Pizza Pilgrims - London

Here’s a short story that makes little sense – despite the pixelated mess at the top of the blog I don’t eat a huge amount of pizza. My problem is that the combination of bread with melted cheese is my kryptonite. I'm confident that if someone were to sit me down and keep sliding pizzas in front of me I would end up as the pizza filled human equivalent of a foie gras duck. Enjoy that mental image.

I felt it was pretty unacceptable to have only reviewed two pizzas in my time on here so I decided to set things right by paying a visit to Pizza Pilgrims in London to what is fondly regarded as one of the best pizzerias in the UK. Sure, everyone has a favourite local or backstreet place tucked away but the consensus about the Pilgrims seems to be overwhelmingly positive. I thoroughly enjoyed a slice of one of their pizzas many moons ago at a Street Feast down south, and despite some vague whispers on the internet that the quality had dropped over time; I'm pleased to report this is absolutely not the case.

I took a seat in the window at street level (they also have a fantastic downstairs which is laid out like an Italian cafe with a table football taking pride of place) to bask in the almost overwhelming heat from the wonderful oven, providing a great view of a Pizza Express positioned directly across the street. Watching people walk down the street to try to decide between the two was pretty comical at times, with the heaving Pizza Pilgrims on one side and the half empty alternative clearly causing a couple of dates some serious issues.

I ordered the aubergine pizza (toppings were aubergine, mozzarella, parmesan, cherry tomatoes and basil) and it arrived in front of me piping hot straight from the oven less than a couple of minutes later, exactly as you’d expect. I have no complaints – the aubergine was spongy and mixed well with the melted cheeses and there was enough basil hidden away to give it the flavour but not overpower things. The blistered sourdough bread made for an ideal base and honestly, the pizza was up there with the best I've enjoyed in various trips to Italy. A bottle of punchy ReAle IPA was an ideal partner for lunch.

Dessert was one of the most simple yet excellent desserts i've had in some time, a couple of scoops of vanilla ice cream drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkling of sea salt. The bitterness in the oil was 90% offset by the sweetness of the ice cream, giving it just that little extra something flavour wise to keep it totally interesting. This is definitely a dessert i'll surely be stealing wholesale to eat if the sun ever comes out up North.

Bill came to £18.50, with no service charge - the £6 beer was a ‘premium’ imported one which I suppose did bump things up considerably and honestly the quality and freshness of the pizza alone was more than worth it. I came so close to immediately ordering another but did the right thing for my waist line and wobbled off into the London sun (not just to the pub…..honest guv).

Northern Monk Brewery / Grub and Grog Shop - Leeds

There’s certainly something in the water in Leeds at the moment, resulting in a new wave of original and independent food and drink businesses popping up all over the city. As a city to visit for the weekend it’s up there with my favourites in the UK. It seems like there’s always something food and drink related happening in the city and something I’d say only London can compare with. As of late August, Northern Monk joined the party by opening their new brewery premises just a short distance from the city centre.

Having seen no photos of the premises before I visited it’s no exaggeration to say I was pretty staggered by the whole thing. The building itself (a converted flax mill) looks incredible - the first sight of the branded banners with their impressive artwork hanging from the front of the building framed by a dark bleak Yorkshire sky really is a sight to behold. As a package it's certainly the most impressive restaurant and tap room combo I've visited - in the UK it's pretty much unique (I'm certainly struggling to think of anywhere).

As you enter the building you’re greeted with sneak peaks of the brewery itself through the large glass windows throughout (just my luck I chose to visit on a day that no brewing action was taking place though, unfortunately). The taproom is up on the first floor is made up of a large room with exposed beams, original brickwork, local artwork and filled with a mixture of smaller bar style seating and large 10 person communal seating. As a brewery taproom, it’s pretty much my idea of the perfect place to sit and quaff a few quiet pints. Beer wise we’re looking at 16 keg options and 4 cask options – heavily focused on Northern Monk but with some cracking guests (Bad Seed, Magic Rock, Kirkstall, Red Willow amongst others on this visit) as well as a small but well curated UK focused bottle shop.

The good news is that the booze is more than well complimented by the "Grub and Grog shop" who are also based on site and provide breakfast, lunch and dinner in this ‘refectory’ area. I hadn't heard a lot about them so did a bit of reading in advance and was immediately impressed by their imaginative menus. I loved having a read through their 'Friends and suppliers’ section of a website and which in this case links to a selection of suppliers who were all impressively local.

