Review: Lantana, Goodge Street, London

On a late Friday afternoon, when the dedicated are ringing out their last ounce of enthusiasm at their desks and the work shy are hot footing it to the nearest public house, Lantana is a tranquil space to enjoy a rich cup of coffee and a cake. There's a steady stream of chatter and the hiss of the espresso machine; a great setting for a spot of pre-weekend escapism.

I first heard about Lantana from a friend who's boyfriend is Australian. They raved about the lazy brunch  they'd shared which had been accompanied by a "proper Aussie" coffee or three. I've always loved the concept of breakfast or brunch somewhere further than my front door but my morning appetite precludes this. Very frustrating. Maybe one day I'll manage to keep my rumbly tummy in check with a sneaky slice of toast before heading out for a some maple french toast with bacon, bananas and candied pecans (oh lordy) or baked eggs with roasted mushrooms. That's if I can drag myself out from the cocoon of my duvet in time for breakfast (heck, it's a wrench during the week, let alone at the weekend).

Anyhow, I found myself at a loose end during the long final hours of the working week and decided that a hot drink and cake was in order before I embarked on my habitual weekend train journey. I was lead to a table with a prime view of the serving counter (all the better to see frothy latte art being churned out) and ordered a hot chocolate and a charming little friand cake. It's worth keeping in mind that the kitchen closes at 3pm but fear not as coffee, cake and gravity-defying sub sandwiches are available until closing time.

The hot chocolate (£2.50) was sweet and creamy, a nice change from the powdery, bland imitations that I've seen masquerading as hot chocolate of late. I sipped from my glass (rather than a mug, strangely satisfying) and cast my eye of the menu boards. They had some truly delicious sounding salads chalked up - will have to return for a little more sustinence next time. They have links with the lovely Gail's bakery who supply them with their fantastic sour dough. A match made in heaven!

The friand (£1.90) was fantastic too - a soft, moist almond cake with a lovely sticky crumb and warming marzipan flavour. Mine had a generous slice of juicy apricot baked into the top which equally complimented and contrasted the richness of the almonds.  A real winner and just the right size to knock back hunger without making me feel absolutely stuffed.

The proprietors of Lantana opened with the aim of bringing a cup of Australian café culture to London and you can definitely feel the Aussie influence as you take a seat. I can't quite put my finger on what it is exactly; maybe it's the cute, genuine human staff or their mean flat white coffees or the huge jar of Vegemite displayed proudly on the counter... The atmosphere is relaxed, laid back but not sloppy. The guy working the espresso machine really knew his stuff and everything was spick and span without feeling sterile. The toilets were clean and tidy (a rare and precious thing in central London) and they even have free secure wifi for all the techies out there.

It's a stones throw from Tottenham Court Road so it's an ideal spot to hide away from the maddening shopping crowds. It's a pretty small establishment - seating thirty at most - but if it's packed, you can make a bee-line for their takeaway outlet next door. I have to go back; if not for breakfast then for their take on the English BLT, the BRAT (bacon, rocket, avocado and tomato).

Lantana can be found at 13 Charlotte Place, London, W1T 1SN. Tel: 020 7637 3347. Nearest Tube: Goodge Street.

From Russia with love - Maslenitsa Festival 2012

Spring feels tantalisingly close now as the weather gets warmer (yay!) and wetter (boo!) and the crocuses start to break through the softening soil. What better way to celebrate the changing of the seasons that to take to Trafalgar Square this Sunday and visit the Maslenitsa Festival.

Russian Sun Festival is an annual event which celebrates of the end of winter chills and the start of Spring with music, dancing and (most importantly) food. With Russian delicacies such as stroganoff and borscht (beetroot soup) as well as traditional pastries and (if you're not already pancaked out) blini's on sale, be sure to bring an empty tummy. Once you've had your fill, there are musical and theatrical performances and lots of stalls selling crafts and souvenirs.

The Maslenitsa Festival will be in Trafalgar Square from 1:30pm until 6:30pm on Sunday 26th February 2012. Entrance to the festival is free. It marks the start of a week of celebrations.

Review: Tombo, Kensington, London

The clean and contemporary interior of Tombo is a refreshing contrast to the smoggy, grimy London streets outside. Everything about the decor and the food is traquil and ordered from the emaculate maki to the wooden hour glasses to tell you when your tea is brewed to perfection. It's a great place to grab a cup of tea or a bite to eat.

