Götz Bürkle's Qype profile

On a weekend when I walked around Battersea, I was getting hungry and looking for a nice place to eat something. I passed by some eateries, but none was really appealing to me then. And finally, I noticed this restaurant now called “Banana Tree”, and decided to pop in. I saw on or the other Banana Tree branch in London before, but never tried their food – I decided this had to change. :)

I started off with some tofu with some kind of spicy sauce. As main course I selected Nasi Goreng with chicken – great choice! While the starter was perhaps a bit too spicy – tasty though – the Nasi Goreng was very delicious.

I was a bit disappointed by the dessert options and went for boring ice cream – which was good, but I don’t need to go there to get good ice cream ;)

Overall, really good food, nice interior and good atmosphere, likable music, ranging from chillout piano tunes to some other music that did not offend you but just nicely supported the dining experience. I will definitely go again to a Banana Tree restaurant!

At some point I discovered The Admiral Codrington’s burger ranked #3 on a list of Londons best burgers at http://youngandfoodish.com/london/top-10-burgers-in-london/ – to check if it is any good, I decided to go there myself.

On a rainy Sunday afternoon, I looked up the address and went down to South Kensington tube station, from there it’s just a few minutes walk.

The Admiral Codrington is a nice, light, and really comfortable place to spend some time. I had a great wine, and also didn’t need to wait long for the highly appreciated burger. I fully support Daniel Young’s judgment to put it at least on #3 in London’s burger top ten. The meat was deliciously prepared, and the bun fitted the patty perfectly. It was big enough, but not too big, and it didn’t dissolve somewhere on the way.

If you like burgers, you shouldn’t miss this one! I also genuinely liked the furniture and interior, it’s really a very nice place to eat a brilliant burger and read an articulate article while enjoying a wonderful wine.

I read about Spuntino a couple of times, and finally managed to take a look myself. You really should look it up on the map before you go there, otherwise you likely won’t find it.

It’s a nice little room, that mainly consists of a bar made of metal, you most people sit directly at the bar. The bar feels a bit minimalist, but it is quite practical. I had something that was possibly too small, to be called a burger, but kind of too big, to be called a slider. But whatever you call it, it’s just tasty! The fries tasted great as well. I also liked the wine I had with it – I just don’t really like to get wine in “normal” glasses instead of wine glasses, but as this seems to be part of the concept, I’m fine with it. As dessert I opted for a gin and tonic, which didn’t disappoint me either.

I was there during afternoon; it was full, but I didn’t need to queue. So, if you’re there at a not so busy hour or if you like to queue, that’s definitely a really nice little gem in Soho, that serves one of the best sliderburgerthingy you could find in London.

A few weeks ago I went to Meatballs on my way to a gig in the area. It’s really a nice place! I was a bit confused by the menu and thought I had to specify what three meatballs I’d like for one portion, so I asked for three different ones instead of one portion of three times the same kind of meatball and sauce. However, they happily did it, so I could try three different meals in one go. All three were delicious! :)

When Boxpark in Shoreditch opened recently I went there to take a look t the new Foxcroft and Ginger branch. Given that it’s just a container, it’s really nice. It’s not very spacious though.
They offer more or less the same stuff as in their shop in Soho. The biggest difference for me was, that you don’t need to order at the counter. Oh, and it’s a very different atmosphere there as well. It just feels quite different from the other Foxcroft and Ginger branch. But anyway, a nice place to stop by and drink a coffee – as expected, my coffee was quite good.
I think Boxpark in general and also F&G at Boxpark is a much more interesting location in summer. There is plenty of outside seating available, which I think will be a really good asset when it’s warmer and sunnier again.

I am not the biggest fan of their first location, http://www.qype.co.uk/place/1642927-Notes-Music-Coffee-We..., but I wanted to take a look at their recently opened second branch. And I have to say, I like this shop much much more.
First, they sell wine and they do wine tastings. I haven’t yet been at one, but that’s definitely something that appeals to me.
Second, they have one screen on the wall. One. So you’re not forced to look at some weird ballet performance, but you can if you want to. That’s a big plus. Still, it confuses me if I listen to some kind of classical music, look at a video of some orchestra, but both doesn’t match. But now, I can easily simply not look at the screen to avoid getting crazy ;)
Third, it feels much less like a music shop (because I think they have a shoppier shopfloor downstairs?!). It mainly feels like a nice light coffee shop with nice background music, where you could also enjoy some nice wines. Sounds like a very good combination to me.

