Upstairs at The George

Having lunch at a cozy pub on a Sunday afternoon is the cherry on top to a perfect weekend in London. This is no secret, and the reason why sometimes it is rather difficult to score a table on one of the many lovely pubs in town, especially if you want to eat at The George, the newly refurbished Victorian corner pub near Oxford Circus tube station.

The George isn’t your conventional pub. It has many hidden secrets, and we adored it for it.

Downstairs, you can enjoy craft beers, ask ales and seasonal cocktails. A local for the locals, but consider them with refined palate and a few pounds in their pockets.

Upstairs, things escalate. This 18th century, grade II listed pub features an English Sparkling Wine Bar on the first floor, among two other rooms: the main dining room and the cellar.

The Sparkling Wine Bar Room is cozy and perhaps will fill up to 6 people in it. It is powder pink and full of glam, perfect for a date with your lover or a catch up drink with some friends.

The Dining Room is classic with a modern twist. Majestic. Velvet sofas and Redel glassware. I am all in. Prior to its revamp, this very first-floor use to be the living quarters of the landlords. Now it probably sits around 8-10 tables for lunch and dinner.

The Cellar use to be the upstairs bedrooms and has now been reconverted into a walk-in fridge purely for wine and champagne. What else could one ask for?

WHY should you go? Because it is not only gorgeous spot, it is a great location and both food and wine were exceptional. Needless to say the service was on point. Be prepared to spend some £££, though!

WHAT will you get? Timeless pub classics with a focus on seasonal ingredients. Every dish is made to perfection and will give you an explosion of flavors at every mouth bite. Having said that, we were delighted with the Seafood bar and had Oysters, scallops and crab as starters and indulged on a beautiful beef roast followed by icecream to top it off.

WHEN should you go? Anytime really, but I do love a leisurely Sunday lunch.  The George is opened from 12-11pm every day, and Fridays and Saturdays it closes at midnight.

WHERE is it? 1 D’arblay St, W1F 8DG London

Bon appetit careless readers,

TCB xx

The Barbary Next Door

5 years ago I told you about my absolute favorite restaurant in London, The Barbary.

This week, I come to you with even better news, they now have a sister, and it’s even better than the first child.

The Barbary Next Door has opened, as the title says, next door to The Barbary. Even a more intimate space than its original restaurant, this foods of the world venue is catering for 10 lucky adventurers.

We had the opportunity to test this out this week and we were instantly in love.

WHY? Let me start with the service. From the moment we walked in, we felt welcomed. The bartenders, the waiters and the cooks, they all seem to have a great time working there and they transmit that to us with their service. They provided us with great detail about the food and wine we were about to try and provided us with lots of suggestions, something that we appreciated.

In an era were hospitality staffing is suffering, getting this kind of service was a great plus.

But let’s talk about the star of the night, the food.

WHAT SHOULD YOU GET? All the food was otherworldly, and even better, inexpensive. A menu meant to be shared, with lots of African, Middle Eastern and Iberian influences. We had all of the snacks on offer, the pita bread, the oysters, the quail eggs. What a great start. All of it followed with Afghan bread and an assortment of savory dips that we couldn’t stop eating until they were fgone.

Then we tried the fresh seabream sashimi paired with a citric salad that worked marvels. To top it up, we had what was probably the best grilled chicken we’ve tried in a year and an oxtail tagine to round things up.

Are you bought in yet? Then here the logistics:

WHERE TO FIND IT: : 16A Neal's Yard, London WC2H 9DP

OPENING HOURS: Tuesday to Saturday from 5 to 11pm. Happy Days!

Enjoy careless readers,

TCB xx

Sucre, Argentinean SteakHouse

Argentinean Chef Fernando Trocca has opened its first restaurant out of Argentina, and let me tell you, it’s really good.

WHY? Because it has all the things you would like in a night out in town.

A beautiful dining space, calling out Buenos Aires left right and center with big ceilings and chandeliers made of wine decanters. A great music system. Excellence service and even better food. On top of it all, a terrific cocktail “Abajo” (which means downstairs in Spanish, and where the bar is located). In here, live music and DJs are on play for to drink and dance away the night.

