Happy belated New Year to all! As ever, my work schedule has meant I have not been out anywhere hence the lack of posts! I did manage to finally get out into the world last weekend. It started with a very cultural morning of short films at the Curzon in Soho. From there we decided to attempt the impossible: find food that was not Chinese in China Town! Remarkably we found a lovely Vietnamese place and enjoyed huge bowls of noodle soup with tofu and vegetables; all very healthy and virtuous. As we were so impressed by our cultured path so far that day we decided to continue on to the National Portrait Gallery. After taking in the art we headed upstairs for a glass of prosecco in the restaurant, whilst watching the sunset over London...well that was the plan but it was rammed! It is such a lovely restaurant though; I highly recommend it. The price is really good value, especially the set menu, it has the best cheese board I have ever had, and the views across London are breath-taking. The service is pretty stiff but it does the job.
So the next plan was to head over to Sketch and have some early drinks in their bar. We made our way in that direction, cutting up to Carnaby Street. We then remembered that the Arts Theatre club was there on Frith Street and how much we love it there...but it was not open...by now we were getting desperate and couldn't face walking on to sketch without one drink inside us!
We decided to just go into this place on the opposite side of the road called 'Franny's Pop Up' for a quick drink before moving on, as we weren't to sure what to make of it from the outside. Well what a lovely surprise it turned out to be! We entered thinking we would be told we couldn't have a table just for drinks, but the warm reception from the staff who assured us we could just drink eased us instantly. The bubbly waiter pulled up a chair, cheekily suggesting he might join us - he was very personable and just the right side of casual with us and upsold 3 shots of some concuction within moments due to his charm. We ordered a bottle of prosecco costing....wait for it...£21! It was dry, hints of apple, lots of fizz - what more could we ask for! The food coming to the tables around us looked great: big stonebaked pizza's and huge bowls of pasta, again ridiculously cheap considering we were in central Soho, and that the food was of a very high quality. The decor is really nice, it is kind of 1950's seaside caravan in style, with kitsch touches all over. I felt like I was in a trendy student hang out in Brighton rather than middle of London. We had some olives, fries, fried courgette, and calamari to nibble on. We were assured several times that they did not need the table back for reservations. The staff were always there the moment we needed something and yet we never felt pressurised to keep ordering. The half price happy hour cocktails were palatable and made very well - they only do a handful of classics, but for the style of the place I think it is all you should expect (head back across the road to The Arts Theatre club for more exotic cocktail offerings). We left very happy, with our wallets still full of money because everything was so cheap. All the staff said goodbye as we left. There was an absolute genuineness of the service that was a real joy to experience and I will be going back before it closes for a refurb in March for sure - I believe they have a quiz night of 1st February...get that bottle of prosecco on ice Franny!
And for all those curious as to why I refuse to take photo's of the food and split my writing with these images, food writers in magazines never have them and I don't intend to either! I hope my words paint a clear enough picture for you. If not, you'll just have to head down to the restaurant yourselves!
