Market Coffee House

I am not sure I really like Spitalfields any more. Sure thre are still some gems in the area, but in all the regeneration, they seem to have swapped is shabby charm for what looks like one of those computer-generated vistas of a shiny modern development.

But hey, I was in the area, I was short of time, and I was hungry.
Alas, my visions of yummy delicacies from the overpriced posh food stalls were punctured by the stalls being shut - on a Saturday. I didn't have time for a proper meal so settled for a cafe on the still slightly shaby opposite side of the street.



The board outside laid claim to "the best toasted sandwiches" - so I put it to the test with a cheese and onion number (3.20).
It failed. The bread had been toasted for too long for my liking, but the main problem was the filling to dough ratio, with many mouthfuls detecting little or not cheese.
Kruger do a far superior version which costs 70 pence less, yet features no fewer than three cheeses, as well as wild mushrooms and tomatoes on top of the onions offered here.

I also tried their special ice Darjeeling tea (2.00). It looked beautiful in the (rather small) glass, served with a wedge of orange and a sprig of mint. The first few sips were horribly sweet, masking any other flavours, though the drink improved with the melting of the ice cubes.

All in all it was a pretty disappointing experience and I doubt I'll be back for the food. But the coffees are reasonably priced and it's not a bad place for alcohol free people watching on a sunny day (though be prepared to be accosted by the odd passing beggar).

Market Coffee House, 52 Brushfield Street, Spitalfields, E1 6AG; Tube: Liverpool Street

Brickhouse

A fashion for supper clubs seems to be sweeping through London, and it's one I throughly approve of. After Pigalle, we decided to checkout the Brickhouse, which has taken over a corner of the old Truman Brewery on the more fashionable end of Brick Lane, past all the hard-sell curry houses. (Oops, seems I never wrote up Pigalle...but it was very nice!)

It is a small, tall space, with a few tables on the ground floor and banquettes on the balcony overlooking the stage. It's also very white and industrial/minimalist looking - a bit more old-school glamour might have suited the ethos better.



Like in Pigalle, the food is moulded into a rather pricey set menu, but then there's no additional charge for entertainment -- on our visit a 1940s style band complete with army uniforms, preceded by some Betty Boop cartoons!



The menu sounded complicated with swirls of this and foams of that, but in the end the main ingredients were well-cooked, well-portioned and thus able to shine through. The rare tuna was very nice, while the foam effect softened the punch of the wasabi so as not to overpower the fish.



The honey roast quail was also good, even though I couldn't really taste the black truffle sauce.



The braised pork belly was beautifully crisp (to my horror I have discovered that crispness is not obligatory), served with lots of buttery brown shrimps.



The fillet of beef was rare as requested, though I would have preferred a good old-fashioned peppercorn sauce to the actual accompaniment of mustard ice cream.



The weird-flavoured ice cream was also not entirely successful in a stilton variant, served with two tiny warm eccles cakes. To me, the cakes were a bit too sweet and the ice cream lacked the svaouriness of a pure cheese to offset that.



The rosemary ice cream that came with the apple tarte tatin though was rather good, and the husband also liked the caramel milk shake in a mini glass with a mini straw.

Wine list split into good (from 15), great (mid 20s to mid 30s) and gorgeous (upto 179 in the reds). The food is set at 39.50 for 2 courses, though they sometimes have special offers to reduce this at the start of the week.

In all, the food was much more hit and less miss than one generally expects (or gets) in an entertainment-focused venue, and the band was great fun. It's not the cheapest night out, but I'd say it was decent enough value for money if you stick to the 'good' wine (we liked the Sangiovese for 18) and try and time your visit to coincide with a special offer. Shame about the lack of glamour though.

The Brickhouse, 152c Brick Lane, E1 6RU; Tel. 0207 247 0005 Tube: Aldgate East; www.thebrickhouse.co.uk

Bedales - rest for the wicked

When you are fearlessly braving the pre-Christmas weekend shopping crush to buy gifts for your nearest and dearest, you deserve a treat. For me, such a treat came in the very welcome shape of a cosy wine bar in the new bit of Spitalfields market. The walls are lined with bottles and you can choose to crack any one of them open there and then, at the narrow table in the middle of the shop for a modest corkage of £8. (In the fully-booked St John's Bread and Wine round the corner, blackboards seemed to suggest mark ups in the £20-30 range.) We decided to take it easy though (too many Christmas parties), and opted for wines by the glass (from about £5). The food menu is short and simple, ranging from meat and cheese platters, to pates and warming bowls of soup of the day.
We ordered at the bar-cum-shop-counter, opting for a large "mixed plank" of cheese and charcuterie. It arrived on a wooden board, featuring about 4 choices from each food group and accompanied by a large basket of fresh-tasting bread from the aforementioned St John. The hard, French-style salami was the most popular, while the proscuitto went very well with the goat's cheese. About the only miss to my mind was the chorizo of the large, thin slices variety -- I far prefer it served in small, thick, warmed up chunks in a red wine sauce. There were also olives and a pot of rich -- almost too rich -- tapenade. With tip, we were stuffed for under £30 for two, and left feeling rejuvenated enough to resume the shopping. We might well return in the evening (they are open until 9-9.30 pm in the week), with some wine-knowledgeable friends, to while away a couple of hours and a couple of bottles in a convivial atmosphere.

