Great hot spot! Good drinks, tapas, service d and ambience. Very busy hard working staff. read more

Carousel - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - London, XGL

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Never have I enjoyed a dining experience quite like our evening at Carousel. We caught it on a night where the guest chef was Marianna Leivaditaki, and from the off, my friend and I were greeted with warmth from the host and wait staff. After that, Chef Leivaditaki stole the show with a delightfully curated menu inspired by her native Crete - nothing was overly complicated, but in turn every ingredient and course stood on their own, and delightful so. And beyond individual quality, every course worked so well together. From the first wave of courses all the way through to the last dessert, there was a real thoughtfulness, and it made such a difference. And of course, to watch Chef plate and garnish each pending plate as we enjoyed what was in front of us made the entire experience feel so intimate; so enjoyable. Whether you're trying to just enjoy a glass of wine or a cocktail with friends or going to experience one of the visiting chef's, Carousel is somewhere you dare not pass over during your time in London. We hope to get back soon, and I'm sure the other guests that night felt the same. read more

Round and round we go, slipping almost seamlessly from set of one set of diners to another, from one set of chefs doing a mini residency to another, an actual 'permanent pop-up'. Thing is, its not really permanent as they only have the space for five years then it will be something else again. The question would really be is this place more Carousel and less Russian Roulette? Done right they could get a new review every few weeks with top new chefs 'just having fun' and getting a reputation for an innovative unique time (especially as they only have about 30 covers a day over two sittings). In addition to their ground floor restaurant space they also have an upstairs and down stairs for exhibitions and events (receptions, launches, weddings) so defining this place is a real challenge. I came here on Thanksgiving and really only found this place from small articles online gushing about this new, innovative and interesting place near Paddington. There was little time to arrange and my American friend had to get back to Oxford, that, combined with my ignorance of the area meant going for a place that was a little bit of a mystery, indeed it was even yelpless. Tickets must be booked in advance and are quite pricey at £45 a head, quite a sum to ask for if there isn't a menu or a review around to guide you. When I arrived I was the first there and wondered if I'd made a terrible mistake. It soon filled and the price gets you canapés, a glass of prosecco and three courses from a small menu. The service was really very personal and friendly with the founders clearly very proud of their place, making time to talk to each of the five or so groups there. The current resident chefs are the founders doing a month long residency, Ollie Templeton (ex-Moro) and Max Pasetti (ex-Bocca di Lupo and Trullo) and they have produced a truly wonderful menu. We started with beautiful mackerel dish on a bed of fennel mint and grilled orange with a shallot vinaigrette (divine). We also had a Buratta cheese dish with grilled aubergine, mint and black chilli that just worked. For the mains there was a roasted poussin with freekeh (I'd never heard of freekeh and still not sure what it is but there is no photo as it was eaten really quickly!). We also had a pan fried hake with mussels and fregula (also amazing!) Finally after giggling our way through the food we finished firstly with a lemon and Seville orange cake and astonishingly moreish cardamom yogurt followed by donuts with marscapone and red wine prunes (suggested by the chef...who was right). Every dish was a hit and this residency ends on the 18th December before they change. So far it really does feel like a showcase where the chefs are free to 'have fun' and cook for a small audience. I would suggest that you spin the roulette wheel and jump on the Carousel, its worth it. read more

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Was here for Celine Pham's modern Vietnamese showcase lunch. I absolutely loved everything. Starter of grilled octopus was mouth-watering. I couldn't put my fork down till I had had every piece of it. My main of pork with potatoes and sesame sauce was also perfectly done. She had braised the pork just appropriately and every ingredient was very flavourful. Loved the ambience - simple, spacious and modern. I appreciated the little details like the abstract paintings on the wall -- made me feel like I was dining in an art studio of sort. Service was prompt and good. They went out of their way to bring my friend extra potatoes in lieu of bread as well. Would love to go back! read more

Carousel - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - London, XGL

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An unique dining experience. I discovered Carousel via a VIP dinner for an industry conference I recently attended. I was valledupar the last min as my boss could not make it - I am a lucky bastard ;) Coming from New York, I am total newbie to the London foodie scene. I didn't know anything about the the restaurant except that they served pop-up dinner by visiting chefs. I love the concept of "being able to taste the food from all the great restaurants around the world without leaving London". I am intrigued :) Upon arriving , I was greeted warmly by the host who shown me to the upstairs space. The setup resembled a modern art gallery - artsy, bright and airy with two small balconies on one end of the room. After a few drinks, we were guided to the basement dinning room. Services were friendly and attentive through out the dinner. We were given a 3 courses set menu with two options in each course. I opted for the beef tartar for starter, roasted hake for main and chocolate cheese cake for dessert. All nice and refined, though not anything exceptional or mind-blowing. I think it would be better coming for one of the pop-up dinner by visiting Michelin starred chefs from different country and cousins. I will have to leave it for my next time in town :/ read more

