Bubble, bubble, toil and... delicious?

Bubbling with excitement we high tailed it to this Fitzrovia eating establishment.

Bubbledogs opened to much hype and hullabaloo in August 2012 and it took us almost 1 year to make it there. After many failed attempts to 'pop in' or book ahead when the place first opened, we gave up and thought we'd save it for another day...

That day came and we finally managed to taste the fancy dogs! 

The place is still quite busy at a lunch time serving to the local media & advertising peeps as well as out of towners looking to tick something of the list.

The venue is cosy with exposed bricks and an industrial but homey feel. The cute dog prints framed all over the place added a nice touch and the atmosphere was fun and buzzing at the time of visit.

Specialising in hot dogs, the options don't disappoint. Checkout the menu here. Best of all, your vegetarian friends needn't miss out on the fun as all varieties are available in pork, beef or vegetarian!

But what about the sides you say? There's coleslaw, sweet potato fries and tater tots (or potato gems as we call them back home) available and I'd recommend going for the deep fried options. If it wasn't weird to go just for the sweet potato fries and tater tots I would have ordered them alone but hey... we're at Bubbledogs not Sweet Potato House or Tater Tots Town.

With the 'dogs' side of the place covered... what about the bubbles? There's a variety of those available too - check them out here. We didn't try any this time - going back to work after lunch meant we were a little hesitant to sip on a glass... didn't stop many others though!

Would we go back again? The general consensus was probably not. The food was tasty, the service good and atmosphere fun. Ultimately, what you get for the cost (£6-8 a dog) doesn't quite justify frequent visits. Save it for when you have out of towners visiting or a fancy man/lady to impress!

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Bubbledogs can be found at 70 Charlotte Street, London W1T 4QG.

Opening times are Tuesday to Saturday:

11:30 - 4pm

5.30 - 11pm

Bookings available only for groups of 6 or more.

Don't keep it to yourself...

Private Lives should be shared... just in this instance.

My friend is in love/obsessed with Toby Stephens so when I found out he was playing one of the leading roles in Private Lives there was no doubt that we were going to see him... I mean, the show.

Privates Lives is about a divorced couple who unexpectedly find themselves honeymooning with their new partners in neighbouring rooms 5 years down the line. Within moments they've realised they should never have divorced and run away to Paris leaving their unsuspecting partners to finish off the freshly delivered cocktails.

Stephens is no Mr Rochester in this performance instead playing a livelier and almost camp Elyot Chase. Saying that, the chemistry between him and Anna Chancellor's Amanda Prynne is quite electric causing the audience to range from wishing to have that kind of passion in their own private lives to discomfort at how two people could be so wrong yet so right for each other. Throw in a bit of slapstick and physical humour,  2 simple sets that seem to be just enough and some amazing costumes and you've got yourself a bit of a winner. 

All in all a good performance but don't be expecting anything too deep. It's a light night out that doesn't leave you too emotionally drained.

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Private Lives is playing at the Gielgud Theatre till September 21st 2013.

Tickets can be bought through ATG Tickets or TimeOut. 

We got our tickets for £10 a pop through TimeOut!

Dining with Wolves...

Gather your wolf pack for a Sunday Roast with free flowing drinks...

I help run a Brunch and Dinner club (read: my friends and I go when it suits) in which every month we alternate in trying a new Brunch or Sunday Dinner venue somewhere in London...

August saw a visit to Islington's House of Wolf where on a Sunday for £25 per person you get the full works roast dinner with all the trimmings, and bottomless Bloody Marys or Mimosas! The Mimosas aren't the strongest but they are certainly generous in topping up your carafes! Bloody Mary's weren't a firm favourite with the group but hey... alcoholic cold soup posing as a drink isn't everyone's cup of tea!

A sample menu can be found here.

The group ordered a variety of meats (& the veg option!) and by the end of it all, plates looked like they were licked clean. The meal was pretty damn delicious (you know it's fancy when there's a dollop and swoosh of mashed something) though probably left a few just short of full. For £25 we would have expected a little more on the plate or at least a dessert included.

Speaking of dessert, we all ordered one of those too and they certainly didn't disappoint! (once again with fancy swoosh!)

Chocolate Tart with raspberry coulis with a sprinkle of lime sugar.

Would we go back again? The general consensus was 'no' unless we all started earning more money than we currently do. Though the service was great and friendly, the food quite delicious and the drinks free flowing; £25 is still quite a large sum of money for not a whole load of food. (as we're all quite big foodies, this is a big deal) 

House of Wolf Sunday Roast is a definite 'tick off the list' venue so don't be put off too much by my words above. They do lots of different events and meals so I definitely would be willing to go back to try a few of those.

If nothing else, the bathrooms are quite cool too! (yes, I do love a place with a good bathroom...) For those unsure, the bathroom on the top level are unisex so wander in with confidence!

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When we went (4pm) it wasn't all that busy but I would definitely recommend booking ahead to secure your table just incase...

You can call or book online but keep in mind that larger groups require a holding card. Any bookings cancelled or changed less than 72hrs incur a fee so make sure you don't have any flaky people in your group! (or hound them incessantly leading up to it which is a technique I personally adopt)

Spy Games: Operation Black Tie Wednesday

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to dress up and get to the Troxy. You may select one team member to join you.

On Tuesday last week an email popped into my inbox with the following invite:

Not knowing or caring how I got to be one of the chosen ones, I clicked on the RSVP link quick smart and started making plans... (it's free, it's dress up... was there any other course of action?) Having been to a Future Cinema event before, I knew we were in for a treat!

Black tie ensembles at the ready, my friend and I were whisked away in a cab to the Troxy and upon arrival  directed down a (to be honest) rather dodgy alley. Passing a number of 'identity checks' and being approached by some rather dubious characters, we made our way through the back corridors of the venue.

At the final curtain, we came upon a landing and grand staircase that opened up to a sea of tables and similarly dressed to the nines guests below.

There was a kitchen serving Russian style meals:

...and a bar serving Dom Perignon in plastic flutes:

This event wasn't a typical full fledged Future Cinema event in which you have 1-2 hours to wander around to interact with sets, props and actors before the movie starts. This left us sitting at tables for some time striking up conversation with other similarly clueless guests but we were entertained enough people watching and the occassional interaction with roaming spies.

Eventually a ruckus broke out with yelling, guns, subsequent arrests and flying Ferrero Rochers. (yes, we did run out and 'save' those Ferrero's once things calmed down)

Liz Hurley (we couldn't actually see her but were assured it was her by our fellow table mates) came out to introduce the event, the association to ComparetheMarket.com and the movie we would be watching - Mission Impossible.

Though on a much smaller scale, Future Cinema did not disappoint with the theatrics. There were sparklers running through the audience, explosions, roaming scientists and best of all, our very own Ethan Hunt enacting THAT famous scene.

All in all a great night out and even more so with it's secretive lead up. 

Only in London would you be in Black Tie outfits on a Wednesday evening...

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Future Cinema's next event is Dirty Dancing on Friday 30th & Saturday 31st August and Sunday 1st September. Tickets are sold out for the Saturday but other dates can be bought here.

I'll be there on the Friday eve so stayed tuned for a report on that!