Making it look too easy...

I love the Big Easy. I love the spicy guilt inducing glutinous US style food. I love the over the top shiny happy people service. I love the live band that belt out all your old school favourite rock and roll hits and I especially love the margaritas.


The Big Easy is a breath of fresh air amongst a string of overpriced personality free chain Chelsea restaurants on the Kings Road. It has its own personality and is not afraid to shout about it loud and clear-it is an institution. Advance reservations here are essential, at least 3 days for mid week and more for a weekend as this ‘joint’ is buzzing all the time. I have never been there when it hasn’t been full, loud and bursting at the seams. Upstairs is great for cocktails and dinner if you don’t want to be too disturbed by the band. Downstairs is great if you don’t mind being penned in like chickens (in a good way as the atmosphere is pretty electric) and enjoying the full force of the live music- as you can tell this is not the place if you want to be whispering sweet nothings into each other’s ears.

The service is brilliant- I have always been very well looked after and my most recent visit last week was no exception. Our waiter was so friendly and gauged right away that we were in no rush and wanted to savour the evening and our wine. We ordered shrimp and calamari to start, both served with delicious spicy dipping sauces and as you can predict BIG portions. Mains constituted of one ‘surf and turf’ and I had the chicken fajitas- both were truly decadent and sumptuous. My sizzling fajitas were packed with spice and flavour, merging cheese and chilli in perfect quantities resulting in a total melt in the mouth experience. I had died and gone to heaven, not to mention I was 3 glasses of white wine in by this point and those euphoric opening chords to the Eagles Hotel California had just begun....

Honestly if you want to escape the grey drizzle, the commute, the fatigue and the boredom that can occur from time to time while working in London go to the Big Easy- it is like going on holiday for a couple of hours. Lose your inhibitions, let your hair down and wear elasticised trousers. They also do daily deals and offers making a mid week supper more affordable than most.

http://www.bigeasy.co.uk/

Pootling around SW6 this April...

I CANNOT believe April is almost upon us, and SW6 certainly has felt very springlike recently - balmy Sunday strolls down the Kings Road, and the bliss of longer, milder evenings now the clocks have gone forwards (even if  that early alarm clock was jarring).

Spring-time is infectious, and we're full of plans for extended Sunday drinking sessions and BBQ's at The Ship, more barbecue action at the White Horse, followed by lazy afternoons sunbathing on Parsons Green. The sunny weather will lead to inevitable terrace-wars (the relative merits of the private beer garden at Aragon House versus the Sloaney Pony's P.Green-facing patio has been a perennial summer debate for the past several years of my life) and the opportunity to explore some of SW6's outdoor treasures.

But it's tempted to get carried away and ahead of ourselves, it is only April for goodness sake, what have we got on our to-do lists for the month ahead...

I've been missing the back-to-back style coverage of London Fashion Week, and so we'll be heading to the V&A for our cultural fix to check out the Yohji Yamamoto exhibition.

We're really excited about the launch of The Jam Tree (I think it opened today!) on the Kings Road. It provides us with yet another rival beer-garden (and it's lookin' pretty good) and we love the idea of a Colonial-inspired menu. Let's hope it lives up to the hype.

Having picked up (and very much enjoyed) our first issue of Matchbox magazine we loved the idea of First Wednesdays: a host of cultural collaborations and late openings in West London (particularly Notting Hill) on the first Wednesday of each month.

Given that my Tastecard is about to run out (and I haven't used it enough to warrant paying for a new one) we're going to have to max it out in all our local participating restaurants during April. A place that comes highly recommended is Out of the Blue Bar and Kitchen in Clapham Junction, offering 50% off main courses with a tastecard: and if you get there before 7:30 you can hit up happy hour too - perfect!

Another local magazine doing a great collaboration is DV8 who will be hooking up with Ad Hoc (you know, that AMAZING quirky-kitsch shop on the Kings Road) to host a fashion show on April 7th at the fab Earls Court club Miss Qs.

A Pot Of Tea and Cupcakes on the Kings Road

Yes, cupcakes are EVERYWHERE. But as a current obsession (I'm so mainstream) I was intrigued to see this cute little bakery, sandwich shop and tea room pop up in the World's End, Kings Road.

