Can you spare me the price of a cup of Joe: Magazine restaurant, Serpentine Gallery, London

22nd December 2015
I have often been asked if I could spare the cost of a cup of coffee by street vagrants/homeless/beggars. But what is the cost of a cup of coffee in London? I know that the cost of the ingredients? Depending on what you drink, and the size, the cost this year is somewhere between 11-20p, excluding labour costs, and the most expensive part of the components being the cardboard cup possibly.
An average cost of a cup in a coffee shop is about £2.20-£2.40, and if it is more than that I would regard it as being expensive.

I know this is not a coffee shop, but the small Americano coffee here sells at £3/cup, making the cost of a coffee stop of two cups and a piece of cake £10 without service. That is Nordic levels. I know it is a nice enviroment and we were served, with some reluctance, but the prices is a joke. 

Izgara Finchely: best to eat there mid week and avoid Saturday

5th December 2015
We had previously eaten at Izgara on a Friday night when it was not too busy, and it had been an experience good enough to make it a recommendation for group eating (7) in December on a Saturday (booked well in advance). http://www.izgarafinchley.com/
We knew that opinions different, and it has been a love-it or hate-it establishment. If you look at TripAdvisor, that is the impression you get, and most of the moans are about the service.
At 7.30 on a Saturday, it was full with a mix of groups, but not particularly xmas outings.
It took a while for things to get moving and eventually I ordered Arnavut Cigeri  which is Freshly fried diced chicken liver with onions.

This was quite a large portion of tasty hot livers scoring an 8.9 on the CHOF scale, and came with two types of flatbread on the table.

For main I ordered Kuzu Güveç which is Slow cooked diced lamb with mushrooms, onions, peppers, in an authentic tomato sauce served with rice or salad (Available in Spicy) and I chose the spicy with rice. I made the smart move of avoiding a yoghourt based dish this time.

Again, a very decent sized portion, and also at about a 7.8 on the CHOF scale. By the time this was served, it was clear that there was a problem with service, and the process of serving 7 meals seemed to be beyond their capability. A soup starter was sent back for being luke-warm, and for someone else to do that brought a warm glow to my heart. It must have been really really luke-warm. Towards the end of the meal, a kitchen door was opened and a wheeze-inducing  blast of smoky fumes came out, which did not set off fire alarms but was a mite disturbing. It was ok as a meal, but the service rubbed everyone in our party up the wrong way. I am guessing if you go there at a quiet time, it is a different story. The eating out culture in London on a Saturday night has created a dilemma that unless you are going for very top end of the market, it is clear that no-one wants to hire enough staff, as most of the profits must come from that one night. We are considering an eat-at-home-take-away for this group next time. Whilst I understand the concept of supply and demand, with the demand being for a Saturday night out, the customer should always be the focus of a restaurant business, as they are not doing us a favour.

The Mill pub and restaurant, Cambridge. Mod Satis

9th December 2015
We visit Cambridge to see friends, and this usually means lunch out. As it is nearing the Xmas season, which seems to get earlier each year, and also seems to be an exercise in how much time and money can be spent in enforced bonhommie with people who you normally would not want to waste time telling them to push off. So pub lunch it was, but of course pub lunch may not mean a sandwich or ploughman's any more, as it may mean attempted gastro-pub with pretentiously named pies and breads.
In my opinion, The Mill, http://www.themillpubcambridge.com/ , is about half way there and still remembers when Cambridge pubs meant drinking by the river. Typically I would hope for a steak and kidney pie, but the nearest I could come was a game, juniper and sorrel pie. Close, but not close enough.
You have to order at the bar and give a table number, and the fact that we did not do it all together completely threw them. Whether the first one to order hit a gap in the process before culinary hell broke out is not possible to say, but the first person had finished before the rest were served. A gastro pub ought to be on top of that sort of thing, but they might have thought it was a single diner sharing a table. That is the price you pay for ordering at the bar rather than someone taking your order, and they still expect service to be paid.
The pie was actually pretty good with lots of meat, not drowned out by the juniper and sorrel. It was hot, scoring a 9 on the scale. Unfortunately the vegetable accompaniment only scored a 7.9 and the mash an 8. There was a jug of gravy. Given that gravy is on the menu as a side order as well for £2 it was a bit pathetic being limpid and insipid. The food was fine in general but was a little insipid, but that might be what is wanted locally. Pub food is down to earth and has a blue collar taste. This was very genteel white collar

The pie as it arrives: a bit of an economical pie

Looks potentially and pleasingly home made.

