Babbo

I had a superb lunch today at Babbo - babbo means daddy in Italian, and with the wall of family photos and charming staff, it did have a homely feel.

First, we tried a special cheese made by a family of cheesemakers in Italy to the specifications of head chef Carlo Scotto. It's a 50:50 mix of cow and sheep milk so had an aspect of that crunch and tang characteristic of parmesan but also an interesting sheepiness (like pecorino) and subtle overtone of truffle.

I started with seared scallops, elegantly prepared with a delicious browning, served with a (slightly weird) purple cauliflower puree, piquant beetroot and very pretty bows of home-made pasta.

I loved the squid-ink black tagliatelle which was tossed with spicy crab meat. When I asked Carlo Scotto how to reproduce it at home, he said I should practise every day: make the pasta, get the best olive oil available, and hand-pick the meat from the best crab available - maybe one day!

For dessert, I really liked the burrata which was delicately encased in milk skin, and served with a strawberry sauce and fruit. The creamy cheese went very well with the fresh fruit and tangy sauce. I couldn't resist trying the profiteroles too - a yummy and decadent treat!

The Grill Restaurant at The Dorchester

I just got back from a wonderful evening at The Grill Restaurant at The Dorchester. The setting of the restaurant, at the grand hotel is very impressive, with gold and chandeliers blooming on the ceiling. Inside the restaurant, however, the décor had a slightly strange Scottish theme, with tartan all over the place, but it had a lovely charming atmosphere. My mum and I had a chat with Brian Hughson, the very friendly and passionate Head Chef, talking about how important it is for him to source his game and fish (the restaurant prides itself on it's game, [the meat not the amusement!]) from people who he knows, and is sure that they really care about what they do ...

... and it certainly showed! I had some delicious food. I particularly enjoyed my main. It was the best halibut that I've had for a long long time - crispy and crunchy skin, delicate flaky flesh, and thoroughly flavoursome. Accompanying it was some crispy fried squid for an extra crunch, some cute little anchovies. As well as some tasty potatoes, pickled in lemon which gave an extra depth to their flavour and complimented the fish well, and sprinkles of some groovy-looking purple cauliflower. Oh, and how could I forget?, parmesan custard. Now that's a good idea!



My starter was delicious too:  stunningly presented Aldwych goat's cheese in brik pastry, with potatoes, a sorbet made from crème fraiche and a herby sauce. The cheese rolls were great, with a definitive intense flavour which was topped off with a little shaving of parmesan. I thought the sauce was yummy as well, especially with those potatoes and sorbet!



It's probably going to sound like I'm really greedy if I talk about another course, but I'll do it anyway. This was marinaded scallops, something I've never tried before. They were very different to seared scallops, like I'm used to, and quite nice, but I think I'd prefer them just lightly cooked, because I couldn't really taste the delicate flavour, more the marinade. Also with the dish was deep fried oyster! Despite being not too keen on oyster, I thought this was very tasty, because that usually very strong taste of the sea was more subtle, and the texture was less ... slimy. The scallop crackling was also pretty cool, especially since I normally wouldn't have crackling (it's normally made from pork!).



My mum had some game, obviously, but unfortunately I'm a pescetarian so it's not really my thing, but she asked me to take photos of what she had, so here they are (I think it's grouse):

For dessert, I tried a very fruity berry jelly, with a refreshing buttermilk sorbet - a perfect finish to a fantastic meal!