Friends | katie sprog

9th April 2014

Hello friends. I’ve been storing this one up for a little while!

Those of you who are London based will probably have heard me go on about The Delaunay at some point. It’s a Corbin & King classic – if you haven’t heard of them, they’re the restaurateurs behind The Wolseley. More recently they’ve also opened Brasserie Zédel (W1) and Colbert (in Sloane Square) – both also great.

I love going to The Delaunay. It’s the perfect place for a special treat meal, without breaking your budget for months to come. Don’t think ground-breaking morsels of gourmet food, topped with froth and exotic flavour combinations. Think – comfort food… if you were about town in Vienna circa 1930.

Delaunay Bar

Things I like about it: The grand entrance and marble floors, the handsome bar, the white linen table cloths, the sharp service, the pastries and mille-feuille peeking out from glass covers, the antique clock, the leather banquettes, the Tarte flambée (see below)

Things I don’t like about it: Not much

One evening a little while back, L and I made our way down Aldwych, and met at the Delaunay bar. A glass of wine later, we were joined by A and B (who has since gone to New York – we miss you!). This is what our evening looked like at one of my favourite restaurants…

Delaunay

Delaunay Bread

Delaunay Table

Delaunay Menu

Tarte Flambee

Tarte flambée – the absolute must to order. A thin, crispy delight – and no, it’s not too big for a starter (promise).

Tabasco

Oysters

Delaunay

Oysters Delaunay

Delaunay Table

Weiners, schnitzel burgers, steak tartare, crispy fish goujons – you’ll find them all on the grand European Café style menu.

Fish Goujons

Steak Tartare

Schnitzel Burger

Final note – when The Delaunay first opened, I had in my head that it was pronounced ‘The De – lane – ey’. Not sure why. But O and I had a disagreement about it, resulting in me phoning up to hear them say ‘Hello, The Delaunay’ at which point I said ‘Thank you, that’s all I needed to know’. So, O was right, and I was wrong. (Not often I’ll admit to that!)

Spring might be sprung now, but if you need somewhere to pass a rainy evening, you can’t go wrong with cosy glamour at The Delaunay.

Walking South of the River Thames after dinner

5th September 2013

My friend E recently found herself in need of a place to stay at short notice. As luck would have it, I was off to Cervinia at exactly the right time.

So she moved in to my house and kept A company while I was away. Ideal.

Anyway, the point of the story is that E very kindly took A and I out to dinner to say thank you for having her. Totally unnecessary but extremely generous. So I can now thank her again in this post… and tell you all about it.

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We had been talking about going to Shrimpy’s ever since it opened last year, and somehow never managed to make it. This meant that it was with more than a little excitement that I approached The Filling Station at King’s Cross.

The reason it’s calling The Filling Station, is that it actually used to be a BP petrol station. How’s that for alternative? What’s been retained is a very cool, edgily industrial location for dinner and drinks.

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You follow the signs around the back and find Shrimpy’s with a long bar under an overhang ceiling, open to the air. There’s inside restaurant tables as well, in a quirky and welcoming space.

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Think painted walls, brass pineapples and spiky cacti on the windowsill. The tables are decorated with a mantra.

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I really like the retro water glasses.

Yummy popped corn nibbly things arrived, and I ummed and ahhed over the menu like always. Shrimpy’s serves Tex-Mexy/American/Seafood type food. Basically, it’s hard to put it in a box.

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And this is what we decided on…

Chicharon – if you like pork scratchings, you need these in your mouth. They are a spicy, smoky, crunchy delicious treat, and the guacamole that comes with them works perfectly.

Frickles – deep fried, pickled chillies – are you a gherkin fan? These are like the naughty version of gherkins. So, so moreish

And now for the main parade – E and I had the soft shell crab burger and A had the cheeseburger in a bonnet.

The crab came with avocado and chilli and it more than met my expectations. It was fab (fab crab, see) – if you go, definitely order it.

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Look, burger in a bonnet – too cute.

On the side we had hot macaroni and fries. The macaroni really rocked my world.

I thought the service at Shrimpy’s was great – the staff were all lovely, water was constantly topped up and all of my silly questions about the food were answered.

The view across the way…

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