Bistro du Vin – “Divin” – SOHO

Natty patty.

I was a Bistro du Vin/Hotel du Vin novice until a week ago, however I knew my Wednesday night could only be looking up if I was to be rolling into a temple devoted to wine, Anglo-Gallic grub and oodles of cheese. I am a simple girl, the words “bistro”, “vin” and a temperature-controlled larder humming with the faint feety odour of a smorgasbord of French fromages is enough to get my pulse racing and my tastebuds breakdancing.

St. Martini at Dishoom – Zoom Zoom…

Get on your Bombay bicycle and head over now!

Dishoom is tapas Bombay style, or something along those lines. Wee plates of spicy goodness which my Indian co-diner insisted were highly authentic. So far so good then. And that’s before I discovered the chilli-infused heaven that is a St. Martini.

Dishoom, a stone’s throw from Seven Dials and next door to Jamie’s Italian, is a bright and breezy large bar, kitchen and dining room festooned in kitsch Bollywood memorabilia and 50s diner aesthetics. The open plan kitchen is fun to watch without invading the room, with the most entertaining chef (the one who whirls the Roti about above his head) is rightfully given the most prominence.

Oysters Shmoysters at Hix

Oyster Shmoysters. Yummylicious!

It doesn’t bode well that I suffered manic food poisoning two days after lunching at Hix – although I have since realised this had nothing to do with the large plate of fabby Kingdom of Mourne rock oysters, nor the sweet, plump Duchy of Cornwall natives. It was in fact an office-borne 24-hour bug-like monstrosity that had me hugging the loo for dear life and seeing a repeat  reemergence of a Marks and Spencers mexican chilli chicken salad…

Domaine les Aphillanthes at La Trouvaille, Soho

I took a few folk from the Rendez-Vous Francais de Londres to a wine-tasting at my favourite Frenchy hangout in central London, La Trouvaille… This particular wine-club evening was themed on biodynamic wines from the Côtes du Rhône, showcasing specifically a selection from a small domaine by the name of Les Aphillanthes, run by husband and wife duo Daniel and Helène Boulle who got into biodynamic viticulture after discovering that their son suffered strong allergies which this kind of vine growing could prevent.

Sizzling Kimchi at ARANG

Arang Korean restaurant/barbecue sits on Golden Square in Soho – a large, spacious cantine-style room with tables lit by what appear to be neon snooker table lamps each of which has an industrial ventilation tube zooming out of it that hovers, Bladrunner style, over your table’s hotplate.

Udon know what your missing ’til you eat at Koya

Every blogger, his wife and their three children has written about Koya – all glowing praise and with the kind of prose reserved for edwardian love letters that make broad-bosomed women swoon.And on that note I have little to add to such fantastic reviews such as the ones from TomEatsJenCooks orLizzieEatsLondon but like them, I went for the full on Udon shebang and was rewarded in so many stomach-satisfying ways.

La Trouvaille – A real find in Soho

A friend of mine introduced me to La Trouvaille in trendy Newburgh Quarter a few months ago and since then, I seem to have wound up here once every two weekends, as if a large magnet lay at the heart of Carnaby Street and I was dressed in metal.

A slice of France in the heart of London there is nothing phoney or twee about this cosy retreat. The staff are all French, the wine list is serious, the food is simple and good with proper French dishes and they do a lot to promote organic wines from the South West regions of France through organised wine tasting evenings which are always very well attended.