Ukai Sushi 39 Lavender Hill, Battersea SW11 5 London 0207 350 2565
Reviewed on Saturday 9 May lunch time
We discovered Ukai Sushi really by luck. Today we first wanted to try the Franco Manca pizzeria in Brixton Market since it gets so many good reviews. Despite getting there at 12:30 there was an umbelievable queue at the pizzeria! Even the best pizza in the world is not worth wasting our time in a queue so we decided to go to look for a restaurant around Clapham Common. While trying to find a restaurant we saw a butcher cooking sausages on a BBQ in the street. They looked good so we tried them. Big mistake! They were greasy and the bread dry. Also, the guy serving us was using gloves but he handled the money and other things whilst keeping his gloves on. Lovely sense of hygiene…
Greasy award winning sausages
They looked good...
... but they were awfully salty and greasy, the grease going through the paper
Well, after finding a bin for getting rid of that 1000 calorie sausage we were looking for a nice light lunch and on our way to Clapham Junction we found Ukai Sushi. Ukai Sushi has a nice sober and modern decoration all in black. Seats are large cubes. The only downside was that you can’t put your feet under, and have no support for your back – so no relaxing back in your seat. We ordered a spicy tuna platter and a spicy salmon platter and for drink it was a kiwi + mint iced tea and a golden lotus with jadeli tea.
The spicy tuna and salmon were indeed spicy, and everything was good quality and fresh. Both were a mix of sashimi (4 slices), nagiri sushi (2 pieces) and hosomaki sushi (5 pieces) – respectively with tuna in one case, and salmon in the other. We would have preferred the sashimi to be a bit colder, but no complaints beyond that. Another general observaton is that the entire platter being tuna (or slamon) can get a little boring even if its spicy, and we shared – so another time we would probably choose a selection of different sushi.
The golden lotus tea was excellent. The only complaint to make about it is the type of glass it is served in – which gets very hot and can burn your fingers. A balloon glass or one with a handle would be much better for the customer. The kiwi/mint iced tea was very good, and freshly made. Not the easiest thing to drink with a straw though, as the bits of kiwi tended to block it.
Ukai Sushi restaurant
Wasabi peas
Kiwi and mint iced tea
Hot water and a lotus flower
Bigger...
Full size
Spicy salmon mix
Spicy tuna mix
Details of the spicy salmon mix
Details of the spicy tuna mix
Overview of the two meals
Cost and conclusion: for £29 (service not included) we enjoyed our quick lunch. It was nice to discover a Japanese restaurant in that area.
Restaurant Bellevue Rendez-vous 218 Trinity Road, Wandsworth Common SW17 7HP London
Reviewed on Friday 8 May 2009 evening
Restaurant Belle vue Rendez-vous
In daylight
It is the 8th time or 9th time we have been to Mini-Mundus – now Bellevue Rendez-vous – since we discovered this lovely restaurant about two years ago. I think it is good they changed their name because now it sounds more French, and gives a better indication of what is inside. I walked in front of it for years without noticing it and I believe it was because of the somewhat anonymous “Mini-Mundus” name. One day in the late afternoon, after walking at Wandsworth Common, we passed by and were looking at the menu posted outside when some fellow passers-by told us it was a restaurant to try and that the food was excellent. The restaurant was closed at the time because the previous day they had a party night but the door was open so we went in. Pablo (the chef) was cleaning the place, yet he was extremely nice to us and we were happy to discover a real French restaurant in this area. I had not previously been confident that it was really French. When I asked if he had foie gras in his menu, he even offered us some to take home so we could taste it! That was our first encounter with Mini-Mundus. It could not have been better!
The design of the restaurant has changed, for the third time I think, since I’ve known it and it keeps improving the place even if I liked the way it was before. We have been happy with Mini-Mundus every time we went there so they are very reliable.
Today we had as first courses a blue cheese salad with apple and walnuts (£5.50) and a rabbit and pork terrine (£6.50). As main courses we ordered a confit of duck (£14) and a rack of lamb (£17). The wine was a 2005 Bergerac Château Ponchapt (£15). As dessert we had a chocolate fondant (£6.50) and a gâteau de Pablo (£5).
The terrine was very good – nice and rustic/chunky. Happily, it was not overloaded with salt – as is often the case with commercial patés and terrines – though salt and pepper was provided for those who like to garnish their food. It was served with excellent fresh-baked sliced baguette and cornichons on the side, which provided a nice contrast to the terrine. The blue cheese salad was great, with the apples and walnuts contrasting nicely from the cheese.
