Mudbrick

Where: Mudbrick, Church Road, Waiheke Island, NZ

When: A beautiful sunny Sunday around 2pm

What: A restaurant, vineyard and wedding venue

Who: Myself and two friends. They were freshly back from their honeymoon

Food: Delicious and perfectly suited to its open air and summery environment. Si had seared king scallops with cauliflower pannacotta followed by the fish of the day which was hapuka and prawns. Jo had Waiheke snapper and mussels and I had avocado mousse with dried tomatoes. We were also treated to a delicious palate cleansing lemon granita

Drinks: They had wine and I had NZ’s treasured 42 Below Vodka with ginger beer

Price: NZD$230

Service: For such an amazing setting and gorgeous food...unfortunately the service was disjointed. The maitre d’ was great however, and given we didn’t have a reservation we can excuse them of the bad service this time

Clientele: A mixture of clientele. Tourists, people straight off the beach and destination diners like us

Ambiance: The restaurant opens out to views across the Hauraki Gulf looking back towards Auckland city. We visited on such a beautiful day so we were able to appreciate the restaurant at it’s absolute best

Saw: Someone getting married, lots of gorgeous gardens and a very friendly taxi driver called Ian who took us from the ferry to the restaurant

Bathrooms: Five out of five

Would I go again? Yes I would love to go again.

Also of note: Afterwards we walked to Cable Bay and walked around the headland and back to the ferry terminal taking in the wonderful Headland Sculpture on the Gulf exhibition. An excellent way to finish a wonderful day

http://www.sculptureonthegulf.co.nz/

Clooney- Auckland, NZ

Where: Clooney, Sale St, Auckland

When: A Tuesday night...the day after Valentines Day

What: A gorgeous intimate restaurant set on an unassuming low key street

Who: Myself and five friends. Two of which were newly married, two celebrating their one-year anniversary, Macfly and myself-  A very special Auckland evening! We were surrounded by couples celebrating a belated Valentines day

Two friends posing in front of Auckland's imposing Sky Tower- Sale St

Food: The eight-course tasting menu http://www.clooney.co.nz/assets/menus/clooney_tasting_menu_20110303.pdf . Definitely try it. There is also a vegetarian tasting menu http://www.clooney.co.nz/assets/menus/clooney_vegetarian_tasting_menu_20110303.pdf (which I ordered) and it was devine

Drinks: Cosmopolitans to start and then a Central Otago (NZ) red to follow. The boys stuck to beer

View of Auckland's sky tower outside Clooney

Price: NZD$160pp including drinks

Service: Impeccable

Clientele: People enjoying a touch of fine dining without white table cloths and rigid service

Ambiance: A really nice low-lit ambiance. There was lots of space between tables and tables were separated by curtains of black string (Like extra long tassles)

Saw: People brushing in and out of the curtains. Admittedly it was a nice sensation

Bathrooms: The bathrooms were very clean and tidy. They are up a set of stairs so be careful not to drink too much

Would I go again? Yes... but It is definitely one of those places you would go on a special occassion

Also of note: There is a small bar in the front entrance which is available for people who are not intending to dine or for those waiting for their other guests to arrive

Poppy does St Moritz - Sunshine, Snow and Alpine Air

I have just come back from the most amazing two weeks in St Moritz-
Sunny skies, fresh powder on the slopes, water you can drink from a tap, and most importantly….fresh alpine air.

St Moritz is a playground for the rich and has got both summer and winter hedonism covered. I will give you two pieces of advice before booking a trip. The first is to make sure you go with a lot of money and/or if you don’t have a lot of money unashamedly like me, then make sure you go with someone who does.

As this is a food blog - I won’t go into detail about the activities such as skiing, tobogganing, running around the lake and snow skating that are on offer - but I will touch on my two most memorable and affordable foodie highlights.

Favourite haunts:

Alpina Hutte
Best hut on the mountain for après ski in the sunshine. They offer really good Gluhwein (a personal favourite). Expect to pay around £8 a glass and about the same for an ice cold Heineken. There is a local liqueur that the bar men seem to take shots of all day.  I would suggest letting them to only convince you to have one shot, otherwise you may not be able to ski home like one of my companions experienced. After one shot you would have to be crazy to go back for a second round anyhow, it is not the tastiest of beverages. A DJ (David Guetta lookalike) plays club anthems from around midday and by 3:30 as the sun threatens to disappear behind the snowcapped mountains, you can find Italianos and Russians etc dancing on tables with their hands in the air. At minus 25 degrees it is very much a case of dance to survive.

