Coal Office

If there is something I’ve learned by living in London is that I freaking love Middle Eastern food. The Barbary, Ottolenghi and The Good Egg are, needless to say, my favorite spots in the city. So, it was not a surprise that I was amazed by the new opening by siblings Zoe and Layo Paskin, Coal Office, in collaboration with my renewed favorite British lighting designer, Tom Dixon.

The new restaurant is the third behind this power couple (they run Palomar and The Barbary) and they did not fail to surprise me on their third opening, quite the contrary. King’s Cross is changing dramatically since high-tech companies are moving their biz here. New retailers, coffee shops and and hip workout studios are opening at an increasing pace, so the food business could not be behind.

WHAT WILL YOU GET?

For starters, the bread is to die for. And you can get my heart by getting me good bread. So many choices, it was hard to decide which one was going to be the winner, but I’d say the Kubalaha and the Manakish were our favorites. That puffy bread was in-sane.

Everything on the menu, from starters to desert is fantastic. I am struggling to decided which ones we like the most, but I remember vividly the josperized aubergine, the chicken liver pate, the shikshukit 2.0 (their take on shakshula) and the baked bone marrow. My, oh my.

I’m a sucker for ice-cream, so for dessert I had the tahini ice-cream, which was very peculiar and nice.

WHEN IS IT OPEN? Everyday!!!! And you can book!!! It’s a miracle!!! Open for breakkie from 8-10,30am (which I still need to try), then for lunch 12-3,30pm and last for dinner from 5,30-11pm.

WHERE IS IT EXACTLY? At Coal Drops Yard, 2 Bagley Walk N1C 4PQ

Average price per person (including a bottle of wine, and tipping): £45-50

Don’t miss out, it is worth the hype.

TCB xx

Perilla means Danger

Perilla

A modern interpretation of classical European flavours

That's a fun fact for ya! Perilla means 'Danger' or 'You Are At Risk' in Catalan, my mother tongue (along with Spanish). But truth is, you'll be in great hands if you dine at Perilla in London, this place is far from something risky, unless we talk about food. Once again, I'm impressed. 

WHY? I love mix and match in food, and I feel London is becoming and addict to it, too. Perilla takes great conventional dishes and adds unique ingredients and sauces to it, that make each one of their dishes very special. 

We tried this place at dinner time, which I think was a plus, as the venue has that romantic je ne sais quois that makes it super lovely.  Each table is tiny but big enough to have a feast.

We don't like to get given a set tasting menu, but I have to say that price-quality and everything that you get, you are better off by doing so, if you are not as fussy as I am. 

Their customer service is sensational. I've become quite picky with my wine lately, and they were very attentive to give me enough suggestions and trials before I decided on which one to go for. To start of, we had a delicious seaweed bread with brown butter which was to die for; and YES, I am OBSESSED with bread. For mains, we had a superb mushroom with walnut sauce, pot roast broccoli with cabbages & hunt yogurt and surprisingly we tried roast cod and grilled lamb. A bit of everything! Of course, many desserts came after but our pick for the week would go for the Walnut Custard Tart with shaved chestnuts. There were raw mushrooms in our dessert, and they matched perfectly. NOW, I know all of this sounds amazing but we aware that these fellas change their menu frequently, so you may get a whole different deal depending on which season you. Worry-less, it will be fantastic. 

WHERE is this place?  1-3 Green Lanes, Mildmay Ward, London N16 9BS; in between Dalston and Canonbury

WHEN? Monday to Friday only for dinner from 6-11pm, Weekends for brunch, lunch and dinner between 12,30-11pm

You are not in danger, but your belly will be if you miss out on this one. 

TCB xx