I’ve Got Nata Nine Problems, But A Custard Tart Ain’t One!

Pastéis de Nata the humble Portuguese custard tart, and possibly one of the best dessert imports that has nestled itself comfortably in café counters across the country. I have always been a lover of natas from a very young age; my earliest memory of my first nata was in a Portuguese café on Plender Street in Camden. I used to preciously eat my tart while my father had his morning coffee on a Sunday. It was almost like a ritual – taking my time to eat my tart in slow motion in the hopes of it lasting as long as possible, as I knew I would only be allowed one.

I’m not sure if the café on Plender Street is still open, as I haven’t visited since my teens – but my gluttony for the Portuguese custard tart has grown stronger as I grow older. Unfortunately my experience has not been too good over the years. Like a magpie whenever I enter a café I seek out to see if they have a couple of Portuguese tarts sitting in their display case, tentatively looking for a warm tummy to call their home. I always purchase one if any are available in the hopes of reliving those Sunday mornings as a child. Sadly I am left disappointed, the pastry is not crispy enough, slightly floury and looking a little anemic. The custard filling isn’t smooth or creamy and tasting a little on the eggy side. And to top it off they are cold and limp which is so disappointing as this seems to be a reoccurring theme throughout the land.

That was until one very early Summer morning a couple of years ago on my way to the swimming pool, I spied a new place pop up out of the mystical fog on Endell Street in Covent Garden. The sign read ‘I Love Nata’ – I internally whispered ‘so do I’. It was far too early for even the greasy spoon near by to be open, so I made a promise to myself to explore at a godlier hour. My nata curiosity would not allow me to simply forget about my discovery. Every morning I would walk past and, nod my silent greeting to the sign waiting for the day to sample one of their Portuguese tarts.

The day had finally come! I Love Nata is a tiny nook of a café – serving only natas and hot & cold beverages. The natas sit in rows under a glass counter, looking like a glorious little art installation of yellows and browns. I ordered my nata, which is then popped into a glorious little box with a sachet of cinnamon sugar and a sachet of powdered sugar. I like mine as they are, no extra sugar required. I had a lot of expectation of this little tart and I was hoping the reality would not be like my other experiences.

I gently lifted it out of its little box and it was warm – the surge of joy that passed through me just feeling the warmth being emitted from my little tart I already knew that I had finally found the one. I took my first bite, and much like that wonderful scene in Ratatouille I was instantly taken back to Sunday mornings as a child. The pastry is wonderfully crispy and flaky and makes the most gloriously crunching noise as you bite into it. The custard filling is smooth and creamy, has the right texture and exactly what you expect from a top quality tart.

I Love Nata know exactly what they are doing; I mean you wouldn’t open up a café only selling custard tarts if you were not confident in your tart skills. They even have pairs of little porcelain natas on sale that you can fill with sugar to delicately dust your natas (I have not purchased these yet, but they are on my never ending shopping list) If you are a lover of Pastéis de Nata you need to go and get your tarts here. If you have only ever experienced a limp, soggy, cold tart then please throw that in the bin, go for a ramble and sit with a good strong espresso and a custard tart, it will totally be worth the walk. I have been going here for the odd treat since it opened, I like to buy a box of six and surprise my office with a Friday afternoon sugar pick me up at tea time.

My favourite thing to do is buy myself a tart and scuttle off home to eat it in peace with no eyes around. I always have a deep fear that one day someone is going to grab my food out of my hand while I am scoffing away on a street corner. If you like tarts I would recommend going here. If you like custard you should totally go here. Tart alone, tart in a group whatever tickles your fancy really. Just promise me when your nata craving starts to kick in you go and grab one from I Love Nata.

Happy Dining xx

‘The British Are Coming’

Nestled in picturesque Neal’s yard in Covent Garden (if you haven’t instagramed a picture of the colourful wild café, you’re not hipster enough) is a Narnia of a restaurant called Nat∙ive. I have been yearning to go and try the food here ever since I heard the murmurs of its opening. Conjured up in the wonderful minds of Ivan (River Cottage HQ) and Imogen this little place is a foodies dream.

