Hidden away in Chelsea Cloisters this members only bar’s entrance is through an old fashioned apartment with Disney wallpaper. To gain entrance you have to ring a buzzer before the bartender decides on whether you are worthy enough to be let in (fortunately ff didn’t have a problem with that – phew).

Pre NYE probably isn’t the best time to visit, the bar was super quiet which probably isn’t that unusual for a SUNDAY  day of rest after all, still it meant we could have the bartenders undivided attention and a good old post Chrimbo catch up with friends over delicious cocktails in a quirky ‘speakeasy style bar’.

cocktails

round 2

menu

The few people that were in, appeared to be regulars who know the place well enough to sit at the bar with wigs and props picked out of the fancy dress up box set aside in a corner near the door (ooh we make a mental note of novelty festive photo opps).

night cap

Barts is the sort of eccentric bar we’d love to revisit as ff have a feeling that a Sunday night isn’t the same as any other night of the week when the real kook’s and fun-times are unleashed by the Chelsea crowd!

the damage…

East watch out! West is after your ‘cool’ crown and it might just take it…

Barts, Chelsea Cloisters  87 Sloane Avenue, London, SW3 3DW
www.barts-london.com

After our post Christmas sales shopping workout, flitting from shop to shop in Knightsbridge ff decide its time to give their tired, exhausted bodies a rest and indulge in some much deserved food at the Brompton Bar & Grill. A short walk from Harrods, this fairy lit venue is the perfect location for tired shoppers to re-charge and re-fuel after a busy day.

Brompton Bar & Grill is the baby of Chef Francois O’Neill and replaces the space where Brasserie St Quentin used to be. It reminds us of a Brooklyn eatery we went to in NYC, relaxed and welcoming the décor is simple and chic with quirky touches in the form of eclectic paintings.

We sit down and order ourselves some prosec as we browse the menu, inhaling the bread and butter brought to our table.  After much ‘umming and ahhing’ and discussions with our waiter over what to eat ff start with the potted shrimp and sourdough toast and raw tuna with chilli, ginger and coriander. The potted shrimp is good but a little too much after a few bites, the raw tuna however is perfect.  

Potted shrimp

raw tuna

For the mains, we decide on meaty options: the rib-eye steak (always a winner with us) and the braised Elwy Valley lamb shank with spiced aubergine & chickpea stew, salsa verde. Both are deliciously tender and scrummy and the chips and spinach sides are tasty accompaniments.

rib-eye with chips and peppercorn sauce

lamb shank

Too full after our dins, ff skip the dessert and opt for dessert wine instead to give us our sweet fix.

Whilst the clientele for this modern European/British cuisine is older, ff had a lovely post shop experience that was relaxed and easy with food that was comforting and simple.

A meal for two with drinks, water and service costs about £90. 243 Brompton Road. Tel: 020 7589 8005. Tube: South Kensington

Never ones to miss an opportunity to sample a good steak, we were thrilled to hear that Denmark’s export MASH (Modern American Steak House) is now residing in the building formerly occupied by Titanic restaurant (and if you can remember a decade back, the former home to the Atlantic Bar and Grill *admitting our age*).

The London chain is the first outside of Denmark and is also the largest MASH steak restaurant to date with 300 covers and a separate bar that accommodates a further 50 people.

Red staircases lead into a huge restaurant, restored to 1930s Art Deco with many original features still in place. So far, so glamorous.

Delicious lobster to start.

300g dry-aged rib-eye on the bone = delish

We settled into the old fashioned booths and ordered a bottle of Californian sparkling wine, salivating at the three steak options on the menu: Uruguayan, Danish and American.

Indecisive as ever, we called upon the advice of the waiter who recommended the Danish rib-eye and Uruguay fillet based on what we told him we wanted from a good steak.

We ordered fries and creamy spinach as sides - well it would have been rude not to – and started with half a lobster to share (after polishing off the entire bread basket).

The food was very good and we inhaled it far quicker than we should have (diet, what diet?) before slowly slumping into a food coma.

When the dessert menu arrived, it was a glass of pudding wine and the bill – or we would have to have been airlifted from our seats.

EEK! Time to get the credit card out

The bill arrived in an envelope and at well over £200 for a two steak and chips it’s no wonder it was hidden from view.

The food was decent enough and the waiters attentive without being overbearing but was ‘the damage’ (£43 for the ribeye, £30 for the fillet, plus sides at £4.50 and a sparkling blanc de blancs at £90) worth it?

It’s not the best London steak to pass our lips but perhaps the most expensive outing to date.

Although that might have been more the booze than the food though. Oops.

MASH, 77 Brewer Street, LondonW1F 9ZN, www.mashsteak.dk