Sunday in Brooklyn
Snacks: £7.5-£12; Salads: £13-£14; Mains: £18.5-£29; Desserts: £7.5-£9

James Street is full of restaurants. It's near Oxford Street and Bond Street, so an excellent place to enjoy a meal after a hard day of shopping, if that's your thing. We hadn't done any shopping, but after a week at work, a relaxing dinner is always welcome.

Sunday in Brooklyn is their second venue — their first one is in Notting Hill — and styled after a Brooklyn Brunch spot. So good for breakfast (weekdays) and brunch, but they also serve dinner in the evening.

We were seated in the front room with a bunch of other pairs of diners. The vibe was relaxed. The menu is fairly extensive with starters, salads, Italian plates, burgers, and mains. We weren't overly hungry, so picked the corn ribs to share as a starter. These were cut into quarters, slightly crispy, and were served with a slightly underwhelming peanut-flavoured dip (it wasn't really necessary as the corn ribs were delicious by themselves). They weren't the easiest to eat — fingers required — but yet very tasty.

For her main, my wife selected the flame grilled salmon. This came with a smashed avocado and pineapple salsa. Although tasty, the salsa being cold, whilst the salmon was hot, was a little odd. On the side, she also had a green bean and almond side, which worked better with the fish than the cold salsa. I had the grilled sirloin steak, with a peppery three pepper sauce, and served with a side of crispy and garlicky fries.

After our mains, we did have a look at the dessert menu, but opted against it. Even though our waitress was highly recommending having the Sunday Pancake™ that they're apparently famous for. We were too full— maybe something to try another time.

We enjoyed our Friday meal at Sunday in Brooklyn, and perhaps we should come back and have an actual brunch, and then also try their signature pancakes.

The Porter's Table
Snacks: £3-£18; Starters: £12-£16; Grill: £14-£40; Desserts: £7-£18

The Porter's Table is part of the massive new Guinness Open Gate London development, which features a brewery and tour, a beer garden, and several restaurants. They have a different approach to the original Open Gate in Dublin, where they mostly try out new beers on unsuspecting punters.

Where Gilroy's Loft specialises in seafood, The Porter's Table is focussed on grilling vegetables, fish, and meat. And of course there is a fair amount of different beers to sample as well.

After finding the restaurant, we soon got ourselves one of those while looking over the menu.

We originally only chose the frickels as our starter (beer-batter deep-friend cornichons), but after realising that we didn't have any vegetables with our mains, we decided to add the seasonal Brussels sprouts. When these came (after the frickels, and before the mains), we were glad that we did. They were prepared with beetroot and orange, which made for a delightful combination.

For her main, my wife had the butcher's skewer; lovely cubes of rib-eye, marinated, and grilled on a skewer with red peppers, tomatoes, and red onion slices. I had the pork chop, which came with half a roasted bulb of garlic, cut through horizontally. I enjoyed prising the sweet roasted cloves of garlic flesh out of the papery skin. My meal was seasoned, and nicely moist. We ordered some chips on the side, which were crisp and fluffy. The serving of mayonnaise was too small, but I nearly always find that his the case.

The food was nice, but the service was quite haphazard. Orders went slightly wrong, and were offered food that we hadn't ordered — nor did the tables next to us.

We'll likely return to the Open Gate, but probably to try Gilroy's Loft (the seafood restaurant), or the beer garden with food truck later in the year when the weather is much improved.

Mamuśka!
Starters: £4-£15; Big plates: £12-£20.80; Desserts: £6.50

On a cold winter evening, there is nothing better than hearty food. As such, we visited Mamuśka, in the arches under Waterloo Station. The restaurant specialises in Polish food and drinks, including vodka and (alcohol-free) Polish craft beer.

The menu features all the Polish classics, from Barszcz and Pieorogis, to Placki and Schabowy. We definitely had to look some of these names up to figure out what they were.

We started our meal with a set of 10 mixed pierogies. That alone was nearly enough already, as they were filling. Some fillings were nicer than the others. My wife preferred the goats cheese ones, finding the meaty ones a bit samey and underwhelming. I liked the pork filled ones, but I was less enamoured with the Ruskie ones. Maybe because of the name.

