Toptable action

Twice in October Mr DB and I tried restaurants we'd never been to before, spurred on by a toptable.com offer (book and eat twice during the month and get a load of extra points).

The first was 108 Marylebone Lane, which is in The Marylebone Hotel. It has a fab bar and a really buzzing atmosphere for a hotel bar. It serves typical bistro fare, but I can vouch for the excellent lobster bisque and pan fried sea bream with risotto. However, the service was a little haphazard - it wasn't always as attentive as it should have been and they forgot the bread. But in general food was excellent, especially since they make a point of sourcing their food from local businesses. Mr DB had the proscuitto to start, then the sausage and mash, which again, he was more than happy with. All washed down with a Ruffino Chianti.

Our second outing took us to Pomegranate, on Upper Street. We walked past it a couple times and were slightly concerned by the lack of patrons at 7pm on a Friday. But by the time we tipped up at 8pm, it had started to fill up. And with good reason - the food was pretty decent. Billed as 'Greek fusion', there are no starters or main courses at Pomegranate. So it's essentially meze! 10/10 on the wordsmithing exercise...

The lamb souvlakia was the highlight - melt in the mouth. And the grilled halloumi a close second. We opted to try a bottle of the Ode 2005 red wine from Greece. Boozier than I'd normally order (13.5%) it had a smokiness that complemented the dishes well.