Every so often I get the opportunity to take a trip to London for work and one of the highlights is always eating out. We were staying right next to the Tower of London this time so Tom’s Kitchen (by chef Tom Aikens) at St Katharine Docks was our restaurant of choice for dinner.

I like Tom Aikens, I watch a lot of cookery programmes and he always comes across well – serious about his food. The restaurant had a good vibe but I was surprised it was so quiet, I have an image of all London restaurants being packed every night of the week.

Roast Yorkshire pigeon with smoked beets.

For once I managed to resist the lure of pork belly but someone else in our group ordered it and I had a little taste, it was delicious.

Mussels in cider with french fries.

I had the chicken schnitzel with confit tomatoes and red pepper dressing. An unusual choice for me but I was obviously drawn to it for a reason, it was crisp and the tomato and dressing was perfect for dipping the truffle chips!

Roast monkfish tail with fennel, saffron & shallot escabeche.

Truffled mac & cheese.

Pictured above: my dessert of 2016 so far, milk chocolate and caramel tart with peanut and hazelnut ice cream.

Marmalade bread and butter pudding with orange custard.

If you’re in the St Katharine Docks area I’d definitely recommend Tom’s Kitchen, looking forward to visiting again myself in the future.