Friday 11 May 2007

Arbutus and Andrew Edmunds

I recently ate out at both Arbutus and Andrew Edmunds in Soho.
Went for a Saturday lunch in Arubutus (they do a great value lunch menu, although in the end I ordered off the normal menu) - the food was good but the main reason I'm posting about them is because the waiter was really thoughtful about what I could and couldn't eat. He checked with the chef what I could eat off the menu etc and was pretty speedy about it so there wasn't the frustrating waiting around that there often is before you can make your order...
The nicest thing though was that he checked what puddings I could have BEFORE bringing the dessert menu, so I was able to just order straight away - made a real difference for a waiter to be so thoughtful - it's the little things...

Andrew Edmunds is a great restaurant that is really good value - an absolutely delicious meal for two (two or three courses each and half a bottle of wine is about £50 plus service) - and the food is really delicious. Simple ingredients combined to be seriously tasty without being fussy. They have plenty on the menu that is naturally gluten-free as they use fresh ingredients etc. I love their dressed crab and they do a great risotto and some lovely fish dishes. The menu changes daily and is hand-written and there are specials on a blackboard inside. Really friendly staff and a lovely atmosphere mean it's always pretty busy... They don't have a website but their number is 0207 437 5708 if you want to book a table sometime... I would.

Wednesday 9 May 2007

Honeybuns cakes

Honeybuns make absolutely delicious (although quite heavy - but in a good way!) gluten-free shortbread cakes etc.
I am a particular fan of Millionaire's Shortbread and that is something I have really been missing but they do one! It's really good and there are versions with nuts etc on top too - sort of like a rocky road with added polenta/almond shortbread base...
You can get them in loads of places but John Lewis' 'The Place To Eat' is a good bet if you have one of those in your hometown...
I was also particularly excited to discover that they have a stall at Glastonbury so now I don't have to worry about what I can eat for breakfast - woohoo!
They also do brownies and other stuff and you can mail order them from sites like Goodness Direct.