See the following link for the rationale on marking scheme: Explanation of
rating system For exact directions to each restaurant, use the excellent
website www.streetmap.co.uk. Additionally you could try Multimap.com or Google Maps UK.
Latest updates: Xich Lo,Berekely Suqare Café, Royal China Club, Tom’s Kitchen, High
Road Brasserie, Atelier Robuchon, Oottupura, Sumosan, Eight Over Eight,
Bentleys, Notting Hill Brasserie, Deya, Galvin at Windows on the World,
Arbutus. Note that food hygiene scores
are becoming available following a campaign by the Good Food Guide. I will add these scores to each review as
they become available e.g. Hammersmith and Fulham’s scores are already
on-line. By April 2007 all of London
boroughs are supposed to have scores available.
|
Asian |
E&O (4/10) Eight Over Eight (3/10) Gilgamesh (2/10) |
|
British |
Berkeley Square Café (4/10) Ledbury (6/10) Lindsay House (6/10) La Trompette (6/10) l’Escargot (6/10) Kensington Place (6/10) Bentleys (6/10) Orrery (5/10) Maze (5/10) Notting Hill Brasserie (5/10) Chez Bruce (5/10) Belvedere (5/10) Oxo Tower (5/10) Glasshouse (5/10) Prism (5/10) Windows on the World (5/10) Mirabelle
(4/10) The Wolseley (4/10) Quo Vadis (4/10) Salisbury Tavern (4/10) Drones (4/10) Quaglinos (4/10) The Clerkenwell Dining Room (4/10) Brackenbury (4/10) High Road Brasserie (3/10) Sonny’s (3/10) Quality Chop House (3/10) Teatro (3/10) Criterion (3/10) Bradleys (3/10) Ealing Park Tavern (2/10) Bollo House (1/10) Eagle (2/10) Jaks (2/10) Sam’s (2/10) |
|
Chinese |
Royal China (4/10) Hakkasan (4/10) Yauatcha (4/10) Mandarin Kitchen (3/10) China City (3/10) Mr Kong (3/10) Fung Shing (3/10) Golden Dragon (2/10) |
|
Fish
and chips |
The Fish Shop on St John Street
(3/10) Toffs
(2/10) Two Brothers (2/10) |
|
French |
Gordon Ramsay (9/10) Pied a Terre (8/10) Tom Aikens (8/10) Capital (8/10) The Square (8/10) Foliage (7/10) Pétrus (7/10) Atelier Robuchon (6/10) Tom’s Kitchen (6/10) 1 Lombard Street (6/10) Club Gascon (6/10) Monsieur Max (6/10) Morgan M (6/10) Putney Bridge (6/10) Roussillon (6/10) 1880 (5/10) Le Cercle (5/10) Aubergine (5/10) Incognico (4/10) Arbutus (3/10) |
|
Greek |
Sappho (1/10) The Real Greek (1/10) |
|
Indonesian |
Melati (1/10) |
|
Italian |
Zafferanos (7/10) Locanda
Locatelli (6/10) Timo (5/10) Ibla (4/10) Assaggi (3/10) Red Pepper (3/10) Spiga (2/10) |
|
Japanese |
Nobu (5/10) Zuma (5/10) Roka (5/10) Umu (5/10) Miyama (4/10) Tatsuso (4/10) Sakana Tei (3/10) Café
Japan (3/10) Sumosan (3/10) Wagamama (1/10) |
|
Lebanese |
Al Hamra (4/10) |
|
Mexican |
No
good ones in |
|
Modern
Indian |
Deya (4/10) Haandi (4/10) Mint Leaf (3/10) Zaika (3/10) Sarkhels (3/10) Café Spice Namaste (2/10) Chor Bizarre (1/10) Masala Zone (1/10) |
|
North
Indian |
Brilliant (4/10) Madhu’s (3/10) Tandoor (2/10) Khans (1/10) Agni (1/10) |
|
Pizza |
Red Pepper (3/10) Spiga (2/10) Pizza
Metro Pizza (1/10) |
|
Singaporean |
Singapore Garden (1/10) |
|
South
American |
Fina Estampa (2/10) |
|
Spanish |
Salt Yard (4/10) |
|
Thai |
Patara (3/10) Mantanah (3/10) Thai Bistro (1/10) |
|
Turkish |
Iznik (2/10) |
|
Vegetarian
Indian |
Sabras (4/10) Rasa (3/10) Kastoori (3/10) Oottupura (2/10) Diwana Bhel
Poori (1/10) Radha Krishna Bhavan (1/10) |
|
Vietnamese |
Xich Lo (3/10) Huong Viet (1/10) |
For my personal favourites follow
this link: My personal Top 10.
However ten restaurants is a little limited, so here are some additional
places that I can recommend.
By popular request:
|
Area
|
Postcode |
Area |
Restaurant |
|
Central |
W1 W1 WC2 W1 W1 W1 W1 W1 W1 W1 W1 W1 W1 W1 W1 W1 W1 W1 W1 W1 W1 W1 W1 W1 W1 WC2 W1 W1 WC2 W1 WC2 W1 WC2 W1 W1 W1 W1 W1 W1 WC1 W1 |
Marylebone Piccadilly Marylebone
Marble
Arch Yauatcha Piccadilly Piccadilly Marylebone Piccadilly Piccadilly
Piccadilly Holborn |
Pied a Terre (8/10) The Square (8/10) Atelier Robuchon (6/10) Berkeley Square Café (4/10) Lindsay House (6/10) l’Escargot (6/10) Locanda Locatelli (6/10) Bentley’s (5/10) Orrery (5/10) Maze (5/10) Nobu (5/10) Roka (5/10) Umu (5/10) Deya (4/10) Windows on the World (5/10) Mirabelle
(4/10) Yauatcha (4/10) The Wolseley (4/10) Quo Vadis (4/10) Salt Yard
(4/10) Criterion (3/10) Ibla (4/10) Spiga (4/10) Miyama (4/10) Al Hamra (4/10) Incognico (4/10) Hakkasan (4/10) Patara (3/10) China City (3/10) Rasa (3/10) Mr Kong (3/10) Teatro (3/10) Fung
Shing (3/10) Sakana Tei (3/10) Arbutus (3/10) Sumosan (3/10) Golden Dragon (2/10) Chor Bizarre (1/10) Melati (1/10) Wagamama (1/10) Masala
Zone (1/10) |
|
West
|
W4 W8 W11 TW12 W11 TW9 W2 W6 W8 UB2 W11 UB2 W6 W2 W9
W2 W4 W5 W4 W6 W4 W4 W2 W6 |
Chiswick Kensington Ladbroke
Grove Hampton
Hill Notting
Hill Queensway Kensington Southall Ladbroke
Grove Southall Shepherds
Bush Queensway Warwick
Avenue Notting
Hill Chiswick Chiswick Hammersmith Chiswick Chiswick Westbourne
Grove Hammersmith |
La
Trompette (6/10) Kensington
Place (6/10) Ledbury (6/10) Monsieur Max (6/10) Notting Hill Brasserie (5/10) Glasshouse (5/10) Royal China (5/10) Belvedere (5/10) Timo (5/10) Brilliant (4/10) E&O (4/10) Madhu’s (3/10) Brackenbury (4/10) Mandarin Kitchen (3/10) Red Pepper (3/10) Assaggi (3/10) High Road Brasserie (3/10) Ealing Park Tavern (2/10) Sam’s (2/10) Oottupura (2/10) Bollo House (1/10) Thai Bistro (1/10) Khans (1/10) Agni (1/10) |
|
East
|
EC1 EC3 EC3 ED1 EC1 EC2 EC1 EC1 E1 EC1 |
City City Farringdon Farringdon Angel Aldgate Farringdon |
Club Gascon (6/10) 1 Lombard Street (6/10) Prism (5/10) Clerkenwell Dining Room (4/10) Quality Chop House (3/10) Tatsuso (3/10) The Fish Shop on St John Street (3/10) Xich Lo (3/10) Café Spice Namaste (2/10) Eagle (2/10) |
|
South
West |
SW3 SW3
SW3 SW1 SW1 SW1 SW15 SW1 SW3 SW7 SW3 SW17 SW6 SW7 SW15 SW13 SW6 SW1 SW1 SW17 SW3 SW1 SW18 SW6 SW3 SW11 SW1 SW4 SW11 SW17 |
Knightsbridge Knightsbridge Pétrus Putney Pimlico Wandsworth Fulham Knightsbridge Putney Barnes Fulham Belgravia St
James Tooting Knightsbridge Haymarket Southfields Fulham
Lavender
Hill Clapham Battersea Tooting |
Gordon Ramsay (9/10) Capital (8/10) Tom Aikens (8/10) Foliage (7/10) Pétrus (7/10) Zafferanos (7/10) Putney Bridge (6/10) Roussillon (6/10) Tom’s Kitchen (6/10) 1880 (5/10) Le Cercle (5/10) Chez Bruce (5/10) Zuma (5/10) Phoenix (5/10) Sonny’s (3/10) Aubergine (5/10) Salisbury
Tavern (4/10) Drones (4/10) Quaglinos (4/10) Kastoori (3/10) Haandi (4/10) Mint Leaf
(3/10) Sarkhels (3/10) Zaika (3/10) Eight Over Eight (3/10) Café Spice Namaste (2/10) Jaks (2/10) Sappho (1/10) Pizza
Metro Pizza (1/10) Radha Krishna Bhavan (1/10) |
|
South
East |
SE1 SE25 SE1 |
Bankside South
Norwood Tower
Bridge |
Oxo Tower (5/10) Mantanah (3/10) Fina
Estampa (2/10) |
|
North
|
N7 N16 NW3 NW11 NW9 N2 N3 N5 NW1 N1 N1 |
Holloway Stoke
Swiss
Cottage Golders
Green Kingsbury Muswell
Hill Finchley Highbury Hoxton Hackney |
Morgan M (6/10) Rasa (3/10) Bradleys (3/10) Café Japan (3/10) Tandoor (2/10) Toffs
(2/10) Two Brothers (2/10) Iznik (2/10) Gilgamesh (2/10) The Real Greek (1/10) Huong Viet (1/10) |
|
North
West |
NW10 NW6 NW1 |
Willesden Kilburn Euston |
Sabras (4/10) Singapore Garden (1/10) Diwana Bhel Poori (1/10) |
Visitors from the USA will be
horrified by the amount of smoking that occurs in London restaurants; in
California a lynch mob would form at the first puff. However at least the situation is better than
on the continent, where a “non smoking section” can mean a proprietor coming up
to a table with a complaining diner wreathed in smoke and putting a sign on the
table saying “non smoking”. Non-smokers
can be comforted that at least they will live eight years longer, on average,
than smokers. A smoker might, on having
these missing eight years pointed out to them, retort: “yeah – but they are the
crappy years” (actor John Lithgow in 3rd Rock From the Sun).
The following restaurants have a
designated non-smoking section – bravo to Pied a Terre for being the first serious
restaurant to manage this. Now Chez Bruce and La Trompette have followed. We are still a long way off
Sadly, most “pure” vegetarian
restaurants in London are gruesome affairs, either a cynical excuse to serve
cheap ingredients at inflated prices, or tiresome political statements rather
than places interested in serving food.
This is a shame at a time when 3 star Michelin chef Alain Passard in
Paris has shaken France by offering a wide-ranging vegetarian menu. The best bet for Londoners of the “pure”
vegetarian places is the Gate in Hammersmith W6, but it is hardly a standard
bearer of great cuisine, just better than the mostly hideous alternatives. Fortunately, so many people in Britain are at
least partially vegetarian these days that there is a decent vegetarian choice
to be had almost everywhere. Gone are
the days when a request for a vegetarian dish was met with a baffled expression
and either a plate of vegetables or an omelette. Best of all can be found in Indian cuisine,
which had a great tradition of vegetarian food; the Sabras is the
best of these.
So, to the restaurants…
|
Restaurant |
1880 |
|
Food
rating |
5/10 |
|
Address |
Bentley Hotel, 27-33
Harrington Gardens, SW7 4JX |
|
Phone
Number |
020 7244 5555 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Gloucester
Road |
|
Open |
All
week |
|
Price |
£100
a head with drinks |
|
Web
site |
|
|
Map |
Click
here |
The restaurant is called
1880, after the year in which the building (the Bentley Hotel) was built. The basement room is elegantly decorated,
with cream walls with yellow moiré decorative fabric panels. There are several pillars finished with black
marble along the walls. There is a large
gilt mirror on one wall. The carpet is
comfortingly thick and is light beige with a red rose pattern. The ceiling is high and painted white, with
three large chandeliers providing the dominant light in the room, supplemented
by side lamps and also directed ceiling spots. Chairs are high-backed with
armrests, traditional and comfortable, upholstered in midnight blue. Opposite the dining room is a piano bar with
a pianist playing various easy listening classics; fortunately he did not sing.
Each table has a white linen
tablecloth and napkins. A single red
rose is on each table in a silver holder, but no condiments are displayed. The
restaurant had ourselves and two other diners this evening. Apparently business is slow, yet you still
have to leave credit card details when booking.
