Wilton oh Wilton...

The oldest music hall they say. The danger of this, I reckon, is that everyone is trying to be like you.
The bare brick walls, the peeling wall paper, the mirror that doesn't shine. You have everything the others want, but they will never be you, cause you, are, it.

The beautiful building, the history behind, one can read all about it here.

Tonight I watched The Great Gatsby in this wonderful place. The audience dressed up in their most glamorous 20s gear, and I thought to myself, '2013, look at this, this is what going out should be like.' One can only imagine what it must have been like - a room full beautiful people, in their flapper dresses, smoking, drinking, laughing.
Admittedly, part from the no smoking thing, our night was not too shabby either:

It was one of those plays that sets your mood as soon as one walks in, actors shouting by your ear, yelling that you are in the way of a funeral procession. Or someone screaming by the bar, "POLICE!" and the barman literally stopped serving there and then - it was the prohibition, don't you know?

Just like I'm not a food critic, I'm not going to comment too much on the actual acting of the play either. What I liked the most was their use of minimal props, their clever ways of scene changes and of course the songs that made the audience laugh. One of the actresses really stood out for me, and I must find out her name, and you will see who I mean when you  while the play itself... For me it didn't have enough impact. It felt slighty lack in passion, in "oomph", if that doesn't sound too whatever.

So, what did I think?
The atmosphere totally did it all for me. From the moment you stepped in, you are in the 20s - so do dress the part, it makes it just that much more fun! I would also say this, if you managed to get a ticket, don't wonder off too far during interval or you will miss your chance to dance on stage!!

Wilton is probably one of my favorite places in London in terms of decor and it will not be long till I go back to their Mahogany bar. One last thing, the oldest music hall is looking for donations high and low so it can raise the 2.5 million they need for restoration, you can donate here, do help them out, so that in the bar manager's words, "the first floor does not give in and becomes the ground floor!" x

Bone Daddies does the little thing

Either the ramen hype has calmed down or the Jan diet is going still going strong, OR the pay check as still not gone through, there was no queue at Bone Daddies tonight.

Most people have probably already read from the proper foodie blogs how the food is, so I thought I'd talk about something else - the little things.

The place is very much like a little bar, but I can't help but notice how much the bear bones of is like a brighter version of Copita. The bar stools, wooden table, chilled music, the way it's all laid out, the size of it. There really seem to be a formula to these things nowadays which I am not sure I like.

But what I did like - was the little jar of thoughtfulness. Not the garlic that you can press yourself, but the jar of hairbands. More importantly, the little jar of hairbands next to the sesame seeds just as I realised I have forgotten mine. Soup noodles and long hair are not really friends and the band was a life saver. I did wonder though, how many people tried to put that in their bowl of hot pork bone broth.

Pig and Butcher

The Pig and Butcher on Liverpool road prides itself on their "food that Granny used to make". When you walk in, it's farmhouse like, it's rustic. Bare bulb, wooden tables, apple crates, ale jugs and the lot - the kind of decor that we see so much in town these days (even Upper Crust the sandwich chain was trying to get a piece of that which made me slightly anrgy, but anyway).

In my opinion it is not the decor but the food that deserves the mentioning.

They have a single side food menu with no more than 20 items on offer and that included puddings. I am a great lover for simple menu, in my mind, the fewer the items the more love and care is put into each one of them. Their menu also changes everyday which I find very exciting. My friend and I were in a rush to get to Sadler's Wells so we just had the mains - hers was a beef stew with dumplings, and I opted for rare beef potatoe salade with a portion of kale on the side (bit weird, I know).

My salade was incredible. Rare beef was actually rare beef - and for those who have had the countless experience of ordering rare beef and 15 minutes late come face to face with something completely different need not explaining why this was important. The beef was juicy, perfectly on the right side of pink but not dripping with blood. It was a good size potion, just right to statisfy the tummy but secretly hoping for that one more bite. It was complimented nicely by the fluffy potatoes and most importantly the dressing was just acidity enough to cut through the starch without being over powering and it was just the right amount.

My friend's stew was a wintery treat. Steaming hot when it arrived, with perfect meat to veg ratio. I am not in the business of describing meat texture with big foodie words (more because I dont really know how to), but the meat was just soft. Buttery, melt-in-your-mouth kind of soft. You eat food like that and you know how much love and effort was put into it.

Then the chef came out and said it's a new dish and they have never served it before and you secretly think to yourself 2 things, a - now he is showing off, b - how come my Granny never made food like that...

So. What did I think: If you were there to catch a quick bite before a show at Sadler's Wells, I would suggest not to do it, simply because it is a bit of a rush to get to where you need to be.

Pig and Butcher is a place to really enjoy a meal and not just to fill the stomach so it doesn't rumble in the middle of a show. I am going again very soon just to take time to have pudding, coffee and more wine.