Alaz Turkish Restaurant: Pleasing higher end Turkish in Temple Fortune.

 7th Feb 2025

I have a very old friend who lives in The Garden Suburb, and after a very long break, we ate out near his home, at a place he uses for special occasions. The site has had many incarnations, having been the legendary Uncle Ian's, an Iranian, and currently a Turkish. We ate there on a Friday night, which is not a big going out night in the area, and there were only a few other diners in this shiny modernistic interpretation of an Ockabasi. A few young expats were using the tables for a few drink prior to whatever they were doing next.

The menu is very familiar, and the prices are fairly standard for this kind of food in this area. The difference is that this place sort of sparkles and was decorated with no knowledge of the word understatement. It's a bit of a collage of many styles, not really giving a clue as to what lays in wait. My wife and I are pretty boring when we try out a new Turkish restaurant, and my barometer is typically to see how a lamb beyti is presented, and my wife always has a chicken shish because that is highly unlikely to go wrong.

The starters were intersting. She had grilled octopus and got a tentacle. I had the sucuk sausage to start. As indicated above, I then had the lamb beyti. Because I like my food hot, I asked for the yoghourt to be served on the side, and this did not seem to faze them

 

You can't tell from the images, but the portion sizes were generous enough, especially the main courses. These were prefaced by freshly prepared Turkish bread with yoghourt and chilli dips, and more bread was brought when we asked.  Main courses included rice and salad.

The good news was that the hot food was hot, scoring 8.5 on the CHOF scale. 

Again, you cannot tell from the images, but going through a non-greedy phase at the moment meant that both my wife and eye left substantial amounts of our main courses which were graciously boxed for us to enjoy the next day. The quality of the food we were served was excellent and the meal could not be faulted.

Service was attentive (but they were quiet that evening, and one hears that on a busy Saturday, it has taken some people time to be served). Our waiter seemed a bit uncertain of what to do, and fumbled drinks showing a lack of familiarity with serving beer, and there was a minimal confusion as to who had ordered what at the point of delivery. But no matter, as we knew what we wanted, and knew what it would look like.

Two course with three beers between four, including service came to just under £140 for 4. About what would be expected for this  sort of meal currently. Inflation has taken the basic price of eating out in London suburbs up by about 20% since covid and cost of living crisis meanng that it is tricky for a couple to eat out decently for under £60.. I can only imagine that things will get tougher when the increased national insurance and minimum salaries increase later this year. More nails in more coffins.

 

The bottom line is that I liked this place, and not only would be happy to go there again, but would feel confident enough to suggest it to other people.

Villagio Pizza, Barnet. Consistently good meals but pricey

2nd Feb 2025.

For a cold February Sunday night, this place was unexpectedly busy when we arrived at 7.30. The last time we had been was midweek, when it was quieter. This particular location near the church in Barnet High Street has had many incarnations, but most of them have not stuck. I can only guess that the current incumbents have probably got the formula more correct, in that they are offering a menu that is fairly limited, have pushed the prices to the high end of what people might pay for a very suburban restaurant, and have the right sort of staff at the time of writing. It is is easy to get to and fairly easy to park at night down side streets.

Whilst called a Pizza restaurant, probably because there is a big pizza oven at the front, they also serve a limited number of other dishes of chicken, beef and fish, and obviously pasta dishes. I have eaten there once before. It is noteworthy that other Italian restaurants in the immediate vicinity have struggled to survive, so we will see how this one fares over the course of time. In the current economic climate with pressure on staff salaries, business rates and general consumer uncertainty, anything is possible.

On this occasion I had the mushrooms in a Neapolitan sauce with Garlic (and lots of it), and then an Il Padrone pizza, which I had last time. Portions are big, and after the mushrooms, I knew I would not be able to finish the Pizza. My wife had mussels followed by Chicken Milanese with linguine. The taste and quality of both was good

 

 

You can judge the size of the portions from the cutlery and glasses on the table. They were big portions, which made the price more bareable. The good news is that service was efficient enough and the dishes arrived hot. I inspected the open kitchens at the back and given that we were seated between the pizza oven and the kitchen (in a good way), this was not surprising. The chef when he saw me looking in insisted that all food was freshly cooked, which was believable. I would give both dishes 8 on the CHOF scale, so no problems there. I just drank water because I was driving, and my wife had a glass of wine (nothing special). There was no problem in splitting the bill with our friends. Our bill for two courses and one glass of wine, including service was £71.78. This is almost central London Prices for a middle of the road Italian, but because the food was good and portions big, I will go there again. I will write about this elsewhere, but I had a three course set menu at Cotes earlier in the week for £24, so it is still possible to eat out at a reasonable price in North London.

