Jemaa el Fnaa - Marrakesh, Morocco

I marvelled at Jemaa el Fnaa square by night. I first arrived in the early afternoon and all I could see were people selling freshly squeezed orange juice, woman offering henna tattoos, and snake charmers.

After a shower and some mint tea at my Riad I headed back to the square. It was utterly transformed. It became one large restaurant. It was filled with the sound of cooking, lots of noisy banter, and smells of freshly cooked meats, vegetables and spices. I thought I was in a different place.

I walked through the numerous food stalls trying to decide what to eat. There were wraps on offer, tagines, couscous concoctions, soups, and even snails. So the choice was endless. I opted for a wrap which was phenomenal. It was filled with Chicken, Vegetables, Salad and my favourite spicy Harissa paste.

If you decide not to partake in the night market there are many more formal and quiet restaurants surrounding it. Some have roof terraces where you can watch the hustle and bustle from above.

I tried both, and both the restaurants and night market served great food, but the action in the market was what I went to Marrakesh for (and I loved it).

Jemaa El Fnaa
10/10
Marrakech
Morocco

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Rick's Cafe - Negril, Jamaica

Rick's is a bit of an institution in Negril. Dare I say a slight tourist trap. I didn't mind, it was actually very fun.

It first opened in 1974 when 'Negril was a sleepy fishing village with little development'. Over the years Rick's has had a few setbacks. First was hurricane Gilbert, which destroyed it entirely in 1988, then came hurricane Ivan in 2004 (even worse). Both times Rick's picked up the pieces, rebuilt, and continued to go strong.

The main reason to go to Rick's is to watch the sunset from high above the cliffs, or watch the jumpers plunge head first into the sea. It's a tourist attraction (they ask for money to see them jump) but it's fun none the less. Their highest platform is 35 feet high, but to be honest I preferred it when the divers jumped directly from the cliff's edge.

Separate to that is the food and extensive cocktail menu. You can get pasta such as Lobster Linguini ($22), or Caribbean Jumbo Shrimp for a cool $18, not to mention the Filet Mignon ($28). If you're in the mood for something lighter you can snack on Buffalo Wings ($8) or perhaps Jerk Chicken Skewers ($7). You can also rent a cabana for the day which would set you back between $125 to $175. This includes a bottle of rum, towels, and an appetiser.

The menu is very Westernized, which proves my point that it mainly caters to tourists. It's not a bad menu, but not authentically Jamaican, and when you head to Jamaica I think authentic is the way to go.

It is interesting that Rick's puts such emphasis on their food. When I went I got the distinct impression that everyone was there for the cocktails, sunset, and cliff jumpers.

It feels a bit like a party when you go, not really an atmosphere I care to eat in, but with that said the food was good, if not quite overpriced.

Rick's Cafe
8/10
West End
(876) 957 0380
www.rickscafejamaica.com


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The Criterion - Piccadilly, London

The Criterion is a long standing English restaurant set in the heart of Piccadilly Circus. It first opened as a theatre in 1870 by caterers Spiers and Pond. Over time it has evolved and grown. These days the Criterion is a bit of an institution, not so much for its food, but more for its celebrity visits and lavish Neo-Byzantine architecture.

It boasts that Winston Churchill and David Lloyd George 'thrashed out their political views' at a table there. Both The Dark Knight and Russell Crowe's film 'The Good Year' shot scenes there (to name a few). More recently I was (embarrasingly) watching The Real Housewives of New York. They too decided to film there and take in that English cliche of afternoon tea. I rest my case. So obvious girls, there are far better places to go to indulge in a cup of tea, scone, and cucumber sandwich.

Food critic James Rayner described it as one of the worst meals of 2010. Hmm, not a great start. 

When I went I had the Buffalo Mozarella with Tomato, Pesto, and a slightly odd tasting Balsamic Jelly (£11). £11 for a bit of cheese and tomato seemed a bit steep, but hey, I wasn't paying. I then had the Sea Bass with Saffron Potatoes, Peas, and Tomatoes (£26). Both of which were average. Nothing special in other words, and certainly not deserving of the price.

