The River Cafe, Hammersmith

Linguini with broad bean puree, mint and pecorino

If you live in London and like your food, you already know about The River Cafe. The grand Nonna of simple, fresh, seasonal Italian dining in London has launched the careers of several of today's hot chefs. In its day, The River Cafe was revolutionary for its seasonal, twice daily changing menu and open kitchen. Today, it's still all very lovely even if it isn't as memorable for standing out above the fold of the new wave of Italian restaurants in London.

I've been twice now, for dinner in winter a couple of years ago, and for a summery lunch recently with some girlfriends.

Fritto Misto

After a girlishly pink Rossini (Prosecco with crushed strawberries), some antipasti plates were pretty as a picture - light, perfectly crunchy vegetable fritto misto, creamy prosciutto and bright and chirpy asparagus with lush buffalo mozzarella and greeny olive oil.

Prosciutto

Buffalo mozzarella with asparagus & olive oil

My linguini with broad bean puree, cream, mint and pecorino was light and fresh, the pasta cooked just right. However, it did become a bit same same after a few bites. Same goes for the hand cut tagliatelle with a summery pomodoro sauce, although my friend's ravioli stuffed plumply with buffalo ricotta (and with - I think - marinated tomatoes and basil) was probably a highlight among the pastas.

You'll pay through the nose of course because it's The River Cafe (antipasti generally range from £15-£18, pastas at £15 and mains from £32 upwards). And you can't actually see the water from the restaurant, so don't make the schlepp to the middle of nowhere in Hammersmith expecting to have the Thames floating past your seat.

Our sommelier picked a great bottle of white to match our mood, but other than that nothing about the service leaves a lasting impression either way.

It's all very nice. But, as much as the loyalists won't like me saying it, for my money, I prefer Bocca di Lupo, Tinello, Trullo or Zucca. There, I said it.


The River Cafe, Thames Wharf, Rainville Road, Hammersmith, London W6 9HA (Tel: 020 7386 4200)

Hog Roast: The Red Lion & Sun, Highgate

One of my most enjoyable discoveries this year (thanks to Lizzie) would have to be the big, fat, piggy hog roast at the Red Lion & Sun in Highgate.

This gorgeous pub in the far northern hemisphere (SO much leafy greenery - my eyes, my eyes...!) has an outdoor beer garden which can accommodate about 30 people. As we catch our last few mild nights for the year, I heartily recommend it as a place to gather your troops for a pig on a spit, drinks and easy going good times. However, as the air frosts up during the coming months, you can also take over the back area of the pub for your feasting.

Lizzie organised a hog roast bash here for 30 friends recently. Heath Ball, the friendly owner (@Pubhobbit on Twitter), managed to get his hands on a stonklingly good 75kg Gloucester Old Spot for our pleasure. It was basted in bourbon and roasted just to the point of beautifully juicy and tender - I couldn't fault it. Crackling was also top notch, and it comes with oodles of basic side dishes - potato salad, a colourful tomato and basil salad, coleslaw, freshly baked focaccia and - of course - apple sauce.

There was enough for us all to go back for at least seconds.

All this cost us £10 each. Price will depend on the size of the pig and the size of your group, so you can work that out when you call ahead to arrange things.

If pork is not your thing, (1) take a good hard look at yourself, and (2) perhaps try the lamb roast instead. Heath is a Kiwi so I'm tipping he knows his lamb roasts - I'm keen to go back to try it myself.

At this point, you may notice a distinct lack of happy snaps. The distraction? I was busy getting patriotic over the fantastic Australian wines from the D'Arenberg winery in McLaren Vale which were brought along for our group to sample for the evening (thanks Claire). If you want to try some terrific Aussie wines (with quirky names like The Love Grass, Stump Jump, The Hermit Crab), do look out for them. I've always been a fan so it was nice to sip them and remember the rolling vineyards of home....

You can see pictures of the evening taken by others here and here.

The Red Lion & Sun, 25 North Road, Highgate Village, London, N6 4BE (Tel: 020 8340 1780)

Towpath - canal side cafe in Shoreditch(ish)

I'm so glad there's not a camera positioned on my handle bars, filming my facial expressions as I ride around London.

I'm not a natural born cyclist. I'm a foot on solid ground girl. (Don't even get me started on swimming. Although I like floating - especially on the salty Mediterranean where it's easy, and preferably with a cocktail waiting for me on a nearby banana lounge. But I digress). Although exploring London's hidden depths with the wind blowing through my helmet brings me much joy, I know my brow is furrowed like a maniac every time I hear a car advancing at the rear, my teeth clench over every grate and pot hole, my knuckles white with fear every time I whizz past a row of parked cars, just waiting for the day a door will open and 2 hard years of metal braces and bad school photos will come to nothing. 

I have a lot of sympathy for my friend who can't make right turns on a bike so gets around entire cities by always spiralling left. 

So any chance I get to cruise off the main drag in the name of "exploration" is always a secret relief. 

Today, it brought me to a sunny strip of Regent's Canal off Kingsland Road where The Peanut Gallery and I discovered Towpath - an open cafe right on the edge of the canal path.

