Summer in the City
Photo © Anne-Marie Minhall
The summer months bring more opportunities to reconnect with friends & family. Outdoors.
Not for me.
I'm not built to sustain heat despite being a June baby.
There's a long overdue catch up with an old friend at the weekend. The venue is a favourite of mine & I'm keen to introduce it to my compadre.
It's a steaming day in London Town &, because of engineering works & whatnot, there's a walk involved.
In 31 degrees.
La la la.
We both arrive a little warm & glowing. The upside is that we have the best table - not my verdict (though I did agree) - but that of the really helpful server who looked after us all afternoon. It was indoors but by the open-air front. This also meant that we could be entertained at certain points by some truly hideous parking manoeuvres. A tourist coach too big to take a left turn into a tiny Covent Garden street. A 4x4 which took the driver nearly 15 minutes to try to reverse into a generous parking space before the front passenger ordered her out & took over. This is what Saturday night TV should be filled with.
I digress. Let's get to business.
To begin there was a glass of Austrian fizz. A revelation – absolutely delicious it was and properly dry.
Grüner Veltliner, 'Extra Brut', Martin Diwald, Wagram, Austria NV
A cooling & refreshing starter for both of us on a too warm afternoon. Different ones though.
Photo © Anne-Marie Minhall
My friend opts for Burrata with Roasted Peach whilst for me it was Sea Bass Crudo, Tiger's Milk, Cucumber & Coriander
For the main event a Steak frites & peppercorn sauce ordered & for me, Chicken supreme, gnocchi, petits pois à la française, pea shoot salad.
A side of buttered green beans to share.
To accompany our feast we had a bottle of a chilled red - another great new discovery.
Grolleau, Domaine Ogereau, Loire Valley, France 2022
A really splendid lunch &, after a decent break, there was an unnecessary but nonetheless greedily devoured cheese board.
Great company, great restaurant with wonderful food, drink & service. Innovative & seasonal menus to delight - every visit.
AMM
