THE GYM - SPINNING

I was not looking forward to this half term - Arabella is away with her father and Pascal is in France and so I am left to my own devices.....7 days home alone. Unlike Macaulay Culkin I am not going to sit around eating pizza and ice cream sundaes, and I bloody hope I won't be fending off scary burglars!! 

Part of it is nice - I get to have a lie in, watch crap TV (hello Kardashians), have a facial and plenty of me time - this may sound incredible to most mummies who are dying for a break but then again it is extremely lonely. I already can't wait for the normality of next Monday night when I have both Arabella & Pascal home.

Other than my gorgeous friends, the one thing that really gets me through these times is the gym. Even if I really really don't want to go, I force myself as it gets me out the house, I see friendly faces and I always feel better after exercise. I release lots of endorphins which pushes any sad feelings away and it makes me more motivated to do something rather than just sit on my arse. Plus as I am already paying a monthly fee, it does not cost anything. 

I have already written about my favourite classes Body Pump and Body Attack. Another class I do regularly is Spinning which is indoor cycling. I have to admit I absolutely hate it until about 3/4 of the way through the class, when the end is in sight, and I then start to appreciate what a good work out it is and I am pleased I have done it. It is a vigorous exercise session that burns plenty of calories (apparently around 400-600 depending on your shape/size/ability) and it keeps your muscles in great shape.

I don't know if you have seen a class or taken part before, but the bikes are all lined up in a studio, the lights are dimmed, the music is pumping and there are "disco" flashing lights (I sometimes think these are going to give me an epileptic fit even though I am not at all epileptic)!

Here is a picture I found on the Internet to give you an idea.

The class I do is 45 minutes long and there are 7 exercise tracks (I count these down to get me through it). You can adjust the resistance on your bike making it harder or easier and the instructor will tell (shout) what you need to do - from pedalling as fast as you can for a set time to adding resistance so you can "climb a hill". It is certainly a class that makes you sweat!! You basically are pretending you are riding your bike outside on different terrains - hills, dips, flat etc. 

It is not easy, for first timers the seat can be painful on your bottom, but if you persevere it is worth is as it is a great work out. Each track is different so you have some variety, sometimes you are in your seat, other times you are cycling standing up or even doing little jumps. It is just important to make sure your position is correct but that is something a teacher will help you with. Plus it is up to you how much resistance you add on so you do have some control....you can ease up if you feel you are about to die.

Some people love spinning - my friend Vicky came to a class with me the other day and she is 7 months pregnant! I find that inspirational as I would be knee deep in chocolate if I were her!

Give it a go and see what you think. I will be doing it tomorrow, hating it most of it but patting myself on the back when I am finished, feeling both invigorated and proud!

SAUSAGES WITH LENTILS

The weather was crazy yesterday - despite the threat of the storm, London was absolutely beautiful during the day. In fact it was so lovely I was out walking by the river before 10am which is a miracle in itself as I am not an early bird. All that fresh air certainly awoke my appetite and I was keen to walk home via the pub for a scotch egg and sausage roll however it was closed!! Gutted!!

I made up for it by cooking this recipe at home. I always think about trying a dish like this in Italian restaurants but then am drawn to the cheesy pastas and pizzas so when I saw this recipe in Olive magazine, I immediately cut it out. 

It was a great and very easy to cook - it took about 45 minutes in total and the recipe was very simple to follow.

Ingredients for 3 people:

Puy or small brown lentils 300g
Onion, finely chopped
2 celery sticks, chopped
Carrot, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
200g pancetta / lardons
1 tsp chopped rosemary
3 tomatoes, roughly chopped
olive oil
6 sausages (if possible Italian)

Depending on what type of lentils you bought, if they are from a tin, you may need to rinse them in cold water and drain. Being lazy, I bought ready prepared ones.

In a large casserole dish, gently fry the onion, celery and carrot until they begin to soften. I hate it when recipes don't give you a time frame as I have no idea how soft you want them to be!! We fried them for about 4 minutes.

