London | Postcards From Here and There

Le Caprice

THIS RESTAURANT HAS NOW CLOSED

In a world where restaurants seen to come and go in the blink of an eye there is something reassuring about Le Caprice in London’s Piccadilly. A feature on Arlington Street for over thirty years it stands as a testament to the fact that if you give people what they want they will come back again and again. My visit last week was the first in a number of years but it hadn’t changed much, still as busy as ever and we were extremely lucky to get a table for lunch without a reservation. There are still the celebrity photographs on the walls but it is so much more than that, it is a calm and relaxing dining room despite being busy, where service is attentive without being overbearing. It is so comfortable that you want to come back, maybe not next week, but it will always be on the list of restaurants to visit in London.

The menu has a certain familiarity about it with some well chosen specials of the day. There is something for everyone in what might be described as a modern British style. The cooking is good and consistent across the dishes we had. The tuna ceviche had lovely balance with the chilli complementing and enhancing rather than overpowering with its heat. The John Dory, perhaps my favourite fish, was just excellent, perfectly cooked and with a chorizo croquette that had crispness with a beautifully smooth filling. To finish the Seville orange almond cake was perfectly moist and the olive oil ice cream was subtle and delicate.

Deep fried ricotta stuffed zucchini flower, shaved asparagus and tomato

John Dory roasted with cauliflower and chorizo croquette

Seville orange almond cake with olive oil ice cream.

Mixed berry and honeyed mascarpone with apricot ice creams

The relatively short wine list features mainly French wines along with some well chosen bottles from the rest of the world. We went with the Good Ordinary White from nearby merchants Berry Brothers & Rudd. Nothing ordinary here, bags of lime and gooseberry with freshness and a great accompaniment to lunch. As you might expect from its location prices aren’t cheap here but in my view it offers value for money on many levels and I for one will be back one day.

Real Wine Fair

The Real Wine Fair was held at London’s Tobacco Dock on the 12/13th May. The fair champions small, independent producers who produce wine that is a pure expression of time and place, made with minimum intervention both in the vineyard and winery. While there is no definition of real wine many of the wines on show are produced organically without the addition of any chemicals except perhaps for a tiny amount of sulphur in some cases.

Tobacco dock is a grade I listed building in East End of London and is a perfect venue. It is bright, with plenty of space for exhibitors and visitors alike. Having said that I visited on the Sunday and while it was relatively quiet in the morning it did get very busy by mid afternoon. The fair also features a number of artisan food producers and street food stalls so there is something for when you just need to take a little time out.

There was something around 178 producers from 21 different countries so choices most certainly had to be made for a successful visit. I concentrated mainly, but not exclusively, on wines from the New World and the notes that follow were some of the wines that I particularly enjoyed.

Rainbow Juice. Gentle Folk. 2018. Adelaide Hills. Australia. Gareth and rainbow Belton have been making wine under the Gentle Folk table since 2012 in the hills east of Adelaide. Rainbow juice is a blend of 23 varieties of both red and white grapes. This is what summer drinking is all about. Light, juicy with delicious red berries on the palate. An easy drinking wine which is just a little bit serious. Lovely stuff. All the wines on show were very good and I aLSO Particularly liked the 2018 Tiersman Syrah which was full of dark berry fruit, peppery with a touch of savoury spice.

Ada Chardonnay. Patrick Sullivan 2018. Yarra Valley. Australia. From grapes grown on volcanic soils at a higher elevation than his Baw Baw Chardonnay this is richer, well balanced and with lovely texture.

Coquelicot Cabernet Franc. Lo-Fi Wines. 2017. Santa Barbara County. USA. Two lifelong friends making wines with a philosophy of “nothing added, nothing removed”. The grapes were grown organically and were wild fermented whole bunch for 12 days before pressing to tank. Aged for 10 months in neutral oak. This has produce a fruit driven, super juicy and well balanced wine full of Californian sun. If you love vinyl records you’ll love the labels too.

