Jikoni: modern Indian home cooking in the heart of Marylebone

What makes you want to go back to a restaurant? It may be because it’s convenient for where you live or work. The food certainly has to be good but I think the most important factor is the warmth of the welcome - whether you feel at home there.

Ravinder Bhogal’s new restaurant Jikoni has warmth in spades. it’s a simple, cosy place if you can call anywhere in pricey Marylebone simple with decor that’s more like an upmarket tea room than a smart West End restaurant. You could be in Ravinder’s home

If she’s not on your radar, Ravinder - aka Cook in Boots - is a fabulously pretty young British chef, food writer and TV presenter who shot to TV fame when she appeared on Gordon Ramsay’s The F Word although her subsequent billing as the new Fannie Craddock couldn’t be wider of the mark.

Her style of food is clever and witty, bringing an Indian touch to British and American classics without doing anything as clumsy as fusion food. One of the highlights of the menu, for instance, is a range of tiny Scotch eggs made from quail eggs (below) of which the prawn toast scotch eggs are particularly wonderful.

Other highlights (between 5 of us we managed to eat our way through pretty well the entire menu) were an addictively crunchy sweet potato bhel, an absolutely gorgeous lobster ‘khichdee’ a fragrant lobster curry with coconut milk and a saffron and prawn fish pie which makes you wonder if you ever want ordinary fish pie again. About the only dish that didn’t do it for me was the mutton keema sloppy joe but then I’m not mad about the original. Ravinder, I suspect, is more of a fish than a meat gal.

Leave room, if you can, for the kheer crème brulée and the outrageously good banana cake with miso butterscotch, an Anglo-Indian-Japanese spin on sticky toffee pudding.

The short but imaginative wine list compiled by restaurant manager Pierre Malouf includes an attractive prosecco - and I don’t often use those words in the same sentence - from Cantina Binardi and one of my favourite South African whites, Force Majeure Mother Rock Chenin Blanc from Swartland. We also cracked open a bottle of P.U.R Beaujolais Villages which was perfect with the gently spiced food.

The final bill was about £50 a head which is more than fair for the quality of the food and this part of town. And you could probably spend less if you didn't pig out to the extent that we did.

Frankly I can’t wait to get back to Jikoni and I don’t often say that.

Jikoni is at 19-21 Blandford Street and is open for dinner 7 days a week, for lunch from Tuesday to Friday and for Sunday brunch. Ravinder’s book Cook in Boots seems to be out of print at the time of writing but second hand copies are available on Amazon

Mampuku, Bordeaux

My heart usually sinks when I’m recommended an Asian-fusion restaurant in France. It generally means a mishmash of dishes devised by a chef who’s never set foot on the continent.

Or who insists on putting a fussy Gallic spin on the food, presumably in the hope of winning a Michelin star.

But a friend I trust recommended Mampuku and another winemaker friend had invited me there so who was I to quibble?

My fears were immediately allayed on walking through the door. This is a sophisticated space - all curving contours and blond wood with a modish open kitchen along one side.

There is a concept but (thank God) our friendly waitress didn’t feel the need to explain it. You order four or six dishes between you (at 25€ or 32€ per head). Out of sheer greed and inability to make up our minds we ordered six but four would have been enough. And, hallelujah! - they were served one by one in a logical order instead of all arriving at the same time.

We kicked off in Asian mode with osakayaki - a take on okonomiyaki with authentically fluttering bonito flakes, punchy ginger puree and cebettes (spring onions/scallions) and an exceptionally good hand-chopped korean-style steak tartare with black garlic. Then Vietnamese pancakes with a punchy filling of pork with oyster sauce, with crisp lettuce leaves to roll them in and dunk into an accompanying dipping sauce. Messy but tasty.

Bao buns made with brioche dough were a clever idea but the filling was a little lacking in punch. The sweet-flavoured, seared scallops with shitake and shimeji mushrooms in an umami-rich sake broth that followed was a much better course (albeit at a 2€ a head supplement). But best of all was what amounted to a Moroccan meatball pie - deliciously light aromatic meatballs with chickpeas under a fluffy sesame flatbread lid that went incredibly well with the friend’s medium-bodied merlot-dominated Bordeaux red.

Desserts were a little half-hearted by comparison and are not I feel their strongest suit though they are included in the price of the menu. The pastry in my knafeh with poached pears was too soft and the pears too hard but it did work quite well with the Sauternes my friend had brought along. And it has to be said he demolished his Gen Mai - grilled rice ice-cream with a chocolate brownie - without too much trouble.

As he had brought his own wines (a privilege afforded to local winemakers so don’t get the idea that this is a BYO) we didn’t dip into the rather engaging and eclectic winelist which includes wines from Canada, Morocco and Israel as well as a wide choice of sakes which are available by the glass

If you’re staying in Bordeaux for a few days and tire of French food Mampuku is ideal. I’d be more than happy to go again. Expect to pay about 30-35€ a head for food.

Mampuku is at 9 Rue Ausone. Tel: +33 5 56 81 18 75

Here's Le Fooding's review (in French) if you want another take on it.

The Barbary, Covent Garden

There are two good reasons for eating at The Barbary. One is the Jerusalem bagel, a wondrous piece of baking. Served warm from the oven, encrusted in spicy sesame seeds it must be the best bread roll in town.

The second is tha it’s an under-the-radar escape from the tourist hell of Covent Garden.

Oh and the third - there are, pace Monty Python THREE good reasons - the cauliflower Jaffa-style, a gorgeous plateful of spiced, singed cauli with tomatoes and fresh herbs If you’re a cauliflower aficionado you should definitely go.

