Taste of London – 2014 Summer | Not Just Vegetarian

When there are numerous excellent dining options, there are plenty of reasons why one has not yet been to a restaurant – the reservation is too tough to secure or the restaurant is too expensive or too far away. With Taste of London (in 2014 June) at Regents Park, on a lovely sunny late afternoon / early evening, however, such reasons / excuses were gone…. at least for me. We ate a number of small dishes from Ametsa (with Arzak Introduction), House of Ho, MEATliquor, Truscott Arms, Thai Tho, Begging Bowl, Tamarind of Mayfair, and excellent desserts from Tartufo and Plum + Spilt Milk. To be honest, after trying out dishes from these restaurants, I can’t say that I was convinced to seek a reservation at any of these restaurants – most dishes but for a few were just about OK, nothing spectacular.

May be Taste of London Winter will prove to be a different experience……

Here is where and what we ate:

Ametsa (with Arzak Introduction – ofArzak fame [3 Star Michelin] in San Sebastian): These dishes were decent, but pretty average compared tothesuperlativedishesatArzak (based on recollection of a visit back in 2009 – way before this blog was born)
- Iberico Ham over bread and tomato pillow – can’t go too wrong with Iberico ham, can you?
- Meatballs with grapes and tamarillo ketchup – was a tad too sweet
Thai Tho – a Thai restaurant in a modern setting in Soho and in Wimbledon
- Vegetable spring roll
- Chicken satay with peanut sauce
The Begging Bowl – a thai street food heaven in Peckham per The Independent
- Stir fry of shiitake mushroom, deep-fried tofu, Thai basil, cashew nuts and coconut cream – was one of the tastiest, not the healthiest, dishes of the evening
The Truscott Arms-agastropubinMaida Vale serving modern European fare – may be worth a visit, based on general reviews and not this burger
- Potted crab and shrimp burger with pickled cucumber on a brioche bun – was smelly and sloppy (read not burger-like)
MEATliquor
- Halloumi mushroom slider – bland and boring
The House of Ho – Vietnamese with a modern twist in Soho with manysharingplatesbasedontradiional Vietnamese dishes
- Banh Mi with smoked pork shoulder, pickled carrots and daikon in a chilli cilantro dressing served in a warm baguette was one of the decent dishes of the evening
Tamarind of Mayfair – one of the first Indian restaurants to have secured a Michelin star
- Pudina chops – Welsh lamb cutlet with ginger, mint, crushed peppercorns and a green salad – was one of the best dishes of the evening
Plum + Spilt Milk – desserts are a high point says Jay Rayner in The Guardian
- Berry and elderflower jelly with clotted cream – was the perfect dessert for that summer evening!
Tartufo – has superlative reviews in general
- Original LA butterscotch budino with caramel sauce and whipped cream – was absolutely divine and light in texture; a delight to end the evening with!!