Casa Roja

We are back at the airport this morning with his and hers sombreros and maracas, and la Isla bonita playing from our small speaker. 

Steak and Sparklers

After those beach sprints and topping up the tan all day, it was time for another dinner.

A lot of restaurants along the sea front in any holiday resort have people outside begging you to come in with a 'ThisIsWhatWeHaveTonightAndIWillTalkAsFastAsICanIn10Seconds' monologue, and some of them are really nice places to eat too.

A few years ago, Mum and Dad found this local spanish restaurant one evening when wandering towards the old port. There wasn't a a huge open front with tables showing, just a door with a name above it. 

They took the plunge and went in to see what it had to offer.

¡Hola España!

Buenos dias mi amigos! 

Honky Tonk

There is a wardrobe in Clapham where you can head off to London's version of Narnia.

My dinner date got a little excited about this with an ohmygawd face, and approached with no caution expecting lions and witches on the other side.

The Rum Kitchen

I am going to let you in on a little secret of mine, whilst also hanging my head in shame.
Ready?
I am a little fussy with food.

Okay, little is probably the wrong word to use, and let's just say fussy. I'm not one of those people who won't try new foods, but at the same time a plate of salad is something I will not go near. Although ever since I have been in London, I have been purposely trying new foods as much as I can as there are so many places to go!

I love food (a little too much sometimes) although with my training I have to be careful about what I eat, but I can have the occasional cheat days, like eating this bad boy...

Chicken Or Steak

Ever since I got back from Skiing in Switzerland, I have been constantly training for the upcoming track season.

Constant training brings constant eating with it, and the urge to eat everything that is around me! Plus, it is easy to fall into the mindset of 'I can eat anything because I burn so much' when you head out to dinner, when really your erasing the good work you did earlier on!

I am always wishing that every food is good for you.

Though this menu at Tramshed looks pretty good, doesn't it?

Pizza East

It's wet January, payday seems so far away, and everyone in London seems to be taking part in Dry January after inhaling too much alcohol in the lead-up to Christmas and on New Year's Eve.

Myself included.

I spent a little bit more than I should have on presents and Christmas drinking this year, so much so that like everyone else, I am hoping payday would be tomorrow, not a couple of weeks away.

To wash away the grey and gloomy January (seriously, when will the rain stop?), me and Frankie thought a post-Christmas catch up hiding from the rain would be a good way to cheer ourselves up!

Anyone for pizza?

Night Tales

Remember Street Feast back in the summer?
An East London warehouse full of food trucks and stalls, serving hungry foodies whilst the evening sunshine lasted well into the night.
Then winter arrived, and suddenly standing outside all evening didn't seem so appealing.

Just because the sun has faded and the nights are colder, doesn't mean that us foodies have to hibernate away. Street food is still at large (with added winter coats), with a range of pop-ups appearing around London.

Say Hello to one of them... Night Tales.

The latest food fest to appear this winter over in Dalston under a huge canopy.
Its three gold coins at the entrance, which lets you into a world of food and drink that will ensure you need to be rolled out at the end of the night!
From oriental to american, Italian pizza fritta's to west country cider, you are in for a treat!

Stomachs rumbling, we headed straight to grab some food.
First stop, BAO for some starters.

Pork belly is one of my fav foods, and you know how much I love fried chicken from my visit to Joe's the other week.
So, understandably, I ordered both.
Just look at all that pulled pork. 

And whoever came up with Soya Milk fried chicken is a genius.
Sorry Colonel Sanders, you have got nothing on these guys!

As for the Pork Belly Bun, they were miniature pieces of heaven.
If you are a bit unsure, then I urge you to try these! Honestly, they were that good!

There are queues for most food stalls, but trust me, it is worth the wait for each one of them!

Over at Pizza Pilgrims, they were serving up Pizza Frittas filled with sausage and mozzarella, or mushroom and ricotta.
J went for one and I went for the other, but the mushroom and ricotta pipped the other as the best tasting!

You have to excuse the lack of focus on the camera - I was too excited to eat these!

I have heard so much about Pizza Pilgrims, and became a fan just from these little frittas. I can't wait to go try out their restaurant menu!

There is also an upstairs area where you can hide aware form the busy crowds and grab a few drinks before you take on the next batch of food.

Ready for another round of food, we headed back over to BAO for more chicken and pork belly bun's.

Before rounding off at Smokey Tails.
Chicken wings smothered in buffalo sauce, and smokey Mac'N'Cheese on the side.
Again, I had to have both!
We grabbed a spot, sat down and tucked in.

Smokey Mac'N'Cheese is so good! The added 'smokey' BBQ flavour adds that extra pow! that has been missing all these years!
As for the delicious wings, lets just say that it got a little messy with all that sauce!

With the night vibes in full swing, we carried on with the mulled cider and chatted away to other foodie lovers who were trying to eat and drink sensibly too.

We failed at both, not that we were too disappointed!
With the night coming to a close, we staggered and pulled each other away from the food stalls, and off into the Dalston night.

Night Tales is on every Thursday, Friday and Saturday up until Christmas. You can find them here, and be sure to arrive with an empty stomach.
I mean, not-eaten-all-day kind of empty stomach!

See you there!

