STICK'S N SUSHI

Another week has started and here we are with a new post...this week we have something very different...lady and gents this week we'll be talking about Sushi!
Last night I decided to come back in Covent Garden but not to say hello to my friends at the Opera Tavern, not yet for our third visit, but to go and try some sushi, at the STICK'S N SUSHI. Sticks’n’Sushi serve high-quality, fresh food based on a unique combination of traditional sushi and yakitori sticks from the grill. So for those less keen on fish, there is a selection of chicken, pork, beef and vegetable skewers - all grilled fresh to order. 
Sticks’n’Sushi was founded 18 years ago by brothers Jens and Kim Rahbek and Thor Andersen. Taking inspiration from their half-Japanese, half-Danish background, they created a unique cuisine that combines two culinary traditions.
So the introduction has been done, let's talk about food!
Just one more thing before the food, I love the design of this restaurant...brickwall, suffused light, wood floor...a very nice restaurant...but we are here to talk about food, so let's dig in!!!

We had a reservation and we went down in the basement and get a table at the counter...next to the chef...I prefer the floor upstairs but the restaurant was packed so there was not table available...

We started with a glass of white wine, I have to say the wine list is not vey big, but is not a wine bar and they are not famous for the wine so it's quite understandable, I just checked the website cos I don't remember the name of the wine, the wine list of the website is not the same of the restaurant....anyway I had a glass of white wine from New Zeland...it was good, just good! My partner in crime had a cocktail...Takeshita Rising, with star anise infused shochu, marasquino liquor, and hint of fruits...even this it wasn't super good but it wasn't bad either...

Then we started with a couple of starters, and here we had the best dish of the night...HOTATE KATAIFI BITES, which means scallops in kataifi (Kataifi are a type of thin noodles, they are made ​​of flour and water that is poured through a sieve onto a hot metal cooking tray. The noodles are very 
short. They are used to make Middle Eastern desserts and other foods around the Mediterranean sea)
with miso aioli, trout roe and cress; this dish was so unique, full of flavours, it was a pleasure, this is what I'm looking for, this is why I started this blog, this is why I eat out, cos I wanna eat food like that, not simple average food, but something unique extraordinary, something that gives u pleasure, like an orgasm...maybe I went to far, ;-) but I just want this to be clear...I want to be impressed, and trust me on this if u knew me you'd know, I'm not easy to impress...I'm very picky.

So the kataifi dish was amazing, then we had something different, I chose a Tuna Tartare, with avocado, shiso mix & pine nuts, served with nori chips & spicy miso dressing,  which I have to say, didn't impress me too much; the Stick's n sushi menu has pictures, so the customers can have a better understanding of the food, in this case the picture was way better then the real dish, so it looks better, on pic then it tastes...this is not good, yes the food has to look good, but not on pic on the plate, but it has to taste better then how it looks, well this wasn't the case.

Then we had, chose from my partner, and somehow I knew it wouldn't be a good choise, a Beef 
Tataki, beef smoked cheese, chives, yuzu kosho dressing (is a type of Japanese seasoning, It is a paste made from chili peppers, yuzu peel and salt, which is then allowed to ferment), soy roasted almonds and spicy goma dressing; as u probably understood, I didn't like it, again the pic on the menu is much better then the real dish, which was a very thin sliced cold beef, with some garnish...

Then we chose a mix of rolls, we had 4 different rolls, 8 of each of them, the first one was the Hell's Kitchen roll, with tempura shrimp, avocado, spicy sauce, topped with tuna & barbecue sauce; I have to say I don't really like the barbecue sauce but in this case the combination between all the flavours was excellent, probably the best roll we had that night...
then the Salmon Ceviche roll, with red onion, cucumber, avocado, topped with salmon, coriander & lime marinated, prob the best roll after the Hell's Kitchen...

Then we had 2 very similar rolls, and this was my fault, cos I didn't read the menu properly, the Ebi Cocktail roll and the Formidable roll, both with avocado, cucumber and tossed in sesame, but one topped with hand peeled shrimps mayo and chives, and the other one topped with salmon tartare and trout roe...both good but slightly below the previous two...

Then the desert, we had Crumble with yuzu curd & meringue, and a white coffee Crème Brùlée, both good, the portion was very small, and I had to say I was very happy about that, cos usually the desert are quite a big portion and after a dinner I believe is good to have a small portion of desert which is not quite heavy as the big ones...well done!

