Café Jedna, Prague

Café Jedna

If you visit Prague and have taken the time and effort to cross north over the Vltava to view the modern art on show at the Trade Fair Palace you might consider staying for refreshment at this cafe in the same building. 

After almost three hours of delightful submersion in painting, sculpture and design from the nineteenth century to the present, we were grateful for the chance to rest awhile.  

We were in the company of young and old; students, workers and committed, tired tourists like us. The generous space of the building makes it possible to be close to people but never feel crowded by them. 

Soup of the Day was Spiced Chickpea. Lovely sourdough bread came from the counter... taken as you pleased from an enamel bin which, depending on our server, was either green or blue.

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How wonderful to enjoy a simple, warming bowl of honestly prepared and truly tasty soup. With that one offering we had avoided the earnest but ubiquitous 'traditional' Czech menu of duck, beef, pork and potatoes and dumplings... and potatoes and dumplings in another form. Look at the rest of the menu here and you can see the escape route which is on offer. Vegetarians and the odd sausage lover are obviously welcome.

The discovery of a John Lemon drinks range was also pleasing. The peace-mongering Beatle has been honoured in ever-changing graffiti on a wall here since the 1980s

Service was keen, informative but relaxed. Our four day whistle-stop tour meant that we had no plans to return to this part of the city but I urge you to include the Jedna 'watering hole' in your itinerary, should you visit.

The cafe is behind those blue-barred windows on the ground floor. How glorious that a building from the 1920s, devastated by fire in 1976 was deemed worthy of reconstruction. It now houses a cafe which, in quality, variety and interest, matches up to the wonderful art on display.

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Strangers With Coffee - Wells

Wednesday 11th May 2016

We had shared our full attention with the cathedral and Wells Farmers' Market until midday. Just for reassurance, we asked the last cheese stall owner for the general direction of St Cuthbert Street. He confirmed the very simple route out of the corner of the market and when I told him I was looking forward to an espresso at 'Strangers With Coffee' he also confirmed that I'd chosen the perfect place for my brew. Not exactly my choice, if I'm honest. Even though my wife doesn't drink coffee she had found this place on an internet search before our trip to Somerset... I really don't deserve her, do I.

We arrived, slightly damp from showery rain and loaded down with wonderful cheeses from the market.

Ivan Hewitt gave us a quiet, cheery welcome. His wife, Susan was still in the kitchen but would soon make an appearance and contribute to a delightful hour and a half of fabulous food, fruitful chatter and, I'm pleased to say, very good coffee.

There are few frills to décor or furniture. But, on closer inspection, everything is deliberately chosen and builds a comforting sense of the owners’ care.

Food was our first need. Susan’s menu is well-established and she relies on tried and trusted recipes. All of them have flavour at their heart. I got the strong impression that she is only limited by regular demands for the repeat of crowd-pleasers. Her chorizo, scrambled egg and slow-roast tomato wrap and a roast beef sandwich were simple ideas perfectly presented. More importantly, they were inescapably delicious.

I urge you to look at the wonderful array of baking which Susan produces. These Facebook albums have ample and overwhelming evidence of her skill. We were terribly sensible or horribly stupid and decided against any cake prior to our evening meal. Next time... next time.

So, I've left the coffee element until last. You've already had my spoiler and know that, by my judgement, it was great. I don't muck about too much at home and almost exclusively end up making a double shot of espresso with beans from the folk at Has Bean who I have previously recommended. Ivan introduced me to his own preferred supplier of quality roasted beans, Allpress Espresso. After a bit of earnest deliberation, I enjoyed an espresso macchiato courtesy of Allpress's Redchurch Espresso Blend. Bright, sweet, chocolatey deep flavours punching through what, for me, was an unaccustomed dash of creamy milk. Lovely stuff. I came away with half a kilo of those beans and have managed to pull more shots at home with equal enjoyment.

I talked a bit of nonsense about coffee, baristas and equipment. Ivan responded with down-to-earth knowledge and experience which just about balanced me out. We strolled along the strand which is littered with grains of coffee rather than sand and we stopped short of talking of cabbages and kings. I gathered fresh inspiration to explore my love of coffee with a little more consideration. Rather than a dangerous thing, I think a little more knowledge can be the road to increased appreciation and enjoyment.