Amuse bouche was a samosa of
duck confit, served on top of a couple of small spears of tender asparagus, which is in season right
now. The samosa had light texture and
excellent duck taste (6/10). Breads
arrived in an impressive tray, whole breads that were then cut at the
table. There was baguette, rosemary
foccacia, bacon and cheese, olive, mushroom and garlic brioche and sunflower
seed loaf. The breads were warm when
served and were very good. The bacon and
cheese bread was stunning, with lovely light texture, intense flavour and
perfect seasoning (9/10). Others were
around the 6/10 level, except the olive bread at 3/10, which was too hard. The wine list stretches over 17 pages, and
spans the world, organised by country.
Prices are high, while the Bonny Doon Cigare Volant at £68 was my pick
of the list . Rioja Alta 904 1995 was a steep £78, and even Catena Malbec from
Argentina 2002 was £42. There is little
under £40. There are no dessert wines by
the glass officially, though one was rustled up by the very pleasant Turkish
maitre d’, whose name is Volkan Acil.
Seared blue fin tuna was
served as three small discs, next to each of which were a pair of broad
beans. Served with this was a little
salad of mesclun leaves, capers and tomato topped with a soft quail’s egg. The tuna was dipped in salt and dill and was
very pleasant, though not of the very highest quality, the salad was nice and
the presentation pretty (6/10). Pumpkin
soup had creamy texture and tasted properly of pumpkin; it had a few very
tender prawns in the soup, as well as a few carrots in the middle of the
dish. Alongside were ginger flavoured
“batons” (really just thin tuiles) and a few thin tuiles of parmesan and olive
(6/10).
Fillet of beef was tender
and served on an excellent bed of crisp potato Anna, itself on top of a layer
of tender spinach. This all rested in a
pool of reduced cooking juices that would have benefited from further reduction
(6/10). A fillet of wild salmon was
nicely cooked but did not taste wild.
This was served with a sauce of sultanas and white wine that had
reasonable texture and balanced flavour, with thin slices of caramelised cauliflower and small pieces of
broccoli surrounding the salmon (6/10).
The cheese board was French
and sadly appeared rather past its best, which was confirmed when tasting. The supplier is “First Choice Cheeses”. Munster was not ripe, while Comte and
Beaufort both had a soapy texture and little taste. Forme d’Ambert was also past its best. The cheeses were served with grapes and a few
home-made cheese biscuits (2/10).
A pre-dessert was of peach
melba, which had a nice quality peach but vanilla ice cream that lacked vanilla
taste, along with a little raspberry sauce and sliced, good quality fresh
raspberries (4/10). Stella had a dish
with five little pieces of caramelised banana displayed in a row, alongside
good coconut ice cream served in a little chocolate tuile bowl which mimicked
the shape of a coconut shell This continued the theme of good presentation
tonight. The centre of the ice cream contained Malibu. Five dots of chocolate sauce were placed
alongside the line of banana pieces (5/10).
A pineapple ice cream had smooth texture and reasonable taste,
accompanied by a mango “carpaccio” i.e. mousse, sandwiched by sesame seed
tuiles, separated by a pineapple crisp.
The mango mousse lacked any depth of mango flavour, and I am unconvinced
with the idea of a sesame seed tuile, which sits oddly in a sweet dish (4/10
only). Both filter coffee and cappuccino
were good (6/10). This was served with petit fours: a sad rum baba that was
heavy, dry and lacking in rum, a good mini chocolate tart, a little chocolate
bar and a choux bun with pistachio filling (3/10 for the petit fours overall,
the rum baba being barely 1/10).
.
The starters and main
courses were capably produced, with desserts lagging a little below this
standard. The menu is well balanced and
appealing, and pretty presentation was in evidence throughout the meal. The cheese board was poor, but the new
manager seems intent on switching to a better supplier. The breads are a real highlight. The question would be the value for money
factor, as this is by no means cheap, with hefty wine mark-ups. The combination of high price, basement
setting and being in an obscure hotel have clearly caused the place to struggle. The chef in charge tonight was someone called
Sharon, a sous chef of Andrew Turner. I
have the impression that they are on the lookout for a new head chef.
Last visited August 2006.
|
Restaurant |
Agni |
|
Food
rating |
1/10 |
|
Address |
169
King Street, Hammersmith W6 0QU |
|
Phone
Number |
020 88469191 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Ravenscourt
Park |
|
Open |
All
week (see web site for times) |
|
Price |
£30
a head with drinks |
|
Web
site |
|
|
Map |
Click
here |
|
Hygiene |
Click
here |
This is a cut above the
usual curry houses on King Street, with chef Gowtham Karingi (formerly head chef at Zaika) producing some
interesting dishes. Not everything
works. Popadoms were an odd mix of pieces of
conventional popadoms and what are essentially potato crisps, an innovation
best forgotten; chutneys are home made but not particularly good, served in
absurdly small dishes (0/10). Aloo tikki
is somewhat different from the Southall version, with one central potato pattie
surrounded by chickpeas and tamarind sauce, but this was nonetheless reasonable
(1/10). This was better than the potato
patties that Stella had, which was simply dull (0/10). The chef is from Hyderabad, so I would have
expected more from the biriani, but there was no pastry seal on the pot, and
the rice itself was rather over-moist, though the prawns in the biriani were
correctly cooked and there were plenty of them (round up). The chef popped out later and he explained
that the oven he has seems unable to deal with the sealing of the biiani pots;
they just crack. He is hoping to get
some new ones. Encouraging was a
pleasant mixed vegetable curry which retained the texture of the potatoes,
carrots etc (1/100 and better still was a good bhindi, which had the key
attribute of the okra being roasted first and so sealing in the flavour,
avoiding a greasy mess when it is finished (2/10),. Naan bread was very good (maybe 3/10). Worth a try if you are in the area.
|
Restaurant |
Tom Aikens |
|
Food
rating |
8/10 |
|
Address |
43
Elyston Street, SW3 3NT |
|
Phone
Number |
020-7584 2003 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
South
Kensington |
|
Open |
Monday-Friday
only: 12:00 – 14:30, 19:00 – 23:00 |
|
Price |
£90
a head with drinks (evening £49 for three courses, £24.50 for lunch) |
|
Web
site |
|
|
Map |
Click
here |
When I first entered the dining room I at first thought I had suddenly
lost all sense of colour in my vision, but then was relieved to find that the
dining room simply has none. The décor
is black and white and that is it, with just a few modern paintings by Anthony
Kirkhaar (on the north wall of the dining room in the above illustration) to
provide a tiny splash of colour. The
walls are white, the fairly high ceiling is white, the modern low-backed chairs
(which are not comfortable) are black, with black leather. Even the flowers on the tables are white
(peonies), while lighting is from overhead spots and is fairly bright. Along two walls with full-drop windows are
wooden frames used as screens, behind which are a row of free-standing lamps
with orange shades. The floor is plain
wood, making the acoustics somewhat harsh.
There is theoretically air conditioning, but this evening it was not
working and temporary units were being used instead. The tablecloths and napkins are (you guessed
it) plain white with a black underskirt to the tablecloths, and it was almost
jarring to notice that the French porcelain display plates were an olive green
with a cracked glaze. There is no music
to distract from the food. Tom’s wife
Laura runs the front of house, and service was excellent throughout. Dishes were also paced well. One quirky feature of the menu is the
addition of meat to more than one of the fish dishes, which limits the
selection a lot for non meat eaters.
However there is a relative slimming down on sheer numbers of components
to each dish relative to Tom’s Pied à Terre days, when half a dozen elements
could easily appear. After his branding
of a commis chef with a hot iron Tom was dismissed from Pied à Terre and found
work in private catering for the seriously rich before opening in his own right
here. He apparently spent a lot of time
travelling around farms looking for top ingredients, and indeed this seems to
have paid dividends.
The wine list is a 23 page
tome presided over by an Irish sommelier who used to be at the Capital hotel
but more recently has been working at 3 star Michelin Pierre Gagnaire in Paris. While there are a couple of token wines below
£20, there is actually hardly anything less than £30 on the list, and mark-ups
are stiff e.g. de Bortoli Noble One at £40 a half bottle is more than three
times retail, while a half bottle of Trimbach Clos St Hune 1992 is £80. Bonny Doon Cigare Volant is a hefty £59. Mineral water is either Badoit or Evian at a
shocking £4 for a 75cl bottle. The
sommelier kindly produced some wines by the glass.
As you arrive and are seated an initial selection of nibbles
arrives. A little marinated salmon with
cucumber gelee (very delicate) was
served on a silver spoon next to a sliver of foie gras
pate sandwiched between two thin savoury pastry layers; next to this was a
delicate brandade of cod topped with a thin red pepper tuile. These were a nice introduction but were
around the 7/10 level. Better was to
come. The first amuse guele proper was a
celeriac soup with summer truffle served in a little cup. The celeriac flavour
was stunningly intense, the soup silky in texture, little cubes of summer
truffle adding a little texture contrast; it was just a little tad salty but
otherwise was soup of the highest standard (9/10). Bread is cooked on the premises, and although
on our first visit here the bread was disappointing, it has improved greatly
since and is now excellent.
Langoustines were roasted
and served on top of slivers of delicate braised pork belly that was so fatty
and tender that the dish needed something to cut through the fat. However the langoustines themselves were
wonderfully fresh and perfectly cooked.
Around the shellfish was a little smear of rich artichoke puree and a
single raviolo of black truffle featuring supremely delicate pasta topped each
langoustine. There were four wedges of
excellent fried artichoke as garnish (9/10).
I had a dish of eel cooked several ways.
On a long rectangular glass dish were a few eel beignets, an intriguing
idea contrasting the sweetness of the beignet with the powerful smokiness of
the eel, which sounds potentially dire but in fact balanced very well. There was an excellent apple salad with
finely shredded apple and alongside this a little cup of cider syrup with a
very deep cider flavour. The star
component was a soup dish with a few quail eggs into which was poured a
dazzling eel and apple soup, the sweet flavour of the apples proving an
excellent foil to the strong smoky flavour of the eel. This was an original and wonderfully
successful dish (easily 9/10, pushing 10/10).
John Dory fillets were very
fresh and well timed, avocado and circles of dill pasta making an unusual
appearance to provide a contrast to the strong flavour of the John Dory. In addition, though less obvious in terms of
dish harmony, were a couple of utterly divine langoustine tempura that shamed
anything I have eaten in Tokyo or Kyoto (these were 10/10 level). The fish rested in a classy though sparse red
wine sauce. Overall the dish was perhaps
8/10, as I am unsure that the components really melded together that well. My chicken was sourced from an organic source
and indeed had excellent flavour. A few
slices of poached breast were served, interleaved with chicken slices that had
been boned and stuffed with chicken mousse and leek, then sliced thinly. Next to the meat were a few tubes of perfect
macaroni scented with truffles and topped with cheese gratin, the chicken
resting in a pool of delicate artichoke sauce.
The pasta was stunning, while overall the dish was 8/10.
Cheese is served on a
trolley, a wide of selection of well over twenty cheeses. Unlike so many cases in the UK, the cheeses
were generally ripe and in good condition, though sweating a little due to the
lack of air conditioning. The classics
such as Comte and Munster were well represented, but there was also the odd
English farmhouse cheddar and a Cabecou goat’s cheese. Slices of either prune bread or walnut and
raisin bread were offered, and these seemed to have been cut a while ago as
they were a little hard in texture. 7/10
for the cheese, but much less for the bread.
A pre-dessert rhubarb fool
with ginger cream was served in a glass.
The ginger at the bottom was worth fishing for, the rhubarb fool was
smooth and sweet, but there appeared to be lurking with this a little bit of basil,
which added nothing useful (6/10).
Delicate little torpedoes of cooked apple were served in between layers
of fine apple filo pastry with almonds.
Topping this was a scoop of green apple sorbet with silky texture, the
filo layers resting on a layer of moist apple cake. The cake itself seemed an unnecessary
addition. Overall 7/10. A slice of pineapple was roasted with vanilla
and rum, served with a surprisingly bland pineapple jelly that seemed rather watery
to me, but the dish was rescued by a dazzling pineapple sorbet that was one of
the most delicate I have ever tasted (10/10 for the sorbet). The dish was garnished with a pretty square
of spun sugar. Overall 7/10 for the
dish.
Filter coffee was good
though not perfect (6/10) but espresso was coarse and really not very good at
all (4/10). This should easily be fixed
in these days of high quality espresso machines. Fortunately there are distractions. A box containing a variety of fine chocolates
arrives (8/10 level), as does a sort of toast rack of delicate tuiles: mango, caramel, raspberry, sesame and orange
(9/10 for the tuiles). Best of all was a
basket of sublime Madeleines: chocolate, pistachio, almond, orange and
coffee. These all were fabulously moist
with meltingly delicate texture, served warm (10/10 for these). Last visited March 2004.
