renaissance Pubs - responsible for the renowned Avalon, Abbeville and Stonhouse in Clapham as well as The Bolingbroke in Battersea - The Tommyfield embraces its Victorian heritage, taking inspiration from chop houses and markets of the time.
 

Food is of the highest quality:  fresh, seasonal and sustainable. Cooking is simple – letting the ingredients speak for themselves.  Drinks showcase the best Britain has to offer and design is smart, mixing elegance with industrial.
 

Offering the very best produce available that day, executive chef Massimo Tebaldi  has created a menu which allows over ten daily changing blackboard ‘specials’ to become the star of the show.

To begin, enjoy new season asparagus with fried duck egg and toast or dive into a British meat board, a robust selection of pork terrine, sausage roll, Scotch egg, Caerphilly cheese, onion chutney and homemade piccalilli.
 

For main course, opt for ‘blackboard’ fish - all caught from English day boats and MSC certified where possible – choices might include cod, coley, sea bass and soft shell crab, battered or grilled.  Meat options on the blackboard feature your choice of cut, cooked your way - sirloin, hanger, rib eye or châteaubriand. The pie and mash section of the blackboard offers the traditional and contemporary.  Try cow pie made from an age-old recipe of beef, tripe and ox tongue or the more modern combination of duck and guinea fowl.
 

Those looking for more complex dishes won’t be disappointed with the likes of lamb rump with butternut squash, garlic and caper jus or pork tenderloin and crispy belly with buttered kale. Chips make their mark, as one would expect - proper, English, neither thin nor fat and cooked twice.

Sunday roasts hit the spot with organic chicken with bread sauce and British beef with Yorkshire pudding. Desserts don’t muck about either. Feast on rhubarb and apple crumble, Eton mess, banoffee pie or pecan and chocolate brownie.
 

Drinks continue the commitment to quality produce with British brewed ales such as Wandle from Battersea, Doom Bar from Cornwall and Timothy Taylor’s Landlord from Yorkshire. Award winning English wines on offer include Nyetimber Classic Cuvee, 2005 and Chapel Down Bacchus Reserve 2008 and with over 20 different international bins available by the glass or carafe, there is no excuse not to experiment.
 

The Victorian chop house inspiration is also evident from the entrance marked by smart striped canopies. Inside cream crackle-glaze antique brick tiles cover the walls interspersed with exposed original brickwork that together provide the handsome backdrop for stunning light installations created from old Naval ships, a suspended steel wine cage, a majestic mahogany bar inlaid with iron and an open kitchen.
 

Upstairs the Master Room offers private dining and cocktail parties, with an elegant space for up to 80 standing and 40 seated. Taking design cues from the pub’s previous incarnation as The White Hart, it features four representations of The Wilton Dyptch (1395-1399), commissioned by Richard II whose palace was previously located across the road and whose emblem was a white hart. Two striking empire chandeliers, vintage chocolate Chesterfield armchairs, warm mustard walls and a stylish fire place complete the picture.

Address: 185 Kennington Lane, London SE11 4EZ

Tel: 020 7735 1061

Email: info@thetommyfield.co.uk

Twitter: www.twitter.com/tommyfieldpub

Web: www.thetommyfield.co.uk

Nearest station: Kennington Tube

Leong's Legend Taiwanese Restaurant Opens in Bayswater

Bayswater sees the much anticipated arrival of Leong’s Legends flagship restaurant, bringing with it brand new flavours and a unique Taiwanese dining experience. 

The diverse, cosmopolitan and fashionable Bayswater area at last has a restaurant scene that is as hip as its shops and residents with the launch of the new Taiwanese restaurant Leong’s Legend.

With this fabulous opening, customers can now savour the unique delights of Taiwanese cuisine in the west of the capital, a treat that had previously involved a trip into Central London. Leong’s Legend signature restaurant in Bayswater will be introducing this unique style of food to a part of town that has been lacking in expert, regional, oriental cooking. 

The heart of Taiwanese food offers diners more subtle, rounded flavours than the generic Cantonese and fiery Sichuan fare that is currently on offer in London. The region focuses more on seafood and uses peanuts, picked daikon, coriander and spices to create its distinctive, balanced dishes.

Located at 82 Queensway, Bayswater, this expansive, airy space is a destination dining room. The décor is reminiscent of a Chinese inn with low hanging lamps hovering above each table, wooden screens, beautiful beams and classical pictures adorning the walls. The painstaking attention to detail gives a relaxing, comforting and unique dining experience, full of style and character, suited equally well to large groups or to more intimate gatherings.

The menu at the new restaurant is an innovation. Offering an excellent Dim Sum menu, Leong's legendary soup dumplings (Siu Loung Bao) - eight pork or crab dumplings with rich broth sealed inside – have already won deserving praise as amongst the best in London. Other “street food” specialities like the Taiwanese mini kebab (Gua Boa) a soft rice bun with sticky pork belly and peanut shavings are an absolute treat and must be tried.

The rest of the menu takes a journey through both the familiar and the new – chilli crab, congee and aromatic lamb hit all the right classic notes and more adventurous foodies will find the menu a delight with duck tongue, fiery beef tripe and braised pig trotters with egg.

To guide diners through the extensive range of options, Leong’s Legend have put together a special introduction tasting menu - where diners are treated to a selection of house dishes to ensure they do not miss out on any of the delicious treats this new launch has to offer.

In a part of town not known for its range of modern Asian restaurants Leong’s Legends will be a welcome and innovative addition to the Bayswater neighbourhood, where style and sophisticated dining are blended together effortlessly.

Opening Date:  Monday 24th May

Address: Leong’s Legend, 82 Queensway, Bayswater, W2 3RL

Tel: 0207 2212280

Website: www.leongslegend.com (live on 24th May)

Opening Times: 

Sun-Weds 12.00pm-11.00pm
Thurs- Sat 12.00pm-11.30pm

Public Transport: Nearest station is Bayswater or Queensway

No 35 Restaurant at The Hempel

 Tucked away from London's hustle and bustle, the No. 35 Restaurant, offers a relaxed but memorable dining experience amid ultra chic surroundings. A seasonal menu with high pedigree provenance offers the best of British and European ingredients - all borne from handpicked, independent suppliers. Indulge in an imaginative selection of seasonal cuisine, and discover a destination where every bite is a masterpiece of flavour and every plate is a work of art, created by Head Chef, Simon Aquilina.

The Hempel

31-35 Craven Hill Gardens

London

W2 3EA

T +44 207 298 9000

E info@the-hempel.co.uk