Jamie Oliver's Diner - London

One of the great things about London, other than the usual suspects, is the presence of Jamie Oliver. He has numerous restaurants here including the pop-up Jamie Oliver's Diner. It is located in the Piccadilly Circus area and for only a short time. We did hear a few rumors that it may actually not end up closing which in my opinion would be a good thing. They are open from 12PM to 12AM every day, so we decided to head there after our show.

We saw Jeeves and Wooster in Perfect Nonsense at the Duke of York Theatre. It stars the very funny Stephen Mangan from Showtime's Episodes. Lots of hilarity, great scenery and fine acting from three of Britain's best comics. Tow of the actors play multiple roles and create lots of silliness for Stephen to play off. It was definitely British humor and the audience seemed to truly love it.

We walked the short distance to the restaurant and had a short wait to be seated. Our server, Alice, promptly greeted us and explained some of the food items and drinks. We started off with London brewery beers. Dan ordered the Meantime Wheat for 5 pounds and I had the Crate Stout for 5.50. Both were very good and it was nice to experience something from the city. We also ordered the Guacamole Tortilla Chips for 5 pounds. They were awesome! The tortillas are a corn, flour mix made fresh at the restaurant and then fried. They place them in the serving dish atop guacamole and then top the chips with a wonderful smoky chipotle salsa. I could eat these everyday!

 

 

For dinner, Dan ordered the Chicken in a Basket. The chicken is brined, rubbed, marinated, grilled then chopped and placed on top of skin on fries with a side of rainbow slaw for 15 pounds. Lots of juicy goodness in this dish. I ordered the Dirty Barbeque Ribs for 16.50 pounds. It was a full rack of baby back ribs that were dry rubbed then glazed served atop skin on fries with a side of slaw. Tender and juicy with a little heat, perfect! The meal was very good and there was nothing left on our plates at the end!

 

 

This is the kind of place that you can expect from Jamie Oliver. Great service, fun décor and food that is accessible to all!

 

The diner is located at 23A Shaftesbury Avenue London W10 7EF 020 3697 4117

 

www.jamieoliversdiner.com





London Wall Bar & Kitchen - London

 

 

Last Friday, we took a 2 1/2 train ride from Leeds to London. We arrived at King's Cross Station at 5 PM and took a taxi to our hotel. We were staying at the London City Suites near the Barbican. Not knowing anything about London, that's what I chose. It was okay because it was very close to a tube station and the hotel was very nice. We decided to find the restaurant that I had chosen for dinner. Should be easy, it's located in the Barbican. Easy did not happen. We got lost walking around in the Barbican. It's a massive building complex and the restaurant was not really located in it. We finally used GPS and found it right next to the London Museum. We had 7:15 reservations, but we decided since we were there we would eat early.

 

The restaurant was a nice, small, modern place with large glass walls and simple tables. We were greeted by a very nice waitress, who explained the menu to us and also what were some good choices. We needed beer, so Dan ordered a pint of Stella and I had a pint of Heineken. We love the fact that in England, the beer you order comes in the glass representing the label.

 

 

 

For dinner, Dan ordered the Fish and Chips for 13 pounds. It was beer battered haddock, with chips, tartar sauce and a wonderful pea puree. Dan loved his dish. I ordered the Rib of Beef  and Bone Marrow Burger for 12 pounds. The waitress suggested some English cheddar and I said yes. The burger was served on a brioche bun, with lettuce, tomato and garlic mayo, along with chips and those really funky English dill pickles. The burger was great and so was the service. I highly recommend this place. They are located at 150 London Wall London EC2Y 5HN 02076007340. The web address is  londonwallbarandkitchen.com

 

After dinner, we took the tube to Piccadilly Square and walked over to  China Town, Covent Garden and Leicester Square to take in the sites. It was very crowded, much more so than Times Square, but fun. We saw all kinds of people and beautiful buildings. Once it started raining we decided to hop in the tube and go back to the hotel. The tube system is very easy to use and the signs in the city make it easy to from one spot to the next. They really know how to take care of tourists here.