Eat With Ellen’s April Food News
The fact this column is over a week late is pretty much a reflection of my life at the moment. It all seems to be a bit chaotic…. Needless to say, we’re all ready for summer now but I’ve been distracting myself with plenty of food-filled fun. Since we last spoke (or I talked at you), I escaped to Kent for a few days of sea air and shellfish and even learned how to make pasta courtesy of Marks & Spencer. And that’s in between filling my face with all sorts of other fun.
So what about you? What can we find to distract you? Well this month it’s about new openings. Plenty of swanky new places to treat yourself to, a few fun events, and enough to keep you busy for what remains of the month (I know, I know, no excuse…)
Caramel launches new site on Brompton Road
Contemporary American restaurant and lounge group Caramel launched its new site on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge at the end of March.
You can try Caramel London’s signature menu, billed as the perfect ‘flexible dining option’, which includes TNT shrimp, Caramel’s petite beef sliders and lobster tempura. Or pick from breakfasts including chicken sweet potato hash, brunch dishes of Chinese chicken salad and honey & Pecorino ravioli or an afternoon tea of finger sandwiches and sweet and savoury delights.
If you’re like me (especially today) and always as interested in beverages as food, you’ll be pleased to know there are signature cocktails and an extensive spirit list, all chosen by well-known hospitality mixologist Bryan Pietersen, while the wine list has been specially designed by Caramel’s very own Edgar Lagassi and wine expert Christopher Cooper.
Caramel London, 272 Brompton Road, London. Nearest station – South Kensington
The London Coffee Festival, April 12-15
Us Brits aren’t shy about our love of coffee, and you can feed your addiction at the London Coffee Festival this month. Based at Shoreditch’s Truman Brewery, the party starts on the Friday night with an espresso martini party kicking off a weekend of workshops on everything from roasting coffee beans to learning about the history of coffee and cocktails or being a barista at home. Combine that with a boatload of handcrafted coffee producers and expert baristas along with live demonstrations and tasting sessions and what more could you want.
Truman Brewery, 91 Brick Ln, London E1 6QR. Nearest stations – Shoreditch, Shoreditch High Street
Sartoria launches Saturday brunch
If it’s a posh brunch you’re after, how about Sartoria in Mayfair. It started brunch last month, giving you the chance to fill your face with dishes inspired by southern Italy. How about Francesco Mazzei’s Eggs Purgatorio with spicy tomato and ’nduja sauce, or Eggs and Truffle, a combination of baked chicken, duck and quails eggs topped with truffle shavings, or Patata e caviale, a double-baked potato with soft boiled egg and Keta caviar.
They’ve made some changes to the special Saturday à la carte menu too, with starters including including balsamic glazed smoked eel with polenta; main courses featuring Sartoria’s signature home-cured black cod with liquorice or Black Angus beef tagliata and cured marrow bones.
Sartoria, 20 Savile Row, Mayfair, London W1S 3PR. Nearest station – Piccadilly Circus
Nathan Outlaw protege Tom Brown launches debut restaurant
It’s named after an Arctic Monkeys track so no doubt it’s going to be pretty cool. Cornerstone, the debut restaurant from Nathan Outlaw protégé Tom Brown, opens on April 24th and will showcase his own style of simple, produce-driven cooking.
Designed for sharing, Cornerstone’s menu will be flexible and regularly-changing depending on what ingredients are available. You’ll be able to pick from dishes including: raw mackerel with lime pickle, coconut yogurt and crispy garlic; marinated squid accompanied by black pudding, blood orange and a brown butter dressing; ox tongue served with salt cod, tomatoes and gremolata; and desserts like Cornerstone’s pear crumble accompanied by Earl Grey ice-cream.
It’s got a short international wine list as well as home-infused cocktails, local craft beer and bottled beers, not to mention a bespoke gin made in partnership with Cornish distillery.
The kitchen at Cornerstone will be right in the middle of the restaurant and will double up as a counter-bar as well as personal touches like a 5000-year-old oak table commissioned after being salvaged from a river in Croatia.
Cornerstone, 3 Prince Edward Road, Hackney Wick, E9 5LX. Nearest station – Hackney Wick
New menu at LIMA London
If you’re worried that a Michelin star makes somewhere formal and scary, LIMA London is trying to show you otherwise with its new, more accessible menu that launches this month.
The new menu is all about sharing dishes highlighting contemporary Peruvian cuisine, like Salmon Tiradito ceviche with green rocoto chilli paste and tuna Nikkei with soy sauce, sesame oil and cucumber. There are bites you can eat by hand like Andean crisps and crackers made from yuca, parsnip, sweet potato and olluco, as well as revamped ceviches and extras on the ‘Big Plates’ menu like beef pachamanca, a traditional Peruvian dish baked with hot stones of meat, marinated in spices.
Co-Founder Gabriel Gonzalez said: “We opened in 2012 as a fun and casual restaurant showcasing a new style of cuisine to the UK and we were very surprised and honoured to be awarded with a coveted Michelin Star in 2013 (and every year since) but the fact is that the restaurant economy is changing and we need to make sure we’re constantly evolving to meet the ever-changing needs of our customers. Our menu development reflects this as well as going back to our roots.”
LIMA, 31 Rathbone Pl, Fitzrovia, London W1T 1JH. Nearest stations – Tottenham Court Road, Goodge Street
Francesco and Luca’s Food and Wine Tales at Radici
Francesco Mazzei is launching a new series of food and wine events at his Islington trattoria, Radici, with old friend and wine expert Luca Dusi of Passione Vino. The first is on April 11th when the pair will offer recipes and wines from their respective regions of Italy. Francesco will offer rustic dishes from Calabria and southern Italy including Bucatini and aubergine timballo, while Luca will pair them with wines from the Veneto region of northern Italy. The evening will show the longstanding friends’ passion and pride for the north and south of Italy complete with friendly rivalry, food and wine.
Food and Wine Tales at Radici launches on April 11, with tickets priced at £45pp, including sparkling wine and cicchetti on arrival, followed by a three-course meal with wine pairings. The event is the first in a series of monthly food and wine events with Francesco and Luca.
Tickets are availeble here www.shop.danddlondon.com/product/wine-tales-at-radici
Radici, 30 Almeida St, London N1 1AD. Nearest station – Essex Road
London Oyster Week, April 21-29
I may have gone all the way to Kent for shellfish, but you can get it right here in London as the inaugural London Oyster Week arrives at the end of the month.
Wright Bros, Bentleys and Noble Rot are just a few of the restaurants which will be offering special deals and dishes over the seven days, or head to Northbank on the Tuesday night when specialist farmers from across the British Isles will bring their oysters to the restaurant for an all-you-can-eat experience.
Whether it’s checking out the special deals or tucking into freshly-shucked platters, the week will celebrate hard-working oyster farmers and raise funds for native oyster projects. Find out more here londonoysterweek.co.uk