Add the garlic and pancetta or lardons (I used lardons but either would work) and continue to fry until the vegetables are golden and the pancetta/lardons are cooked through. Then stir in the lentils, the rosemary and tomatoes and add a glass of water and simmer for about 30 minutes.

The recipe suggests frying the sausages but we barbecued them although you could also grill or cook them in the oven. This took about 10 minutes although it depends on the sausages. We added them to the pan for a couple of minutes.

Finally serve the sausages on top of the lentils and tuck in!!

We both certainly did - wow - absolutely delicious, it tastes rustic and was so satisfying. We couldn't stop eating, I literally had to roll from my chair to the sofa after I had finished. What a fantastic recipe. This is the first time I have ever cooked with lentils and it was a great success. I think I am going to search my recipe books for more lentil recipes now. I will definitely be cooking this again very soon as I am keen to see if Arabella would like it - I am not sure of her thoughts on lentils but I can't see why she wouldn't adore it as 99% of children I know love sausages and the recipe has plenty of vegetables as well. 

Being the piglets that we are Pascal and I practically scraped the saucepan clean so there wasn't a morsel left (despite having cooked for 3 people) and then spent the rest of the day watching Breaking Bad - I am really enjoying it - being such a telly addict, I don't know how I missed it the first time round?! I literally couldn't move from the sofa all day - not sure how the body is going to react to the gym and bikram on Monday but I am going to need some drastic help after such a good weekend of eating!!

GOLA, FULHAM ROAD (FOR THE THIRD TIME)!!

I am a huge truffle fan and would eat them daily if they weren't so expensive. I love them on toast with lots of butter, on pizzas, in salads, in soups and of course with pasta and risotto. We had made truffle pasta this week at home and it was delicious although never quite the same as in a restaurant....thankfully Aaron from Gola has explained the truffle pasta "secret"that we need to cook the pasta with butter rather than creme fraiche.

As a treat we decided to go to Gola last night for a truffle feast. I know I have reviewed this restaurant twice before but I wanted to share these pictures because if you are a truffle fan like I am, try and make the trip.

Gola offers several different truffle suggestions such as burrata with zucchini and white truffles or fillet steak with truffles and of course pasta with truffles to name a few.

I wanted my usual starter of burrata with tomato and basil and Pascal wanted a pizza so Aaron created one with smoked duck. It was delicious but was cheese free....uh oh....I consoled myself with the fact I had probably saved about 500 calories!! The burrata was so creamy we demolished the bread basket soaking it all up.

For mains we both had the white truffle pasta which was AMAZING!! One of the best pasta dishes I have ever had. We then shared pumpkin tortellini with white truffle which Pascal was obsessed with! The tortellini was stuffed full with pumpkin which complemented the truffles perfectly.

This was all washed down with a bottle of Pietra - a good red wine, slightly heavy but slips down very well.

Even though we were both completely stuffed by this point, Aaron treated us to a very special glass of Chateau Yquem 1987 with profiteroles which were delicious! 

And obviously no night at Gola is complete without a grappa - this time apple flavoured (not that I could notice)!!

Another fantastic meal - we left with huge smiles on our faces wishing we could have the experience all over again!!

Gola Restaurant

787 Fulham Road
London
SW6 5HD
Tel: 020 7751 0141
Email: golafulham@gmail.com

HACHE BURGER, FULHAM ROAD

The other day neither Pascal nor I had eaten all day (Bikram has magical powers) but it was suddenly 6pm and we thought we should eat or we might collapse or even worse!!

Pascal had a craving for nachos but unfortunately there aren't many Mexicans in Fulham other than one restaurant which doesn't look particularly appetising (unless you have had several cocktails and shots beforehand). We then drooled over the menu at Honky Tonk only to find that it was closed - aahhhhhhhhh! I know this isn't a world wide problem but we were really stumped as to where to go. We considered staying in and cooking Old El Paso nachos but as we didn't have Arabella, we were quite keen to head out.