For her mains, my wife had chosen the Salmon Fillet, which was served with mashed potato (which was a Christmas / seasonal special). The salmon was okay, but a little on the dry side. I picked the Schabowy Breaded Pork Loin, with a mushroom sauce. The meat was nice and tender, with a creamy sauce covering the batter which had gone a little soggy due to the sauce. It was also too much — a huge portion, the salmon was noticeably more restrained in size.

With our meal, we enjoyed a selection of the Polish Craft Beers. Two alcohol-free ones, and two alcohol full ones.

We found Mamuśka a little underwhelming. Unfortunately we sat next to one of the brick walls, which meant our table was quite chilly with cold air emanating from the brickwork — but this might make it a good spot in summer. But we were definitely no longer hungry.

Maggie Jones's
Starters: £12-£15; Mains: £31-£44; Puddings: £9; Set Menu at £37.95 for two courses, or £44.95 for three; Wines from £31.50

Maggie Jones's has recently reopened after a fire, but it has been on its location since 1964. It's situated at the east end of Kensington High Street, near Kensington Palace, tucked away just off the main road. The interior is what might be described as cosily rustic, with vintage china old metal advertising signs, and downstairs much of the seating is provided by wooden high backed benches, alongside somewhat battered wooden tables.

The restaurant specialises in classic British food, and the menu on the day we ate there included classics such as roast rump of Lamb, Guinea Fowl, Fish Pie, and Steak & Kidney Pie. The puddings are also British classics. Beyond the à la carte menu, there is also a set menu, which had many tasty sounding options.

We went on a cold January evening, and were welcomed into the cosy restaurant with a serving of rustic bread and butter. For her main, my wife ordered the fish pie, which was stuffed with fish and seafood, including prawns and salmon, and topped with a fluffy mash, slightly charred and crisp on top. I chose the roast lamb rump, which was (like all their mains) also served with mashed potatoes. Although I think my own mashed potatoes are better — I add a lot of butter — the roast lamb was probably the best one I have ever had. I ordered it medium, and it was exactly that. Slightly caramelized on the outside, and pink and moist in the middle. It was seasoned with a rosemary and garlic breadcrumbs which added a lovely sweet twang, and some texture.

We followed our mains with some piping hot desserts. An apple crumble with a boat of custard (really too much custard), and my wife had a soft bread and butter pudding, which had a bit of spice and some plump raisins providing texture.

Maggie Jones's hit the spot really well, with bold flavours in a cosy environment, especially on this cold winter evening. We'd gladly take friends and family there on a return visit.

Puick
Tasting menu: €58; Matching wines: €39

On one of our pre-Christmas adventures to the Netherlands, we went to Breda, a small city in the south of the Netherlands. As my birthday is also close to Christmas, we usually also use this opportunity to get a nice birthday meal. This year, we settled on Puick, a small restaurant that offers a dinner menu Friday through Sunday. Dinner consists of a single tasting menu, which is served to all tables. It only offers a single tasting menu, which changes every two months. It’s also worth noting that whilst they will try to accommodate allergies and intolerances, they don’t accommodate dietary preferences. So if you’re vegetarian, vegan, or perhaps less adventurous with your food, we’re sorry to say that Puick is not the restaurant for you.

The short lifespan of the menu probably makes describing the dishes below a little superfluous, but at least it will give you an idea of the sort of thing they cook up.

The dishes that we got served were:

And for dessert:

We decided that having the wine pairing would make the drinks selection easier given the variety of dishes that would be served. This turned out to be a great decision, as we had some lovely wines that all went well with the food. There is also an alcohol-free “botanical pairing” option available.

Dinner at Puick was an eclectic and exciting mix of cuisines, flavours, textures, and ingredients. Each dish was excellent, and well explained by the team. Puick also offers a lunch menu, with either matching wines, or alcohol-free “botanical pairings”.

We really enjoyed our time at Puick. The dishes were delicious, the service great, and the atmosphere cosy and relaxed. If you’re up for an interesting tasting menu, we can heartily recommend Puick for when you're ever in Breda.

The Vincent Rooms: Brasserie
Set menus at £39; Wines starting at £28

We had been at the Vincent Rooms earlier in the year, but as I wrote in our review then, we usually try to have a Christmas meal first. Their Escoffier Rooms were busy again, so we "settled" for the Brasserie.

