Enjoy healthy salads, homemade cakes and much, much more at this laidback cafe... Having first opened in February 2011 on Soho’s busy Wardour Street, L’ETO’s cafés and restaurants have become renowned for delicious, hand-made cakes and savoury delicacies, served in a laidback atmosphere. With six London-based locations under its belt, tastiness isn't far away. L'ET'O serves breakfast, lunch and dinner in its Belgravia, King’s Road and Brompton branches. Resident chefs prepare everything on site from coffee and cakes to salads, artisan sandwiches and main courses, with dishes available to eat in or to order as deliveries. Enjoy a wealth of healthy lunch options... My friend and I visited on a weekday to enjoy a lunchtime pre-Christmas catch up. Upon our arrival, it quickly became apparent that L'ETO is a true feast for the eyes, with a wealth of freshly made dishes and desserts on offer. With so many delicious options to choose from, the most difficult task is deciding what to order! During our visit the friendly staff talked us through all of the salads and mains to help guide our decision. While we debated on our mains, I enjoyed a refreshing peach and elderflower iced tea, which was served in a stylish glass (see below) and my friend opted for a glass of sauvignon blanc. We were pleased to see that the drinks menu was very extensive and included tea, coffee, fresh juices, smoothies, vegan juices and the option to add a healthy booster to your drink of choice.  The display lunch menu The display lunch menu provided a variety of options including fresh salads and hot meats (see below). The salad options were amazing and included everything from couscous to aubergine and everything in between. The meat options included turkey, teriyaki salmon and fish cakes. All items in the display lunch menu are seasonal, so the options are continually evolving throughout the year. As we couldn't decide whether to order off the ala carte lunch menu or the lunch display set menu (£14.90 for 2 salads + 1 main course or £16.90 for 3 salads +1 main course), I ordered a main and my friend ordered from the lunch display set menu, so we could enjoy the best of both worlds!  The fabulous display lunch menu options...  Mains Mains options include pastas, salads and risotto. For my main, I ordered the Beef Fillet tagliatea di manzo style (£28.96), which consisted of chunks of beef filet served iwth rocket, fresh tomatoes and parmesan. Although it was seriously tasty and the beef was lovely and tender, it's a bit pricey at nearly £30, so I personally feel that the lunch display menu is the best option as it's more reasonably priced and provides so many options to choose from.  Desserts L'ETO's desserts are fantastic, so ensure you leave room to enjoy one of their delectable delights. Options include everything from honey cake to spinach cake (which sounds gross, but it's very moreish) to various tarts and cakes, all of which looked incredible. For those of you who don't live near a L'ETO, they also provide the option to order cakes, pastries, muffins and other treats online.   We found that L'ETO is a great place to catch up with friends while enjoying scrumptious, freshly made cuisine in stylish surroundings. Our experience overall Food and drink: ★★★ Ambience: ★★★ Staff attentiveness/friendliness: ★★★★ L'ETO 243 Brompton Rd London SW3 2EP www.letocaffe.co.uk
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 There's something so decadent about brunch. It implies shameless lingering in bed, only rising to indulge in a calorie-laden feast and a cheeky cocktail or two. And that's why I love it. It makes no apologies for being neither breakfast nor lunch and instead, let's you choose to enjoy whatever you so desire. Today, I desired Dirty Bones, a laidback restaurant nestled in Kingly Court, Soho, renowned for serving American comfort food at its best. I made the pilgrimage to Dirty Bones to try the recently launched weekend brunch menu, which includes a mains and bottomless Prosecco and coffee for £15 (every Sat & Sun until 5pm - for those who are really lazy). Belt busting entrees on offer include: The MacDaddy, (a 6 oz. aged steak burger smothered in mac-n-cheese and pulled beef short rib in Dirty Bones' barbeque sauce and served in a brioche bun); the Benedict Burger (6oz house burger, topped with poached egg and black treacle bacon, smothered in Dirty Bones hollandaise sauce); Steak & Eggs (a 30-day aged flat iron steak, chargrilled and served with two free range fried eggs and Dirty Bones smoked ketchup); and Short rib & cheese toastie (a triple stack toastie of beef rib, charred gherkin, English mustard, taleggio and cheddar on sourdough). The MacDaddy definitely lived up to its hype. The burger was ridiculously juicy and the mac-n-cheese was sinfully decadent. As a food combination it shouldn't work, but the macaroni added a whole other level of sheer gluttonous pleasure. I reckon it's quite possibly the best cure for a hangover, making it an ideal choice for those suffering from pre-Christmas over indulgence. Needless to say, the burger was quickly (and shamelessly) devoured.