By the way, do be careful to account
for your cutlery during the meal. In
October 2004 Tom Aikens accosted a diner and accused her of stealing a coffee
spoon, and didn’t even have the grace to apologise when a waiter found it on the
next table. Expect an inventory to be
presented on sitting down, and a body search before you leave.
|
Restaurant |
Al Hamra |
|
Food
rating |
4/10 |
|
Address |
31-33
Shepherd Market, W1J 7PT |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7493 1954 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Green
Park |
|
Open |
All
week, 12:00 to 23:30 |
|
Price |
£50
a head with drinks |
|
Web
site |
|
|
Map |
Click
here |
A very reliable Lebanese restaurant
where you can try the usual wide range of mezze style starters that
characterise this cuisine, as well as some less common dishes on a very long
menu. Grilled meats are much better than
is usual, and service is slick. Desserts
such as baklava are good. Last visited
June 2003.
|
Restaurant |
Arbutus |
|
Food
rating |
3/10 |
|
Address |
63
Frith Street W1D 3JW |
|
Phone
Number |
020 7734 4545 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Leicester
Square |
|
Open |
All
week 12:00 – 14:30, 17:00 – 23:00
(earlier on Sunday) |
|
Price |
£45
a head with drinks |
|
Web
site |
|
|
Map |
Click
here |
Décor is bare wooden boards
and simple but tasteful plain walls with limited adornment, though tablecloths
are white linen. Service was stretched tonight and the dishes took some time to
appear, but it seems that they did 120 covers this evening so perhaps this was
forgivable: certainly the place was packed out.
It is open every day, lunch and dinner, and is aiming at Paris bistro
style. At 20:00 the sardine starter I
wanted was already finished, but smoked eel was good, served simply alongside a
few salad leaves and a pile of rather watery beetroot that I suspect came from
a jar; a little scoop of horseradish cream was a positive addition to the dish,
the horseradish flavour subtle but distinct (4/10). Chillled soup of cucumber was presented as a
jar of soup to be poured over a soup plate lined with a little smoked salmon
and crème fraiche with borage flowers.
Good presentation but the cucumber soup lacked flavour (1/10). Stella’s gnocchi with Parmesan and summer
vegetables had good texture and a pleasing taste (3/10) while my chicken breast
was served with its skin on and was in a pool of buttery veloute with peas. The chicken was cooked through well but was
rather tasteless, and the supposed foie gras in the dish was absent, which was
rather cheeky. Bread was just white and
brown slices, the white a little better than the brown, and were pleasant
(4/10).
Raspberry trifle worked well
(3/10) as did a slice vanilla cheesecake served with a pile of English
strawberries that were rather tasteless (2/10).
Coffee was good (5/10). The wine
list is excellent, two pages of wines from around the world, mostly available
in bottle but also in 250cl carafe, a great idea. There is a also a fine wine section with
growers such as Guigal, and these wines are actually quite fairly priced e.g.
La Mouline at £255 is only twice retail if you can find it. The mark-ups in general seemed about twice
retail + VAT, maybe a little more. The
problem I found was that the menu is not that appealing. They have really gone for profit here. The starters were pigs head, sardines, boudin
blanc, ricotta salad, cucumber soup, chicken, eel and a squid and mackerel
“burger”. OK, they are priced between
£5.95 and £9.95, with main courses £12.50 to £15.50 (desserts around £5) but
there still must be some pretty hefty gross margins here. The ingredients were also not of high quality
e.g. tasteless chicken, poor strawberries, which is a shame. Technique was mostly good, and the
ingredients reasonably harmonious.
Things are not great for people who do not eat meat, with one vegetarian
man dish, a dish of pollack and one of sea bream only. Their PR company has done a great job for
them with some great write-ups in the nationals, but the question to ask is
this. Why exactly would I not go a few
doors down to Alistair Little and get a better meal for the same price? Last visited June 2006
|
Restaurant |
Assaggi |
|
Food
rating |
3/10 |
|
Address |
The
Chepstow Pub, 39 Chepstow Place, W2 4TS |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7792 5501 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Notting
Hill Gate |
|
Open |
Monday
– Saturday, lunch 12:30 to 14:30, dinner
19:30 – 23:00 |
|
Price |
£45
head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
In a
room above a pub, it is a noisy dining room that is remarkably hard to get a
reservation for. Notes on a recent meal
follow. To start with I had prawn salad,
resting on a “lemon risotto” which was really a deep fried rice cake, with
strips of deep fried leek on top (4/10).
Stella had taglialine with chopped herbs and walnuts (4/10). For main course we both tried John Dory with
a “tomato and olive sauce” that was more a smear than a sauce. This was with a wedge of dauphinoise made
with olive oil instead of cream (3/10).
This was served with soggy zucchini, good crisp baby green beans and
undercooked very plain spinach (vegetables only 1/10). For dessert a lemon tart was light and
fluffy, different from a French tart and none the worse for it (5/10). Stella had amoretto pudding with a drizzle of
caramel sauce, that was a little heavy, but moist and with good almond flavour
(2/10). Bread was mediocre, a sort of
popadom style crisp bread made with olive oil and some pleasant white bread
that only appeared as a single slice at the start; only the popadom came back
when extra bread was requested. The
mineral water was not chilled, though they did supply ice. Coffee, both espresso and cappuccino was very
good (5/10). Service was generally fair,
though they do not remember who ordered what, and getting the bill was a task
of Herculean magnitude. The fact that
the menu is solely in Italian is a touch of remarkable pretentiousness in my
view: what country are we in here? What
would we think of an Indian restaurant in London that printed its menu only in
Gujerati or Punjabi? The starter and
pasta choices are wider and more appealing than the limited main course
dishes. The bill was much more
reasonable than I was expecting. Last
visited November 2001.
|
Restaurant |
Atelier Robuchon |
|
Food
rating |
6/10 |
|
Address |
|
|
Phone
Number |
020
7010 8600 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
|
|
Open |
Mon-Sun 12:00-15:00, 5.30pm-24 :00 (Sun -22.30) : |
|
Price |
£110
head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
Smart décor, if rather
1980s, with lots of red velvet curtains and black lacquer. Unlike Atlelier Robuchon in
Tarts of chocolate and
passion fruit had reasonable pastry and high grade fillings, but a vanilla and
cinnamon tart was less successful (6/10).
The coffee glace dessert was very intensely flavoured coffee ice-cream topped
with coffee mousse and a melting coffee tuile, served in a glass; at the base
was a chicory jelly, which worked very well; the glass stood in a dish of
silvered coffee beans (6/10). Service
was friendly but a shambles. There were
lots of waiters, mostly French, but they were completely unable to keep tabs on
who had ordered the various dishes.
Overall it was all just a little disappointing, given the high price
tag, and certainly less good than Atelier Robuchon in
|
Restaurant |
Aubergine |
|
Food
rating |
5/10 |
|
Address |
11
Park Walk, Fulham Lane, London SW10 0AJ |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7352 3449 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Gloucester
Road, plus a long walk |
|
Open |
Monday
– Saturday dinner |
|
Price |
£80
a head including basic wine |
|
Map |
Click
here |
Once the premises of the talented
but temperamental Gordon Ramsay, William Drabble has stepped into the chef's
toque in a very assured way. A
one-starred Michelin chef in his own right, he is a fine cook. The weaknesses here are desserts, and a menu
that hardly changes. Here are detailed
notes from a fine meal here, though my last experience here feels as if the
cooking is stuck in a rut.
An
amuse bouche was a little dish of shellfish bisque – this was scented with
truffle oil and had excellent intensity (8/10).
The breads are rolls: white, brown or olive, and are very good
(7/10). My starter consisted of three
scallops wrapped in ventreche (bacon) and roasted, with a puree of Jerusalem
artichoke and served with a veloute of salsify.
The scallops were stunningly juicy, moist and full of flavour (these can
only have been divers-caught scallops of the highest quality). The delicate ventreche worked well with them,
holding their flavour in during the cooking process but in no way overwhelming
the flavour of the scallops. The
artichoke puree was of the highest standard, silky smooth with wonderful
artichoke flavour coming through. This
was one of the best scallop dishes I have for a very long time, and I just
cannot fault this dish in any way.
Stella had a fine warm salad of roasted vegetables, accompanied with a
smooth puree of asparagus. This was
prettily presented as a tidy pile of vegetables on a set of carefully arranged
salad leaves. All the components were of
very high quality e.g. lovely wild mushrooms and perfectly fresh.
For main course I had breast of duck
sliced and resting on a galette of potato, itself on a confit of creamed green
cabbage, the tower resting in a pool of the cooking juices. This was another stunning dish – the duck
perfect and pink, of very high quality texture and flavour. The potato galette
was perfect, the cabbage delicious, even the few baby carrots scattered around
for decoration were stunning. This dish
was 9/10. Stella’s turbot was
beautifully timed, served with stunning creamed leeks, along with excellent
chanterelles and a remarkably intense red wine sauce (7/10). For cheese we tried a goats cheese I have not
encountered before, some excellent Comte, good Munster, very good Longues, some
Reblochon that will be in better condition in a few days, served with walnut
and raising bread that was sliced very thin and had somewhat dried out (6/10
for the cheese). Dessert was apple and
raisin charlotte shaped into a cylinder, the apples cooked through beautifully,
complimented well by the raisins, this accompanied by a perfect green apple
sorbet of silky texture (6/10). Stella
had a fine lime parfait with a ginger sponge that needed more ginger and was
perhaps a little too dry – however the parfait itself was superb (7/10). Coffee was very good indeed (8/10), with some
excellent petit fours: ones tried were a good mini lemon tart, a rum baba that
needed just a little more moisture (5/10), a biscuit, a little chocolate tart
and a raspberry tart (6/10) for the petit fours. Service was good rather than flawless,
despite the charm of Christophe. The
main flaw was the sommelier, who seemed unaware of what we had ordered when we
asked for some advice, and who struggled to keep the wine glass refilled. Service 7/10.
Last visited October 2002, when I
had a much less satisfactory meal (hence the lower mark overall than is
suggested by the notes).
|
Restaurant |
Avenue |
|
Food
rating |
4/10 |
|
Address |
7-9
St James Street, London SW1A 1EE |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7321 2111 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Green
Park |
|
Open |
Monday
– Saturday 12:00 –15:00 and 17:45 – midnight (till 00:30 on Friday and
Saturday only) |
|
Price |
£65
a head with wine |
|
Web
site |
|
|
Map |
Click here |
The Avenue is a highly successful venture that has settled into its
stride. Desserts are the highlight,
these being of a level well beyond the rest of the cooking and to a very high
standard indeed. The mainstream cooking
is consistent and competent without ever reaching any real heights, while the
atmosphere is lively and the service operation efficient. Not a place of great originality, but the
Avenue is a very enjoyable place to eat.
Here are notes from a meal there.
There is a huge picture window into the restaurant interior from St
James Street, which is flanked by two classical-style columns. You are greeted on entry through the glass
door, and then led away to your table.
As you head towards the dining area you pass by a video wall on the
right playing a fashion show (pop videos on other occasions), an appropriate
choice since many of the clientele would look at home on the catwalk. On the left as you enter is the spectacular
long bar, cleverly under-lit with yellow light; with a beautiful flower display
at each end. Opposite the bar are a
number of low chairs, stools and tables at which to wait and have a drink. The floor is white-tiled and the room
benefits from a very high ceiling. Walls
and ceiling are gleaming white, the walls almost entirely bare. This leads to quite a noisy feel, partly due
on this occasion to a bunch of nearby nouveau riche Russians knocking back
bottles (not glasses) of vodka. In the
background is rock music, occasionally alternating with some live piano
music. Lighting is from overhead spots
and is bright.
The part of the dining area to which we were ushered has bench seating,
the bench in fact being back-lit in purple, and there is a narrow sky-light
above which appears to have blinds which can be rolled over it. On the wall are a couple of large modern
paintings. The tables by the benches are
bare wood; white linen tablecloths cover those in the rest of the room. White linen napkins are used, and on each
table is silver cutlery and an ashtray with a letter @ design. Chairs are modern, wood
and fairly comfortable. The clientele is
generally fairly young and well heeled.
The wine list is predominantly French but with a smattering of good New
World choices. Examples are the basic
Guigal Cotes du Rhone at £17.50, Krug non vintage at £90 (not unreasonable
given that it retails at £60 or more) while the dessert wines include Tokaji 5
Puttonyos at a ludicrous £35 or £7.50 a glass (about four times retail). In general the mark-ups are fairly high but
the growers are good. There is also a
new idea, a fine wine menu selected by Christies, with various serious wines
like Petrus 1993 at £195 and Lafite 1978 at £275.
Bread is either herb foccacia or a brown bread with a salt crust, both
fresh and having good flavour. Service
is brisk and efficient. A leek and
Gruyere risotto was a little over-creamy in texture but still had plenty of
flavour, the mound of risotto topped with shreds of deep fried leek. The Gruyere flavour was kept in control and
the leek strips added a texture contrast to the risotto. Overall this was 3/10. A blue cheese salad with croutons featured
ultra-fresh, crisp baby Gem leaves, good croutons and was garnished with a
little deep fried parsley (4/10).
