The Seafood Bar Spui, Amsterdam

The Seafood Bar has two branches in Amsterdam, we visited the newer Spui branch on a chilly Sunday night. It was near capacity and to our horror I had my dates mixed up and actually reserved a table for the previous night, the host however assured it was fine and they had a table free luckily. The Spui restaurant is huge and split on three levels in a long dining room elevated in the middle and gain towards the back. There is a seafood bar along the side followed by the open kitchen, just walking to the table is a treat as you can eye up your favourite crustacean and fish before being seated.

Selection of oysters - Fines de Normandie no 3, Spéciales Tsarskaya no 3

Fruit de Mer mixed grill - lobster, salmon, prawns, squid, mussels

Fruits de Mer - a mountain of langoustines, lobster, crab salad, king crab legs, razor clams, winkles, clams, mussels, oysters, king prawns

The two tiered seafood feast in all its glory!

I don't ever recall being stuffed to the absolute brim so much that I couldn't finish a seafood meal before, but it happened here as we had to leave some salad and mussels. The sheer mountain of seafood was too much but very good value for money. The whole meal including drinks and service charge came to 120 Euros which is great value compared to anywhere in the UK. The pick of the seafood had to be the mixed grill platter and the crab salad from the cold fruit de mer, but overall it rivalled any other seafood platter that we have tried anywhere. A must visit for seafood lovers in Amsterdam.

www.theseafoodbar.nl

Rex & Mariano, London

Rex & Mariano is the latest venture from the Goodman restaurant group who are also behind the Burger & Lobster mini chain. A seafood restaurant where orders are placed using Ipads sees it only charging 5% for service, a rarity in London where 12.5% and even 13% in places have become standard.

The restaurant is spacious with an open kitchen where diners can observe the dishes being prepared and leaving the pass. The menu contains a selection of raw and cooked seafood with a few vegetable sides also available. Service is rapid with dishes reaching the table within minutes of ordering with the Ipad, therefore ordered a few dishes at a time to enjoy a more leisurely paced meal.

Rock and native oysters with lemon and vinaigrette

Tuna tartare, avocado, chilli, chive, sesame. Nice big diced chunks of tuna livened up by the chilli.

Salmon tartare, parsley, shallot, smoked tomato.

Lobster ceviche, coriander, fennel, yuzu, orange.

Gambero rosso prawns, lemon, olive oil, salt. Red prawns served raw with a cooked version also available. Very enjoyable due to the freshness of the prawns.

Fritto Misto, mixed fried seafood including squid, prawns, whitebait, whitefish with alioli.

Fish of the day, whole grilled lemon sole with a light dusting of flour. Reminds me of how my mum cooks sole.

We enjoyed Rex & Mariano very much with the star dishes being the raw prawns and tartare dishes. A good choice for seafood lovers with reasonable prices and friendly service.

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.

Bob's & Co, London

Bob's & Co is a pop up based upstairs the Rising Sun pub on Carter Lane near St Paul's Cathedral. The pub stands at the very site that Guy Fawkes was said to have met his co-conspirators. We first met the owner Bob during his residency at Borough Market with the Bob's Lobster van which has been very well received this year serving up delicious lobster rolls and lobster mac n cheese. Being big fans of the delightful lobster treats we have followed the van in its travels across the London street food scene at Feast and more recently Street Feast at Hawker House. When we found out about the pop up serving up a wider range of seafood and other treats I was eager to visit.

I started with a mix of grilled and fried oysters. The grilled version with Parmesan cheese were the winners here with the shiso wrapped fried oysters losing some of the fresh oyster sea taste. 

Next up were scallops with caramelised onion, chanterelle mushrooms and lardons. The scallops were beautifully cooked and soft in the middle. The onions added some sweetness which brought the dish together.

Craving lobster mac n cheese I requested a half portion but Bob insisted that I have a full portion. This was packed full of lobster pieces which was nearly a whole lobsters worth! As good as I remember it being.

I was dreading the last dish of shrimp and grits after the mac n cheese but I finished it all eventually. Served with pork belly and polenta puree it was my least favourite dish of the night but it may have been due to me nearing bursting already! The shrimps and pork belly were pleasant but the polenta I wasn't too fond of.

Other dishes I would like to return and try from the menu include confit rabbit and pig cheek tacos. During this service I found out from the front of house team that Bob was running the show in the kitchen single handedly as all the chefs were down. However Bob still found time to make an appearance and talk to everyone to make sure things were ok and generally get to know his customers. The lobster van is one of our favourite street food vendors and Bob's & Co is serving up an interesting menu different in the London dining scene. 