As one would expect from any fabulous brunch offering, the brunch included bottomless Prosecco and coffee, which really helped perk us up and add a bit of cheer to our afternoon. One thing that struck us during or visit was how genuinely friendly all of the staff members were, which really added to our overall experience. The atmosphere was really positive and everyone seemed to enjoy getting stuck into the Prosecco and copious amounts of comfort food.   Although we weren't going to indulge in dessert, the manager recommended the Milk and Frosties dessert, a panna cotta made with the milk from a bowl of Frosties soaked overnight. The panna cotta was quite thick in consistency and the Frosties provided a pleasant crunch, but overall, it didn't blow us away. After finishing our dessert, we experienced serious dessert envy when we caught a glimpse of the couple next to us enjoying the Banana Toblerone-Tella waffles, a seriously sinful dessert featuring caramelised banana, Toberlone-Tella, blueberry jam and peanut butter gelato. All I know is that it looked like the love child of a waffle and a banana split. Now if you ask me, that's the perfect way to end any day...
www.dirty-bones.com Food and drink: ★★★ Ambience: ★★★ Staff attentiveness/friendliness: ★★★★ A.A. Miln 
When I think of Covent Garden, classy restaurants aren't usually front of mind, so it was refreshing to discover Li Veli Winery & Bistro, a chic Italian restaurant and wine shop in the heart of Covent Garden.
Li Veli specialises in traditional wine and food from the Southern region of Puglia, a destination that is on my must-visit travel list. Given that I'm obsessed with all things Italian (and have visited Italy 10 times in the past eight years, it's amazing that I haven't yet discovered the joys of Puglia, but for the time being, I had to settle for travelling vicariously through Li Veli. My friend and I (see my glamorous wine afficando friend below), had the pleasure of visiting Li Veli on a dreary Tuesday evening. Despite it being the beginning of the work week, we were surprised to discover that the restaurant was buzzing. That being said, I assume that word travels fast when one finds somewhere fabulous! 
Li Veli Winery & Bistro specialises in the Apulian cuisine of Southern Italy, and is a joint venture between the Falvo family, owner of the Masseria Li Veli Winery in Puglia, and the Melpignano family, founder and owner of the San Domenico Hotels Group, resulting in a taste of Southern Italy in London's Covent Garden.
All of the dishes at Li Veli are authentic Pugliese dishes accompanied by Li Veli’s award-winning wines. Before our meal, we had the opportunity to peruse the extensive wine offering in Li Veli's wine shop and of course, we couldn't resist sampling a few of the sensational wines, which we enjoyed both before and during our meal. As one would expect, the wine list was extensive and boasted a number of superb wines, many of which are refreshingly available by the glass, so I'd recommend enjoying a few during your visit, if possible. Stand out wines included the Colesel Noai Brut Prosecco n.v. (Veneto) (£7.95), a delicate straw yellow Prosecco; Li Veli Montococo 2011 (£9-£11), an intense ruby red wine with flavours of red and black berries and a spicy finish; and the Li Veli “Askos” Verdeca 2013 (Puglia)( £8.00-£10.00), an intense and fruity white with good acidity.
Above: Nicola Russo, Manager at Li Veli Bistro and Chef Antonio Calò who pulled out all of the stops to ensure that we had an enjoyable experience during our visit.
Above: The fabulous starters at Li Veli Winery & Bistro. From left to right: Homemade focaccia flatbread with cherry tomatoes, nduja salami, bruschetta with tomatoes and peppers and the cheese trough featuring Gorgonzola and Asiago cheeses from Puglia.
 During our recent jaunt to the Lakes Distillery in Cumbria, we had the pleasure of dining at the Bistro at the Distillery, which is located on site, near the distillery gift shop. On the day we visited, the bistro was a hive of activity and buzzing with energy, making it apparent that the bistro has become both a destination for tourists and locals who are looking for sensational cuisine in a modern setting. The bistro is open from 11:00 am-8:30 pm, with a variety of menus for diners to choose from including the all day menu (11:00 am - 5:00 pm), afternoon tea (3:00 pm-5:00 pm) and the supper menu (5:30 pm-8:30 pm).  Starters For our starters we indulged in the Jerusalem Artichoke Soup, (the most amazingly decadent soup I've EVER had) and the potted salmon with cucumber and taragon (a bit unusual, but nicely presented). The Jerusalem artichoke soup, which was drizzled with truffle oil and served with fresh, crusty bread, probably had about 10,000 calories in it, but for its sheer tastiness factor, it's worth every calorie. I was so impressed by the soup that I asked the chef to share his secret recipe, so I could attempt to recreate the soup at home.  Mains Mains included the grilled plaice with brown shrimp butter sauce (very rich and heavy on the garlic), served with artfully whipped mashed potatoes and purple sea kale (which injected a lovely pop of colour to the overall presentation). We also had the wild mushroom pappardelle, which for me stole the show with its rich, earthy flavours.   Dessert For the finale to our meal, we shared the lemon meringue tart, which was served with The Lakes Gin ice cream. The pastry was light and perfectly cooked and the citrus flavours with a long finish of crisp gin, really came through. It was definitely the perfect end to an amazing meal. Prices Bistro at the Distillery offers a daily changing Fixed Price Lunch menu (£16.95 for 2 courses or £19.95 for 3 courses).  Our experience overall
Food and drink: ★★★★★ Ambience: ★★★ Staff attentiveness/friendliness: ★★★ Bistro at the Distillery Bassenwaithe Lake Lakes Distillery Cumbria CA13 9SJ A.A. Miln If you enjoyed this post, you might enjoy these reviews: Brassserie Blanc, Charlotte Street Boneyard, Pump, Shoreditch |
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Bon Appetit!There's nothing more delicious in life than indulging in a sensational meal. |
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