Pinkberry - Frozen yoghurt

After 5 + City Pig’s summary

Snapshot
Cuisine/Speciality:	Dessert – Frozen yoghurt
Price:	£2.75 – a small cup of frozen yoghurt without toppings.
Healthy:	·         Healthy scale 3/5 Although, this is frozen yoghurt and not ice cream, there is still a lot of sugar and with the additional toppings could be unhealthier than you imagined. Add fruit if you want to be healthy.
Tasty:	·         4/5 – Food ·         2.5/5 – Service ·        3/5 - Value ·         3/5 – Overall rating
Occasion:	·         Quick eats ·         Snacking moments
Address:	40 Duke Street, London W1A1A
Opening times	Follows Selfridges store opening times.
Eat in/Takeaway:	Eat-in and take-away. Limited space at Selfridges though.
Recommended dishes & drinks	All flavours but watermelon frozen yoghurt is very fruity. Watch out for the seasonal flavours e.g. Gingerbread and Chocolate & Hazelnut frozen yoghurt flavours.
Vegetarian dishes	Suitable for Vegetarians.
Loyalty card	Yes.
Website	http://www.pinkberry.com/
Notes	A really good tasting frozen yoghurt export from the US. A very warm welcome for it to stay.

 

After 5 + City Pig’s analysis

  London seems to be full of frozen yoghurt chains – in fact flooded with them. Although, it is winter and it is freezing outside, we Londoners still love them. This latest craze since last year has made us all try this healthier alternative to the fatty ice cream we all feel so guilty about.

I was shopping and had come across in Selfridges a brand called Pinkberry, located in their Food hall.

An excellent commercial decision made by Selfridges to have its customers shop and then indulge in frozen ice cream.

This frozen ice cream in my opinion tastes nicer than some other competitors. Pinkberry frozen yoghurt is smoother and is less acidic in flavour.

I also love the wide range of frozen yoghurt flavours ranging from chocolate to the fruity ones like mango. There will be certainly at least one or two flavours to please the picky ones. I personally do not like too many toppings but you can choose whatever you want to create your very own.

The design of Pinkberry is very attractive and the take home tubs are a clever idea. I have to admit I was not a major frozen yoghurt fan but after tasting Pinkberry I've changed my opinion on frozen yoghurts.

There are some debates in how healthy it really is, as the sugar content is rather high. However, It makes a nice alternative to ice cream and makes one feel that they are not over indulging.

Although, I have not made a review on Frae. I absolutely love this place as well. The flavours and combinations are very different from its competitors and is another place worth trying.  

 

Cafe Bateel

After 5 + City Pig’s summary

Snapshot
Cuisine/Speciality:	Café - Serving dried dates; cakes and coffee. (Bateel is from Dubai.)
Price:	£2.60 for a cup of latte. £3.95 mille feuille.
Healthy:	·         Healthy scale: 1/5 as cakes are high in calories. ·         Dates are nutritious but high in sugar.
Tasty:	·         4/5 – Food (Cakes are very high quality and fresh.) ·         3/5 – Service ·         3/5 - Value ·         3.5/5 – Overall rating
Occasion:	·         Snacking moments ·         Coffee breaks
Address:	Bateel Boutique and Café 76, New Bond Street, Mayfair
Opening times	Mon- Fri: 8:30am – 8pm Sat-Sun : 10am- 6:30pm
Eat in/Takeaway:	Eat-in and take-away.
Recommended dishes & drinks	Cakes/dates/coffee
Vegetarian dishes	Suitable for Vegetarians.
Loyalty card	No
Website	http://www.bateel.com/
Notes	A pleasant break from shopping and a much more relaxing coffee break than Starbucks and the major chained coffee shops. Good quality coffee and a delicious selection of cakes. A fine brand from Dubai.

 

After 5 + City Pig’s analysis

After experiencing, Bateel in Dubai, I was pleased to find that we have a boutique café version of Bateel as well.

Bateel is known for its fine dates, but also the quality in its food produce. In Dubai, Café Bateel serves hot and cold meals.

The London café branch only serves hot drinks, dates and cakes. However, the cakes are wonderful and are not priced too expensive at all. I would recommend people who around the area to stop by for a cup of coffee and cake. This is a much nicer place to come for a place to recharge your energy after a long shopping trip. It may be high in quality but the price is very reasonable.

It really makes a unique change from the chained coffee stores which will be always busy with tourists.

The Mille Feuille is absolutely amazing. It is light in texture and the puff layer with the cream is sensational.  Sometimes, it can be a bit heavy but not this one.

I will be coming here again to try other cakes. The coffee latte was perfect, not too strong or weak. City Pig’s pal had a hot chocolate which you had to make yourself. Hot chocolate chips are in a cup and hot milk is given to you to pour and to mix them together. A unique experience and quite fun.

