the collection, chelsea

The Collection, Chelsea

I heard it through the grapevine 
Not much longer would you be mine.
Oh I heard it through the grapevine,
Oh and I'm just about to lose my mind. 
Honey, honey yeah.

Well I heard through the grapevine that The Collection in Chelsea had been taken over by new owners.

Huh...really? Tell me more...

Yes really...a new management team and a complete overhaul and revamp of the previously rather worn down appearance by Design Research Studio, headed by Tom Dixon.

Ok, I'm interested...keep talking...

...and new Executive Chef Alex Fanzola, fronting the kitchen for the reworked restaurant.

Ok, talk to me later...I'm already half way there in a taxi!

Hello there, would you like to walk with me down the catwalk?

The Collection hasn't lost its original statement features. You can't miss the 80ft catwalk entrance and let's not forget, probably the longest bar in London.

Peeking over the mezzanine edge feels like spying on a scene from Sex and the City...

Is that your best chat up line?

However, the even bigger and better statement is the restaurant, with its cleverly placed open kitchen. Close enough to see the magic happen live, but expertly shielding back the noise so not to draw focus away from the dining experience.

The bronze cluster lamps hanging from the ceiling, let you know Tom Dixon has left his stamp on the place.

Feels like I'm watching a televised chef show...

Bronze cluster lamps

Italian Executive Chef Alex Fanzola, brings with him the very best from Mediterranean cooking. I'm told by the passionate and humorous man himself that he uses NO butter or cream. Olive oil is used in all the cooking. A big emphasis is on the great olive oil. Health friendly and packing a punch of flavour. A first glimpse of this is with the bread. A wonderful trio of basil, truffle and lemon zest extra virgin olive oil. The gorgeous bread is made the night before always using a bit of leftover sourdough, resulting in tasty focaccia and fried bread.

Basil infused extra virgin olive oil

Tradition coupled with the finest quality ingredients, sourced from suppliers such as the organic Laverstoke Park and premium London butchers, O'Shea's of Knightsbridge make for a mouth watering array of dishes. I discover that true creative geniuses will go far for their craft, as I'm told an amusing story of some hay snatching from a field in the country before some serious dish testing. Alas it was clearly a success due to spotting the 'hay roasted lamb shank' sitting confidently on the menu.

There is a generous selection of small plates, and light enough to share more than one, which is encouraged as there are so many different accents to ummm and ahhh over. Dishes such as creamy burrata, salty and sweet chorizo and sweet potato and baked prawn with basil emulsion and roasted garlic.

Creamy burrata, chorizo and sweet potato

The main dishes are impressive with combinations of clay baked baby chicken with pomegranate molasses, herbe'ed polenta and slow cooked sturgeon and chanterelles. The waiter wips out the equipment he needs to debone the salt crusted sea bass in front of you. I was a little un-nerved by the stark appearance of the lamb shank on the chunky wooden board, but the waiter offers to debone it, and I'm happy to discover this also means presenting all the ingredients together. A perfect blend of melt in the mouth lamb, creamy artichoke puree, pistachio sauce and rich jus.

Salt crusted sea bass with Mediterranean sauce

Hay roasted lamb shank pre deboning

Save room for dessert. A surprising favourite was the cold fragrantly scented rice pudding which held its neat shape unlike hot steaming gelatinous versions of the past. A must is the heavenly hazelnut and the pistachio ice-cream. Light and creamy.

Dinner is divine, but fear not, The Collection is open from 10am in the morning until late, and the new private retail spaces will host a series of one-off 'pop-up' stores, collaborating with renowned jewellers, designers and artists to showcase their work, so there is much to be enjoyed from this greatly improved establishment.

The Collection, 264 Brompton Road, London, SW3 2AS
Opening Times: Daily for lunch and dinner, from 10am – Midnight.
http://www.the-collection.co.uk/
http://thecollectionchelsea.tumblr.com/

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le comptoir libanais, wigmore st

Bedazzling

Persephone was tricked by Hades into eating some very sweet juicy pomegranate seeds. Unfortunately for her, it bound her to the underworld for 6 months of the year...woops!

However, on approaching this lit up, glistening, colourful and bountiful Lebanese canteen/delicatessen, I can assure you that there is no need for the lord of the dead to deceive you into stepping inside and coming back for more.

Have I stepped into a Souk?

'Hmmm, what shall I have?' he thought to himself

Absolutely flooded with brights and vibrance, it's an abundance of technicolour. The Marrakech'esque atmosphere is bustling with energy, as happy, busy luncheoners are eating from their plentiful plates, and the shelves are throbbing with Middle Eastern delights. Tony Kitous is the one responsible for bringing this vitality to high street eating, to ensure that lunchtime needn't be dull or expensive.