Other then that, well, I’m not sure. I’m a big fan of The Palomar it’s parent/sister restaurant half a kilometre away just off Leicester Square which combines the buzz of sitting in front of the kitchen with some more relaxing tables at the back.

The Barbary is all about the bar, a big horseshoe-shaped, zinc-coated monster around which you all jostle on uncomfortable stools, unless you’re standing at the bar at the side waiting for a slot. Or queuing outside. Yes, it’s no reservations, small plates, loud(ish) music, yada yada yada - three of the things that have come to irritate me most about eating out over the last couple of years. But then I’m well over 40.

Prices include VAT and service

Because of the limited number of seats (24) there’s also an understandable tendency to try and push up what you spend. Ordering a glass of Massaya rosé I was asked if I’d like to try an Israeli one, on the basis that they were the only place in London that stocked it. Very lovely it was too but fortunately I asked what it cost - ‘a little more’ which turned out to be £11.50 for a small glass which is going it a bit. But the BIG PLUS is that their prices include service - or hospitality as they call it. No nasty surprises at the end.

Back to the food which is mostly delicious though there’s the occasional hardcore dish like a goat shishbarak, a slightly gamey deep-fried dumpling that I suspect won’t rock your boat unless you were brought up in Beirut.

The veggie dishes appeal most - fat chunks of earthy beetroot with a cumin and chilli glaze and some very good yoghurt were the perfect partner for the bagel. A restaurateur friend sitting along the bar strongly recommended the sardines. On a previous visit we wolfed our way through the the lamb-stuffed arayes (terrific), chicken msachen (hearty home-style chicken dish), swordfish kusbara and some pata negra neck. All good but definitely too much to stuff down in a short space of time. The fresh-tasting kohlrabi salad is a good counterpoint to such punchily-flavoured, rich food. The knafeh (cheese pastry) isn’t as good as Honey & Co’s IMHO.

Most people are mad about it so why am I being so equivocal? Basically because I like The Palomar (and Honey & Co, for that matter) better but if neither existed I suspect I'd make The Barbary a regular port of call. You just need to know how - and when - to eat there. Which is, I reckon, to swing by late lunchtime or early evening for a couple of dishes and avoid the queues. But don't on any account miss The Bagel.

The Barbary is at 16 Neal's Yard, Covent Garden in a small alleyway just off Shorts Gardens. It's closed on Monday and between 3 and 5 on other weekdays but opens all day Saturday and Sunday.

See my match of the week from The Palomar: salmon uri with spicy ginger beer

Hang Fire Southern Kitchen, Barry

It’s only in the last few years that barbecue has meant more to us Brits than cheap burgers and undercooked chicken legs. Now even Marks & Spencer has an authentic southern barbecue range

Two of the people responsible for this are the gals from the Hang Fire Smokehouse, Samantha Evans and Shauna Quinn.

I’d been wanting to eat their food since they were finalists - and then won - the street food category in the BBC Food & Farming awards but it always seemed too much of a challenge to track them down in some random corner of Cardiff.

Now they’re housed in a beautiful building just by the docks in Barry or Barrybados as it's known locally. Indeed when we arrive the sun is shining when it’s been tipping down in my home town of Bristol

Shauna, the noisy extrovert one administers bear hugs (not just to us, to everyone) and sits us down. "You have a birthday!" she shrieks gaily "and you can’t drink so YOU (pointing at me) will have to have The Surprise!"

She returns with a couple of shot glasses of bourbon and pickle juice. "Down in one!" she orders.

"I’m not doing it."

"Yes you are!"

"No I’m not"

I wait for her to drink hers then take a sip. She looks as if I’ve slapped her in the face. Sorry, sorry. Just can’t do it this early in the day.

At least I manage the pickle juice which is delicious. It obviously comes from the bread and butter pickles that are served with the brisket and burnt ends my chef friend Romy has ordered. This is a massive plateful of dark, savoury, fall-apart meat which would feed four with ease. We barely do it justice.

Romy's daughters don’t rate the chips but I think they’re fine though not as good as the slender crisp sweet potato fries that come with my smoked chicken and waffles. This is my star dish - perfectly fried chicken served with a creamy ‘black’n’white pepper’ gravy. Actually it tastes more mushroomy than peppery but sooo good.

A couple of quibbles - we had to wait a bit for our main course so this isn’t a place to come for a quick bite, on a Sunday at least. A good excuse though to order some of the amazing 'frickles' (deep fried dill pickles), break your teeth on some ‘cracklins’ (aka pork scratchings) or tuck into some sticky chicken wings.

And the desserts - sorry gals - just don't come up to the standard of the rest of the food. I suspect your heart's not in it. A bowlful of sliced banana topped with squirty cream may be authentic but doesn’t really cut the mustard. The brownie is fine though it could be a touch more squidgy.

There’s also a very short wine list which didn’t trouble me as this is a place to drink beer (from a good craft beer list). There's also - paying tribute to fellow Food & Farming award winners - cider from Andy Hallett and soft drinks Square Root whose root beer goes so well with the chicken I make it my match of the week.)

All I'm thinking about now is when I can next get back there. I wish Bristol had one too. (Hint.)

PS: A useful tip. There’s a fairly utilitarian Premier inn opposite which sounds a good plan if you’re going in the evening. I suspect it could get even louder and even messier. And even more fun.

The Hang Fire Southern Kitchen is at the Pump House, Hood Road, Barry CF62 5BE. Oddly they don't have a phone number - you'll need to book online. Opening hours: Wednesday to Saturday evenings, and Friday, Saturday and Sunday lunch. Expect to pay about £25-30 a head for food: our bill, which was mainly for food and soft drinks, came to to £96 for four.

The girls also have a cookbook out called the Hang Fire Cookbook which is published by Quadrille. They're on Twitter @hangfirebbq.