Imli Street Soho

So after a night of being an Italian in London at The House of Peroni, it was time for a bit of a change.

This time by adding a bit of spice in our lives in the heart of Soho.

Sham has been telling me for ages about Imli Street on Wardour St., and how amazing their Indian food is. At one point it was open and then it was closed down (You could sense the sadness in his voice when he told me that!). 
Then it re-opened, Sham was over the moon, and now we were about to have a curry catch up.

We got there early, grabbed a spot and ordered some cocktails to kick off our evening.
I went for the 'Rustic Ruby' which was a mix of grappa, violette, apple juice, wild berries and Prosecco...

Which went down perfect whilst we launched into an overdue catch up.
Sham went for the Bombay to Soho cocktail, which was full of Bombay gin, pomegranate, lime, and ginger ale. 

We ordered a few tapas-style dishes to pick at whilst we chatted and drank our way through the night, before we ordered our mains.

Now, I am a tikka masala addict. So with Sham telling me how amazing this place was for their food, I thought I should try it to see how it compared!

It was pretty decent! Not too spicy, not too bland, and the chicken was so tender it fell apart when I went near it with my knife!
All in all, pretty impressive!

It came with the standard rice, which was light and airy, and almost not enough for the masala. 
The crispy onion bhaji's made up for that though!

Sham went for the Naanwich.
Yes, a sandwich made with Naan bread, with dipping sauce on the side, and looked absolutely amazing!
It was a simple idea, and I don't know why I have never thought of it before. Inside, it was filled with scrambled paneer, peppers and rocket, and then toasted slightly to give the naan some warmth and crisp on the edges.
I am going to try to make these at home sometime. You can put whatever you want inside, though I think I might stick to Indian influences.

Apparently it was tasty! It was gone quicker than you can say 'samosa.'

The restaurant usually doesn't have any queues, which is refreshing for London! We got in there early and by the time we were finishing the last drop of our drinks before we moved on, the place was full of hungry visitors!

So my advice would be to get there early to avoid waiting, stock up on the cocktails and nibble your way through the evening - they serve food till 11pm!

London is so hard to find a decent Indian, but Imli Street was great! It tasted great, the food was authentic, and the service was good too! 

The menu can be found here, and their location is right here for you.

Enjoy! 

Joe's Southern Kitchen

Joe's Southern Kitchen and Bar opened in Covent Garden back in the summer, and has been tweeting mouth watering pictures of their food ever since!

Everytime I saw a picture of their food, I had to ignore it. Deep southern fried food is a no-go for me during the summer, as I am competing on the track and trying to stay in shape. 

This isn't the summer anymore, though. Whilst I am still training hard, I couldn't resist finally going for some southern fried chicken.

After-all, chicken is protein, so I am technically eating good!

Dad had been up in London for meetings all day, so we met up for some post-work drinks and made our way over to Covent Garden to grab dinner. 
Be prepared to wait a little bit for a table, as it is pretty busy most evenings. You can grab a spot at the bar, and try out some of the cocktails.

 

Coat from Topman, shirt from River Island.

A Long Island Iced Tea and a pot of peanuts later, our table was ready.
By this point, I am starving. The smell of the food was crazy good, and there was only so many peanuts you could eat to kill the hunger!

Seated, ready to eat, and another round of drinks later, our starters came out. 

I went for the Joe's chicken wings, full American style.

With an extra helping of BBQ sauce.

(Which, by the way, is absolutely amazing. I need a bottle of this in my kitchen cupboard!)

If you want finger licking good food then this hits the spot!

Whilst dad went for the corn and monterey jack rice balls.

All in all, a pretty good start.
There could have been a couple more rice balls, but it was almost as if good ol' Joe was saying 'Here is a teaser of whats to come.'

Boy, was he right. Out came the mains.

Goodbye training diet for one night, and hello Southern Fried Chicken, buttermilk marinated and then deep fried in their pressure fryer!

4 pieces of Joe's finest chicken, deep fried to perfection.
Chicken. Chicken. Chicken, Chicken.

Here's a closer look..

Looks tasty doesn't it!
No knives and forks were used in the eating of this chicken! It is all about the hands!

Four pieces were enough to fill you up after the starter, and throwing on some more BBQ sauce made it taste even better. Plus, because it was in a pressure fryer, it wasn't as greasy as some of those chicken shops on the high street!
Believe me, it was simply amazing. Crispy, juicy chicken, with a side of spicy potatoes.

Which set my mouth on fire! (Though I am a mango and lime Nandos kind of guy!)

Dad went for Joe's Dry Aged Burger...

Cheese, caramalised onions, bacon, pickle and a burger, all surrounded by a sea of skin-on fries.
Which disappeared before I could take anymore photos of it, but in the west country words of dad.. 'That were pretty good wern't it, rare just 'ow I like it.'
You can take the man out of the countryside, but not the countryside out of the man!

I couldn't stomach desert, I was too full from the starter and mains, so we grabbed the bill and made our way back out into the London night.

Joe's, it was awesome. I will be back and I will have desert!

If you want to go try out their food, then you can book a table here, have a quick look at the menu here, and find them on Twitter here.

If you don't book, don't worry. They hold back a number of tables every night for walk-ins! #Winning