We arrived a little before 6pm when they were relatively quiet and started with some delicate Flowering Osmanthus tea (£3.10) which, when steeped, turned a pretty rose petal pink and tasted mildly of Ribena. Delish! Food came in the form of a fantastically savoury black seaweed salad (£3.30) with chickpeas, french and edamame beans dressed in soy. A feast for the eyes and taste buds though a frustration for the chopsticks. The Tombo Combo No 1 (£7.50) provided an elegant centrepiece for our table for approximately two minutes - time enough for it to be duly admired before it was devoured. Each roll was embellished with fresh soft herbs pressed into the rice. We finished with a fragrant pot of blossoming jasmine tea (£3.10) which had a fantastically floral flavour that (plesantly) surprised us all.

The service was prompt and friendly and the café itself was perfectly turned out. It's mere minutes from the crossroad of Exhibition Road and Cromwell Road so it's ideally placed for a lunch when you're visiting the London museums.
Tombo can be found at 29 Thurloe Place, South Kensington, London SW7 2HQ. Tel: 0207 589 0018 Food can be enjoyed in or taken away.

On the bread line

Rumble rumble went the Tube train as it shot along the Piccadilly Line. Rumble rumble grumbled my stomach, chiming in harmony with my mode of transportation. Ah, the joys of the morning commute. My morning porridge – though packed with fruit, nuts and seeds and totally delicious – hadn’t quite hit the spot but I had a plan to fill the hole and sate my tummy tiger. Luckily, I reached my destination before my stomach started actually talking to my fellow travellers.


I’d heard tell, through the realms of Twitter, that the Gail’s Bakery that The Boy and I had visited only last month had been closed for a day for refurbishment. To celebrate their shiny new store, they were giving away free bread (true story!). Needless to say, I am a sucker for free food so I didn’t need to be told twice. Thankfully, the South Kensington branch isn’t too much of a diversion to prevent me from popping in on my way to work and indulging.

Being greeted with a smile and a warm pain au chocolat was a great way to kick-start my day. The staff were wonderfully bright and breezy for pre-9am (can you tell that I’m not what you’d call a morning person?). I adore passion and the ladies here obviously love what they do. Why wouldn’t they when they are surrounded by glorious coffee and quality cake?

I was gifted a reassuringly crisp loaf of San Francisco sour dough bread swathed in one of their trademark thick brown paper bags. Sour dough is one of my very recent discoveries but, for me, it’s the antithesis of the usual sponge-y supermarket loaf. Gail’s San Fran loaf has a thick robust crust with a thin skin of flour (floury fingerprints - a tell-tale sign that I’d been sneaking bread!) and a light, chewy crumb. It’s great simply sliced and used for a sandwich but I think that it truly comes into its own when you toast it. I like it crispy on the outside but with a hint of raw chewiness in the middle. Slather it with honey or jam and it’s an absolute delight! Try it and you won’t think of bread in the same way again.

Bread aside, their newly refreshed South Ken branch is looking mighty fine! Go and check it out for yourselves.

Gail’s has ten bakeries in the city of London and their South Kensington branch is open from 7am on weekdays.

Where to drink in Nottingham

My travels took me to Nottingham to visit a good friend who is travelling around Australia for a year or so (yes, I am positively green with envy!). If you're there and fancy a drink, take a look at our recommendations!

Time for tea?

White Rabbit Tea House
12 Hounds Gate, Nottingham NG1 7AB Tel: 0115 924 0227

A very cute venue (complete with beautiful tea sets and bunny salt sellers) that's a little like a crowded front room. There was an amazing selection of homemade cakes on display but we were in need of lunch so we nibbled on panini's. We had a melty Mozzarella, Tomato and Red Pesto which was tasty but it was the Chorizo, Jarlsberg and Jalapeno chilli Panini that really stole the show. Slightly let down by surly service.

Homemade
20 Pelham St, Nottingham NG1 2EG Tel: 0115 924 3030

A fantastic place for all occasions. We had tea and cake while the others around us wolfed down ginormous breakfasts with glee. It seemed to be popular on a Sunday with students merrily nursing their hangovers and exchanging banter about their nights out. The service is friendly and fast and the food is simple, classic and tasty. It was shortlisted for an Observer Food Monthly prize and you can see why. A real winner!