Bedales, 12 Market Street (off of Brushfield Street), Spitalfields, E1 6DT; Tel: 020 7375 1926; Tube: Liverpool Street; www.bedalestreet.com

Leon - cheerful grazing

Leon is a cheerful Mediterranean influenced chain which is fast conquering London. Sadly the menus in the Spitalfields branch no longer seem to be glued into a random selection of comic books and almanacs. But the rest of the charm is still intact, with empty paint buckets turned into stools, an eccentric collection of books in the corner, warming red banquettes and twinkling tea lights. In the summer, you can sit "outside" in the indoor Spitalfields market (and bemoan how commercialised the place has become, how much better it was in the good old days and how sad it is that Spitz had to close). But on a chilly, drizzly autumn days, inside offers the perfect cosy haven for lingering over drinks (1-litre bottles of larger are £6-ish)and mezze. The portion of chargrilled chorizo (£ 4.30) came on a bed of juicy green olives, but we could have easily devoured more than the four slivces offered. Garlic flat bread (£2.50) went well with the silky houmous (£2.20)and was generously covered with fresh parsley - though for my tastes it could have done with a much bigger garlic kick. Sesame chicken wings (£3.70) and Moroccan meatballs in a tomato sauce (£3.50) were pretty good, and I particularly liked the crispy patatas bravas (£3.20). There is also plenty in the pudding menu to tempt even those, like me, without much of a sweet tooth - from the lemon and ginger crunch to the bitter chocolate tart. Yet more proof that chains can do food, drink and atmosphere very well - it's just a shame that so few bother.

Leon, Spitalfields Market, 3 Crispin Place, E1 6DW; Tel: 020 7247 4369; Tube: Liverpool Street; www.leonrestaurants.co.uk

Boisdale of Bishopsgate - Scotland vs The City

The gents was located neatly between the bar and the restaurant. For the ladies, you had to go through the bar, down a corridor, round a corner.... Inside the cubicle, there was tartan carpet and a framed share of some long-gone mining company on the wall. Never have I been to a place that was so perfectly summer up by its toilets! Boisdale is in City land, full of suits, and looks like it's been around for far longer than women have been wearing pinstripes. It is also a Scottish restaurant, serving a ming-boggling array of whiskies and plates of haggis to line the stomach. We sat in the downstairs bar on a Monday night, watching it gradually fill with after-work drinkers and networkers, and listening to a rather good piano player and accompanying singer performing Sinatra-style oldies. The draught Bombadier was beautifully kept, though at £3.30 it probably qualifies as my most expensive pint of ale ever. From the bar menu, I opted for a hearty Scotch Rarebit with bacon (£5.65). The gravadlax (£5.65) was pretty generously portioned, but sadly overwhelmed by a cloying mustardy sauce. No bread rolls materialised, and our bread plates were whipped away unused before the main course. The haggis, with the obligatory neeps and tatties, (£12.15) was OK, though I found the utter membrane too thick and not very edible. The venison burger (£10.50) with a beetroot garnish and chips was again perfectly edible. At the high end, the menu offered steaks from £20-plus. All in all, unless you have a city pay packet, you'd probably be much happier with the taste yield on your investment if you wondered down the road to Spitalfields for food. But the service is charming, the setting is surprisingly intimate despite the suits, and there is no cover charge for the nightly live music (from about 6.30 pm). So I may well be sipping more £3.30 Bombardier in the future.

Boisdale of Bishopsgate, Swedeland Court, 202 Bishopsgate, EC2M 2NR; Tel. 0207 283 1763; Tube: Liverpool Street

Strada

I sampled this London-wide Italian chain for the first time only last week, and wish I'd done it sooner - it's infinitely preferable to the Pizza Expresses and Asks of this world. The first nice touch were two resealable bottles of ice cold tap water which arrived on our table as we sat down and we replaced throughout the meal. I chose a Manzo pizza with gorgonzola, rocket and thin slices of beef fillet (£8.95). It was delicious and huge. The butternut squash risotto was nice, but a bit too vegetably for me. The seafood risotto on the next table looked delicious though, sprinkled with plump prawns and unshelled mussles. A more adventurous order of Seared Yellow Fin tuna (£10.50) proved surprisingly tasty - usually in chains I tend to stick with fool proof pastas and pizzas, but the tuna was tender and accompanied by an interesting, zesty salad. The house wine was perfectly drinkable and the service was swift. All making Strada very useful stand by to know about.
Strada, 88-90 Commercial Street, E1 6LY; Tube: Liverpool Street. And locations throughout London. http://www.strada.co.uk/

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