Podcast Episode 35 – Mama Shelter

I visited Mama Shelter in Hackney for their Sunday Spread. The place was rammed, and at £25 for all you can eat, an absolute bargain.

The buffet is split into 3 sections, Starters, Main Course & Dessert. Starters are salads and fish mainly, with a nice bread selection too. The Prawn Cocktail was particularly good.

Mains were from the carvery, with a good selection on meats, roast chicken, belly pork with very good crackling, and two choices of beef, with a Wellington and what I think was a sirloin roast. The belly pork and the Wellington were excellent, with the pork just edging out the Wellington. I didn’t try the chicken, but reports from the table was positive. The roast beef was a bit odd. It was quite odd, and very cheesy in taste. the beef was obviously very well aged, a little too much perhaps? It certainly overwhelmed the beefy taste I expected.

Veg was very good, with a fantastic chilli kale, quality roast potatoes, cauliflower cheese and dauphinoise potatoes as well . There were other veg as well, but my plate was already too full! The gravy was quality, but quite difficult to pour using the provided ladle.

It’s worth saving yourself for dessert on this one. The Mille Feuille was superb, as were the caramel choux buns. There was also a build-your-own-dessert station that looked like a lot of fun, and a lovely raspberry crumble with proper custard! I was disappointed with the sticky toffee pudding, which was too fudgy for my liking, and was more like a toffee brownie.

Drinks were not cheap, with an alcohol free beer clocking in at £4.50 a bottle and soft drinks at £4 a glass. It all tasted very nice, and I felt ok splashing out on drinks when the food was such a great price!

No pictures, because I was too bust stuffing my face!

Episode 34 – The Ned Sunday Brunch

I’ve been to The Ned a few times for their Sunday Brunch and it’s always been excellent. They’re getting more zealous over enforcing the time limit, but if you can’t fill your boots within 2 hours, I don’t know what to tell you!

£55 is quite a lot, just for food, but I feel that it’s worth it. The quality of the food is outstanding and the service is great as well.

Big Piles of Meat
The charcuterie board – lovely picalilly to the right!
The Fish Selection
The Fish Selection
The Salad Course
The Salad Course – best were the devilled eggs in the top right
More Salad
I took too many pictured of the salad…
This was a fantastic sausage roll
This was a fantastic sausage roll
Carvery Meat
Carvery Meat
Carvery Veg
Carvery Veg

No pictures of the cheese or dessert I’m afraid – I was far too full to waddle over there to take pictures!

Episode 33 – Patty Pitt Collaboration

We managed to get tickets to the Patty Pitt Collaboration. They sold very quickly, so keep your eyes out if you want to get a ticket to the next one!

Podcast episode is below, photos are next. In summary, if you can get a ticket to these events, do so! Great food, nice drinks and good value at £55

I particularly enjoyed the Scrumpet and the Potato Cake. The burger was REALLY good, especially since it was out of my usual comfort zone of a cheeseburger! Loved the Milkshake as well – it seemed quite small on arrival, but was exactly the right size given the amount of food we’d already had.

Service was great, and everyone was really helpful to my non-alcohol needs.

The Venue on Kingly Street
The Venue on Kingly Street
The Menu
The Menu – Excuse the bordello vibe, that’s fixed later!
2nd Drink
I didn’t get a shot of the Pickle Backs, but these Cider Sours had a good review. I don’t drink so spread mine out to the others
The Starters
The Sharing Platter – this is food for 4
Booze Beer for most, Non-Booze for me!
Patty Pitt very kindly found me a non-alcoholic beer. The Patty Beer get a very good review from the table
Chips & Wrapped Burger
Chips & Wrapped Burger. The dip had a particularly good review
Unwrapped
Unwrapped – no cheese! Which is very unusual for me…
The cross section
The Cross Section – mine was perfectly cooked, others found theirs a bit more done.
Maple Milkshake
3 Bourbon and Maple Milkshakes and a non-bourbon for me

Episode 32 – Zizzi Sheldon Square near Paddington Station

My first visit to a chain Casual Dining Restaurant for the podcast – the sacrifices I make! A group of us went to Zizzi just outside Paddington Station for diner & a natter. The natter was great, the food & service less so. We opted for the Autumn Set Menu – not a bad deal. 3 Courses for about £20. https://www.zizzi.co.uk/menus/autumnsetmenu. Food was passable, service was glacially slow, the resolution effort was minimal.

Would I return? Not willingly, but would not miss meeting up with friends if they chose this place again to eat, and seeing them was well worth mediocre food! Next time I might suggest one of the excellent Middle Eastern places on or near Pread Street. Not much more expensive, but much much better food & atmosphere!

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My Choice – Chorizo PIzza
 
 
 
Rather Anaemic Calzone
 
 
Rather Anaemic Calzone
 
 
 
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Tagliatelli
 
 
 

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Questionable Calzone

Podcast Episode 30 – Chicken Liquor Brixton Feast Review

Please click play below to listed to my podcast review of the feast at Chicken Liquor. A bargain at £20 and so much good food!

Any Comments, please leave them below!

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Podcast Episode 29 – Balls Brothers Mayfair

Please click below to listen to my review of the relaunch of the Balls Brothers in Mayfair. Good solid food in a drinking establishment.

Be aware the place was pretty loud – it was very busy early on and later the lights went down and the music up.

Worth dropping by after work, but not a place for a special trip. The wine list was a touch disappointing, very predictable and nothing by the glass that jumped out as interesting.

Photos below!

 

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Podcast Episode 28 Foxlow Soho Review

Please click below for my podcast review of Foxlow Soho which opened recently and had a soft launch with a 50% off food deal

I had a lovely meal here. The squid for starter, and the fried chicken and chicken burger were really excellent. The lamb was really good as well – I love salt marsh lamb. We had issues over the amount of time it took us to get our mains, though they know why it happened and it’s something they can address. Less good was my friend’s steak, which was not very good to start with, and came out over-cooked. They made up for it in spades though, with free drinks, a replacement main course and a new steak.

We didn’t get to try the desserts, but the cocktails were good. I had a Tom Collins, which I think could have been a bit sweeter and lemony-er. The others I had a sip of were really excellent.

Pictures are below, and please make a comment using the form at the bottom.

 

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Podcast Episode 27 – Bar Tozino London Bridge Review

Please click below for my podcast review of Bar Tozino – a really good traditional Tapas place near London Bridge under the arches.

 

Not many photos I’m afraid – too busy eating!

Podcast Episode 26 – Sakagura Piccadilly Review

Please click below for the Sakagura Piccadilly Restaurant Review Podcast where I try out the Lobster Ramen in conjunction with Shoryu and a couple of other dishes.

I enjoyed the ramen, but thought it was a little expensive at full price, especially when you can go to Tonkotsu or Bone Daddies just a few minutes’ walk away.

The duck yakitori was lovely, especially with the sweet plum sauce counterbalanced with the sharp lemony spice rub. Also good were the pork gyoza, which were well cooked and delicate in flavour. I’m not sure that it’s as good as Roka, considering it’s about the same price, but it’s not too far away.

The photos are below, please let me know what you think in the comments at the bottom of the page.

 

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