My trip to Europe - December 2012

I was recently in Europe, in London and Paris! Needless to say that one of my interests was food, although England does have a bad reputation when it comes to cuisine. It has been years since I have been in London, the last time being December 2006! Going for the holidays is always exciting: there is a certain energy in the air, emphasized by the fantastic decorations that can only be found during this period of the year. I admit that I thought London did a fantastic job with all the lights and I was disappointed by the lights on the Champs Elysees in Paris! 

So, first stop was London! When we left, we definitely wanted to try some pub food, specifically Fish & Chips. Imagine that the first time I tried this dish was not in London, despite my multiple trips there. No, it was at...Disney - Epcot in Florida....I know: that sounds weird but it is true. I went there few years ago with Jodi and we decided to dine at the International pavillion where you have all types of restaurants from many countries: Japan, China, Canada, France, Mexico...And they have England with the Rose & Crown Pub. We had fantastic fish & chips there. Interestingly, the entire staff in the restaurants are from the country they represent, to add some authenticity.

Back to our trip: after checking in our hotel, we started our quest to find a pub. You would think that it was easy, but it was not as we were located in a business area. We ended up at the New Moon on Gracechurch street. This pub had a warm atmosphere and a phenomenal ceiling, all red! Supposedly, it has been featured in movies like James Bond or Tomb Raiders...

Well, this is where our experience stopped: they did not even acknowledged us!!! We were the only ones in the establishment and they did not say hello or check if we wanted anything!!! So we decided to leave as, if it was the way they were treating their customers, their service was probably slow and inefficient and their food not worth it. That is how we ended up at Mother Mash, located on Leadenhall street!

Mother Mash is a small restaurant that serves Pies and a traditional British dish: bangers and mash!

The place was pretty bright, modern, but quite small. We stayed on the first floor and at first, it was fine, as there were not that many people, but at some point, customers started to come in and it was very crowded. The restaurant opened few years ago and only started recently to propose food to go, explaining the wave of hungry business customers who stormed the place. Unfortunately, the staff focused on these customers, instead of us and our food took forever to come! After being ignored at the New Moon Pub, this trip started well...

The menu was simple and we decided to try the mash potatoes. The ordering was done in 3 steps:

First you pick your mash, then the type of sausage, then the gravy.

We both got the Cheesy Mash, made with milk, butter and cheddar. For sausages, Jodi got the vegetable and herb one with a vegetarian gravy (served on the side).

On my side, I ordered the lamb and mint sausage with the traditional gravy, made with the juice of the sausages and vegetables.

The food came barely hot (thanks to the slow service I guess...) and the portions were small. I was lucky that Jodi did not finish her plate...

The cheesy mash was fantastic! Dense but with some creaminess and with a nice mix of cheddar and butter taste! The sausages however were just ok: the vegetable and herb sausages had a weird taste; the lamb and mint sausages barely tasted lamb as the meat was overpowered by the mint. I also enjoyed the traditional gravy that was far better than the weird vegetable one! It was very comforting.

Even if the sausages were not that great, we loved the mash that was delicious! I would definitely just go back for this. Hopefully, the next time, the service will be better organized...

Anyway, it was good to have a light lunch as we went for a nice dinner at Bob Bob Ricard later that day. Stay tuned...

Enjoy (I did)!