Crazy Bear, Covent Garden

Know the best thing about having visitors come stay? They're a great excuse for trying places that have been "on the list" for a while.

Marked only by a bear claw and with its windows blocked out, Crazy Bear in Covent Garden makes you stop and double check the building numbers, in case you missed a trick.

The staff are extremely gracious and welcome you into the bar with not just a cocktail list, but a book.

The menu is a mix of Asian cuisines, and dining with six of us meant we could sample quite a few things. 

Tuna tartare

Black cod and spring onion

Spider & Dynamite Rolls

Braised smoked pork ribs

Tofu tempura

Pork and prawn shuimai

Scallop shuimai

Sushi was voted favourite dish of the evening by four of us, with one vote going to the scallop shuimai, and one to the black cod and spring onion. 

Red duck curry

Masaman lamb curry

Gai lan

Grilled black cod

Tori yaki soba

It was agreed unanimously that the food was excellent, and definitely lived up to the plush surrounds (although we all agreed that the projector screen showing Charlie Chaplin movies had no business being in a nice dining room).

I went to bed dreaming of sticky dipping sauces and crisp, delicate sushi.