The Vincent Rooms is a restaurant of the Capital City College — where they train chefs. The meals and service are all done by the students (with suitable supervision). This has little effect on the dishes, but it does sometimes make for a more haphazard service. That is okay though, as we are now used to this, and students learn by doing these things.

As it is now Christmas time, the evening's menu was suitably themed. It was a set-menu, catering for Christmas parties, of which several were going on when we arrived. We decided to join in with a glass of prosecco, because why not.

Each course (starter, main, dessert) had three options. My wife chose the pumpkin velouté as her starter, which was slightly spicy, and full of pumpkin goodness. Some puffed rice on top added a bit of texture. I had the Lincolnshire game terrine, which was wrapped in Parma ham, and served with a cranberry compote and some pistachios for texture.

With our mains we shared a bottle of a crisp Australian Chardonnay. This was a great choice for my wife's main, as she selected the Norwegian Saithe. This was served as a fillet, with a crispy skin. It came served with a rosti, and a lovely mussel and vegetable mixture. I decided on going full Turkey with the Christmas roast. The turkey was served as both breast and leg slices. The red cabbage and sprouts were just the right kind of soft. The roast potatoes were okay (I'm really picky about them, and mine are the best). The turkey was topped with a pig in blanket, and served with a gravy that lifted it nicely up. It's probably the best roast meal I have had in a long time.

For dessert, neither of us chose the traditional pudding. I enjoyed the spiced milk chocolate mousse, which was surrounded by a collar of caramel with hazelnut flakes, and served with a caramel dip. My wife opted for the mulled wine bavarois, which was nice and soft, and served with flavourful poached red fruits and a ginger biscuit.

The meal, as always, was excellent. The service also seemed much more like in a normal restaurant on this occasion too. We'll surely be back for next year's Christmas.

Pyrá
Starters: £7-£18; Mains: £14-£26; Wines from £28

Pyrá is a recent addition to the line-up of restaurants on Lonsdale Road. Their menu is on the shorter side, and they also cater for parties. When we rocked up, there was a wedding reception going on in their loft. Pyrá has a menu with both Greek and Spanish influences, a more unusual combination, but one which on reading appeared to work well. We shared a portion of the chorizo and manchego croquettes. These were a little spicy and salty, including some chunky bits of manchego.

For our main courses, I picked the deconstructed lamb gyros, which came served with fluffy flatbreads, chips, a chilli dip, tzatziki, and an onion and tomato salad. My wife chose the roasted Merton sole, with saffron rice, and oyster mushrooms. It came served whole, with a dressing of some lemon and roasted garlic. However, service was slow, with a noticeable wait until the mains showed up, and then the mains not being served together. My wife's sole eventually appeared almost half an hour after the gyros. This may have been due to the large party upstairs, but no warning was given of a possible delay, and no apology was forthcoming either. Overall, this wasn't the most positive.

The food (when it came) was nice and well cooked, and the portions were fairly generous, which meant that we skipped dessert.

We enjoyed Pyrá, but the long wait in between our main dishes being served let them down, and would probably mean it was not our first choice in Queens Park for a revisit.

Ottolenghi
Nibbles: £5.5-£7; Sharing Dishes: £13.3-£19.5; Pudding from £7; Wines from £36

Ottolenghi has several restaurants in London, but we enjoyed dinner in their Hampstead venue on a cheeky Monday to celebrate.

The menu doesn't have starters or mains, but only nibbles and sharing dishes, which was made abundantly clear by our waiter. However, there is a selection of cold and warm sharing dishes which by necessity are served in two waves: the cold ones, and the warm ones — nicely separating them in starters and main courses. Did I mention everything is meant to share?

We started our meal with a crisp glass of pét-nat, a naturally sparkling wine, while munching on za'atar pita chips with a yoghurt and red chilli dip.

As our starter (sorry, cold sharing dish), we chose the burrata with marinated mandarins. The freshness of the mandarins worked well with the burrata, and the rocket added some extra pepperiness.

We picked our mains as non-sharing, but ended up sharing a fair bit anyway. My wife picked the Adana lamb kebabs with babaganoush and picked onions. These were nicely spiced, with the babaganoush adding the necessary moisture. I selected the crispy chicken 'chop', which was served with a tahini and walnut sauce. The chicken 'chop' had a nice crispy skin, and the sauce was excellent. The portion size of the chicken dish was somewhat larger than the lamb kebabs.

