About time we went to Bob Bob Ricard

I fell in love on my first visit to Bob Bob Ricard, with it's grandeur, it's art deco and art neavou interior and it's super lux Champaign on demand button.

I can firmly say the Russian and Eastern European with an American flare cuisine that Bob Bob plates up is authentic and delicious. The dishes were rich, flavorsome, and for what is traditionally a very stodgy and full fat style of cooking, everything we ate at Bob Bob tasted expensive. The tartares, both venison and tuna were divine, I recommend these for a melt in your mouth experience, but perhaps even more exciting were the soufflé desserts.

As the vodka continued the flow, and the dishes continued to wow us, we easily decided Bob Bob Ricard was a new favourite in Soho.

Cuzco, Peru restaurant recommendation: Fallen Angel

We visited Fallen Angel in Cuzco on a recommendation from a friend of a friend, but this quirky, stylish and at times plain mental restaurant exceeded all our expectations.

The decor is out of this world. You step off the hectic streets of Peru into a weird haven of the bizarre. The walls are sky blue with fluffy white clouds. The tables are bath tubs filled with gold fish and as you walk for room to room you stumble further into this mad world.

Left with a bad taste: The Kitchen Table at Bubbledogs&

I've shelved this post for some months, it's not my way to publish a bad review or in my nature to endeavor to tarnish someone's reputation however, when myself and 4 friends all came down with food poisoning after eating at the Kitchen Table at Bubbledogs& and the restaurant did nothing, I thought I best let you all know.

We went to the Kitchen Table, hidden in the back room of Bubbledogs& just a few months after its opening. The entire evening was lovely. Although the "tosserati" (Marina O'Loughlin) were out in full form the five of us managed to sift through the pretension and engage in only a handful of ego feeding conversations with our neighboring guest, to enjoy a wonderful experience.

The meal was lovely. It was presented in a logical narrative as the plates went from light to rich, raw to cooked, seafood to red meat to dessert in what seemed to be a natural transition of cold to warm to hot, back to cold. The arrangement was flawless.

It wasn't long after eating at the Kitchen Table, that one by one each of our group of five fell ill with what could only be pinned as food poisoning.

Prague restaurant recommendation: Cafe Savoy

At first glance you're left breath-taken by the grandeur of the lovely art nouveau Cafe Savoy in Prague. The high-ceilinged 19th century interior is stunning, and the food is excellent. This  popular dwelling for the cliques of the affluent, intellectual and expats offers a classic and rich menu that makes subtle nods to traditional Mediterranean fare, including the likes of crayfish soup, escargots, foie gras, steak tartare and veal entrecôte. 

Every fine detail at Savoy is perfect, from the presentation of a bowl on your table before having your waiter poor the thick soup into it, to the delicate little pastries available from the bakery. The staff speak English and are eager and willing to offer recommendations. The sommelier is also very knowledgeable and approachable. 

My recommendations: the steak tartare and chicken liver dumpling soup.

New York restaurant recommendation: Katz's Deli

Katz's Deli is my number one foodie recommendation in New York City, and well worth the visit to the East Village.

You arrive to the manic deli and are given a small pink ticket that you are advised to hold on to with your life as it is necessary for paying your bill. Don't lose it, basically. There are two options, wait for a table where a waiter will take your order, or line up at the take away counters and shuffle through the canteen style arrangement until you have everything you could want wrapped up in your brown paper bag. However exciting it is watching the guys heap sauerkraut onto hotdogs and salt beef sandwiches, we thought it would be a whole lot easier and neater to join the queue and wait for a table. While waiting for a table the feast for your eyes that is this place unfolds in front of you. Rammed from wall to wall, the tables are full of people feasting on the biggest sandwiches you've ever seen.

Kimchee, Holborn

I'm not entirely sure where to start with Kimchee in Holborn, the experience was a real mix. Good, well cooked food and possibly the worse service I've experienced. There was a lot of hype around Kimchee when it first opened, and I suspect they have kept up pace thanks to the tasty food and affordable prices.

Nose to tail eating: St. John Hotel

Fergus Henderson’s nose to tail cooking philosophy summarises quintessential great British cooking. Most excitingly, he now deserves a big congratulations for receiving the surprising first Michelin star for St John Hotel in Soho this month. The menu that consists of hearts, livers, trotter, marrow and kidney is likely to be stomach turning for some, but for me the exciting use of offal was the draw card.

The best way to do a St John meal is in a big group of non-fussy eaters and share a bit of everything. We ordered a veritable feast for five.

Devilled Pig's Skin and Smoked Cod's Roe was incredible, crispy yet melted on your tongue, salty with a little heat from the paprika. The saltiness of the smoked cod roe complemented this perfectly, but could easily stand as a strong dish on its own.

Another highlight was the Snails, Duck Heart and Lovage. I was surprised when my English born dad who we were dining with shied away from the duck heart claiming it reminded him of English boarding school offal. Luckily that didn't deter us more adventurous foodies who dove right in. The dish was an interesting concoction of garlic and soft textures from the heart and snails, definitely worth a visit.

Unfortunately, the Rabbit and Borlotti Beans was a disappointment. The rabbit was under-cooked, making it chewy and difficult to separate from the bone. The Chicken and Trotter Pie for Two (or more like a family of four) is definitely worth splurging for. The pastry was crisp and buttery, with a creamy gelatinous filling.

Desserts at St John are outstanding. Based on our friendly and informative waitress’s recommendation we ordered the Baked Cheesecake with Fig, Honeycomb Ice Cream and a serve of 6 Madeleines to ‘take home’. I’m going to take a big stand and say this is may be the best cheesecake I have ever eaten. It cannot even be described, but oh my, the baked goats cheese with sweet fig syrup is not something you are going to want to share, I'm salivating just writing about it. Equally, the Madeleines were crispy on the outside, warm, soft and fluffy inside, and moorish as hell. Needless to say, they didn't make it home.