Friday Night Dinner: The Holland

It's a pub, not far from the Design Museum in Kensington, just off the main road which forms High Street Kensington. The Holland is on a busy-ish road, but inside it is a calm and relaxing spot. There are some tables outside too. When we visited, it wasn't especially busy, with a couple of groups inside and standing outside having some drinks in the warm weather. The staff were very friendly and attentive, and before we knew it, we had our menus to pick our dishes.

For her starter, my wife had the potted crab on toast. The portion size was excellent, the crab tasty, and also nicely presented. I enjoyed the steak tartare, which was mixed with tomato and a little horseradish. It was served heaped with Parmesan cheese, and a potato cake (thin layers of potato, fried).

For my main, I had the "Fish of the Day" with a Vierge sauce and some spinach. Today's fish was Pollock. It had a lovely crispy skin, and the sauce was punchy with tomato, basil, and a large squeeze of lemon — maybe a little too much though, which made it a touch too sour to my liking. My wife chose the sweetcorn risotto. It was slightly sweet from the corn, with a touch of spice and well cooked rice. The usual sprinkling of cheese added a bit of balance.

With our meal, we enjoyed a crisp Grüner Veltliner, by the bottle.

We did book this through "The Fork", which gave us £20 off as we had enough "yums", which was nice! The Fork is one of the booking platforms we use to find restaurants.

Steak Tartare
Steak Tartare
1 / 4
Potted Crab on Toast
Potted Crab on Toast
2 / 4
Pollock
Pollock
3 / 4
Sweetcorn Risotto
Sweetcorn Risotto
4 / 4

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Friday Night Dinner: Kin

Almost next to BBC Broadcasting House, Kin is a plant based restaurant. During the day it's a café with vegan snacks. In the evening it transforms into a modern restaurant with plant based dishes.

On a warm evening, we decided to sit inside in a fairly cool and quiet space. There were a few other diners enjoying the fine weather, eating outside. We usually avoid sitting outside as smoking and vaping tends to spoil the experience.

To start our meal, we shared the Sticky Cashew Tofu, and the Mushroom Skewers (on toast). The tofu was flavourful, and crispy, and the carrot dip added a bit more creaminess — this was my wife's favourite starter. The Mushroom Skewers were made up of oyster mushrooms, which were a little chewy to create some texture, and were served with an artichoke dip spread. Heaps of spring onion and chilli were tossed on top.

For her main, my wife chose the Cauliflower and Butter Bean Curry — Thai flavours and with roasted cashew nuts for texture, which she very much enjoyed. I had the Miso-Glazed Aubergine, which was served with cauliflower purée. The flavours were great, and the aubergine worked well with the cauliflower, but I found it mono-textural, lacking something crunchy as a contrasting texture. I also thought it was too much portion wise, but that was perhaps because we also already had starters too, or maybe we have smaller appetites. We were really full, so pudding didn't appeal, and we left to walk the fairly short distance to the tube.

When we left, it was a lot busier inside, and also a lot louder — perhaps a little too loud for our general liking.

All-in-all, we enjoyed a flavourful meal, and although most of the dishes had some texture, I found the aubergine dish lacking. But it's a good place for plant-based cuisine.

Oyster Mushroom Skewers
Oyster Mushroom Skewers
1 / 4
Sticky Cashew Tofu
Sticky Cashew Tofu
2 / 4
Miso-Glazed Aubergine
Miso-Glazed Aubergine
3 / 4
Cauliflower and Butter Bean Curry
Cauliflower and Butter Bean Curry
4 / 4

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@fridaynightdinners It's weird travelling and experiencing the different ways places handle smoking and vaping.

I think Ontario banned smoking on patios a decade ago. I just got back from B.C. where it's still allowed.

Every time I go to Spain I get the feeling they're still in the era of "The Surgeon General Smokes Camels".

Friday Night Dinner: Poon's at Somerset House

Poon's is a stone throw away from the bustling Lancaster Place, in the New Wing of Somerset House. The room is bright, and has normal tables, a few high tables, and a communal style arrangement. We were seated at one of the high tables in the corner near the entrance, facing out with a good view over the interior.

At first glance the menu looks deceptively simple, but on closer examination there were many delicious options to choose from

We started with some pan-fried wind-dried sausage, which was slightly sticky, salty and delicious. We also shared a portion of The Hill That Amy Didn't Die On, a long-winded name for a prawn toast. But well done, and more like croquettes than the traditional flat shape — we're not sure that it actually involved bread.

For our mains I ordered the Char Siu, beautifully roasted pork belly with a sticky glaze. Some steamed rice was great for soaking up the juices. My wife chose the Steamed Catch of the Day. Today's was a Brill, which was presented whole, but taken off the bone for us. It was served with mushrooms — some of which were cut into strips and tied into little knots — and some greens. We shared more of these dishes than we would normally do.

We did not have space for desert as well, and instead enjoyed a digestive.

The meal was great, but it did end up being a little pricier than originally expected. But our digestive had something to do with that.

Poon's had a wonderful atmosphere, delicious food and welcoming staff, we'd definitely return and would recommend.

The Hill that Amy Didn't Die On
The Hill that Amy Didn't Die On
1 / 4
Wind-Dried Sausages
Wind-Dried Sausages
2 / 4
Char Siu
Char Siu
3 / 4
Steamed Brill
Steamed Brill
4 / 4

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