My sea bass was well timed, moist and full of flavour, topped with a
very well balanced herb crust which complemented rather than overwhelmed the
fish, served on a bed of young, tender spinach and in a light buttery sauce
with baby broad beans. This was a
harmonious dish, all the components cooked correctly (5/10). A salmon fishcake had excellent salmon
flavour though was just a little flaky, served with a butter sauce that had a
hint of aniseed. The courgettes, mange
touts and carrots that accompanied the fishcake were delicately cooked, and the
sauce flavoured lightly with mixed herbs.
Overall 5/10, with the vegetables a clear 6/10. A side dish of champ had good texture for the
potatoes but was swimming in a pool of butter; however the chips were thin,
crisp, salted perfectly and all in all were hard to fault - some of the best
chips I had all year.
A chocolate assiette dessert consisted of three components: a white
chocolate triangular parfait slab had very smooth texture, a dark chocolate
tart had plenty of rich flavour and excellent base of pastry, while a chocolate
mousse also had smooth texture and kept the potentially overwhelming coffee
taste within check. These dishes were
garnished with a thin biscuit wafer interleaved with chocolate, and some
dribbles of chocolate sauce artfully arranged around the plate; a few slices of
strawberry added a little colour. A
pretty dish that showed a dessert chef of considerable abilities (7/10). A baked vanilla cheesecake was also a great
success, with a perfect base and a well balanced compote of blueberries
accompanied by a little creme fraiche (6/10).
As the £2.25 coffee arrived an incident occurred. I had ordered a double espresso, and as so
often happens a small cup arrived with a tiny pool of coffee at the bottom of
it. I get fed up of this practice, and
asked the waiter “is this a double espresso - it is tiny?” The waiter, who until that moment had been
efficient but rather poker-faced, smiled and said: “sir, you should see the
single espresso” and waltzed off. The
coffee itself, both filter and espresso, was good. Some chocolate covered coffee beans were
brought to snack on while you sip (very, very carefully) your drops of
coffee. To be fair, the filter cafetiere
for one person did provide two cups.
Last visited 2003.
|
Restaurant |
Belvedere |
|
Food
rating |
5/10 |
|
Address |
Holland
Park (actually in the park itself) off Abbotsbury Road W8 6LU |
|
Phone
Number |
0207
602 1238 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Holland
Park |
|
Open |
All
week12:00 – 14:30, 18:00 – 23:00 (22:30 Sunday) |
|
Price |
£55
a head with wine |
|
Web
site |
|
|
Map |
Click
here |
Finally
the beautiful setting of the Belvedere has cooking to match the view. Marco Pierre White has taken it over, spruced
it up and installed a competent team in the kitchen. Much improved décor can be seen in the
high-ceilinged main room, with beautiful flower displays to match. Marco himself sitting was two tables down
from us with Rocco Forte on our first visit, admiring his handiwork. Service was courteous and efficient, bread
served warm, either very good brown and white rolls (5/10). Tagliatelle with langoustines had tender
langoustine, good pasta and an excellent sauce made from the juices of the
shellfish (5/10). My Bresse chicken was
excellent, served with a very good peas risotto and a simple jus (6/10). Stella had tranche of salmon, which was timed
just right (5/10). Lemon tart was superb
(easily 7/10), with light pastry and lemon in fine balance with the sweetness
of the filling. This was served with a
fine lemon sorbet. Coffee is very good
(6/10). The wine list, which is in very
small print, has reliable selections like Guigal Cote du Rhone at £18, and
Hugel Pinot Gris at £30. There are some
more exotic bottles for visiting millionaires e.g. Chateau d’Yquem and a
Domaine Romanee Conti at the usual absurd mark-ups. As so often, the cooking a few months after
it has opened seems to lack the edge of the first few months, but this is still
5/10 territory. In the summer you can
sit out on the terrace and look over the park, but remember to ask for this
when booking. Last eaten October 2001.
|
Restaurant |
Bentley’s |
|
Food
rating |
6/10 |
|
Address |
11-15
Swallow Street, London W1B 4DE |
|
Phone
Number |
0207
734 4756 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Piccadily
Circus |
|
Open |
All
week 12:00 - 15:00, 18:00 - 23:00 |
|
Price |
£65
a head with wine |
|
Map |
Click
here
|
On the ground floor is a
bar; you walk through this and walk upstairs to the dining room, split into two
sections. The décor has a slight sense of a gentleman’s club, but I mean this
in a positive way: it is truly welcoming.
The blue leather chairs with metal studs are both attractive and very
comfortable, and there is no music. The
walls are painted cream up to the dado level, and above this is a blue floral
patterned fabric in place of wallpaper.
The curtains are of matching fabric, which my wife (who understands
these things) dismissed as “very 1980s”.
There is a window at one end of the room, but this just looks out onto a
building site next door. The floor is
plain wood, as is usual these days, while tables have crisp white linen
tablecloth and napkins. There are no
flowers at all in the dining room, which perhaps contributes to the slightly
masculine feel of the décor. On the
walls are a series of prints of fish, plus one large painting of what
presumably is a fishing boat. The
ceiling is white and has directed spots, supplemented by a few side lamps on
the walls, which have yellow lamp-covers.
The lighting is excellent, carefully directed and making the menu easy
to read. Why this basic concept seems to
elude so many interior designers escapes me, so no peering into the gloom with
a torch tonight. Tables have just salt
and pepper set out, nothing else.
The menu majors on seafood;
Bentley’s has been around 90 years no less, and its new owners (Richard
Corrigan etc) have kept the focus on the fruits of the sea. The waiting staff are formally dressed, and
to my amazement included two English waitresses, something I thought was an
extinct breed in London. Service was
friendly and capable, the dishes arriving at a pleasant pace, and dishes were
correctly delivered (no “who ordered the ….” here). Wine service featured a sommelier who seemed
to know what he was talking about, and indeed the wine list is a lengthy
affair, with 13 pages of closely typed choices.
There are plenty in the £25-£40 range e.g. Shaw and Smith Sauvignon
Blanc at £28.50 and Domhoff Riesling
2004 at £27.75. There are plenty of choices by the glass, including seven sweet
wines. I am pleased to report there are
no stingy half-glasses poured for dessert wine e.g. the Pedro Ximenes measure
was very generous indeed.
Breads are, unusually, baked
on the premises, and while commendable this may not after all be that
wise. A dark Irish soda bread was not my
thing but was nonetheless well made (6/10) but although slices of white bread
were reasonable if a little light in salt (4/10) the sourdough was sliced
ultra-thin and was frankly dried out (0/10).
There are no amuse guele. I began with macaroni with Dublin bay prawns,
and this featured high quality home-made pasta with excellent texture and
fresh, tender langoustines mixed in with the pasta, all with a little shellfish
sauce to add moisture. This was very
well executed, the langoustines clearly of good quality and having pleasing
taste and silky texture (6/10). Stella
had crab brulee, served with good pickled cucumber with sesame seeds and an
excellent finger sandwich of prawn toast with a thick layer of prawns at the
centre, toasted and topped with sesame seeds.
The brulee itself worked well, tasting properly of the crab and having
smooth texture (6/10).
Stella had Dover sole,
simply grilled and served with a half of lemon and some home-made tartare
sauce. Nico used to make the definitive version of this and so everything else
seems a pale imitation, but the one tonight was very good, the fish fresh and
cooked through just the right amount, having excellent flavour. The tartare
sauce had a pleasing tartness and was a good accompaniment (6/10). I had roast duck from Goosnargh, served in
two pieces on the bone with a little meat jus, and a blob of celeriac puree,
plus a single caramelised apple in a torpedo shape. Although the duck was cooked pink it was just
a little harder to cut through than I would have expected, though the flavour
itself was good. The celeriac puree was
superb, with very light, creamy texture and great intensity of flavour, while
the jus could have perhaps been reduced a little; there was a little sauerkraut
on the side, but this was rather tasteless (5/10 overall). Vegetables arrived with the main courses: new
potatoes were cooked with a little mint, and had lovely texture; so often
potatoes turn up either under or over cooked, but these were just about
ideal. A mix of mange tout, sugar snap
peas and spinach was also very capably cooked with a little butter (7/10 for
the vegetables).
A caramelised apple tart had
good pastry but in fact the apples were not properly caramelised; this was
disguised by the addition of a caramel sauce and some excellent (7/10 standard)
vanilla ice cream, but the dish was less good than it would otherwise have been
due to the incorrect treatment of the apple (4/10). Sherry trifle was a delightfully
old-fashioned dish to see on a menu. In
this case the sponge base had good texture and was generously laced with
sherry, there was a layer of fruit jelly above this and then a layer of
strawberry, a little grapefruit and even the odd blueberry, topped with
cream. The fruit was of good quality,
seasonal and the sponge a success (6/10).
Cappuccino and filter coffee were both good quality coffee, the filter
coffee served in a silver coffee pot and left on the table for refills;
accompanying the coffee were four small but very well made chocolate truffles,
with rich centres and a light coating
(6/10 for filter, 7/10 for the cappuccino).
This was a very
pleasant dining experience all round.
The room is relaxing and the chairs comfortable, there is no music to
distract you, and the service was extremely friendly. The menu is very appealing and an exercise in
simplicity, with every dish appealing.
There is no coconut herring or Earl Grey tea wasabe froth appearing on
your fish, as so often seems the case in London restaurants these days. Above
all, the ingredient quality of the fish was excellent and the technical
execution consistent. Prices are also
fair for cooking at this level.
|
Restaurant |
Berkeley Square Restaurant & Grill |
|
Food rating |
4/10 |
|
Address |
|
|
Phone Number |
020 7629 6993 |
|
Nearest Tube |
|
|
Open |
Lunch all week: open all
day Dinner: all week |
|
Price |
£60 a head with wine |
|
Map |
Click here |
Sadly
Stephen Black and his wife have headed off to Austarlia, and the place is not
what iit was, though there are still flickers of talent showing. The menu now is priced at £42.95 for two courses of
£49.95 for three courses, and there is also a 7 course surprise menu at
£55. Breads (rolls of onion, olive white
and brown, and the onion roll lacked much onion taste) were rather chewy
(3/10). A pumpkin veloute served in a
little cup arrived as an amuse bouche and had reasonably good pumpkin flavour,
though it could have been more intense and the texture was a little thicker
than the ideal (4/10). My starter of
“Sennen cove” crab with avocado, grapefruit and pea shoots was a
disappointment. The crab meat used was
the brown meat from the crab, and it had very little taste given that it was
supposedly fresh crab. The grapefruit
segments were also rather dried out (1/10).
Better was a pair of diver-caught scallops (sweet and timed well) with a
bulb of well cooked warm foie gras, a little parsnip puree and a smear of
ragout of salsify and girolles (6/10).
Roast loin of venison was reasonable, served with a
well-made fondant potato, creamed
Last visited November 2006.
|
Restaurant |
Bollo House |
|
Food
rating |
1/10 |
|
Address |
13-15
Bollo Lane, Chiswick W4 5LR |
|
Phone
Number |
020
8994 6037 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Chiswick
Park |
|
Open |
Lunch:
weekends only, open all day Dinner:
all week 18:30 – 22:30 (Sundays 22:00) |
|
Price |
£20
a head with wine |
|
Map |
Click
here |
A decent “gastro pub” finally arrives in Chiswick. The drinking half of the pub is panelled
wood, the dining half carpeted. Décor is
fairly modern, with bright lighting. At
a recent visit, smoked haddock and mussel chowder was very good indeed, with
none of the powdery texture that often dogs poor chowder; instead there were
chunks of well cooked haddock and mussels, in a creamy sauce with fresh chopped
chives (2/10). A Caesar salad was also a
cut above the norm, with good leaves and dressing (3/10). Smoked salmon is never a great test of a
kitchen but it was fine here, while the grilled fillet of mackerel I had was
cooked carefully with new potatoes, crisp green beans and a light mustard
sauce; the three mackerels were draped artistically over the central heap of
potato and a little green salad (3/10).
There is an acceptable wine list e.g. Firesteed Pinot Noir for £18.50,
most wines around the £15 mark, even a dessert wine by the glass. Far better than I was expecting – I have
eaten much, much worse in many restaurants.
Last eaten November 2002, when sadly the experience was less favourable.
|
Restaurant |
Brackenbury |
|
Food
rating |
4/10 |
|
Address |
129-131
Brackenbury Road, Shepherds Bush, W6 0BQ |
|
Phone
Number |
020
8748 0107 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Goldhawk
Road, also Hammersmith is not too far |
|
Open |
Sunday
to Friday 12:30 – 14:45, Monday to Saturday 19:00 – 22:45 |
|
Price |
£30
a head with wine |
|
Map |
Click
here |
|
Hygiene
|
Click
here |
The sort
of restaurant everyone wishes they had at the end of their road. Despite some ownership changes over the years
the Brackenbury has remained remarkably consistent, turning out British and
French dishes that are rarely fancy but are always carefully cooked. Fish is well timed, ingredients are excellent
and service is friendly. The dining room
is in two parts on what is basically a residential street, with a few tables
outside in the summer. A feature is the
very fair prices, and there is a decent wine list with good value wines. The current owners, who took over in July
2003, have brought a promising chef. Notes from my last meal here follow
A
starter of risotto made with white truffle (presumably just oil truffle given
the price tag for the dish of £6.50), fresh peas and feves featured well cooked
Arborio rice and a very good chicken stock that had suffused the rice with
flavour. The texture of the rice was
excellent, and the vegetables tender (6/10).
