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18th September 1970, Page 154

18th September 1970

Page 154

Page 157

Page 154, 18th September 1970 — earls7n

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Keywords : Meals, Gastronomy, Royal Borough Of Kensington And Chelsea, Lunch, Earls Court, Public House, Cover Charge, English Cuisine, West Brompton, Dinner, Hospitality / Recreation

court /U WHERE TO EAT

AROUND EARLS COURT

by Bob Holliday

drawings by Charles Mislaid

"IT'S HIGH TIME we had something to eat. Where shall we go?"

How often will words to that effect be repeated during Commercial Motor Show-time? For Londoners who know their way around the answer probably presents no problem. Someone will say: "I know a marvellous little place in Greek Street", and off they go.

But a high proportion of the people at the Show will be comparative strangers in town, not only among the paying public but also among the exhibitors' own personnel— representatives and company executives who have been temporarily posted to London to man the stands; busy folk not inclined to go exploring and experimenting in the crowded West End.

And they don't need to. Within five to 15 minutes' walk of the Exhibition there exists such a concentration of widely differing restaurants that even Soho can hardly match it. Since Earls Court gained fame as "Kangaroo Valley" it has become one of the most cosmopolitan districts in the Metropolis, and to feed its multiracial migrants there has grown up a complex of eating-places so varied that people from practically anywhere can find the products of their own lands—from 100-year-old Chinese eggs to Mexican jumping beans!

Leave the Show by the Warwick Road doors, cross the street and turn right. First on the left is Penywern Road where, on the basement floor, is the Original Pot. It's a cheerfully small place and it offers perhaps the best value you'll find anywhere about. There is a daily speciality, with fish predominating. A three-course meal with coffee will cost about 10s including service—for example pate 2s, chicken casserole 4s 9d, fresh fruit salad and cream 2s. Paella (9s) is a Saturday lunch-time dish. Seats 40, bistro-style, no cover charge, no licence but no corkage. Lunch noon to 2.30 pm; dinner 5.15 to 10.30 pm. Not open Sundays.

At the extremity of Penywern Road is Earls Court Road, packed from end to end with pubs, off licences and restaurants. Turning left, 100 yards or so past the Underground stands, at No. 166, the first-class house of Ywn Sing, a member of the Sun Chinese Restaurant Enterprise. The authentic Cantonese food is served in a restful "oriental" room seating 50. As well as the usual set meals for parties of two, three or four, ranging from 19s to 22s 6d, there is an extensive it la carte menu (chop suey 12s 3d) and a good list of wines, spirits and lager beer. Cover charge Is 6d. Open from 6 pm to 2 am Mondays to Fridays, noon to 2 am Saturdays and noon to midnight Sundays. Telephone 373 6646.

On the other side of the street is one of the oldest established restaurants in the area, 11 Paoli) di Siena. Though essentially Italian, it caters well for English tastes, favourites with regulars being duckling with orange sauce and trout served with capers and prawns. There is a small cover charge, a cocktail bar upstairs, a full licence and a wandering minstrel. Open almost all day, last orders are taken at 11.45 pm. Telephone 373 8060.

Close at hand is the Yodelling Sausage, a German-Swiss establishment specializing in Teutonic dishes such as Bratwurst, Leberwurst and Blutswurst which, mit Bratkartoffeln und Sauerkraut, cost between 6s 9d and 7s 6c1. Vienerschnitzel mit Garnitur is lls bd and Alpine beer is served in litre mugs at 6s a pint. Open 6 to II pm. Cover charge 2s bd includes bread and butter.

Also nearby is Kenway Road and on its northern side at No. 7 is one of West London's best fish and chip shops, the HI-Tide. Highspeed service at about 2s 9d a platter. Below is Neptune's Kitchen, with a sub-marine decor of shells, seine nets and seaweed; general menu with the accent on sea-food. Open till 11.30 pm.

Got any memories of Rawalpindi, Nani Ta1 or Dehra Dun? Across the way at No. 10 is the Naraine Restaurant, consistently recommended by Egon Ronay for outstanding cooking and offering practically every kind of Indian food, as well as English. There are curries of all sorts, ranging from 8s 6d to 19s 6d, including the continued on page 155 moist Ghosht variety, chappati and poppadum. Minimum charge is I 5s. Lunch noon to 3 pm: dinner 6 pm to midnight. Closed on Mondays.

Practically opposite the Underground is Hogarth Road, leading into the narrow Hogarth Place. Here you will find the small but delightful 11 Piccolo Mondo, opened about a year ago. It claims to serve "the best Italian food in London", a difficult statement to check, but I can vouch that it does offer a high-class, Roman-style cuisine; an excellent dinner costs about 30s including a sweet. Cover charge 2s. Lunch is served from noon; dinner from 6.30 to 11.45 pm. Telephone 370 1799.