I searched online for anywhere selling nachos nearby and came up with Hache Burger. Hache is a family run restaurant that was established in 2004 in North London, they then set up shop in Chelsea and have consequently opened another two venues in Shoreditch and Clapham in recent years. I had been here but years ago and so was quite happy to try it again. 

It is a very "cute" place as it has these gorgeous Japanese style fairy / flower blossom lights and there are plenty of mirrors, dark wood and low lighting that creates an ambiance. It almost feels romantic which is extremely rare for a burger joint! Plus it literally serves every burger you can think of from an All-Day-Breakfast burger with bacon, mushrooms and a fried egg to a Thai Fish burger which is a mix of cod and smoked mackerel with exotic Thai herbs and spices served with a sweet chilli sauce and topped with spring onions and shaved cucumber....now you don't get that in McDonald's. They also do the usual run of the mill cheese burgers and salads if you prefer to stick to what you know.

Hache Burger Menu

Obviously we had the nachos to start - to be honest there was not much choice - but this was what we wanted in the first place. In typical oink oink style we gobbled the whole lot down so quickly and forgot to take a photo - duh. There is a photo on their website (see below) and I can tell you they were nice. I think homemade would have been better though as these were seriously lacking cheese and also we ran out of dips pretty early on - if they had been generous with the extras they could have been very good. I won't be rushing back to them though.

The burgers fared a lot better! Pascal had the Reblochon Burger which was topped with Reblochon cheese (obvs) and red onion chutney. It was cooked blue and he chose a brioche bun (you can also have ciabatta).

I had the Blue Cheese burger which was topped with mature Stilton - I went for a "skinny" version so it came with salad rather than a bun.

For sides Pascal had the rocket and Parmesan.

And the potato wedges with salsa and garlic mayonnaise.

And I had the coleslaw.

I could have easily had onion rings as well but you have to draw the line somewhere!!

So the verdict....the meat was excellent, really good beef and absolutely delicious. We both enjoyed our burgers and they were cooked to our liking but maybe we ordered wrong as the toppings just weren't right. I did not have enough cheese (I am getting to that point when I need to ask myself is there ever enough?!) and Pascal's chutney was very very sweet. 

The sides were really good - the wedges were excellent, they had some kind of Cajun flavouring and were really tasty as was the garlic mayo although the salsa had a bit too much of a kick to it for Pascal. I adored the the rocket and Parmesan - one of the best I have ever had although Pascal thought it needed more rocket. Finally the coleslaw was yum, fresh and not laden with sauce.

We didn't have pudding although there were many great suggestions on the menu such as brownies and banoffee pie but there was no room left in our tummies.

I think we will definitely head back another time, especially if we were popping to the cinema or for a quick lunch. Although I would definitely try a different burger as would Pascal (I am already thinking maybe the Roast Pulled Pork with crispy pancetta topped with an onion ring and coleslaw)!

For me, it's no Shake Shack or Five Guys but it is nice to have a burger in a pretty sit down restaurant with good service. Plus the high light of the night - you get smarties with the bill! Sometimes it really is the little things that count!!

http://www.hacheburgers.com/

329-331 Fulham Road
London
SW10 9QL
Tel: 020 7823 3515
Email: chelsea@hacheburgers.com

LEAVE IN THE OVEN LAMB SHANKS

I spend a lot of time thinking about food and looking at cookbooks - Pascal has suggested several times that I need psychiatric help due to my food obsession! I have lists and recipes coming out my ears of different foods I want to cook and this recipe has been in my mind for about two and a half years! It is very simple to make but takes three and a half hours to cook so it is not exactly a spur of the moment recipe....you need to get the timings right (ah my failing)!

This time I was prepared - I read the recipe properly so not to make any mistakes and it actually only takes about 40 minutes to prepare and the rest of the time it is cooking so you have plenty of time to read about quantum physics or......go for a drink (it's amazing what you can pack into 3 hours)!

