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Gothic grub: Paradise By Way of Kensal Green

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TROUBADOUR
263-267 Old Brompton Road, SW5 (020 7370 1434) £32
A survivor from the 1950s, this coffee house — where Bob Dylan played his first London gig — describes itself as “a low temperature centre of courtesy, peace and artistic energy”. Jazz and poetry fill the basement, the café serves food that won't startle anyone (but good suppliers are used) and on the top floor is The Garret, where you can sleep and dream about Jimi Hendrix and/or Joni Mitchell. A new wine shop/bar has replaced the deli.

TOULOUSE LAUTREC
140 Newington Butts, SE11 (020 7582 6800) £35
Moustachioed Herve Regent, who points at your shoulder and cries “Attention” as the tape of gulls cawing at his Lobster Pot restaurant alerts you to fictitious birdy deposits, has established his sons Florent (chef) and Nolan (manager) in a nearby gastropub. Classic French food is served from an open kitchen, upstairs a jazz pianist plays and for those in need of a Gauloise there is a terrace. It's an amiable, welcome time warp.

PIZZA ON THE PARK
11 Knightsbridge, SW1 (20 7235 5273) £34
Peter Boizot, founder of Pizza Express, is a great jazz fan as grateful customers here and at the Dean Street branch know. The pizza menu in the Apicella-designed restaurant is enhanced by charcoal-grilled burgers and steaks and there are even salads for those whose diets admit no dough. Currently Jeff Harnar's American Songbook in London is being performed with Tony DeSare singing and playing Mercer, Moon River and Me from 7-18 April.

PARADISE BY WAY OF KENSAL GREEN
19 Kilburn Lane, W10 (020 8969 0098) £42
Angels from the nearby cemetery look to have flapped their stony wings and landed in this huge 19th-century pub now alluringly decorated in a style of gothic whimsy. The menu is staunchly British in terms of ingredients. Exmoor, Orkney, Poole Harbour and Goosnargh are all name-checked on a diverting list of dishes. Upstairs a mixture of comedy, disco and live music is supplied. Get ready for the Easter Rockabilly Rocksteady Jamboree.

THE BOUNTIFUL COW
51 Eagle Street, WC1 (020 7404 0200) £30
On Saturday evenings, the Shura Greenberg Trio — sometimes with the lovely Marcella Puppini singing — plays at this “public house devoted to beef” whose proprietor is Roxy Beaujolais, more usually found at The Seven Stars in Carey Street. The excellent McKanna Meats in nearby Theobalds Road supplies the steak on offer. An Easter Weekend deal is a more pious roast chicken with vegetables followed by crème brûlée for £11.
Prices estimate a meal with wine for one.

 

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