Fresh and smoked salmon were layered and cut into a circular tower
shape, topped with guacamole, surrounded by a thick dressing of cherry tomatoes
laced with Bloody Mary. This salmon
worked well with the guacamole and the tomatoes; an unusual but effective
combination (5/10). We both had a main
course of carefully cooked tuna, served with a green salsa, tender broad beans
and a little relish of red pepper and chilli jam. The spices were restrained and added a little
lift to the dish without dominating it (5/10).
I tried a passion fruit cheesecake, which had a good base and plenty of
passion fruit flavour, accompanied by a very good passion fruit sorbet, bursting
with fruit flavour and having smooth texture, served inside a hollowed out
passion fruit (easily 5/10). Mango
sorbet was also well made, with smooth texture and intense mango flavour
(5/10).
Last visited September 2006.
|
Restaurant |
Bradleys |
|
Food
rating |
3/10 |
|
Address |
25
Winchester Road, Swiss Cottage, NW3 3NR |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7722 3457 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Swiss
Cottage |
|
Open |
Sunday
to Friday 12:00 – 15:00, |
|
Price |
£40
a head with wine |
|
Map |
Click
here |
A simple neighbourhood restaurant with a pleasant little garden accessed
through French doors that open out in summer.
Here are notes from a recent meal.
To begin with I had a rather watery Jerusalem artichoke soup, which I
have to say I can cook better (1/10). My
companion had a much better dish of four scallops, which were nicely cooked
with a simple cauliflower puree and a smear of red wine sauce (4/10). For main course I had tuna, cooked rare,
covered with a pepper crust and served with some ordinary potato crisps
(2/10). My companion again fared better
with a loin of venison, cooked pink and served with a shallot tatin and a tasty
horseradish mash. Some accompanying
(charged extra) French beans and snow peas were competently done (3/10). A pear tatin for dessert was reasonable,
while a caramelised apple was less good, with an over-flaky strudel. Coffee was fine, and the breads were
good. The wine list is almost entirely
New World, including a good selection of Bonny Doon e.g. Cigare Volant and his
Moscato dessert wine. Friendly, unpretentious
service, but the waiter struggled to remember who ordered what. Overall, an erratic meal, but with cooking a
cut above the average for a local restaurant and with an excellent wine
list.
Top ten favourite
|
Restaurant |
The Brilliant |
|
Food rating |
4/10 |
|
Address |
|
|
Phone Number |
020 8574 1928 |
|
Nearest Tube |
none, but Southall BR is a
five minute walk |
|
Open |
Tuesday – Sunday for dinner |
|
Price |
around £25 a head with drinks, but you will never finish
the meal if you spend this much! |
|
Map |
Click here |
Forget
the various "best Indian" food awards, which are mostly as
unpredictable and independent as the outcome of a WWF wrestling match.
For real Indian food ask Indian people, and most will recommend this
long-established fixture in the Asian community. The main dining room has finally been
refurbished (no more silk plants) and the room is bright and smarter, if a
little glittery. They have now introduced plasma TV screens where you can
see the Bollywood films as well as listen to them, which is somewhat surreal
but quite fun. The clientele is mainly Asian families, and portions are
designed with that in mind i.e. BIG. My favourite dishes are the chicken
starters, e.g. butter chicken, or the bhajia mix or lovely aloo tikki (chilli
chicken is not for the faint of heart). For main courses the methi
chicken is superb, as is any prawn dish. Chef Gulu Anand has his own
garam masala recipe made from forty ingredients, and the quality of the spicing
here is very high. Rice is wonderfully fragrant, but breads are only
reasonable. I generally stick to chapattis or romali roti here (which at
present is not made in the taditional way, though this should hopefully change
soon). Note that the restaurant will close in January 2007 for major
refurbishment, hopefully reopening in February.
Last visited November 2006.
|
Restaurant |
Café Japan |
|
Food
rating |
3/10 |
|
Address |
626
Finchley Road, London NW11 7RR |
|
Phone
Number |
020 8455 6854 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Golders
Green |
|
Open |
Wednesday
– Sunday 18:00 – 21:00 |
|
Price |
£30
a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
Simple café surroundings
with bench seating as well as a bar where food is served to customers seated on
bar stools. It was packed out
tonight. Service was stretched but
friendly. This is pretty much entirely a sushi and sashimi place, with no meat
dishes that I could see, and almost everything being raw fish of various kinds
others than specials and just a few hot dishes.
Miso soup was pleasant. I had sashimi
tuna, with eight prettily presented pieces of good tuna, with pickled ginger
and wasabi (3/10). Grilled eel was
served on a bed of rice that had absorbed the cooking juices and was excellent
(4/10). Blackened cod was capable with
good flavour (3/10). This place is very
fair value. I had Kirin beer, but other
Japanese beers and some wines are also available. Last visited August 2004.
|
Restaurant |
Café Spice Namaste |
|
Food
rating |
2/10 |
|
Address |
16
Prescott Street, London E1 8AZ |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7488 9242 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Aldgate |
|
Open |
Monday-Friday
12:00-15:00 Monday-Saturday
18:15– 22:30 |
|
Price |
£35
a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
Oddly, when Cyrus Todiwala was
cooking in a backwater in Alie Street at the original Namaste, I loved it but
the food guides ignored it. However his
talent was spotted and money was loaned, and Café Spice Namaste came forth, a
huge eatery in high-ceilinged splendour at the edge of the City. Cyrus himself no longer cooks, which is a
great shame, as his cooking at the old Namaste was original and superb, but now
his restaurant is a great success and the food guides fawn. Here are some notes on one of my meals there,
showing the inconsistency that can creep in.
Popadoms are crispy (2/10) and come
with homemade pickles. For starter a
dish of prawns were cooked tenderly but were in a rather one-dimensional sauce
(1/10). Aloo papri chat was a rather
inferior version: a mound of heavy potato with rather sharp raw onion and
deep-fried “pasta” pieces served with a tiny dish of yoghurt-based sauce with a
dash of mint and tamarind. Too dry, the
dish lacked cohesion, with too many elements that did not blend into a whole. Goan prawn curry again had prawns correctly
cooked, but the sauce was rather ordinary, with chunks of tomato in the sauce
used as a filler (1/10). Marked as being
“very hot”, it actually lacked spiciness.
Chicken xacuti had a more interesting sauce, though again the spices,
not being freshly ground, merged into one and were indistinct, rather than each
being recognisable as happens when they are truly fresh (1/10). Pilau rice was OK, though the polished rice
with the prawn curry was well cooked and different - it had a somewhat nutty
taste. The best feature of the meal was
the naans, which although they had been left to stand for a while and so were
not piping hot, were fluffy and excellent (3/10). Bombay potato, always a good test, were
reasonable but fell in to the common trap of overcooking the potatoes,
resulting in the vegetables losing distinct texture and being too soft on the
outside, yet the larger ones were still hard on the inside (0/10). Raita was quite creamy, without much cucumber
in it (1/10). Service was not at its
best: the waiter rushed off before we had finished ordering - they seemed a bit
stretched. As ever, the atmosphere is
lively, though full of arrogant traders and their Essex girl companions:
entertaining in its way. Last visited
May 2004.
There was a similar, though smaller,
branch at 247 Lavender Hill, SW11 (0207 738 1717) minus the City wide boys. But
this seems to have folded.
Top ten favourite
|
Restaurant |
The Capital |
|
Food rating |
8/10 |
|
Address |
|
|
Phone Number |
020 7589 5171 |
|
Nearest Tube |
Knightsbridge |
|
Open |
Monday-Friday |
|
Price |
£90 a head with drinks |
|
Web site |
|
|
Map |
Click here |
Normally hotel dining rooms in the
Breads are rolls of either white (7/10), brown walnut and raisin (8/10), paprika (6/10) or olive (5/10). The olive and paprika rolls were a little doughy, but the walnut and raisin was very fine, crisp and with great flavour, just the right amount of salt. Overall breads were 7/10. An amuse guele was a little black pudding resting on a circle of Lyonaisse potatoes, topped with a sliver of caramelised apple. The black pudding had hearty flavour, the potatoes were very tender and the apple nicely provided some acidity to balance the black pudding (7/10). A bit tricky if you don’t eat meat though.
Warm smoked haddock was served on top of aioli potatoes as a fillet in the centre of the plate, topped with a precarious tower of mini-blinis, surrounded by a salad of deep-fried quail eggs. The haddock was stunning, with great flavour and perfectly timed; maybe the best haddock I have eaten. The blinis had excellent texture and the salad leaves were very fresh (8/10). The vertical presentation theme continued with a tower of four layers for my starter. At the base was a very fine tomato risotto wrapped in smoked pork belly (“poitrine fumee”), on top of which were two seared langoustines. Atop the langoustines was a solitary ravioli of langoustines, crowned by a sliver of deep-fried chorizo. Around the tower were smears of red chorizo juice. The only relative slip was in the langoustines, which while by no means chewy but were seared a little too much. However the risotto was superb, the bacon sealing in the flavour, while the ravioli had perfect texture. An original dish, and one in which the very different flavours worked surprisingly well with one another (8/10; would have been 9/10 except for the langoustines).
Stella had roasted turbot
served on the bone, on a bed of spinach and surrounded by a fricassee of ceps
and
Cheese was served from a very
handsome covered silver trolley, the top being ceremonially opened to reveal
the cheeses within. I tried St Maure, (7/10) Brillat Savarin (6/10)
Beaufort (6/10),
Both filter and espresso were
very high quality coffee. Accompanying the coffee was an excellent tray
of petit fours, so often the Achilles heel of French restaurants in
|
Restaurant |
Le Cercle |
|
Food
rating |
5/10 |
|
Address |
1 Wilbraham Place, London, SW1X 9AE
|
|
Phone
Number |
020 7901 9999 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Sloane
Square |
|
Open |
Tuesday
- Saturday 12:00-14:00, 19:00 – 22:30 |
|
Price |
£40
a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
A basement, but one with a very high ceiling. At the far end is a wine cellar behind glass, and there are a couple of booths. There is also a love seat, and in general the atmosphere is romantic, with the lighting subdued, with spots picking out the centre of each table in a pool of light as at Hakkasan, though less well done. The clientele is definitely trendy – one blonde woman was wearing both a kimono and a tiara. Tables are a decent size for four, though I observed that a table for six just had two extra chairs stuffed in around the same table. The menu is tapas style. I had summer salad with mixed leaves and baby vegetables (4/10). This was followed by a small piece of sea bass pan-fried with a little beurre blanc; the fish was fresh and well timed, the sauce subdued (6/10). Next was roasted quail with sauce diable, the quail tenderly cooked and the sauce just a rich smear that did not overwhelm the delicate quail (6/10). Fillet of beef with mushroom duxelle was medium rare yet somewhat chewy, so presumably was not very well sourced (4/10).
Cheese
is odd in that you choose and pay for each cheese individually. Camembert and Comte were good but the
quantities were too big for a single cheese – much better to have a board and
have a little of several (4/10). Tarte
fine had good pastry, dessert apples and a fair vanilla ice cream (4/10). Coffee was of good quality (6/10). There is just one bread, a mini white loaf
served warm and this was excellent (6/10).
Service was flaky – they had lost my booking so I suppose I should be
grateful to have got in at all given the place was completely full. Wine topping up was erratic, and getting
attention also hit and miss. The wine
list was good value, and with plenty of careful selections. Overall this was a very pleasant experience,
and a fair price. It is already doing very well. Last visited April 2005, when I had a
slightly less good meal than the above.
.
|
Restaurant |
Chez Bruce |
|
Food
rating |
5/10 |
|
Address |
2
Bellevue Road, Wandsworth Common, London SW17 7EG |
|
Phone
Number |
020
8672 0114 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Balham,
but none really near |
|
Open |
All
week 12:00-14:00 (15:00 Sundays), 19:00 – 22:30 |
|
Price |
£50
a head with drinks |
|
Web
site |
|
|
Map |
Click
here |
In the
old premise of the legendary Harveys (Marco Pierre White’s original restaurant)
Bruce Poole, who used to cook at Chez Max in its glory days, brings fine
cooking to a part of London that needs it.
The small dining room looks out on to Wandsworth common, and now that
Bruce runs the place rather than Marco, diners need no longer live in terror of
arriving ten minutes late. His British
cooking brings punchy flavours together with high quality ingredients and
consistent execution. The wine list has
plenty of choice below £20 a bottle, and there is a reasonable range of growers
on the list. Simply the best restaurant
in South London.