Spanish, Chinese, Italian, German, Swiss, Indian—what about a traditional English meal in a truly British setting? Across the street from Penywern Road is Barkston Gardens, on the corner of which is the Barkston Gardens Hotel, a Trust House with a spacious, newly re-decorated dining room where you can have a quiet, wellcooked, well-served meal with an excellent bottle of wine. A table d'hôte dinner costs 25s. Ala carte you can chose such things as panfried rainbow trout with shrimps (11s 6d), grilled salmon steak (15s 6d) or a generous mixed grill (17s 6d). The dining room is open every day, lunch 12.30 to 2 pm; dinner 6.30 to 9 pm. Telephone 373 7851.

From London, to Middle Europe is a fair step—but not if you wander down Earls Court Road to the junction with Old Brompton Road. Here, at No. 233, is the Restaurant Dubrovnik—"a little corner of Yugoslavia in Kensington". Shish kebabs are a speciality at 12s 6d and there are many -Ruritanian" dishes with strange sounding names. Open seven days a week from noon to 2 am, the restaurant is licensed until 1.30 am. Below it is the Dortmund Keller, a late-night bierkeller serving German food and Dortmunder Union beer at 3s 6d a half-litre to the accompaniment of accordionists. "Hoch, hoch und Prosill" Having now reached Old Brompton Road, I should tell you that you can get at it from the Exhibition even quicker simply by departing through the West Brompton exit. Having done that you will almost at once encounter the Tournament, a lately modernized pub that has a good snack-bar service and a comfortable dining room. Whitbread's beer.

Walking eastwards you will shortly come to Pontevecchio (256 Old Brompton Road) where, for the past seven years Walter Mariti has for seven days a week been looking after hungry people. The restaurant is well known to Show regulars and is always busy so a reservation, especially at lunch time (12.30 to 3 pm), is advisable. Telephone 373 9082. The cuisine is largely Italian—cannelloni 8s 6d, Scampi Livornese 20s 6d—but when I called recently the menu included grilled langoustines (1 6s 6d), two roast quails (19s 6d) and grilled king prawns (16s 6d). The cover charge is 2s and the wine

list impressive. Dinner is served from 6.30 pm and last orders are taken at midnight.

Opposite, at No. 241, is Franco, again predominantly Italian but also offering English food. Very popular are the home-made-on-the premises Tortelloni di Via Nocera at I Os 6d. Lamb cutlets "I-low do you like?" cost 16s 6d, a steak tartare 22s 6d. Venturesome? Try baby octopus and calamari with rich Napoli sauce for 13s 6d. Not open on Mondays, the hours are 12.30 to 3 pm and 7 pm to midnight.

Bertorelli's, perhaps the best-known Italian ristoranti in London, has a -branch" at 253 Old Brompton Road (telephone 373 6772).

The proprietors' standards of good, inexpensive food are well maintained here and you can dine on Continental or English fare extremely well for about 30s including a drink. The ice-cream is, of course, fabulous. The restaurant, which is on two floors, opens at 11.30 am and closes at 11 pm.

Back at the corner of Earls Court Road, at No. 234, behind an unpretentious entrance, is the charming "art nouveau" decorated

Simple Simon, operated by a couple of enthusiastic young

Spaniards who take great care to see you are well fed. The menu is not voluminous but provides a well-chosen range of dishes to suit a

hungry man. Among the hors d'oeuvres I found piperado at 6s;

fillet of turbot in cider sauce costs 19s 6d and if you like sweetbreads they are deliciously served here in dry vermouth with cream and mushroom sauce at 15s 6d. There is a little bar, candlelight and soft background music. Open every evening except Mondays from 7.30 pm until midnight. Sunday lunches 1 to 3.30 pm. Telephone 3702421.

Finally my piece de resistance—a place so new that my cab driver hadn't even heard of it although it is the latest addition to the capital's growing number of super caravanserai—the London International Hotel. It is bang opposite West London Air Terminal (where, by the way, you can always get a quick breakfast) and you

can easily reach it by walking up the previously mentioned Hogarth Road into Cromwell Road. The Cavalier Room seats 150 and is decorated in Renaissance style with the staff attired in Cromwellian garb. There is an open charcoal grill. In another room they specialize in canapes.

Due to open last June, it actually got under way a month ago, with so little publicity that there is yet plenty of room for all. So, if you are in the mood for an evening out in the grand manner, without having to slog up to Park Lane or Jermyn Street, here's Lucullan luxury just round the corner from the Show.

Bon appetit!

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