Kopapa

Crispy soft-shell crab and ham hock, pickled carrot, lychee, cucumber and peanut dressing (artist's impression)

I've been meaning to visit Kopapa since it opened a year or so back to positive reviews from food blogs. It went on the backburner until November when I started working at Gilda's Tryst across the road but it's taken me another 6 or so months to finally check it out.

The place has become quite well known for its brunch offerings but yesterday I was there for dinner. I shut up the shop at seven and headed across the road to meet my friends. Despite the early hour there was already a nice buzz in the simply decorated room, lined on one side by a well stocked bar, and the few tables outside were filled as the evening was quite balmy.

The menu is broken up into bar snacks, sharing platters, small and large plates. We decided to get a selection of tapas-style small plates to share. We started with the lamb ribs which were wonderful; floppy strips of unctously fatty meat in a deliciously savoury pomegranate sauce with sour cream that I enthusiastically mopped up with the bread we had ordered. A note here about the olives we got to go with the bread; plump with a sprinkling of aniseed-y caraway seeds - I can imagine happily munching my way through a bowl of these at the bar.

By this time my already high expectations were ramped up further and I had the burden on my shoulders of having recommended the venue so the rest of the dishes had to deliver.

Out came a procession of lovely looking dishes. Miso English asparagus with fennel salad was a disappointment for me as asparagus is one of my favourite things this time of year and I found these (few!) spears to be uninspiring and watery, the miso sauce was in itself very pleasant with a lovely foamy texture but entirely overpowered the delicate greens while the heap of sliced fennel felt like an afterthought.  Warm individual potato, pepper, caramelised onion, spinach and feta tortilla with black olive dressing was enjoyable and hearty but quite unmemorable for me. The Spring rolls of slow roasted duck, Sichuan pepper, feta and guindilla chillies, tamarind aioli  were stuffed with soft duck and the wrapping had a nice crunch, the sauce had a nice zingy acidity but again I found it a bit harsh for the roll's filling The absolute stand out dish for me was the  Crispy soft-shell crab and ham hock, pickled carrot, lychee, cucumber and peanut dressing, the two sections of crab legs had beautiful sweet flesh but it was the salad beneath that was the real star for me. There was a flavour to it that I couldn't quite put my finger on when eating which must have been the pickled carrot and lychee. With crispy bacon, peanuts and more sweet nuggets of crab bathed in a zesty, slightly sour sauce I couldn't get enough of it. It is perfect for summer and a generous portion so on a hot day I can imagine this sufficing as a light lunch. Both of dining partners weren't too enamoured with it so I quite happily polished off the whole plate.

Overall Kopapa makes a great place for a relaxed dinner with friends. Not all of the dishes we tried were  spectacular but there were enough good ones to make me want to go back. The bill for three of us for five small plates, bread, olives and a carafe of wine came to about seventy pounds and we felt quite full from this as the majority of the plates are a decent size. Not bargain of the month but that is something one often finds with tapas-style meals and it's worth it to be able to try a great variety of foods without having to steal it off people's plates!

The Admiral Codrington

I hope everyone has enjoyed the Jubilee Weekend. I'm not the biggest patriot but seeing everyone out celebrating despite the miserable weather is really heart warming. On Sunday I went to the Jubilee Festival at Battersea Park where I was lucky enough to bag a spot on the river right opposite the Royal Barge so I was eyeballing the Queen for a good while as the flotilla passed. Yesterday was much more chilled and a lovely opportunity to spend some quality time with my other half. We wandered to the Mall from my flat taking in some shops on the way to take in the atmosphere of all the people out to watch the concert on big screens there before heading down though St James Park towards Victoria. The evening was unexpectedly beautiful, the skies were clear and crossing the bridge I couldn't resist taking a photo of the view down the river to the Union Jack flying high despite the security lady telling people not to stop for photos.

By the time we got to the south side of the park we had been walking for hour and were feeling pretty peckish. The Admiral Codrington came to mind as it has been mentioned so much on food blogs recently so we set off towards Chelsea.

The pub itself is a little off the beaten track and the exterior seemed a little unprepossessing as it is set halfway down a residential street. Our concerns were proven to be unfounded as soon as we entered the building. At the front is a traditionally dark bar area with lots of squishy sofas and cozy nooks which leads though to a wonderfully light and fresh dining room with an open hatch to the kitchens meaning it is filled with the wonderful aromas of cooking. As we sat perusing the menu of quite traditional British offerings we were constantly tempted by the plates of food going past, in particular the steak and the fish & chips.

To get things going we ordered some Pork Crackling with apple sauce and Welsh Rarebit to start with. I found the Crackling a little disappointing as it was just crispy with little of the unctuous fattiness that I enjoy with a good roast although I still happily munched though the lot. The rarebit was much more successful; a single slice of bread oozing with cheese and mustard.

For mains there was no question - we both went for the Cheeseburger made with O'Shea beef, rare, to see if a £15 burger could stand up to the hype. This was a satisfying hunk of meat, beautifully pink and juicy in the middle, that came encased in a smooth, shiny brioche bun with zingy pickles and a slice of classic orange burger cheese. The meat, oh that meat, a rich, slightly smokey flavour from the charred exterior and a smooth almost buttery interior made it quite clear why the meat from this butchers is so famed. The bun was a good thickness that it absorbed the burger's moistness without being to claggy in the mouth. The accompanying chips were pleasant although they didn't have as much crispness as I would liked, however they were still enjoyable, particularly when slathered with the house's home-made mustard-mayo which was quite wonderful.

The service throughout was friendly and efficient and the dining room had a lovely warm atmosphere, although it was not as full as I had expected for a bank holiday weekend. The pricing isn't the most reasonable but we didn't feel robbed, for a bottle of house red, two starters and mains we paid £30 per head. All in all a lovely, relaxed place to unwind over a hearty meal or even to nurse a drink or two in the bar.