One meal
(June 2001) consisted of seared tuna with the component of a salad Nicoise
(5/10). For main course duck confit was
served on a cassoulet made from summer beans (5/10). Cheese was reasonable (5/10) with Mrs
Montgomery Cheddar and Colston Basset Stilton in good condition, but some of
the French cheeses were past their best.
An assiette of apple had a disappointing tarte tatin and apple jelly,
but sorbets were good, as was a grand marnier truffle. Service was very slow (three hours to serve
the dishes, despite arriving at 21:30 – I dread to think what it is like at
peak times) and had several errors: two separate wine orders forgotten, bread
not refreshed, no recollection of who ordered what, difficulty getting
attention. Still, at £30 for three
courses prices are fair, and there is an excellent wine list with a fine list
of dessert wines, no less than 18 by the glass.
Last visited April 2002.
|
Restaurant |
China City (aka Imperial China) |
|
Food
rating |
3/10 |
|
Address |
25a
Lisle Street, Soho, London, London WC2H 7BA |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7734 3388 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Leicester
Square |
|
Open |
All
week 12:00-15:00, 18:00 – 23:00 |
|
Price |
£30
a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
This is not easy to find. If you come from the Charing Cross Road end
of Lisle Street it is tucked away in an alley on the north side of Lisle
Street. Remarkably, it is a warren of a
place on three floors seating no less than 500 people at a time. The cuisine here is the usual Cantonese fare,
but to a much higher standard than is usual in Chinatown. On my last visit we
had some excellent cold meats followed by a surprisingly good bean curd
soup. Lobster was tender, rice was
fragrant, and Chinese broccoli was very delicately steamed. Last visited June 2006.
|
Restaurant |
Chor Bizarre |
|
Food
rating |
1/10 |
|
Address |
16
Albemarle Street, London W1S 4HW |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7629 9802 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Green
Park |
|
Open |
All
week 12:00-15:00, 18:00 – 23:30 (22:30 Sundays) |
|
Price |
£40
a head with drinks |
|
Web
site |
|
|
Map |
Click
here |
Many
up-market Indian restaurants in London are disappointing, and after a good
start this one seems on the decline. The
cooking stretches beyond the usual fare into interesting regional dishes, while
service fluctuates from off-hand to reasonable.
More recent experiences have tended to the former. In particular there is a tendency not to
respect reservation times, which I find deeply irritating.
The floor
of the main dining area is in two areas.
The first part is patterned black and white marble, the second a bare
wood floor which has in it some of the frosted skylights that you sometimes
walk over on pavements that cover basements.
The walls are stone, painted off white, while the ceiling is white. Lighting, from a mix of directed ceiling
spotlights and hanging lamps, is reasonably bright. Sitar music plays in the dining room. The tables and chairs are very interesting;
each table is unique some of marble, some made of wood but with a glass top
looking into a base of embroidery, or in our case a marble balustrade. One table is even made out of an old
four-poster bedstead, complete with drapes.
The chairs are very impressive, varied but all of intricate design, some
with inlaid wood and most chairs elaborately carved. On the walls are various
Indian carvings and some photos of India.
There is a downstairs dining area that is usually not in use.
Starters I have tried include aloo tikki chat, which is a Southall speciality that rarely ventures to
the West End. Some carefully cooked
potatoes were stuffed with green peas, lentils and spices, with a sambal
(tamarind) sauce, all mixed in with yoghurt and laced with fresh coriander, garnished
with shreds of fresh ginger. This was
competent but cold (2/10). I had a dish
of five scallops, deep-fried and served with an excellent salad of red
chillies, green peppers, red onions, curry leaves, fried coconut and a little
coriander (2/10).
For main course you could sample chettinad chicken, which is basically a
peppery chicken curry, the flavour predominantly that of curry leaves with a
little aniseed. A makhani dal, once a
fine creation here, was now rather watery.
Alternatively try a dish of four tandoori prawns, straight from the
charcoal over and served with a red onion salad. The large prawns were somewhat chewy. A wild
mushroom methi had various wild mushrooms, liberally coated with fenugreek and
ginger (3/10). Zeera aloo was the least
good dish on one visit, with potatoes that were perhaps a touch too starchy,
though still with their texture and coated with cumin. Rice, both plain basmati and a version with
saffron, was light and fluffy (3/10), while the breads were excellent. Naan was too hard while the paratha was crumbly
(0/10). Last visited May 2003.
|
Restaurant |
The Clerkenwell Dining Room |
|
Food
rating |
4/10 |
|
Address |
69-73
St John Street, London EC1M 4AN |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7253 9000 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Farringdon
|
|
Open |
All
week 12:00-14:30, 18:00 – 23:00 |
|
Price |
£60
a head with drinks |
|
Web
site |
|
|
Map |
Click
here |
Headed by Andrew Thompson, the ex
executive chef of L’Escargot , this venture has been open since November
2001. It has a smart dining room,
decorated in a modern style with hard-wood floor, some tasteful wall lamps and
some tasteless modern art. Tables are
well spaced and generous in size, waiters are fairly attentive if a little
pushy at times with their recommendations.
I started with a special, two scallops in a thick bouillon of sweetcorn
and bacon. The scallops were timed quite
well but were not the best quality diver’s scallops, the broth worked well
(5/10). Less good was a crab cake,
pleasant enough in itself but with a red pepper remoulade that lacked
distinctive flavour (3/10). Bread is
just slices of white and brown, decent and freshly made (4/10). For main course I tried suckling pig, slices
of what was effectively gammon on a bed of green cabbage. The suckling pig was quite bland, the cabbage
better, surrounded by a fricassee of fairly tender white beans with garlic
(3/10). Slightly better was seared
salmon with a rather ordinary red wine sauce but with very good leeks
(4/10). Desserts were more consistent: a
passion fruit crème brulee was a little runny but had well balanced passion
fruit in the custard (4/10). A chocolate
fondant had excellent texture and rich taste (6/10). The wine list is short and fairly priced, and
there is also a short “premium” list of rather uninspiring wines; mineral water
is Hildon. Coffee was reasonable
(4/10). The price is quite fair here:
starters average £7, main courses £13, desserts around £6. Last visited March 2002.
|
Restaurant |
Club Gascon |
|
Food
rating |
6/10 |
|
Address |
57
West Smithfield, London EC1A 9DS |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7796 0600 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Barbican
or Farringdon |
|
Open |
Dinner
Monday – Saturday Lunch
Monday- Friday 12:00 – 14:00 |
|
Price |
£70
a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
We
tried the tasting menu. First was a
veloute of shellfish and lamb’s lettuce served in a tall china cup; this had
intense flavour, the liquid having the occasional mussel and even an oyster, as
well as pieces of ewe cheese (5/10).
Foie gras of canard was a think slice of pate with smooth texture and
strong foie gras flavour, served with some remarkably light toasted brioche
(7/10). Grilled confit of salmon was
pleasant, resting in a frothy cauliflower cream (4/10). Braised capo, had wonderful flavour, served
with chestnuts, crosnes and black winter truffle (7/10). Finally, “Twelfth night cake” featured
delicate pastry and served with an almond ice cream and a little glass of fresh
green apple juice (5/10). Wines
appropriate to each dish were served, the whole five courses priced at £55 a
head including wines (we had some drink beforehand, which bumped the price
up). Best of all was the bread, both
country bread and cereal bread, of wonderful flavour, crispy crust and fine
flavour, very well salted – some of the best bread I have had in ages (9/10 for
the bread, which is made on the premises).
Service was competent and the premises, though cramped, no longer
involve literally packing people in by rearranging the tables. Last visited January 2003.
|
Restaurant |
Criterion |
|
Food
rating |
3/10 |
|
Address |
224
Piccadilly, London W1J 9HP |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7930 0488 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Piccadilly
Circus |
|
Open |
All
week 12:00 – 14:30, 18:00 – 00:00 (22:30 Sunday) |
|
Price |
£50
a head with drinks |
|
Web
site |
|
|
Map |
Click
here |
Perhaps the most beautiful dining room
in London, the Criterion was once a tavern and then a large restaurant and
entertainment complex, Victorian style.
The spectacular gilt ceiling and marble walls were covered over during
the war and only recently has this glorious room been y restored to its fully
glory under the ownership of Marco Pierre White. The kitchen serves simple brasserie food with
a wide, appealing menu. Examples are
pleasant risotto with asparagus, but when the kitchen pushes itself a little
harder it generally delivers e.g. a tian of crab with a tomato and saffron
dressing. There is comforting food like
smoked haddock, poached egg and colcannon. For dessert try the extremely good
lemon tart, a cut above the general level of cooking here. Service is erratic,
generally well meaning but also sometimes disorganised. There is a good wine list, with choices like
Riesling Cuvee Frederich Emile from Trimbach and the excellent value Guigal
Cotes du Rhone, as well as a wide selection of New World offerings. The Criterion is never going to push culinary
boundaries, but it is mostly reliable and is a great place to take visitors to
London, as the dining room itself is so stunning.
|
Restaurant |
Deya |
|
Food
rating |
4/10 |
|
Address |
34
Portman Square, London W1H 7BY |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7224 0028 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Marble
Arch |
|
Open |
Lunch
Monday to Friday Dinner
Monday to Saturday 18:00 – 23:00 |
|
Price |
£48
a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
The restaurant is owned by Sir Michael Caine, Claudio
Pulze and Raj Sharma (of Cuisine Collection).
The executive chef is Sanjay Dwivedi (also of Zaika) but the actual
cooking is being done by Verapan Muragapan, who is a long-standing Zaika
chef. The room is an impressive one,
with a very high Georgian ceiling with intricate plasterwork (painted white), a
dark wood floor and walls painted eau-de-nil.
The walls are uncluttered, with just a couple of large mirrors and large
brass side-lamp fittings. Lighting is
from these and a large central fitting hanging from the ceiling in the style of
the root system of a tree, with multi-coloured bulbs.
David d’Almada, the designer, has placed a long
cocktail bar in between the dining area and the bar area, on the back of which
(i.e. the side that you see from the dining area) is a mural of Indian figures
and scenes. Western muzak plays, though
at a low level, and despite the wood floor the noise level is not too high. Tables are fairly well spaced. On each is a white linen tablecloth with
matching napkins, a single rose in a glass jar and a lamp in a Moroccan-style
pottery lampshade (maybe this was also Moghul style). Crockery is plain white “Porcelana”. There is banquette seating along the long
wall, while chairs are somewhat out of character with the classical feel of the
room – they are modern, low, ugly, upholstered in a variety of colours (blue,
brown, red) and are very uncomfortable.
The chairs are a bewildering choice to go with the grand setting, and if
I was Michael Caine I’d be asking for a refund from the designer for this
little error of taste. Waiters seem to
be mostly Italian, and stylishly rather than formally dressed. Service was very good, with wine topped up
well and dishes emerging at a steady pace.
Popadoms are of the
mini-disc variety favoured at Zaika, with three chutneys served in metal dishes
on a square dish lined with a banana leaf.
These were very fine indeed, a tomato chutney, a sweet mango chutney and
an aubergine chutney. Each are made from
fresh ingredients and carefully spiced, a world away from the jar contents that
most Indian restaurants use. The tomato
chutney managed an intense flavour that was enhanced by a rich blend of spices
(5/10 for the chutneys). A recurring
theme in this report will be the similarity with the old Zaika, which of course
is hardly surprising given the backgrounds of the chefs, and it is notable that
the chutneys at Zaika were always a great strength.
The wine list is extensive
and well chosen, ranging across the world and stretching to over 20 pages. Louis Roederer champagne is £49.50 i.e. about
twice retail. Other mark-ups are less
generous e.g. Chassagne-Montrachet 2000 Jean-Marc Pillot is £66 on the list,
but is available at £20 even from the pricey Berry Brothers and Rudd. The excellent Marques de Murrieta
"Capellania" Gran Reserva 1997 Ygay, Rioja is listed at £21 compared
to around £8 retail. At the higher end of the list mark-ups remain at about
three times retail, with Pommard 1er Cru "Clos des Epenots" 2000
Domaine de Courcel at £95.50 compared to retail of around £30. There are even five dessert wines, two by the
glass. A large part of the wine list is
£30-45, but there are some selections around the £20 mark, and in fact very
little over £80. Growers are generally
intelligently chosen e.g.. from the USA we have Au Bon Climat, Qupe and Bonny
Doon, which are all excellent choices.
There was an amuse bouche. This consisted of a tiny puri topped with
chickpeas and yogurt, and garnished with sev.
There was also a good cauliflower pakora, hot and fresh with crispy
coating (4/10). I began with mustard
tuna. The first thing to note here is
that this is bluefin tuna, the very highest grade of tuna, which is a rarity in
a London restaurant. Slices of tuna were
marinated with ginger and chilli and cooked with mustard seeds, which give a
pleasing crunchy contrast to the voluptuous texture of the tuna (which can
easily handle spice without being overwhelmed).