What I came to realise thereafter was that you are not paying for the food at The Criterion. You're paying for the experience, and the dated luxury. If you want afternoon tea dipped in English tradition I'd suggest the Ritz, not this place.

The Criterion
5/10
224 Piccadilly
London W1J 9HP
www.criterionrestaurant.com
0207 930 0488

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Doodle Bar/Street Kitchen - Battersea, London

The Doodle Bar is a very interesting place. Once a former dairy warehouse it is now a place that houses a bar and gallery. The bar allows you to 'doodle' all over the walls and tables, the gallery (called Testbed 1) is 'an exciting new avant garde destination for the creative industries, science and artistic individuals in London.' Each week something new is going on here.

When you walk in to this cavernous space you're struck by the immensity of it. An old broken down classic car sits in the back, covered in doodles. A ping pong table if you get bored. Very nice toilets that feel like lavish porta potties (complete with fancy hand wash and atmospheric red lighting). A very funky bar and a huge gallery space beside it. It's very urban and cool.

Next we come to the food. The food is sourced from a business called Street Kitchen. They effectively sell gourmet street food from large funky looking caravans. It was founded by celebrity chef Jun Tanaka and lesser known Mark Jankel. They pride themselves on only using organic ingredients sourced from UK farms, and this does show in their food.

Their menu changes frequently according to the produce available and seasonality. You can choose from things like soft poached eggs with roasted organic squash, crushed potatoes, baby leaf, shaved Winchester cheese, tarragon mayo and rosemary breadcrumbs for a modest £6.50. There's also crispy chicken, mackerel, and slow roasted pork, all of which come with similar accompaniments (nothing over £7.50).

To date they have 3 locations all open from 7pm to 11pm. It's worth a try as they have raised the bar for street food. No greasy or floppy burgers here.

Street Kitchen/Doodle Bar
8/10
33 Parkgate Road
London SW11 4NP
0207 223 7115
www.thedoodlebar.com
www.streetkitchen.co.uk

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St.Moritz Swiss Restaurant - Soho, London

I'd never had fondue before going here. It's not the most obvious of choices when going out to dinner. This was however my birthday and I had previously mentioned to my boyfriend at the time that I always wanted to try it. As a gift we went to St.Moritz. Firstly the ambience was romantic. It felt a little like a place you'd go to after a day of skiing, it was warm, candlelit, and quiet.

We had the Fondue Moitie -Moitie which consisted of melted Gruyere and Vacherin cheese, with potatoes and bread for dipping (£17.90 per person). It was delicious, if not a little filling. The richness of cheese can be overwhelming if you over indulge, and this is certainly a place to do that.

There are lots of other things on the menu (a variety of meats, fish and vegetarian options) but I can't help but ask myself why you'd go to a Swiss fondue restaurant and not have fondue?

St.Moritz
7/10
161 Wardour Street
London W1F 8WJ
www.stmoritz-restaurant.co.uk
0207 434 2889

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VQ24Hours - Fulham, London

This is pretty much one of the only restaurants I know of in London that is open 24 hours a day. I first heard about this place when watching a tv program on Gordon Ramsey where it mentioned that after a long shift his favourite thing to do was head to 24 to get a full English fry up.

My husband and I have been twice. Once at 3 o'clock on a Tuesday afternoon (it was empty), and once at 1am on a Monday. The second time it was half full of sloany people. 'Yah darling' could be heard from all corners, but that's no surprise considering the area. We chose to sit in booths which on both occasions were a little cramped.

There are 2 menus here. One that caters to you from 7am to 11pm and then one from 11pm to 7am. They seem identical at first glance however the difference became clear on our second visit. The day menu is slightly extortionate but the prices on the night menu are heart attack inducing. On both menus you can choose from a selection of different breakfast dishes such as Porridge (£4.50), Kedgeree (£8.95), a full English (£11.95) etc... not to mention a selection of omelettes (£7.95). You can also order burgers, hotdogs, sandwiches, salads, pasta, plates to share, and mains that include fish and chips (£11.95), steak (£17.95), and slow cooked beef ribs (£15.95).