It serves coffee and simple breakfast and brunch items (toast, porridge, granola, quiches, toasties, olive oil cake). The coffee's not a world beater - it's a bit watery and lacks depth and kick. But still enjoyable if it's not a Monday morning coffee on which your life depends. The toast was nice and came with some home made (slightly runny) marmalade and rhubarb jam.  

Its foodie creators - Lori De Mori (food writer) and Jason Lowe (food photographer) - suggest there might be more here to delight the palate than we discovered, as does the enticing smell of grilled cheese sandwiches wafting over to our table. But it's such a fun and friendly spot to sit outdoors in the sunshine, read the papers and watch cyclists crash into runners against a backdrop of graffiti clad warehouses and passing boats. There's also a bit of cover with a long communal table for those not so summery London moments.

Worth a look if you're cycling by, and need an excuse to rest your clenched jaw. 

Towpath, 42 De Beauvoir Cresent, (Hoxton, Shoreditch, Hackney or one of those places, London, N1 5SB

Tom's Terrace at Somerset House - al fresco dining in London

The absolute best thing about Tom's Terrace is the triple cooked chips with truffle oil and parmesan. Phwoar. Crispy, fluffy, hot, rich and decadent all at once, I would eat them for breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. Dessert. Every day.

Tom's Terrace recently opened on the terrace of Somerset House under the name of Michelin starred chef, Tom Aikens. As a guest of Tom's Terrace - with fellow bloggers, Gourmet Chick, Mathilde's Cuisine, The Graphic Foodie and Ms Marmite Lover - I was lucky enough to meet the man himself, who was just back from running 6 marathons in 5 days across the Sahara dessert (suggesting Tom is completely mentally insane, despite all appearances of being perfectly astute and lovely - at least he can probably eat those truffley chips to his heart's content).

Admittedly, as we sat on the terrace under a canopy, the heaters working overtime on a "crisp" springtime London evening, it did seem that the chefs in their open air kitchen had the best view. This was mine.

More could possibly have been made of the opportunity for Thames watching.

However, it is definitely a funky bar/casual bite destination that is likely to be a popular summer spot among the Central London after work crowd - particularly if the London sun ever revs up (1000 notches) to generate a bit of heat. Until then, wear socks. There was talk among the TT crew of introducing blankets (a great feature of the roof top bar at The Albion in Shoreditch).

The menu is a short offering of straightforward but slightly posh picnic or BBQ nosh. It's surprisingly (but purposefully) simple coming from a Michelin starred chef, so don't go in expecting fireworks (or an outdoor version of Tom's Kitchen at Chelsea) but be prepared to pay over the odds for the privilege in some cases.

After some crispy grissini with a lovely black olive tapenade, guacamole and hummus (£9), Aikens brings us the charcuterie board to start - a tasty mix of creamy foie gras parfait, slices of duck breast, chutney, pork rillette, Bayone ham and thick, crusty slices of toast (£22).

My coronation crab salad (£10.50) is tasty, although ultra rich. A generous layer of crab and mayo topped with toasted almonds sits prettily in a glass on top of shredded lettuce, finely diced tomato, spring onion and a lovely lemony avocado base.

My steak sandwich (£17.50) is an open sandwich of sliced steak nestled upon a thick slice of chargrilled bread, with rocket and a hefty layer of sweet red onion relish which becomes somewhat overpowering half way through. (Excuse the phone photos - the camera had mistakenly found itself in the same long term storage trunk as my sunglasses). The red onion and aubergine "tartine" (£12.50) is almost identical, with aubergine and parmesan simply replacing the steak on the chargrilled bread.

The hot smoked Loch Duart salmon (£17.50) involves a smattering of cold salmon over watercress, with a herb mustard vinaigrette, served on a wooden chopping board. It was missing the soft boiled egg listed on the menu, and the price seems mighty hefty for the volume and skill involved.

My Eton Mess (£8) with blueberries and raspberry coulis was quite nice, although it needed a higher meringue to cream ratio.

Service was friendly, although some of our orders were confused along the way (perhaps an early teething problem). The food is reasonable, although it has its ups and downs, and is sometimes overpriced. Only the thick cut truffle chips with parmesan (£6.50) were particularly memorable.

Bottles of wine start at around £20, and there's a fair selection by the glass at reasonable prices. Cocktails are around £9.50 (the same price as some of my favourite cocktails in London, at Bob Bob Ricard, and so those at Tom's Terrace would do well to compete with them). Bar snacks are also available.

I'm a big fan of dining al fresco, however plenty of warm heaters and blankets are going to be required to make this a comfortable option on most London nights for all except those with the hide of a Siberian husky. Bill's cafe in Brighton apparently offers hot water bottles to customers in winter - love it. Unless Tom's Terrace joins them in this magnificent gesture, take along your own blankie and warm the cockles with some of those delectable truffle chips.

Tom's Terrace, Somerset House, The Strand, London, WC2R 1LA (Ph: 020 7845 4646)