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As a friend of mine is working front of house at Carousel currently I got a great tip to come try Mathieu Perez of Percherons. Carousel showcases different chefs every couple of weeks and Mathieu is there to 20th November for lunch and dinner sittings. The restaurant was sparely decorated with large supper club sharing tables, dressed with roses and lots of gleaming glassware. The menu for the evening featured crispy pork belly as the star - we can vouch first hand that Mathieu uses a blow torch to crisp up the pork belly (he set the smoke alarm off!) The deal is 4 courses for £35 plus service, with drinks extra, including £22 for the paired wines. The style is supper club - so whilst you don't need to talk to your neighbours, you'll likely be sharing one of the large tables with others and dinner service starts at 7 for 7.30 first course. I stuck to water and the aperitif of a pseudo Negroni using Grey Goose vodka - Nudge members get the cocktail for free with their membership! We saw the bread coming out of the kitchen - warm from the oven, great sourdough with olive oil to dip - yum! The first course was turnip - I know that my Grandad would have said something about feeding turnips to horses, but feeding it to me with the oyster mushroom jus and salted radish was fine. The seaweed added another texture to the dish - the mushroom sauce was sublime! The squid ink pasta risotto, whilst a black dollop and not too photogenic, was full of flavour - I'm now inspired to try making a pasta risotto myself, although I may forgo the squid ink at home - it looks like it would stain.... But I think my favourite dish was the octopus with heritage beetroot - perfectly cooked octopus with a flavourful sear on the outside and one of my favourite veggies in three different colours. Sarah and I decided to share the special extra course of miso beef cheeks with Brussels - I'm not sure the miso flavour came through, but it was a good dish netherless. Sharing was a good idea as 5 courses each would have been a lot of food (especially with that great addictive bread alongside!) Then the star of the show, the crispy pork belly with classic cauliflower purée and not so classic pickled celery leaves and clementine, this all worked wonderfully well together and I can vouch for that blow torched crackling being worth the smoke alarm! The most unusual dish though was the dessert..... Creamed corn with Stilton and pastry. The strong flavour from the Stilton worked really well with the creamed corn and the pastry added texture - so unusual but actually surprisingly good! Sarah had the matching wines with the meal - all natural wines and lot of them very young (2015!). Not for everyone, but worth trying, the match of the minerally wine and the creamed corn course was great, it really cut through the strong Stilton. Get down to Carousel ASAP if you want to try similar from Mathieu - check out their website for future pop ups too, it's a Carousel of talent with a new chef featured every couple of weeks :) read more

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So this is the tomato main course (first of 3 mains and sadly the best and the only one I managed to take photos of). It's an odd place, yes, very Shoreditch sand street -trendy but at £40pp, the foods only just 'ok', could be bigger on the plate tbh. The mussels bhaji (yep, they did that too bhaji's), over seasoned and there were like 3 pieces of mussels... a little disappointing. Dessert was a cheesecake... who doesn't expect some sort or crumbly biscuit over the top or at least underneath... non existent! If you say gingerbread, we should see some of it not just left over crumbs on a plate! Overall... good, ok for cost and a date night.... drinks came to £105... and seeing as it took 2 hours to get through dinner, they really do push the drinks and I can see why at that cost! Was like £15-£20. Wo! Stick to tap water and don't expect to be full at the end of the night. read more

I've been to art exhibitions, private views and secret gigs at Carousel but have yet to try the food! A bit off the beaten track, I keep forgetting it's here. I like the sound of the ever-changing chefs and their overall ethics. And any place that combines good food with art is a winner in my book. read more

The food, prepared by chef Ollie Templeton, was delicious and experimental. There was a red line throughout all courses which made the experience even better. The ambience in the restaurant was very pleasant and it wasn't too crowded. read more

Can't say that i was that impressed with the food here. Tiny portions and average service, won't be coming back any time soon.

what an incredible dining experience with an excellent price to boot. Thoughtful, crafted, decadent, delicious. Probably the one of the top 5 dining experiences ever. Truly special! read more