Storefront City London

Archive for the tag “restaurant”

24 Nov 2022

Eggslut

Credit: Eggslut

WHAT: Eggslut
WHERE: 19 Percy St, London W1T 1DY
PRICE: £7-15

OUR RATING: Skip It

After our latest venture to the British Museum we were quite ravenous, and spotted a venue called Eggslut, which we knew of as a popular chain in LA for famous ‘gourmet’ egg-laden sandwiches. So we readied our stomachs and prepared to get our egg on!

Eggslut actually started off as a street food truck in Los Angeles in 2011, then expanding into permanent sites not only in LA, but also in Las Vegas, Singapore, Kuwait, Seoul, Tokyo, and three outlets in London, including the venue in Fitzrovia that we visited. Eggslut is known for its busy outlets, and when we visited the smaller ground floor was definitely full, but the upstairs was quiet. The venue gave us an up-scale Instagram version of McDonalds vibe. It looked fancier than your average fast-food restaurant, but the tables we went to were unclean and sticky, and the service a bit lacklustre. 

Credit: Uber Eats

But we were there for the food, and our stomachs were keen for some butter, eggs and grease, so we were hoping we were in the right place! A few of us went for coffees, while others went for the overpriced orange juice, which was pretty good but we wouldn’t rave about. We first tucked into their famed ‘Slut’, which was a coddled egg on top of potato puree in a glass jar, with salt and chives and slices of baguette. The egg itself felt slippery, but with everything mixed together with the crunchy baguette, it was a fun little meal, although the texture threw us off quite a bit. It was also a little difficult to eat – but that was the start of our messy difficulties!

Credit: Eggslut

We also tried their Fairfax sandwich, with scrambled eggs, chives, cheddar cheese, caramelised onions and sriracha mayo on a brioche bun. For the more carnivorous of us, we also tried the sausage, egg and cheese brioche bun which came with an over-medium egg along with some honey mustard aioli. We enjoyed the scrambled eggs, but sensed more butter than egg, and oh boy was it a disaster to eat! The hash browns we ordered on the side were also pretty good, and offered a nice texture difference in relation to the very soft and creamy sandwiches, which themselves we felt were missing crunch. 

Credit: Storefront City

Final Thoughts: Now, the food is acceptable here, and we’re not saying we had a bad time, but we were disappointed after all the hype the restaurant has around it. What makes this place harder to review are the exorbitant prices, with all the sandwiches and the Slut being between £9-10. We left the venue still a bit hungry and with much lighter wallets, which is never what you want after having a nice brunch. We’re happy to have tried it, but we wouldn’t go back…we’ll try our eggs elsewhere!

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09 Nov 2022

Lost Boys Pizza

Credit: Lost Boys Pizza

WHAT: Lost Boys Pizza
WHERE: 245 Eversholt St, London NW1 1BA
PRICE: £10-12 (Mains)

OUR RATING: Chance It!

Two ridiculous facts led us to on latest foodie venture into Camden: 1) despite our love of horror films, we had never until recently seen the cult classic The Lost Boys, and 2) we had never gone to the eponymous restaurant despite reviewing in London for almost ten years and enjoying everything 80s and vampiric. We were lacking some essential must-dos in our life, but now that we’ve been to this iconic pizza parlour in the north of London we can finally feel at rest!

Renowned as the world’s only vampire-themed pizzeria, Lost Boys Pizza is a restaurant and bar serving up quirky charcoal pizza and a healthy dose of 80s nostalgia. While you’ll enjoy the ambience of this spooky eatery without having seen the movie, we definitely suggest you watch it if you haven’t yet, as it will heighten your experience! Themed after the comic store in the film, the intimate space has neon-lit windows, graphic novel drawings covering the ceiling, beautiful skull chandeliers and tons more gothic and 80s decor to ogle at. 

Credit: Lost Boys Pizza

We started the night with a delicious espresso martini and a more unique drink they called Stranger Tings with tequila, grapefruit soda (Ting) and tabasco. In fact, if you’re a Stranger Things fan they’ve got a ton of menu options calling back to this series. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still try out Lost Boys themed cocktails. They’ve even got drinks inside of oyster pails (Chinese takeout containers) – including gummy worms of course – and several other drinks harkening back to the namesake film, which are super fun to experience.

