Drink, Shop & Do

Drink, Shop & Do

9 Caledonian Road

Kings Cross, London

Tube: Kings Cross Station

www.drinkshopdo.com

 

Drink, Shop & Do is one of my best experiences from London.  You walk in to something that looks like a small shop realizing that further in you have a lovely retro café and a pub/restaurant in the basement. This cafe is just "my cup of tea" and that is one of the things from the menu they are famous for; their afternoon tea.  

I just love the interior in this cozy café!

Drink, Shop & Do really is a suitable name for this café. Drink: Come here for afternoon tea or a cocktail. Shop: Local designers are showing their work and apparently everything you can find in the cafe is for sale, from furniture to vintage tea sets. Do: Every week has a new "schedule" with different things to do. Pearling bracelets, vintage pin-up hair and make-up, ukulele lessons and bending balloons are some of the options.
 

This is the first thing you see when you enter Drink, Shop & Do



Cool Cards for sale

 

 When you go downstairs you enter the Drink, Shop and Dance bar. This is where we had our lunch. I was told that it was originally a strip club in the old days and the vibe downstairs is totally different from the café on the first floor. The walls are painted black and the feeling is more cool and modern.


The bar in the basement



Creative wall decorations with different kinds of amplifiers



 

I was feeling a bit naughty sitting there in an old strip club so I ordered me a Bloody Mary, or like they name it: DSD Bloody Maria.

Pink peppercorn infused Tequila, Harveys Bristol Cream, Spicy Sauce, Worcester Sauce, Salt, Pepper, Celery Bitters & Lemon. Shaken with Tomato Juice & served with Celery

 

 My lunch was a

Pumpkin and Goat Cheese Tart, served with Lentil Halloumi and Vegs salad £7.50

 It's the first time I've tasted the combination of Goat Cheese and Pumpkin and it works really well. It's also the first time I've had Lentil Halloumi's, so a lot of new tastes for me. I loved it! If I have to comment on something about the food it has to be about the texture. It would be nice with something crispy in the dish since both the tart and the vegetables are really soft. I'm also going to give thumbs up for the Bloody Maria. If you enjoy a good Bloody Mary you should taste with Tequila and chili instead of Vodka and Tabasco.  I've sometimes made it back home and call it a Slutty Mary.

 

If you are visiting or living in London and you enjoy retro style - this place is a must! I so wished I was staying longer in London and could experience the vintage pin-up hair and make-up with some afternoon tea. Maybe next time, because this is a place I definitively will revisit!

Mehek - Indian Cuisine

Mehek Restaurant
45 London Wall
Moorgate
City of London
Tube: Moorgate/Liverpool Street
http://www.mehek.co.uk/

Most of the restaurants we visited in London were chosen randomly. We traveled with the Tube to Liverpool Street and after a short walk we stumbled across Mehek.  Even if we had a short amount of time (we were going to a show) Mehek served us some really good Indian food to please our taste buds and stomachs.  According to their website they have gotten a lot of good reviews, and this one is not going to be an exception.

 

The restaurant had very soft lighting, almost like it looked closed from the outside. Even though the dining room was quite large the atmosphere was still intimate.  I ordered:

 

Chicken Biryani - A very aromatic dish treated with light spices and stir-fried with basmati rice. Garnished with sultanas, sweet seedless raisins and almond flakes. Served with side accompaniments of vegetable curry and mixed raitha. £11.90

We also ordered fresh Nan bread and rice.  One of the things I love about Indian restaurants is that you get a "snack" when you order, that keeps you happy until your food arrives. At Mehek we got some poppadum's, cucumber raitha and chutney.

 

 

My dish, the Chicken Biryani was really tasty, packed with different flavours.  You got the sweet taste of raisins, sourness from the tomatoes and yogurt, a bit of spiciness from chilies, crispiness from the almonds and the vegetables added to the round taste. And not to forget, the chicken was really tender. I normally go quite strong on my spice choices but this time I wanted to taste more of all the ingredients. My friend who chose the Chicken Korma (£9.80) claimed that it's the best Korma she's ever tasted. The dish had a rich taste of coconut and lots of flavour.  I wish we had time for dessert but time was running away. I can really recommend visiting Mehek restaurant. 

Punch & Judy - Fish & Chips

Punch & Judy

Covent Garden

40 The Market

Tube: Covent Garden

http://www.taylor-walker.co.uk/pub/punch-and-judy-covent-garden-piazza/c6513/

 

Punch & Judy is a traditional British pub and one of the Taylor Walker pubs. I had a goal with my London trip, and that was to taste some real Fish & Chips. Well, Fish & Chips restaurants in London are really not hard to find. Everywhere you turn there's a pub claiming that they have the best F&C in town. The hard thing is to actually choose a place. So as we were strolling around Covent Garden our hunger grew and we decided to have lunch somewhere close.  Their website states that the "world famous" pub, built in 1787, was named after a puppet show that used to run at Covent Garden. It's one of the few buildings that didn't get bombed during the blitz. The pub has a great variety of cask ale and other beverages. We went for a glass of British cider and their home-made Fish & Chips.

