Lunch at Wahaca

 Thomasina Miers went on to open Wahaca after winning Masterchef. She was inspired by the  street food and markets of Mexico.There are now several branches in London. We have eaten at the Soho branch twice recently on both occasions and although fairly busy we were shown to a table straight away.The printed menus on the table double up as table mats when the food arrives. 

On our first visit we chose the Wahaca selection which is plenty for two.There is so much to choose from so their selection gives an idea of the variety of what's on offer and is good value. My favourite was the crispy chicken taquitos with green rice and black beans.

On our next visit we chose some favourites from the selection and tried some new things as well, all delicious. This time I wanted to try mole, not a small furry animal, this is a spicy savoury sauce with chocolate. The chicken mole tacos are shown bottom right.

bottom left pork pibil this is slow cooked pork with a Yucatecan marinade 

top right Black bean tostadas

top left  tostada

 All delicious and worth a visit.

to drink  Citrus fizz, fresh lime with mint and sparkling water, much more refreshing than the usual soft drinks.

 Houchada, almond and rice milk with cinnamon both drinks complement the food well. 

There is a good selection of Tequilas.

On the chilli scale I found the food to be mild to medium hot. One of the sauces on the table comes with a warning from the waiter and this one was hotter.

Service was friendly and prompt. The atmosphere was informal with some lively Latin music. 

Lunch at La Barbe

La Barbe is a French restaurant in Reigate. We went there just before Christmas for their December menu. Outside was snowy and cold and the restaurant filled up as people seemed to be taking the opportunity to come out having been snowed in for a few days. It was nice to come in out of the cold to a friendly welcome and sit down to a meal cooked by someone else.

Terrine de Confit de Canard à l’Andouillette Duck confit and andouillette terrine

Andouillette is a type of sausage and not as I imagined a kind of bird!

Coussin de Saumon Fumé aux Baies Roses et Aneth

Smoked salmon filled with roasted salmon, cream cheese and dill mousse with pink peppercorns.

This was very good.

Bourguignon de Venaison aux Champignons et Lardons

Venison and mushroom casserole with lardons and boiled potatoes

Suprême de Canard aux Poires Sauce Bigarade

Roasted duck breast served with caramelized pears and orange sauce

No vegetables came with this dish so some had to be ordered extra. I had spinach and plenty of french bread. The bread was excellent, light and with a crisp crust.

Bûche de Noël au Praliné

Praline flavoured Christmas log

Bûche de Noël is a traditional French dessert served near Christmas. It is a sweet roulade that is usually decorated to look like a log with chocolate buttercream icing. I chose it because of the praline flavouring and it looked stunning. I would have prefered the cake and the buttercream to be lighter.

Overall it was a lovely meal beautifully presented.