Credit: Lost Boys Pizza

Now for the main event – the pizza! We decided to try a standard as well as a vegan pizza while we were here. First we ordered the Jack Skellington with butternut puree base, mozzarella, goat’s cheese, shallots, sun-dried tomato, red onion and balsamic. For our vegan option we went with Death, which had no-rizo, peppers, red onions, chilli flakes and Violife cheese. Lost Boys Pizza does offer to do vegan pizzas with normal cheese for no extra cost, which is great for those of us who are merely veggie. Overall, the pizzas were definitely unique, and the portions were certainly generous, but while we thought most of the toppings were lovely the pizza bases were missing some flavouring and texture. We feel silly even saying this, but both pizzas could have also done with garlic – but maybe that’s a no-no in this restaurant for the undead!

Credit: Storefront City

Final Thoughts: Now having seen the movie we will definitely go back to Lost Boys Pizza, but our main reason for wanting to return is to get to experience Croque Monsieur, their amazing looking absinthe bar in the basement. Unfortunately this bar has been temporarily closed for awhile, but we are waiting with bated breath for it to re-open, as it is near the top of our list of must-dos. And for the pizza parlour itself? We’d recommend going on a Wednesday – every week they drop a password on Instagram and Facebook, and if you say the secret phrase on arrival you’ll unlock 2-4-1 pizza and happy hour drink prices, which we think makes the visit extra worthwhile. Ultimately, the experience and ambience is what you go there for, and we loved every second of it!

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07 Nov 2022

Sabor Peruano Internacional

Credit: Sabor Peruano Internacional

WHAT: Sabor Peruano Internacional
WHERE: 103 Newington Butts, London SE1 6SF
PRICE: £14-18

OUR RATING: Do It!

Storefront City needed some warm and hearty (not to mention delicious) food to keep us going during the grim and rainy days, so we headed down to Elephant and Castle with a couple of friends to one of their favourite South London restaurants – Sabor Peruano Internacional. Serving homestyle Peruvian soups, fish stews and Creole rice dishes, Sabor Peruano Internacional may not look like much on the outside, but offers a cosy and welcoming space full of energy and a knack for tasty and authentic Peruvian food.

Credit: Sabor Peruano Internacional

As soon as we walked into the space we felt immediately welcome and at home, with everyone around us including the staff incredibly friendly – the only thing we felt slightly intimidated by was the remarkably extensive menu! To start the night off right we decided to try their Pisco sour, the national cocktail of Peru and a drink none of us had tasted before. Featuring pisco, lime, egg white and sugar, this drink was ridiculously delicious, and deadly as well in the full pitcher it came in!

Credit: Sabor Peruano Internacional

Our appetites growing, we decided to try one of their more famed appetisers, a ceviche de pescado. Served alongside chifle (fried plantain chips) and cancha salada (toasted, dried and salted chulpe corn), these delicate pieces of raw fish marinated with lemon juice and spices were mouth-wateringly good, and was a decent portion to share amongst us. However to be honest, we could have done with a whole bowl of the cancha salada itself – such an addictive snack!

Credit: Storefront City

A majority of our party had very carnivorous appetites that evening, so opted for a few plates of the most popular dish in the venue, the lomo saltado. Featuring fried beef slices with onions, tomatoes and red pepper, alongside a healthy portion of chips and rice, this dish lovingly represents the cultural blending of Peru and Asia, as it also combines the use of aji amarillo paste and soy sauce in a classic stir fry technique. It’s clear why this dish is so popular at Sabor Peruano Internacional, and throughout Peru in general, and is definitely something we’ll continue to go back to again and again. 

Credit: Sabor Peruano Internacional

We also decided on a chicken dish that evening, their Papa a la Huancaína con pollo. Another traditional dish, here potatoes are boiled in a spicy, creamy sauce made of queso fresco along with garlic, onion and yellow Peruvian pepper, and our version also came with tender shredded chicken. None of our party had tried this dish before, so obviously have nothing to compare it to. While very delicious, it was a bit one note – but that was just in comparison with the more heavily spiced lomo soltado. We could have used a bit more heat, but that’s definitely just our own taste preferences. This was definitely a unique dish to try – but we’re interested to see next time what other plates they have on offer. 

Credit: Storefront City

We of course had to round off the night with some dessert, opting to try their helado de lucuma and picarones. Lucuma is a fruit native to South America, and something we’re now interested in trying in its original form. It’s hard for us to pin down the taste in this review, but imagine something like the mix of maple, sweet potato, butterscotch and caramel. The unique flavour and the texture of the ice cream was nice and creamy – writing about it makes us want another bite! It also served as the perfect complement to our picarones (like a doughnut but created from a batter including squash and sweet potato). Served alongside these decadent fried rings was a delicious syrup called chancaca, a sweet sauce made from raw unrefined sugar from sugarcane. Yum!

