CZECHOSLOVAKIA

Czech Club Restaurant

74 West End Lane
West Hampstead
London NW6 2LX

0207 372 1193

1 Potato pancake

1 Roll mop

1 Cream, cabbage, sausage soup

1/2 Goulash + dumplings

1/2 Wild boar + dumplings

1/2 Goose + Fried potatoes

Our London Czechoslovakian experience was surreal to say the least. Though incredibly enjoyable. It has been my favourite to date in this process of eating the whole world (in London). 

We entered what could have easily been a movie set. It felt Czech, well how I imagine Czech things to look like. The large house which homes this restaurant is also used as quirky Czech bar and hotel. It seems to be a meeting point for Czechs to come and hang out, so we were certain we'd be served up something authentic (whether good or bad was uncertain). The place had a worn feel to it, we knew that it was steeped in stories; Czech poker nights, romances, affairs, scandal, debates over dinner about military coups, lovely! 

The contrast of simple well used wooden chairs, to that of golden framed grandiose paintings of people who appeared to be sergeants of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was amazing. 

Now onto the food, the setting was so good that we would've been happy just having a beer and breathing in all that Czech-ness. Now on to the food, we really were transported to some other dimension which felt far far away from London. Oh, it is hard to forget the surreal setting and speak about the food though it does deserve a mention - it was rich and flavoursome. The dumplings were slightly overwhelming, they are big slices of bread as opposed to what you may expect from dumplings, don't over order on that front. The boar went down a treat. The best way to try a variety of dishes without falling into a food coma is to go down the half portion options. Půvabný - Lovely.

Go go go go go go. Neda

Atmosphere - 9/10
Food - 8/10
Value for money - 8/10
Service - 8/10
Decor - 9/10

BURMA

DAMN YOU BURMA


MANDALAY WAS CLOSED

ANDORRA

Andorra. This is going to be a hard country - only 80,000 odd people live there.

Wrote to the Embassy in October but still haven't heard anything back.

Just sent another email, a polite prod.

Hopefully we'll be eating trinxat, xai and coques very soon.

Com'on Andorra.

To: andorra.embassayuk@btopenworld.com

Hi again, Wonder if you can help. My girlfriend and I are trying to eat a meal from every country in the world without leaving London. Have a look at our blog, early days but Andorra being an 'A' country is high on our current wish list. http://cuisine-jamming.blogspot.com/ We're still searching for a Andorran restaurant or cafe in London, or even someone who works in an restaurant that could cook us a meal. Any leads would be greatly appreciated.

J and Neda

ITALY

Due Amici 

11 Royal Parade

Chislehurst, London BR1 7NR

0208 467 4496

Neda vs Emma

Battered, blood drawn, aching and half here and half on planet ouch we put aside our memories of the paint-balling war only after a matter of hours and dragged ourselves out to eat.  All for the crucial cause to provide our readers a speedy review of where to get authentic Italian cuisine in London. 

From the off set we could see olives, overly expressive gestures and an abundance of food, perfecto. I'd very much like to say that the decor fitted into the charming-eclectic category but it looked a bit like an 18 year old girls bedroom. A random black and white poster of legs blue-tacked on a wall. Some coco cola memorabilia dotted around the place, nonsensical beach side postcards draped across furniture (photo below), bad water paintings that even your auntie would steer clear of and the crowning glory was the framed signed English football posters on the walls. Then behind us was what appeared to be stock; boxes upon boxes of biscotti (in their defence they were neatly arranged). I have to backtrack slightly, the overall feel of the place was elegant, however on closer observation these funny elements popped out at us. 

The highlight of this restaurant was above all else the staff, they were friendly and oozed italian charm. They were all sexy grey haired men who flashed ian their shiny whites when we asked for a photo (below). 

The grub was hot, the service was good, though the food wasn't anything spectacular. I'd recommend going for the seafood, the whitebait was gorgeous. Don't overdo the mains, save room for desert, as the desert options looked magnificently superior to the mains. If you live in south east london then a visit to Due Amici in Chislehurst village is worthwhile, if you don't live in south east london then I wouldn't break a sweat getting there. 

Emma won the eating contest.

Neda 

Atmosphere - 7/10

Service - 9/10

Food - 6/10

Decor - 6/10

Value for money - 5/10

FRANCE

1 Calamari

1 Monkfish/Prawn Kebab

1 Guinea Fowl in Cranberry sauce

Sacre Coeur

18 Theberton St,

Islington, London. N1 0QX

020 7354 2618

France an 'F', but not the way we wanted to cross it off.The food was okay. The staff was okay. The place was okay.The highlight was the two bottles Kronenburg, which were as good as any bottle of Kronenberg I've had anywhere in the world.

F'in average.

Us 2 REST OF THE WORLD 193.

AUSTRIA

1 Goulash & 1/2 Fondue & Beers

Tiroler
27 Westbourne Grove London W2 4UA
by Queensway tube

We never manage to eat before 10pm. Tonight is no different, we arrive at Tiroler at 10:15 and it definitely feels like we’ve crashed a party late, a weird party, a Disneyland Après ski karaoke party. Lederhosen, giants litre beers, bell ringing, a Japanese guy singing in Italian and drunk guys dancing to Zorba the Greek. It’s fun and we like it. The food okay too, the Goulash could do with being spicier, but it’s good warm home cooked stuff and the fondue, well the fondue is a melted block of cheese, awesome. The first ‘A’ eaten, a strike on our list. Us 1 REST OF THE WORLD 194.