Author Archives: LenMWilliams

The mouthfeel was very peculiar. Like a spoon of ice cream prepared by someone with alopecia. But, happily the hairy sensation soon disappeared as the candy floss covered sweet treat dissolved in my mouth . This unusual but memorable dessert was the fun culmination of a delicious dinner at Chelsea’s Villa Mammas restaurant. AIf andContinue reading “9. Bahrain. Villa Mamas, Chelsea”

A few weeks before I met Alf at Fischer’s, a Viennese-style café/restaurant on Marylebone high street, I’d actually been on holiday to Vienna. That trip had left me with a few, not altogether positive, impressions of the central-European country’s capital. I wondered if a London transplant of one of its turn-of-the-(last)-century coffee and food jointsContinue reading “7. Austria. Fischer’s, Marylebone”

“So, what do you think of Australian food then Alf?” I asked my brother at the end of our meal at Lantana in Southwark. “Well, it doesn’t seem to exist”. This seemed like a reasonable assessment of the food we’d had at the Australian brunch style restaurant. Don’t get me wrong, this was pretty tastyContinue reading “6. Australia. Lantana, London Bridge”

This is a tricky one. I only want to say good things about Jakob’s, a simple café on Gloucester Road we visited on a week day evening in October. The owner was incredibly charming, offering us free dessert, a discounted bottle of Armenian wine and generous servings. She played us Armenian music, gave me aContinue reading “5. Armenia. Jakob’s, South Kensington”

“Try some of this juicy chicken” I suggested. “Oh yeah, that’s really tasty” Alf replied, masticating on a good mouthful of the tender meat. Then with juvenile delight I informed him he was actually eating testicles. Big bulls’ balls. Cojones grandes. His face went a strange colour for a moment, but he swigged gallantly onContinue reading “4. Argentina: Buen Ayre, London Fields”

London has very few authentic Algerian restaurants – the majority of places selling the country’s cuisine are either Moroccan or general ‘North African’ joints. But after a bit of googling we found Khamsa on Brixton’s Acre Lane. Turning up on a Sunday evening, it was perhaps no surprise the place was pretty much empty butContinue reading “3. Algeria: Khamsa, Brixton”

A mound of fragrant steaming rice arrived at our table. Flecks of caramelised carrot and plump juicy raisins were scattered on top. I dug my spoon in and found a hunk of lamb hidden beneath the grains and it eased off the bone. This was going to be good. The meat was fatty, sticky, meltContinue reading “1. Afghanistan: Ariana II, Kilburn”

I want to begin with something positive. The tea. It was served in a cafetiere, and the waiter told us that the herbal infusion (which seemed to be camomile) was typically Albanian. Imagine camomile tea. It was like that. That’s more or less where the positives end. We were back in Kilburn in late JulyContinue reading “2. Albania: Vila Ronel, Kilburn”