Credit: Sabor Peruano Internacional

Final Thoughts: We can’t wait to go back to Sabor Peruano Internacional and bring more friends, since family and friends, and of course good homestyle food, seem to provide the backbone to this lovely establishment. We’ve learned so much about Peruvian food from just one supper, and are keen to learn and try more – and we of course can’t say no to some more Pisco sours along the way! The price is right too – you won’t find much cheaper in London, and if your stomach is full and happy at the end what more is there to ask?

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27 Jun 2022

Brother Marcus Borough Yards

Credit: Brother Marcus

WHAT: Brother Marcus Borough Yards
WHERE: 1 Dirty Lane, London SE1 9PA
PRICE: £7.60–14.50 (Brunch Dishes)
OUTDOORS: Yes (Seating Available)

OUR RATING: Do It!

Delicious, fresh, and wholesome Eastern Mediterranean food is the star attraction at Brother Marcus’ newest location. After wild success in Spitalfields, Angel, and Balham, the chic and trendy eatery has taken up residence in the ultimate cool of Borough Yards, superbly accessible from both London Bridge station and Borough Market. A light and bright interior is instantly welcoming and has a feel of New York about it, which we suppose is the idea.

Brunch is the name of the game here, with an extensive menu spanning the staple of Yoghurt and Granola to the decadence of a full vegan breakfast (vegan and vegetarian options are happily plentiful). One can particularly recommend the Harissa Eggs (British rainbow chard, avocado, poached eggs, toasted organic sourdough, and harissa oil), which was extremely pleasing of flavour and well-proportioned, the harissa shining through in all its abundant and fiery brilliance. This was well-paired with a grapefruit juice, a perfect brunch complement.

Credit: Brother Marcus

Final Thoughts: Eminently eatable food, a buzzing atmosphere, and a stellar location, Brother Marcus Borough Yards is the ideal location for that birthday brunch you’ve been planning. Next time, we might even go for the bottomless drinks option.

P.S.: Still in a brunchy mood? Why not head over to Rudy’s Vegan Diner and grab your fill of the best vegan food we’ve ever tasted.

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05 Feb 2022

Rudy’s Dirty Vegan Diner

Credit: Rudy’s Vegan

WHAT: Rudy’s Dirty Vegan Diner
WHERE: 206 Upper St, London N1 1RQ and 729–731 Camden Stables Market, London NW1 8AH
PRICE: £7.50–13.50 (Main Dishes)
OUTDOORS: No

OUR RATING: Do It!

Although no longer Veganuary, we’re not ones to believe that a month should limit your actions (or your ethics). With vegan alternatives to meat and dairy products rising in popularity and hitting the mainstream, there have been many opportunities to adopt a diet that is simply better for the planet. Unfortunately, most substitutes are poor imitations of the real thing, putting many would-be vegan off. That’s not the case here — not by a long shot!

Enter Rudy’s Dirty Vegan Diner, a scrumptious establishment serving up the best of American comfort food from completely plant-based ingredients. We were lucky enough to recently dine at Rudy’s Islington location, which adjoins what must be the world’s first meatless butcher.

Credit: Rudy’s Vegan

A traditional diner from floor to ceiling, Rudy’s exudes a fast chic coupled with friendly staff and comfortable seating. As explained by the brilliantly energetic and passionate Chef Orr, the menu is informed by a real need for delicious vegan recipes that reflect the authentic tastes of patrons and thus each dish is carefully tailored to feedback initially received. This includes striving towards the complete removal of preservatives as well as control over those ingredients throughout the creative and culinary process. The result is delicious food that bursts with a fabulous feel and taste.

Credit: Storefront City Team

To start our decadent lunch off we each tried out one of Rudy’s smoothies, the Tropical Crush (passion fruit, papaya, mango, pineapple) and the Beet & Berry (beetroot, raspberry, banana, ginger). We had hoped for a green smoothie, but they’d already run out, so we tried their fruitier options. The beet smoothie was a bit sugary for our taste, but we really enjoyed the tropical crush, and honestly both were a welcome light and sweet balance to the heavier savoury food to come! Next time we go there we might try out some of their vegan wines on offer, or if all of that is too fancy for you they’ve got local beers on tap too.

Credit: Rudy’s Vegan

Rudy’s has just launched a few all day brunch dishes, including Eggz Avocado Toast, a Full English, and both sweet and savoury pancake options. Our chef mentioned the bacon and maple pancakes were his favourite choice, which really tempted us! The whole menu looked absolutely superb, comforting favourites with interesting spins: hedonism on a plate even with no meat or dairy involved.

