Paddington Lunch Box

Paddington Lunch Box

Wahaca, Paddington Square

Hola Wahaca! It was kind of sunny and therefore time for Mexican. Si?

Wahaca has opened in the new Paddington Square development, which is far more than a large office building.

The restaurant is really bright and spacious inside, perhaps too spacious as they took a while to bring me a menu… maybe they couldn’t see me.

The menu consists of tacos, platitos, quesadillas, tostada and salads…at least for the small plates section. There were larger plates too but I didn’t really consider them.

Fried cauliflower bites were close to superb but really needed longer in the deep fat fryer… crispy yet lacking a proper golden crunch. The jalapeno alioli added some pleasant warmth and a slight kick…I approved.

Alas the chorizo quesadillas weren’t so delightful…I could pretty much only taste over-caramelised red onion, which had a tang if burnt to it.

It’s a pleasant place, though a tad pricey too…£19 ish including service charge.

There’s plenty else on the menu I’d like to try…but also plenty other places to try in Paddington.

Rating of 6.5 out of 10.

July 24, 2024
The Bear

The Bear. Last Wednesday was just one of those days where everything went right.

No 15 minute wait for a circle line… straight on! 😱
Had the perfect corner desk at work so I could look at lingerie models without anyone seeing. 😬
England won a semi final… again!😱😱

And I went to The Bear…who easily have the best beer range in Paddington, around 15 different beers on draught of all types, maybe more…I didn’t count. Some are a bit pricey and the one I wanted, by Pressure Drop was out.

I settled for a pint of Yes, a decent session IPA… I couldn’t have anything too strong with my 1:1 straight after lunch… I’m still deluded enough to think a promotion isn’t impossible this decade.

Food is mostly burgers, or some sides of the sort that come with burgers, like chips.

Burgers are not my favourite cuisine but I enjoy them enough, and this more than most. I had the Cajun chicken burger, plenty of Cajun sauce, a little avocado and lettuce, a decent brioche bun that didn’t fall apart… important to someone who gets annoyed eating sloppy burgers.

And the chicken was good too, freshly cooked and marinated, plus a nice tang afterwards but not too much.

Chips were slightly more fries, salty and crispy… about as good as they get.

Extra points for Stokes ketchup instead of cheap shit…and 4 different types to choose from.

High scores from me. An 8.3 out of 10.

Great pub, super beers and top burgers. What more do you want? 😍

July 17, 2024
Chicking, Edgware Road

Chicking. Looks like it’s going to be even more difficult to concentrate in the office today than normal but at least it’s football to blame.

Yep it’s coming home and I came back home from holiday last week with all the joy of being in the office to excite me. Yeah I was grumpy.

So I decided to have fried chicken. Surely if fried chicken is superb at 1am, it will be so at 1pm?

Chicking on Edgware Road was my destiny. The menu consists of fried chicken and things like wraps with fried chicken in. I kind of had the intention of a fried chicken wrap but the greasy venue didn’t scream top quality salad, so I stuck to chicken pieces.

Except they only had one ready and bollocks was I spending longer in this pit of misery than I had to, so I had some (un)tenders too.

I cannot remember what was worst, I think the chicken piece was driest and oldest, but the tenders felt pretty manufactured and old. Not sure I’ve ever had fried chicken when drunk that is this bad.

Rating of 1.2 out of 10. So bad I went to Gregg’s after.

Moral of the story? Don’t go to the chicken shop at lunch.

July 10, 2024
Cawnpore

Ok I’ve found a real winner this week…Cawnpore, even if it does sound like a dodgy internet site.

I was a bit moody and tired, and just needed some Indian spice. You know that feeling? Ideally I wanted something like a paratha wrap that I could take away and walk back to my office with, but I couldn’t find anywhere of the sort.

So I sat down at Cawnpore.

Chicken tikka was me being unadventurous, sure, shoot me…or worse, force me into an office twice a week, but it was delightful. Chicken thigh which is the best part, and all the spices came out as they should. Properly succulent chicken too.

However the Gobi Shimla Merch was one step better. Cauliflower and green pepper in a gorgeous spicy sauce with some real warmth. I could eat that forever. Wow.

Some difficulties with the card machine on the way out but otherwise this was ace. I should probably give up this page and just come here every week.

Rating of 8.8.

June 19, 2024
Venice

Ahhh Venice. Mostly I’m a half-full person but not feeling it by getting the last available desk at 9:05am.

Was this luck or doom?

This week I went to Venice. No, they didn’t charge me €5 to go through the door. And it’s yet another Lebanese restaurant… though in disguise.

The menu was wraps, makazines and breakfast…I went for the chicken fajita wrap as I thought it would be quick to make, and I didn’t have much time.

Cute inside, though the person smoking next to the door and blowing it inside made it less pleasant.

The wrap was well stuffed and plentiful for £7.95. Alas there wasn’t a lot of flavour. A hint of cumin perhaps but I’d expect this to have more of a kick. The salad was ordinary…but nothing wrong here other than a bit of blandness. And plenty of people like bland.

