3 Amigos eat again

         

I love living in London, not least for the opportunities it gives to eat out in amazing places.
My sister Jo lives in central London in beautiful Primrose Hill and I am out in the burbs near the end of the Central line so I can hop in and out in 25 mins.
We are big foodies. 

As part of Jo's job she is always booking her boys and clients in for dinner. She knows what is hot, what is not, how long the reservation lists are and how to get a table at some of the best places in town. 

She treats Glen and I to a birthday experience meal every year and we have eaten in some truly amazing places and I've tried things I never would have dreamed of.
Places such as Maze (1* Gordon Ramsey/ Jason Atherton) 

Bar Boulud (Daniel Boulud) 

Marcus Wareing at The Berkley 2*

Le Gavroche ( 2* Michel Roux Jnr) 

The Pollen Street Social ( Jason Atherton) 

Texture ( 1* Aggi Sverrisson) 
The Ivy and La Petite maison to name a few.

But it isn't all about Michelin Stars, good food is good food whether it's the best Tapas in London @ Barrafina in Soho, food festivals like Taste in Hyde Park or standing in Borough Market with a dish Of new potatoes covered in Raclette and gherkins!

My horizons and tastebuds are constantly being expanded usually for the better but there have been a few misses such as the Oyster I tried and the snail. Trust me if Michel Roux Jnr can't make it palletable then no one can!

So imagine Jo's and I delight when a few weeks ago dropping leaflets as volunteers for London Pride March we stumbled across a fabulous restaurant that we never heard of before. Off the beaten track in Marylebone without much passing trade. We popped in for a nose and we're looking at the menu when a young chap came out from the kitchen and had a chat with us and explained the concept behind the restaurant.

Carousel invite Chefs from all around the world to come and share their food so they have a plethora of guest Chefs doing short residencies. Little did we know at the time but we were talking to Ollie Templeton who is one of the 4 founding members, all cousins and he was the next Chef in situ begining his residency the next day for 4 weeks.

Jo duly went home and did some research and booked us a table for 3 for lunch today on the last day of his residency.

The lunch menu is very reasonably priced at 2 courses £16.50 / 3 courses £21.50 

Ollie's culinary influences are from Spain where he grew up in the Andalucia region.

The starter was grilled Lamb Heart ( another 1st ), Raf Tomato, Manchego and wild thyme. The tomatoes were out of this world.

The main course was a Swaledale Pork chop, Aubergine Pilaf, with Churasco (a vibrant parsley sauce) Aubergine Pilaf was deliciously smokey and the pork sweet and succulent.

Pudding was Rice Pudding, Rhubarb Jam and Pistachio. Jo wasn't expecting it to be cold, it also had an ice cream on the top. Delicious! 

Each Chef designs their own cocktail which we started off with. 

Che Goose! vodka, Pineapple juice, Whey, Sugar cane with a chilli salt crust. Sort of like a Spanish Margherita and we had a lovely bottle of Verdichio with the meal. The staff were polite and chatty and we shall certainly be going back. 

The food spoke for itself and the menu was still being printed when we arrived. You can't get fresher than that!

It is a fabulous space, not at all pretentious. Light, airy and sparse. 2 long wooden communal dining tables. There is also a big basement and upstairs that can be hired out. They were setting up for a wedding party while we were there.

All in all a lovely way to spend a Saturday with 2 of my favourite people.

Carousel 71 Blandford Street, Marylebone, Lon W1U 8AB

www.carousel-London.com