Nopi

Yesterday I visited Nopi on Warwick Street, London, Ottelenghi's more upmarket outpost and a take on his Middle Eastern sharing plates for which he is so synonymous.

I visited with the lovely Chloe Pierre LDN and we were seated downstairs in the less formal communal dining area - where two large canteen-style tables invite diners to sit among each other. We were in with the supplies in open plan shelving - from Cretan olive oil, coriander seeds and large jars of vine leaves, Chloe mentioned it was like being in the store cupboard but I liked the quirkiness and open-ness of it all. 

Downstairs at Nopi

We also had easy viewing of the open plan kitchen, which for me, is always a winner. The atmosphere was light, chatty and relaxed, perfect for a lunch time meeting and diners were a complete mix of business lunchers and friends catching up.

Open plan kitchen at Nopi

The waitress we had was knowledgeable and informative about dishes on the menu, giving us clues to her favourites and the ones that have stood the test of time.

We opted for a selection of six sharing plates between us, and the first to arrive was a crushed beetroot plate with goat's cheese and toasted hazelnuts. It had the vivid trademark purple beetroot colour and looked incredibly vibrant and beautiful to look at, happily the flavours matched and even excelled the appearance, it was a delicious dish. The earthiness of the beetroot was there but with an underlying sweetness that was perfectly offset by the tangy goat's cheese and the toasted hazelnuts. A really well executed dish.

Crushed beetroot at Nopi

With the beetroot arrived the burrata - one of my absolute favourite things to eat, it was well served with a portion of coriander seeds, roasted peach a flourish of micro herbs and a plum reduction, and another good dish. It I had a minor criticism, it would be that the burrata could be slightly creamier - I've purchased some wonderful burrata myself recently from a stall at Borough Market and this wasn't up to the same unctuous, creamy quality.

Burrata at Nopi

We had the twice cooked baby chicken, with lemon myrtle salt and a simple chilli sauce - one of the best dishes for me, the chicken was crispy and charred with that barbecue flavour on the outside but soft and moist inside and perfectly seasoned. Delicious.

Twice cooked baby chicken at Nopi

The beef short rib was a revelation; I was expecting a slow-cooked concoction, maybe even stew-like, as opposed to the perfectly pink arrival. It was tender, seasoned well and utterly gorgeous. I've been avoiding 'rare' meat during pregnancy but this was a temptation too far and I couldn't resist - it was totally worth it too! The accompaniments, pickled styled shallots with a shitake mushroom all complemented the dish perfectly.

Beef short rib at Nopi

We ordered the truffled polenta chips, and whilst they looked great, I wasn't keen on the polenta - I'm unsure on the texture and the taste and we both agreed it was the one dish we could have done without.

Truffled polenta chips at Nopi

Another side dish we ordered was one of the stars of the show for me - heritage tomatoes dressed in sumac, red onion and basil. An almost pickled taste overall, and stunning brightly hued tomatoes that just tasted divine. A flavourful reminder of just how great, supposed 'side dishes' can be, and why Ottolenghi's style is so widely emulated and revered. Fantastic.

Heritage tomatoes at Nopi

We both had a mocktail and the entire meal at Nopi came in at £82 including service. As is often the case with anywhere proffering 'small plates' they may be small but the price soon adds up. Probably a fair price given the name and the location in the heart of the West End. I'll definitely return and next time will be trying the fishy choices of rainbow trout and sea bass as well as the roasted butternut squash.

If you like Middle Eastern food and are in the area, definitely give Nopi a try – but be warned, booking is wise as they were packed during the lunchtime service yesterday.

Jamie's Italian, Westfield Stratford City

A couple of weeks back my mum Vicky and I headed for a little retail therapy followed by a bite to eat at Westfield, Stratford. Now I'm not usually one for 'chain' restaurants, however my mum had recently eaten at Jamie's Italian with my brother during a frenzied Christmas shopping session, and was quite impressed so I thought, why not.

To start off we ordered the self proclaimed 'World's Best Olives' which were large, juicy green Italian ones, and were lovely and full of flavour. I wouldn't say they were the world's best, nor the best I've tried but I am biased and think nothing can beat a Kalamata olive. Along with the olives came a tasty tapenade and some fried crisps which are called 'music bread' here - all perfectly adequate and well worth the £3.75 price tag. 

We also tried the Pumpkin & Mozzarella Nachos, which were in fact, just little squares of the two combined, coated in breadcrumbs and deep fried, served with an arrabiata sauce. These were a little bland alone, but improved slightly with the sauce - I probably wouldn't choose them again but they were perfectly edible. 

Finally as part of our antipasti we chose the Italian bread selection with some oil and balsamic vinegar. There were several different types of sliced bread in the little tin that this arrived in, all of which were good, but special mention must go to the rosemary foccacia which was like a little piece of heaven. Perfect soft in the middle, flavoured throughout with the rosemary and with a slightly crisp exterior and some sea salt for that added texture - perfection. 

For our main course we both selected a dish from the pasta menu. I actually had what my mum had enjoyed so much on her previous visit - the Seafood Bucatini. Or in other words, a selection of expertly flavoured seafood including clams, mussels, squid, scallops and crab combined with a thick spaghetti pasta and with the addition of chilli, garlic, some chopped tomatoes and a little white wine, all cooked together in a bag. This really was top notch, I'd say it is certainly the best dish I've had from any chain restaurant before. The basic sauce just proves that actually simplicity and real expert flavouring is everything with Italian cookery. My mum has already re-created this dish at home as she enjoyed it so much when she visited and I will be following suit too.

This time around, my mum opted for the Black Angel Spaghetti - squid ink pasta, coupled with scallops, capers, wine, garlic and chilli plus anchovies. Again this was a great dish - perfectly seasoned, good quality scallops and no complaints at all.

I also insisted on trying the Polenta Chips as they sounded so appealing on the menu. These were tasty, but probably a little too much with the starters we'd had and alongside pasta.

We washed the meal down with a white wine I'd never tried before but will be looking into purchasing for home consumption - a Trebbiano Garganego Del Veneto. A crisp, yet ever so light and refreshing wine that perfectly complemented the food and priced at only £15.95 I thought this was a bargain.

Service was good throughout the meal, although once the restaurant became quite busy, it did become a little slow, but the waiter who looked after us was knowledgeable and friendly and we weren't in any rush so this was good for us.

I was impressed overall with the meal and the venue which also includes a little deli style shop and was even more impressed when the bill arrived. We'd enjoyed two large and enjoyable courses plus wine and there was change from £50 which I really don't think you can grumble at. I would definitely eat there again and if you do go then do try the Seafood Bucatini, it really is a lovely dish. And do please share your thoughts if you have had a similarly good or otherwise experience at Jamie's Italian.