Coppa Club

When uni was over and done with, my friend and I couldn't think of a better place to go to for our celebratory lunch than the Coppa Club in London Bridge! We were lucky enough to go on a sunny day and so it was roasting inside the igloos! As it got warmer they removed the plastic covers of each igloos and it was much nicer! As there was just two of us, we shared the igloo with two other pairs, luckily we had the igloos to ourselves for quite a while before others came in. You have to book the igloos in advance as they do get booked up pretty quick. I was surprised that the prices were not too expensive and that our total came to around £20pp, including drinks. We did, however, only get a few starters to share and dessert. I think it's a nice place to go with family or a group of friends. 

Steak & Co.

Although I find this restaurant a little overpriced for what it is, the food and the concept is really good. They bring your desired cut of steak over on a piping hot stone block at its rarest form and you choose how you well done you want it. You have your seasoning and your sauce in front of you (depending on the cut you go for) and once you're happy with how well its cooked, you remove it from the block and eat away! I love the idea of it. The place can get quite stuffy with the smoke in the air, but it's something different! 

La Tasca

I've only had tapas once before coming here so I don't really have much to compare to! I went to the Canary Wharf branch and on that Saturday evening it was pretty quiet! (also, the nearest station is Westferry on the DLR). We took advantage of the 3 items for £14 deal and each choose 3 items. In total we had 9 different dishes to try from, which was perfect! The food came within 5 minutes of ordering and whilst I'm usually not one to complain about food coming quickly, I was hoping for a bit more of a delay so I had time to enjoy my cocktail before I began my meal. The dishes we tried were: Calamares, Gambas Pil Pil, Pollo con Chorizo, Croquetas De Pollo, Sticky Chicken Wings, Albondigas, Pedro Ximenez Pork Ribs, Patatas Bravas and Tortillas. My favourites were definitely the Croquetas De Pollos, Calamares and the Ximenez Prok Ribs!  

What restaurants have you recently discovered?

Love Always,

Neelam Jayna xx

You may remember a month or so ago when I posted my Restaurants I discovered this Summer post and I mentioned Inamo. I wanted to take my boyfriend there because I thought it would be a nice change and we wanted to take advantage of a deal from 'bookatable' they had going which allowed each person to have 4 courses for £20. Inamo is an interactive Asian fusion restaurant where you can order food from iPads (Covent Garden) or interactive projections on the table (Soho). It's a very quirky restaurant which can sometimes be a bit overwhelming. However the service is fast and in the two times that I have visited the restaurant I have never experienced any problems with the technology or service. I personally preferred the iPads to the table projections when it came to ordering food as it was just that bit clearer! The great thing is, is that you have to click to send food to order so that you don't accidentally add multiple dishes and you are able to change your mind before sending your final order. 

The recipe was very easy to follow. You pretty much mix the dry ingredients into the wet and create a dough-like texture. Add a little extra flour if it's too sticky and simply allow it to prove for about an hour. The recipe says it will double in size but mine just increased slightly! 

With 2 months of summer holidays and dating a guy that is just as much of a foodie as I am, I have discovered some pretty awesome places to eat in London that I just had to share with you. When it comes to eating out, I usually stick to places that I know or places that are relatively affordable as a lot of these places were celebration meals - it seems I had a lot to celebrate this summer haha.

1. Inamo

I went here as our final meal with my fellow interns while I did my placement at Disney. The one we went to is based in Covent Garden and it's an Asian fusion tapas-style restaurant with interactive tables which give it that modern, quirky twist! It's quite dark and modern inside, with iPads that they have on each table that allow you to order your food/drinks without the need for a waiter. While you wait, you can play on the interactive table with your friends and family around the table. As much as I loved the idea of the games - it did mean that you lose that social aspect of eating out: communication! We did, however, get bored of the games after a while! When we went we stupidly ordered 3 dishes each, but I would recommend you buddy up with someone and each pick 2 dishes and share half of each so you get to try more food. I loved the food here but it only filled me up temporarily and normally I can never finish my meal! I picked three of the starters style food which would probably explain why. 

2. Flat Iron

This is one of those hidden away restaurants that unless someone points it out to you, you probably wouldn't know it was there! When my boyfriend and I were trying to search for this place we actually walked past it. Twice! Only to ask a local shop owner where it was and find it was directly across the street - oops! But the place was really nice, quite simple but quirky and the staff were extremely friendly - we went to the one on Tottenham Court Road. The food was served quick and to high standard too! It also wasn't too expensive to eat here! 

