Friday Night Dinner: Hans' Bar & Grill

Hans' Bar and Grill sits just of Sloane Square in Chelsea. It is attached to the 11 Cadogan Gardens hotel, but has a separate entrance on a pedestrianised part of Pavilion Road.

We sat in the upstairs part in the middle of a spacious room. After umming and ahhing about which dishes to pick, and whether to have any from the set menu, we decided on sharing the Truffled Mac & Cheese Croquettes to start. Three 1½ inch cubes, filled with mac & cheese showed up, slightly breaded and fried. They were nice, but they could have been a bit cheesier.

For our mains, I selected the Woodland Mushroom & Asparagus Risotto, which came with some Parmesan crackling. The risotto had a good bite to it, which I like, but it was a little skint on the asparagus. My wife chose the Cured & Roasted Loin of South Coast Cod, served with some fresh peas and brown shrimp on top. Although tasty, the portion was disappointingly bijou, and the fresh peas in the description turned out to be a quenelle and a smear of pea purée.

As we were still a little peckish, we also had a desert. My wife had a sticky toffee pudding, which was nice enough, but again a bit bijou. I had an apple crumble pie, which is just like an apple crumble, but then in a crispy pie case.

Although the food was pleasant, but not great, we found the experience a little "odd". Perhaps that was also because we were the only ones in the room having dinner — the tables on either side of us were only doing drinks — or that with every opening of the door there was a cold blast of air. We won't be returning.

Truffled Mac & Cheese
Truffled Mac & Cheese
1 / 5
Wild Mushroom Risotto
Wild Mushroom Risotto
2 / 5
Cured & Roasted Cod
Cured & Roasted Cod
3 / 5
Sticky Toffee Pudding
Sticky Toffee Pudding
4 / 5
Apple Crumble Pie
Apple Crumble Pie
5 / 5

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Friday Night Dinner: Fish!

Close to Borough Market, Fish! is a long-established seafood restaurant, and along the street from Mallow which we visited a couple of weeks ago. Fish! is located in a glass lined and roofed building, which I suppose in summer could get quite warm. My wife — who picks the restaurants — commented that she had never dined in Fish! but had been fancying trying it for several years. When we arrived at around seven, the service was just getting going.

We were shown to our table very speedily, by a friendly waiter who briefly explained the menu. We decided to go for a calamari to share to start, which came with a very garlicky mayonnaise. An oyster each add some extra flair.

My wife enjoyed a sightly "brunchy" main of smoked haddock with bubble and squeak, and a poached egg on top — unfortunately the poached egg was set, rather than being runny. The dish came with a pot of a well-made hollandaise sauce which finished things off nicely.

I had the roast Sea Bream special, which was served with cockles and mussels in a slightly spicy tomato-y sauce. The skin was crisp, and the bisque delicious enough that I ask for a spoon to slurp up the leftovers.

For dessert, my wife enjoyed an apple ice cream with a shot of Calvados, Affogato style — these paired really well and made a nice change from the traditional espresso and vanilla ice cream version. I enjoyed a dense chocolate mousse. Delicious, but probably a little too much!

With our meal we enjoyed a crisp bottle of Txakoli, a lightly sparkling wine from the Basque region of Spain that we very much enjoyed when we were in San Sebastián last summer. This paired well with the food and was an immediate choice when we saw it on the menu.

If you like fish and seafood, we can recommend Fish!

Oyster au Naturel
Oyster au Naturel
1 / 6
Calamari with Garlic Mayonaise
Calamari with Garlic Mayonaise
2 / 6
Roast Sea Bream
Roast Sea Bream
3 / 6
Smoked Haddock Bubble and Squeak
Smoked Haddock Bubble and Squeak
4 / 6
Chocolate Mousse
Chocolate Mousse
5 / 6
Apple Ice Cream with Calvados
Apple Ice Cream with Calvados
6 / 6

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Friday Night Dinner: Bertie Blossoms

Bertie Blossoms is a tapas bar/restaurant near Ladbroke Grove, at the Northern end of Portobello Road.

We were sat at a table upstairs at the small cosy restaurant, going past a large abstract artwork by the owner. There were a few tables occupied, with the bar downstairs relatively busy too. It is not a large establishment, but it felt cosy and welcoming. The upstairs was a little low, so careful if you're tall like me!

The menu contains of a few bar snacks, and a dozen or so sharing plates — tapas style. We ordered the Padron Peppers from the snack menu, and the Gambas al Ajillo, Baby Carrots, Woodland Wild Mushrooms, and meatballs from the "To Share" section.

The dishes were served in a random order, with the meatballs first. They were served with a spicy Nduja sauce and topped with grated cheese. The baby carrots were served with some yoghurt, a Labneh, and had some toasted hazelnuts sprinkled over it. The wild mushrooms came with some toasted sourdough, which was great to lap the remaining juices up with. The gambas were whole, but it was easy to remove the flesh from the shell. Some focaccia on the side helped with the cooking juices again.

All the dishes were well presented and flavourful. Our only gripe was that many of the items of the sharing dishes came in odd numbers. And perhaps that half of the music was Ed Sheeran songs (played at a discreet volume) — but then again, that isn't bad considering he owns the place.

Padron Peppers
Padron Peppers
1 / 6
Meatballs with Nduja Sauce
Meatballs with Nduja Sauce
2 / 6
Baby Carrot with Yoghurt and Labneh
Baby Carrot with Yoghurt and Labneh
3 / 6
Gambas al Ajillo
Gambas al Ajillo
4 / 6
Wild Mushrooms
Wild Mushrooms
5 / 6
Toasted Sourdough
Toasted Sourdough
6 / 6

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