The fish was served on a bed of excellent shredded spiced cabbage, a
little asparagus and a small salad of bitter leaves (red-stemmed chard) with no
dressing. This was a very successful dish (5/10)
Stella’s crab rice was
carefully heaped into a little ring, topped with fresh crabmeat and
sweetcorn. Inside the rice was a raita
with additional crab meat, and garnished with a samosa of crabmeat and
sweetcorn. A drizzle of mint and yoghurt
sauce surrounded the rice. The crab was fresh and perfectly cooked, with
carefully controlled use of spices, the samosa crispy and providing a good
texture contrast to the crab (4/10).
Four large tandoori prawns were of high quality and superbly cooked,
resting on an excellent utthapam (a pancake made from rice flour and “urad”
lentils) topped with onions, chillies and baby shrimps. The utthapam was golden and crispy but not
too crisp, just as it should be. The
prawns were served with a salad of red-stemmed chard, shreds of beetroot and
rocket with no dressing. There was also
a small pot of coconut chutney. These
were as good tandoori prawns as you will find anywhere in London (5/10)
Green chicken had chunks of
good quality, tasty chicken, cooked in a thick sauce of cardamom, chilli and
fennel, with spinach leaves. The sauce
was garnished with coriander and showed fresh, well-balanced spices. Although labelled “spicy” this would only
seem spicy to Americans (3/10). Green
vegetables were stir-fried green beans, broccoli and mange touts, with cashew nuts
and shreds of fresh coconut, cooked with spices and mustard seeds. The vegetables were very lightly cooked, and
the dish is the same as that at Zaika except for the lack of baby sweetcorn
(4/10). Baby new potatoes were cooked
with mint. There was no sauce here, the
potatoes cooked with spices and retaining their firm texture (3/10).
Boiled basmati rice was
excellent, light with the grains clearly distinct (4/10). A raita was thick and creamy, with cucumber,
tomato and onion in it. The texture was
superb and the spicing accurate (5/10).
Garlic naan was fluffy, with finely chopped garlic and restrained use of
butter (4/10). Paratha was made with
mint, was of the non-greasy variety, light and without the mint flavour being
out of control (3/10).
Pre-dessert was a lychee
granita. This was correctly made, the
lychee taste coming through strongly and possessing good texture (5/10). Stella
had pineapple and mango, thinly sliced with a little passion fruit juice,
served with excellent coconut ice cream which had strong coconut flavour and a
smooth texture (4/10). I had pistachio
kulfi with supposedly a mango ice cream but was actually coconut ice cream (a
rare service blip) and a chocolate samosa with crispy pastry and a liquid
chocolate centre. A decorative chocolate
tuile arch was a nice presentational touch.
The kulfi had good taste and texture (3/10). My double espresso was of reasonable quality
(3/10). Stella’s tea was served in a
teapot was was actually a teabag marked “French breakfast tea”, which was not
very good. There were even petit fours:
peanut brittle, salted pistachios coated n white chocolate, a meringue stick,
raisins in milk chocolate and hazelnuts in dark chocolate. These were all pleasant rather than inspired
(2/10).
The bill was £109.69, with
food and drinks at £97.50 and service at 12.5% i.e. £12.19. After some of the outrageous prices now being
charged by “Modern Indian” places (take note Amaya) the bill came as a pleasant
surprise. After all, there were two
forms of nibbles, pre-dessert and petit fours here, as well as some high
quality ingredients. Water was £3 for
Hildon water, and Cobra beer was also £3.
I thought this bill was quite fair in context.
Deya is a real
surprise. The dining room is grand but
not overwhelming, the cooking is excellent, with genuinely high quality
ingredients e.g. bluefin tuna and prawns of a quality that would shame many a
French restaurant. Spicing was well handled, and the extras were great, with
magnificent chutneys and good bread.
This was how I recall the old Zaika at its best.
Last visited September 2006. Several visits here have confirmed a very
consistent, fairly priced experience.
Top ten favourite
|
Restaurant |
Diwana Bhel Poori |
|
Food rating |
1/10 |
|
Address |
|
|
Phone Number |
0207 387 5556 |
|
Nearest Tube |
Euston, or |
|
Open |
All week, lunch and dinner |
|
Price |
£8 a head for the food |
|
Map |
Click here |
Where
else in
Personally I think Diwana is best at the starter snacks, so I normally order two or three of these per person, and then just skip to the home-made kulfi (Indian ice cream). You should try the bhel poori, samosas and aloo papri chat, which are outstanding. Also the de-luxe dosa (basically a large crisp pancake stuffed with a spicy potato and onion filling) is excellent, though some of the curries are quite ordinary. Feeling that their prices were too high for lunchtime trade, they offer an "eat as much as you want" lunch for £4.95; this is excellent value, but does not usually include the snacks at which they are best. Last visited September 2006.
|
Restaurant |
Drones |
|
Food
rating |
4/10 |
|
Address |
1
Pont Street, Belgravia, London SW1X 9EJ |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7235 9555 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Knightsbridge
(plus a 10 minute walk) |
|
Open |
All
week 12:00 – 14:30, 18:00 – 23:00 (22:30 Sunday) |
|
Price |
£45
a head with drinks |
|
Web
site |
|
|
Map |
Click
here |
Another
addition to the Marco family. This
low-ceilinged room is done out in wood, with some black and white photos to
give a bit of turn-of-the-century clubby feeling (Drones was the club in Jeeves
& Wooster). The menu is extensive,
along the lines of other Marco places, but this one has some nods towards older
dishes that have long since passed away from modern menus e.g. Crème DuBarry
soup, game, asparagus with Hollandaise sauce, oxtail en daube. A recent meal started with salad of crab,
piled into a circle with a mayonnaise sauce, atop a “Russian salad” of diced
carrots, sweetcorn, potatoes and beans served with little snips of chives with
some chervil. (3/10). My chou farci a
l’Ancienne was spicy minced pork and some spinach wrapped in a Savoy Cabbage
leaf, sitting in a pool of rich tomato sauce (5/10). For main course lemon sole was simply cooked
but well-timed (4/10) while Black Chicken was roasted, served with a chipolata
sausage, a single strip of bacon as a garish, some al dente beans and a bread
sauce (4/10). For dessert, compote of
fresh fruits were mainly red berries held together in aspic (4/10). Lemon tart
was served on its own, and was the usual high Marco standard (5/10). Coffee was fine, and the bread is good. The two page wine list has some interesting
choices (e.g. a red Alsace wine), as well as various old faithfuls. We had Au
Bon Climat Chardonnay. Service was
generally good, though the elderly waiter who led us to our table managed to
take just one drink order from us before disappearing, then brought us still
water instead of sparkling, then brought a glass of wine we had not
ordered. Otherwise things were smooth
enough. Last visited April 2001.
Top ten favourite
|
Restaurant |
E & O |
|
Food
rating |
4/10 |
|
Address |
14
Blenheim Crescent, Ladbroke Grove, London W11
1NN |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7229 5454 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Ladbroke
Grove, or Notting Hill |
|
Open |
All
week 18:30 – 22:30 |
|
Price |
£49
a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
A very successful
pan-Asian restaurant conveniently near the wonderful Electric Cinema. Normally I am suspicious of a place that
features dishes from Japan, China, Korea and more, yet the kitchen here pulls
it off again and again. Brief notes from
a recent meal follow.
Prawn and chive dumplings featured tender prawns, the
dumplings being just a little heavy compared to the best of their breed
(2/10). A starter of sashimi salmon and
tuna featured excellent fresh slices of both fish, plus daikon and a little
wasabe (3/10). Bulgogi, the Korean beef
dish laced with chillies, was very tender (4/10) and the attempt at the Nobu
signature dish of blackened cod worked well, the slices of fish very tender
indeed (4/10). Pad thai had good
texture (3/10) and the fried rice was excellent (4/10). The atmosphere is buzzing and the main
problem here is just getting a reservation.
Last visited October 2006
|
Restaurant |
Eagle |
|
Food
rating |
2/10 |
|
Address |
159
Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3AL |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7837 1353 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Farringdon |
|
Open |
All
week 12:00 - 14:30, 18:30 – 22:30 |
|
Price |
£28
a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
The first
“gastro-pub” and still one of the best.
The Eagle serves down-to-earth, well-prepared dishes in a bustling
setting. The menu is chalked up on a
board and varies daily, but an example might be well-timed lamb with rosemary,
or penne pasta with kale and chilli.
Soups are hearty and excellent. The
main problem is that you cannot book, and even getting down here at 18:00 for
the 18:30 start of food is no guarantee of securing a table. Last visited June 2003.
|
Restaurant |
L’Escargot |
|
Food
rating |
6/10 |
|
Address |
48
Greek Street, Soho, London W1D 4EF |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7439 7474 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Leicester
Square |
|
Open |
All
week 12:00 - 14:30, 18:30 – 22:30 |
|
Price |
£70
a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
This old Soho fixture is now owned by Marco Pierre White, and in the
hands of chef Jeff Galvin is the best of his restaurants, earning a deserved
Michelin star. The downstairs is the
more casual of the two dining rooms and is larger, with a bar area featuring
art by Chagal and Matisse. The upstairs
Picasso room is cosy, with black and white sketches and prints on the wall
(supposedly including a Picasso sketch).
The room manages a pleasant atmosphere considering there is no natural
light. Bread consisted of the smallest
rolls I have ever seen: white, brown, onion and walnut & raisin, all very
good in their miniature way. The menu
(£42 for three courses) has eight choices at each stage, though the menu is
rather heavily weighted towards meat.
The wine list is hefty and features quite fierce mark-ups- we had a
Pinot Grigio Jermann at £42, itself pretty steep. Chateau Musar was more than 20% pricier than
at Mirabelle. Amuse guele was,
unusually, different for both of us.
Stella was offered a few very delicate baby asparagus spears with a
vinaigrette (extremely delicate) and I had a little cup of excellent, intense
langoustine bisque. These were very good
indeed, easily 7/10.
For starter Stella had escabeche
of smoked red mullet, served with a herb salad on the side. The mullet had excellent flavour and the
salad was very fresh. Still, this was
only 5/10. My starter was langoustine
ravioli, a single raviolo resting in a fennel sauce. The langoustine filling was good, the pasta
just a touch chewy at the edges, but the sauce had very clean flavour
(6/10). Better was the main course. Stella had excellent cod, roasted and served
with a few girolles on a bed of sliced green beans with an accompanying scallop
resting on parsley-puree, the cod resting in a subtle jus of Sauternes; there were
also three roast cloves of garlic (7/10).
I had a special, a corn-fed chicken breast in a sauce of peas, with a
few turned new potatoes, caramelised onions and fresh peas around the tender
chicken breast. All components had
excellent flavour, the chicken was tasty and very well timed, the elements of
the dish working well with one another (7/10).
I sampled the cheese board, which was fairly small in size but had
cheeses in good condition: an obscure goat’s cheese, Pont l’Eveque. Roquefort,
Tomme de Savoie and Crockwell Bishop Stilton, served with grapes and some
rather dry raisin bread – 6/10 for the cheeses.
There was a pre-dessert of a champagne and strawberry jelly topped with
a peach sorbet (7/10). For dessert
Stella had coconut crème brulee, served on a plate rather than in the usual
dish. The brulee was surrounded by a
coconut froth topped with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream and garnished with
a sprig of mint and five slices of fresh coconut (6/10). I had tarte fine of apple, with good pastry
and nicely cooked apple (7/10). Coffee
was fine, with petit fours including a good Madeleine, a tiny tuile, pistachio
macaroon, orange jelly, red jelly, a chocolate and coffee square, a white
chocolate triangle and two conventional dark chocolates (7/10). Not cheap but very classy cooking. Last visited April 2004.
|
Restaurant |
Ealing Park Tavern |
|
Food
rating |
2/10 |
|
Address |
220
South Ealing Road, London W5 4RL |
|
Phone
Number |
020 8758 1879 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
South
Ealing |
|
Open |
All
week) |
|
Price |
£30
a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
A gastropub near a parade of
shops, a five minute walk from South Ealing tube. The pub is now divided in two, with the bar
still pub-style, offering a few “tapas” that are actually bar snacks like
charcuterie and cheese. The other half
is now a dining room, sub-divided further into two parts. The menu is on a large blackboard and the kitchen
is visible from the larger of the dining areas.