Although LOVE bakery is very nearby, The Chelsea Teapot differentiates itself with its slightly quirkier, country-kitchen feel. It also offers a range of baked goods, lunchtime sandwiches and a mini-salad bar and even sells a small selection of cookbooks and Cath-Kidston, vintage-y kitchen paraphenalia. If I worked around the Kings Road area I'd definitely pop in for a friendly lunch, cup of tea and cupcake.

Anyway, I visited on a Saturday, and had this very delicious double chocolate cupcake (£2.50). It was just as yummy as it looked!

A slice of the Caribbean wid DJ Derek in W11

Right first things first. I am not edgy, nor am I trendy, alternative or a hippie in any way. I like routine and I like to be within my comfort zone, I like generic radio1 pop music and staying on the safe side of fashion. I do not indulge in class A drugs, go to raves until 10pm the next day and would most likely feel like a sore thumb at an art gallery opening night in Shoreditch on a Thursday night.

Having said that I am also very keen to try new places within the SW and even W borough of our capital city for the sake of a more varied and interesting blog. So Notting Hill Arts Club was the venue of choice last Saturday night and having squeezed myself into a new pair of coral jeans (the outer limits of my 'trendy' wardrobe) I joined 4 boys and a girl and headed West.

Notting Hill Arts Club is an institution within W11- it's proved consistently popular and has cemented itself as a must visit venue in London. They have an ever changing line up of musicians, singers, songwriters and DJ's to suit all musical tastes. Whether you are a reggae, funk, soul, grime or techno lover there is a night for you. Luckily for us we were there to witness something of a Legend; DJ Derek.

DJ Derek is a 69 year old gentleman (YES 69 that's not a typo!) who is a regular favourite DJ at NHAC. Originally an accountant Derek decided that number crunching was a life wasted and so moved to Bristol to play reggae music despite never having visited Jamaica. He has since adopted an authentic West Indian accent and become an institution in the London reggae scene.

I have been fortunate enough to visit a few Caribbean islands and have been present for the annual Antiguan Carnival. From my experience of the Caribbean I believe that NHAC is as close as you can get to the real deal while still being in the borough of Kensington and Chelsea, with the exception of Notting Hill Carnival obviously. The music was enjoyable, the drinks were not extortionate, the staff were jolly and the crowd were welcoming, even to a Fulhamite like me. All in all a very fun evening but the star prize really has to go to DJ Derek who stole the show.

6 is the Lucky Number...

Chateau 6 has a notoriously bad reputation following one extremely unfortunate incident that took place a couple of years ago. However, in my opinion that reputation is long gone and Chateau 6 has come into its own, filling a key gap in the Fulham Broadway nightclub market. Embarking on yet another fun filled Friday night out with a handful of girls in tow I headed up the road from my flat to the Broadway suitably fuelled with white wine.

Having purchased a fantastic ‘deal’ on mylodeals.com we had secured ‘free’ entry before 11pm and a ‘sex on the beach’ on arrival. We were not made to wait and found ourselves propping up the bar with our sugary delight in hand before we knew it. Chateau 6 is very conveniently located in the heart of Fulham Broadway and is leaps and bounds above its competitor watering holes. The staff were friendly, the dj was pumping out some absolute old school r+b classics and the drinks were that noticeable fraction cheaper than the kings road neighbours.

The layout of the club allows for drinking and chatting by the bar, space for shape throwing on the dancefloor and the holy grail; a heated smoking roof terrace. The club is not pretentious and doesn’t attract the ‘you’re not allowed to sit down unless you’ve spent £1000 on a table and buy 6 bottles of vodka’ crowd and so is engineered perfectly for a big group of girls, as we were. The majority of the other people were under 30 fulhamites who were looking to have a few drinks and a wholesome good time on a Friday night. This place is by no means edgy, trendy or suitable for the achingly hip Shoreditch crew, but for the cheesy good time girl Fulham crowd it hit the spot perfectly, and it’s stumbling distance home! It also does a good happy hour on a Thursday night if you fancy a cocktail post work on the way home.

www.chateau6.co.uk

Mewsing around Mayfair

I first encountered Mews of Mayfair when a good friend of mine had her 21st in the private dining room (unfortunately) a good many years ago now. Although we stuck to a (delicious) set menu and didn't spend much time in the main bar, I was struck by the location of the venue, hidden away in a narrow little side street Mews just off the elegant hurly-burly of New Bond St. I felt like I was entering a tiny little segment of Victorian London and have been back on a few occasions since to visit their sumptuous ground floor cocktail bar.