The menu on the day of the visit was different to that on the website. This is something i'm always keen to see in a place that serves smaller dishes as it typically suggests an imaginative chef making the best of seasonal ingredients and pushing themselves rather than serving up the same old dishes day after day. On this occasion I got stuck into the following:

“Ox tongue hash, celeriac mash, pickles, kale, hop syrup and stout gravy”

This was a good looking plate of food indeed. The tongue with the mash and stout gravy was just fantastic, think rich and with a mountain of deep flavour. The kale was roasted and added a great crunchy texture to proceedings, pickle had been finely sliced and was mild enough that when mixed in with the other ingredients it didn't overwhelm anything. On a day in the height of winter when it and absolutely freezing cold outside, this was a perfect winter warmer of a lunch. 

“Yorkshire fries”

A generous portion of red hot freshly roasted seasonal vegetables served with a dollop of reassuringly stodgy home-made mayonnaise. The veg involved resulted in a mix of textures, some extremely crisped up and others more part baked resulting in an enjoyable mix of consistencies, a great little take on a boring old side of fries. Really enjoyable.

“Stuffed Mutton in Ale, glazed beetroot, sautéed sprouts and puy lentils”

I didn’t actually dig into this one myself but I was being so enthusiastic about my dish that my friend offered me a spoonful of his. The mutton was cooked well and full of flavour - the sprouts and lentils as a base made for another great hearty dish, one that seemed just as impressive as the one I was tucking into.

I don’t have enough good things to say about the Northern Monk Refectory; offering the holy trinity of excellent fresh beer in stunning surroundings and with delicious well-priced original food could not have impressed me more. It’s right at the top of my very favourite places to visit in Leeds and you’ll be sure to see me propping up the bar tucking into beer and food in here at every opportunity I get whenever I'm over the Pennines in the future.

The Parlour - Chorlton, Manchester

For those that don’t live there, Chorlton seems to really rub people (especially those that are particularly vocal on the internet) up the wrong way for whatever petty reason. Long before I first visited I’d long formed the impression it was some sort of trendy vegan hippy commune albeit a very expensive one to live in when in but it’s actually pretty a really pleasant leafy suburb to while away an afternoon.

I’ve still yet to explore properly but in the brief time I’ve spent down there I’ve been surrounded by pretty normal humans and been really impressed with the range of food and drink options (ie the important stuff) on offer. I’ve been in The Beagle for a banging pint from their impressive range, I’ve been drunk as a lord on cheap cocktails in The Font, I’ve scoffed some stunning street food from The Hungry Gecko van in the garden of the Beech Inn (whilst it was still there), and now I’ve had a fantastic pub lunch in the wonderful Parlour.

I remembered the name of The Parlour from winning the best Sunday lunch in the country in the Observer food awards a few years ago. Friends based in Chorlton had also recommended that the food was definitely worth trying so when I had visitors for the weekend I suggested we escape the city and give the place a try for lunch.

The lunch menu on this particular visit was made up of three types of sandwich, a couple of salads, platters (vegetarian, meat or seafood), a handmade burger and then the special of the day which was beer battered fish and chips.

"Seafood Parlour Platter"

There were a lot of elements to this one – a traditional little glass of prawn cocktail served on a bed of fresh salad leaves, the crab cakes were served slightly warm and were crunchy and with plenty of meat, the trout pate was ideal for spreading over the side of bread that was served alongside the board. A small handful of pickled cockles were sprinkled to one side of the board and I got stuck into these along with the oak smoked salmon. I really enjoyed this as a main; the individual flavours complemented each other without any overpowering of the others. I’m sadly still not over my absolute hatred of food being served on boards like this mind.

"Fish and Chips"

This was text book fish and chips for me – crispy beer batter, not one but two giant pieces of tender fish all dished up on a bed of freshly made tartar sauce (which was deliciously heavy on the capers), a generous portion of chips and a side of mushy peas with a hint of mint.

