Sunday brunch

Mildreds

Word of mouth is clearly the best means of advertisement. It is how I heard about Mildreds restaurant, and evidently, it was how the diners forming the hour long queue had heard.

It is not easy to get a table within this beautiful restaurant. The sumptuous teal colours along with the softy sparkling fairy lights sets the tone for a soothing vegetarian meal. The idyllic image presented here may sound good and well, but the reality was the queue was far too long, and the hour and a half wait left myself and my friend seeking refuge at the front of the restaurant (next to the door, sat on a stool, with an ever-increasing crowd gathering around us). 

Food wise, the menu is fantastic. It offers a variety of dishes ranging from pasta, salad, curry and stews. It even promises to placate those meat-eaters out there with a ‘burger of the day.’ I opted for the Cinnamon Spiced Stew with butter beans, butternut squash and quinoa, with my friend choosing the Sri Lankan Sweet Potato and Cashew Nut Curry, served with yellow rice. For many, vegetables evoke bland and often boring images. This was not the case. The curry and stew sauce, along with the variety of dips, added flavour, whilst the rice made for a fulsome meal. The result was a healthy yet fulfilling meal, with all the flavour often attributed to meat dishes. It is well worth a try, but perhaps not on a Saturday night. 

Cinnamon Spiced Stew.

Styling: Lauren Payet

Photography: Lauren Payet

Dishoom

Last year, I frequented the brilliant Bombay Cafe, Dishoom. I have often been sceptical of restaurants so close to the West End; a hubbub of tourism and, with this, a few too many TGI Fridays which is explanation enough. Sufficient to say, my scepticism was short lived.

A year later, I have moved South of the river. I am fortunate enough to live near the brilliant Bermondsey Street (another blog for a later date), but it's safe to say the need to leave Southwark is few and far between. Nonetheless, the opening of Dishoom in Shoreditch was a definite reason to broaden my culinary horizons. 

Situated just off Liverpool Street, the entrance is both majestic and slick. It gives a powerful impression and leaves one feeling excited at the prospect of what is inside. As is the case with many new restaurants in London, bookings are only taken for tables of six and above. Having arrived at 7.30pm on a Saturday night, the wait was almost an hour long, though a spiced cocktail promptly whittled the hour away.

What makes Dishoom so superior, is that it takes away the idea of a heavy, overwhelming curry, and replaces this void with small, manageable and subsequently tasty dishes. It's the perfect way to try Indian dishes that are so often ignored. For example, the Pau Bhaji presented itself to be a small bowl of mashed vegetables with a buttered Pau bun. The Gunpowder Potatoes were a winning dish and a fantastic accompaniment to the Matter Paneer - a delectable vegetable curry. Finally, the Mahi Tikka - cod with a yogurt sauce - evidenced the variety of dishes that were available. 

For dessert: the Apple and Black Pepper Crumble with Cinnamon Ice-cream. This epitomised the fusion of spices and flavours that ran through the meal, particularly when combined with the House Chai coffee.