The hot chocolate may not be the best I have had but it was a better taste than some chained coffee shops. Manon café, just next door does superb hot chocolates using Leonidas chocolates to make it.

Café Bateel must have a lot of Saudia Arabian fans as this place is always quite full and so get there early to grab a spot.

Bone Daddies - Japanese ramen bar

After 5+ City Pig’s summary

Snapshot
Cuisine:	Japanese – Ramen noodle speciality dish
Price:	£11 – a bowl of Tonkotsu Ramen
Healthy:	·         Healthy scale 3.5/5
Tasty:	·         2.5/5 – Food ·         3/5 – Service ·         2/5 - Value ·         2.5/5 – Overall rating
Occasion:	·         Quick eats ·         Casual dining
Address:	30-31 Peter Street, London, W1F OAR (Nearest station: Leicester square station.)
Opening times	Lunch: 7 days 12pm-3pm   Dinner: Sun and Mon 5:30pm-10pm Tues and Wed 5:30pm-11pm Thurs, Fri and Sat 5:30pm-12pm
Eat in/Takeaway:	Eat-in
Recommended dishes & drinks	No specifics.
Vegetarian dishes	No.
Loyalty card	No.
Website	http://bonedaddiesramen.com/
Notes	Another attempt to bring some Japanese Ramen to Londoners. A much closer replication than others but still does not quite meet the quality and flavours of Japan.

 

After 5+ City Pig’s analysis

 I was very excited to hear that Bone Daddies was opening up in Soho to bring some delicious ramen noodles to town.  There isn’t really a very good ramen noodle house in London and was hoping this would meet expectations.

We ordered the Tonkotsu ramen and some fried chicken for lunch and some green tea. The fried chicken was cooked very well, light and crispy - with very little excess oil. We polished this off very quickly and thought this was a promising start.

The Tonkotsu ramens arrived, but I immediately noticed how little soup broth there was. The soup was rather thick and felt a little gloopy.

The taste was rich in pork bone broth which had the depth. The noodles tasted very firm and the pork was tender.

However, it wasn’t the most filling lunch meal for an average cost of £20 each. The charge of green tea was quite expensive, £3 a cup which did not even taste amazing.  One thing to note, is that the green tea refills are not free and so you will be charged another £3 again!

The Japanese tradition in providing free green tea refills was not maintained here and was disappointed in the expensive price charged for a small cup.

As a result, the search still continues to find the perfect, satisfying and value for money ramen noodles that Londoners truly deserve to taste.

 

B-Soho - Italian pizzeria

After 5 + City Pig’s summary

Snapshot
Cuisine:	B Soho - Pizzeria
Price:	£15 - Approximate cost for pizza, drink (non-alcoholic) and service charge. Pizzas start from £7.95.
Healthy:	·         Stick to the salads as the pizzas are huge and full of carbs.
Tasty:	·         3.5/5 – Food ·         3/5 – Service ·         3.5/5 – Overall rating
Occasion:	·         Chill out with friends and colleagues. ·         Casual dining.
Address:	21 Poland Street, London, W1F 6QG
Opening times	Monday-Saturday: 11am – 12am; Sunday closed
Eat in/Takeaway:	Eat-in
Recommended dishes & drinks	Cocktails, Pizzas and salads. No particular, as all dishes seemed very tasty.
Vegetarian dishes	Yes.
Loyalty card	No.
Website	http://b-soho.co.uk/
Notes	An alternative to pizza chains with fantastic Italian flavours. A fun and casual restaurant with a bar and live music for weekend fun.

 

After 5 + City Pig’s analysis

B-Soho recently, opened this year, delivering another casual restaurant to add to your little black book.

I brought some colleagues of mine to B-Soho hoping to impress them with this new venue. It certainly did not fail to impress as we were quickly seated to our table that I had pre-booked.
We sat downstairs where it was quieter and we all decided to try the pizzas of course. We threw in a few starters and salads.

We ordered a range of salads such as tomato and buffalo mozzarella, cured meats and cheese salad and an aubergine, tomato and avocado salad.

I am not a major salad fan but one likes to have a balanced diet and was really impressed how fresh the ingredients were and the flavours were very Italian.

B-Soho gives a vibe of a trendy casual style restaurant but equally I was already impressed by the quality of the food.

On to the pizzas, they were huge! I chose the ham, mushroom and mozzarella pizza and it was delicious. The pizza crust was crispy but soft in the inside and the flavours was bold.

My fellow colleagues also agreed how delicious the pizzas were.

Not forgetting the drinks, the cocktails are really top quality and refreshing. They are expensive about £10 but I was very happy with mine. I recommend the "your ginger in my lychee".

Another attraction is that B-Soho has live music for those wanting more than just pizza. I would advise to book for Fridays and weekends as this place will sure soon to have regulars if not already.