Midweek at Monkey Nuts

Now that Chloe and I no longer work in the same office (sad face), we have to make the extra effort to see each other (obviously worth it). After much to-ing and fro-ing and diary comparisons, we settled on a mid-week dinner in North London - closer to home. 

Having visited Monkey Nuts in Crouch End many a time, their arrival in Whetstone was highly anticipated. I had spent an evening or five sampling their cocktail menu (which is utterly fabulous - the Apple Martini is a MUST) and chicken wings before, and so knew it was the perfect place for The Two Hungry Girls.

On arrival we were greeted by cheerful staff who promptly whisked over our drinks orders while we perused the menu. Apple Martini for me, and a Vodka Daisy for Chloe. They were delicious and incidentally half price during happy hour.

For starters, I plumped for the Soy and Ginger Wings, which were a heady, decadent mix of salty and sweet, crispy-skinned and joyously meaty, and served with a fresh Asian slaw.

Chloe opted for mac and cheese balls; rich and oozy parcels of the ultimate comfort food, coated in crunchy breadcrumbs.

Neither of us could resist the call of the Dirty Dog. (It was a contingency order for me, when I discovered to my utter dismay that the kale mac and cheese was no longer on the menu, but I got over it quite quickly when this arrived...)

A beef and pork frank nestled snugly in buttery brioche, smothered in a blanket of melted cheese, piled high with smokey barbecue pulled pork for good measure and bedecked with green chilli relish. This is truly a behemoth in a bun. The fries, though crisp and rather tasty, we sadly largely overlooked because of the sheer size of the thing.

Happy and full, we planned our next adventure and cooed over the marble tables and mismatched lighting fixtures.

If you're looking for comfort and cocktails in North London, Monkey Nuts is a no-brainer.

Stephanie x

The Fentiman's Botanical Garden Cocktail Bar

Let's start at the beginning shall we...

...that seems, for all intents and purposes, like the best place to start.

Like many a night before, we found ourselves half-skipping excitedly through Soho on a week night, in search of the next pop-up bar or restaurant, or handheld food stand that we had heard about on some obscure Twitter feed, or email that had landed by spectacular coincidence in our overburdened work inboxes.

This time, it was the turn of the Fentiman's Botanical Garden Cocktail Bar at L'Escargot. As we climbed the stairs past ornately decorated salons the colour of La Durée macarons, we had high hopes, and we were not disappointed when we reached the bar in the rafters. On this particular night, an album launch for a folk band was also taking place in the Fentiman's room, so we were treated to dulcet tones as we sipped.

A large, and very beautiful conservatory-slash-greenhouse-slash-library-slash-laboratory greeted us, and we established a perch directly in front of the very charming barman, between the company of flora and ferns that bedecked the room.

It was while we were so perched, in a heady haze of cocktails and a veritable hoedown, that we decided to start a food blog, and document our adventures properly.

We started with a 'Lillet Rose', comprised of Lillet Blanc and Fentiman's Victorian Rose Lemonade, and a 'Citrus Dream' (Ketel One Citroen, Rose Wine and Fentiman's Victorian Lemonade) respectively. The Lillet Rose was sweet and infinitely refreshing, and disappeared all too quickly.

The 'Citrus Dream' was a tantalising mix of delicious citrus notes leaving a sharp but satisfying taste on your tongue. Much like the 'Lillet Rose', it was gone all too soon. 

Next, we were dutifully offered our second round of cocktails, and plumped for the 'Fearless Fun' (tequila, cointreau and Fentiman's Ginger Beer) and the 'Curiosity' (bourbon, orange zest and a reduction of Fentiman's Curiosity Cola). 'Fearless Fun' was deliciously fresh and moreish, with a hint of heat from the underlying ginger beer.

The 'Curiosity' was balanced in the most perfect way, with the warmth of the bourbon underlying every sip creating a constant want for more. 

Having exhausted our Time Out London voucher for 4 cocktails, Chloe's gift for befriending barmen came in handy (not for the first time, certainly not for the last) and we were kept well-watered for the rest of the night with Fentiman's collaborative Bloom's gin mixes. The Bloom's and Rose Lemonade is not to be missed.

If you haven't yet visited the Fentiman's pop-up at L'Escargot then do - you won't be disappointed.

Stephanie x