Hughes Hollow Pinot Noir. Bow & Arrow. 2015. Oregon.USA. Scott Frank produces makes wines from the Willamette Valley in the Pacific Northwest. Specialising in Loire Valley varietals he produces a great range of wines including an excellent Johan Vineyard Melon Blanc. For me however it was the point noir which was the star of the show. A lovely nose of savoury red fruit with a gentle touch of perfume. The palate is well balanced and very inviting. Drinking very well. This plot of pinot was included. as part of a deal to buy Gamay grapes, it has turned out to be a rather good deal.

Riesling Off The Grid. Ovum Wines. 2017. Oregon.USA. Grapes from a single vineyard in southwest Oregon underwent a wild fermentation in concrete egg. This is wonderful stuff; limes, petrol, floral with a touch of honey and lovely balance. The finish is incredibly long and lingering.

El Bandito “Monkey Gone to Heaven”. Testalonga. 2018. Swartland. South Africa. 100% Mouvedre. Deep rose in colour, medium bodied,dark berry fruits, perfumed and with grippy tannins. Very nice.

Coef. Sebastien David. 2016.Saint Nicolas de Bourgueil. Loire. France. Fermented in amphora this is lovely stuff indeed. An intense nose of berry fruits . Earthy with a touch of peppery spice. A wine of real character. I also enjoyed the 2018 Hurluerlu that was on tasting.

Shoreditch Street Art

Shoreditch and neighbouring Hoxton in the east of London are parts of the city I very much like. Home to a thriving community of independent retailers, cafés, restaurants and bars it is a welcome break from the mass appeal commercial enterprises that blight many high streets. Every visit is an opportunity for exploration, to see what’s new and worth checking out. This visit it was Mikkeller (2-4 Hackney Road), a great addition too the London craft beer scene which actually opened late last year. It’s too easy and a bit of a cliche to say that Shoreditch is the home of the hipster, to me it’s the home of people that like something just a little bit different, whatever that may be, and long may it continue.

There is a massive art scene in Shoreditch and this is no better illustrated than by the street art that abounds in the area. I took the Northern Line to Old Street to begin my exploration but you could just as easily use Liverpool Street or Shoreditch High Street as your jumping off point. Leave Old Street station onto the very busy Old Street and head in the direction of Shoreditch. There is an opportunity to pick up a craft beer or doughnut if you are in need of refreshment. When the road forks take the right branch onto Great Eastern Street and your street art experience begins.

Underneath is this piece by misterthoms.

Mind the Gap! Between Kings and Toys – El Rughi

The artist Eine is well known for large, circus style typography and there is a good example along Rivington Street.

At the end of Rivington Street turn right onto Curtain Road. New Inn Yard is the third road on the left just before you reach Great Eastern Street.

Some of the art here becomes more impressive because of its sheer scale. In 2018 a project began to create a set of murals on the Graffoto Building themed around the idea of connectivity. Each mural was created by a pair of artists and it is simply stunning in its sheer scale and complexity. This thematic piece has elevated street art to a new level in Shoreditch simply by its size. It begins on New Inn Yard with is piece by Lovepusher and Mr Cenz.

Next to this a mural by Nomad Clad from Manchester depicting the pigeon post and letters as a form of communication.

North Seal and Best Ever have created a mural depicting had shakes set within a lattice framework.

At the corner with King John Court Busk and Mr Oliver Switch have created this piece with has now sadly been tagged.

Ed Hicks and Zadik show how a fungal mycelium has many connections in the biological world.

Captain Chris and Tizer illustrate connectivity between the real and imaginary worlds.

Finally, or firstly if you approved from the opposite direction, we have this piece by Hunto and Mr Thoms.

On Holywell Lane there are some interesting pieces on the hoardings including this by JimVision entitled The Umbrella Academy.

From the end of Holywell Lane turn right and then left into Bethnal Green Road. Ebor Street is then the first on the left. Here you will find Ben Eines mural Peace is Possible.

On nearby Whitby Street is another mural by Jim Vision.

At the end of the street there are two superb murals by James Cochran, also known as Jimmy C.

There is much more to see in the area including some fine works on nearby Sclater Street but the Sunday marked prevented me from taking any photographs on this visit.