I have heard time and again how bland, boring, unimaginative and dull British cuisine is. This place is British and I am not talking a fancy fish and chip shop that places a piece of parsley on your fried plaice, and charges you an extra tenner for the privilege. I’m talking British grub at its finest. Nat∙ive describes itself as wild British cooking, taking the country’s best wild food that is native to the UK and basically making it taste like it fluttered down from food heaven, especially to be eaten by you. This place has given British cuisine a new identity, and that identity is YUMMY! Next time a person says ‘ergh British food, I don’t want no spotted dick’ shove a plate of a Nat∙ive main course in their face, and bask in your mic drop moment.

I took my mother to Nat∙ive for her mother’s day meal this year. The menu is small and seasonal and is determined by supply, this small fact already got me excited. When we arrived we were greeted by an incredibly friendly waiting staff and the kitchen. The kitchen is in full view to the public; you can even have a seat at the chefs table, which is a bench table that spans the width of the kitchen. To give you a bit more context, this place is small and the kitchen takes up the majority of the upstairs area only fitting two small tables for 2 and the chef’s table. We were seated upstairs by the window, and extremely near to the heart of the restaurant (by now I was really excited) I mean in my head I was in chefs table territory, I just had a table and the actual chefs table in my way. I could only describe it as almost seeing a really famous celebrity, but actually only seeing the back of their head.

There is more seating downstairs but we were more than happy with where we were placed, and I didn’t even actually venture down to check out the décor. I shall do this next time I visit (yea I’m going back…. Maybe tomorrow and every day after that). The other thing I love about this place is that it doesn’t give off an air of opulence. It’s rustic and earthy with wooden tables and plants running down the staircase, it just feels really natural with its main focus being the quality of the food and its ingredients. The Menu is not at all overly complicated, you can pick between a 2 course dinner for £28 or 3 course dinner for £35 which I think is incredibly reasonable. We had the choice of 3 courses and a glass of prosecco as I had managed to find a great deal on bookatable. Each course has a choice of three meals so you are not sitting leafing through pages of menu trying to decide what you want to eat.

To start I had the Wild Boar Ragu with buttered salsify, native curds and pickled walnuts. The Ragu was melt in the mouth perfection, flavoursome and although a game meat was delicate but yet packed a punch. It basically gave my mouth a lot of feelings, which were all good. The buttered salsify was crunchy and creamy adding the perfect texture to the dish, which was rounded off nicely with the native curds and the pickled walnuts. The starter had the perfect combination of salty, sweet and sour, I was actually dancing in my chair while I was eating!

Main course I went for the South Downs Venison with English turnips & tops, pine salt, smoked potato and bone marrow crumb. Chef cooked the meat to perfection; I could cut through it like butter! virtual high five to chef on that one. The smoked potato was so smooth and creamy and complimented the venison perfectly. But the bone marrow crumb OMG! That stuff needs to be put in a bag and sold as a beer snack because it was AMAZING!! Salty, crunchy, meaty and moreish. I would not be offended if they had offered me a bowl of the stuff to snack on in between courses. The pickled turnip added the right amount of acidity to the dish, which cut through the bold meatiness of the venison perfectly, and the turnip tops added a nice texture and dimension to the dish.

My favourite seasonal food for this time of year is rhubarb. Technically a vegetable but it makes some sweet sweet puds. So you could only imagine the mouth-watering that happened when I spotted rhubarb on the dessert menu. Rhubarb and rosemary compote, meadow sweet cream and coriander honeycomb was the dessert I was going for and it was banging!! I have never thought of using rosemary in a dessert before, I have always associated it with savoury foods but surprisingly it worked so well in the compote working more as a compliment to the earthy rhubarb flavour, and almost working as a rhubarb flavour amplifier. The cream was thick and delectable and could only be described as a warm ice cream, and who doesn’t love honeycomb? This dessert makes you channel Homer Simpson’s dribbling while he’s thinking about doughnuts. The only disappointing thing about this dessert is that it was not a bigger portion because I could have necked two bowls of it.