I had a very good cappuccino and also a rich and tasty brownie. That’s all you need at a lazy Sunday afternoon.
The only downside compared to their other location: today they seemed to be really slow, and it was not overly busy when I was there. But I was not in a hurry, so it was fine for me.

Today my plan was originally to try the burger you could get at the newly opened Boxpark in Shoreditch. After reading that the burgers there are perhaps not too good, I decided to change my plans. Boxpark will be around for some time, so I can still try that burger another day. But today, without particular reason, I simply wanted to have a properly good burger. Once again, I checked out young&foodish’s Top 10 list at http://youngandfoodish.com/london/top-10-burgers-in-london/ – and decided to try the current #6 – Joe Allen.
After having a coffee at Notes Covent Garden (http://www.qype.co.uk/place/2153720-Notes-Covent-Garden-L...) I walked down to Joe Allen. From the outside, it looks like nothing special. After opening the door, you have to climb down some stairs, and end up in a dark-ish but nice restaurant.
I ordered a sparkling rose and the cheese and bacon burger with fries (yes, as other people already pointed out: the burger is not on the menu, but they’re happy to serve it anyway :). An excellent choice, I would say. The burger is not as small as I expected after reading some reviews. For me, it was definitely big enough, and the handcut chips with skin were also delicious. The burger is very simple: a thick patty, melted cheese on top of it, and two strips of grilled bacon on top of that. And all in a tasty bun, that’s perfectly sized for this burger. That’s a burger how I like a burger to be. No green or saucy distractions. ;)
Really a burger I can recommend! It’s also not really expensive.
After the burger I needed an espresso, so that’s what I ordered. I got an illy-branded cup with an okay-tasting espresso – but what I missed was a glass of water. Perhaps I’m wrong, but at a serious restaurant, I expect a glass of water with an espresso.
Anyway, the food was good, I also liked the atmosphere, it was light enough to read while I waited for the burger and the espresso. It was not very busy, as I was there on a late Sunday afternoon – not the busiest time for any restaurant.
Definitely a restaurant I should visit again! And then I will order some water, if I choose to have a espresso… ;)

Czech and Slovak Club restaurant is really an interesting place. The dining room just looks like you would expect a club room of an Eastern European club to look like. It’s not the most beautiful and comfortable restaurant you can find, but it’s really a nice place and the food is good.
I am sure, I will go there again.

Looking for a burger place around Maida Vale, I did not find that much. At least not that much I haven’t tried already. So one evening I took the bus and went to x-Burger House in Kilburn. As I was afraid to leave hungry, I went for the big burger option. At the end, I was happy that I managed to finish the burger at all! It was really big. The patty was surprisingly thin, but tasted very delicious. I also liked the fries I had with the burger. The chocolate truffle I had as dessert was also really good. :)

I will definitely come back to X-Burger House to enjoy another tasty beef burger there. But I might go for the 5" instead of th 7" version then.

When I went to Rodizio Rico last weekend, I actually wanted to get a proper steak house. But then I finally went to this Brazilian restaurant. It was busy, and I was seated downstairs – and well, downstairs it just doesn’t look by far as nice as upstairs.

I went for the all grilled meat you can eat option and was curious what I would get there. The sides buffet is really nice, with rice, fries, chicken lasagna, cheese rolls, salad, and some more things. When it comes to the meat, it’s difficult for me to tell. Some cuts I had were tasting really good, others not so much. The chicken with bacon was just overly salty. And some of the cuts did simply not meet my taste. In general, if you don’t like meat with a lot of fat, this is perhaps not the best place to go. I cannot say that it didn’t taste good in general, but for the price I paid, I’d rather go to another steak house and get a fillet steak.

As a dessert I ordered the Brigadeiro, described as “rich chocolate mousse” in the menu – it tasted great, but to my understanding it was much more like pudding than like mousse, and I was looking forward to some fluffy mousse…

At the end I was full, but a bit disappointed.