Eight places to eat out this summer
Golders Green meets Tel Aviv... and other stories about where to get your food fix
Summer days call for sunny food – here is are the places where I will be getting mine.
BEIT CAFE
There’s a little café in Golders Green that truly dishes up a slice of sunny Tel Aviv. My daughter and I went to Beit Café (kosher) just before Shavuot, ostensibly for cheesecake but once there we were gently persuaded to try the Israeli breakfast. Creamy scrambled eggs, salad, a cacophony of dips and spreads and stunning toasted challah and malawach to dip with or spread on. Plus a delicious yogurt and granola pot. We ordered one Israeli breakfast and it was plenty for two so at £19 that’s a bit of a bargain.
Then we shared a slice of pistachio cheesecake that tasted every bit as pretty as it looked. The interior is rustic and cute and the staff are all delightful – warm, chatty and cooing over my grandson, which is the way to win me over these days. He loved it too. He and I will be back – maybe we’ll see you there too.
TONY PAGE
Tony Page and Marylebone go together like elegance and refinement and that’s exactly what is on offer at his restaurant. A beautifully decorated hushed oasis which is flooded with natural light during the day, it turns into a place to luxuriate at night with a menu that is almost impossible to choose from. And so I went off-menu to two specials – a creamy decadent foie gras, which came with toast and a fig chutney, and then a Dover Sole, simply grilled and I also ordered an heirloom tomato salad.
After being so virtuous for the main course I dived headlong into Tony’s signature Lemon Meringue Pie, which manages to combine crisp pasty (no soggy bottom here m’lud), tart lemon curd and crunchy-chewy meringue on the prettiest plate which transports you straight to Sicily. Just perfection. I’ll be back – to make a decision between a cacophony of ceviches, tartares and carpaccios, and then perhaps a veal chop, a rack of lamb or a chicken Milanese. When the weather turns chilly again I’ll stick to retro home comforts – chicken soup, duck a l’orange or chicken vol-au vent and sticky toffee pudding.
ATENO
Santorini has come to Mill Hill with the opening of new Greek restaurant Ateno. Owned and run by the De Rada (a few doors down) team, they have clearly poured the same passion and energy that has made that a favourite into their new venture. It’s a beautiful fit out with lovely Greek food, well-priced for the area, delightful staff really keen to please and a gorgeous ambience. Plus doors that open onto the street to welcome in the sunshine.
On my recent visit we had beautiful large padron peppers, a spanakopita saganaki flatbread, beef short rib, lamb chops and a simple Greek salad. Everything is stylish and pretty, from the marble tables and the blue glasses to the huge olive tree and the central bar. I’ll be back to try the numerous fish dishes and the halloumi katafi.
THE BEAUMONT
Nothing says summer more than afternoon tea with dainty cakes served on delicate china and The Beaumont Mayfair’s take blends British heritage with contemporary flair. Cucumber with dill cream cheese sandwiches, smoked salmon rillettes and truffled egg on brioche are forerunners to a vibrant pistachio and raspberry tart, a tropical layer cake with mango, coconut and passionfruit, and a choux bun with hazelnut praline and chocolate mousse.
Taking centre stage is a black sesame and strawberry mousse pastry shaped like one of the hotel’s suites, designed by artist Antony Gormley. Have your cake and stay in it! Quench your thirst with a selection of teas and add some well-deserved sparkle with a glass of Champagne, or alcohol-free tea-based spritzes.
TAVLIN
London’s new kosher supper club Tavlin is running an Indian pop-up at La Shefa in Golders Green in July. After sold-out events in April and June this one promises to be exciting – where else can you get kosher Indian food?
TEMPO
At Tempo, a newish Vietnamese/Chinese fully glass-fronted restaurant in the railway arches opposite the Museum of Childhood (now part of the V&A) in Bethnal Green more than half the seats are set at the counter around the open kitchen. A small menu offers up dishes that are wondrously simple and yet packed with flavour. Rich, earthy oyster mushrooms with a hoisin sauce and peanut crunch; a spicy braised aubergine with whipped tofu and fatty melt-in-the-mouth won top crisps with which to scoop it all up; a glorious little plate of lemongrass chicken thigh with crunchy skin. Plus a really zesty white wine from Oregon. Delightful little warm madeleines brushed with butter and honey, sprinkled with salt and served with Chantilly cream are the perfect sweet treat at the end.
THE STABLES
The Stables at The Grove is the perfect summer dining destination, where British classics meet relaxed countryside charm with beautiful views and a really laid-back atmosphere. Overlooking the scenic 18-hole championship golf course, it is ideal for long lunches, leisurely afternoons and golden-hour dinners outdoors on the spacious terrace. The menu, featuring ingredients grown in The Grove’s own Jemima’s Kitchen Garden, celebrates the freshness of the season, with dishes such as grilled Cornish seabass with citrus fennel, beetroot and goat’s cheese salad, and British grass-fed 32-day-aged sirloin steak.
KAPARA
Kapara in Soho has opened a cute retroglam terrace inspired by the glamour of Palm Beach with bold stripes, swaying palms, cacti (and heaters just in case!). For long lunches, evening cocktails and lots of rose with chef Eran Tibi’s famed vibrant plates such as rainbow beets with lime and sesame, butterflied bream with lemongrass and ginger, cauliflower purée and aubergine, plus pistachio and coffee tiramisu and Basque cheesecake for dessert this might be where you’ll find me this summer.
In other news…
The unstoppable Jake Finn, who already owns two branches of cooking-over-fire restaurant Cinder, has opened No. Forty Nine in St Johns Wood, an all-day bakery/bistro/wine/bar.
Logan’s (kosher, milky) from the team at One Ashbourne has opened in Princes Park NW11 dishing up pizza, crepes, smoothies and other café-style treats.
New but not new – Cafe Med in St Jon’s Wood has been reinvented as Cent Anni, keeping many of the same favourites that have served and been served to the locals for so many years, but with a refreshed revived, modernised interior and a spruced up terrace.
ShnitzelHaus (kosher) has opened in Temple Fortune where Balady used to be. It’s schnitzel, it’s kosher – need we say more?
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