We had the Chilli Dog (£6.50) with a side of Chips. We weren't impressed. Firstly the chips cost us £3 and the portion size was tiny. The hotdog had very little chilli and the sausage they used was a little grainy. On our second visit I had the Chilli con Carne with Rice (£10.50) and my husband had the Veggie Burger with Chips (£9.95). Firstly I could cook a better chilli, it was very mediocre at best and the rice was cold. Secondly the burger was meant to be made from falafel with hummus in it but you couldn't taste it at all. It was both bland and cold. Thank goodness for condiments. A glass of wine set us back £6.50 and the Coke was £3. Moreover they demanded a 'discretionary' service charge of 12.5% and then had the audacity to add another charge of £1.50 per person. Our bill came to a whopping £48, £8 of which were charges.

They say they're a diner but they're not. What they are is a highly overpriced restaurant masquerading as a diner. The only reason people go there is because it's the only place open late. Why else would it have been empty at 3pm when we first went?

Their breakfasts are probably alright (if Gordon says so who am I to say otherwise?), but I certainly wouldn't pay £13.95 for a full English. I'd veer away if you don't want to pay an arm and a leg for highly average and overpriced food.

VQ
325 Fulham Road
4/10

London SW10 9QL

vg24hours.com

0207 376 7224

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The Draft House - Battersea, London

London pubs as we knew them are fast disappearing. They were a place to meet and have a pint, with little emphasis on food and decor. What we have now are gastropubs. These are effectively pubs that are just as interested in the food they serve as the beer they pull, beer almost being a slight afterthought in most cases. At first this was criticised for removing the character of traditional British pubs, now however people have seemingly warmed to them.

The Draft House is a little different. It's a little posh, yes, but it stands out from other gastropubd because it focuses as much on good British food as beer. They pride themselves on their large variety of draft anf bottled beers. If you ask you can taste before you buy. I appreciate the fact the the owner (former journalist Charlie McVeigh) has put as much emphasis on the beer as the food. He must be doing something right as he now owns 5 in total.

We popped in for a snack which ended up being a bit of an odd combination. First we had a Scotch Egg with a side of curried mayonnaise (£3.25), followed by a side of Mac 'n' Cheese (£2.75). The Scotch Egg was delicious. It had a crispy coating with a succulent pork filling. The curried mayonnaise wasn't great however and felt a bit out of place. The Mac 'n' Cheese was also delicious. Creamy, oozy, perfect. My only qualm was that the portion size was tiny. You can get it as main (complete with wild mushroomsl) but I wouldn't pay £8.75 for that. We also nibbled on some foot long scratchings. Nice but nothing special.

All in all I like The Draft House. Their food is good and the ambience quite welcoming. They also offer a variety of set Christmas menus starting from £14 for 10 canapes or the more extravagent 4 course feast for £29.75. So if I don't feel like cooking on the day I may take them up on that.

The Draft House
7/10
74-76 Battersea Bridge Road
London SW11 3AG
westbridge@draft house.co.uk
0207 228 6482

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Wahaca - Soho, London

Wahaca is the brain child of Thomasina Miers, a chef, presenter and writer who rose to fame after winning Masterchef in 2005. 2 years after her win she opened Wahaca in the West End of London.

So what is Wahaca? Well it's described as Mexican-inspired street food. Inspired is a good word to use as I can't wholeheartedly describe it as truly authentic. Slightly over priced for what it is, and possibly a little dumbed down for Western palettes.

They offer street food, which comprises of Tacos, Tostadas, Quesadillas, Taquitos, or a selection of all for £22.50. These are small portions to share, a little like tapas. We shared the Pork Pibil (slow cooked pork in a soft tortilla £3.50). Taquitos, which are deep fried tortillas, rolled to look like a fat cigar and filled with marinated chicken (£4). A Quesadilla filled with chorizo, thyme and potato (£3.75). And lastly some tortilla chips with guacamole (£2.80). All in all it was good, but without the condiments already on the table when we arrived some things would have been a little bland in places. Our favourite out of all was the Pork Pibil.