This is a Fay Ripley recipe, and I have to say, I don't know how she does it but she always gets her recipes spot on. For once I followed the recipe correctly and did not add any extras (probably because it is cheese-free).

Ingredients for 4 big portions (you could easily stretch it to 6 especially if you do take all the meat off the bones and do sides):

1 tbsp of olive oil
4 lamb shanks (as lean as possible)
2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes
2 large onions chopped
1 stick of celery, chopped
400g carrots, cut into large chunks (I was super lazy and just bought a bag of ready made peeled and chopped carrots and cut them in half - it saved a lot of time)!
4 garlic cloves, crushed
A handful of fresh rosemary leaves (for once I used fresh as we are growing some in the "garden")!
400ml vegetable stock
2 star anise (I didn't actually know what these were)!
Salt and pepper
4 tsp of runny honey

Preheat the oven to 160 fan, 180 or gas mark 4.

In a large casserole dish, add the oil and brown the lamb shanks all over and then set aside. This took about 7-10 minutes.

Then add the onions and celery and fry before adding the garlic, carrots and rosemary, you may need to add a touch more oil if it starts to stick. Fry on a medium heat for 5-7 minutes.

Finally add the stock, tomatoes, star anise and season and bring to the boil. Return the meat to the dish with the bones sticking upwards and trickle the honey over the exposed meat and bone. We had to wedge the shanks together to prevent them falling over and our honey was not runny so we basically scrapped it on....it's all trial and error.

Cover with a lid and put it in the oven and cook for 3 hours - then enjoy!!

We served it with mini jacket potatoes however Fay suggests mash and a bowl of minted peas. Pascal tried to persuade me we should do pasta as a side (no surprise there) but you could have easily have just served it with no sides at all as the sauce is full of veg and very filling.

It was delicious - the lamb literally falls off the bone and is so tender. A definite family favourite or dinner party idea and so easy - so right up my street. For once the portions were too big even for us piglets so Pascal finished it off a couple of days later and pronounced it still delicious or we could have frozen it as it freezes very well which is a huge bonus.

BIKRAM YOGA CONTINUED.....

I did my second Bikram yoga class today - despite waxing lyrical about it yesterday I was a little apprehensive about doing it again. I needn't have worried - it was awesome.

There are a few points I left off my original review though....

Firstly it is really nice if you can arrive at the class a little early as you lie on your mat / towel and just relax. The room is quiet and peaceful and really really warm and if you have a good imagination you can close your eyes and imagine that you are lying on a beach in the middle of the Caribbean. However the main difference between being on a beach and in a Bikram studio is the smell!! As you can imagine - it stinks!! Not so much sweat and BO, more cheesy feet. Although you do become acclimatised very quickly and the smell disappears so don't let it put you off.

The other thing I noticed was how many men do Bikram - I was amazed. In my body attack / body pump classes, there are a few token men but majority women. In Bikram it was definitely 50:50, if not more men than women. This certainly helped Pascal feel more relaxed.

You really work hard - even though you are technically just stretching, your heart pounds. In between poses, my heart was beating as if I had been running and I was even panting at one point!! 

Finally the sweating is out of control - my nostrils were even sweating - I did not know this was possible. It's all good though, you feel purified. One word of advice, don't meet a friend / potential boyfriend straight after the class - you look like a drowned rat!!

BIKRAM YOGA

At the weekend we went to stay with our gorgeous friends Tony and Jacci - both are in absolutely incredible shape and they credit Bikram Yoga for this. Tony only started doing it in September and has already lost 10kg (he also slightly altered his eating habits). 

I have never been into yoga - I did it several years ago but felt it to be a big old waste of time as it did not do anything to help with weight loss (my nirvana) - at the end of the session when we did "shavasana" and were meant to be opening our minds, I was always thinking about what's for dinner!