Rating of 6.8 for Venice.

Pleasant enough but could do better.

June 13, 2024
Soor

Soor. Don’t panic. I’m back to hating being in the office…this week my office chair had a choice of near horizontal or lean forwards. As much as I’m constantly told to lean into things, my current corporate buzzword hate, I had to go for the horizontal effect.

And then I booked a meeting room that doesn’t exist. Cool.

But I can always lean into lunch and this week I took a walk down the Edgware Road, as far as I dared…or as until I saw somewhere vaguely appealing which was Soor…yes another Lebanese restaurant.

Serving around 5,000 dishes, from breakfast to manakish (must try one time… Lebanese pizza apparently), fatayer, various starters, mains, salads and wraps.

I asked for a recommendation…the mixed grill apparently. You mean the most expensive thing on the menu? Aha. Don’t want to suggest something more interesting to me?

I had a fattet because… I’m getting fatter. Warm yoghurt, crispy pitta, fried onions, chicken shawarma and salad.

I’m not sure I’d order it again, perhaps too much yoghurt but I still enjoyed it. Lots of chicken shawarma, the standard orange Lebanese spicy sauce was delightful, with a kick. The crispy pitta was fresh and the dish worked.

Salad was decent too.

Rating of 7.3. Definitely worth a visit and they had plenty of tables for lunch too.

June 6, 2024
Harrison Coffee

I’m going to let you into a secret. I don’t hate being in the office. I do still hate commuting, the waste of my time and it costing me £50 a day just to tick a box.

I’m going to let you into another secret too…that of Harrison Coffee @harrisoncoffee_uk, down a side street near Paddington station.

A Chilean colleague tipped me off on this…the name makes it sound like just another coffee shop but actually it’s a delightful little Chilean restaurant, with a glorious selection of empanadas.

I wasn’t feeling red meat so I stuck to the vegetarian side of things…so perhaps I haven’t tasted their best offerings.

Chilean ensalada is mostly tomato, onion and coriander…this was fresh feeling yet arguably the tomatoes weren’t ripe enough to do this dish justice. Oh for Sicilian tomatoes…or Chilean?

The empanada was more of a star. There was depth to the pastry, the cheese and tomato worked as well together as you likely have experienced.

Harrison Coffee is one of only two places that I’d happily go back to around Paddington…I need to try the steak sandwich, and the Pino empanada. 🥩

Rating of 7.5…I’m sure it would be higher if I’d tried non-veggie food…and 100% I’m going back to do so.

May 30, 2024
Sandro’s Sandwich Bar

Another week another average caff near Paddington, Sandro’s Sandwich Bar, though at least this week I had a cold so I could spread it around as per corporate culture 2019…or corporate culture 2024.

But as long as the data knows I’m in the office, that’s what matters.

Sandro’s Sandwich Bar is highly rated on Google but I’m not sure why. There was a friendly welcome, and I paid just £6.80 for my toasted panini sandwich which is definitely reasonable…and they didn’t charge me for the privilege of sitting down. Bonus!

And another bonus…free vibrations from the tube line underneath…hmmm vibrations.

Yet otherwise it was just fine. Pleasant crispy chicken, some mozzarella, thin slices of manufactured chorizo and I think a tiny bit of spinach.

It’s ok. It’s affordable too. But don’t expect to be overjoyed.

Rating of 6.5. Could be one to try for a fried breakfast on a hangover perhaps.

May 23, 2024
Hola Guacamole

Hola Guacamole! It was time to head into the office once more to try to avoid punishment beatings from the CCCP.

This time my underwhelming lunch was at Hola Guacamole, one of the food stalls near M&S.

It looked like they were having a good time, pumping out tacos and burritos to a soundtrack of pumping hard dance music. I kind of wanted to pop some pills and go clubbing…aye any excuse to escape the office. 😱😉

Not the prettiest thing to eat or photograph, I ordered the pork pibil burrito at £9.00.

I was concerned when she wrapped it twice…but it was so moist and messy it needed it. In hindsight I should have ordered the chicken.

Otherwise it was respectable, a little warm spiciness, tender pork, soggy burrito. Beans, lettuce and tomato all as expected.

A colleague had the mixed tacos, and was also fairly satisfied yet underwhelmed. Chicken was his favourite of the 3.

A score of 6.4 out of 10. Maybe try the chicken if you fancy going…it’s reasonable but it ain’t like a burrito in California.

May 16, 2024
Laurents

This week I went to Laurents, which is my kind of lunch spot if every I saw one. On the outside anyway.

Inside was a selection of Italian-inspired sandwiches – panini’s, focaccia bread sandwiches, etc. Plus a selection of salads which may have been more appealing were it not still freaking cold in late April.

Plus in the back was a cute little seating area.

Yet my panini disappointed due to a lack of filling. What prosciutto there was was deliciously nutty with depth, along with a little tomato.

But half of it simply had no filling.

I wanted to love Laurents, and I suspect if I go again, have a summer salad then I’d leave with more joy than winning the office desk lottery.

Alas 5.5 out of 10.

May 9, 2024