"Handmade Beef Burger"

It’s commonplace now when a burger is dished up to expect a perfect looking production line patty and bun and whilst this hand formed patty was way off the mark looks wise, the all-important flavours and quality of the meat more than made up for it. It came served with a pile of excellent red-hot chunky chips, a couple of giant beer battered onion rings which had a properly satisfying crunch to them and some token salad leaves (which added little other than some colour to the plate) Extra marks granted for allowing it to be ordered rare and arriving perfectly pink in the centre. As we all know by now adding a slice of pickled gherkin to a burger is a match made in heaven and chopping them with capers here through the mayo sauce worked an absolute treat.

"Coronation Salad"

The salad had some serious work to do to compete with the other food that was rapidly filling the table. It consisted of really well cooked chicken delivered on a bed of salad leaves and then sprinkled with toasted cashews and croutons to add some crunch to proceedings. The fruity coronation sauce had been lightly applied to the greenery to give it a flavour throughout and with plenty of spare served on the side to dig the chicken into.

There was a reasonable wait for food (just over 20 mins) but we were caught up in the lunch rush and for the freshness on display it was obviously being cooked to order, it felt like there was real care and attention involved in this food. The positive about the wait is there is a decent bar which had a range of ales, beers, ciders and plenty of spirits. We were all impressed with our individual courses and I had a massive dose of food envy in that I only got to taste the other three dishes and not enjoy them in full myself so will definitely be heading back next time I'm in Chorlton to enjoy some more of the menu. I really must try that infamous Sunday lunch too.

Bundobust - Leeds

Crossing the Pennines to Leeds over the past year since I moved North has become a real pleasure. There's a cluster of restaurants and bars just stumbling distance from the train station that I thoroughly enjoy taking in Brewery Tap, Laynes Coffee, Friends of Ham, Tapped, Trinity Kitchen, Brewdog and Reds (if needing stodge desperately). When I heard Bundobust was opening mid-July just around the corner from Friends of Ham, I was keen to check it out with a view to getting it into my regular rotation if it was any cop.

Bundobust combine Indian street food from the Prashad family who apparently (I haven't been) have a well regarded 'proper' restaurant elsewhere in Yorkshire along with drink supplied by The Sparrow craft beer bar in Bradford. The restaurant itself is a great little place decor-wise and had attracted a fairly broad mix of people, not just the young and hip that my photos below reflect. The huge windows at the front and sides (overlooking an outdoor covered seating area) made the whole atmosphere really airy and welcoming. It was fairly busy on a weekend mid-afternoon but there was still plenty of space to grab a table quickly, a couple of larger banquet style tables near the bar really help squeeze as many people as possible for those that don't mind communal eating.

First thoughts - the bar. It's clear that some thought has gone into matching the beer selection with the food on offer with a drink menu consisting of their own coriander lager along with plenty of refreshing pales, tart saisons, and various wheat options on draft and by the bottle. Prices are fairly typical inflated city centre fare, with pints starting at around £3.50 and with bottles all the way up to an eye-watering £22.50 for one of the special Mikkellers they have on the menu.

The food menu is made up of cold snack dishes on the left and then hot food on the right. The chap who took my order was extremely helpful in explaining it all and said a couple of dishes per person should be enough, he talked a lot about sharing the food between us but paper pots of curry don't particularly lend well to this concept at all. The snacks sure, but imagine handing round a bowl of curry and all digging in with separate spoons? I was with a couple of close friends but still find this a bit of a grim prospect especially as there was no hint of sharing bowls offered. Anyway, you grab a table and order at the bar Nandos style, get given a plastic spoon with a number drawn on and the food arrives fairly promptly afterwards.

Disappointingly for Indian food there was no indication of how hot these dishes might be and no option to ask for extra heat. I'm no fiend for a monstrously hot curry but I know people get very protective of curry and like the option.

I should make it clear that the top three of the dishes below (Popcorn, Idli Sambha and Okra fries) I ordered and ate myself so can add a little more detail. 

"Popcorn and pops" £3

A laughable portion of greasy popcorn served in the same size dish as the rest of the food was a surprise, this came with a neon green colouring which had hints of garlic and green chilli but extremely mild. The three pieces of popadom could easily have been replaced by a giant hand sticking two fingers up at me mocking me for having paid £3 for what most restaurants give you for free.

Okra fries £3

These were excellent, the highlight for me. I'd expected them to be warm like a side of french fries but they were served stone cold so I assume they must just cook them in giant batches and dish them up during the day. Whatever they'd used to batter them had stayed hard giving them a satisfying crunch. The sprinkling of spice made for a great snack.