We started with a side of merguez — grilled “merguez’’ sausage with tomato, avocado and Rudy’s bread and dip. This was perhaps our favourite dish of the day, with some amazing spices in the sausage — we had some as leftovers and they were still brilliant! The texture is a bit crumbly, and we’re not sure these would hold up on a BBQ, but we actually enjoyed it very much. It reminded us of a vegan and less oily version of sobrasada, and we gobbled it all up.

For our mains we tried their infamous rubenz (seitan pastrami, grilled onions, cheeze slice, sauerkraut, dill pickles & sauce) and their steak frites (“tenderloin” steak with roasted mushroom, peppercorn sauce and fries). We’ve been craving rubens for awhile, and this vegan version didn’t disappoint! The ratio of all the fixings was perfect, and while we’re used to rye bread, the sourdough was heavenly and stood up to the jam-packed ingredients. Meanwhile, the steak frites was one of the most unique dishes we’ve tried for awhile. While it didn’t quite taste like steak, the meatiness was there and the peppercorn sauce was what made this a winner.

Credit: Storefront City Team

Final Thoughts: Rarely do we eat at a restaurant and immediately decide we’re going to take all our friends there. This is exactly what we said to each other during lunch — we wanted to tell all our vegan friends right away and to go back as soon as possible. Maybe it was the nostalgia of the diner, maybe it was the amazingly affordable dishes, and maybe it was just the absolute deliciousness of everything we ate. But we’d go back in a heartbeat! We’d like to try out their original location in Camden, just for a change of scenery, and we might not get the same thing either. The destructor chick’n burger, the dirty dogz and the buffalo wingz are calling to us. But first, we’ll need to work off the calories from our last meal and then build up an appetite for another feast!

P.S.: Stay tuned for a future review of Rudy’s Vegan Butcher, where we try some of their products as well as partner products you can buy at the vegan butcher shop!

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22 Nov 2021

Adam’s Ethiopian

WHAT: Adam’s Ethiopian Restaurant
WHERE: 86 Brixton Hill, London SW2 1QN
PRICE: £10–14 (Main Dishes)
OUTDOORS: Seating Available

OUR RATING: Do It!

Credit: Adam’s Ethiopian

It baffles us that we haven’t reviewed Adam’s Ethiopian Restaurant yet. Hands down our favourite Ethiopian restaurant in London, we love both their takeaway options as well as their dine-in experience. Ethiopian dining is one of the most pleasurable social-dining experiences one can have, and the food at Adam’s is delicious and affordable.

Originally a bakery, Adam’s Ethiopian Restaurant is a family run business in Brixton, and the service is warm, friendly, and completely welcoming. Our first experience of Adam’s was via takeaway during lockdown. Ethiopian food is best enjoyed at table with friends and family, but it works too as a quiet night at home. Whenever we order takeaway the portions we receive are stupendous, giving us food for at least another night that we always look forward too. You can never eat too much Ethiopian food!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the cuisine, it consists of various vegetable and spicy meat dishes (usually in the form of a thick stew termed a wat), on top of a large sourdough flatbread called injera. The usual way of eating is with your right hand, using bits of the injera to pick up little bits of the vegetable and meat.

Credit: Adam’s Ethiopian

Now that we’re allowed to dine-in again, we visited Adam’s with two mates, and dined like absolute kings. Our go-to order is usually a meat and veggie combination platter, but since we were dining with a few more people than usual, we opted for picking a couple dishes each (knowing that all would still be served together family-style, as is usual).

For vegetable dishes, some delicious favourites have been the atkilt wot (a mixture of cabbage, carrots, onion, and herbs), ater kik (yellow split pea stew with turmeric), and difin misir wot (lentils in tomato sauce with herbs and spices).

Credit: Adam’s Ethiopian

It’s possible to have an amazing vegetarian, or even vegan, feast here, but we must admit we love their meat dishes so can never go without! While the lamb options are superb, we usually frequent their alicha wot (beef stew with spice and herbs), key wot (beef stew with chilli) and doro wot (chicken legs in a spicy tomato and berbere spice blend with a boiled egg). Yum!

Final Thoughts: You can never leave Adam’s Ethiopian Restaurant hungry — we don’t think that’s possible. And while we’re bias with our love of this cuisine, we do think Adam’s is one of the best in London. With it’s huge portion sizes, homey atmosphere, and delicious stews, it’s an absolute must family-style restaurant and definitely one of our favourite food night outs — or in!

P.S.: Long shot, but next time any of our UK crowd are in Chicago, we definitely suggest dining at Ethiopian Diamond, our favourite for Ethiopian cuisine in the city!