Outlaw's at The Capital, London

Outlaws at The Capital Hotel in Knightsbridge opened at the start of the year and has already been awarded its first Michelin star.  Chef Nathan Outlaw holds two stars at his flagship restaurant in Rock, Cornwall, famous for his seafood cuisine.  Being lovers of fish we had high hopes for his London venture. 

After an eventful trip filled with tube delays and cancellations we arrived a little flustered.  We were soon seated and settled down with the menus and a snack of possibly the best fish cakes we've ever tasted.

We decided to order off the lunch set menu of 3 courses for £25 which was awarded the best value set lunch in the Good Food Guide 2014.  Mrs Nom however couldn't resist the a la carte starter of lobster risotto, orange, basil and lobster dressing and went for that instead of the set choices. The lobster to risotto ratio was near equal which was very welcome and the flavours were new to us but worked very well.  I struggled to get more than a small spoonful off Mrs Nom as she polished the lot off quite fast.

I decided on grey mullet, pickled red cabbage and horseradish yoghurt.  On paper there was a concern that the pickled red cabbage and horseradish would overpower the fish. However the dish was surprisingly light with well matched flavours and perfectly cooked mullet, flaking and moist.  We were offered cornish flatbread and a cheese and rosemary bread with our starters which went down well and they generously brought us another portion to mop up the lobster dressing.

For the main course I chose the plaice with leeks, potatoes and anchovy dressing. The presentation was very appetising, the plaice had a nice crust to with nicely cooked leeks. The subtle anchovy dressing bought it all together.

Mrs Nom had the hake, lettuce and warm tarture sauce.  Again the fish was expertly cooked, if I had my fish this well cooked every time I would be a very happy bunny.  This reminded me of a posh fish and chips with the capers in the sauce adding some tang. However the lettuce felt it bit mismatched on the plate in our opinion.

Originally we planned to share a dessert but Mrs Nom wanted both the banana sponge, sugared pistachios & coffee ice cream and lemon posset, pomegranate, gold raisins & figs. I wasn't expecting to be blown away but the desserts certainly delivered matching the standards of the other courses.  Mrs Nom was making mmmm noises as she was in dessert heaven. Simple sounding but executed well, the banana sponge was baked just right, the additive pistachios added crunch with the coffee ice cream being delightful and a great cooling contrast. The lemon posset with little meringues was tangy and delivered great citrus notes.

The service at Outlaw's at the Capital was efficient and as you would expect for a 1 Michelin star restaurant.  The clientele was a mix of casual hotel guests to the suited and booted and no one looked out of place.  We were given one extra surprise when we were presented with petit fours of mini treacle tarts and chocolate truffles with the bill.

At just over £60 including service and a drink each for the whole lunch it was extremely good value for the quality and little extras. This was after using the Grub Club card which gave us a 10% discount from the Outlaws website.  Judging by the quality of the set menu which sometimes can be a mixed bag, not the case here, we are eager to return to try the a la carte menu.  Maybe even a trip to Cornwall is on the cards to sample Nathan Outlaws flagship restaurant.

Italian Club Fish, Liverpool

Mrs Nom was having one of her cravings for oysters again so we decided to call the trusty Italian Club Fish to enquire if they had any left on a busy day in Liverpool City Centre with Brazilica and Pirate Ships being the main attractions.  They did and so we made our way.  Having visited a number of times before the seafood is some of the best that Liverpool has to offer in our opinion.

We decided to order a selection of dishes to share rather than the usual starters and mains.  The oysters as usual were slippery blobs of goodness washed down with shallot vinegar and the natural juices.  The specials included another of our favourites, razor clams which were cooked with chilli so we had to choose that along with sauté di Maurizio, a sauté of clams, mussels, cockles, white fish, parleys, cherry tomatoes & toasted ciabatta.  We supplemented this with a pasta dish, Fettuccine Italian Club Fish, homemade egg fettuccine with salmon, porcini mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, white wine & a dash of cream. 

The razor clams were extremely well cooked and were meaty yet not tough which showed skill.  The accompaniments were basic with some token rocket but the razor clams didn’t need it and spoke for themselves.  Next time when we call up it will be enquiring for both oysters and the razor clams!  The fettuccine was just the right consistency and made a mockery of the Tesco version I had a few days previously.  It’s hard to go wrong with the sauté and we soon polished it off, although the toasted ciabatta was a bit tough to bite into.  Mrs Nom noticed Irn Bru on the drinks menu and it seemed fitting to have this reminding us of our childhood days.

The group of restaurants also includes the Italian Club and Italian Club Pizza, the only one we need to visit to achieve the trifecta being the Italian Club.  Although we are always swayed towards Club Fish, due to our taste for seafood.  The arancini from Club Pizza is worth the visit alone, a mammoth ball of deep fired risotto, we had this with a pulled pork pizza which was unusual and benefited from the wood fired oven.