Idli Sambha £6

Two dumplings sat either side of a portion of lentil soup, with a dollop of coconut chutney sat in the middle. The soup was lukewarm with a very mild chilli spice. A perfectly fine little dish, the spongey dumplings had absorbed the soup but still held together nicely, adding some necessary bulk to the dish.

Spice and rice £6.50

This was one of the specials of the day, described as "Low and slow mung bean curry served with basmati rice". On appearance alone I was very surprised it was the same size as the popcorn dish for the most expensive dish on the menu. I had a spoonful out of the bottom and it was a fairly generic tasting mild bean curry, nothing to really get excited about. 

Ragda Pethis £6

Another of the dishes from the hot side of the menu, this one consisted of "potato cutlets, spiced mushy peas, tamarind chutney and tumeric noodles". I didn't try this so can't comment on the taste. 

Bundo Chaat £4

Final of the hot dishes we ordered, this had a Samosa hidden away in the "chickpeas, potato, tamarind chutney and yoghurt" with a sprinkling of tumeric noodles on top. I didn't try this so can't comment on the taste. 

The food detailed along with 3 half pints of mid-priced draft beers came to a shade over £35 between three of us. £12 for a light lunch with a half of beer i'd say would be a shade expensive but we all left so hungry that we had to resort to raiding Marks and Spencers afterwards pre-train back to Manchester. If I were to compare it to somewhere like Mughli where a portion of their fantastic lamb chops would be the same price as the pot of spice and rice it's absolutely too expensive for my tastes, especially as the food was nothing special. If there were some sort of combo of a couple of hot dishes with snacks for £10 to create a proper 'meal' i'd be much keener.

I think it's worth noting here (if you hadn't noticed from the menu) that all of these dishes are vegetarian so there isn't even the excuse of expensive meats to bump up the costs of production. Charging £5-6 for a small bowl of curry sauce with rice must make them an astronomical mark-up.

There has been a ton of hype on twitter after the obligatory freebie blaggers rolled in on opening night, were given free food and gushed accordingly. Job done. My thoughts and wariness on this type of scenario is something i've whinged about at length before but is a prime example whereby if you remove price of food from the equation here then yes, Bundobust is a great little restaurant but it's absolutely too expensive it's annoying to me that this wasn't reflected in all the positivity I've read.

So would I go back? I would definitely head to the bar again, the constantly changing beer menu would be enough to tempt me back on that front if they continue to keep it interesting. The food? Not so much unless they sort those prices out. 

Fig and Sparrow - Manchester

The extremely stylish Fig and Sparrow logo lets passers-by know that hidden within is a 'Lifestyle Store and Coffee Bar' and just by taking a peek through the window past the people that are often eating and drinking at the front bench you can just make out lots of cutesy household goods along the walls.

   

It'd be remiss of me not to mention the "Lifestyle Store" itself despite not being the focus of this review as they offer a wide range of goodies including greetings cards, lots of kitchen kit (everything from teapots through to plates and bread bins), cushions, art prints and wrapping paper. It's clearly an extremely well curated collection, everything very tasteful and compliments the decor of the store itself. It's always a temptation to pick up a treat for the flat on the way out.

Tucked away at the back of the store past the shop section is one of my favourite spots for a quick lunch, it's a very peaceful Scandinavian inspired place to sit and hide away from the world. Picture old wooden tables (that are fixed to the floors for some reason - presumably to keep the spacing set) and stools, clear walls, everywhere free of clutter and a tasteful blue tiled area around the coffee counter.

The drinks menu is printed onto the wall large enough for even those with the worst of eyesight to see from the tables. The food menu seems to be fairly regularly rotated and hangs on clipboards for you to browse before ordering at the counter. As well as coffees, they offer a wide range of flavoured teas (inc Himalayan Darjeeling, Samovar Orange Spice, Marrakech Mint) as well as fresh and fizzy juice options.

The twist that Fig and Sparrow bring to their food offering is that wherever it's feasible the dishes or side are served within little glass jars (clearly it wouldn't be ideal for soup for example). Whilst not entirely unique to them, it's a great little idea which is certainly unique in the NQ and gives them an identity of their own. The jars are housed in a large glass fronted lit up cabinet on the counter that gives you a sneak preview of what to expect from your order.

