Tempo Restaurant and Bar, London - Revisited

It's been a while since our last visit to Tempo Restaurant and Bar Mayfair. We arrived minutes past noon and we were their first customers to serve. Great! We got to choose our table. And a nice table by the window it was. It's kind of fascinating to watch people passing by, especially few days before Christmas. Everybody seemed to be in a rush, struggling with bags of shopping in a pouring rain. Just to fulfill the thought of making others 'happy' for one particular day in the year. All that hassle, pressure and stress.. 

Anyways, let's get back to our favourite subject, food. Tempo has new menu this time and we were eager to try as many as possible. As starters we have decided to have Polipo - Warm octopus, saffron potato, olives and pesto and Bruschetta di Burrata - Mozzarella and sun-dried tomato accompanied by Sicilian Vermentino, perfectly chilled. 

The warm polipo was delicious, melt in the mouth. The flavour between pesto, tomato, parsley, olives and saffron potato mingled with the octopus delicately and nothing was too overpowering. Perfect. The bruschetta was lovely too! Unlike the traditional one with garlic and basil, Tempo's style of bruschetta is more a light version. The mozzarella that they used was very milky and creamy topped with sweet sun-dried tomato and contrast with tanginess of balsamic vinegar. Nice!

Pasta Course. It's kind of a ritual of ours to have pasta course in between the starter and the main course since we were told that's the traditional Italian way of dining. Well, we can tell you we would not complain about that, apart from having to struggle to get off of the dining chair at the end :)) 

And that's why we like to dine at Tempo, as they provide the option to have the pasta course as a half or full portion, so we can spare some space for meat/fish course and of course the dessert. So, for the pasta course we chose, Ravioli Verdi - ricotta, sun-dried tomatoes and black olives and Tagliatelle with creamy wild mushroom, parsley and parmesan cheese. We could tell that both pastas were home made and fresh, though the tagliatelle was a bit heavy than we have anticipated but taste wise we have nothing to complain. 

Moving to the main courses, we chose Ipploglosso - halibut served with savoy cabbage, puree of garden peas and diced panchetta topped with crunchy bacon and a dish out of the daily special, Pheasant served with polenta and spinach dressed in jus. 

What could we say about both dishes?? 'Scrumptious' would be the answer! The halibut was well seasoned and moist, definitely cooked in perfection. The vegetables that came with it was well portioned, just enough to accompany and compliment the fish. 

The pheasant was fresh and flavoursome, ideally matched with polenta and spinach. The jus finished the dish pleasantly, though, it was slightly too rich to our taste. But overall opinion from the starters to the  point of main courses we were well pleased. 

The only part that we were a little bit disappointed was the dessert. We chose the classic Italian dessert -  Tiramisu. It presented nicely, looked very appetizing, mascarpone was very light and creamy but lacking the taste of coffee liqueur and replaced by chocolate sauce instead. We found it rather unusual. 

Tempo Restaurant and Bar, to us, is still a pleasant place to dine. Friendly and accommodating staff, comfortable seats, nice ambiance, good food and good value for money. They change the menu regularly which add the attractions to the restaurant. Tempo also has private dining area upstairs, ideal for business lunch or dinner. We would gladly recommend Tempo Restaurant and Bar to our readers. 

Tempo Restaurant and Bar

54 Curzon Street, London W1J 8PG

Phone: +44 20 7629 2742

Email: info@tempomayfair.co.uk

Website: http://www.tempomayfair.co.uk/#home

The Tea Terrace at House of Fraser Oxford Street, London

For most of us, when christmas is approaching, everybody is all mad about shopping. Even wet and bitter English weather doesn't seem to fade people's festive spirits. Oxford Street is jammed packed with people as always. I personally love shopping, but not a big crowd lover. So I choose the day to shop carefully. Definitely not on the weekend, if I can help it.

But, today - Friday (sigh!) is an exception.. A friend of mine would like to meet up over a cup of tea at The Tea Terrace - House of Fraser. I could hardly say no of course. So, I got myself wrapped up and start making my way to Oxford Street. Let's make the most of the day.

This is the part that I enjoy being in central London, I could get from one place to another mostly on foot. Passing through the Shepherds Market, lively as always, then Mount Street Garden - perfect little hide away from hustle and bustle of London, Grosvernor Square with its rather intimidating security guards at American Embassy (God knows why do they have to have so many securities) and within minutes I arrived at my destination.

I have never been to The Tea Terrace before and I must say, I like how it's been set up. Very English, with Cath Kidston-like touch. It's busy with people having their afternoon tea, chatting away, very cosy. We were quite lucky not to have waited too long for a table. 

By the time we sat down, I started to feel famish. And the christmas special menu did not help either. Too much temptation for me to cope :) So, Turkey Roast it is.. 

My Earl Grey tea arrived first, served in flowery tea cup! Oh.. that is sooo me! I can imagine myself sitting all day at this place.. 

Not long after, came the Turkey Roast complete with all the trimmings. I could not wait to dive in. 

And you know what, it was really worth having! The turkey was tender and moist, covered in just enough jus. Lovely! The brussels sprouts were a little bit overcooked, but the stuffing and mini sausages, the rest of the roast vegetables and cranberry sauce compensated it. 

Considering the hassle and time it takes to cook turkey at home, I would suggest you to pop in to The Tea Terrace instead and treat your family for shopping after!! I know it isn't traditional, but hey, nothing wrong with doing something slightly different from time to time. 

I would not compare the meal I had to the same standard as in a proper restaurant, because it would not be fair as they did not charge as much. But this is the place where you can take a break from a long hours of shopping or simply treating yourself an afternoon tea or catching up with friends over a cup of coffee and cakes. The service was not the finest, but efficient. Good value for money and family friendly. I have no reason to complain... 


The Tea Terrace at House of Fraser Oxford Street London
5th Floor House of Fraser
318 Oxford Street, London W1C 1HF
Phone: +44 20 7499 8970