WHAT SHOULD YOU GET? This is an Argentinean restaurant so in our humble opinion, you MUST try empanadas, the steak and the Malbec. It really is a simple formula, but if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it? The restaurant specializes in open fire cooking so you are in it to win it with a grilled rib eye steak. So big, you’ll have to share. Yum. I suggest you stay for at least one cocktail at Abajo. I won’t spoil the surprise, but their drinks have a little extra je ne sais quois that you won’t find elsewhere in London. Beware though, these come at the steep price of 17 pounds.

The food menu is fairly reasonable price-wise, we paid 45gbp per person with a bottle of wine for two to share.

WHERE IS IT? 47B Great Marlborough St, London W1F 7JP

WHEN IS IT OPEN? eeeeevery day guys! Both for lunch (12 -2,30pm) and dinner (5-10,30pm). Abajo is also open until 2am.

Let this party get started!

TCB xx

Ave Mario

Is there something more religious than a good dish of pasta? For the people behind Ave Mario, the new Italian from the Big Mamma Group, this is of biblical matter. 

From the splash of colours to the Sicilian crockery, the provocative neon lights and Raffaela Carra on repeat, this is one of our new favourite spots in the city. 

As we walk into this Italian extravaganza, we can´t help but think of the exuberance and OTT culture that we associate with Italians. And let’s be honest, we love it. 

The decor and music is on point, the waiters are local Italians and so is the people behind the kitchen and the food, let me tell you, is delicious. 

Big and tasty portions are on offer, and we particularly loved the truffled pasta and spinach pizza, but you won’t be disappointed by any dishes here. Save some space for dessert as you’ll be impressed by the gigantic stracciatella gelato on display, amongst many other goodies. 

If you are feeling hungry and would like to party, there’s also a set menu for 50gbp available. You’ll have food come afterwards, but you will a happy bunny nevertheless. Treat yo selves!

Now on to the serious deets…

Where is it? 15 Henrietta St, London WC2E 8QG,

Average price with a glass of vino? 40 GBP per person (including service)

When can you go? As many times as you like Monday to Sunday from 12:30-3pm and 5-10.30pm

Enjoy my careless readers, 

TCB xx

Arome, our favorite bakery in town

If there is one positive thing that lockdown has brought to us, it is the beauty and craft behind London bakeries. If it weren’t for the paramount of sweet choices we got given during this though period, I don’t know what I would have done. For that, I thank you all.

And for today, I want to praise one bakery in particular. Arome in Covent Garden. A patisserie focused on perfecting french bakery together with Asian ingredients. Miso glaze, Japanese BBQ sauce and bonito flakes are some of the ingredients that you may find mixed in with the classic croissant or even pain au chocolat.

WHY SHOULD YOU GO THERE? The mixture of french patisserie with Asian notes makes this place an essential stopover. There’s plenty of variety to choose from, and it caters both sweet and savory tooth. More over, the coffee on offer has La Marzocco stamp of approval, with in a world of coffee addicts, it’s like getting a star of excellence. For non-coffee addicts like us, there’s also matcha and other teas on offer.

WHAT SHOULD YOU GET?

As previously said, there’s a lot of goodies on offer. Our favorites call for the sausage and cheese croissant covered in Japanese BBQ sauce and the pistachio chocolate escargot. The crackling sound of these pastries is like an addiction, and every bite is a sensorial trip to wonderland. And this is just the beginning, as their offering will have you coming back for more for weeks on end.

WHEN CAN YOU GO? Every day except Mondays, from 8AM to 5PM. You can also shop online!

HOW MUCH? It is not a cheap bakery but you wouldn’t expect it to be! Their craft makes each pastry delicatessen and worth every single penny.

WHERE IS IT? 9 Mercer Street The Yards, London WC2H 9QJ

Now it’s time to put your walking shoes on, bike there and enjoy it!

TCB xx