From Bar Bruno to Bath, here are the best things the CODE team ate this week

Lisboeta

It ain’t easy to get into Lisboeta, the new spot from Nuno Mendes on Fitzrovia’s Charlotte Street. I was lucky enough to bag two seats at the ground floor counter on Tuesday evening where I ended up having one of my best meals for a while. The handsome room was buzzing as diners awaited Mendes’ take on Lisbon’s food. Order a cold Portuguese beer along with a couple of vindalho empada (Goan-spiced pork pies) while taking a look at the menu that is split into snacks, Portuguese small plates and pots and platters to share. We stupidly forget to order the bacalhau a bras but the arroz de marisco (red prawn and and razor clam rice) made up for our loss. Be sure to order the egg yolk and pork fat custard to finish.
Adam Hyman, founder

Upstairs at the Landrace

A lovely little restaurant situated above a Bakery in Bath and a must visit for anyone planning a little west country excursion. The menu is scribbled on a blackboard, and there are Parmesan fritters to nibble on,m or scoff in fact, while you ponder. Small plates shout simplicity in the eloquent tones of speck with melt-in-the-mouth fat, and the bundles of palate-sharpening radishes with creamy goat’s curd. Seasonal ingredients are used with creative refinement in the mains – Jersey Royal agnolotti with spinach, hazelnuts and wild garlic, a rump of East Devon beef, its grassy fat cap echoed in salsa verde and chard and with a bittering note from artichoke, were the stars.
Harry Cromack, account manager

Bar Bruno

Bar Bruno is one of the last true vestiges of old Soho, a classic British-Italian cafe in every sense. I hadn’t been in a while and by chance walked in just days after a fairly major price increase. There was a rattled dismay among some regulars: the £9.50 breakfast is up to £10.50. What is the alternative? Food prices are soaring. Things like cooking oil and bread, two staples of Bruno’s, have been hit hardest. Frank, who moved over from Italy to help his uncle in the ‘70s, the cafe having been open for about a decade already, told me he is trying to keep prices fair, but has wages to pay and a rent hike with which to contend. So here we are now at plus-£10 fry ups. I’ll still be going in. Bruno’s is worth every penny and these independent businesses are as deserving of our support as ever.
Josh Barrie, editor

Alex Webb at Number One Park Lane

There are many torturous moments when watching MasterChef: The Professionals. Aside from the tension of routing for your favourite contestant there is also the agony of watching the judges eat the exceptional food that you will likely never get the pleasure of enjoying yourself. Well, with Alex Webb’s three-month residency at Number One Park Lane you can try the citrus cured salmon with tomato consommé, fennel and caviar that helped win him the MasterChef title in 2020. The well curated and excellently executed menu on offer proves him still very much worthy of the accolade. Extraordinarily tender chicken with burnt cauliflower pureé is recommended alongside the charred asparagus with girolles and wild garlic plus side of the hispi cabbage. Warm cinnamon doughnuts with dulce de leche, raspberry and popping candy and a gigantic cloud of candy floss for dessert round things off very jovially.
Molly Wade, memberships manager
CODE was a guest of Number One Park Lane

Rogues, Hackney

A vibey little space nestled away just off Hackney Road. You will find stripped back walls with slick light features and a menu of big flavours taking pride of place on the wall. I feel it is a restaurant best to big foodies and chefs! Everything is big and bold. The frog leg Kyiv with wild garlic mayo is an absolute must. The scallop supplied by Portland shellfish, known for its outstanding shellfish produce, is sublime, too. A coral and seaweed sauce gives another level of depth to the flavour. Definitely one to check out.
Harry Cromack, account manager

Wagtail

Taking over the old House of Fraser site in Monument, Wagtail is undoubtedly set to be one of the Square Mile’s hottest rooftops this summer. You’re literally floating in the City. The Walkie-Talkie looms on one side and London Bridge and the Shard on the other making it a pretty remarkable spot. While the views are reason enough to go the food and drink are also really rather good. The kitchen headed up by Phil Kearsey (ex-Corrigan’s) offers a menu of British wagyu, oysters and scallops and I had a number of very delicious cocktails I had from mixologist and bar manager Angelos Bafas.
Molly Wade, memberships manager

Read more reviews from the CODE team here