If sharing isn't your thing then they also offer soups, salads, nibbles and platos fuertes (plates for one). The second time we went we went for the platos fuertes. I had the Pork Pibil plate, comprising of pork with green beans, green rice, courgette and pickled onions (£9). My husband had the marinated Chicken Burrito (£5.50). His Burrito was pretty average and he was a little underwhelmed with the fact it was a bit small. Mine on the other hand was quite substantial. The whole dish was nice, but definitely made better by the addition of the pickled onions, which gave it a lovely tart contrast to the rich pork.

To date there are 9 Wahacas dotted around London, including a mobile restaurant selling burritos, tacos and salads from a van.

Wahaca
7.5/10
www.wahaca.co.uk

Vik's Chaat - Berkeley, California

I first went to Vik's Chaat in 2001 when it was a located in a warehouse in Berkeley. The lovely thing about it was that it wasn't advertised and a little hard to find. Word of mouth is how we stumbled upon it.

As you enter the warehouse you're faced with modest decor (plastic chairs, tables, and sporks, a spoon on one end and fork on the other) but there's something special about the modesty of it all. The food is served in what I call prison plates, because the plate has compartments for each dish. You can pick whichever curries you desire, along with either rice or whatever bread, pastry, pakora, puri etc that they have on offer.

There is no set menu as such, just beautifully authentic food cooked with seasonal fresh ingredients. Chaat means street food, and although you can sit and eat it still has a food on the go vibe.

Since my first visit the restaurant has moved and expanded, however still remains true to what it stood for when it first opened: good honest Indian food at cheap prices.

Vik's Chaat Corner
9.5/10
2390 4th Street
Berkeley, CA 94710
510.644.4432

www.vikschaatcorner.com

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Wagamama - Worlwide

Wagamama was started in 1992 by Alan Yau, a London based restaurateur who subsequently opened Hakkasan and Yauatcha, both of which have been awarded a Michelin star.

I first went to Wagas when it first opened. I was initially taken by the odd canteen like seating. At first it felt a little bizarre to share a bench with total strangers, but I soon got used to it.

The food can best be described as modern Japanese. All orders are communicated to the open kitchen via PDAs. Once you've chosen the waiter writes down your order directly on the paper mat you eat on. The only issue with this form of taking orders is that the food often doesn't arrive at the same time. This bothered me at first but the food was so good and reasonably priced that not only I, but all patrons have seemingly let this small glitch go.

I have a few favourites that I always go back for. The Chilli Chicken Ramen, which is a large bowl of   broth with noodles topped with char-grilled chicken, beansprouts, onions, coriander, chillies and lime (£8.95). This is so warm, hearty and filling. My second favourite is the Chicken Katsu Curry that comprises of deep fried panko chicken, rice and salad, covered in a curry sauce and garnished with pickles (£8.45). If I'm in a lighter mood then I'll have a bowl of sticky rice that I coat in soya sauce, chilli oil and shichimi chilli powder, all of which are already waiting for you on the table. And alongside that a Miso soup with pickles (a cheap lunch for under a fiver).

Of course Wagama has greatly expanded since the first time I visited. The brand has gone global and the menu is far larger, now offering desserts and sushi. The thing though is they've remained true to the dishes they started with way back in 1992.

Find Wagamas all around the UK, USA, Switzerland, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Malta, Cyprus, Greece, Turkey, Australia, Kuwait and the U.A.E.

Wagamama
8.5/10
www.wagamama.com

The Wolseley - Piccadilly, London

If you have a bit of cash to burn then go here. The food is above average, hence the price. The best thing about The Wolseley however is the atmosphere. I've been there twice, once for breakfast, sitting among high faluting business men grabbing a bite before work, and then once for dinner.

Breakfast is an experience at The Wolseley. They have a selection of freshly baked pastries (pistachio and almond twist being my favourite £4.25). Or try the Eggs Benedict (£14), or if you're a little more adventurous then why not the Haggis with Fried Duck Eggs? (£9.25). Or perhaps you've just won the lottery and feel like having the caviar Omelette for £67.