Nat∙ive is one of the best places I have visited so far this year, and I am going to make it my go to restaurant for friendly meet ups, all those first dates I go on (like 1 a year… I’m so single) when I am celebrating my forever alone moments by going and having dinner alone. All the special occasions you can wear a hat to, basically every waking moment my stomach requires food. This is a great place if you enjoy good honest food – this place is all about the ingredients. I would recommend this place if you are having a meal as a couple it has a nice comforting huggable atmosphere. This is a great place for friends to catch up with a glass of prosecco and several plates of rhubarb compote. It’s a brilliant place to take that friend that sticks their tongue out at British food, just to give them the experience of what real British cuisine is all about. Pick up the phone and reserve a table now before it becomes difficult to do so, and if you can try and get on the chefs table, now that would be a night to remember – and if you get that table, take me too.

Happy dining xx

the Phantom of the tapas is here, with a glass of wine…..

The Opera Tavern on Catherine Street http://www.operatavern.co.uk (opposite Drury lane theatre), used to be a somewhat normal pub. Then someone came along and put some love in it, and has turned it into a fantastic tapas bar! I never ventured inside when it was just a pub as it never really appealed to me, but my friend wanted to take me out for a little food before we went to a work party, and I can only say that my opinion has changed. If I could eat there almost everyday I would.

I left my friend in charge of picking what we were to eat as the Opera Tavern is a frequent dining spot for her. What happened next involved little conversation as I was so preoccupied by the food that talking was not an option and eating and drinking became priority from that point onwards.

Our first plate arrived with an excited squeal from my friend, this had better be one damn good plate of food or our friendship would be over, purely based on bad food judgement alone. Our first sample of what was to follow was a small mountain of Padrón Peppers girdled and generously sprinkled with rock salt. Each pepper tasted better than the last and each bite would either be smokey or salty. I found I was unconsciously reaching for more! good thing the next tapas plate arrived before I finished the whole small mountain of green goodness.

Next to arrive were the courgette flowers stuffed with goats cheese and drizzled with honey. If you happen to go to the Opera Tavern, order this dish and when you eat your courgette save your goats cheese stuffed flower for last! the courgette was tender, and not watery at all. I sometimes find when courgette is over cooked it just tastes of sloppy water, but this courgette tasted like courgette but better. The honey glaze made every bite start really sweet and end with you wanting to go in for another bite. Once I reached the flower, it was stuffed with goats cheese which was distinctive but mild and went perfectly with the honey glaze. I was satisfied by this point if no more food came along, I was quite happy finishing off the bottle San Campio, Terras Gauda Albariño (2012) which was being polished off quite nicely with the flowers stuffed with goats cheese.

The smoked and cured sea trout with beetroot gazpacio and cucumber shimmed it’s way onto the table and it was love at first sight. the sea trout was smoked to perfection and was not too fishy. The earthiness of the beetroot fitted perfectly with the crisp cucumber. this plate was perfection, all aspects of it happily married together. I would eat this everyday and on some rye bread it would be amazing!

But it did not stop there! next to arrive was the confit of old spot pork belly with rosemary scented cannellini beans and the classic tortilla which was cooked in the traditional way and a little runny in the middle. Pork Belly is one of my favourite cuts of meat, and this was cooked perfectly the crackling was so crispy and salty and could almost be mistaken for a favourite pub snack. The meat was falling apart, secretly I did not want to share this plate with my friend but I played nice. Next time I am going to sneak off to the the Opera Tavern alone and order myself a plate of the pork belly confit and spend a long time savouring every taste. The tortilla was cooked perfectly a little runny in the middle and not rubbery at all, which sometimes a tortilla can be accused of being.

The Opera Tavern really know what they are doing when it comes to tapas. This tapas is far far far away from the patatas bravas and Tortilla Española one pictures when offered spanish tapas for dinner. The menu goes above and beyond expectation, its a shame that my stomach could not stretch a little further as every dish on the menu sounds fantastic. The only thing I was upset about was that all five plates left me so satisfied I could not fit anymore food in my belly.

