TOTA

I recently checked out TOTA, a restaurant which is very local to me, in Tooting Broadway. The head chef and owner, Gary Doherty, has cooked on cruise ships all around the world and as a private chef, but has decided to bring his skills to South London and open his own restaurant!

There was a lot on the menu that appealed to me, but in the end I opted to start with some butternut squash ravioli. The pasta was very good, with a flavoursome filling and I liked the accompanying goats' curd and fresh tomatoes but I felt that the pasta was slightly too al dente and the dish was a little oily.

I also managed to taste the crab cakes which my mum chose. They were very good, bursting full of crab meat, and with a crisp finish.

For mains, I couldn't resist a wild mushroom risotto. It was certainly intense, with a penetrating truffle aroma and rich sauce. Like the pasta, I found it too oily, although it was still delicious!

I finished off the very enjoyable meal with a decadent berry pavlova, creamy and fruity with an excellent light meringue.

Ametsa with Arzak Instruction

Last week I was very lucky to be able to go along with my mum to the press opening of Ametsa at The Halkin Hotel, an exciting new restaurant in London overseen by Elena Arzak and her father Juan Mari. Three  chefs chosen by her, including one from Sans Sebastian, have flown over from Spain to create a sense of what it's like to dine at the '8th best restaurant in the world', Arzak, but acknowledging the difference in ingredients between Spain and England.

The design of the restaurant reflected the essence of its cuisine: test tube-like glasses full of spices which hung from the ceiling created a rainbow wave of colour - the idea behind Arzak's cooking is to take traditional food and ingredients and bring them to life with science.

We started with an interesting trio of appetisers, of which I most enjoyed a king prawn which was wrapped in crispy vermicelli pasta, giving an interesting texture reminiscent of crunching through the shell in a prawn tempura. There was also a strange taco made out of rice cake, filled with fish - again interesting texture-wise, but a bit odd. I was not a fan of the 'puzzle de queso', which although it tasted quite nice, had the consistency of processed cheese, puzzling indeed.

I really liked the first of the starters, sardines which had been marinaded in sea water, topped with a thin 'skin' of piquillo pepper. I loved the subtle sweet flavour of the pepper complementing the fish, and the citrus cutting through it, with pickled walnuts providing a necessary texture contrast.

The 'quick change squid' very much appealed to my interest in magic - little parcels of squid changed colour as the charming waiter poured a rich black broth over them.

I had some delicious scallops - very lightly seared, so that they were almost sashimi-raw with a fresh salad. I think it's great that we can get such wonderful seafood in the centre of London!

For mains, I had some more lovely fish: mackerel with a green and black (ink) sauce and fennel, and bream with crispy vegetables in a garlic sauce. The fish was very good, and well cooked, but the sauces didn't make a big impression on me and I felt that the bream was too garlicky, although the crisply vegetables were tasty.

For dessert, I thought chocolate mouse with coffee ice cream and butternut squash was an odd combination but it worked pretty well, and I liked the coca-cola granita on top. There was also 'basque toast with mango and coconut' which I wasn't very keen on - I was expecting some interesting texture interplay as toast met mango, but it was all soft and slippery and not particularly flavoursome.

It was a very filling and enjoyable meal, with highs and lows, but I think I'll have to make a trip to Sans Sebastian to experience the real thing!