Failing to take those few steps to 'Strangers With Coffee' seems almost criminal. What Susan and Ivan offer is so vastly superior to the everyday 'ordinary' of the city centre chain outlets. In those, you will be served coffee and food. What you will totally miss is the skill, quality and passion which come from two people who love what they are doing and love unreservedly sharing what they do with every visitor. Obviously, I expect your glowing reports back to me whenever you are next in Wells. 

A smashing experience and all thanks to two people who deserve much continued success. Thank you, Susan and Ivan.

Right... now to submit a snappy review over on #TripAdvisor. I'll edit it down so it's not as flowery as this but all the positives will remain.

Here is Ivan reflecting on a set at the UK Barista Championship in 2014. YouTube mistakenly have him down as from Norfolk. He was already in Wells, having left Yorkshire. That spurious connection could have been a lovely reality for me as a regular visitor to the city of Norwich!

Accés Restaurant & Lounge, Barcelona

Acces (you’ll remember to stress that final syllable even though I've discarded the accent, wont you?) supplied a mixture of very good and mediocre experiences. But the positives far outweighed any negatives and produced a most enjoyable evening.

Front-of-the-House Manager, Julian, deserves special commendation for his supreme control of proceedings. Like me, he hails from the Home Counties of the good ol’ UK but I have not let that sway my judgement of the fact that he does a terrific job. He is very ably supported by his team… without them it would appear that he runs the show on his own. I did not catch the name of our Russian server but she did wonder if I might be a dentist after I complimented her on her beautifully formed teeth. This was at the point of payment and I resolutely deny that I was looking for a reduction in our bill… she does have lovely teeth!

The décor is a combination of plush and decadent. We’re not quite talking Hotel Pelirocco but my inner lounge lizard was twitching just a little. A chilled music playlist receded into the background as the restaurant filled with customers and their talk, and our orders began to arrive.

I guess I really should give some feedback on the main event… the food. My wife, Jan’s, choices precede mine.

Roast beef, helado de mostaza, remolacha  y yema trufada (Roast Beef with Mustard Ice Cream, Beetroot, Truffled Egg Yolk)

How lovely that roast beef remains inescapably English here. This was excellent. A good searing and just enough heat in initial cooking produced thin, succulent and flavoursome meat. Very close to Carpaccio. The ice cream toned down the hit of mustard and beetroot provided earthy and fruity undertones. Jan was totally seduced by something cooked so rare that she would normally baulk at it.

Tortilla liquida con butifarra negra, croutons y setas (Liquid Tortilla, Black Pudding, Croutons and Seasonal Mushrooms)

This read well and ate pretty well too. My reservation would be that flavours remained unpronounced and the texture of croutons was fast veering towards soggy. The butifarra negra also failed to assert itself. Some of the mushrooms had a lovely hit of nutty butter from a hot pan, though. In its defence, this is a de-constructed tortilla which is presented with soup credentials. The whole dish was a triumph-in-waiting. So nearly there.

Paletilla de cordero a baja temperatura deshuesada, parmentier de patata, escaluñas glaseadas (Shoulder of Lamb off the Bone, Parmentier Potatoes and Glazed Onions)

More success. All was brought to the table in perfect harmony and conversation centred on this for a while. Smashing.

Bacalao confitado, ali olí de membrillo, berenjena ahumada, espinacas,  jugo de asado (Confit of Cod, Quince Ali Oli, Smoked Eggplant and Fresh Spinach)

Appreciation of my wife’s main was undermined by this. The aubergine was gloriously smoky and sweet but it and the fruity quince could not combat the overpowering saltiness of the cod. I know the process involved in preservation of the fish but chef had seriously ill-judged the soaking needed to make a palatable dish. The cooking was just about faultless with a slab of tender, glassy, flaky fish. All spoiled by constant wincing at sodium chloride overkill. What a shame.

There is no pastry-chef at Acces. ‘Postres’ are simple, honest offerings with little show or panache.

Torrija tibia de brioche y helado de canela (Spongy Warm “Bread Pudding”, Cinnamon Ice Cream)… I think this was described more appropriately as ‘Pain perdu’ on our printed menu.

Coulant de chocolate y helado de vainilla (Chocolate Coulant [I would translate as ‘fondant’] with Vanilla Ice Cream)

Both desserts were tasty and satisfying but had no finesse in presentation which might have left a lasting impression at the end of a meal.

