Tas is the first restaurant I blogged about – in German at that time. And nothing has changed: fresh ingredients traditionally prepared, tasty and good value. The only difference to my first blog entry is that tonight we went to Tas EV, the flagship branch of this mini-chain of turkish-oriental oriented restaurants. So, nothing new to report, is there?
Well, two issues perhaps: what is this thing about groups being charged more than individual a la carte customers? I booked for only seven people and we ended up being only four, yet we were given a group menu by default, which had less choice (not surprising) but higher prices (surprising). While I understand the need to streamline orders of large groups, a bunch of seven punters ordering a la carte should be manageable quite easily, especially for a restaurant with 100+ seats. Upon request, we were given the a la carte menu without hesitation, so no harm done, and overall we were very satisfied with the food and the resulting rather low bill. However, I feel that large group menus, here and in a rising number of venues, are essentially a rip-off, and I cannot find a justification for a group premium.
Secondly, this was my first visit to the EV Bar next door, I was told by the barkeeper. And right he was, though why I have never visited before is a complete mystery to me! The bar is really nice, with a cool waterfall feature at the back, and the Cosmopolitan was quite enjoyable and with just short of £5 reasonably priced as well. What I found irritating, though: bar from the barkeeper, we were all alone in the spacious railway arch on this Saturday night. Great, free choice of tables, but this bar deserves more customers. They are not good on beer, though, but wine and cocktails to their job.
All change today: one hour after departing from Victoria Station, we found ourselves in Eastbourne and started a great 12km-walk along the coastline. The projected lunch stop at the Beachy Head Pub was a bit of a letdown: the pub itself is great, but we were told to wait 45 minutes for any food, no chance to get even a simple soup or a bowl of chips in less time. Strange, because the pub layout suggests that they regularly draw crowds, which is not entirely unreasonable to expect on a sunny Saturday, even in February. Regretfully, we left, but only after sampling a pint. The rest of the story is easily told in photos – click on the image for 38 pictures.
A real treat, smooth yet zesty enough for a pleasant kick.
I have mentioned before how much I like Monmouth Coffee Company, and I am a regular visitor. Not on a daily basis, not even weekly, but every now and then when I am craving for a reward, a coffee from Monmouth lifts my spirits and re-tunes the finer sensors of my tastebuds. Today, after a long supermarket shopping spree, I felt a definite need to reward myself, and as I was heading to Borough Market anyways, I quite obviously found myself in Monmouth’s always-present queue. While on a busy Saturday, wait times can be as long as half an hour or more, I managed to be in and out in just a few minutes today.
Today’s roast of the week was Alto del Obispo y Sevilla, a Colombian dark roast. And I have learned my lesson: no flat white, no pure espresso, but a latte, just as a precaution in case it was a bit too strong. Wise decision, though I need not have worried: this coffee had a pleasant balance of body and acidity, and I would classify it as one for any occasion. It did not last for too long, but was interesting enough to require some appreciation time for the subleties of the aroma. £2.30 invested well.
The Borough Market branch must be Monmouth’s most popular café. One large table provides some sitting space, but most punters come for the take-away, which is fair enough, because you can enjoy your coffee either while perusing the Borough Market or strolling along the Thames. Brill.
Monmouth Coffee Co, Borough Market, by Manic Street Preacher via flickr
Contrary to popular belief, and even contradicting all signage, the name of this pub has nothing to do with sheep: it rather refers to William Lamb, a 16th century citizen who built a conduit, which today only lives on in the street name Lamb’s Conduit Street, where the Lamb is based. This pub is definitely worth a visit, even from afar.
Snob Screens at the Lamb, by 1gl via flickr
One of the appeals of the Lamb is definitely its interior: the whole U-shaped bar is fitted with etched glass screens, which were designed to hide the bar staff from punters in an attempt to enhance privacy for the latter group. These panels can still be closed, so that you don’t have to watch grumpy staff at work while sipping your hop juice and enjoying the time with your mates. However, most often the screens are now left open, and fortunately the bar staff usually do not display any grumpiness, but serve you well-kept ales from Youngs instead.