The Nation’s favourite. Hand-battered fish fillet served with chips, a choice of mushy or garden peas, tartare sauce and a wedge of lemon £9.79

 

You get big chunky bites of battered fish. "Real" fries (not thin Mcfries) with a real taste of potato. The last time I had F&C it was almost too greasy to eat. This one was better though I guess it's supposed to be a bit greasy. For my taste both the fish and the fries could have been more seasoned. I like the presentation where you get everything on a big wooden plank. Feel's very rustique.

 

The pub was very crowded when we came there at lunch time.  Even if they have two floors and an outdoor area, we had to wait a while to get a table. A nice gentleman was very sweet to give us his table.  Even if the place was crowded the staff was friendly and service minded.

 

As you might interpret from what I have written about the food, this was perhaps not my best culinary experience, but I do not know how much one can expect of Fish & Chips.  As I wrote in the introduction- there are hundreds of Fish & Chips places in London, so I guess it's best to just go explore. Please write a comment if you think you know "the BEST" Fish & Chips place in London.

 

Foodmarkets in London

During my recent trip to London I visited a lot of food markets (I just can't help myself...)

So the upcoming blog posts will be for all of you who live or plan to visit London. I will probably continue writing my blog posts in English since so many of my followers don't read Norwegian.

 

Borough Market

8 Southwark Street
London
Tube: London Bridge Station
http://www.boroughmarket.org.uk/

My first market in London was Borough Market close to London Bridge. The market has a large variety of cheeses, freshly baked pastries and breads, charcuterie, fruits and vegetables, seafood and meat.  Every time I visit such market I want to move to that city and go here to buy the produce for my own cooking. Although I would like to buy a British cheese to bring home I do not think my fellow passengers on the plane would appreciated the smell, so I had to settle for a few tasting samples.

 

 

I heard the market is quite famous for its brownie and here I got to taste it.

 

 

I'm always drawn to cheese merchants and this also caught my eye with the original Raclette grill. 

 

 

Brick Lane Market

Opening Times: Sunday 9am - 5pm

Brick Lane, Shoreditch

Tube: Aldgate East

Overground: Liverpool Street

http://www.visitbricklane.org/

 

A friend advised me to visit Brick Lane and luckily for me there was a market here too. Along the street there are different food stalls of Asian, Latin American and Eastern European cuisine.

 

 

Fruit and vegetables at Brick Lane 

 

 

 

Camden Lock

Opening hours: Every day (except dec 25) 10am - 6pm

Camden Town

North-West London

Tube: Camden Town

http://www.camdenlock.net/

 

 Camden Lock is a food mecca for those who want to try cuisine from around the world. As you can see in the picture, there were many people. I could easily have been here a whole week to taste my way through the stalls. One finds food from Australia, Spain, France, China, Poland, Germany, Peru, Argentina, USA, yes pretty much all over the world.

 

 

At the market, I was drawn to this booth that served the Pulled Pork. (It's probably because I've seen too much Top Chef.) 

 

 

Most dishes cost around £ 5 and then you get a proper meal. I dreamed about what it would be like to work near the market so I could go there every day and buy lunch.

 

 

 My pulled pork sandwich with pickles and coleslaw.

 

 

 Camden Lock seen from above.

 

 

Follow me in the coming days where I will write more about my restaurant visits in London.

Jensen's Bøfhus - En lunch som ikke fortjener et bilde

Navn: Jensen's Bøfhus

Adresse: Norra Hamngatan 20,  40426 Göteborg, Sweden

Web adresse: http://www.jensens.se/

 

Jeg har lenge sett trikker og busser med store reklameplakater for lunchen til 49,- kr på Jensen's Bøfhus.  I dag tenkte jeg at jeg skulle teste den, både fordi jeg var sugen på kjøtt og også pga. prisen.  Dessverre ble hele besøket en ganske irriterende opplevelse.  Vi kom dit i normal lunchtid, ca kl 12.30. Det tok veldig lang tid fra vi fikk menyen til vi fikk bestille. Dessverre tok det enda lengre tid for oss å få maten.  Jeg tror vi ventet i nesten en time. Maten jeg bestilte var

Lunch Kyllingbiff :Supermör och saftig kycklingfilé, grillade grönsaker, Jensen's fantastiska favoritsås och vår goda råstekta potatis. Behöver vi säga mer?

Ja tydligvis behøver de si mer. Denne supermøre og saftige kyllingbiten av alt annet enn slik den var beskrevet. Tørr og ikke spesielt varm.  De grillede grønnsakene smakte veldig likt de frosne grønnsakene man kjøper i butikken og sausen var etter min mening alt for søt.  Potetene var ok.