I didn’t dare to test my coffee snobbery so we settled our bill. The equivalent of £75.00 for two, including a bottle of wine, was great value for the mainly lovely meal we had enjoyed.

Make a reservation here when you are next in Barcelona. The whole experience is bound to please you in many ways.

In the meantime, follow them on @twitter where they are celebrating two years of success.

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The Jews House, Lincoln

This, our first visit, was for dinner on the 25th February 2016. We were with two good friends who had already visited once and were keen to repeat and share their enjoyment with us.

The Jews House has limited space in a very old building. It is suited to fairly intimate dining. I'll put in the spoiler straight away and reveal that we had a terrific evening. Some might even have gone so far as to say it was 'pleasant' (private joke... sorry). The food was lovely and constantly distracted us from being in such very good company.  If you look away from the centred text below it will spare you being given the menu before your visit. 

We took the 'Surprise' Tasting Menu which comprised the following:

Butternut Squash Soup, Cheese soufflé

Citrus Cured Sea Trout, Salad of Crab, Avocado and Pink Grapefruit

Pork Belly Miso, Melon Sorbet, King Prawns

Wild Turbot, Jerusalem Artichokes Roasted in Beurre Noisette, Belper Knolle, Truffle and Madeira Sauce

Roast Lamb Rump, Provencale Shoulder Slow Cooked with Chorizo

Dark Chocolate Mousse, Caramelised White Chocolate Sorbet, Turron and Praline Biscuit

Passion Fruit Cream, Pineapple, Sweet Chilli and Coriander Salad, Coconut Sorbet

Front of House, Samantha Tomkins, made sure that there were no allergies or dislikes before we proceeded. The tasting menu was not truly a 'surprise'. Each course is available on the A la Carte menu. All the cooking could be achieved at home, with the important proviso that you would need a couple of week's planning and prep to achieve it!

Although chef, Gavin Aitkenhead, didn't stretch any boundaries he did just what he promises and concentrated on flavour. The combinations are mostly familiar but they are executed along with nice contrasts of texture and temperature and delivered with a sure hand by a confident kitchen. The small size of that kitchen might go some way to explain the limit on choice. Great variety is still provided within a single dish. 

Highlights for me included the concentrated flavours of fish and meat sauces. Sweet and sour aubergine and a rich tomato confit underpinning, and almost undermining, the lamb. A smoky artichoke purée was perfect with the turbot ('The Big Green Egg' had been on barbecue duty the night we visited). Oh, that melon sorbet was a winner with the pork. A fresh, tropical finish was the proper end to our meal. It was carefully placed after a rich chocolate dessert which would have otherwise swamped it. The richness was in all those endorphin-producing elements which we treasure through childhood and beyond. However, any excess here was perfectly understated and never became cloying. The salt-struck caramel confirmed chef's control.

There were a very few moments when flavours seemed too subtle. That could well be down to my struggling palate which had been challenged by so many other delights so that I'm observing rather than complaining... We had enjoyed a great meal with truly accomplished cooking.

I have still not managed to be so clever as to concentrate on the merits of both challenging food and demanding wines at the same time so it suited me that Samantha did not lead us on much of an adventure with her recommendations from the wine list. The selection there will change, so you might well be guided to enjoy new offerings. Here is what we agreed on:

2013 Iona Sauvignon Blanc, Elgin, South Africa

2012 Berry Bros. & Rudd Good Ordinary Claret

Ken Forrester T Noble Late Harvest 201?

All went down very well... especially with two men who had the terrible task of drinking the major part to compensate for the restraint of their lovely wives!

Samantha seems well-equipped to explain, suggest and recommend with knowledge and confidence. There is much on the wine list to explore. I try not to fret too much about restaurant wine pricing. We don't really go out quite often enough for it to be a threat to our finances. But bottle prices can certainly be a source of worry and dis-satisfaction, with potential for over-shadowing the enjoyment of eating out. If this article is anything to go by, it seems that 'The Jews House' are on track with a 'Good' mark-up of around 200%. 

Let me end by repeating the enjoyment that this visit gave to all of us. We were looked after by discreetly attentive servers and experienced food from a very assured chef and kitchen. The price we paid for our meal might just be beaten elsewhere but it was still excellent value. Lincoln has a modern-day success in a lovely historical setting. I know that we will return. Thank you to all involved.

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"It does you good to have a fling occasionally."