Stéphanie and her excellent staff were as friendly and attentive as always, and our meals arrived piping hot as they should. The confit, sadly, was overcooked and a bit tough. It isn’t an easy dish to mess, so that was a bit of a disappointment. I have had the confit at this restaurant several times previously, and it was good every other time – so I won’t hold it against them. The green beans and sautées potatoes were good as always (though perhaps a little less plentiful than in the past – I hope its not a trend!). The lamb was excellent! It was perfectly cooked, a little burnt and crispy outside but tender in the middle (see photos below) and the mash and endive fitted in well.
Pork and rabbit terrine
Blue cheese salad with apples and walnuts
Confit of duck
Rack of lamb
Detailled picture of the excellent racks of lamb
2005 Bergerac red wine
Fondant au chocolat
Gâteau de Pablo
The two desserts
Cost and conclusion: the bill was £69.50 and there is no “discretionary” service charge included in the bill as many restaurants rudely do so a big bravo to them to keep it that way! By the way, they say at the bottom of the menu a 12.5% service charge is added to rude people so be friendly and you will be safe 😉 I think Bellevue Rendez-vous/Mini-Mundus offers a very good value for money considering what you are getting. The food is excellent, the location next to the park is great, the service is friendly and efficient. What else to ask? Well, I would like fry panned foie gras for example but I am being difficult! We will be back for sure!
Pizzeria Sette Bello 8 Amen Corner, Tooting SW17 9JE London 0871 3327080
Reviewed on Monday 4 May 2009 evening
Pizzeria Sette Bello
Reading great reviews about this pizzeria, I tried to have a lunch there several weeks ago to find out it is mostly (only?) open during the evening. If it happens it is closed, you can always go to Limoncello located two minutes walk from it (review of Limoncello). They also have good pizzas.
Some huge bottles of wines against the wall
Back to Setto Bello now It is located five minutes walk from Tooting Broadway. The restaurant is made of one large room and is decorated with bottles on the walls and also pictures, including family photos. There is a great atmosphere and it is very family friendly. It is nice to find an authentic Italian restaurant in that area where curry restaurants are the norms. The prices are low compared to other pizzerias I know. Pizzas are aroud £6-£7, you can get veal with cream for about £12 and desserts were around £3 something. Unfortunately the receipt is not detailled. A bottle of a red house wine (a 2007 Montepulciano d’Abruzzo) was around £10.
Red house wine
We ordered two pizzas: a Calzone (ham, cheese, tomato) and a Fiorentina (mozzarella, tomato, spinach, egg, parmesan and garlic). The calzone was absolutely massive and it was not because it was the second time I was eating out today. It was good but the pizza base was too soft for my liking: it feels a little too much like bread. I like when it is crispy outside, soft inside. Still, the base was good and all the ingredients were good too. Next time I will just ask to cook it a little longer, even if it gets slightly burnt. The fiorentina had also the same little problem: too soft, no crisp at all. Toppings and the egg were good. The chilli oil was very nice and it was indeed spicy which surprised us as a real good spicy olive oil is becoming rare.
Fiorentina
Pizza Calzone
The wine was good, dry enough and going well with the pizzas. We took for desserts a so-called strawberry sorbet that turned out to be ice cream (too sweet for us) and a vanilla ice cream with coffee and amaretto (nice, the coffee and amaretto were good at counterbalancing the sweetness from the vanilla ice cream). We ended with an espresso and a double espresso and they were fine.
Vanilla ice cream with coffee and amaretto. In the background the so-called strawberry sorbet that turned out to be ice cream
Cost and conclusion: two pizzas, a bottle of red wine, two desserts and two espressos for £33.95 (with optional service charge to add) is a good value for money. The pizzas were good but we feel they could have been exceptional if cooked a little longer so they would be crispy. They were not crispy at all. The service was nice but the single waiter was a little overloaded doing all the service so it took a good 5 minutes to get the chilli oil (through the owner who was helping the waiter). We will certainly be back.
BIERODROME Belgo Clapham 44 – 48 Clapham High Road London SW4 7UR
Reviewed on Monday 4 May 2009
Belgo Clapham
Having studied in Brussels for several years I was interested to eat at the Belgo restaurant. It is a chain and there are a few in London. They are specialised into moules & frites (fries), a little like Léon de Bruxelles chain you find in France. The place is divided into two areas: the restaurant and the pub. We tried the restaurant at lunch time.