La Baracca
Where: In the carpark at the ‘Signal’ cable-car station in St Moritz Bad

When: 9:30pm New Years Eve Eve
What: Alpine shabby-chic. It looks like an old non-descript farm shed from outside and the fact that it is in a car-park makes it look even less appealing. I didn’t look twice at it until a local told me about it. On arriving you are made to battle with the smokers at the front door step, and then on walking inside you are forced to peer through a pink velvet curtain in which time the ambiance will capture you
Who:  Me and three friends
Food:  A small menu is displayed on blackboards dotted around the restaurant. The menu changes regularly and there are sufficiently three options for entrée, main and dessert. The cuisine is simple but prepared and cooked to absolute perfection
Drinks: Tell the waiter what sort of wine you want and he/she will find you the perfect tipple. There is no wine list
Price: £120 for two people and three courses + a bottle of wine
Service: Our waiter looked like he had just snowboarded straight off the mountain. He was studying finance at a Swiss university, he was very personable and well spoken and knew everything about wine. It worked. Very well
Clientele: Every billionaire/ess and their sons, daughters and dogs (Because the dog can also fly in for Xmas in the private jet)
Ambiance: The entire restaurant is candlelit (as you will see from my poor photos of the food). This you would think would create a lovely romantic ambiance…however because tables are shared by separate dining parties it is not the sort of place to get romantic. Like most places in St Moritz, it is intimate for the reason that the people you are sitting next to probably also belong to the same ski club or private members club as you do, or perhaps they are your neighbour in Chelsea. Hence it is okay to share tables because you probably already know the person next to you. Flowers were hung straight from their stems from the beams supporting the roof. This added another nice touch

Saw: Mostly large tables of men, all very eligible too. For some reason in St Moritz I noted the ratio of men to women was heavily off balance. We weren’t complaining
Bathrooms: As I am not always on form after drinking at altitude I can’t specifically remember the bathrooms. I do however remember that they were quirky and most importantly clean
Would I go again?  Yes…I wanted to go the following night, but alas it was New Years Eve and it was booked out
Also of note: Following on from here everyone goes to private member’s club Dracula’s, I would recommend trying to get an invite in there and not settling for a night out at Diamond.

MERRY XMAS & HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Hi friends,

I have been so busy being out and about over the festive season in both London and abroad (Edinburgh, Bordeaux and Vienna) that I haven't had a lot of time to keep you updated on my foodie adventures of late.

I can assure you that I have a backlog of wonderful restaurants to tell you about as well as lots of new adventures in the pipeline.

Heading into 2011 I have already got lots of trips planned (St Moritz, Hawaii, New Zealand, LA, Amsterdam, Beirut, Tel Aviv).

I'm am signing out for 2010 as I am off to St Moritz tomorrow, so until we meet again, have a wonderful Christmas and New Year and thank you for following me. I look forward to sharing the love of foodie adventures with you in 2011.

Check me out in my Xmas outfit. It was kindly gifted to me by my friend Amelia Mouse. I think it is going to be the perfect party dress for St Moritz- I can't wait to wear it!

Happy Holidays x x x

My Christmas Dining Line-up

Les Trois Garcon - http://www.lestroisgarcons.com

The Ledbury - http://www.theledbury.com

Tempo - http://www.tempomayfair.co.uk

Gessler at Daquise - http://www.gesslerlondon.com

Kikuchi - 14 Hanway St

Arbutus

My first meal at Arbutus had been a very long time coming. I had walked past the quaint facade of the restaurant many times before and wished that I had been one of the convivial faces bunched up inside the warm interior. Even though it is set amongst a myriad of great restaurants on the same street (and not to mention in the wider Soho area)...there is something about Arbutus that sets it apart.

For this occasion my friend Miss C decided that she wanted to come on one of my ‘adventures’ and try a “really nice” restaurant. I suggested Arbutus. She booked it for four. I dragged along some old friends that I hoped would add value...and they did. My account of our evening at Arbutus subsequently follows x

Where: Arbutus, 63-64 Frith St

When: A Tuesday night 7:30 -10:30pm

What: A much lauded restaurant for its quality dining in relaxed and informal surroundings. This restaurant had been on my must visit list forever, so we booked weeks in advance.  Arbutus is part of the team also behind Wild Honey in Mayfair and the recently opened Les Deux Salon in Covent Garden (Both also on my list). The chef and co-owner Anthony Demetre cooks modern British cuisine with a European/French twist to a very high standard-michelin star standard to be exact

Who: A banker, A forensic, A lawyer and I (A fox)

