#33: A May Digest

Sugar, straw, a style crush, and out-of-towner restaurants.

Somehow May has zipped by, despite my iCal being hefty with visits, deliciousness, many a Zoom call, and scheming for the warmer months ahead. Summer understandably gets a lot of love in London, but May endeared itself to me this year.

As well as reunions with friends and family, I’ve been savouring our (mostly) balmy weekends; the aggressively divine peonies; buying groceries with sunglasses on the bridge of my nose and a sweater draped over bare shoulders.

More highlights below in today’s Saturday special:

1. Restaurants that never let you down

When people visit I book or recommend one of three restaurants that are extremely reliable but never boring, and have been lucky enough to eat at two of them in just one week. I went to St John with Agnes, who is not an out-of-towner but it was her first St John pie; the pie was the object, and we almost gave up hope as our server recited the litany of specials it concluded. Imagine how quickly we committed when he said there were only two left! The rhubarb trifle was the sleeper hit, and there was enough pie for us to leave with a full serving each.

Last night my family feasted at another old faithful, Noble Rot, which I’ve also waxed lyrical about here — I’m a creature of habit. In the charmingly low-lit dining room on Lambs Conduit we split their beloved bread plate, pigs head croquettes, clams, a comté tart and plenty of wine with old family friends on a European tour, followed by mains (I was very happy with my pigeon) and punctuated with sublime wines. Desserts were wonderful: a lemon tart, rich but cloud-like chocolate mousse cake, and a chartreuse ice cream, plus a surprise plate of off-menu madeleines to celebrate our engagement. (Surprise!)