Guest ales on rota make you want to come again, though you may want to watch your timing: this pub can get extremely busy. From today’s experience, I can confirm that 4.00pm is a good time for a pint, as you won’t have any trouble finding a seat. One hour later, though, the pub is usually heaving. They serve food and have a good reputation for doing so, though I never managed to sample any dish myself, apart from a bowl of chips. Maybe next time.
Oh, and there is a tiny garden in the back – for about eight people. Overall, I am absolutely not surprised that the Lamb gets highest marks from Fancy a Pint and Time Out London.
No need to write much about Avatar, Cameron’s epic movie has been through the press up and down the globe. Earth, that is, I doubt it has been reviewed on the Na’vi’s home planet. However, this is a movie that must be seen in 3D, which is what we did, in style on Britain’s largest screen, the BfI IMAX.
BfI IMAX Ticket for Avatar 3D
540 square metres are massive. That is the BfI IMAX’s screen size, so I was actually a bit nervous about our seats on the very side. I have been to this venue before, but managed to get more central seats. However, I need not have worried, the view was absolutely fine and the 3D effect worked very well. Next time, I would not even hesitate to sit in one of the front rows, because they are already quite high up, although I can imagine that those seats would require a lot of head-turning. So, thumbs up to the seat design, even supposedly bad seats are still pretty good.
Avatar itself has been criticised for its ‘Pocahontasness’ and lauded for its 3D effects. I would not agree with the critics; ok, the storyline is somewhat foreseeable, no big surprise, and carries a, ahem, subtle moral message, yet it made sense and actually worked well. No real stroke of genius, but good enough for light mainstream entertainment, and it served its purpose to provide a vehicle for displaying wonderful images. This, of course, was the real highlight: the amount of detail in the tiniest corner of the screen was nothing short of astonishing, and it was a pure delight just to sit back and watch. In fact, a deeper, more interesting story would perhaps even have distracted viewers from the true star of the show: the visuals. Great, simply great.
But then the story was not substantial enough to drag on for two hours and forty minutes. And despite the length, some characters remained surprisingly superficial, largely ignoring the enormous potential to get into psychological details. So I found myself bored by the final 30 minutes or so: endless action scenes with too much happening too fast to take everything in. Pity, because otherwise the film would have been an all-around enjoyable experience. And that’s the actual weakness of a storyline without surprises: why stage an epic battle when the outcome is clear from the start? I am sure, though, that some people liked all the fighting, the explosions, the violence and the lot. Not I, but I felt compensated by the first two hours of standard fairytale stuff with visual overexcitement.
The Oscars for Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction and Best Visual Effects are wholly deserved, as are the no-wins for the six other nominated categories.
Being stressed is not good. I almost missed this meetup with friends in Hampstead, and I would have missed out on a perfectly relaxing afternoon, taking in the wintery sights of Hampstead Heath and the culinary (liquid and solid) delights of some of Hampstead’s brilliant pubs.
The Rosslyn Arms, by Ewan-M via flickr.com
Luckily I still got in time to The Rosslyn Arms, a bistro/gastro-style pub, reminiscent of its counterparts in Central Europe. So relaxed that you could spend the whole day at the rustic wooden tables, scoffing pizzas from the wood-fired oven. But alas, my friends had already spent 45 minutes waiting for me, so we ventured off under the guidance of a recent local to discover new aspects of lovely Hampstead.
Via Flask Walk, we went into the Vale of Health. What a name! Much better than Hatch’s or Hatchett’s Bottom, the previous name of this hamlet, until some people wanted to attract visitors and opted for the fancier name in 1801. They succeeded, and the Vale became a nice, small country-esque village, completely surrounded by the Heath. It is quite special, in that the Vale of Health really feels like a country village, and the mega-city London could not be further away, was it not for some rather ugly apartment blocks. Honestly, who dared to commit such an architectural crime? The history of the Vale of Health is summarised by British History Online and, much shorter, by Hidden London.
February 20, 2010 
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London with a yellow rucksack.
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