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15 Jan 2014

Dragon Palace

WHAT: Dragon Palace
WHERE: 207 Earl’s Court Road, SW5 9AN

OUR RATING: Skip It!

Earl’s Court Road is home to numerous restaurants serving the local community, which includes a large contingent of tourists from the nearby hotels. One of those restaurants is Dragon Palace, purveyors of Chinese food. From the outside, you might think you were entering a middle-range well-presented eatery. But, be warned, there’s more to Dragon Palace than this happy facade would like you to believe.

Adam: Those of you who have known me personally will be well aware of my penchant for the foods of the Orient, whether that be sushi roll or two or a kaeng khiao wan. So, needless to say I was eager to try Dragon Palace, notable for being outside the traditional Chinatown area.

Credit: Dragon Palace

Credit: Dragon Palace

As we entered the establishment, I could not help but feel that the further back we progressed the less of a palace it became. Glancing down at my cutlery, I noticed the requisite black chopsticks, which seemed rather elegant. This was immediately offset by the offering of paper napkins, which were out of place in such a “palace”. The awkward lack of any music was notable. But, let’s not judge them too quickly – onto the food!

Venturing beyond General Tsao’s Chicken and the like, I chose to order their Chicken Steamed in a Lotus Leaf, which sounded appropriately exotic for my mood. Accompanied by shiitake mushrooms, red dates, ginger, and goji berries presented upon a lotus leaf, I expected a imperial treat. What came to my table would not have pleased a Son of Heaven.

Lying, unloved and untended, morsels of chicken blandly stared back at me. Shiitake mushrooms: no. Ginger: no. Goji berries and red dates: few. This was a sorry state of affairs – I had been presented with a few pieces of chicken that seemed to have come from a frozen packet with practically nothing that could be considered a vegetable (apart from the lotus leaf, which was obviously for presentation purposes) and told that it was a meal. What was promised as being “full of flavour and goodness” was neither distinctive in taste nor possessing of any goodly quality. What a regrettable meal.

Credit: Dragon Palace

Credit: Dragon Palace

Alicia: The very fact that I am sitting here, a few minutes after getting home, cradling a tasty tea to cleanse my palate and willing my stomach to keep down my dinner is testament enough to the atrocity that was our Dragon Palace experience. And yet, while my stomach is violently rebelling the pigs’ feed I have just ingested, it is also calling for some kind of sustenance, as the meagre portion I was able to choke down before pushing my plate away did less than fulfill my appetite after a day of saving up for a Chinese calorie intake.

Everything started off just fine as we surveyed the gigantic and reasonably affordable menu, with many dishes perfect for a shoestring budget. Our pupils dilated and our mouths watered as amazing-looking food was brought to near by tables, such as marvelous slabs of beef on top a bed of veggies or Chinese pancakes with finely shredded vegetables. The menu seems to accomodate most tastes, with a plethora of vegetarian options amongst a wide variety of proteins and carb dishes.

I was in the mood to venture a little bit out of my vegetable comfort territory, so opted for the Tofu, Prawn and Scallop Dumplings, suggested as being a mixture of tofu, diced straw mushrooms, prawns and scallops formed into dumplings and then stir fried with vegetables in an oyster sauce. What I got back was not a wide variety of vegetables, was not a beautiful display of perfectly steamed dumplings, and was most definitely not any type of seafood whatsoever. What arrived at our table and, unfortunately, on my tongue was a mess of fried tofu-esque egg-like vomit in a bed of sauce that may have well as just been a mixture of water, cornstarch and brown food dye along with a few mutilated pieces of bamboo, mushroom and peapod which very well looked like they were hacked to pieces by a blunt machete. Except for the natural flavor of the vegetables, there was absolutely no taste to the entire dish, and all I was left with was a terrible mushy texture of watered down and fried tofu that is now being rejected by my poor stomach.

Final Thoughts: Dragon Palace seems to have a lot of loyal locals, and many of their dishes appeal to the eyes and the stomachs of other reviewers. But if we were so unlucky to have two absolutely horrendous dishes and come home feeling sick, is it really worth the risk? We say absolutely not. Stay far, far away and your body will thank you. Dragon Palace is not worthy of your time or money. It is designed to disappoint and comprises of uninteresting food, boring decor and inflated prices. Our advice: stick to Chinatown.

P.S.: Our fortune cookies read, respectively:

“Someone is speaking well of you” and “those who care will make the effort”. We can only surmise from this that Dragon Palace’s grasp of the future is, given this review, as inadequate as their dishes.

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