However Bikram yoga is a type of yoga that is performed in a room heated to 40 degrees. There are many many benefits such as....

- Detoxifies the body and removes harmful toxins. Bikram Yoga causes profuse sweating which converts the toxins in to water soluble products. This ensures the easy removal of the toxins in the form of sweat.

- The heat increases the metabolism and speeds up the breakdown of glucose and fatty acids. It also helps to increase the heart rate and burn calories effectively thereby promoting weight loss (yee - haa)!

- The heat helps to loosen up the muscles producing less strain on them. This reduces the chances of injury. It also strengthens the spine and provides relief from back pain.

- Stretching your muscles in heated conditions encourages the effective flow of blood to different parts of the body, hence increasing the blood circulation and improving the functioning of the circulatory system. Improved blood circulation helps to increase the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the several parts of the body.

- Improves the functioning of the lymphatic system that is responsible for flushing out the toxins from the body. It also improves the functioning of the heart, lungs, nervous & endocrine system.

- Helps to reshape your body by the lengthening, strengthening and toning of the muscles which also helps to reduce the risk of sport-related injuries. It improves the balance and coordination of the body and strengthens the bones and muscles and increases the flexibility of the muscles.

- Strengthens the body’s immune system and reduces the risks of infection.

- Helps the mind to be calm and relaxed thereby offering great relief from stress, anxiety and tension. It helps you sleep better (hallelujah)!!

- Increases the flexibility and lubrication of the joints, tendons and ligaments.

- Improves focus, concentration and discipline and it cleanses the body.

- Boosts the energy level of the body and increases the strength and stamina of the body.

Hello - what is not to like about all of that?! 

So Pascal & I decided to bite the bullet and try out a class. Both were incredibly nervous - could we stand the heat? I am super inflexible. Pascal is claustrophobic. Will it be full of yoga professionals? What do I wear? I hate trying new things....but hey, I must practise what I preach and try new classes.

We went down to our local Bikram studio and luckily everyone was extremely nice and helpful and we easily joined a class. Like with my body attack classes everyone was different shapes and sizes and had different abilities. Plus there were a couple of other newbies like us.

It was tough, my heart was pounding at times and sometimes the heat was suffocating, however I have to admit I did not find it as hard as I thought - my biggest problem was knowing my left and right. The heat is overpowering but no more than my spin class and you work against you own strength, it doesn't matter what everyone else does, you are all about you (heaven)! I don't speak "yoga" and so found some bits slightly hard to understand but you are encouraged to copy the pros in the front row which makes it easier (I was always good at copying at school)!

Each class is 90 minutes long and includes a series of 26 yoga poses and 2 breathing exercises. 

I actually really enjoyed it, I felt I had worked extremely hard and so will definitely be going again - when I walked out I had sweated so much I felt I had had a facial - my skin felt fantastic, I also slept better that night and didn't feel hungry all day which is a miracle. It was also good for Pascal as he normally just runs which leaves him in all sorts of pain whereas in yoga, he sweated and worked even harder but could still walk properly afterwards. 

All in all I would recommend giving it a go - the only downside is that it is not cheap but as I said to Pascal it is the price equivalent of going to the cinema or out for a couple of double g&ts - but it is WAY more beneficial. Just about to head for class number 2 now!! 

CHICKEN AND LEEK PASTA

One of my failings as a cook is I always forget to read the recipe properly. It is something I do regularly and is a real pain in the butt when I think the recipe takes 30 minutes but actually you need an extra hour or so to marinade.....this is what happened here.....whoops!! So if you try this recipe (and I recommend you do), don't forget to marinade and to be honest the longer the better so you could always do it in the morning or night before if you were super organised.

To carry on our week of the combination of chicken and cheese (the mountain of cheese is thankfully nearly finished) I saw this recipe on morning TV and thought it hit all the spots - I could use up some Philadelphia and also Pascal & Arabella could feed their pasta addiction, plus it was quick (ish) and easy to do. Obviously I altered the original recipe to perfect it!