What you get inside the pie: unexpectedly full

The gravy just leaked away.

The place with a passing cyclist

A single course meal for two including a drink came to £35. I guess the days of people eating out in the pub every day are gone at this sort of price, unless this is your main meal of the day.

Kitchen, National Theatre: small eats at a price

2nd December 2015
Kitchen is the National Theatre's new all-day café. They say it is situated on the river front with large indoor and outdoor seating areas. Focusing on simple dishes using the freshest ingredients and local suppliers is their claim. On the evening when I went at about 5.30, it was already pretty full and looked as if many of the 'patrons' were there killing time before doing something else e.g. a performance.
There is a short menu which changes with the season and details, which may be out of date, can be found on http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/your-visit/food-and-drink/kitchen. On the day I went, the menu was largely meat free, but had fishy things.
I had the Tempura Calamari with a side of fries

This cost me about £10.50 which sort of justified the small portion sizes which for the calamari was barely bigger than a starter portion at some restaurants. I guess you are paying for location. However it was hot enough at about 8.7 on the CHOF scale and tasted fresh. If you can afford a theatre ticket, then you can afford the cafe prices. 

Whilst the food was ok, it was a moderately satisfactory experience only and I will not be rushing back there. A 250ml glass of house wine was about £6.50. The consequences of a captive audience.

Gokyuzu Green Lane: another excellent Turkish mediterranean restaurant

24th November 2015
Turkish two nights in a row, and the prospect of more to come. Newer higher end Turkish/Mediterranean establishments are now extremely popular and represent excellent value for money as the food is largely straightforward and quickly prepared. This is another excellent venue, and early on a Tuesday night was packed. This is a lively smart eating place: no frills but definitely somewhere you can take a friend/date and not feel as if you are going downmarket. It appears to have won awards in the past as a must-eat-at London restaurant, but apparently the crown has slipped or been taken over by newer usurpers in the London eating world. Nevertheless, this is a good experience and I will have no problem about going there again, as Green Lane is now a new family venue.
There is a comprehensive web site at http://gokyuzurestaurant.co.uk/index.php giving a potted history of the place, and its other two branches.
We just went for a main course, but the table came provided with bread and nibbles as part of the deal. I had the Iskender Kebab which is sliced lamb doner on a bed of bread, topped with
tomato sauce and yoghurt then drizzled with butter. I think I should stop having these yoghourt topped dishes, as it is impossible to prevent the dilution of the heat by the cold yoghourt. For this reason it only gets an 8 on the CHOF scale, but that was entirely my own fault for choosing something that might not be totally hot.

Bread and nibbles provided for all diners

Iskender Kebab

A glass of Turkish tea (not to my taste) comes as part of the deal

I hope that this is the meat that is used for the cooking and not just for show

Services is fairly efficient and friendly considering that the place was packed. I think you probably are best booking even midweek. A meal for four (just main courses accompanied by the table helpings of nibbles), with a couple of beers (not drinking crew) came to £50 excluding service. A bargain in my opinion, and to have had starters would have been an act of greed. I have heard that the seemingly generous platters for sharing are not as generous as they seem as there  are layers of bread underneath. Cannot confirm either way.

Will definitely be going there again, but omitting the yoghourt.

Istanbul Mangal 363 Kilburn High Road, Kilburn, London NW6 7QB: Pleasing cheap Turkish kebab restaurant

23rd November 2015
After an outing to hear a reading of the 'Bard of Barnet"'s latest short play, we needed some food, and a prior experience led us back to the Istanbul kebab shop/manga in Kilburn just north of Brondesbury train station.
This place is not a lot to look at with rows of big tables refectory style and somewhat whimsical murals of Istanbul on the wall, but the food had been good before. It was as good the second time and the costs are very reasonable.
I had the kofte kebab from the better than average kebab shop menu which can be found at https://www.zomato.com/london/istanbul-mangal-kilburn/menu . Tables are provided with fresh Turkish Flatbread, Salad and dips.

Quite a good picture from my Samsung phone. As you can see this large helping had a goodly offering of tasty hot meat scoring an 8.6 on the CHOF scale and was served also with rice and bulgar. There is also chilli sauce and tsatsiki on the table. Very impressed and will definitely go there again if we are in that part of London. Not a place to take a date to impress, but a good cheap tasty meal. Cost about £17 for two excluding drink.