The Clink, HMP Brixton. Good food, but not that hot, and eyewateringly expensive.

 22nd Jan 2025

We were given a voucher for a lunch at the training restaurant with Brixton Prison in south London. Apparently this place has had rave reviews on tripadvisor. The idea is the rehabilitation of offenders.

Don't get the idea that you can just walk into here and sit down for a meal. You have to be booked in well in advance (at least 7 days), and the hours are very limited, so it won't do for an after theatre supper. The instructions are so severe that it almost makes it punishment to be a customer. The biggest deals are that you cannot take any form of electronics including phones and cameras (even film cameras) inside the prison, there is no alcholol, and there is only plastic cutlery. You are told to turn up at least half an hour before you appointed time, and have to be questioned, leave photo id and lock away all your property including wallets, and anything with printing on it. There is a strict dress code, and your slot is timed from begining to end. The menu is interesting but short and is high end British/continental. No cash is allowed, and you can carry one debit card into the restaurant to pay.You can see the menu here:

https://theclinkcharity.org/theclinkcharity/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Winter-A-La-Carte-2025.pdf

The restaurant,which is a separated building, can hold about 60 guests but on the day we went, there were only three other people, so service should have been great. 

I had the pork belly starter followed by ox cheek, my wife had a scallop starter followed by duck with a side order of chunky fries, and we mistakenly ordered two deserts, which we did not need. To drink we had a bottle of still water and a couple of mocktails. There was also a an order of bread (baked in the prison), with butter and salsa.

Our waiter, who probably told us far more than he was supposed to about himself (but we did not necessarily believe him) was great, but they seemed to have difficulties coordinating the serving of food resulting in a lot of down time. He was somewhat older than the other staff members,  and let slip that he had no intention of working in hospitality when he was released.  Even though I made it quite clear that I wanted hot food to be hot, the mains turned out to be no more than a 7.5 on the CHOF scale, which, for the price we paid (I know it is a charity) should not have been the case.

The quality and taste of all the food was excellent and could have been from a good central London restaurant, or a good cruise liner, and the home baked breads were particularly good. I could have done without the mocktail, as life is too short for pretend alcoholic drinks. The desserts were a bit too sweet for my liking and were not finished. Quantities were huge and the portion of fries for one person was more than enough for two. The pricing of everything was high west end (see link to menu), with a 13% service charge. Without alcohol or coffee, a lunch for two was over £135 which I would never choose to pay except for a really exceptional occasion. I also bought a souvenir mug (could not resist) for £12.

Would I go there again. Not under my own steam, as it is inconveniently out of the way for me, is a lot of bother to get into and whilst it was an interesting unique occasion, for the price it was more for novelty value. I also understand that in the evening, it is tricky getting something to eat beyond 7pm due to prison regulations. Another thing that slightly spoiled it was the fact that prison staff could get lunch here and either carry it away or eat in an adjacent room (i.e. not with the guest diners). To me it was rather distracting having the continuous footfall across the restaurant. If it had been fuller, I might not have noticed so much. But you would not expect somewhere like the Ivy or Wolesley to have a takeaway trade in front of their diners, so why here?

DUE TO PRISON REGULATIONS AND SECURITY THERE ARE NO IMAGES (SHAME)

Saga Cruises: High quality food at inconsistent temperatures.

Xmas 2024

This year, because it was not our turn, we embarked on a the Saga Cruises ship Spirit of Discovery. There is also a sister ship, the Saga Spririt of Adventure which is almost identical. I have been with Saga Cruises several times but this is the first report of their food on this website by me.

Essentially you are given three dining possibilities. There is a main dining room with silver service meals three (and four if you include afternoon tea) times daily. There is a grill which offers buffet style food except in the evenings when it is served (did not use this) and three specialty restaurants offering either steakhouse meals, fish, or pan-asian style. At lunchtimes there is a veranda style service for informal lunches such as fish and chips, burgers and hot dogs etc. This is usually freshly prepared and has been adequately hot, but who wants cold fish and chips? There is also 24/7 room service which typically takes about 15 minutes to deliver. This has been hot enough taking into account that fact that it comes from a galley to your cabin on different levels.