On this occasion I went for the sourdough toast with peppered salmon and rocket, cream cheese. The little jar had more than enough cream cheese and salmon to fully cover both slices of toast which was positive to see. The bread was a high standard sourdough from Trove which is a sure sign of quality. The even better news is that the sell Trove loaves to take away, the fig and walnut being a particular highlight.

For dessert I ate the maple and pecan tart, which was a great take on the classic. Large enough for 5-6 mouthfuls and crammed with chopped pecans and a lovely rich maple syrup flavour. I had a black Americano to go with dessert and it was a pleasant mild blend, with decent flavour but not particularly strong.

In total I paid £9.25 for coffee, the smoked salmon main and the pecan tart. I hid away in the back, read a book for half an hour while I ate and as a result left completely unwound and ready for my afternoon and for that alone it's impossible not to recommend Fig and Sparrow. The sheer range of cafes within a 5 minute walk of the NQ is ever-growing and and it's getting more and more difficult to choose a favourite, Fig and Sparrow is definitely up there.

Wahu - Manchester

I'm always on the look out for new lunch spots and despite the initial impressions of Wahu being pretty poor, I waited for the hype to die down and any teething problems to sort themselves out before heading down to give it a try for myself. Wahu is the latest spot on The Avenue in Spinningfields and offers healthy express food to eat in or take away. 

From the outside Wahu looks exceptionally cool and certainly very enticing. Lots of bright colours everywhere, huge glass windows, neon lights, giant WAHU wording everywhere - I was feeling pretty optimistic about things as I headed in as it was certainly very busy. 

The range of options is fairly broad but like another high street chain you may be familiar with - you choose a base (the carbs), then a protein, then your extras (salad bits) and a topping (the sauce). Subway anyone? For some reason Quinoa is 75p extra (healthy types need to dig deep). 

I went for the "box of the day" which was Vietnamese chicken salad with red onion, carrot and light soy sauce. I didn't notice until I got back to the office as I wasn't really paying attention whilst I took photos (entirely my own fault) but this included absolutely nothing of any substance carbs wise - I ended up with a box of plain salad leaves, with a small portion of red onion, the same paltry portion of grated carrot and then a handful of over cooked dry chicken. Soy sauce had been added but not attempt had been at mixing so the sauce just sloshed around at the bottom underneath the leaves and only really made an impact once i'd eaten away at about half the leaves by which time everything that was left was starting to get lathered in the soy sauce making everything exceptionally salty.

Honestly it was appalling, i'd estimate about £0.30 for £4.95 and around 150 calories, I was so hungry I had to stuff down some Tesco salt and vinegar mini-donuts to keep me alive for the afternoon - totally backfire of my attempt at healthy eating. I'm all for healthy eating but I was absolutely starving. Despite only opening a month ago, the website shows protein shakes (which I wanted to try) but they weren't on the drinks board in the restaurant so I ended up with a cucumber, spinach and pineapple 'raw and fresh' juice which tasted exactly like every other one of those raw juice drinks you've ever drank. 

Overall this was absolutely terrible, verging on cynical for the paltry amount of food I received for the money and there is no way i'd ever consider going back. If i'd have not gone for the special of the day i'd have been looking at nearly £10 for a really poor salad and a drink. Not even a dessert or snack for that price is verging on daylight robbery. Absolute dross.

 

Home Sweet Home - Manchester

Home Sweet Home fills a hole in the NQ for cheapish (£6-8) decent sized portions of US diner style treats. They cover all the usual junk food mainstays with a solid brunch menu incorporating ‘bennies' (eggs benedict), coffees, waffles, French toast and cooked breakfasts. The core menu goes on to tick off other staples such as burgers, hot dogs, wings, chicken in a basket, some of the cheaper steak cuts, milkshakes (soft and hard!), loads of soft drinks and a couple of decent beers on draft. The main attraction is the cake cabinet stuffed with some of the most over the top cakes you'll ever see.

We're not talking ace of cakes design nonsense but real cakes that you'd actually want to tuck into themed in the most imaginative ways. Any kind of calorie control is rightly thrown completely out of the window.

