The Anchor & Hope, 36 The Cut, SE1

I finally got round to trying out The Anchor & Hope with the brunette after a short tour of the Southbank chocolate festival to whet the appetite.

Sadly, we went the day after a glowing write up in Friday's Evening Standard magazine so the place filled up rapidly. Expecting a long wait (as this is another eatery that doesn't take bookings) we turned up shortly after 5pm - dinner service isn't till 6- and shared a bottle of Beaujolais at the bar. The wine came with quaint little goblets that we sank very easily. Half an hour later a red haired lady appeared and the crowd pinned her down to put their name on the coveted list. We were in a prime spot so were told we would be seated at 6pm and carried on drinking and watching staff prep herbs and bread.

By the time we sat down we'd run through the menu several times and both decided to go for the baked pig's cheek and fennel, shredded celeriac and mustard as it sounded interesting. I nipped to the loo to wash my hands and came back to find the dish already waiting for me. I like efficient service at restaurants but not if they churn you out the door as soon as you've walked in so we agreed to take our time and admired the wall of charming paintings above our head, all by artist Aldous Eveleigh.

The pig was an impressive rich brown colour and looked pretty against the celeriac and green cabbage but when I put my knife to it, it was rather gelatinous and quivered like a breast implant. I was expecting it to be crispy like pork belly but when I flipped it over found to my disappointment that there was a limited amount of meat there. Having said this, it was very well seasoned, as were the accompaniments and was not wholly unpleasant but like my mum I have a certain fat threshold with meat and left a fair bit of it.

Our waiter was very friendly and upon looking at our plates asked how we had enjoyed the dish. We confessed that we hadn't expected so much fat and he agreed adding: "but at least it's crispy". The brunette looked at me with a raised eyebrow. I'm not familiar with pig's cheek- should it be like that? Or, in their efforts to rush plates out did this little piggy lose its crunch? We saw subsequent covers emerge from the kitchen that looked more in line with what I was expecting..

Puddings were a triumph. Mark had a pistachio cake with rhubarb and creme fraiche. It was quite a dense piece but as we weren't overloaded by the first course this wasn't unwelcome. I went for buttermilk pudding and blood oranges which were nicely caramelised. I was expecting a hot rice pudding but it was like a pannacotta, and like my main had a wobbly consistency though this time was sweet and creamy and a lot more appetising!

Easter Chocolate Festival, Southbank Centre

Yesterday I met my friend Mark aka 'the brunette' and took a stroll down to Southbank to check out the chocolate festival going on. Recent posts paint me as a bit of a chocoholic which isn't the case as I'd choose a scoop of Ben and Jerry's caramel chew chew over a bar of Dairy Milk any day but I haven't been observing Lent over the past month so why neglect the stuff?!

We had mistimed a late lunch at the Anchor & Hope and they had stopped serving so we had a few hours to kill before dinner service and checked out the Easter treats on offer. They had oodles of eggs, organic hot chocolate, fudge, truffles and best of all churros! See the brunette above feasting on a cinnamon sprinkled pot of it.

I bought a William Curley sea salt caramel egg to take home at the end of the week. The price tag was slightly ridiculous (£27!) but it will be our last Easter in the family home before my parents move out so I thought I'd push the boat out. Curley has a shop in Richmond and Belgravia and his rosemary and olive oil chocs featured on Raymond Blanc's Kitchen Secrets recently as he's one of Blanc's proteges. At the stall they were offering out some samples of his miso and walnut biscuits which had a nice crumble and subtle saltiness. I hope the egg doesn't disappoint - if it's good I'm going to head to one of his shops to try the apricot and wasabi and Japanese black vinegar creations!

Vinoteca, 7 St. John's St, EC1

Vinoteca - 'best wine bar in London'- boasts its website. Not far off. My friend Helen raves about this place in Farringdon so I was eager to try it out for dinner with Robert, Leah and her boyfriend Guy on Saturday. On a weekday in London one is always in a rush- rushing to catch the tube, rushing to meet deadlines or rushing to escape the gym- so waiting for a table to free up isn't viable. But at the weekend there's no such urgency and so it was sadly liberating to rock up to Vintoeca without a booking (they don't take them) and wait for a table while dipping into a pot of olives and a really smooth glass of Malbec.

As it happens, we were seated very quickly, despite talk of an hour and a half wait from the bespectacled barman who greeted us. I say greeted, he had a fairly nonchalant attitude actually but he was harmless enough and anyhow I was more bothered by the menu.

There were several dishes that caught my eye which is always a good sign and we all shared so there was no serious food envy to sour the experience! I started with burrata, grilled aubergine and preserved lemon. Burrata is made from mozzarella and cream and this was rich and buttery as its name suggests. It married well with the charred aubergine which was not at all greasy as it tends to be when I griddle it despite being sparing with the oil.

Robert and Leah had old spot pork belly which was given an Asian kick with chilli, ginger and coriander and melted in the mouth. I didn't try Guy's butterbean and chorizo soup but it quickly dispelled the hunger brought on by his marathon training. Next was juicy lamb rump, stewed pepperonata, nutty ratte potatoes and a generous helping of Sicilian olives- they tasted just like the big green Puglian ones at Borough - my favourites.

Leah had sauteed squid (minus the red mullet as they were out) with fregola sarda. I've seen this described as 'giant' or 'Israeli' couscous but it's actually a Sardinian pasta. I have a slightly unhealthy obsession with it at the moment as it has a really satisfying bite but haven't managed to find it in the usual places. I had rice-shaped Orzo pasta for dinner this evening which was almost as good but not quite so I'm going to raid the Italian delis and upload a recipe on here within the next month!

