Señor Ceviche - Soho

Kingley Court is quickly becoming my favourite place to dine in London. This amazing little multi-storey square tucked behind Carnaby Street is home to a number of my top London restaurants; Stax Diner, The Rum Kitchen, Pizza Pilgrims and a more recent favourite - Señor Ceviche.

With it's luminous green exterior, it's hard to miss this Peruvian gem. Serving amazing South American inspired dishes alongside some more unfamiliar cocktails, this place does laid back Peruvian eating exceptionally well.

My Mum and I visited Señor Ceviche last week in search for a different kind of dinner. The restaurant is quite small, but open plan, with a view straight into the kitchen where you can see your food being made fresh in front of you. The interior is stylish and bright - with walls plastered with neon posters, wooden furniture painted bright colours and festoon lights draped across the ceiling.

We both started off with a Cusquena beer - light but full of flavour, thumbs up from us both.

What I really like about Señor Ceviche is the menu. Quite limited but it still has an excellent variety of small tapas style dishes. The thing I love most about small plate dining is that you get to try a little bit of everything. We chose: chilli corn to nibble on, followed by, tempura mixed fish, spicy chargrilled chicken and Peruvian fries. The chilli corn was something I had never tried, but was really delicious and very morish. The deep fried fish consisted of baby squid, cod and prawns served alongside a spicy jalapeno mayonnaise - it was amazing. The batter was so light and not at all greasy and the jalapeno dip was the perfect accompaniment. The 'super chicken' seemed really understated on the menu, but was deliciously crispy, tender chicken with a kick. It was topped with fresh spring onions and peashots alongside another zingy mayo. The 'patatas fritas with huancaina and tomato fondue' (chips topped with a puréed tomato and melted cheese to you and me) were a delicious Peruvian take on the slightly less glamorous cheesy chips.

Señor Ceviche has a really fun, relaxed South American vibe and the food they serve is so deliciously excellent. The waitress was kind enough to give me a keyring entitling me to 15% off my next visit - I'll be back before you can say 'Jalapeno'!

Battle of the burgers

If you know me, you'll know I love a burger. It only takes a quick look through my blog to realise I am forever trying different burgers.

The elements of a perfect burger for me are pretty simple: First of all, a soft bun, absolutely NEVER toasted. Personally, the kind of bun you can squish down and squash into your mouth is perfect. Although I am partial to a brioche bun, you will see, some of my favourite burgers are briochless. Secondly, a juicy beef patty that is preferably cooked medium. If your patty isn't oozing delicious burger juice, then it's not right. Thirdly, extras: cheese is always a yes, bacon is preferable and tomatoes, for me, are a no go zone when it comes to burgers.

Burgers have come on leaps and bounds from their primal fast food reputation. Street food vendors are selling variations of burgers featuring upmarket additions like stilton, pancetta and harissa. Some of the UK's poshest restaurants have also hopped on the burger bandwagon and now serve some of the highest quality burgers going (some even have black buns dyed with squid ink!)

What better way to celebrate the beauty of a hamburger than run through my top 5 best burgers*


1. The Prince Charles is overrated burger - 7 Bone, Bournemouth

Claiming the number one spot on my list is this little gem in Bournemouth town centre. This burger ticks all the boxes for me; squishy bun, tick, juicy patty, tick, bacon and cheese, tick tick, the dirtiest of burger sauces, tick and an entirely tomato free zone! This place holds it's own amongst some of London's most renowned burger joints.

The sides are also incredible. Chips topped with chilli con carne and jalapeños is my personal fave, washed down with one of their many craft beers.

The price of this burger is also extremely reasonable as any burgers and side is just £9!

2. Dead hippie burger - MeatLiquor, London

Not that dissimilar in build to the Prince Charles from 7 Bone, minus the bacon. But fear not, this burger has TWO beef patties and is drenched in their famous dead hippy sauce (a tangy mayonnaise like condiment to you and me).

The sides and drinks are also incredible at MeatLiquor. Giant fluffy onion rings and chips covered with all sorts of delicious toppings. And to drink, a wide range of some really incredible cocktails as well as some craft beers.

3. Bring home the bacon burger - Stax Diner, London

This burger was my number one for a while (you can read all about how much I love it in my previous blog post). Sadly, Stax has fallen to number three, but still remains a solid favourite for me and everyone I take there.

Their menu is small but has everything you could want from a typically american style burger joint. Stax is heavily influenced by deep south eating, so as well as burgers, you will find buttermilk chicken and waffles alongside some iconic American canned drinks.

A still regard Stax as a must visit for anyone in Central London. The atmosphere is wholesome, the food is great and the location is also gorgeous.

4. Hot Daddy burger - Cheeky Burger, Street Food Vendor

A very recent addition to the list, this burger is not for the faint hearted. A deliciously juicy burger patty made right in front of you in minutes, covered in melted cheese, slathered in chipotle sauce and finished off with jalapeños all inside a glossy brioche bun. This one is a winner for anyone who likes their burger with a kick.

I visited Cheeky Burger on my lunch break in Hammersmith and immediately knew the burger had to make it into my top 5. Next I have to try their burger called Elvis which features a generous helping of peanut butter *drool*

(I scoffed this down before I even had a chance to take a photo - sorry not sorry)

5. Bacon cheeseburger - Five Guys

I first tried Five Guys in Reading and instantly fell in love (read all about it here) These are burgers done right. Five Guys are popping up everywhere and offer stand out burgers in my eyes: soft seeded buns, juicy patties and toppings of your choice, you can build your very own burger of dreams.

As well as beautiful burgers, Five Guys has unlimited soft drinks available from a machine which offers around 100 different drink combinations (including peach flavoured Sprite - a personal favourite).

*(subject to change - I will always be trying more burgers)

Burger & Lobster

When I first moved here, I started keeping a list of all of the places I wanted to eat in London. Thanks to the influence of Time Out, the food envy of fellow bloggers and mouth-watering meals posted on Instagram, this list has got pretty extensive. I can tell you that it now stands at a grand total of 35. Sadly I have only made it to around a third of my foodie conquests (although probably a good thing for my waistline and bank balance...)

Now that my time in London is nearing the end, my boyfriend and I headed to the home of some of the most Instagrammed lobster rolls in existence - Burger & Lobster. Tucked away behind the hustle and bustle of Oxford Street is the raved about restaurant with a drinks menu almost 10 times as big as it's food menu. You may know that Burger & Lobster has only 3 items on it's food menu, and quelle surprise, 1 is a burger and the other 2 are lobster.

We started with a beer each; mine a light Japanese beer and Louis a stronger Brooklyn lager. For mains, I had the lobster roll and Louis had the burger (which are both served with chips and salad). The lobster roll was my first ever experience of lobster and boy was it a good one. Served in a toasted brioche roll, the lobster meat was mixed with a deliciously zingy Japanese mayo, topped with chives and served alongside the most indulgent of garlic sauces. Louis also thoroughly enjoyed his burger - thumbs up all round.

The restaurant has a no nonsense good grub vibe with semi-industrial interior and dark wood furniture. When you walk in there is a wall of lobsters in tanks, apparently some worth up to £200!

Although the food was lovely, £20 per main seems slightly steep. It was a really enjoyable experience and I will be sure to have lobster again. But for now; to start making my way through the remaining 11 on my list before June...