On this occasion I tried the following:

Double cheeseburger with fries - despite being from the same family as Almost Famous, HSH take their own slant on burgers. Think well flavored McDonalds patties, decent in their own way but i'm so used to these inch thick rare burgers that everyone serves these days that this type of thing doesn't do much for me anymore. It was served with a mountain of fries which were well salted.

Goats cheese, red onion and spinach brioche - this was the special of the day and came served on a huge bed of salad. Since I was having a giant ice cream shake I thought I'd make a token effort at ordering a healthy version and this was a nice alternative to a burger - the brioche had plenty of filling and the flavours sat together well.

Latte - their filter is usually pretty decent but the latte didn't hugely impress, the base coffee had that soil taste you often get if beans are past their best. Honestly, if I wanted a strong fresh coffee in the NQ i'd head over to TeaCup or North Tea Power every time.

Shake - incredibly rich and thick ice cream and blueberry shake with fresh cream and fruit loops as the topping. Completely over the top and definitely very enjoyable as a result.

I had been on a run of bad service which had taken the shine off slightly and put me off dropping in for a while but things are definitely improving - the two waitresses who dealt with me on this trip were fantastic, very chatty and helpful. There were noticeably more staff hanging around than there had been previously so hopefully they've noticed the problem and dealt with it.

Home Sweet Home did exactly what I was in the mood for - well done comfort food staples served quickly and for a reasonable price. Food wise if I compare it to similar options within the city it doesn't hit the heights of Moose coffee for me with regards to but the cakes are the real highlight and not to be missed. 

If you're heading in late in the day (ie after work) then have a nose through the window as they do often seem to sell out by late afternoon which is a real shame as dropping in late evening for a piece of cake and a cold beer or coffee would give them a great late-night café vibe that the NQ could really do with. Now summer is here and the tables outside can be put to good use it's one of the most fun spots in the NQ for a quick lunch.

Takk Coffee

Takk, an Icelandic inspired coffee shop tucked away on a quiet side street 2 minutes’ walk from Piccadilly Gardens is about as cool as it gets in Manchester. The coffee here is serious business and this is accentuated by a vibe that’s more akin to a library than a buzzing coffee shop. It's the perfect environment to spend some quiet time savouring the best coffee Manchester has to offer.

The only slight downside is that they tend to have a lot of regulars using the shop as an office or place to study during the day (and who could blame them); as a result it can often be a bit of a struggle for a table.
The coffee shop itself is very uncluttered, with carefully collated and extremely tasteful framed throughout by the white walls. The exposed wooden tables, rustic non-matching chairs and old school desk tables all add to what appears relaxed but clearly very deliberate interior style. The pillar cluttered with guady fliers is a real eye-sore and looks completely out of place.

Lunch options are typically sandwich based (options change regularly), with a soup (vegetable and lentil on this occasion) and various cakes available on this particular visit.

I got stuck into two sandwiches this time (shared, I wasn't that greedy) - first up was roast beef, pecorino and sun blush tomato on ciabatta. Packed with a nice thick slide of beef with a hefty wedge of cheese giving the sandwich real bite. 

I only had a bite but the Chorizo, manchego and red pesto was even better, immediately making me wish i'd had one of those instead. Similarly generous with the fillings but that red pesto paste was delicious.

The Ciabatta loaves are sourced from the Barbakan deli in Chorlton and are fantastic, tasting very fresh and resulting in a really substantial sandwich. Plenty of carbs to keep you ticking over until tea.

The poppy seed loaf (also from Barbakan) also caught my eye for dessert and was like the best breakfast pastry I’d never had before. Lovely sweet pastry with a layer of custard and chocolate on the inside and white icing, almonds, glace cherry and walnuts sprinkled on top. 

Whilst the sandwiches and cakes are great as I mentioned they take coffee here very seriously and the black stuff is the real highlight. On this occasion they were serving a Sitio Canaa Brazilian roast from the Barn in Berlin – the best coffee I’ve had so far in Manchester. They regularly have different guest roasts on and i've never had one I didn't enjoy - whoever is doing the sourcing is doing a fantastic job.

£4 for the sandwiches, £2.40 for an excellent coffee and £1.60 for the poppy seed loaf.

I’ll put together a post ranking the coffee shops up here once I’ve visited them all a few more times but as things stand Takk stands head and shoulders above the rest, especially if you can get a precious seat.