The bill was a bit more then 120 pounds, for two people.
I have to say something about the service; a restaurant can be run in different ways, and the service can be organized in different ways; one way it could be to divide the floor in sections and having one waiter taking care of each section or no sections and everyone take care of everything; I don't know how Stick's n Sushi decided to organize the floor, but I was asked "how is everything?" three times in 5 minutes by three different people, and I was asked few times if we needed more drinks again by different people, in a short period of time.
If the floor was divided in sections, so having only one waiter taking care of us this wouldn't be happening after reply the first time.
What I 'm trying to say here is that it could be a bit annoying all this, a waiter has to be like a Samurai, walking between table, watching over the customers and realize what the customers need, without asking too many questions and without being to noisy and too annoying...
But all the waiters were polite and at the end the service went smooth and we enjoyed our night.
So will I come back?...probably yes!
Those kataifi bites...omg!

ZOILO...a little argentinian paradise in London!

I'm back...this week I'm very happy...last night I had a nice dining experience!
Few weeks ago a friend of mine told me about a new argentinian tapas bar around Oxford Circus...I've never really had an argentinian restaurant experience, and since I love tapas bar I decided to give it a try!
So I put on some nice clothes and with my inevitable companion I headed down to Oxford Street!
We didn't have a reservation but it wasn't hard to get two seats at the bar...I have to say Zoilo has a nice design, brick wall, nice bulbs hanging on the ceiling, and a suffused light!

I soon realized that the menu was quite small...4 snacks, 3 empanadas, 3 sea, 4 land and 3 sides!
Instead I really enjoyed the wine list with a few Malbec to choose from!
I went for the best Malbec on the menu, a Decero 2011 and Fabre Montmayou Reservado 2012, simply delicious! The Malbec is a very strong wine they both were above 14%!

Then the food...we started with a selection of house bread & butter, oh my gosh that bread was so good, we had to order a second basket!

Then we had Provoleta, almonds & oregano honey...it was so delicious, I'm not really in to cheese, but I was very impressed, it was very tasty and the cheese, almond and oregano honey combined togheter created an amazing dish, somehow reminded me of the cheese on top of the best pizza u can imagine! Stunning....

Then we had Braised pig head croquettes & quince jam, again not big fan of the pig head or pig ear cos they have a very strong taste, and even this time the dish had a quite strong taste, which was balanced by the quince jam but I have to say the result was quite good, so pig head croquettes...why not!

Then the empanadas, we had the one with spinach, goats's cheese, raisins & pine nuts, it wasn't the best dish of the night, since the empanadas is quite a simple dish, with simple ingredients, it wasn't anything special, probably the best empanadas I hate so far, but still an empanadas! Let's move forward...

Then main courses...Chimichurri beef burger, smoked bacon, provolone, onions & pickles...I love burgers and I never had one with Chimichurri sauce (Chimichurri  is a green sauce used for grilled meat, originally from Argentine, it is based on finely-chopped parsley, minced garlic, olive oil, oregano, and white or red wine vinegar) and I have to say it was quite delicious, cooked as perfection, juicy meat, the bacon wasn't crispy as I like it to be, provolone cheese, the same we ate as a starter was quite good, and the sauce was very good, beef burger...well done!

Then the Caramelised pork belly, grilled scallops, sweet potato & chorizo, I found the combination pork belly/grilled scallops, which was cooked as perfection, quite fascinating...the dish was great, nice flavours, pork not to fat, properly cooked and very tasty...vamossss

Breast of duck, pumpkin, cabbage, quince & granola...another well executed dish...I loved the crunch of the granola, and the pumpkin cabbage and quince to offset the duck flavor, well done!

We had a side dish of  chips, which looked and tasted good, I think the dish had a bit too garlic, but it's a personal taste, anyway loved the chips!

Then it comes the desert; I have to make a point here...it's very hard to find a very unique desert nowadays, wherever I go, Spanish, Italian, Argentinian or French restaurant, the desert menu is not the same but quite similar, I had pannacotta in an Italian restaurant and in a Spanish one, I had Creme brûlée in a French one and in an Argentine one...so I wasn't impressed when I read the desert menu, like I wasn't in every other place I have been...anyway....
we had a delicious, I repet this, DELICIOUS Dulche de leche Crème Brûléè & "banana split" ice cream, with an amazing glass of desert wine, which I can't remember the name, but I do remember the taste, wowwww....and then a Chocolate Fondant, not quite good as the Crème Bruléè but still a great desert, whit an other amazing glass of wine.
I have to say I was very impressed about the wine in this restaurant, both Malbec and desert wine!

The bill was around 100 pounds plus the service charge!
It was a great night, stunning restaurant, great food and amazing wine, good service, the barman Tommaso along with the manger and the rest of the stuff have done a great job, thank u guys!
Will I come back?!...
Of course and next time I will try the fish and the white wine...Zoilo see u soon!
Gracias papi 
 ;-)