Even better, it serves as pretty good dinner spot. I was first lured here by a friend last year. Why? We had a party of 8. Occasion? We were heading out afterwards. Major attraction? BYOB. It ticked all the right boxes. Flexible, accommodating, affordable, healthy, filling and fun. I'm lucky now that my invisalign appointments are on Harley Street, so I get to frequent Wigmore street for lunch.

With the prompted table service, the usual nail biting decision making, can be made into a more casual perusing of the menu if you decide to eat in. I got my teeth recently around a tasty lamb kofta flatbread wrap, but if wraps aren't your thing then there is plenty to choose from. Think tagines, mezze, tabbouleh and falafels. Think mint tea. Think rosewater. Got it?

Lamb kofta flatbread

Eeny, meeny...

...miny, moe.

I spy with my little eye something beginning with C...

Fun with a capital F.

Remember we eat with all the 5 senses, so it's pretty good to stay engaged and entertained. The patterns alone will give you an epileptic fit, so stay focused!

The sweets, or baklawa, on offer for pudding or tea time are incredible. I haven't been so sure of baklawa in the past, but on spying the chocolate covered one, I couldn't resist. Are any of you familiar with the Nestle Drifter bar? The biscuit wafer, caramel chew bar coated in chocolate? Well I pretty much melted after my first bite of this very proper filo pastry version. The flake, the chew, the chocolate. Ding, ding, ding, ding.

Something sweet?

Sorry, I took a bite!

So are you the least bit tempted yet?

Maybe I am the lord of the dead...or perhaps lord of the taste buds...trying to trap you into a life time of guzzling and eating.

Take a look inside, next time you walk past...

Yes, I'm looking...

 ...because there are a couple of tables with your name on them!

'Come eat with us'

Le Comptoir Libanais

le pain quotidien

Le Pain Quotidien...is this tempting you at all?

The first said: “Who has been sitting in my chair?”
The second: “Who has been eating off my plate?”
The third: “Who has taken a bite of my bread?”
The fourth: “Who has been eating some of my vegetables?”
The fifth: “Who has been using my fork?”
The sixth: “Who has been cutting with my knife?”
And the seventh: “Who has been drinking out of my cup?”
Then the first looked around, saw a little hollow in his bed and said: “Who has been lying in my bed?”
The others came running, and cried out: “Somebody has been lying in my bed too”
But when the seventh looked at his bed, he saw Snow White lying there asleep. 

Organic bread

The Seven Dwarfs had every reason to be suspicious and inquisitive about their unexpected intruder, but the happy vibrant 'whistling work' that Snow White casted on their lives, is the same spell that Alain Coumont has dusted over our cafe culture when he founded Le Pain Quotidien in Brussels in 1990.

Infact, he's created an atmosphere so relaxed and inviting I half expect to see Snow White, mouth open, dribbling and asleep on one of the long wooden communal tables, that dominates each store.

Le Pain Quotidien's bakery beginnings, ensures that bread is still the cornerstone of the menu (you don't need to hear my 'pro' carbohydrate talk again), but I'm just so darn excitable about their specially, expertly and organically made bread without yeast. After hearing that only organic stone ground flour, salt and water are 'kneaded' then you might think twice about picking up a loaf of bread from the supermarket that has 25 ingredients!

Kneading the right ingredients

Organic rye bread

Organic porridge, honey and banana

I have many fond memories of LPQ since it's hit London. I've taken clients for breakfast in High Street Kensington. I've picked up a fruit salad on my way to work in South Kensington. I've cured a heavy night with an organic ham, gruyere and mustard filled baguette in Parsons Green. I've filled up on wine, tarts and tartines during Nottinghill Carnival in Nottinghill. I've soothed aching 'invisalign' teeth with organic porridge, honey and banana on Kings Road. I've delivered fresh coffee, and hazlenut flutes to a friend in need, and I've spilled the entire pot of pepper over my scrambled eggs.

What keeps drawing me back is the quality of product. The environment keeps me in with its warmth. There is no pretence. One can whip out their laptop with sufficient work space, and you could stay all day and not be frowned upon. How would you like to entertain friends in your kitchen? How would you like your kitchen? Let's call LPQ your home away from home, where you don't have to do the work!

Cup of coffee or tea?

If you are not enticed by the bakery then there are soups, hot dishes, a dinner menu and Coumont's RN13 label of organic wine to tickle your tastebuds.

Are you salivating?

There are also plenty of kitchen cupboard essentials, like the organic jams or the 'to die for' organic artichoke spread with extra virgin olive oil, and then there are the 'Le Pique-nique Box' choices which I think are very reasonably priced (compared to another Italian chain out there) and even a canape service. Is there no sign of this chain slowing down?

Organic artichoke spread

Now that it's raining, all I can do is take my purchases home, curl up on the sofa with a slice of rye toast and make sure to spread it thick with a generous helping of Noisella!! (sorry Nutella, but I've been cheating on you!).

Noisella