Friday Night Dinner: Oorja

This new location for Oorja is at the bottom of Marylebone High Street, a little out of the way. We visited during their soft launch, which brought some teething issues. More about that later.

Curiously each diner is provided with a fabric apron to wear, to protect their clothes which was a bit of a novelty.

We had some popadoms when we arrived, and we have an issue with them. There were only three actual popadoms; the rest (majority) were star shaped piped "crisps". These reminded us slightly of an M&S packet of crisps with different shapes — although I'm sure they were made in house. Traditional popadoms from an Indian restaurant are wonderful things, thin and crispy, but although the sauces were great, this box wasn't really as good as that.

The food generally was lovely. My wife ordered the black daal, which she thought was amazingly tasty. The railway chicken curry that I had was also delicious. A particular shout out for the cheese and onion bhajis that we had as our starters — we're not sure that we ever had an onion bhaji with cheese, but it worked well. But as usual, they came in portions of three — most parties are two, which makes sharing them harder.

But onto the teething problems. The circular table at the top of the stairs that we were sat at, was too small for two to dine comfortably. When we arrived there were plenty of other tables for two free, and which remained free during our whole visit. We felt like being squeezed in as a "walk in", rather than for someone who had booked.

Service was attentive but not intrusive. Empty plates etc., were removed swiftly. The pacing of courses was also good; not too, fast or too slow.

Desserts weren't available, so no comments on that. Overall we'd recommend this place, and I hope it does well.

Popadoms
Popadoms
1 / 6
Cheese and Onion Bhajis
Cheese and Onion Bhajis
2 / 6
Black Daal
Black Daal
3 / 6
Railway Curry
Railway Curry
4 / 6
Naan
Naan
5 / 6
Rice
Rice
6 / 6

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Friday Night Dinner: The Ship Tavern

A cosy no-nonsense gastropub, right next to Holborn station; that's how I would describe this place. Which when we visited was decorated for Halloween with pumpkins lining the stairs up to the busy dining room.

The menu has your standard pub fare (Fish & Chips, Steak, Beef and Ale Pie), but also more sophisticated dishes, such as a Venison Loin and a Beef Wellington to share. We chose two of their specials.

My wife had a Salmon Wellington, served on mashed potatoes with some leek. A good wavy crust enveloped the well-cooked salmon. The mash was smooth and buttery, with the leek adding some texture.

I enjoyed the Duck Breast, which turned out to be a duck breast and a confit duck leg. The breast was pink and juicy, and the leg just as it is supposed to be with a crispy skin. This was served with Tenderstem broccoli, some mash, and a few roast potatoes. These roast potatoes were probably the best I've had in a London pub, after never really been happy with any served with a Sunday roast. If I have any criticism of the roasties, it's that they were on the salty side.

When ordering, we asked our waiter what our mains came with. He didn't seem to know this, and advised ordering vegetables with the Salmon Wellington, so we went for a portion of maple-glazed carrots. But whilst the carrots were nice, they were unnecessary as the salmon came with mash and leeks. This meant there was too much food overall, as the portions of everything were very generous.

The food was excellent, and as it is close to the British Museum, it would make for a great place to go after a day out at the museum. Booking ahead is likely required for a Friday or Saturday evening.

Duck Breast and Duck Leg
Duck Breast and Duck Leg
1 / 3
Salmon Encroute
Salmon Encroute
2 / 3
Maple Glazed Carrots
Maple Glazed Carrots
3 / 3

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Friday Night Dinner: Edith

On our holiday, we had a few beers across the street at Le Brassitorium, which we would recommend going to if you happen to be in Nice. Whilst sitting outside in the warm weather, we noticed Edith across the street, and decided that it looked like a good place for dinner. We had not booked, but they had a table available when we showed up — probably because it was on the earlier side for dinner in the South of France.

For her main, my wife chose the "Aioli", which wasn't just garlic mayonnaise. Instead, a well-cooked white fish — just slightly flaky — appeared with char-grilled carrots, fennel, and courgette sections. And of course the garlic mayonnaise. I picked the steak tartare, served with the standard egg yolk. This was served with pan-fried potato cubes and some lettuce. It was well-seasoned, and had little bits of cournichon embedded in the chopped meat.

Still a little peckish, we shared a delicious silky Crème Brûlée to finish. We had a lovely meal, in this no-nonsense restaurant, serving original home cooked meals without fuss and a lovely atmosphere.

Steak Tartare
Steak Tartare
1 / 3
White Fish with Veggies
White Fish with Veggies
2 / 3
Crème Brûlée
Crème Brûlée
3 / 3

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