With our mains we enjoyed a lovely bottle of red wine, a Garnacha from Navarra. At the end, we went back and forth about ordering pudding. We ended up settling on sharing a Bakewell tart. With crispy edges, a nicely sour filling, and some pistachio nuts sprinkled on top.

We enjoyed Ottolenghi, but we're not in agreement on the ambience. Although we both found it relaxed and welcoming, I also found it a little pretentious. Particularly the "cold and warm sharing dishes" shtick instead of the starters and mains they would have been in other restaurants. All of the dishes were really tasty, well presented, and the staff were great. We would return.

Casa Felicia
Starters: £5-£15; Pasta: £17-£21; Secondi: £23-£45; Dolci: £9-£11; Wines from £30

Casa Felicia is close to home, and sits on a stretch near Queen's Park tube station with many other restaurants. It has recently opened, but it was full on this drizzly evening. Bookings are definitely required.

The menu isn't very extensive. A few starters and pasta dishes, which are supplemented by a few special "secondi" from a black board menu. The menu however, was entirely in Italian, which required a translation service to navigate. A short description under each of the titles would have really helped, as would the menu being printed in a darker ink (or the lighting turned up a little). Clearly we're old, but the menu wasn't that easy to read, and we noticed a few fellow patrons using their phone torches to see it properly

As our starters we shared the Salame Napoli, thicker cut slices of slightly peppery salami, and the Salsiccia & Friarielli, a deliciously spiced sliced sausage with a jus, and served with sprouting broccoli.

For our mains my wife chose the pappardelle ragu — pasta in the shape of butter flies with a spiced ragu, served with chives and cheese shavings. I picked from their blackboard menu a pork chop, covered in ham, and smothered in a tonne of cheese. It was just on the "too much" side of a meal, and hence, we decided not to have pudding as well.

We enjoyed Casa Felicia. There is good food, and a good buzz. It also helps that it is a fairly short walk from home. Although it's not quite as good as Ida, I think we would need little persuasion to return.

Rockwell
Small Plates: £6.5-£12.75; Wines from £38

Rockwell is a bar/restaurant on the ground floor of the Trafalgar St. James hotel. They specialise in small plates, and also have some Wagyu beef dishes on their menu. The recommendation was "two to three plates each". For once, we followed this, and it was spot on.

We selected six dishes between the two of us. The Ibérico ham croquetas, which were served with a saffron sauce and some pecorino shavings, showed up first. These were served hot with the ham joined by a flavourful cheese sauce within the croquette, covered by a thin, crisp shell. At the same time we also received the gnocchi with beetroot. These were adorned with hazelnuts, beetroot cream, and rainbow chard. The flavours worked well together, and the sauce was scrumptious. The fried potato terrine with aioli were soft and butter on the inside, with nice crisp edges which added a lovely texture.

A little later the other three courses turned up. The zucchini fritti were well-made, but were a little dry and could have done with a sauce. As my main, I chose the crispy sea bass with Salsa Verde. The skin was crisp, the fish flaky and moist, and the Salsa Verde added a little acidity. My wife preferred the Wagyu rosemary grilled bavette steak. Unfortunately, that was the real disappointment of the meal. It was dry, and, given it was allegedly Wagyu, criminally tough. It did have an interesting marinade, but this overwhelmed the flavour of the beef. If you're serving Wagyu, the flavour and texture of the meat itself should be the highlight, but I think the chef missed that memo.

The wines start a bit on the expensive side, so instead we had a carafe of a tasty Prunus Dão Tinto from Portugal. Curiously, this was presented by pouring 500ml out of a bottle into a carafe at our table, but the bottle itself did not appear to be listed on the wine list.

Just like at Theo Randall a few weeks ago, on Friday evening there is entertainment. This time, in the form of a jazz singer, who proceeded to “reinterpret” aka massacre well known tunes, by artists including Michael Jackson, Bryan Adams and Maroon 5. However, unlike at Theo's, the music was at a conversation stifling level. It also involved the singer walking around the restaurant. As an observation, it was probably not entirely the singer's fault as the restaurant generally had terrible acoustics. It was quite difficult to hear our conversation over the table before the music started.

Rockwell was an intriguing experience. The food was generally good, but the music too loud, and the criminal treatment of the Wagyu beef a let-down.