Ingredients for 4 people:

2 x 220g pack of chicken breast goujons (mini fillets)
3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme leaves picked (I used dried)
3 cloves of garlic crushed
2 tbsp olive oil
4 leeks washed and shredded
100ml white wine (optional - I didn't use it as we had drunk all the white in our house)!
4 tbsp cream cheese (you can also use creme fraiche)
100g grated cheddar cheese
2-3 tbsp reserved pasta cooking water
250g pasta (they suggested penne but I used trottole as I liked the shape)!
Parmesan if required

AT LEAST ONE HOUR BEFORE COOKING!!

Place the chicken goujons in either a resealable freezer bag or bowl and add the garlic, thyme and olive oil and mix together until it is all combined, then leave to marinade FOR AT LEAST ONE HOUR. I just did 15 minutes and I have to say it was good but I think it's much better if you can marinade for as long as pos.

Preheat a griddle or frying pan and cook the goujons for around three minutes each side until cooked through.

Meanwhile cook the pasta in a large pan of salted boiling water according to the packet instructions.

We did not cook in a griddle as we don't have one so used a large frying pan and did everything in that. So depending on what you use either fry the leeks separately or add them to the chicken before it is cooked through. I would probably recommend not doing what we did as the pan was practically over flowing at the end and created more mess than if we had used two pans in the first place! However the recipe still worked - you just need to get your timings right.

Anyway the leeks take about 7 minutes to soften so add these and then add the white wine if you are using it (we didn't), cook until the liquid has been reduced by half and then stir.

Add the cream cheese or creme fraiche and grated cheddar. 

Hopefully by this point the pasta is cooked and so add 2-3 tbsp of the pasta water to let the sauce down. Finally mix with the chicken if you have cooked it in separate pans and then toss together in the pasta and voila!

It was delicious - chicken and leeks are great together - you could even add more leeks and some peas if you wanted to make it greener. The only issue I had with this recipe is timing so just make sure you read it all first (I hope I have learnt my lesson) but otherwise it was pretty simple to do and a good one for all the family (Arabella even had seconds)!

CREAMY CHICKEN WITH SPINACH & DOLCELATTE

During Pascal & my super indulgent weekend, we spent a night with our lovely friends Karl & Lezah in West Sussex. We love seeing them although it's terrible for the waist line as Lezah is such a good host you are constantly being served more food & more alcohol & she won't let you do a thing to help! 

We arrived at 4.30 and had supper reservations at 8pm - so while we had a few drinks and caught up, instead of a couple of crisps & dips, we had a full on meal. I felt like I was at a Roman banquet. No wonder my second chin is back this week!! 

Anyway it would be rude to say no (plus we are greedy piggies) so we ate & drunk non stop, however we still didn't get through the mountain of food, so Lezah generously packed us off with a bag bulging with every cheese under the sun, saucissons, salamis, bagels etc - all the food we love but is so not good for us.

To prevent Arabella, Pascal & I gobbling it down in one sitting I set about finding some cheesy recipes to cook - all three if us are in heaven this week!!

Pascal always complains he doesn't like sauce so I didn't tell him exactly what we were cooking to prevent arguments. This is a recipe I have cooked several times for Arabella and I and it is delicious.

Ingredients for 6 people:

1kg pack of chicken thigh fillets

3 tbsp olive oil 

2-3 cloves if garlic (like with cheese I ways think the more the merrier)

A bunch of salad onions - thinly sliced on the diagonal 

200ml tub of half fat Creme Fraiche 

170g pack Galbani Dolcelatte Classico - cut into small pieces (er I used double this obviously)!!!

500g spinach
A sprinkling of fresh / dried nutmeg

You could add pasta or rice to this recipe however I have it just as it is or I add peas.

Firstly cut each thigh fillet in to quarters and cut off the fat & yucky bits (I hate this on the thighs but they taste so good & tender it's worth the effort).

