28th Feb 2014: Pizza Pilgrims, Soho, London, UK

Approx 5:30pm-6:30pm
Pizza Pilgrims

11 Dean Street, London W1D 3RP

http://pizzapilgrims.co.uk

After hearing from an old work colleague that this pizza place is 'better than Franco Manca', I knew that this would soon be coming up on my to-visit list. Surely no pizza - ever - can be better than Franco Manca?! Let's find out...

The place from the outside looks tiny, with a little seating area around the front window, and the large, stone oven at the back of the room. I then realised that there was a downstairs area, and most of the queue were escorted down there as soon as we arrived. When we got to the front of the queue however, we were told that there was no more room downstairs, but that there was room by the window - fine by us! Watching the pizzas cooking, plus people watching, equals win in my book!

In the end, I was very glad we got to sit upstairs. On visiting the loos - which were situated down the stairs - I got to take a look at what we were missing out on. It was a larger area than I expected, with a lot of full tables with little red and white tablecloths. It was very quaint, but I have to say that it was very stuffy down there. Being upstairs suited me just fine!

The menu was fairly good - although I was expecting a wider and more diverse set of ingredients. The pizzas were all very generic, but I was willing to bet that the taste would make up for this.

I decided to go for the Smoked Napoli pizza, which had toppings of smoked anchovies (a personal favourite of mine), black olives, capers and oregano on a margarita base. The pizza arrived in a timely manner, and I was not disappointed! The flavours were very rich, and the base was soft and fluffy. The only thing I will say is that the base could have been a little crispier on the bottom as towards the middle the base seemed to disintegrate into a bit of a tomato-y mush. However, this didn't detract from the taste - it was delicious!

My boyfriend went for the recommended Nduja, which he also rated highly.

Another note here is that the chili oil was actually hot! It was packed fill of tiny chilies, and gave a great kick. Not many paces have chili oil like that.

For drinks, I went with a carafe of house red, which was fairly nice. I would have preferred the quality to be slightly better, but it was cheap and cheerful. My boyfriend went for the beer of the day, which was the Cortigana - that didn't last very long, so I presume that it was rather enjoyable!

The service here was friendly and casual, and we were served promptly.

Overall, a really great pizza at Pizza Pilgrims, but maybe a small notch away from Franco Mancas. I'd definitely visit again, and maybe bring some friends.

ThymeTip: Sit upstairs for a street view and plenty of air!

Food: 8/10

Drink: 5/10

Service: 7/10

Fun-ness: 7/10

28th Feb 2015: Asadal, Holborn, London, UK

Approx 12:30pm-1:15pm
Asadal

227 High Holborn, London WC1V 7DA

http://www.asadal.co.uk

Before I start on this one; I have been to Asadal before, and it is great for Korean food (probably in my top 2 Korean restaurants in London)!

I am currently in the middle of (and struggling through) a Korean language course on Saturday mornings, and so I thought it would be a great idea to nip into Asadal afterwards for a spot of lunch, and maybe to practice my Korean speaking (it is only around the corner from my school). In the end, I got way too scared to speak any Korean in there, and just ate quietly instead. I'm in no way complaining - it was delicious, and very reasonable.

You'll notice when you first go through the doors here that you have to go downstairs for the restaurant - I have always found this very daunting for some reason, but don't let put you off! The decor is great - very clean and modern with dark wood, leafy details and moody lighting. There is a lot of room in here, and a lot of tables, but it can still get very busy in the evening (expect to queue).

The lunch menu is a lot smaller than the evening menu, and concentrates on a Bi Bim Bap special of beef, chicken or pork. During the evening there is a much larger menu; one of the main focuses being the Korean BBQ, which is always a lot of fun. If you choose to go for Korean BBQ, it's best to eat it with a group of people, as the portions are generally quite large. On the larger tables is a BBQ stove, which will be lit if you choose to go with the BBQ option. The staff will show you how to cook the meat at your table, and then you can cook it to your own liking. Such a good laugh!

Here was the lunch menu for my Saturday afternoon visit:

I chose to go with the Marinated Beef Bi Bim Bap; This is a sizzling stone bowl filled with rice, vegetables and beef. I was surprised to see that when the stone bowl of goodness came out, it was accompanied by 3 kimchi sides, a bowl of miso soup, and a pot of hot sauce (to add to the Bi Bim Bap as required). For a price of £9.50, the amount of food I got was an absolute bargain! If you add an extra side it would easily enough to feed two people for a light lunch. Luckily, I was very hungry, and ate the lot!

The main dish and the sides were delicious. The rice bowl was packed with flavour, and I love the crispy bit of rice that cooks on the hot bowl - it really adds some depth to the texture. The cabbage kimchi was delicious - I would happily have paid for a bigger portion of this if I had been greedier. The last time I visited, I tried the pork fried kimchi, which was amazing! I topped this off with a cheeky Hite beer, which went down a treat.

The only thing that could make this better is if:

- The beef was added to the bowl raw - the bowl would have cooked it perfectly

- An egg was added to the top of the rice bowl - this always goes great with Bi Bim Bap

Overall, I loved my lunch here at Asadal - I can't wait to visit again with friends!

ThymeTip: If it's your first thyme doing Korean food, try a pajeon starter - nothing is better as comfort food!!

Food: 8/10

Drink: 5/10

Service: 6/10

Fun-ness: 6/10

21st Feb 2015: Hare and Tortoise, Ealing, London, England

Approx 8:30pm-9pm
Hare and Tortoise
38-39 Haven Green, Ealing, London, W5 2NX

http://www.hareandtortoise.co.uk

Having heard a lot of good things about the Hare and Tortoise, I decided to take a visit before this impromptu drunken Wednesday night in Ealing. 

On arrival, the facade looks very welcoming and modern, and stepping inside this modern and clean ambience continues. Despite being mid-week, the restaurant was very busy, and we still managed to get seated straight away.

We decided to go for a nice mixture of sushi from their Deluxe Sushi Box, which was priced at £16.60. For this, you get 16 pieces of sushi, which is generally enough for 2 people; salmon, tuna, hamachi, botan shrimp, scallop, white tuna, omelette nigiri and ikura gunkan, 3 salmon maki, 3 tuna maki and 2 futomaki.

We were served in a timely manner with our drinks, and the sushi arrived within 5 minutes of ordering, which is super fast for a sushi board!

Overall, we felt like the standard of this sushi didn't match our expectations. The taste was very nice, and we liked the selection of sushi we were presented, but there were a few small points that we thought brought the experience down a notch:

- When the sushi was brought out, there was a slight fishy smell coming from it - although this was not represented in the taste

- The rice wasn't held together as well as liked, which made the sushi pieces quite soft and easy to fall apart

My favourite sushi piece on this board was the futomaki - it packed lots of flavour, and the texture was the best on the board.

For drinks, we went for a Japanese beer each (the Musashino, which was on their premium beer list) and a warm sake. Both of these were tasty and of a decent standard, and the warm sake was very warm! Watch your fingers!

In conclusion - although our visit was indeed a quick one, we would have hoped for more. I would visit again with more time on my hands, and maybe with a group of 4 or 5 (the ambience in there would suit a group very well). I'd also like to try their Gourmet Selection Box at just £3 more to see how this differs from our selection. 

ThymeTip: If it's your first thyme doing sushi, don't opt out of a sushi board for some noodles - give it a go!

Food: 5/10

Drink: 6/10

Service: 6/10

Fun-ness: 5/10