Having never before visited the main dining room, I was excited when a Toptable Spotlight offer dropped into my inbox advertising a £50 food voucher in return for a mere £20 of my hard earned cash. I eagerly booked in for my birthday dinner and told my boyfriend that my contribution was made, and that he could spring for the rest (well, £50 towards your own birthday dinner is pretty generous isn't it?)

After a drink in the dark, opulence of the ground-floor bar (more on that later) we moved up the first floor dining room, which was a soothing yet chic haven of crisp white linen and leather banquettes. Although the tables are really close together (the space is quite small, but the staff are very attentive about getting people out from behind their tables in a pretty ladylike fashion!) the space still felt luxurious and the service was impeccable. Having splurged our 'free' £50 on a bottle of champagne we settled down for the serious business of ordering. I had the Dressed Crab and Avocado, whilst the boy had Organic Gravadlax with Grain Mustard Dressing (both £8.50). The portions were a bit on the small side but presented beautifully and absolutely delicious. Perfect to whet our appetites for the main course of Chateaubriand, Snail Bearnaise and Portobello Mushroom with a healthy side portions of chips and Spinach (£55 for two people). Pairing the bearnaise with snail was an inspired idea, and the flavour and texture of the portobello mushroom complimented it perfectly. The meat itself was done rare, just as we like it, and was melt-in-your-mouth gorgeous. If the starters were small, they whet our appetites for a fairly sizeable maincourse, which made the price seem more than reasonable.

A note also about the service: our waitress was brilliant. She judged us perfectly, and indulged our (usually terribly) jokes, whilst being terribly good-natured without being obtrusive.

Having enjoyed a really first-rate meal we moved down to the ground floor bar. I absolutely adore this venue. At the centre of the low-ceiling is a huge chandalier, and the banquettes and chaise-longues are oversized and opulent in their dark purple velvet. I felt like I was in a hidden Victorian opium den (in the best way possible). The outdoor seating along the narrow mews road adds a lot of character also and the bar is always buzzing. The cocktail list is extensive and imaginative. On this occasion we drank the Rose and Grape, and the Mutiny Mews. On previous occasions I've also had the Mews Berry - which remains my firm favourite of their selection.

It sounds a silly point to labour (and I have indeed had a Twitter conversation with Mews about this - said I know) but the toilets are great as well. Honestly, the best smelling loos in all of London. Decorated rather nicely too...

Anyhow, the whole experience makes for a really great evening. It feels luxurious - a mixture of elegance and opulence - without costing a fortune. An evening spent hopping from restaurant to cocktail bar to downstairs lounge makes for a very pleasant evening indeed.

Mews of Mayfair

10 Lancashire Court, New Bond St, London W1S 1EY

10/10

All images taken from the Press Office Section on the Mews of Mayfair website

Eating until I swell into a Phat Phuc

I am a big Asian food fan. I love it. I pride myself on knowing, and having tried, all my local Asian outlets. But I confess the only reason I came to hear of this one, hidden away as it is, is because of its simply AMAZING name.

I had been walking back from an amazing meal at El Gaucho (no, not the posh one) in the Chelsea Garden Centre, and saw an unprepossessing sign tacked to a brick wall just off the Kings Road. How could you fail to be intrigued? But I looked around... no restaurant in the immediate vicinity, so on I walked.

At this point my curiosity is less piqued than enflamed. Where is this restaurant with the frankly awe-inspiring name? Turns out, it's completely hidden away, in a below street-level courtyard just behind the Chelsea Garden Centre. Yup, right by that big ole sign that so frustrated me. Stupid Jess.

This place completely charmed me. A far cry from the swanky, over-styled and frankly, over-priced eateries that usually populate the Kings Road and it's environs, Phat Phuc doesn't even occupy a commercial space. It is a wonderfully quirky and authentic caravan-esque open-fronted van serving food, at lunchtimes only, to a small selection of rickety wooden tables set in an idyllic courtyard (think foundations etc), at entirely reasonable prices. The menu is brief, encompassing a whistle-stop tour of western-approved salads and spicy noodle broths, with light and refreshing starters like hoisin duck wraps and satay chicken. We ate on a gorgeous, bright but cold March day, and so eating outside under the gas heaters felt like a rare treat.

