Lima Floral, London

We recently found ourselves wanting a light dinner following an epic lunch at Gymkhana earlier on in the day. Trying to think of a few seafood places we were wondering around Covent Garden and popped across Lima Floral on Floral Street which opened last month and is the younger sibling of the Michelin starred Lima in Fitzrovia on Rathbone Place. The cuisine is Peruvian and not having tried ceviche before it seemed the perfect candidate for a light meal.

We chanced our luck at a table in the main dining area but as expected at 8pm on a Friday night it was fully booked and heaving. Although luck would have it that they had a downstairs bar area serving piqueos, tapas sized dishes which were even better for our appetite as well as scoring a comfy booth.

The menu is split between five sections, we ordered a selection from each of them to try a variety of different dishes. From the tiraditos part we tried salmon with yellow chilli pepper and camote chips. 

From the causas section we chose tuna with Amazonian cashew, blue potato, and uchucuta. A very pretty dish with striking colours, matched with delicate flavours.

We started with sea bream ceviche with yellow tiger’s milk from the ceviches section and this quickly became our favourite. The tiger’s milk and dash of lime lifted chunks of sea bream, a very refreshing dish. We enjoyed it so much that we ordered another ceviche dish of scallops, heirloom and tree tomatoes. Whilst not hitting the heights of the sea bream ceviche flavour combinations it was still good, although a little small even for tapas sizes.

From the antichuchos skewers part we had veal heart with anticucho marinade. The veal hearts were grilled very well and not over done which could make them too tough to eat.

Finally from the tostadas section we chose octopus with botija olives, annatto cream and red shiso. My one gripe with tostadas is that they are fiddly to eat and I usually end up picking at the topping and then eating the crispy tortilla separately. The flavours were once again on point and complimented each other, the flavour combinations from nearly all of the dishes were new to me but I am now definitely a fan of Peruvian cuisine.

To wash down the exquisite food we had to have a classic pisco with lime, sugar, egg white and angostura bitter. These go down quick! Overall, despite it being early days it is a great place for a quick pre-theatre nibble or light meal and drinks with dishes ranging from £5.50 - £8. Next on our list is to try the full a la carte.

Angler, London

Angler was a surprise recipient of a Michelin Star last September, a seafood restaurant quietly going about its business. It is based on the top floor of the South Place Hotel in Moorgate and attracts the local City workers judging from the clientele during our visit. The dining area is long and narrow and it is a shame that the window side currently overlooks a building site across the road so there is not much of a view. Anyway back to the purpose of this post and the blog, being the food. We were presented with a cheese nibble as we browsed the menus which reminded me of mini cheddars. 

For starters the sauteed langoustines jumped out at me, served with slow cooked lamb breast, asparagus tip and puree. The dish was beautifully presented and I couldn't help but notice the plate which was familiar and also used by Aiden Byrne at Manchester House. The langoustines were plump and the star of the dish, the lamb breast had a slow braised Asian style in turns of flavour.

We ordered from both the a la carte and set dinner menus which at £25/£30 for 2/3 courses with no restrictions seems a steal. My dining partner chose sauteed lamb sweetbreads, mint jelly, peas and cured ham.

Not knowing if I would ever get the chance to return given the huge number of restaurants on my to do list I pushed the boat out with the main and picked the roasted turbot with a ragout of squid, fennel puree and sea purslane. The generous fillet from the 'King of the Sea' was firm and meaty as it should be, however I couldn't help but think the dish needed another veg element. The serving of squid ragout under the turbot was too much and fatigue set in with the chewy texture towards the end of the dish.

Loch Var salmon, soft olive crust, braised gem lettuce, spring vegetable nage.

Yoghurt and honey parfait, gariguette and wild strawberries, lemon curd, not as sweet as anticipated with the honey struggling to come through but a fresh refreshing dessert overall.

The pick of the desserts came from the set menu, sticky prune pudding, bergamot marmalade and brown butter ice cream. A sticky yet not stodgy pudding with an ideal foil in the smooth ice cream, could eat a bucket load of this!

Some petit fours to finish included hot pistachio and marzipan cakes and a chocolate toffee.