The temperature of food at the point of service is  big deal to me, and I know from previous Saga Cruises that unless you make it known or choose very carefully, you are on a hiding to nothing relating to the temperature of hot food and even the temperature of different elements of a meal. I always have had to tell serving staff about this, and I think I earned the nickname 'Mr Hot Food', but I did not care because it is a big deal for me. The issue in my opinion is that they go out of their way to look after you on a Saga Cruise, and tepid meals spoil my experience.

I did not even attempt trying to get hot food from the breakfast buffet. It is on display for up to three hours in baign maries and there is absolutely no control over what temperature it is at the moment of serving. You can watch until a new serving is delivered and pounce, but that is not how eating should be done. I have simply given up trying to get hot food from the breakfast buffet and similarly with the served breakfast. Instead I have worked out that you need to put in a request at the fresh cooked egg etc counter and that seems to work.

In the main restaurant, despite my requests, it is completely inconsistent for many dishes. The soups are usually very hot and will score a 9 on the CHOF scale. The worst offenders are sliced meats which can come at any temperature from a 6 (barely edible in my opinion) to a 8.5, and their accompanyments can be a complete mix of temperatures. Attempts were made to use a very hot plate, but I have no idea how long the plated foods were hanging around and often the plates were hot, but the food was not. I know it is a major undertaking to deliver high quality table de hote food to up to 900 people in a short window but my point is that just as other people have dietary restrictions, I have a need for hot food to be hot.

Whilst these are unretouched images it is clear that a lot of effort has gone into the presentation of this food and the quality of the ingredients is excellent, especially the steaks and other meats but they simply do not seem to be able to deliver a consistently hot meal to my needs. Whilst I did not send anything back, food was often delivered at a CHOF score of 7+ and diffent ingredients of a plate were at different temperatures. Nothing I said seem to make a difference, and the only way around this was to avoid any kind of buffet, when the score could be as low as 6 (they did not seem to heat their containers significantly), and to focus on things that had to be individually prepared such as grilled and fried dishes. The thing that bothered me was that no one else seemed to care, and it may be that Saga cruise passengers normally eat their food tepid, or they are so un-used to restaurants that they know no better. There were complaints about food but for other minor infractions relating to the spicyness of food (usually bland to British tastes) or saltiness.
Food in the specialty restaurants tends to be hotter because they are dealing with smaller numbers.

Another things to mention, which is nothing much to do with hotness, it that Saga Cruises seem incapable of delivering top class deserts. Their panna cottas and mousses and similar are stodgy, dense and possibly have been frozen before delivery. I tended to avoid them and focussed on their cheese selection and it is true that Saga Cruises have the best selection of cheese on any cruise line I have been on.

Would I use Saga Cruises again? If you ignore the issue of the age of most of the passengers, the answer is yes because they really know how to look after you, and if you are picky the food can be just about hot enough.

 10 Dec, 2024.

 Cork and Bottle

44-46 Cranbourn St, London WC2H 7AN

This place is a favoured watering hole of my wife, and she said that it would be a good place to go to meet with friends before a theatre outing, as you could have just a drink, a snack or bigger meal. I was there at 5.30 pm on Tuesday before Xmas, and it was quiet. We were in an alcove, so it made it pleasant for a chat. I found that the hard surfaces and walls favoured by so many restaurants give me a bad hearing experience, and so it was good to be in a more peaceful surrounding. I cannot say how busy it might get later, but my wife reported that it had been quiet when she had had lunch there a few weeks before.

I was pretty hungry, having been for a swim and a walk earlier in the day, so I ordered the somewhat unfashionable dish of ox cheek and mashed potato with gravy.

 

Apart from the meat being a little too salty for my taste, and having made the mistake of using salt before tasting, this was an excellent choice. The meat was tender and 'all meat', and the accompanying mash and green beans were well prepared. All was hot, scoring about 8.2 on the CHOF scale. Cannot complain about the food. I did not have alcohol to drink, and as it is a wine bar, it has a biggish selection of wines, but they are a little above average in price for central London, and you could expect to pay at least £10 for a modest brew. The dish cost just under £27, which, again, is pretty much the par for central London eating.  This was a good venue for a pre-theatre meal a la carte, and the staff understand that. I would go there again.

Bianca, Independent Italian Pizzeria at bottom of Haringey Ladder.

 It's been a while since I contributed anything to this blog, and it has been inertia and apathy on my part, and too much use of Safari browser, where it was not a bookmark. 