I settled for the Prawn Laksa, which has always been a favourite of mine but I've seen done in a myriad of ways, ranging from divine to revolting. The boy went for a Pho Bo (vietnamese beef noodle broth). We started with the Hoisin Duck wraps.

The food arrived pretty promptly, but for this kind of place (particularly as you are sat outside - although there are heating towers) that's quite normal, and I think a fast speed of service is acceptable. The duck pancakes (2 pieces for £3.50) were of a reasonable size and pretty damn tasty. My prawn laksa contained just the right amount of spice, and was pretty peanutty, which personally I love. I ate this dish all over it's native Malaysia and I have to say, this one was one of the best I've had. The boy was slightly less impressed with his Beef Broth, saying that it lacked kick. Luckily, there are plenty of spicy condiments on all the tables, and he was a pretty happy camper after a generous dose of chili sauce. Both mains were £6.50 for a pretty hearty portion.

I'm so pleased to have discovered this place, and will definitely be back. I just hope they decide to open up in the evenings once Summer approaches... I need more opportunities to visit and lunchtimes-only is a bit limiting. Great for a quick and delicious lunch, in quirky surroundings, at far below the usual Chelsea rate, provided the day is warm enough.

Tendido Cuatro - Tapas that will knock you for six

We've dined all over SW6 in the past few months, but I suddenly realised we'd rarely gone beyond Parsons Green. Assured by good friends that there was indeed fine dining further along the New Kings Road, we booked in at Tendido Cuatro, on the basis of the warmest of recommendations.

And we were not disappointed.

So whilst I would never pretend to be a connoisseur of fine Spanish cuisine, I did live in sunny Spain for a year, and ate enough tapas that I pretty much haven't been able to enjoy so-called Spanish restaurants back in the UK since. Although, my fears were allayed by the fact that Tendido Cuatro was owned by the same group as the much-famed Cambio de Tercio on the Brompton Road.

Although the front is rather ignominious, the low-lit interior in deep reds, with Picasso-eque paintings on the walls is welcoming, with a sophistication belied by the exterior. The staff, in authentic Spanish style, are friendly and accommodating, and judged the crowd perfectly, swiftly bringing over the vino once we were seated. A raucous evening had commenced.... Indeed, our lovely waitress had the grace to laugh at some fairly awful jokes on the part of our gentleman friends, and we had a hilarious evening.

The menu is pretty extensive, but not so much so that it is baffling. Although, all the tapas looked so great we did find it pretty hard to choose. Tendido Cuatro had added quite a cosmopolitan twist to some traditional dishes like Patatas Bravas, and had been a more adventurous with dishes like the Caramelos de Queso, con Gambas en Salso de Vinagre de Frambuesa y Mango (sweet and cheesy prawn parcels - much more delicious than they sound!).

The dishes were beautifully presented, and on the whole came out in well-timed succesion, although we did wait a while at the end for our last dish: grilled chicken marinated in lime and olive oil. Though, once we tasted it, all was forgiven! Our pan con tomate, traditional Catalin garlic and tomato bread, also had to be requested twice, but arrived very promptly after that.

In the end we went for:

- PAN CON TOMATE A LA CATALANA

Toasted bread, fresh tomato & olive oil “a la catalana"

This was really lovely, but very garlicky. Luckily, that's just the way I like it!

-CROQUETAS CREMOSAS DE JAMON CON SALSA DE TOMATE & TOMILLO

Serrano ham & béchamel croquettes with tomato and thyme sauce

A Spanish staple, done beautifully but with a the tomato and thyme sauce representing a nice twist that I haven't seen tried in Spain.

-CALAMARES “FRITOS” O A LA ”PLANCHA”

Deep fried or griddled “fresh squid

Another staple. Tendido Cuatro had stuck to the classic way of serving this, but what else can you really do with this? Not too greasy, with the garlic mayo (more garlic! No snogging for me that evening!) just right.

-TORTILLA ESPAÑOLA DE PATATA, CON HUEVO DE CORRAL & CEBOLLA

Spanish omelette (free range egg, potato & onion)

Another Spanish staple, and I must admit it's not usually my favourite. This one was pretty tasty!