Food: Starters: The banker chose: Veal bolognese, olive oil, parmesan and fresh parpadelle. The forensic and I chose: Salad of young beetroots, fresh goats curd, lemon and honey vinaigrette. The lawyer chose: Braised pigs head (without moustache), potato puree, ravioli of caramelised onions

Mains: The forensic chose: Traditional bouillabaisse. The banker and lawyer chose: Grilled bavette of beef. I chose the risotto of red wine, radicchio and taleggio

Drinks: On arrival I sat at the bar and waited for my guests to arrive. The bar tenders were extremely attentive and friendly.  To make the start of their evening interesting, and to entertain me whilst I waited, they offered me a degustation of wines to try. The extensive wine list made it hard to choose...but I settled on a chardonnay and it was delicious. It was a pity that once we were seated our waitress was not as attentive as the boys at the bar had been. Eventually my guests were treated to some Scottish and French beer, Miss C started with a pear and prosecco aperitif and we all shared a delicious St Emilion red to accompany dinner. This red was suggested by a waiter we hailed from another table.

Price: Our bill came to 200 pounds...We certainly could have spent more than that but as it was a Tuesday night and we were limiting our alcohol intake, the bill was manageable.  Nor did we have dessert of coffee

Service:  The service on entry was impeccable as was the attention I received whilst I sat and waited at the bar. We were also given a table in the window overlooking Frith St, which I presume is a perk of reserving so far in advance. It was a pity that we received a waitress who was a scattish. Her service was all or nothing and if she didn’t present us with the bill we could easily have confused her as another random diner. I can’t say she added any value to our evening. Other diners seemed to be getting more seamless service.

Clientele: The clientele was refined and sophisticated. Three dapper boys shared the bar with me before my guests arrived. There is something good about being surrounded by nice looking people when you eat.

Ambiance: A really nice ambiance- However if I was on a date I would have wanted the lights to be dimmed down a notch. Actually I think date or no date the restaurant would have had better ambiance if the lights were dimmer

Saw: No-one of interest...perfect

Bathrooms: I was disappointed with the bathrooms...I would liken them to that of a rural rugby club. Except for the presence of loccitaine hand products. They have always been a favourite. 

Would I go again?  Yes I probably would as it is one of the better restaurants in the theatre district and it has a very dynamic menu.  It is also one of those rare restaurants that can balance between being a nice place to regularly go for dinner and also a place to go for special occasions

Also of note: As we were paying the bill Miss C and I saw the desserts arrive to the table next to us. Envy sunk in and we immediately regretted not ordering. We will be back.

SAF

I had heard a lot of about Saf over the years, so when I had a vegetarian friend in town we jumped in a taxi and headed over there...35 pounds later we arrived at Saf in Shoreditch for a vegetarian feast.  

Where: Saf - Shoreditch - 152-154 Curtain Road, EC2A 3AT

When: Sunday lunch 3-5pm

What: A restaurant perfect for vegans. It is mainly a raw food restaurant with hardly any dishes heated over 48 degrees

Who: Myself and another vegetarian fox went to scope it out

Food: Some of the dishes have obvious names like pad thai, but don't think they will arrive as you would normally expect. I had the pesto au poivre (cashew cheese, sage pesto, crushed pink peppercorns, dehydrated tomato and balsamic reduction, flaxseed crackers) and he had the pad thai (courgette noodles, enoki mushrooms, mung sprouts, tomatoes, thai ginger, chilli, chipotle and almond sauce). This was then followed by some delectable desserts...chocolate ganache torte and ginger cheesecake

Drinks: Saf does some really good cocktails (all designed by the lovely mixologist Joe Mccanta). As it was a Sunday and I had overindulged the evening before, I chose an apple juice and he chose a pinot grigio

Price: 60 pounds

Service: Despite the restaurant being half empty, the service took a while to kick off. The waitress was slightly weird and vague, the interesting and tasty food made up for her lack of attentiveness

Clientele: Hip Shoreditch types

Ambiance: The restaurant felt more like a cafe 

Saw: Stylish East Londoners...mainly couples enjoying a healthy afternoon out

Bathrooms: These were down a set of stairs and weren’t very tidy

Would I go again? Probably not unless I was in the area and was with someone that really wanted to try it. I thought the food was really well presented and tasty, however the overall concept of the restaurant was a bit gimmicky

Also of note: There is a terrace at the rear where you could enjoy alfresco dining in the summer. There is a wellness studio behind the restaurant where they hold regular yoga classes and also they host ocassional cooking classes.