We ended up here at the suggestion of my daughter, as somewhere to take two subteenage children for an early supper that was not MacDonalds. The restaurant is an unpre-possessing site at the end of the run of Turkish restaurants along the Ladder, and could be easily missed. I knew it was there, but my wife had never noticed it. It is very near traffic lights, so easy to get to from the other side of the street. It is basic inside, with a few bright geographic based cliche decorations, but no television blaring in the background, and I cannot remember if there was background music, so if there was, it was not a problem. The menu is short, covering pizza, pasta, some starters, and basic Italian secundi. Prices are the lower end of usual for suburban London. There are apparently only two staff, as far as I could see: the chef and the waitress, and pizzas are cooked in an electric pizza oven rather than wood fired.

We had one starter of garlic bread, two pizzas and one pasta between the four of us - the children are not adult eaters, and there was no children's menu apart from chips.

I ordered the Quattro Stagnioni pizza as the one most likely to have quantities of meat on it. I could have added extra meat for a couple of quid if so desired.

I think my picture is a fair representation of what arrived. Clearly not a corporate pizza, and enough topping, but not overloaded. There were bottles of chilli oil on the tables. Crusts were crispy but edible. Probably about 30cms. It was hot enough scoring 9 on the CHOF scale. The lasagne served to one of the children was 10+ on the CHOF scale, and needed time to settle to eating temperature. I was very happy with my pizza, and there was enough, with other leavings to make a box to take out, which was instantly provided and made a good lunch for two the next day (but you have to like microwaved pizza).

My companions were all happy with their food and service was friendly. At about 6pm when we went on a Saturday night, it was quiet, and I cannot tell how busy it gets, or how much of its trade is takeaway. There are some other chain pizza shops nearby, but this seems more authentic. The meal for us, as above, with a one glass of red wine, but no desert, and the shared starter came to about £50 including service.

We don't often eat in, in Green Lanes, except Turkish, and this was a highly acceptable place to go, avoiding the braying crowds of Saturday night (but it was early). You probably do not need to book. I will be happy to go there again, and will probably try one of the pasta dishes next time. Some people seemed have ordered Calzone, which can some times be a struggle to finish.

The Ivy Brasserie, St Albans: at last one to recommend

This was my daughter's choice for a birthday lunch, so all the family deposited themselves in this popular branch of the chain. I had lunched previously in the original Ivy market Grill in Covent Garden, so was looking forward to this.
The place was packed on a Saturday Lunchtime with the well-heeled residents of Hertfordshire, and it was clear that if you did not have a booking, you were going to be out of luck.
I did not realise just how extensive the chain is (not mega, but enough to widely available throughout the country in places with money) and it amazes me, in retrospect how they have not fallen foul of the curse of chain restaurants: indifferent foods catering to the lowest common denominator. In the current times, when well known mid-priced chains are falling like dead flies, it is reassuring that someone knows how to make things work.
We had a big family table, and must have frightened some of the other diners with our collection of small children, but they know how to behave in smart establishments, so we all just got on with it. The menus are not huge and this is probably part of the key to success. Find a few great dishes that can be produced consistently in a pleasing manner. Whilst none of my particular favourites were available, I had no difficulty in choosing dishes different to my last experiences.
For starter I had the duck liver parfait which came with Caramelised hazelnuts, truffle, tamarind glaze with pear and ginger compote, toasted brioche (toast) and was a pleasingly large portion of tasty pate

It looked a bit strange before cutting into it, rather like a rice crispie pie with jam on the top. I found this very satisfying.
For main I chose Monkfish and prawn curry - £17.95 Keralan curry with jasmine rice, coconut “yoghurt”, coriander and sweet potato crisps

Whilst not the most spicy of curries, it was properly flavoured, and more importantly, hot, scoring 8.6 on the CHOF scale. Wonderful stuff with enough rice and yoghurt which I did not use. I liked this and would recommend.
I shared a creme brulee with my wife for desert, as the food had been most filling.

Whilst lacking the warmth of a freshly cooked/flamed brulee, it was a good one of its kind.

Also recommended.

We did not drink as a group, and I just had a pot of coffee, which could have been fresher.

Altogether this was a memorable meal, and the hot food was hot. All our party were happy with the outcome, and we would definitely go there again.

It does get crowded, and it was a bit on the noisy side, but the inside is attractive and spacious. Service was slow but accurate: it did not matter for us, but I think that if you dine when it is busy, you need to leave enough time. It is not cheap, and you are unlikely to emerge for under £50-60 per head, but you get what you pay for.

This place hit the spot for me, and I would go there again, no question.