After something stronger?

Coco Tang
45 Bridlesmith Gate, Nottingham NG1 2GN Tel: 0782 588 9370

Below the cobbled streets and fashion boutiques of Bridlesmith Gate, you'll find sleek and slinky Coco Tang. It's an intimate basement venue with a small dancefloor. Go for their ingenious cocktails – our favourites were Haribo and Black Forest Gateaux. Happy hour 8pm – 10pm everyday and free entry all night too!.

Cashew Cookie Bars

Despite my love of food, I’m not actually that good at feeding myself. Feeding others is no problem – easy peasy – but taking care of number one isn’t high on my list of priorities. I’m a rather busy lady but it’s taken me a while to grasp that I need to replace the calories that I’m working out of my system. It’s starting to dawn on me (after several oh-my-gosh-i-feel-faint moments – whoops!) that I maybe need to start eating a little more between my bike rides, dance classes, acrobatic episodes and general dogs bodying.

Now, if this wasn’t enough to undertake, I want to eat right too. Empty calories aren’t my thing – they need to be functional, nutritious and oh so delicious. I discovered Nakd Cashew Cookie bars a little while ago and loved them so much that I was determined to try and make my own. Considering that the lovely people at Nakd cram a magical mix of dates and nuts into their soft chewy bars, I figured that it wouldn’t be too difficult to create my own version in the kitchen.

I did a little research and found that America has their own equivalent – Lara bars – which are pretty similar. The more I read, the more I thought “it doesn’t need to be this difficult! It’s just nuts and fruit…” so I threw caution to the wind. I ground up a load of cashews, snipped up several handfuls of sticky dates and got my hands rather dirty smooshing it all together. One of the great winners about these bars is that they are 100% bake free. No cooking required!

They can be a little time consuming to make but they are well worth it. The finished bars are just as yielding and sweet as the originals. I wrapped mine individually in cling-film and now keep one in my rucksac for a post-workout shot of protein. Keep them in the fridge and pop one in your bag or lunchbox for a healthy snack. One of your five a day!

Cashew Cookie bars
Makes 12 bars

Ingredients:
200g pitted unsweetened dates
200g unsalted cashews

- Line a loaf tin with Teflon non-stick baking sheet, greaseproof paper or cling film before you start (and you get super sticky fingers).
- Grind the cashews in a food processor or blender until fine. You want them to be the consistency of ground almonds or course sand though a few chunks or whole nuts in the mix are fine by me. If you don’t have a food processor, you could seal the nuts in a plastic bag, wrap in a few tea towels and then bash with a rolling pin. Free stress relief!
- Snip up the dates with scissors so that they are in very small pieces (as fine as you have the patience for – it will pay off later!). You could also chop them in the food processor if you have one that is man enough for the job.
- Combine both in a bowl and get your hands in to work the mixture. Scrunch it up in your hands, balling it together and then breaking it apart again to form a firm but slightly sticky mixture. This took me about five minutes but it depends how strong you’re feeling.
- Tip the mixture into your prepared tin and level with a spoon.
- Compress the mixture using the back of a spoon and then the bottom of a tumbler or end of a rolling pin. Keep pressing it down until it’s very solid and holds together.
- Remove the block from the tin (pull gently on the lining to help ease it out) then cut into bar-sized portions.

Telling porkies

You're aware of my love affair with Stylist magazine after their Nigella-edited caramel issue. Well, Stylist's brother title (one for the boys) is Shortlist which is another fab weekly free paper. They write about lots of fun stuff including the very best in gadgetry, entertainment and male style. Having been something of a tom boy growing up, I like to pluck a copy out of the arms of the newspaper fairies that stoically brave the streets and underground during it's busiest periods to bestow us with light entertainment on our travels.

They have various "Instructions for men" ("an instruction manual worth reading"!) and the above diagram grabbed my eye while I read about how not to be conned online and other useful stuff. Accompanying their "How to make a proper pork pie from scratch" article, Dave Hopkins beautiful illustration harks back to the good ol' days of black and white etchings. I adore the detail; it reminds me of some of the worn cookery books that live on my parent's kitchen shelves.