Tipped

Great food! Great ambience!

January 09, 2009

You know the way some restaurants try to be "different" and serve all weird food that no regualr person, just food critics, actually likes (think Heston Blumenthal)? Well, in my opinion here is a restaurant that tries to be different but doesn't err on the side of plain old weird. It's good "modern British" food.

The menu will have some exotic meats, some innovative cooking fusions and some stuff where you may just not be sure what you're getting but the one common factor is: it all tastes great! The wine list is entirely Australian, which for someone like me who likes wines but not French wine, was a treat! And the service is attentive without being over the top. It all just has a very relaxed feel about it. Seriously, this place is spot-on. And I mean just for the food, the venue is a whole other conversation..!!

Set in an old Power plant it again is suitably different but not too weird. They have frequent "installations" whihc you can go and view between courses - which is a nice way to break up the evening.

But I keep going back for the food. For me a restaurant is all about the food. Delicious! Not cheap, mind; but worth it.

Keywords: restaurant, food, cuisine: modern british

Strange but Fabulous

October 11, 2007

While not as bizarre as those restaurants that serve you food in bed, Wapping Food is an undeniably strange place. Formerly a power station, the conversion left much of the architecture and machinery as it was. The building is now used for both the restaurant and an art gallery space, The Wapping Project. When I last ate here, there was an art exhibit composed of thousands of brands of bottled water displayed on long tables. The bottles were lit, but the room was otherwise pitch black and there was a thunderous grinding soundtrack playing. Somehow, it actually worked.

The food served in the restaurant is excellent and creative. Not all of the combinations work perfectly and presentation varied from inspired to slightly muddy. The ingredients were universally fresh and delicious. An appetizer of grilled squid with shaved bottarga was amazing, as was the main course of lamb with truffled polenta. Like many restaurants of this caliber, the desserts suffered a bit compared to the savoury items but were decent. The service was very friendly, professional, and pleasantly attentive; plus, despite the modern industrial space, it was well warmed, not too loud, and very comfortable.

Keywords: art, gourmet food