Andrew Edmunds

46 Lexington Street
London
W1F 0LW

Andrew Edmunds is a place that A and I passed by before several years ago. I remember on a dark night, the glowing candles on each cozy table made it look like the most magical restaurant in London. But there was no sign announcing its name, and then some time passed and I forgot about it. Cue some food blog reading a couple of years later, and suddenly a post about this place rang a handful of bells in my head. Could this be it, the place I had been meaning to find and try? IT WAS. And man oh man, am I glad I found it. To start, I had goose rillettes with toasted granary bread and onion jam while A slurped up a potato, chorizo and chard soup. Sipping on glasses of red wine in between courses, we admired how pretty the lighting made everything look and how well laid-out the tables were - the space just conjures up a welcoming feeling with enough of a buzz to lubricate your conversation without having to actually overhear other people's talking. Next up for me was a whole lemon sole with fried capers and roasted fennel while A opted for poached salmon with samphire and new potatoes. My dish was the winner of the two, as A was left wishing that he had ordered steak instead. Still, as we eased out into the summer evening, we decided we would come back in winter for an even cosier meal.

Akari

196 Essex Rd
London
N1 8LZ

Akari is a local Japanese restaurant inside a space that still looks like it could be a nice pub. What I love most is that they have a very interesting menu - it's not just the generic Japanese food you find at all the chains that have sprung up around town. For example, they sell the bellies of various fish. Above is our grilled yellowtail belly, which is fatty and absolutely wonderful (at least to me). With A and A's mum, we also had an assorted nigiri set, salmon teriyaki, tuna fry (enormous portion of large cubes of tuna, breaded and fried, with a superb tartare sauce and salad), salmon and avocado inside out roll, and cold sake. Prices add up quickly here, as in most Japanese places, but I could happily just have a portion of tuna fry for dinner and make this a place I visit more often.

Morito

32 Exmouth Market
London
EC1R 0

More fun with A's mum! Since the sun was shining and we were thinking about a little snack before a late dinner, A and I brought her to Morito for a few tapas and an afternoon drink. We selected four dishes: salt cod croquetas, mussel empanadilla, crispy aubergine with miel honey and potatos with chilli and cilantro sauce. All of it was lovely but the potatoes were a real revelation. I don't know what they do to those things, but they were perfectly cooked and the verdant green sauce on top made me wish for a basket of bread to mop up every last drop. I will be back and I am always choosing Morito over Moro, no matter what anyone else says!

Freebird Burritos

Rupert Street
W1F 0RG
(CORNER OF RUPERT ST & BREWER ST)

 

In my quest to try most of the burritos available in London, a few have eluded me (mostly due to their locations, which are often inconvenient for me). On one of our days off, A, C and I were walking around Soho and stumbled on Freebird Burritos. Since A is always up for a burrito, we got a carnitas burrito to share. It was pretty reasonably priced compared to other burritos in London (around 5 quid) but it seemed a bit smaller than others. The other thing that threw us off was the overpowering taste of orange juice in the carnitas. I know carnitas is often cooked with OJ, but all I could taste was oranges, and if you know me and my issues with fruit & meat combos, you know I wouldn't be a big fan of this. It's okay though, I've found enough other burrito places in London to keep me satisfied.