The restaurant at St John Hotel - Apr 2011

Where: St John Hotel, Leicester Square

How much: 

£70 for 2 courses and 2 glasses of wine

Come here if: you have an unquenchable thirst for tripe

Not many things that can tempt me into Soho on a Saturday night, much less Leicester Square, its bratty sibling, where dead eyes scan the tourist hordes for their money. It's a logical spot for a restaurant, high priced cash generators abound, fleecing the unwary with no care for reputation among the passing trade. Why in the hell chef's chef Fergus Henderson picked here for his latest venture I'll never understand. But pick it he did, so visiting I must come.

It's a sparse white space, below and ajoined to a new boutique hotel. Once upon a time the building was occupied by one of the grand dame's of pre-theatre dining, Manzi's. I have to be honest and say that I went a couple of times, admittedly towards the end of it's life, and never really saw the fuss, but Mr Henderson (among many) has fond memories and has resurrected the old space in his own style. One wall is taken up with a large long kitchen, another features windows ideal for people watching the slightly odd mix of humanity that throng the square at night. The kitchen is open from early, serving breakfasts to the hotel guests. This I've got to try. Their robust, gutsy take on previously unachieved bits of animal has to translate into a fine fry.

The supper menu is concise, with seven or eight starters, mains and desserts (caveat, I was here in the first week, not particularly planned, I thought they'd been open for a month). A spectacularly hungover Dr Vole came seeking veggies, possibly not the best option in an offalhound's paradise like this. On another day, with my trencherman's hat on, I'll go for the suckling pig. Previously only available pre-ordered at parent restaurant St John, here it's available on spec. A hearty sounding dish of bacon and beans is available to share, as is an intriguing sounding pike pie. Dr Vole went for the sole vegetarian option, an excellent celeriac dauphinois with a side of rough chard mash and a peppery watercress salad hit further with a mustard and caper dressing. Creamy and soft, with a rounded edge of aniseed, I couldn't help think how well it'd have gone with the aforementioned suckling pork...

I went for two starters, crumbed skate cheeks with tartare, a frugal and filling take on scampi, comprising crisp nuggets of golden crumb that broke to reveal soft yielding fish. The second was another St John favourite, thin slices of slow cooked veal tongue were mixed in with waxy potato to more of the mustardy watercress.

There was method in my madness, compensating for the lack of a main with one of the several excellent puddings available. If the main menu can challenge at times (the eagerly anticipated focus on offal isn't to everyone's taste) the puddings won't. I'd be happy coming here for them alone. Despite being tempted by a chocolate terrine and a burnt prune custard we plumped, literally and metaphorically, for a dark ginger loaf with sweet cider caramel and an enormous apple shortbread pie with bay ice-cream. not as weird as it sounds and a perfect end to dinner.

While the menu won't be to everyone's taste, the food is worth challenging your expectations for. Well priced for what it is, it's such a relief to know that there's now a quality dining option in amongst the clip joints and tourist spots of Leicester Square. I'm not there that often, though will be back just for that suckling pig, I'm just glad that there's a chance some of the tourists might be tempted away from the dubious delights of the Angus Steakhouse and by doing so gain a proper understanding of how good British food can be.

Koya - noodling round Soho- Apr 2011

Where: Koya, Frith Street Soho

How much: Bowls of noodles or rice are between £8 and £13 with side plates around a fiver each. 

With who: The Lumberjack

Come here if: you can manage to get a table

There's a real renaissance in reservation free dining in the West End. Looking at most of the current hot lists, there's a number of names cropping up again and again; #Meateasy, the New Cross burger pop up, Sputino, Russell Norman's latest 26 seater Soho spot, Dishoom and Koya, each expect you to take your time, and take your chance with the queues. I'd love to link it to some banker backlash, a sense of camaraderie from eager restaurateurs seeking to kick back against the elite and provide opportunity to all, but it's more of a new type of dining, a more casual twist away from the fine dining edge. 

Casual Koya certainly is. Dressed down, colour coordinated soft linen lined staff straight out of a Muji advert. Plain walls, bare wooden tables aimed at twos and reclaimed floor tiles, it's a pretty space, though nothing designed, arty or memorable. It's a little Japanese cafe focussed firmly on the art of the noodle.

There's lots to like here. The staff are friendly and unobtrusive, still or sparkling filtered water land on your table as soon as you're handed the slim 2 page menu. There isn't long to wait for food, the homemade udon noodles that are the staple of the house, are made fresh daily and briefly braised in an umami rich broth and served with a variety of accompaniments. While you can have several of their delicately flavoured toppings with rice and have the noodles dry, without the broth, but for me these both miss the best bit. We started with cold sliced duck breast in light soy with fierce Japanese mustard on the side comes to share. It's nothing to write home about (assuming your home was in Japan) but it's a great piece of meat, cooked well. The noodles are exceptional, as always. Thick worms of al dente udon simmer in a broth shared with slow poached chicken, vegetables and a golden poached egg shining in the centre of the pot. Sprinkled with a spoonful of deep red shichimi seasoning, combining chilli pepper, orange peel and toasted sesame seeds, it's a thing of beauty.