Motcomb Street

Recently I discovered a wonderful little street called Motcomb Street. It's in Knightsbridge in London, just off Cadogan Place and Lowndes Square. On the 6th of July, they're having a traditional British street party which should be amazing! There will be little food stalls and lots of entertainment. I can imagine how good the food stalls are going be based on the fact that the entire street is dotted with little eateries and food shops. Today, I strolled along the length of the street and took photographs of the interesting foods there.

First up is Patisserie Valerie, a wonderful little cafe with branches all over London (and England if I'm not mistaken.. and the world, since I think there's one in Dubai..) but thank God they're not as commercialized and mainstream like Starbucks (which is also on Motcomb Street by the way- but I won't go into reviewing since we all know what Starbucks offers). They have a wonderful nata, or Portuguese custard tart, and the chocolate mousse and hot chocolate are exceptionally good as well.

Next is Ottolenghi. I'm struggling what to call it- it's not exactly a deli- I find it too fancy for that, but it isn't a cafe either since you can't really sit and eat there. Anyways, it's a lovely bright and airy strip of a shop with only the most delicious looking desserts and huge bowls of salads etc.... There's also a wonderfully pre-packed selection of biscuits, cheese straws, cordials, and jams. Last week, I tried a vanilla and blueberry cupcake. The frosting was not heavy and sugary like normal frosting but instead was airy and light- I think it was whipped cream with none other than fresh vanilla seeds. Oh, I love seeing that vanilla seeds have been used in a dessert! Today, I tried a chocolate and hazelnut fudge brownie which I kept in the fridge for a few hours before eating. EPIC.

After that is Rococo Chocolates which is an amazingly creative and quirky chocolate store. I absolutely love the flavours there. Wafers come in flavours like ginger, lime and passionfruit, lavender, basil and Persian lime. The chocolate bars (wonderfully arranged in a lovely round patterm in bright colors) come in equally exotic flavours like Arabic spice, orange, chili pepper, and organic dark. There were even praline and chocolate quail eggs (they looked like quail eggs thank God). They also have a few icecream flavours such as salted caramel which I did not try but can only imagine to be absolutely gastronomically satisfying. 

Right near the end on the left is the Pantechnicon Rooms. Wonderful name, isn't it? Apparently the building in which it's housed in used to be where high society would bring their antiques.. The dining rooms are bright and airy and are wonderfully done up in wood tones and shades of green. And there's a bit of brass there as well, if I'm not mistaken. They have Sunday roasts and most of the menu is non-veg (I'm trying my very very best to go veg and have managed around two weeks if you don't count that little burger in the middle...) but I had a lovely artichoke, broad bean, roast potato, and broccoli salad with a dressing I think was the best I ever had. I also had lovely fresh strawberries with vanilla (seeds!) whipped cream and a lovely cool sugar syrup at the bottom.

There's also a Waitrose on Motcomb Street from where I bought some ingredients and whipped up a mushroom, leek, lemon, basil, and pine nut risotto.

Just off Motcomb Street is Halkin Arcade which is host to Zafferano- a lovely Italian restaurant, Amaya- an equally chic Indian restaurant, and the Terrace which is al fresco dining part of the Jumeirah Lowndes Hotel. The Jumeirah Lowndes Hotel also has Mimosa Restaurant and Bar which is where I got the inspiration for the risotto I made today. 

Hummus starter @ The Terrace

Vanilla Creme Brulee

Mushroom risotto @ Mimosa