Hear the oil in a large frying pan and then add half the chicken and half the garlic. Fry for about 5 minutes until pale golden. Drain & then repeat for the remainder. If you have a super sized pan you could cook it all at once.

Return all the chicken to the pan with the white parts of the salad onions (save the green for later) and season generously. Fry gently for another five minutes until the chicken is cooked through.

Next stir in the Creme Fraiche and scatter over the cheese. As I mentioned earlier I used double the amount of cheese but it depends how much of a cheese addict you are - we all thought it needed more than the recipe actually says! 

Add the spinach a handful at a time together with the green onion tops and stir. Allow the spinach to wilt and the sauce to warm through, developing a creamy consistency.

Finally sprinkle with some freshly grated nutmeg (I used dry as I didn't want to buy fresh) and serve immediately on it's own or with some pasta, peas or rice.

This recipe went down a treat! All of us finished our plates and if we'd had leftovers I think we would have finished that too! Pascal "Mr I don't like sauce" was eating his with a spoon like with soup by the end and has asked that we do this again very very soon!

GAUCHO GRILL, TOWER BRIDGE

I really outdid myself this weekend with unhealthiness - copious amounts to eat (I went to Borough Market, Gaucho Grill, Locale, a pub supper in West Sussex, a full English breakfast and even had a pork and Stilton pie in-between)! Then there was far too much to drink....prosecco, wine, champagne, gin, vodka and cocktails. Hence I have not had any time to write this blog as I couldn't see straight let alone write a sentence!!

Anyway I am now back on the straight and narrow - I did Body Attack yesterday and drunk gallons of water and am now waiting for my Body Pump class so I can sweat out more toxins.

It was a very good weekend though....Pascal and I started on Friday with a trip to Borough Market which was fantastic - full of amazing treats however as Pascal does not eat standing up after drooling over the food and buying a few bits and bobs (the most amazing cheese & olive bread & burrata) we headed over to lunch at Gaucho Grill. Friday was the most miserable day - it pissed it down - however the view over Tower Bridge from the restaurant  was still absolutely fantastic - this Gaucho is in a great spot.

I am a huge fan of the Gaucho restaurants - I always think they are so sexy and cosy with their dark lighting, booth seating and lots of leather. Plus the food is amazing! We hadn't been to a Gaucho for a year and a half as last time we over ate so badly I literally couldn't leave the restaurant so we decided to be sensible this time and not have starters which was a toughie as the sausage platter is out of this world!

The problem is the bread is sooooooooooooooo delicious especially the Colombian cheese bread, you cannot help by devouring the entire basket. I am not sure what the oil is it comes with but it is phenomenal. I definitely can't stick to a carb free diet here!

Even though I am not a meat connoisseur in any way, I do like the way they bring round the plate of meat for you to choose your steak - I went for the Churrasco de Chorizo which is spiral cut and marinated in garlic, oil and parsley for 48 hours - I had the 300g which was more than enough.

I had the Bearnaise sauce on the side which was delicious but considering the size of the steak, they could have been a little more generous with the portion size.

Pascal had the Bife de Ancho (400g) with a mushroom sauce which he adored - he had it cooked blue as always and it was practically mooing on his plate much to his delight!

There was such a great selection of sides we couldn't decide what to have so ended up choosing two each - my favourite is the humitas (roasted pumpkin & corn) & the sauteed oyster mushrooms with shallots and garlic. Pascal then chose fries and a baby gem salad with toasted almonds and a mayonnaise vinaigrette which was incredible.

The meal was fab - we literally ate every morsel of food. Despite not having starters we were still stuffed and could not even contemplate pudding despite the cheese looking exceptionally good. It is in no way a cheap restaurant but if you want a good quality steak with excellent sides in a gorgeous setting, this is your place. You get what you pay for and it is worth it.

http://www.gauchorestaurants.co.uk

2 More Riverside
London 
SE1 2AP
Tel: 020 7407 5222
Fax: 0207 407 5166