A big thank you goes out to my friend who introduced me to Miskin’s just before the Christmas break! He suggested trying this new restaurant when we decided to have a festive catch up!

It made such a refreshing change to have some different types of food! Food that when we looked at the menu, there were no descriptions of each item. So the ones that we didn’t know what they were, had to be explained by the staff!

From the exterior, it looks like this place has been around for a while! It reminded me of an old sort of tavern. But Mishkin’s is a fairly recent addition to Covent Garden!

The sign on the outside is E.Mishkin and this is in reference to Ezra Mishkin who the restaurant is named after. Mishkin’s motto is an interesting one of “a kind-of Jewish deli with cocktails”!

Inside the restaurant, it is quite atmospheric with its dim lighting and a bar area with high stools just inside the entrance. When I was shown to our reserved table, I was pretty surprised! The waitress took me towards the back of the restaurant and there was what seemed to be like a doorway. I was expecting to be taken up to another level or down some sort of a hallway.

But this was not the case! The doorway was actually the entrance to a small cosy booth! It had a cute feature of where there was a light switch and the waitress told me that if we needed anything during the meal, then we just had to flick the switch. This would light up the sign outside the booth and we would be attended to!

When my friends arrived, they were both equally pleasantly surprised by the booth! It was the right size for the three of us! It was lit just by candlelight and a small tube light on one of the walls!

The staff were really great and so friendly! They suggested lots of things on the menu that we should try and explained to us thoroughly the items on the menu that we weren’t sure about!

As we had ordered a fair few dishes, the waitress asked if we wanted them brought out in two different sittings. This was a great idea and it meant that we weren’t overwhelmed with all the different dishes!

So to start with, we were given the cod cheek popcorn, macaroni and cheese, cauliflower and caraway slaw. The cod cheek popcorn were delightful light bites of fish in a lovely crispy batter!

Some things even though simple, when they are done well, they are perfect! This was the case with the macaroni and cheese. An iron skillet filled with piping hot creamy cheesy pasta with a crispy topping. A very moreish and addictive dish!

The cauliflower and caraway slaw was made up of shredded red cabbage and cauliflower. It was a great combination and had a good crunchiness to it!

Our second round of food consisted of the chickpea, ricotta and spinach meatballs, whitefish and spinach knish and another side dish!

The vegetarian chickpea, ricotta and spinach meatballs were a portion of three. They were in a tasty tomato sauce and the flavour of the meatballs was fairly strong but not overpowering. Even just one of the meatballs was filling.

The whitefish and spinach knish was a bit like a fish pie with a thin pastry casing. The knish had generous chunks of fish together with a potato style filling. It also came with a jug on the side filled with parsley liquor.

For the side dish, we had the half and half. This was half a portion of chips and half a portion of onion rings! The fried onion rings weren’t greasy and had a light batter. The chips were chunky with their skin on and just as chips should be!

All of the dishes were presented in a mish mash of bowls and plates. A bit like the sort that we had at home when we were growing up! The plates and bowls were decorated with paper doilies! It all felt quite retro and quirky! Even when my friends ordered their cocktail pitcher, instead of being given glasses, they were given a couple of jam jars!

To finish off our meal, we had the apple and honey blintz. This was a pancake filled with chunky apple pieces and raisins. We originally thought that it was topped with ice cream but after tasting the white topping, we realised that it was yoghurt. The pancake and yoghurt were drizzled with a generous amount of honey. It was a nice enough pancake but we all only managed a few mouthfuls, as we realised that we were all quite full by this point!

Mishkin’s was a great dining experience and the food was excellent! Mishkin’s is owned by the same group that have Polpo, da Polpo, Polpetto and Spuntino. Dining at Mishkin’s has made me want to go try the other restaurants in this family!

Mishkin’s, 25 Catherine Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2B 5JS

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Benito’s Hat has a colourful and vibrant interior with an orange and green theme! These fresh and striking colours are reflected in the food! There’s a funky mural on the back wall towards the bar area of the restaurant. All these elements set the theme of a relaxed eatery!

The restaurant is made up of a long communal high wooden table with many high chairs. There are also seats against the wall with scattered cushions and some window seats, if you fancy watching the world go by!

At the counter, there is the vast array of rainbow coloured fillings to choose from! These include rice, beans, chicken, pork, salad items, sauces and garnishes! The food is all fresh and locally produced where possible.