-POLLO DE CORRAL A LA PLANCHA CON MARINADO DE LIMA

Grilled Chicken breast, (free range) marinated in lime & olive oil

It's a shame this arrived late, as it really was amazing. A perfect zingy antidote to the many creamy, and mayonnaise-y dishes we'd ordered alongside it.

-CHIPS DE BERENJENA CON MIEL DE ROMERO

Aubergine chips with rosemary honey

These were really delicious. I love a sweet sauce with things, as you can probably tell from many of our selected dishes. Beautifully presented in a little stick, and just the right consistency: not too greasy, not over-cooked nor dry.

-FABADA ASTURIANA

Traditional stew of white beans, chorizo, pork from Asturias

Again, this is something I haven't always enjoyed in Spain, due to their habit of boiling in a lot of chunks of lard. Luckily, the Tendido Cuatro version was slightly more slimline, and a million times more delicious. Very smooth on the tongue, earthy and filling.

-CARAMELOS DE QUESO, CON GAMBAS EN SALSA DE VINAGRE DE FRAMBUESA & MANGO

Soft cheese and prawns “caramels”, raspberry vinegar & mango sauce

Personally I enjoyed these, and they were an interesting experiment. However, I do love sweet sauces with mains, and I remembered some gorgeous bechamel and prawn parcels I had eaten in Spain. Opinions were mixed on these, but well worth a try if you want to indulge in some treats you won't have tried before.

-PATATAS BRAVAS

Spicy “patatas bravas “ (Potatoes)

Another Spanish staple, given a fantastic Tendido Cuatro makeover. The spicy tomato sauce is hidden inside the potatoes, and they are topped with a creamy sauce. We ordered double rations of these as they were so good!

-CHORIZO DE SALAMANCA A LA BRASA

Char grilled spicy chorizo from Salamanca

Chorizo: done properly. Delicious, salty and juicy.

MareMoto's - Chelsea's Worst Kept Secret

So last Friday, whilst Sarah enjoyed a *sophisticated* night out on the town at Maggie's and the Clapham Grand, I fell back into the typical Chelsea/Fulham Friday night pattern and spent my evening at MareMoto, on the King's Road (dahling!), to celebrate a friend's birthday.


Now I'm sure MareMoto is probably not new or exciting to most of you, I'm sure the vast majority of you have been and formed an opinion. The reason I'm writing about it now is because, after a string of mediocre nights there (the crowd is usually of the braying variety, and invariably extraordinarily drunk) I really did have a fantastic time. 


The crowd was just right (perhaps because I was with a group of about 30 friends - we were the crowd) and the music was absolutely spot on, the kind of night where it's as if the DJ has got a hold of your iPod and just lined all your favourites up (well, my iPod anyway, and I like to think it's quite a cool one!). Think Chase & Status, followed by Rihanna, followed by GaGa, wrapped up with some classic Deadmau5 for good measure. An eclectic version of a classic mainstream mix, sure, but it did the job. We were jumping around that light-up dance floor all night long.

As a venue, MareMoto does check most of the boxes. Whilst the bar seating area does look like a restaurant, that's because it does double up as a restaurant throughout the day. There is a fairly large outdoor deck for the smokers and the club downstairs is fairly spacious, well decorated (the light-up dancefloor is fun and somehow manages not to look too but more kitsch) and there are loads of seats to park your bottom on. The drinks are pretty good, but this being the Kings Road, not exactly cheap. I had an expresso martini (amazing) and a passion fruit Porn Star Martini (mixed with cava - divine) and they were £9 each. Bottles of wine aren't too pricey either. However, I have heard of a few cases of overcharging at the downstairs bar (perhaps taking advantage of the cash-rich, too-drunk-to-notice braying crowd) although have been personally unaffected, though it's something to watch out for. Anyway, any extra pennies charged are more than made up for by the main USP: FREE ENTRY. This is incredibly rare in Chelsea and I'm sure it's what gets the hordes back time and time again. It means you can go for a low-key night and not worry about going all out to justify the cover charge - although I think most of the clientele just blew the money they saved on extra drinks. Either way - you decide - it's a perk nonetheless.


So my recommendation: go with a large group (own that crowd), sample their cocktail selection (it costs less than the neighbouring rivals) and be prepared to boogy - the playlist is unpretentious and all out fun!


All photos taken from MareMoto's Flickr account: I lost my camera!
MareMoto
562 King's Road
London SW6 2DZ