CLOSED - The Ambassador

** UPDATE OCTOBER 2011 - The restaurant has closed, and a Japanese place looks set to open in its place.

Last weekend the husband was away having fun (getting bruised by paint bullets, then dulling the pain with copious alcohol), while I was home working. So I reckoned I deserved to treat myself. A lunch in the sunshine on Exmouth Market was just the ticket.
I was craving the bright green nettle soup that I'd tried in Ambassadors a year or so ago, but it wasn't on the menu. So trying to stay vaguely healthy yet colourful,



I opted for a small beetroot risotto (£6.50) instead.
The healthiness was slightly thwarted by the generous splash of olive oil and the white pool of gloriously creamy, melted goats chese topping the vibrant red rice. It was a blissful plate to nibble on while looking through their selection of weekend papers over a glass of white Abruzzo (£3.50) from the extensive wine list.
Conclusion, a fabulous couple of hours' treat for only £10 (plus service).

The Ambassador, 55 Exmouth Market, EC1R 4QL; Tel. 0207 837009; Tube: Angel;
www.theambassadorcafe.co.uk; closed Sunday evening

The Narrow

Gordon Ramsay has picked a great location for his first venture into the world of gastro pubs. The Narrow is bordered by water on two sides, with plenty of outdoor tables from which to watch boats zipping along the Thames or queuing up to moor in the Limehouse Basin. Inside, it is very much a modern pub, buzzing with well dressed office workers from near-by Canary Wharf. The beer selection is impressive, including a good selection from the Meantime brewery just down the river at Greenwich. The wine list is reasonable, with plenty of options under £20. You can pad your stomach with some bar snacks (we overheard a man explaining to his dainty looking non-English date what pork scratching are...). Or you can opt for a full meal in a side dining room -- assuming you've booked first. The menu is split into starters, "on toast", and mains, mostly in the classical vein of British cookery that is enjoying a popularity revival. My potted crab was lovely, generously portioned and not too heavy on the butter. My partner's "on toast" features three plump sardines. For his main, he went with the exciting pig's cheeks (the ones from the face) with mashed turnips. I had the "Welsh rabbit" (apparently that's the traditional spelling). It was quite small, but the waiter had warned me about that when I said I'd have it instead of a main course. It was also quite nice. But not nearly as nice as the one I'd had in St John a few weeks ago. The Narrow invites the comparison with a similar style of food, but unfortunately it doesn't quite come up to the extremely high mark set by St John. The prices are very reasonable, even without taking into account the Ramsay name on the menu. The food is nice, and promises to change frequently. And I probably will be back -- if only to enjoy the view over a few drinks. But I couldn't help leaving The Narrow a bit disappointed.

The Narrow, 44 Narrow Street, London E14 8DP; Tel 0207 592 7950; www.gordonramsay.com/thenarrow; DLR: Limehouse

St John

Every time I go to St John, I am disappointed that squirrel is not on the menu. But it gives me a good excuse to keep coming back. This time the restaurant was fully booked, so we grabbed a wooden table in the cosy, informal bar. I've always been more impressed with starters than main courses here, so was happy to see that most of my favourites were chalked up on the blackboard bar menu. We embraced Fergus Henderson's concept of nose-to-tail eating with some bone marrow, parsley, onions and capers on toast. This is the sort of dish I'd normally squeem away from, but having once tried a mouthful of someone else's I was immediately won over by its silky, fatty richness. Then there was the mustrady Welsh rarebit, the gloriously fishy hunk of anchovy toast and finally a salad of bitter dandelion leaves and sweet shallots. I will admit the last dish left me convinced that dandelions are best used for blowing off the pollen when their heads go all big and white -- rather than for eating. But my companion happily wolfed it down, saying the bitterness was remeniscent of chicory. We washed the feast down with a couple of big bottles grand cru wheat beer from a wide selection of Meantime brews on offer. The service was charming, the tables around us were as taken with the food as we were and the bill came to a very reasonable £40.

St John, 26 St John Street, London, EC1M 4AY; Tel. 020 7251 0848, tube: Barbican, Farringdon www.stjohnrestaurant.co.uk

Rules

Rules claims to be the oldest restaurant in London and it is indeed a venerable insitution, somewhat reminiscent of the grand old Parisian brasseries. Despite being quite a large place, it does get booked, so book before you go. Inside, the walls are covered with pictures - from a somewhat disturbing caricature of Margaret Thatcher in knightley armour (the Iron Lady, geddit?) to certificates for cattle at Smithfield market from a century or more ago. The waiters are unfailing polite and dressed in those long white aprons they wear in France. The clientele is mixed - from tourists to businessmen to couples - and the atmosphere is posh but not snooty. They were happy to bring us tap water and refilled it unbidden, for example. Meat is the big thing on the menu, sourced from the restaurant's own Scottish estate. We started with duck salad (£9) and unbelievably tender, thin slivers of smoked venison (£10). For mains, I sampled my most expensive ever, 30-day hung sirloin steak for £18. It was worth it, and came with a mount of thin, crispy chips - just the way I like them. The roast partidge was also a success. Washed down with some perfecly quaffable house claret (£16 a bottle), and throwing in the service charge and a couple of aperetifs, the bill came to around £100. You could do it cheaper, but I recommend putting your self in treat mode, getting out the credit card and savouring every mouthful. You could always use some visiting foreigners as an excuse to come here and prove that there is such a thing as a traditional Endlish restuarant, and a good one at that. (They also have a late night two courses for £18 deal, which is well worth trying if you are hungry post-theatre).
Rules Restaurant, 35 Maiden Lane, London, WC2E 7LB, www.rules.co.uk, Tel. 0207 836 5314; Open noon-midnight, Mon-Sun; Tube: Covent Garden or Charing Cross

Canteen

The Canteen opened a couple of months ago in the redeveloped modern bit of Spitalfields market. I hate the redevelopment, but guess Canteen kind of makes up for it. It has recently been reviewed in a couple of weekend papers, and on the evening we went they were run off their feet - you may be well advised to book. But the maitre'd was very nice and agreed to squeeze us on to one of their large wooden tables (think Wagamama but nicer, and there are some small booths too for couples or foursomes). The menu is quite long, with a helpful section for things you can order if you are in a hurry. The food is traditional British - and yes, that does exist and in Canteen it tastes fantastic. I had macaroni cheese, which was a world away from school dinner slop (£7). The watercress and onion salad provided a refreshing alternative to the traditional rocket and parmesan combo (£3). And my companion's pork belly with apple sauce was very tender (£9). There is a reasonable wine list (from about £12), as well as a selection of interesting bottled beers, including ales. They also offer an all day breakfast menu, featuring such classics as Welsh Rarebit and black pudding with a fried egg. The atmosphere is convivial rather than trendy or romantic. And we are definitely coming back to try more of the food - next time will try and save room for the cheese platter.
The bill includes at 12.5 percent service charge. Officially they are open until 11pm daily.
Canteen, 2 Crispin Place, E1 6DW; Tel. 0845 686 1133; Tube: Liverpool Street; www.canteen.co.uk