LONDON: Top 5 Personal Favourite Restaurants

I graduate on the 22nd of July. With the onslaught of parents drawing ever nearer, I've been asked by friends for recommendations on where to take them. So, I decided to compile, in no particular order, a list of my personal favourites. As you can see, I have a predilection for japanese food, but for a Chinese fine dining experience, you can't go wrong with Hakkasan. I'm sure there are plenty more restaurants that belong on this list, but these are the ones that I've actually tried (though not all were reviewed on Cafe Creatures) and come away inexplicably happy from. 

1. Dinner by Heston Blumenthal 

Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park

66 Knightsbridge

London SW1X 7LA 

You can see my review here! 

2. Yashin Sushi

1A Argyll Road

High Street Kensington

W8 7DB

See my blog review here!

3. Roka 

37 Charlotte Street

London W1T 1RR

See my blog review here! 

4. Tetsu 

Fatty tuna handroll [taken from my instagram]

It took 3 months of waiting to get a reservation here, but it was entirely worth it. With only about 10 seats in the whole restaurant, each person is personally served by the chef. I don't usually like tuna sashimi, but the one prepared for me at Tetsu slid down my throat like a luxurious clotted cream. 

12 Jerusalem Passage 

London

EC1V 4JP

5. La Petite Maison

I haven't reviewed this restaurant even though I've been brought here thrice, but La Petite Maison has never failed to deliver an immensely satisfying meal. It's unpretentious, yet the food is exquisitely prepared; passion flows through the food and onto your tastebuds as smooth as a hot knife slicing through butter. 

I even bought an autographed copy of Gwyneth Paltrow's cookbook (Notes from my Kitchen Table) after one lunch here. 

54 Brook's Mews

London W1K 4EG

SANTORINI: Metaxi Mas

Remember the absolute satisfaction of a truly special, no frills, home-made meal? Metaxi Mas has somehow managed to translate this feeling into every dish. One contributing factor is undoubtedly its location - tucked away in a quaint little stone cottage in Exo Gonia. Surprisingly, (or not, given its raving online reviews) every local we asked had heard of it and the taxi driver dropped us, unquestioningly, right at its doorstep. 

The best dish by far was the asparagus - roasted and embedded in a velvety cream cheese sauce flavoured with herbs and possibly a dash of white wine. Grilled octopus was a close second: glazed with thick balsamic vinegar and complemented with a side of meltingly warm fava beans, it sealed my new-found addiction to this whimsical-looking sea creature. Alas, it was no match for the grilled octopus at Anogi. But more on that in my next post. 

Pomegranate Salad
spinach, red and green leaf lettuce, spring onions, dill, orange, walnuts, parmesan, pomegranate and balsamic vinaigrette with honey

 A savoury souffle plump with the delicate flavours of cheese and spinach

Almost every restaurant in Santorini, including this one, is adoringly inhabited by fluffy cats with doleful eyes. "Some cats look for food, but this one is just looking for some love," the hostess told us, gesturing to the black cat lolling around on our bench area. 

The view from our table

The genuineness of its food and reasonable prices explains how Metaxi Mas achieved a #1 ranking out of 441 restaurants on Trip Advisor. I've come to trust Trip Advisor a lot less for restaurants after having relied on it for trips to Brighton, Athens and Croatia, but it definitely didn't go wrong with Metaxi Mas. 

The amazing thing was that every restaurant we went to, no matter how good or how famous, always had room for the 6 of us. There were never any queues or bookings required. Maybe we ate early, or maybe the tourist season just hadn't hit yet at the beginning of june, but it made our experience that much more sublime. 

Metaxi Mas

Exo Gonia Santorini

PO 84700