another quarter, another update on my eating-out experiences...

over the past three months i've eaten at ten new places, three of which i would be particularly keen to return to - the hither green cafe (fabulous old-fashioned sandwiches washed down with a pot of tea), magdalen (modern british grub with excellent service) and barrafina (impeccably fresh and delicious tapas).

i also had the opportunity to revisit some old favourites - chiang mai in oxford (fresh tasting thai food which is still the benchmark for much of the thai food i eat), hummus bros (cheap and cheerful but definitely not worthy) and two local places, the indian dining club (freshly flavoured, light indian food) and domali (which serves the best veggie breakfast in my patch of london town).

if you've been eating in the same places as me, let me know what you think - it's always great to compare views!

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as many of you will know, i am a huge fan of skye gyngell’s book a year in my kitchen. she cooks at petersham nurseries in richmond but as the restaurant is only open at lunchtimes it has taken me a while to get there and try her cooking for myself.

the setting is wonderful – we walked along the river from richmond station and then explored the garden centre which is very like a secret walled garden with plants piled up on tables and tumbling into the earth pathways, before presenting ourselves at the greenhouse which houses the restaurant seating area.

the walls of the greenhouse’s old-fashioned structure is lined with carpets and rugs which help keep the heat in on cold wintery days. the floor is earthen, tables and furniture are simple and mismatched and the plants, fruit trees and flowers scattered around the place create a magical feeling (look at these lovely photos).

the menu is short – a choice of five dishes for each course – which is helpful as so many of them sound wonderful and we all struggled to make our choices.

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it’s odd but if i am ever asked what is my favourite type of food is, it really wouldn’t occur to me to say spanish, but when i think about my favourite meals in recent months, it has been london’s spanish restaurants that have been exciting me.

and thanks to barrafina i am very excited. barrafina is the sister restaurant to fino, which is a long-standing favourite of mine. barrafina is a stylish tapas bar, modelled on cal pep in barcelona. it has a mere 23 stools placed around an l-shaped bar, behind which are the metal hot-plates (plancha) on which, much of the food you eat will be grilled.

arrive early and expect to queue. but don’t worry, the queuing is no hardship – a glass or two from their excellent wine list and possible a few tapas to stop your tummy from growling too loudly and the time will fly by.

in addition to the items on the menu there were a number of specials on offer, several of which we decided to try.

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new york on a crisp january day... sadly the person indulging herself was not me but my lovely friend judy. during her trip she discovered a fabulous breakfast place, which she wants to tell everyone about. over to you jude…

an oasis in the midst of an unassuming area of mid town, penelope’s was a gift from the gods. staying in the definitive budget hotel on east 30^th, our first task was to find that morning cup of coffee for me and tea for my friend kay. it was not looking good. on one corner was the brazil coffee shop: tea-less and the food wasn’t quite what we had in mind for breakfast. while we stood on that cold corner deciding whether to head up town, go to starbucks or take a chance on one of the diners, the sun shone on penelope, the paint work a little worn, the canopy needing replacing. we crossed the road just to see what it had to offer. the menu promised everything we could hope for and coffee and tea for every persuasion. the test was whether it fulfilled its beguiling promise so desperately needed to boost our flagging spirits and, in particular, my caffeine levels.

up the rickety steps to a swell of lively chatter, the young woman waiting there looked like a student from julliard ready to burst into a song of welcome. the ambience was vibrant and warm; and the smell of coffee captivating.

hurrah we were in new york and the city welcomed us. we had fruit juice, pancakes and maple syrup served with a side of fresh fruit (strawberries, blue berries and melon). the double cappuccino convinced me i was in heaven. i had more. following our initiation, we used penelope’s for our early morning fillip for the rest of our stay and enjoyed a different dish of fresh and well cooked ingredients every day: perfect eggs, bacon crispy but not teeth challenging, interesting sausage and not a favourite, irish oats – porridge to you and me, french toast, delicious jam and wonderful pumpkin waffles., all served with a infectious smile and breathtaking willingness.

from the moment we found penelope’s our visit took on a different hue because we knew that if all else failed - and in the usa the food experience is very similar to buying a lottery ticket - there was somewhere to go for succour.

penelope

corner of east 30^th street and lexington avenue, new york

www.penelopenyc.com

as ever i have a list of restaurants that i want to try. frugal january means i’ve not been eating out much but on a whim i decided that we needed a treat to get us to the end of the month. so i booked a table at magdalen, a restaurant which offers a fabulous range of british food.

opposite the unicorn theatre (london’s newest theatre for children and well worth supporting) magdalen is a buzzy restaurant spread over two floors. the walls are painted a deep oxblood and it felt very cosy on a windy wintery night (i’ll be interested to see how it feels in the summer).

after polishing off the lovely chewy bread that we were given as we arrived, i chose potted devon crab to start. this was truly delicious, gently spiced and flavoured with a hint of orange. david’s goat’s curd and greens on toast was equally good, the mild creamy curd contrasting well with the slightly oniony flavours of the greens.

we decided to share the slow cooked shoulder of milk-fed lamb for our main course. this came with potato gratin and we ordered a side of sprout tops. the meat was beautifully tender and flavoursome but, for me, it was the combination of fresh greens with the creamy potatoes (perfectly flavoured with a hint of mace) that made me smile the most.

our puddings were, in my opinion, less good. david was very happy with his apple and calvados trifle but i’d have liked it to be a little less sweet. my chocolate pot served with brandied cherries was incredibly dark and bittersweet and i’d have liked a few more cherries to balance the flavours.

magdalen is a lovely place to spend an evening, with delicious food, a buzzy atmosphere and incredibly friendly and genuinely interested staff. there are several large tables and with its good value wine list i’d love to come back with a group of friends. i just need to come up with an excuse for such a gathering…

magdalen

152 tooley street, london se1 2tu

telephone: 020 7403 1342