3. Big Easy

I really loved this place! It has such a nice atmosphere to it and the food is so tasty! I talked about going here on one of my 'weekly diary' posts so I won't go into too much detail here! If you're looking for a place to go with your pals, have a few nice (strong) cocktails, and eat some really tasty food, then this is the place for you to go. I had my first try of mussels here and let me tell you, they were the most tastiest thing I've every tried!

4. Sushisamba

So I've been a bit cheeky here - but I actually went here last summer but never mentioned it on my blog! I knew I couldn't go without mentioning this restaurant as it really was a nice treat. The food here is so well presented, I mean, just look at that salad! Sushisamba is located at Heron Tower so you get a phenomenal view of London! I went here with my family, who half were vegetarians and my parents aren't a big fan of sushi - but everyone loved it! There was a good few dishes for everyone to try and they all really enjoyed it. We each choose a starter and main each but actually ended up sharing a lot out where we could! If you want to treat yourself to a nice view and a pretty darn good meal then this is definitely a good shout! 

5. Piccolino

I went here with my boyfriend a few months ago and I really enjoyed myself. I actually went to the one based in Virginia Water but I know there are a few located in central London. This place is essentially a fancy Italian, but their food is so tasty. If you're not too adventurous but want to go somewhere nice then Piccolino's is the perfect place to go. Sometimes you have to be quite dressy here, but I went on a Friday evening and there were few families dressed quite casually. I personally think it's nice to dress up to go here! 

6. Benihana

I went here for one of my friends 22nd birthday in July and we were lucky enough to get our own little room! It's a Japanese restaurant where the chef cooks right in front of you! It can get quite lively inside with a lot of people excited from all the fancy tricks the chef performs and it's overall a really nice experience. At first you don't think you will get enough food to fill you up but at the end you're walking out with a 2 month old food baby developing! If you go, I highly recommend the prawns and the dipping sauce they give you for it is so darn delicious! 

7. Madison's

Finally, Madison's! This is one of those places that you see at least one person on your Instagram feed posting a picture of! You can go here just for drinks as it's a rooftop bar/restaurant. But we went here just to eat once to celebrate the end of uni for my two best friends! We all opted for mains only. I had a Lobster roll which was really nice and probably nicer than the one I had at Big Easy. This place is also quite expensive but I think, again, it's nice to go for something that you're celebrating. It's quite  a fancy place to go and full of business people dressed in suits and pencil skirts! So definitely dress to impress when you go!

Apologies for some of the poor quality pictures. Some of the restaurants are quite dark and I often take snapchat pictures rather than normal ones! Next time it'll be better ;) I'm always looking for new places to eat so if you have any recommendations.. send them my way!

Love Always
Neelam
xxx

As some of you may know, I have spent the past year working in Hammersmith for my placement. During my time here I've been out to many places for lunch and I wanted to share them with you in case you're in the area.

The Duke of Cornwall (Menu here)

This is by far my favourite place to eat in Hammersmith! It's a small, simple pub but the food and staff are both amazing. They serve Thai food which is just amazing! I was never really a big fan of Thai food until I came here and to be truthful to you, I just can't get enough of it! My favourite is the Red Curry Sauce with Egg-fried rice. It's pretty affordable and you get a good sized portion. They're relatively fast in bringing out the food which is nice if you have limited time for lunch. 

The Blue Boat

We came here for my birthday lunch and keep meaning to go back. This place is really popular in the summer as it's located right on the river front and it's so beautiful! But when I went for lunch it was pretty quiet inside. The food is a bit different to what you would expect from a pub, but it still has the classics. I would say this is probably the priciest of them all, but if you want something a little more light and fancier, this is the place to go. I personally like the pub and atmosphere here more than the food, but the staff are lovely and it's nice to go if you're with a fair amount of people. 

The Draft House

I've only just discovered this place, it's located close to some more well-known restaurants and so it's easy to miss. But the vibes in this pub are so chilled and very summer-like. It's almost like sitting in a glorified conservatory. The prices here are a little more than the above but the portion sizes are much bigger! The food is typical of what you would have for a pub lunch, but tastes delicious. They do a little while to bring out the food so make sure you have a bit of time to spare! A little heads up, their sweet potato fries are some of the best I've ever had! 

Love Always,

Neelam xx