An al fresco meal at Foley’s in Fitzrovia afforded me a second opportunity to snap Chef Mitz Vora’s eye-catching fusion food, after a fine lunch in tricky lighting failed to deliver on the photography front, a couple of months earlier. Several members of our London Cheap Eats crew gathered for an off-duty catch up on a summery evening. We had a wonderful meal, and more than one cocktail, squeezed around a couple of bar stools on Foley Street. Ali showed off his unfairly good iPhone 7 Plus camera; everyone threw colourful food over Steph’s jumper at some point; and KS turned up Hollywood late as usual, giving us an excuse to order another five plates. Direct access to the bartender was a perk as we enjoyed spicy mezcalritas, negronis, sours and more. Ed, who featured so often in my photos that he has his own Flickr album (see here), had the sweet tooth required to drink the fruity vodka-based Happy Days, which is presented in a striking golden pineapple.
Before opening permanently in Fitzrovia, Mitz launched Foley’s as a 6 week residency at Market Yard in Shepherd’s Bush. Fresh from a sous chef post at The Palomar, he combined eclectic influences from all over the world to create sharing plates, now categorised at the Foley Street site by Bits & Bobs, Veg, Meat and From The Sea. You’ll probably spend a fair amount of time googling the likes of sago, kecap manis, togarashi, and furikake before ordering pretty much everything on the menu. Let me point you in the right direction by heartily recommending the gorgeous truffle potato agnolotti (surrounded by cauliflower, rocket and hazelnuts); aubergine loaded with pomegranate, dates and chilli lime yogurt; and seriously good pork belly with apple, buttermilk, swede vermicelli and more. Oh and the lamb keema roti …and the salmon tartare taco …and the cornflake crusted popcorn chicken. You really can’t and won’t go far wrong in their capable hands. Sit outside if you can, bring some friends, and tuck in.
Foley’s – foleysrestaurant.co.uk
23 Foley Street, Fitzrovia, W1W 6DU
