Blue Elephant Revisited

It was a sad day indeed when the legendary Blue Elephant shut its doors in Fulham Broadway (our previous glowing reviews are here and here). It had been long known for its excellent food, served in extremely exotic surroundings (it had a Koi river, people!) and was a bit of an institution. However, a collective sigh of relief was breathed when they reported they weren’t closing down, but simply moving premises, to a riverside location in Imperial Wharf, conveniently, for me at least, just a stone’s throw from my face. Obviously, I had to go check it out.

The new venue has a totally different vibe from the last. What was once dense jungle, dark woods, scattered flowers and flowing water is now much more slick, elegant and pared back. The ambience is undeniably exotic, and very Thai: you still feel like you’re on holiday (there’s plenty of light, and although no koi river, the actual Thames is right outside), but you feel more like you’re in a 5 star restaurant than a rainforest.

The looks may have changed, but in substance the Blue Elephant is just the same as ever. This food is expensive, but it is top notch, expert and creative Thai cuisine, full of delicious, fresh and surprising flavours and the cocktail list is the perfect exotic complement. We kicked off proceedings with the fantastically refreshing (and fairly potent) Golden Ice Tea and the sweet ‘n’ sharp Passionfruit Mojito, before cleansing our palates with the complementary Tom Kah Soup amuse bouche. I always find an amuse bouche a nice touch (particularly when you’ve spent a fortune on the main) and the soup did not disappoint. Although not the most inventive soup, it was coconut smooth, yet sharp and zingy – you can buy this as a starter dish, so I’d definitely recommend it.

The starters were certainly adventurous: we ate wild catch tiger prawn and crispy catfish and mango salad. The prawns were really spot on, and the chilli mango element of my salad was really delicious, however, there seemed to be a bit much crispy and not enough catfish for my tastes. Still: in principle a gorgeous dish, and I hope I was just a bit unlucky.

But if I didn’t get enough fish in my starter, my main certainly made up for it. My Pla Rad Prik (deep fried whole seabass topped with garlic, chilli, sweet basil and red curry paste) was huge, packed with meat and flavour. Although it didn’t come with any accompaniments, there was enough flavours and textures in that dish to set you up for the evening alone. The boy’s lamb chops with red rice stir fry, wild basil, garlic and black pepper was also quite an exciting dish: very spicy, but full of contrasting and interesting tastes.

The bill did come in at rather a lot, but the Blue Elephant still serves the finest and most exciting Thai food I’ve tasted in West London. The riverside location feels elegant and gracefully luxurious (even if it lacks the wow factor of the previous premises), and for a special occasion I can still give it a wholehearted thumbs up.

The Blue Elephant 

The Boulevard

Imperial Wharf

Townmead Road

London SW6 2UB

www.blueelephant.com/london

Me really, really heart sushi

For most mid-range restaurants, passing trade is a really big deal. Customer interest is piqued by walking past a place and seeing it heaving with happy clientele. If you’re off the beaten track, you probably have to work that little bit harder and develop a reputation: the other massive tool in piquing consumer interest. I often feel bad for the restaurants based in Imperial Wharf. Hidden away from Townmead Road in a smart, but slightly apart, housing development, the only passing trade they can count on are residents, and many of those appear to be fairly absentee. However, the one advantage is: those restaurants really have to work harder and develop a reputation. Imperial Wharf newbie Blue Elephant developed a fantastic one over all those years at Fulham Broadway, and can rely on it to tempt customers into their quieter riverside location in South Fulham. Having sampled the delicious food at Yamal Alsham too, it’s clear that restaurant is betting their success on developing word of mouth recommendations about how god damn tasty their dishes are. Today, I’d like to throw in another recommendation. You’ve got to check out the amazing Japanese food at Me Love Sushi.

The restaurant interior is slick and fairly minimalist, but it benefits from a large bar area out front with all the usual cocktails, comfy sofas and a surprisingly decent price point (£6.50 for a mojito is not bad going in Fulham). What it lacks in buzzy atmosphere, my Wednesday evening visit found the restaurant pretty quiet, it certainly makes up for once the food lands on your table. I visited with a strict vegetarian, and our vegetable tempura was beautifully light and fresh tasting – none of the oily, broiled rubbish you often find. We followed with delicious pumpkin fritters, served with a deliciously fresh and sharp dipping sauce and a full variety of rainbow vegetable futomaki. Considering sushi restaurants usually square their offering at fish-lovers (makes sense really) I was pleasantly surprised at the huge variety available for those not so keen on our sea-dwelling friends. There are interesting spicy meat and vegetable salads, noodles and rice dishes, as well as an enormous range of seafood. In fact the range in general was fantastic, and many dishes were exciting and inventive. Soft-shell crab, deep red salmon and fresh tuna all featured heavily and my favourite dish had to be my soft shell crab tempura futomaki, which was a fab mix of fresh, soft and crunchy, all at once.

