Skylon Grill

Royal Festival Hall
Belvedere Road
London
SE1 8XX

January is great for eating out at bargain prices - P found a deal at Skylon Grill for 2 courses and a glass of wine for £15. It occupies a great location on the Southbank with huge windows overlooking the Thames. We settled in and opted for glasses of South African red. I chose the chickpea and goat's cheese salad with lemon dressing for my starter, while P had the pumpkin soup. While the picture of my salad is terrible, it was a refreshing mix of flavors and perfectly dressed with the tart vinaigrette. We both chose the confit duck leg with parmesan polenta and red wine jus for mains, and the duck was tender and crispy, just as it should be. The bed of polenta soaked up all the ducky juices and we both cleaned our plates. We were too full to go for a third course, which shows how generous the portions are. I think Skylon Grill runs special menus pretty often so it can be a fantastic place to have a special meal with a view at a very reasonable price.

Riverfront Bar and Kitchen

BFI Southbank, Waterloo
London
SE1 8XT

After seeing Iron Man 2 at the IMAX, P and I decided some food was in order so we wandered down to the South Bank. We snagged a seat at the BFI cafe by the windows overlooking the river and promptly ordered beers. I went with scampi and chips while P had a cheeseburger - both of us were happy with our choices. I recently had a conversation with someone about what 'scampi' actually is - it means different things in different countries. In the UK it seems to always mean shrimp (or as they call them, prawns), fried in a breadcrumbed shell, alongside fries (chips). I am starting to freak myself out with my new-found love of tartar sauce - the one here tasted homemade with lots of nice capers chopped up in it. Anyway - good place for a meal and a chat if you're in the Waterloo area, since it's not exactly a hot spot for dining.

Feng Sushi

Festival Terrace
Southbank Centre
Belvedere Rd
London
SE1 8

We had tickets to a later showing of Every Good Boy Deserves Favour so dinner beforehand seemed appropriate. The Southbank is full of chain restaurants and we settled on Feng Sushi for something a bit lighter. A chose an inside-out salmon and avocado roll and 2 pieces of salmon nigiri, while I had the Japanese Bento Box (above) which included two pieces of veggie tempura, Nippon duck roll (no idea why they call it this because it's not duck at all, it's tofu), tuna and salmon nigiri and tuna and salmon sashimi. Prices are pretty steep for what you get, but perhaps that is the price you pay for environmentally friendly and sustainable seafood? At least it all tasted good, and the hot sake we had alongside was the perfect accompaniment. Dessert was a bowl of sweet chestnut, green tea and black sesame ice cream. I think I'd skip the chestnut and just get green tea and black sesame next time, but that's just a personal preference. At least I wasn't too full afterwards to enjoy the performance, which was a great mix of new orchestral music and playwriting (Tom Stoppard and Andre Previn make a good team).

The Cut Bar

Young Vic

66 The Cut
London

SE1 8LZ

I could keep apologizing for the terrible photos of half-eaten food, or I could just accept that everyone reading this already knows me and knows how difficult I find it to stop myself from diving straight into food when it comes.

Conveniently, P's office is very close to my campus, so we met up for lunch at The Cut Bar, the restaurant inside the Young Vic. They do a special Monday-Wednesday from 12-5pm called the "Triple Cut" where you get a burger, chips and soda for 7.75. I got the organic beef burger (without mayo, BBQ sauce and relish - speaking of which, why would you want all three of those on one burger?!) and P got the jerk grilled chicken burger. There's also a portobello mushroom and cheese burger for vegetarians. The beef burger was ok - a little underseasoned, I think, and cooked more well-done than I would usually like, but the waitress didn't ask how I would like it cooked so I'm not sure if there are options. Maybe some cheese or bacon would have helped. Chips are crisp and chunky, and diet Coke comes in old fashioned glass bottles (weirdly, I think I prefer the stuff that comes in a can). I suppose it's decent for the price, but without the deal it would have been well over 10 quid, which doesn't seem worth it. Let's just say I had more fun talking to P than I had eating the burger.