This is a great place for an anniversary dinner as it is a little pricey and not one of your average date places to eat. This is the place you save for someone special who deserves a nice night out. you would not leave the Opera Tavern felling empty, in fact you might rock out with the tummy of a glutton after one sitting. This place just leaves you wanting more I will definitely be visiting again.

Happy dining xx

Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder

If someone said to you I have found what could only be described as the holy grail of Belgium beer in London, you would brush them off with some incoherent sound and tell them to pull the other one. I have indeed found and frequented the holy grail of Belgium beer in London and NO it is not Belgo’s !!!! Please let me introduce you to Lowlander http://www.lowlander.com. Located on Drury Lane this little diamond of a venue can only be described as a fantastical beer cave. The walls are covered in various beer art and the menu of beer is like an encyclopaedia.

The staff are fantastic and their knowledge of beer is tremendous. I recommend if you are stuck at being spoilt for choice than ask your server what they recommend, after asking only a few questions in regards to what your taste is and what type of beer you normally go for, I can only describe the beer that was recommended to me to be the sweet nectar of the beer gods! I would drink any and all of the beers stocked in Lowlander, but I would highly recommend you have a go at drinking a Troubadour. If you still can’t figure out what you want, Lowlander kindly offer a tasting paddle on their menu of three or six 1/3 pints. Even without sampling the food this is where all you beer lovers need to go and just simply have a drink.

Now I can’t visit anywhere that serves food and not try the food, in my eyes that would be a crime unto myself! So browsing the menu I found that Lowlander not only offer a great menu that teams nicely with a pint (venison burger as well as many Belgic favourites) I noticed they had a beer board menu. The beer boards include 3 tasting plates matched to 3 recommend 1/3 pints of draught beer. I have been to a few beer and food matching events and although I am a wine lover at heart, I was quickly converted to how beautifully beer can compliment food (sometimes) a lot better than wine. You have two combinations to choose from a hot board or smoked board.

I went with the hot board, which arrived on my table like a little alter of beer and food deliciousness. Now if I had a completely sober head on my shoulders I would have remembered to note down which beer was with each taster. So you will only have to go and try yourself in order to know the names of the beers. If you are simply happy with a taste description of each tasting, than hold onto your seats. The Belgium beer-battered cod goujon with tartare sauce was light and crispy and not in the slightest bit greasy. The fish in the batter was cooked to perfection and melted in the mouth. The beer combined with the fish which was a blond Belgium beer,  added an extra hint of citrus to the pallet which complimented the goujon and in fact highlighted the taste of the cod more.

The Lowlander-smoked chicken wings with chilli jam were finger licking good, and I did lick my fingers a vast amount in this small plate tasting. I was not prepared to waste a single drop of that chilli jam. The wings were falling off the bone and the chilli jam gave the smokiness a sweet and spicy note which when combined with the pale beer undercut the spiciness to give it a subtle heat rather than one that kills all your tastebuds and leaves you only tasting hot for the rest of your meal.

The Overnight slow-cooked pulled pork with BBQ sauce on its own without the beer tasted like barbecue sampled on a backstreet restaurant in America, with BBQ sauce dripping down your arms with every bit of dignity you ever had is thrown out of the window in order to shovel vast amounts of meat down your gullet in an attempt to savour every taste. The beer (which I believe was a dark Troubador) added caramel and smokiness to the meat which only enhanced the flavour of the pork.

Lowlander is one of those places that needs to be visited muchly and often, anyone who makes it their life mission to sample every beer that Lowlander has on it’s menu would be incredible! I would like to take the burden on myself but my waistline would suffer, and in a vain attempt to look somewhat good I must decline on the mission and only visit for small short bursts of giving into the beer craving.

Ladies if you are in charge of planning a date for you and that special man, take him here, fill him with beer and some pulled pork, and if he is not eternally grateful that you have showed him his new beer mecca and makes you his wife, than he was never meant to be!!

Happy dining xx