Ditto, Battersea

Food at Ditto is half price when you use a TasteLondon card. So we made the most of it and chose scallops and beef carpaccio followed unanimously by lobster spaghetti. Awesome.

Sorry I am afraid the lobster isn’t available…

Well why print it on your daily menu then? Unless of course your menu isn’t daily even though that’s its title!

They promised so much and got our hopes up and then dashed them out of hand. You might think this is overdoing it a bit. But the last time I had lobster spaghetti was at the George in Stamford when I pretty much fell in love with it! To then get within inches of having it again and then be denied it was hard to take. I’ll just have to wait till I’m on the Italian Riviera sipping chilled white wine and looking out at my yacht to do it properly.

Scallops came with grilled prawns and an avocado dressing. It looked and tasted pretty but was neither hot nor cold and was fairly wimpy on the flavour front. Big plates and lots of swishes and dabs of sauce. Very Turner prize.

With the lobster spaghetti debacle behind us, I chose pork belly with white beans and a dark sauce which is firmly ensconced now as my default choice. If it’s on the menu I will struggle not to order it and normally fail. It takes something exciting like lobster to trump it!

The pork was partly delicious partly disappointing. It struck me that it had been badly reheated. Dried out patches clashed with moist bits. The beans were both perfectly soft and also dried out. The sauce was a bit unidentifiable. My memory of it is that it was dark brown with a hint of sweetness. The best bit was the side order of garlic spinach.

Gilly’s rump of lamb was generous and sweet. Really impressive. Whilst Cowie’s tuna was pink and tasty. Very light and sexy. Very Cowie.

It’s a very cool little restaurant with a variety of special offers. Tuesday is ladies’ night – 25% off if you’re a bird. They’ve got a projector and screen and art all over the walls. On a Tuesday night it was a third full and we enjoyed being allowed to linger of our meal. Whilst slurping our coffees we imagined what it would be like to enlarge the bar area and make the dining room more intimate. But who were we to offer design ideas!

We’ll probably return at some point but only because it’s local and half price! There are too many other places to try out.

Gazette, Wandsworth

Browny’s Taste of London card came up trumps yet again, by offering 50% off the food bill at this great local eatery. It’s also another local favorite that we have been dying to try.

Nestled next to the Thames, Gazette offers something for everyone day or night. During the day you can settle in with a paper, fresh coffee, croissants and jam for breakfast, while for lunch you could be tempted by a selection of fresh sandwiches, crepes, salads and soups. Finally for dinner you can choose from main menu which consists of 8 daily specials (4 starters and 4 mains) plus an array of French classics such as moule marinere, prime steak, french onion soup…. the works. I also must not forget to mention the wine list… Truly a bible.

Browny and I came here with the rest of the Cowie team. Mum and Dad were staying in London for the night, so big sis and I decided to treat them.

The atmosphere was charming; attention staff, welcoming surroundings, subtle lighting and great furniture…. our table was a sheet of glass resting on a raburn oven!

The food was delicious. Simple, proper, classic, simply scrummy French nosh. To kick off the baked scallops were plump and succulent, the moule were vast as well as immersed in sumptuous liquor, the rabbit terrine was hearty and textured. As we were feeling peckish we also gobbled down a platter of cold meats… peppery, chewy, smokey.. ummm.. yum.

For main, the only minor disappointment was the baked cod. Somewhat uninspiring compared to the rest. I had a stunning venison fillet in a red wine and juniper berry sauce. Browny and Dad demolished a wonderful rare slab of steak, while Mum opted for the delicate and tender pigeon. The strong and solid flavours were perfect to welcome in the Autumn/winter season.

We were sorely tempted by the puds, but somehow managed to resist.. Gazette is famous for its creme brulee!

All in all I would highly recommend this great place. Its seems to provide the perfect balance; informality, style, cheerful staff, genuine and delicious food all at a reasonable price… especially when using the ToL card!

Food – 8
Service – 7
Atmosphere – 8
Reasonbaly priced