Guy wasn't drinking as he was designated driver so it was left to Robert, Leah and me to see away the second bottle of red. My attempt was feeble so I couldn't really justify a pudding and picked at Rob's champagne rhubarb and hazelnut crumble instead. The fruit was stewed to perfection and not eye-wincingly tart as it can be. They were out of custard but ice-cream would have been my preference anyway so it went down a little too easily, unfortunately for R! As expected the sweet wine list was also fairly exhaustive but again I was all boozed out so I'll have to test this out on my next visit.

The dishes were fresh, colourful and exciting, the atmosphere buzzing. Our waitress was very attentive and though it wasn't service with a smile throughout the establishment, Vinoteca's no nonsense approach to food and its seemingly endless choice of high quality wines are well worth the wait.

Fortnum & Mason 1707 Wine bar, W1

Housed at the bottom of Fortnum & Mason's is the 1707 Wine Bar, the brainchild of prolific restaurant designer David Collins who is behind some of London's chicest bars and restaurants such as The Connaught Bar, Nobu and The Wolseley.

After bracing the masses at Van Gogh's heaving exhibition at the Royal Academy (for a second time) on Friday and rainy Piccadilly afterwards my mum and I ended up at 1707 propping up the bar with Jermyn Street's finest suits and divorcees. Bouffed ladies and pushy maitre d' aside the place was faultless and our Polish bar man was utterly charming and knowledgeable about the extensive wine list. We plumped for a glass of New Zealand Pinot Noir each and shared a plate of three cheeses with ash crackers and dried fig and a cassoulet brimming with ham and Toulouse sausages.

Apologies for the lack of food pics but I had to take a snap of the talented strumming guitar player who soothed away Friday's fatigue. I also wanted a reminder of the wooden clad walls which were almost reminiscent of a Scandinavian log cabin and warmed us up for the journey home.

La Dolce Vita, Islington, N1

I'm embarrassed not to have posted photos from La Dolce Vita's Italian festival sooner so thought I'd slip them on now for your viewing pleasure.

Normally the festival is held at Kensington Olympia but this year they moved it to the Islington Business Centre which was a lot more convenient and looked almost identical inside.

This year was slightly disappointing in that the food stalls were noticeably less numerous with more slick types trying to persuade you that now was the time to invest in a Perugian property development (yeah right!).

However there were some hidden gems and plenty of free tasting on offer. We picked up some soft salami and a few bottles of dessert wine. One was a delicious bottle of Sagrantino di Montefalco Passito sourced by a charming guy who was formerly the finance director of Fiat (not the disgraced former director Francesco Paolo Mattioli who was accused of corruption involving bribes!) It was sweet but not sickly so and a snip at £12 a bottle!

Paul A. Young, Islington, N1

These are some of the most scrumptious chocolates you’ll find in London. The chocolatier in question is Paul A. Young. He has two shops in London- one at the Royal Exchange in Bank and one down Camden passage in Angel. I was introduced to his chocolates by my brother Matthew whose housemate had sampled one of his Taylor's Tawny Port and Colsten Basset Stilton’s creations and knew he was onto something special.

A glass box at the back of the shop houses weird and wonderful combinations such as Marmite truffles, a limited edition Penhaligon’s perfume inspired ganache and sea-salted caramels (my favourite) which explode in the mouth.

Alongside the side walls little gift boxes are stacked high with more favourites, piles of brownies, white and dark mice and an obligatory tasting bowl. Winking at you in the corner but overwhelming visitors with its smell is a cauldron of rich hot chocolate which you can embellish with spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg or chilli for a taste of the Aztec.

I picked up a box (top) for Mother’s Day for a surprise trip down on Sunday. I got the surprise as she’d already persuaded my brother to take her to the shop the day before and picked up twice as many!

Toad-in-the-hole

I’ve often wondered where toad-in-the-hole gets its name from. The Cumberland sausages and chipolatas I’ve bought haven’t been particularly amphibian in any shape or form - fortunately. That digression aside, I love yorkshire pudding hence I love toad-in-the-hole so on Saturday I picked up some honeyed pork sausages from Borough and made this warming dish for my friend Ruth and me.

My mum used this recipe last year from Waitrose and it was amazing. You don’t really need gravy unless you’re a die hard gravy fan as the apple sauce breaks up the pudding so it’s not too stodgy. I’d be a bit more generous with the sausages next time as they were a little thinner than usual and I had no chives so substituted them with sage but it worked just as well with the mustard. I made a big tin rather than individual portions but would opt for them if I was entertaining or not in the mood for sharing which is quite common!

Bourne & Hollingsworth, 28 Rathbone Place, W1

One portion of Thai calamari and a massaman duck curry heavier me and some girls from work were in serious need of a drink last night so headed down to the Fitzrovia basement bar, Bourne & Hollingsworth.

This trendy little find is on the crossroads of Rathbone Place and Percy Street and is well worth exploring. I like it for its kooky time-warp entertainment; it’s seriously old skool from the floral living room wallpaper, teacup candles and crooked chairs to the decorative empty Mumm bottles and spirits behind the bar.

Cocktails are pretty reasonably priced- my friend Leah very kindly treated me to a mocha cocktail topped with coffee beans and served in one of granny’s china cups with two dark chocolate fingers. It was bitter sweet and delicious though probably not one for a school night- the caffeine kept me up until the early hours!