Dinner was ok, I wasn't that happy with my tarragon roasted chicken (£18.75), but I couldn't complain (predominently because I wasn't paying). I did however love the fact the owner named a sandwich after his son (Jonah's Toasted Chocolate Sandwich £5.75).

All in all The Wolseley has managed to creat something a little special here. It's an amalgamation of classic French cuisine mixed with English wit.

It's too expensive to go often, but you should visit once for the theatre of it all.

The Wolseley
9/10
160 Piccadilly
London
W1J 9EB
020 7499 6996

www.thewolseley.com

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Febo - Amsterdam

I was confused when I first saw Febo. I'd never seen anything like it before. Confused because I never eat junk food, but was strangely intrigued by this place. Although it's food on the go it still looked decent. So let me break it down, you're walking down a road in Amsterdam, or possibly heading home after a late night out, you're hungry, everything is closed, too expensive, or you simply don't have time to sit down for a meal. What do you do? One word...Febo

Each shop is pretty identical. They comprise of a what the Dutch call 'automats'. An automat is very much like a vending machine. Choose what takes your fancy, stick in the money, leave with your 4 bites of hot yumminess and continue on your merry way.

It's a great concept, I still can't understand why it hasn't cotton on.

My favourite snack was the deep fried cheese (Kaasouffle €1.50). The Croquettes passed the test, they're normally filled with chicken or beef (also € 1.50). You can also get chicken wings, hamburgers, chips and drinks.

Febo
8/10 
Amsterdam
http://www.febodelekkerste.nl

Margarita Loca - Battersea, London

We'd seen this place a few times and always said we'd give it a go. Maybe it was the colourful decor or party atmosphere that drew us in on a cold Monday night. It was empty, the music was loud so we weren't off to a rockin' start. I can appreciate what the owners were trying to create when they opened this place, a restaurant come bar with a party atmosphere. In reality though it is a little garish (this fact compounded by the large sombrero hats that are on each table). I can imagine people do put them on after having a few too many Caribbean Peach cocktails (£5.95).

This is certainly not a place you'd go to for a romantic dinner, more a lads or girly night out. This fact was realised when I saw that Tuesday is Señorita cocktail night, Sunday is a BBQ fun day, Friday & Saturday a late cocktail night, and on Thursdays happy hour is extended to 8.30pm.

The food was good though. Having read a few reviews before going we decided not to get two mains because of the large portion sizes. So we opted for Beef Nachos (£4.95) followed by a Chicken Chimichanga (£8.95). The Nachos came with a generous amount of Sour Cream and Guacamole, but no coriander to be seen. The Chimichanga came with rice and salad. We also asked for some extra hot sauce, Chipotle based, rather good, and free. All in all the meal was fairly priced, and yes the portion sizes were relatively generous but not overwhelmingly huge. I'd be hard pushed to say the food at Margarita Loca was authentic. It's Mexican and Cuban inspired for sure, but more Mexican-American or Tex-Mex.

The service also left a little to be desired. We had to wait for some time to get our bill, which was confusing as no other customers were in there.

Margarita Loca

6/10 for atmosphere, 7/10 for food

517-519 Battersea Park Road
London SW11 3BN
0207 924 2772

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Butcher & Grill - Battersea, London

Butcher and Grill is a new-ish concept. You can buy top quality meat from very knowlegeable butchers. They also sell herbs, fresh fruit and vegetables each morning. Not to mention a wonderful selection of pastries, cheeses, cured meats, sauces, chutneys and oils.

Step forward and you come to the restaurant. A low key affair where you can sip coffee and eat your breakfast, or if that doesn't suit you then indulge in their lunch promotion (2 courses for £12.95) or go crazy with the a la carte offering for dinner.

Great produce equals great food. Not only can you buy the raw ingredients, but you can eat it there too if you so wish.

So if you fancy a steak for dinner (Sirloin £17.50, fillet £20), a lovely big English for brekkie (£9.95), or indeed smoked haddock with a poached egg and lemon hollandaise (£7.50) then take a minute to consider this place.

Butcher and Grill
9/10
39-41 Parkgate Road
Battersea
London
SW11 4NP
020 7924 3999

www.thebutcherandgrill.com

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