Not Quite NigellaThe cooking, eating and travel blog of a hungry blogger from Sydney, Australia featuring original recipes, interviews and articles on all things food @

Arbutus restaurant, Soho, London

Not Quite Nigella — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 20:00:40 +0000

It’s been several months since our trip to Europe and yet I’m still feeding you stories of our travels in London. I apologise Dear Reader, I still have some stories on our 2 day stopover in Tokyo on the way back. Arbutus is a 1 starred Michelin restaurant in London, named after the Arbutus tree [...]

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Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester, London

Not Quite Nigella — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 20:00:22 +0000

When a chef has a restaurant named simply after himself, you know that a) he’s pretty famous b) you’ll have some rather exceptional food. This much I did expect. What I didn’t expect that walking through The Dorchester to the restaurant was walking through a cornucopia of lush greenery and rich tapestries, luxe carpets in [...]

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Blue Print Cafe, The Design Museum, London

Not Quite Nigella — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 20:00:56 +0000

The view from outside the Design Museum For those who think that London is a horrendously expensive city, you’re right. But there are some great meals to be had at a reasonable price here too. Case in point is the Blue Print cafe at London’s Design Museum. Something that you’d assume that because of the [...]

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Benihana Japanese restaurant, Kings Road, Chelsea London

Not Quite Nigella — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:00:16 +0000

Entrance to Benihana, Chelsea If you’re American, Benihana needs no introduction.You’ve already probably been to a Benihana at some time in your life. If however you’re not American, you may have heard of Benihana through popular culture references -it was mentioned on “The Office” U.S. version as an “Asian Hooters” and model/actor Devon Aoki’s family [...]

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The Cotswolds and afternoon tea at Lower Slaughter Manor

Not Quite Nigella — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 20:00:46 +0000

There’s something grisly sounding yet utterly charming about going to a place called “Lower Slaughter” in the English countryside that is the Cotswolds. I’d only seen pictures of the Cotswolds but never been, so I was very curious to see the various little villages and towns that make up this picturesque area. Especially something with [...]

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Gordon Ramsay’s Petrus by Marcus Wareing, London

Not Quite Nigella — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 21:00:29 +0000

Our meal at Gordon Ramsay’s Petrus by Marcus Wareing, was one that we were looking forward to with great antipication. Booked months in advance, we didn’t realise that Petrus at it is was closed on September the 6th this year which makes us feel much luckier. But more interesting information on that later Petrus has [...]

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Bluebird Restaurant and Club, Chelsea, London

Not Quite Nigella — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 22:00:18 +0000

I don’t usually start a restaurant story off by referencing Jordan, aka Katie Price, but I recently read that she is reportedly worth a bomb of cash. I was baffled by this as I didn’t actually know what she did for a living apart from being a former Page 3 Topless model that cavorted around [...]

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The Ivy, London

Not Quite Nigella — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 22:00:37 +0000

There’s a reason why there are only two photos of my visit to the Ivy. The celeb count at the Ivy is apparently so high, that they do not allow photographs to be taken inside the restaurant. So all I have to offer you is a picture of the bread basket and the napkin. The [...]

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L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, London

Not Quite Nigella — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 22:00:29 +0000

There’s nothing nicer than a lunch out during a sunny London summer’s day. Unfortunately, this day we had a miserable rainy summer’s day today in London. I can start to see why Londoners strip off when it’s warm and sit in the park, in a representation of a beachside break, when the sun comes out. [...]

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Le Pont de la Tour, Shad Thames, London

Not Quite Nigella — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 22:00:54 +0000

The Conran family are the original multitalented family. Sir Terence, the restauranteur owns a large chunk of London and its restaurants, his son Jasper (designer of gorgeous China pieces for Wedgwood)and his wife Shirley, the writer and author of “Superwoman” and “Lace” (anyone remember the Lace mini series?), Sebastian (who helped Nigella design her Living [...]

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