A vegetable burrito makes for a filling and satisfying meal! The fillings that I chose for my vegetable burrito were refried beans, cilantro lime rice, grilled vegetables, guacamole and salad. The vegetables were a good mix of peppers, courgettes and chayote.

There are a choice of sauces depending on how spicy you would like your meal. Or for something mild, there is always the option of sour cream. The other choice of fillings are grilled chicken, tender chicken thighs, grilled steak, braised pork and some seasonal specials.

I’m always surprised at how much is packed into a burrito and also how the staff manage to wrap it all up into a neat tight roll! The burrito was served with some lovely fresh tortilla chips!

Benito’s Hat does fantastic tasting burritos but if you fancy something slightly lighter, then they also have smaller tacos, homemade soup and salads! The salad is basically all the fillings and toppings, without the tortilla wrap!

The staff are extremely friendly and gave us lovely service. We were definitely given service with a smile! All throughout the meal, the staff came to see if everything was ok and if we needed anything else. They also made sure that the dining area remained clean and tidy by clearing up the tables straight away.

Even though the burrito was extremely filling, after a while, we decided to share a dessert! The bunuelos were crispy cinnamon tortilla strips and vanilla ice cream. It was served in a martini glass! A lovely dessert, not too heavy, and it hit the spot just right!

Benito’s Hat has some interesting drinks on offer! One of them was the horchata which was a sweet milk based drink. The drink that I preferred was the hibiscus one. It had the strong purple colour like blackcurrant but its taste and flavour is a lot softer!

Benito’s Hat does great quality fresh tasting Mexican food! All the elements of Benito’s Hat are just right, from the food, the atmosphere, the drinks to the service and staff!

Benito’s Hat, 19 New Row, Covent Garden, London, WC2N 4LA

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For a really special occasion, Portal is the place to go! Exquisite food, excellent service and a wonderful atmosphere is what this restaurant is all about!

On entering Portal, there is the bar area. The restaurant area is slightly separated from the bar and it extends right through into the conservatory! As we were early, we started off with drinks at the bar. The bar staff were really knowledgeable about the drinks and made us feel comfortable straight away!

As soon as the restaurant was opened for the dinner service, we were shown through to the light filled conservatory and our drinks were carried through for us! This dining area looked out onto the greenery filled garden. The tables were decorated with fresh pink roses in black square vases and white square candles! There was also a room filled with neat rows of the different wines at the back end of the conservatory!

The friendly staff presented us with a bread tray which allowed us to choose our bread roll of choice! The waitress was helpful with recommendations of the food and also explained us to us quite thoroughly about the dishes that we enquired about.

As we were waiting for the starters, the staff bought over a couple of canapes, which were complimentary from the chef. These were little biscuit spoons with artichoke purée, topped with mackerel. The canapes were really nice and we were pleasantly surprised that they were served warm!

The hot starter of roasted green pepper salad with grilled sardines was lovely. The sardines were rolled up and on a skewer on top of the sliced peppers and onions.

Both of our main dishes were presented beautifully and looked too pretty to eat! There was a great amount of attention to detail! The Portuguese turnip leaves rice with grilled halloumi cheese and tomato concasse was absolutely perfect. The rice and turnip leaves tower was surrounded by raspberries, blackberries, orange crisps and fig crisps! The halloumi cheese had been grilled just right. All the flavours worked well together. This dish was extremely pleasing to the eye and to the palate!

Portuguese octopus rice with pan fried octopus fillets and watercress salad was the main dish that my friend chose! The octopus fillets were tender and cooked to perfection. The tomato based rice was served from a steaming iron pot which the staff brought to the table to serve from!

Our dessert was pumpkin souffle with strawberry ice-cream. It has to be the best dessert that I have ever tasted. The pumpkin souffle oozed with the warm liquid centre. It was not served in a ramekin how souffles are normally served. The pumpkin souffle was topped with fresh strawberry and blackberry pieces. The strawberry ice cream tasted like we were eating fresh strawberries. It had such an intense flavour. To top it off, the strawberry crisps and starfruit crisps were also great! The whole dessert was amazing!

Portal served us with the most wonderful dining experience and one which we will always remember!

Portal Restaurant and Bar, 88 St John Street, London, EC1M 4EH

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