Notorious Foodie

Always in the mood for Persian food @berenjaklondon 🇮🇷
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This has got to be their best one yet. A beautiful dining room across the ground floor, with a few tables outside and a cosy PDR + open kitchen downstairs.

The menu here feels bigger and well rounded with lots of lunch time specials + plenty of new dishes nestled in between the classics.

The silkiest black chickpea hummus, chicken Olivieh, and the non-negotiable chicken wings all still deliver. The Olivieh is still my favourite starter with all those pickles. From the newer dishes, the tahdig with a rich, slow-cooked ox cheek curry was killer. Super crispy and moreish with the most tender, well seasoned meat. Chicken dumplings with saffron were excellent too, as were the lamb sambusek.

The grills are always solid too, but the new double lamb chops stole it this time. Huge, well-charred and nicely pink inside. Similar to those at Gymkhana, but completely different flavour profile with the charred Iranian spices.

Chocolate sorbet to finish was ridiculous. Intense, smooth, and properly dairy-free. Sadly I think this was a rotating special - but hopefully they make it a permanent fixture.

Very easy place to over-order. Go hungry. Less

Suadero @taqueria_elprimo_dubai 🌮🇲🇽
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Great little taco spot in Dubai, led by Mexican-born chef @jon_collin , who’s brought an authentic taste of Mexican street food to jumeirah.

Very good guacamole, a tight selection of sauces and a menu that knows exactly what it’s trying to be. My favourites here are the suadero - black Angus brisket slow cooked for 24 hours, chopped and finished simply with diced onion, coriander and house sauce. No heat added by default; you build heat yourself at the table, exactly how it should be.

Their Corn tortillas are soft, warm and properly structured. Always the difference between a decent taco and a great one.

The oxtail birria and consome is rich and deeply spiced, layered with dried chillies and proper depth - the kind you’d expect from a traditional style birria, not an over-Americanised version. Queso fundido is a must too, especially if you load up their flour tortillas with a little charred jalapeno salsa.

And the churros with soft serve? Big win. Seemingly simple, but executed properly.

The vibe is casual here: red-and-white tiles, open kitchen and tacos assembled over a hot flat top right in view. A nice neighbourhood taquería energy rather than a polished gimmick. This is a great addition to the Dubai scene. Less

Another day, another beautiful chuletón @charrua_madrid 🥩🔥

I’ve been to a lot of great restaurants over the years, but very few come close to Charrúa when it comes to the vibe and ambience. The space is split into two super cool, dimly lit dining rooms, each centred around an open fire grill. Tables are either perched on raised mezzanines or set on the ground level, giving it real depth and theatre. It’s a stunning set up!

As for the food, it’s all about wood fire. Seafood, meat and vegetables cooked over embers. We ordered a good mix - the Charrúa Selection Chuletón Vaca Gallega, melted provolone, cecina, turbot + lots of sides and starters.

Everything was good, but nothing quite blew me away - especially having hit some similar spots across the week.

The chuletón here had great flavour but was slightly chewy and tough. The turbot was a touch over but loved the garlic and smoke running through it. Starters and sides were strong across the board.

For wine, a young, velvety bottle of @bodegasvegasicilia Valbuena 2020, a beauty!

I’d absolutely go back - love the place and the energy. It may just have been one of those nights where the mains missed the mark slightly. Still a killer spot. Definitely recommend. Less

One of my favourites @restaurante_filandon 🤌🏽♥️🇪🇸
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Thought I’d film a little POV of lunch the other day at Filandón in Madrid. Love this place and captured what I could whilst eating. With 650+ covers it’s not a small restaurant, but somehow they still manage to make it feel intimate and homely.

Did a quick lap of the room and locked in the order pretty fast after seeing all the sharing plates and tapas landing on tables. Spanish classics done their way.

We started with lots of @cincojotas jamón Ibérico and crystal tomato bread, juicy clams from Carril, vegetables from the parrilla and an incredible akami tuna with onion, soy and fried quail egg. The tuna was phenomenal - sweet, salty and acidic in perfect balance, with the rich yolk bringing it all together. Couldn’t get over how good this was. I love Cinco jotas too.