 

Nå skal det sies at man kanskje burde spise biff om man er på ett biffhus, men jeg er ikke akkurat fristet til å gå tilbake dit for å teste den.  Etter maten ventet det enda mer venting.  Først på regningen og etter det måtte vi vente i ca en halv time til for å få en 2-go boks for maten som ikke ble spist opp av mine lunchvenner. Det som irriterte mest var at da vi spurte om å få med resten av maten hjem var svaret, "Ja, jeg skal forsøke fikse det, men det tar nok ganske lang tid fordi jeg må gjøre andre saker". Til så i 30 minutter sitter og se at nettopp denne servitøren sto og pratet lenge med sine kollegaer og ventet på "noe" å gjøre.

 

Om du liker biff burde du kanskje lete etter ett annet sted for det eneste som var positivt her var den billige prisen på lunchbiffen. 

 

Lunch: (€)

Middag: (€) (€)

Mat: (*)

Drikke: (¤) (¤)

Interiør: (#) (#)

Café Kosmos

Navn: Café Kosmos

Adresse: Västra Hamngatan 20, 41117 GÖTEBORG, Sweden

Web adresse: http://www.cafekosmos.se/

 

Café Kosmos er en café i Gøteborg som satser på sunn mat og tilbyr retter som passer forskjellige dietter. Det fins alltid bla. ett LCHF og GI alternativ på menyen. Caféen ble ett naturlig valg for meg i dag siden en av mine matvenner følger en lavkarbo diett. Café Kosmos har også et bra lunchalternativ med en meny som skifter hver uke. Jeg tenkte at jeg skulle teste en av deres "helseretter" og gikk for

 

GI BAS: Kycklingfilé med paprikasås. Bulgur, smörbönor, keso, salladslök, bondbönor och fräst kronhjärtan

 

Først syns jeg det var litt spesielt at så mye av maten på tallerkenen var kald, men smakskombinasjonene fungerte veldig bra sammen.  Jeg vet ikke helt om rødbete-salaten var hjemmelaget men den smakte ganske lik den man får på butikken. Kyllingen var mør og jeg overrasket meg selv med å synes at den syltede agurken var en av de store høydepunktene på tallerkenen.

 

Her er LCHF "burgeren" som en av mine venner valgte

Om man må eller vil følge en viss diett er Café Kosmos et bra alternativ, og selvsagt fins det "vanlig" mat (for resten av oss dødelige) på menyen.

 

Caféen er stor men blir ikke for høylytt. Jeg har sett folk i alle aldre kommer her for å spise. En gang skal jeg tilbake dit for å teste lunchmenyen (som jeg alltid har kommet for sent til !!!)

Svin Africana

Lunch: (€)

Middag: (€) (€)

Mat: (*) (*)

Drikke: (¤) (¤)

Interiør: (#) (#)

 

Glenn Sportsbar

Navn: Glenn Sportsbar

Adresse: Friggagatan 9, 41101 GÖTEBORG, Sweden

Web adresse: http://www.glennsportbar.se/

"Alle heter Glenn i Gøteborg" sier man (jeg har forsåvidt bare møtt på en "Göteborgare" som heter Glenn). Glenn Sportsbar er en Gøteborg basert pubkjede på tre barer. Den vi besøkte ligger på Friggagatan. "Glenn" vil være en bar som viser sport, ha trivelig service og god mat og drikke. De har forsøkt å skape en hjemme-hos-følelse slik at folk kan komme dit uten å være spesielt sportsinteresserte.  Da jeg besøkte pub'en var det en fortballkamp på tv'en men lyden var verken for høy eller hooligan-stemningen for stor til at jeg ble skremt bort som matgjest.

 

Puben kan tilby flere sorter øl og jeg testet en som jeg ikke har prøvd før

Fuller's Pride: Maltig och brödig med inslag av vörtbröd, humle och sirap.

Menyen er som man forventer den skal være på en sportsbar, et utvalg av hamburgere, pasta, nachos, biffer m.m. Det som fristet meg mest denne kvelden var

 

Mexikansk burgare: Glenns hemmagjorda hamburgare (100% nötfärs). Serveras med sallad, tomat, lök, monterey Jack-Cheese, jalapenos, pico de gallo (mexicos nationalsås), nachochips, dressing & pommes.

Hamburgeren var overraskende god og pommes frites er noen av de beste jeg har smakt på en stund. Nok potetsmak og ikke for oljete men fremdeles sprøe. Dette var et måltid hvor jeg fortsatte å spise selv om jeg egentlig var mett. Kjøttet var tydelig hjemmelaget og ikke en tynn, frossen kjøttlefse.

 

Det eneste negative jeg har å skrive om Glenn Sportsbar er at det luktet veldig mye fristyrolje da vi kom inn i baren. Lukta satte seg i klærne som gjorde at jeg godt visste resten av kvelden hvor jeg hadde vært og spist. Likevel veier maten såpass opp er det er tommen opp for Glenn Sportsbar. Om du er ute etter en god hamburger kan jeg hvertfall anbefale denne.

 

Middag: (€) (€)

Mat: (*) (*) (*)

Drikke: (¤) (¤) (¤)

Interiør: (#) (#) (#)