The prices are fairly high. But the quality is undeniable. I think it would be great for a quick girly catch up with friends, especially if you indulged in a few of the cocktails at the bar first. I took advantage of their 2 for 1 offer with Tastecard: half the price equals twice as nice!

Me Love Sushi
8 The Boulevard
Imperial Wharf
Townmead Road
London SW6 2UB

Finding the Middle East in the middle of Imperial Wharf

Rich yet zesty Foul Moudamas

Having lived near Imperial Wharf for a year now, I'm ashamed to say that although I visit daily to use the Overground, and occasionally pop into the Waterside for a spritzer with river views, I have never eaten at the plethora of restaurants that have popped up there, despite living less than a 5 minute walk away.

Since a girls' trip to Sharm El Sheikh, where just about the only sophisticated thing we did was eat at a really great Lebanese restaurant, I have been promising myself a visit to Yamal Alsham, a Syrian and Lebanese restaurant housed in the smart Imperial Wharf development, and which has the double benefit of offering half price meals to Tastecard holders. Not being able to get all four of the Egypt culprits together, and since my boyfriend has got to be the world's biggest kebab aficionado, I jumped at the chance to get him to raise the bar a little on the Middle Eastern fare, whilst simultaneously trying out a restaurant I'd had my eye on for so long.

3am kebab stop this ain't

So let's get things straight from the start. There are no 5am style kebabs at Yamal Alsham. Although they do offer a selection of superior sounding 'sandwiches', including the infamous Shawarma, this is a pretty upmarket establishment catering to a fairly upmarket clientele (those flats are expensive!), who know their stuff when it comes to Lebanese. When we visited we were surrounded by several parties of native Lebanese diners who were tucking into their food with gusto - that's always a good sign!

Hoummos beiruty and Bemieh bil zeit

Steering clear of the 'sandwiches', the boy and I were really impressed with the diversity of the menu. There is a large selection of drool-inducing hot and cold mezzé, as well as salads, fish specialities, grilled meats and more traditional main-courses. I'm no expert in Middle Eastern cuisine, and I feel compelled to mention how helpful the restaurant manager was when we were making our selections. She gave a pretty spot-on indication of the spice-level within each dish, and judging our level of familiarity against a series of the more common-place dishes she made some really great recommendations in terms of 'Lebanese and Syrian food - for beginners'. She also recommended a really great bottle of Lebanese red wine, from the Chateau Kefraya vineyards in the Bekaa Valley. We'd never thought of trying Middle Eastern wine before, and we found it full and well balanced, and very enjoyable.

With eyes slightly bigger than our stomachs, admittedly, we set on four mezzé to start, two cold and two hot.
The Hoummos Beiruty, infused with hot peppers, was rich and creamy, and ever so slightly warming. We also had the Bemieh bil zeit (Okra cooked in garlic, onions and tomato sauce) which was hearty yet refreshing. Of our starters the Makanek - pan fried Lebanese lamb and cumin sausages - were the stand out dish. Almost akin to a spicy Middle Eastern chorizo, this arrived sizzling at our table and were perfectly spiced and burst with rich flavour. An old favourite from Egypt, we also ordered Foul Moudamas, which are boiled broad beans seasoned with garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. The flavours and textures work well together; at once light and zesty, rich and satisfying.

Makanek - the stand out dish of the evening

After a pretty rich selection of starters we barely had room for the mains! However, the boy made a very impressive dent in his Kafta Khoshkhash, minced lamb with parsley in a spicy tomato and onion sauce, whilst I regretfully report that I could barely eat a quarter of my Kibeh Bilsaynieh (Baked minced lamb and cracked wheat parcels layers filled with seasoned minced lamb and pine kernels, served with yoghurt dip). This was quite an unusual dish which, to be fair, the Maitre D had warned me most uninitiated people don't really enjoy. It is very dry but served with a refreshing yoghurt dip to add moisture. I didn't have a problem with the taste, so I'm sure I would have eaten a lot more of it if I hadn't been so full, but it wasn't my favourite thing ever. I'm now kicking myself that I didn't take the manager's advice and order the lamb stuffed aubergine I had my eye on, but never mind - all in the name of trying something new! The manager helpfully sent us away with a doggy bag and I certainly enjoyed my Kibeh more on an empty stomach the next day!

In a bid to revive ourselves we rounded things off with a Green Tea and an Expresso. It was a lovely surprise when a selection of Baklava were also presented at the end of the meal, and once again my theory that we humans possess a separate stomach when it comes to desserts was vindicated when we managed to polish them all off.

My final verdict? We will definitely visit again, but starve ourselves all day beforehand. The food is really well made and the selection is massive. The front of house staff were wonderful and the Manageress could not have been more helpful or accommodating. On a nicer day they also have outdoor seating and a selection of Shisha pipes, so this is a definite full evening affair. Once I can get the Egypt rabble together again, I'll be taking them back too!