On the advice of our Twitter followers, we chose Michelin-starred restaurant Texture for a representation of Iceland in London. Food bloggers Keith and Lolli from www.wenniesaffairs.com were keen to try some Icelandic cuisine and volunteered to road-test the restaurant for us:

There were several reasons why we were exceptionally excited about dining at Texture, brainchild of sommelier Xavier Rousset (Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons) and Icelandic chef Agnar Sverrisson.

First, we love to dine at Michelin-starred restaurants (which foodie doesn’t?) Second, prior to dining at Texture, we were not overly familiar with Icelandic cuisine, bar the penchant for salmon and seafood, so we were eager to learn more. And finally, we couldn’t resist the restaurant’s accompanying champagne bar!

We had a choice of the Ã  la carte menu, tasting menu or the Scandinavian fish menu. We opted for the fish menu and weren’t disappointed. Xavier Rousset’s selections for the wine list were well-organised and had an abundance of choice. We selected a 2007 Laurent Tribut Chablis, which was a perfect pairing for the impending seafood feast.

Our starters consisted of smoked gravlax loch salmon coated in dill, with dollops of horseradish mustard, cucumber emulsion, cucumber snow and rye bread.  The next course was Scottish scallops, mussels, and root vegetable broth. The main dish was an Icelandic lightly salted cod, prawn and barley risotto, with shellfish sauce.

While we were eating, we noticed Agnar Sverrisson greeting a number of diners. Keith took a few minutes to ask him a few questions about his Icelandic influences (while I cowered in the corner like a shy toddler. I am terrible with famous people). Agnar was cordial, pleasant and very forthright about the fact that he is not in any way trying to create an Icelandic culinary experience.

Texture’s amazing feat was that by the end of the meal we were pleasantly satisfied plus knew that we had enjoyed a truly tasty, innovative and unusual meal. The fact that the food is by most standards healthy shouldn’t detract from the fact that this was a truly darn exciting meal.

If you were expecting a hearty dish of putrescent shark (hakarl) or puffin in milk sauce, you are going to be sorely disappointed. Agnar has gone in an entirely different direction. There were moments where the Icelandic influence was obvious. For instance skyr quenelles (yoghurt-like cheese) served with warm crusty brown bread on wooden boards, or the sourcing of the cod and other seafood from Iceland.

Almost regrettably, we neared the end of meal and finished our coffees in the bar with a generous plate of petit fours; macaroons, pistachio madeleines, cardamom truffles and Fisherman’s Friend meringue lollipops.

Read more of Keith and Lolli’s foodie adventures at www.wenniesaffairs.com

Have you been to Texture? Do you know of any other Icelandic experiences in London? Let us know in the comments below.

Just a few minutes away from the bustle of Oxford Circus, the seafood restaurant Cape Town Fish Market offers a variety of seafood and sushi with a South African feel.

We marvelled at the live lobster tank as we walked in although I felt rather sorry for their inevitable outcome.  However, a huge tank full of beautiful tropical fish also welcomes you into a unique and fun environment.

You can choose between eating at a table or at the moving sushi bar. The menu takes a while to choose from with its many choices, ranging from seafood favourites such as calamari to sea bass. The restaurant also offer steak, ribs and salads.

Cape Town Fish Market is well-known in its native land of South Africa and its popularity is growing in London. The décor is informal yet impressive. 

We ordered seafood soup and fishcakes to start which were absolutely delicious. The salmon glazed in a ginger Teriyaki sauce and the prawns in an Asian sauce that followed left us very impressed with both the food and the service.

The location is ideal for people planning to see a show at the London Palladium which is next door  or for a break from shopping in Carnaby Street  and Oxford Street. 

Cape Town Fish Market,  Sutherland House, 5&6 Argyll Street, W1F 7TE

London’s iconic river Thames has won the prestigious International Theiss River Prize in Perth, Australia this week. The prize recognises outstanding achievement in river management and restoration.

The Thames has undergone an extensive recovery programme that has seen it go from a biologically dead river in the 1950s to today’s thriving waterway; teeming with fish, and with returning salmon, otter and sea trout populations.

Water quality has also improved, with rivers in the Thames catchment rising from 53% rated chemically “Good” or “Very Good” in 1990 to 80% in 2008.

Alastair Driver, the Environment Agency‘s national conservation manager, said: “In the last 150 years the Thames has been to hell and back, and it has taken thousands of people many decades to restore it to this point. … [Now] we and all of the people and organisations we work with are [are working to] ensure that the Thames remains an iconic river for many centuries to come.”

The photo above is from the Environment Agency’s flickr Pool. Add your Thames pics to Visit London’s flickr pool here.

Read more about the London’s River Thames

Last week I was lucky enough to get a behind the scenes tour of the SEA LIFE London Aquarium.  I’ve been to the Aquarium many times but never realised just how much is happening behind the Staff Only doors.

First stop was the area where staff prep for meal times. I saw boards explaining which fish needed what and any special diets. As Toby, the General Manager, took me through I saw some of the live bait such as tiny shrimps that are bred for meal times.

I was also amazed to find a special room where every fish that dies in the Aquarium, no matter how big or small, has a post-mortem.  While I was there, there were test tubes ready to be sent off to labs.

Another fact I was amazed to find out was that Aquarium staff make their own salt water so that they can get the consistencies right for each of the exhibits. There were huge mounds of salt ready for dilution.

Next stop was a vast room full of live sea life being bred for breeding programs and conservation or quarantined. It was amazing, I saw new exhibits such as guitar sharks that look like a cross between a ray and a shark, a beautiful leopard ray, and lots more fish that I cannot remember the names of. 

They had also just put some crown-of-thorns starfish into one of the exhibits for research. The starfish are usually found on coral reefs in the tropics where they prey on the coral. They are seen as a major threat to the coral reef ecosystem.

My highlight was being able to see one of the crocodiles which will be going into the new Rainforests of the World exhibit on Monday.  She looked very content bathing under heat lamps and waiting for her dinner – frozen rats and chicks.  Toby took me  to see her sister who has already settled nicely into her new home within the rainforest exhibit. As we arrived she was swimming around, enjoying her new surroundings and waiting for her new friend to join her.

Rainforests of the World is open now at the SEA LIFE London Aquarium