Food That Makes You Smile!

I was invited to a bloggers event by the lovely Patricia from Ceru to check out their new pop up location at London Riviera, More Place, right by Tower Bridge.

Some of you may remember my blog post about Ceru a few months ago, when I organised a little Foodies Meetup there. I instantly fell in love with the flavours of Levantine cuisine and have been craving it since! So when I was invited to this, there was no way I was going to say no, despite how busy I am at the moment.

I’ve never been to the riverside at More Place before, so walking up to it was actually incredible – what a magnificent location. You see the beautiful Tower Bridge right in front of you, with City Hall on your right. Then slightly to your left, you see a cluster of sky high buildings in the city, including the Gherkin. It captures so many iconic landmarks that makes me feel so lucky and happy to be living in this great city of London.

It was lovely to see some familiar faces and meet new awesome foodies/bloggers too. I genuinely love meeting new people and finding out about their stories – everyone has one!

Everyone was served 3 cocktails on the night, but I had their delicious fresh house lemonade of course. They all seemed to enjoy them though so I’ll leave it up to them to describe it to you.

To start, we were served freshly baked Greek pita bread with 3 dips – Pancar (a beetroot & yoghurt based dip), hummus and a red pepper dip with a kick, which was amazing.

What I loved most about the event (apart from the food of course) was the fact that we finally got to meet Executive Chef, Tom Kime, who made the effort to speak to each and every one of us before explaining the story behind his food creations.

He has gone above and beyond some popups by thinking about the variety of customers he gets, and even how to cater to all their dietary needs. For example, he wanted to make sure that vegetarians don’t draw the short straw, by creating delicious veggie friendly dishes, one of which was this amazing combination of spiced cauliflower, pomegranate, watercress & walnuts.

The other thing that I particularly appreciated is the fact that all the meat they serve is halal (WOOHOO!) and the fish is all sourced sustainably. Could they be anymore accommodating and considerate?

Once again, I cannot praise the slow roasted lamb shoulder enough. It is cooked with 20 spices, and boy do those spices work! It’s melt in your mouth soft, with some crunchier charred bits, which all add even more depth to each bite. There is also this pop of freshness that the pomegranate, pistachio and mint leaves provide. This is truly my favourite dish, and I would happily order the same thing every time I go. I don’t even care if you judge me.

The carrots with pine nuts in a vinegar dressing was an interesting combination, but it really worked. It’s not even on their regular menu, so I felt honoured to be one of the first people to try it.

Some of the other dishes served and enjoyed by many were the courgette & mussel fritters as well as the crispy spiced squid.

The evening slowly came to a close with a serving of the ever so tasty and moreish honeycomb ice cream, served with the flavours of baklava – roast nut brittle and burnt honey caramel. Enough said really, but I totally could’ve eaten more of that deliciousness!

As I was leaving, the sun hadn’t completely set yet (don’t you just love the summertime daylight hours?) and so everything seemed to have a bit more of a glow.

I had a brilliant time at the bloggers event, and felt very lucky to have tried some dishes that weren’t even on the menu yet. After we all stuffed ourselves, I had the pleasure of chatting to Tom Kime and it really was evident how much hard work has gone into making Ceru what it is today. I look forward to the day Ceru secures their permanent site in London. It’s definitely growing though, as Tom told us that he’s opening up a restaurant in Sydney, so watch this space!

I bought Tom’s latest cookbook, Street Food, which he kindly signed for me and I can’t wait to try out some recipes!

Ceru will be at London Riviera, More Place, for a good few months over the summer, so I would definitely recommend you pay them a visit. I mean, how can you go wrong with good food and an incredible view in the glorious sunshine? Well… fingers crossed about the weather anyway!