Dinner at Novikov London
There are a couple of things I like to do when I am stressed out.
First, I like to hop on plane. Destination? Literally anywhere.
Though a lot of the time the destination happens to be London as it is the only place you can get reasonable flights to at the last minute.
Second, I like to eat a ton of carb-loaded Italian food.
Those Italians, always making people fat and happy.
Thankfully my most recent stressed out moment involved both of those things, a flight to London and a meal at Novikov’s Italian restaurant.
The story of Novikov is easily one of my favourite success stories. If you spoken to me in the last few months, chances are high you have already heard it, but it not then here goes..
Novikov was once a young man living in Soviet Russia. After the fall of communism in the early 90’s the very first McDonalds opened it’s doors in Moscow. Mr. Novikov applied to this strange American chain and was unfortunately rejected from the job.
Mr. Novikov then decided to say ‘screw you McDonalds’ or the equivalent in Russian, and he opened his own fish restaurant in Moscow, as meat was hard to come by.
Soon his fish restaurant was very successful and came to the attention of various mafia types who threatened Mr. Novikov and at one point strangled him. After this incident Novikov left Moscow and came to London. He set up Novikov in Mayfair and is now a millionaire and owner of several bars and restaurants across the world.
So now back to me and my love for risotto…
I will one day order something different, maybe, perhaps.
If I am being totally honest, I have eaten in Novikov a few times and I thought they had let themselves slip this time. I wasn’t overly impressed with my risotto and my friend Munir wasn’t too happy with his pasta either.
Dessert however, made up for the disappointment with the risotto. My chocolate fondant was a dream!
Munir was equally happy with his tiramisu.
Hot tip: if you go with a group you have to order the dessert platter! It comes on a tray of dry ice and is a sight to be seen!
After dinner we went to Galvin at the Windows for a drink with a view.
If you want to go crazy and party, Galvin’s is not the place. It is much more of a chilled out vibe but I do like popping in whenever I’m in the area.
Sorry for the shameless selfie.. but the bathroom lighting at Galvin’s is on point! Once I had indulged my vanity, we decided to go for one more in Aqua Kyoto, just off Oxford Street.
Another of my favourite London spots, this place is perfect for weekend drinks. I have yet to try here for dinner, but sure, there is always next time!
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