Five Unusual Eateries in London
So avid readers, just what is your concept of unusual? For me, it’s something quite truly distinctive and uncommon. Unusual dining experiences can be attributed to anything from a dodgy first date to a unique gastronomic experience. Here’s my top five list of unusual establishments to impress a mate, date or even yer mum!
A classic concept restaurant, if you’re terrified of the dark this may not be the right place for you. However, why not suppress the dominant sense of sight and put your other sensory skills to the test! Cherry pick from four menus (colour coded with Google’s binary colours) according to your preference: for fish and seafood lovers, for meat lovers, for vegetarians or the beguiling chef’s special. The blinded waiters will enable you completely re-evaluate the notion of taste and smelling through a true pedagogical process. Plus you can have a cheeky grope ‘n’ poke with your current amor without getting scowls from jealous singletons. Bonzer!
I happen to be a lesbian. But a wholly carnivorous one at that. There’s nothing I enjoy more than sampling exotic meats from far and wide, hoping they’re not on an endangered list somewhere remote. However, every once in a while I indulge myself in a mélange of meats laid re-splendid under the glow of golden Buddhas, dwarf palm trees and giant peacock feathers. Get your wild animal on with exotic dishes such as crocodile, wildebeest and kangaroo featuring comfortably alongside standard classics like chicken and fish and an array of inventive vegetarian options. Snap it up!
What’s the top gripe of any discerning British diner looking for speedy service and a smile? Yes, that’s right…the waiter. But what about if laborious ordering experience was replaced by something techy and innately fun? Step forward Inamo, a pioneering Oriental fusion restaurant and bar where the control of the dining experience is placed firmly in your hands. At the core of the restaurant is their interactive ordering system. Diners place orders from an illustrated food and drinks menu projected on to their table surface. You’ll set the mood, discover the local neighbourhood, and even order a taxi home after a fragrant bottle of sake.
You might be wondering why this popular Soho eaterie has jumped into my top five. Well I’ll kill the suspense right away, and ask you simply to Google ‘Bar Italia opening hours’. The response? I will say this only once: 24 hours. Praise the culinary gods, something positively ‘devoursome’ and altogether delicious open as the hangover kicks in. Am I the only Londoner who doesn’t want to get MSG poisoning and scoff a kebab at 3 am after a bottle of vino? Bar Italia delivers quality Italian food at all hours with efficiency and colour to make even a native chuckle and pat his/her stomach in a fulfilled, circular manner.
You can’t saunter past Waitrose these days, without Heston Blumenthal bellowing in your ear about his latest range of medieval range of gamey meats. The diligent baldie is back with his recent gourmet offering Dinner at Hyde Park’s Mandarin Oriental which will burn a vacuous yet well-deserved hole in your pocket. The restaurant interior has been conceived as a subtle, noble portrait – contemporary and innovative, yet mindful of tradition. The dining room boasts floor-to-ceiling glass walls, giving diners a view of the kitchen and its unique pulley system. Lovely jubbly!
A wall in the bar area displays British recipes taken from sixteenth-century cookbooks – but, like a conjurer’s sleight of hand, these appear and disappear, depending on the light’s reflection. Amongst my top culinary tips would be a starter of Meat Fruit (c. 1500) consisting of mandarin, chicken liver parfait and grilled bread, a podiatrist’s dream of Black Foot Pork Chop (c. 1730) comprising of pointy cabbage and Robert (who’s Robert?) Sauce for mains whilst rounding off with a desert of Tipsy Cake (c. 1810) which is billed as a spit roast pineapple. How very dare you! With a menu and drinks list as unusual as this, who needs modern cuisine anyway?
Photography: www.theworlds50best.com, www.culturedivine.com, www.inamo-restaurant.com and Dans le Noir
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