For mains: Wagyu chuletón, arroz carabinero, and arroz with Iberian rib and Jamón Ibérico. The rice here is exactly how I like it - dry, deeply reduced, crispy at the base and packed with flavour. Intense, savoury and with a proper chewy texture from the reduction.

For me, the winner was the Ibérico arroz. Super meaty, ribs falling off the bone and so much depth in each bite. The red prawns were delicious too. To be honest, I liked most of what came out; including the chuleton that had a lovely crust.

It’s a big menu, so go with a group and order well. Top!! Less

A lovely lunch at @estimarzafra @rafazafra_ _ 🇪🇸🐠
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If you’re into serious seafood, this Madrid spot is a must. A beautiful display of produce on arrival and an ever changing selection that follows the seasons.

Chef Rafa, also behind my favourite @casajondal, is at the helm here. The snacks and starters were excellent - beautifully plated anchovies, grilled bread with caviar, langoustine carpaccio, and a goose barnacle bite that set the tone.

When the seafood is this good, there’s very little you need to do. But it’s the precision and balance in the pairings that really make the ingredients sing. Much of the cooking passes through the @josperofficial ovens and grills, giving the plates that signature char and gentle smokiness.

Tasty, refined food in a clean, understated setting.
Sit at the kitchen table if you can Less

Rubia Gallega ‘Bikini’ from @restauranteamos @rosewoodvillamagna @rosewoodhotels @_jesussanchez 😮‍💨🥩
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This was a crazy bite. The bikini originated in Barcelona but is hugely popular across Spain - didn’t realise until I got to Madrid. This version takes things to another level, with an ingredient selection and level of refinement far above the norm.

Super flakey croissant bread, toasted in clarified butter and Galician beef fat. Briefly pan-seared Rubia Gallega beef tenderloin, served medium. Granja La Sierra cheese from the very same cow, melted beautifully over the top. Confit chocolate peppers and anchovy mayonnaise to finish.

It’s properly indulgent and rich. The anchovy mayo and beef fat hit immediately with deep umami, while the croissant bread is buttery, flakey and seriously moreish.

It’s a sandwich that’ll either put you to sleep or give you enough energy to get you through the day. Wild! Less

The incredible Turbot Pil Pil from @estimarzafra , Madrid 🇪🇸🔥
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Easily my favourite fish when made like this. There’s something really special about a restaurant that can truly nail this sauce. It’s ultra-simple on paper, but properly technical in practice.

At Estimar they grill the turbot for just a few minutes in the Josper, before resting it and finishing it gently so all the natural juices collect in the tray. Turbot is incredibly rich in collagen and as it cooks, that collagen converts into gelatin. It’s this gelatin that is emulsified with the fish juices and olive oil to create a super cohesive, naturally creamy, silky-smooth sauce. Nothing quite like it.

Clean, sweet turbot, deep olive oil richness, gentle garlic warmth, subtle chilli heat. It’s a crazy bite. Meaty, buttery, with a beautiful light char.

Had lots of bites here but this was the star. More on Estimar this week. NF x Less

Decisions decisions @restaurante_lana 😍🥩🔥
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An incredible lunch at Lana in Madrid. Voted #8 best steak restaurant in the world and what a selection they had. Lots of options here, but knew I was in good hands and told them to select their favourites. The Wagyu cecina was amazing, super soft and melting on the plate - this beef was so delicately sliced and translucent. Amazing flavour.

Ordered the grilled sweetbreads with caviar as a starter as recommended by Martin - what a dish. At Lana, they don’t over complicate. Super fine ingredients that do all the talking. The sweetbreads were like butter - crispy, juicy and clean in flavour. A good way to warm up for the Argentinian prime ribeye and strip from La Pampa that they brought out shortly after.

My favourite was the rib cap - perfectly crusted and smokey. Juicy and nicely dry-aged with a deep red colour. Only a touch of salt and this beef was perfect. For me the rib cap beat the strip despite the lower marbling. If you like beef, this restaurant is a must visit. An exclusively Argentinian wine list with lots of choice too. Highly recommend. Be back soon! NF x Less