Overview of the restaurant room
The restaurant is a large room with nothing special. It could be a hospital canteen. It does not have the charm of an old pub, but it is spacious. I do not believe the staff are from Belgium – they certainly did not speak French or Dutch between themselves. As starters we ordered the grilled goats cheese served on a crouton with roquette, roast peppers, sun-dried tomatoes and walnut dressing (£5.95) and a warm salad of smoked bacon, shredded duck, eggs & black pudding with garlic croutons and a Dijon mustard dressing (£5.95). There are other interesting starters like the very Belgian croquettes with cheddar, gruyère & Orval beer cheese served with piccalilli & salad garnish (£4.95) or King prawns pan-fried in garlic, chilli, ginger & herb butter (£6.95). The grilled goats cheese looked too burnt but they were in fact excellent. They were not overcooked and the taste was good. The warm salad was very very average. The smoked bacon, the shredded duck or the black pudding were just too tiny bits to be able to taste them well. The slices of black pudding had the size of a nail. They were also overcooked. I found the croutons too greasy. At least the eggs were fine.
Grilled goats cheese
Warm duck salad
Enlarge photo of the salad. Too tiny bits of meat: see the size of the lentil to compare.
The two starters
For the main courses we both decided on the moules marinière (steamed with white wine, garlic, cream, celery & onion – £10.95). They call it a “Kilo pot” main course and it comes with frites. You can get mussels in 1/2 kilo pot as starter for £5.95. If you do not want to eat mussels, you have Belgian meals like the beef carbonnade (beef braised in sweet Gueuze beer with apples & plums, served with frites – £9.95) that I know by its French name “carbonnade flamande”.
Frites with mayonnaise & moules marinières
Moules marinières
The moules were overcooked. It is a pity because mussels are very easy to cook, but it is also very easy to mess them. Some mussels I had were still closed despite being steamed. Not good then. The sauce/soup was good, not too salty as happens sometimes. It was upsetting because it could have been a decent lunch had the moules not been overcooked. As drinks, we of course chose Belgian beers! To start, it was two Jupiler (£7) and then we had a De Konick blond (£4.25) and a Delirium Tremens (£4.85). The beers were all great, just as well.
A good Jupiler beer!
De Konick blond beer
Delirium Tremens beer with its dedicated glass too :-)
Cost and conclusion: it was £56.13 with the 12.5% “optional” service charge already included to the bill. I prefer to add the service charge myself than having it already added, especially since we were not too happy about the service. The waitress serving us was ok but she was, for example, waiting for me to finish my glass of beer so she could empty the bottle and take it. I prefer to keep the beer in its bottle until I want to drink it. So a little pushy service even if it seemed without the wish to be annoying. We think she just did not realise it. Our experience today was not great, but it could have been better if the mussels were cooked correctly. At least one starter was excellent and the beers saved the lunch.
The Ship Tavern, 12 Gate St, Holborn London WC2A 3HP Reviewed on Sunday 3 May 2009 lunch time
Cosy interior
Note the TV screen at the right for sport events
Last time we went there (reviewed 12 April 2009) we said we will be coming again, so here we are We both ordered the twice-cooked crisp pork belly served with buttered mash potato, green beans, port gravy & spiced apple sauce (£9.95) and beers (Budvar). We also ordered a Doorstep sandwich – Fish fingers (breaded cod goujons with homemade tartare & rocket leaves – £5.55), as promised in the last review. The crisp pork belly were great, like last time but slightly less crispy while being still very good. The buttered mash potato is real, not based on powder as it happens in some pubs. The fish finger sandwich, which we took as a starter to share mostly because we were curious about it, was excellent. To be honest, I thought it was going to be somewhat nasty, heavy, dry and greasy… Well, it was very nice, almost a refined sandwich! The bread was moist and quite good, the fish fingers were perfect (crispy outside) and the rocket leaves and tartare sauce gave a nice touch. We were pleasantly impressed by it. The photos do not show well how good the lunch was. The Ship Tavern is an old, small & cosy pub and it is fairly dark inside. You can eat on the tables outside on the footpath if you wish to.
The doorstep fish finger sandwich!
Details of the fish fingers sandwich
Bad photo of an autopsy of a fish fingers sandwich :-)
Crisp pork belly and mash potato
Overview
Cost and conclusion: once again it was an excellent lunch at the Ship Tavern. The cost was about £35. We will be back to try more of their menu! The service was friendly like it was last time.