The menu is short. I started with
a mushroom risotto (actually listed as a main course, but they were flexible). This had rice with good texture made with
proper stock, though heavily over-salted even for my taste (2/10). A “half pint of prawns” were served in a beer
glass, just plain, cold prawns in their shells (1/10). For main course, my friend had the risotto,
which was served with a couple of spears of asparagus. When ordering, we were curious as to where
they found asparagus at this time of year, so asked the waitress. We got the priceless reply: “well, they are
probably from Israel, as that is where we seem to get our artichokes from”. I looked for the merest flicker of irony as
she said this, but there was none – she really felt that Jerusalem artichokes
come from Israel, so why not for the other vegetables? My main course was maize-fed chicken, served
with a mushroom veloute atop a rosti with some red cabbage. The chicken had plenty of flavour and was
nicely cooked, while the rosti and red cabbage had excellent texture and taste
(4/10). Espresso coffee was fine, as was
peppermint tea (2/10). Service, Israel
jokes aside, was fairly dire. One of our two waiters was clearly on drugs, and
he was not the one who was geographically challenged. Bread was white sliced, but seemed home
made. Curiously it lacked salt, despite
the over-salted risotto. The wine list
is an anachronism – entirely French, mostly around or under £20 a bottle i.e. just
where the New World is strong. Not a
wise plan for the wine list. Last
visited January 2003.
|
Restaurant |
Eight Over Eight |
|
Food
rating |
3/10 |
|
Address |
392
Kings Road, Chelsea, London SW3 5UZ |
|
Phone
Number |
0207
349 9934 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Sloane
Square (plus a 10 minute walk) |
|
Open |
Lunch
Monday to Friday 12:00 - 15:00 Dinner
Monday to Saturday 18:00 – 23:00 |
|
Price |
around
£40 a head with drinks |
|
Web
site |
|
|
Map |
Click
here |
A virtual carbon copy of
E&O, down to the exact décor and even the layout of the bar and dining
room. The clientele is also
indistinguishable from E&O, with lots of pretty young things in their 20s
and 30s, who looks as if they all work in film, TV or advertising. The food also manages to be very similar. We had prawn and chive dim sum, which have
excellent filling though the casing is rather heavier than the feather-light
version at Yauatcha (3/10). Soft shell
crab tempura was perhaps the best dish of the evening, which avoided even a
hint of greasiness, which in fact puts it ahead of even very good Chinese
restaurants (5/10), Kim chi rolls were
very spicy (2/10) while seared tuna was capably executed and the tuna of decent
quality (3/10). Black cod was less good
than at Nobu but nonetheless still had quite silky texture (3/10). Monkfish curry and pad Thai were the Thai
dishes, and though the curry spicing was less accurate than at Patara this was
still pleasant (2/10) while the noodles had good texture (2/10). A chocolate fondant dessert was not from the
top drawer but still had a pleasant liquid centre (3/10).
|
Restaurant |
La Fina Estampa |
|
Food
rating |
2/10 |
|
Address |
150
Tooley Street, London SE1 2TU |
|
Phone
Number |
0207
403 1342 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Tower
Hill (plus a 10 minute walk) |
|
Open |
Lunch
Monday to Friday 12:00 - 14:30 Dinner
Monday to Saturday 18:30 – 22:30 |
|
Price |
around
£40 a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
This is run by a Peruvian family – the wife cooks, the husband does front-of-house. The dining room is poorly lit but is
otherwise comfortable. In my experience
the simple dishes work best, such as a fillet of farmed salmon baked in its own
juices, topped with a garnish of onions, fresh tomatoes, red pepper and
parsley, served with correctly cooked basmati rice, with some very good fried
new potatoes. A simple tomato sauce
accompanied the salmon, and the salmon was adequately cooked, nothing ambitious
but decently executed. This was better
than pollo almendrado, which featured stringy chicken, and ceviche that had an
authentic marinade but suffered from chewy fish. Skip desserts, which are bought in, and
coffee, which is vile. Service is charming however. If you have to eat South American food in
London, this is about your best bet.
Coffee was excellent (7/10) and bread reasonable (4/10). Service was generally good, with a friendly female manager. Last visited October 2003.
|
Restaurant |
The Fish Shop on St John Street |
|
Food
rating |
3/10 |
|
Address |
360-362
St John Street, London EC1V 4NR |
|
Phone
Number |
0207
837 1199 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Angel
|
|
Open |
Lunch
Monday to Friday 12:00 - 15:00 Dinner
Tuesday - Saturday 17:30 – 23:00 |
|
Price |
around
£30 a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
Very near Sadlers Wells Theatre is
this simple yet smart fish shop, the tables split over three levels in what is
not an easy site. The fish is bought
from Billinsgate each day and hence the menu changes. The emphasis is on quality of ingredients and
clean, simple flavours. Haddock and
chips featured good quality fresh haddock, thin crispy batter, home made
tartare sauce, excellent pickled cucumber and good mushy peas. Bread, which is just an offering of slices of
country bread is bought in yet is really outstanding, the bread crusty, full of
flavour and well seasoned; this is actually better than the bread at many top
restaurants in London. There is a selection
oif real beers as well as a pleasant wine list.
Service is friendly. Oddly, the
more elaborate fish dishes work less well here, so in my experience stick to
the fish and chips.
Last visited
November 2006.
|
Restaurant |
Foliage |
|
Food
rating |
7/10 |
|
Address |
Mandarin
Oriental Hyde Park Hotel, Knightsbridge, SW1X 7LA |
|
Phone
Number |
0207 235
2000 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Knightsbridge |
|
Open |
Lunch
Monday to Friday 12:00 – 14:30 Dinner
Monday – Saturday 19:00 – 22:30 |
|
Price |
around
£70 a head with drinks |
|
Web
site |
|
|
Map |
Click
here |
Though
in the Hyde Park Mandarin, this is not the same premises as Marco’s old haunt,
which seems to have become a ballroom.
Instead this is at the back of the hotel, overlooking Hyde Park. The chef was the head chef at Marco’s Oak
Room. Since this gained three Michelin
stars when Marco was barely present there one would hope that the new man could
cook, and indeed he can. From the
windows of the dining room you can see the trees of Hyde Park, hence the name. Just in case you had missed the point, the
starter plates are clear glass and are placed on top of a single leaf – OK I
understand now. The dining room has high
ceilings but is not too imposing, the walls entirely plain cream, the focus
being on the picture windows. Bread had
good texture but was lacking in taste and needed salt adding (5/10). The menu is sensible and classical, with
eight starters and nine main courses.
The wine list is extensive and unusually fairly priced, Cigare Volant at
under £50, Cuvee Frederich Emile around £38, Jermann Vintage Tunina £50. Not real bargains, but better than I would
have expected. The wine list in mainly
French, but the foreign choices are intelligent e.g. Meerlust from South
Africa, Ata Ranga Pinot Noir from New Zealand, Ridge from California.
A
nibble of lobster brandade had excellent texture and full lobster flavour
(7/10), served with a thin strip of melba toast – a little joke about hotel
dining rooms, perhaps? Poached Scottish
lobster consisted of five pieces of lobster in a pentagon, with a central display
of confit tomatoes and artfully brushed vinaigrette of crab, with a few pools
of rather tasteless caviar dressing. The
presentation was lovely but the lobster was a little chewy – a problem that
seems to afflict even successful restaurants (5/10). My starter of ravioli of scallops was much
better. This had four tender scallops
arranged around the rim of the plate interspersed with delicately roasted
pieces of langoustine. In the centre of
the dish was a single piece of ravioli enclosing a mousse of scallops, with a
few baby leeks as a garnish. This was
coated with a fluffed up truffle vinaigrette.
The mouse had good texture but I feel that scallops have too delicate a flavour
to really survive this process. Still,
the individual scallops were excellent, and the langoustines were very tender
(7/10). For main course, a piece of sea
bass was expertly pan-fried, served with a little tortellini of lobster, with
some braised celery hearts and a little caper vinaigrette, which worked well
(6/10). Bresse pigeon was lightly cooked
and served pink, served with a piece of roasted celeriac, some girolles and
some white cabbage that was shredded so thin that it had lost its flavour. However the bouillon of the pigeon was
excellent (7/10).
Cheese
was a mixed bag, with dull Emmental but a Brie in nice condition, some rather
chalky St More goat’s cheese and some indifferent Stilton (4/10 cheese). Desserts picked the pace back up, with an
excellent lemon tart with a lemon sorbet that suffered from too many ice
crystals, but offset by a good mini lemon soufflé (7/10). Hot chocolate fondant had excellent texture.
Served with a fine whiskey ice cream and a caramel “craqulin” that was just a
thin slice of caramel. Also excellent
was an unannounced sliver of rolled up filo pastry containing chocolate
(7/10). Espresso (8/10) was better than
filter coffee (6/10), with a mixed bag of chocolates that had good truffles but
lacklustre pistachio chocolates and orange sticks (petit fours 4/10). Service was indifferent all evening. We arrived at 19:30 but our starter did not
arrive until 20:30. The waiter brought
one incorrect cheese and was unsure who had ordered which dessert. He also managed to bring a pre-dessert of
excellent mini crème brulee (7/10) before my cheese, which probably would have
resulted in summary dismissal in France.
The wine waiter seemed generally confused throughout (“the sommelier is
in Italy”) and while it was all well meaning, the service was only about
3/10. Last visited January 2003.
|
Restaurant |
Fung Shing |
|
Food
rating |
3/10 |
|
Address |
15
Lisle Street, London WC2H 7BE |
|
Phone
Number |
0207 437
1539 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Leicester
Square |
|
Open |
All
week 12:00 – 23:15 |
|
Price |
around
£40 a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
One of the most reliable Chinatown
places, with a long narrow dining room and a further room at the back that is
used when they are busy (which is often).
The cooking can definitely have off-nights, which is why I have scored
it just 2/10, though at its best it is better than this. Seafood is generally handled well here e.g.
steamed sea bass with black bean sauce is well-timed. Pork belly in a clay pot with yam is an
excellent house speciality, while vegetables are treated very well. Bak choi is excellent, and even better is gai
lan (which is not on the menu, but you can ask for it), Chinese broccoli
steamed lightly with garlic, cooked almost as well as at the Royal China. Last visited October 2005.
|
Restaurant |
Gilgamesh |
|
Food
rating |
2/10 |
|
Address |
The
Stables, Camden Market, London NW1 8AH
|
|
Phone
Number |
0207 482
5757 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Camden
Town |
|
Open |
All
week – see web site |
|
Price |
around
£60 a head with drinks |
|
Web
site |
|
|
Map |
Click
here |
A very ambitious opening in
the unlikely setting of Camden, in a cavernous building tucked away off the
market next to the railway line. The
décor is vaguely Egyptian, with figures of Egyptian style around the walls, yet
Gilgamesh was a Sumerian king (the equivalent of Hercules in Greek myth, though
Gilgamesh probably did actually live, with various legends attributed to
him). Quite what the connection between
an ancient king of what would be Iraq and pan-Asian fusion cooking is a PR
mystery rather than an ancient mystery.
The place is big: 200 covers seated in the main dining room, a private
dining room as well, and a large bar area off the side of the main room. The
bar and main dining have elaborate wooden chairs made in India, with inlaid wood
much in evidence on the tables. The menu
is cut down E&O.
We had good quality sashimi
yellowtail (3/10), duck spring rolls with good pastry, served half open, the
duck being tasty and still moist (4/10).
Soft shell crab “spider roll” with rice was also well made (3/10). There
were some cooking issues though. Asian
greens actually seemed to be broad beans and broccoli (!) but in a spicy broth
and they were cooked well (3/10). Yet
som tam Thai papayai salad was for some reason prepared with mint, and in such
quantity that it swamped the delicate flavour of the papaya (round up). Worse, a Thai prawn curry .had excellent
green curry sauce made with authentic ingredients, yet the prawns were very
overcooked and like an old shoe in texture.
I sent these back and the same thing reappeared (0/10 for prawns, 3/10
for the curry). Fried rice was
excellent, just as it used to be at E&O, with just a hint of spices
(4/10). The wine list is appealing and
cheap, with plenty of choice under £20 and little over £35 – plenty of Riesling
and Gewürztraminer to go with the spices.
Service was a little uncertain but pleasant and willing. Even on this Tuesday, two weeks after
opening, the place was full of young things (and us). They did 340 covers on Saturday according to
the manageress, and even on this Tuesday night they were pretty much full, with
some tables being turned. Doing 250
covers on a Tuesday just days after opening is the stuff of restaurateur
dreams. Ian Pengelly was on display running the kitchen, looking very busy but
very pleased with himself, as he should be.
|
Restaurant |
Glasshouse |
|
Food
rating |
5/10 |
|
Address |
14
Station Parade, Kew TW9 3PZ |
|
Phone
Number |
020
8940 6777 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Kew
Gardens |
|
Open |
All
week 12:00-14:30, Monday-Saturday 19:00-22:30 |
|
Price |
£45
a head with wine |
|
Map |
Click
here |
This opened in mid 1999 and finally
brought classy cooking to this prosperous but culinarily challenged area of
West London. Just yards from Kew tube
station, the triangular restaurant has floor to ceiling glass windows and
modern décor. With a maitre d’
previously at the late lamented Chez Max the service hums along, and the
kitchen produces excellent modern British dishes. An example might be haddock with coriander
risotto, or halibut on a shrimp omelette.
One dish that impressed me was a shoulder of pork
cut into four slices, very tender and surrounded by strips of almost
translucent bacon that melted in the mouth.
The meat was set on top a base of fondant potato, a layer of cooked
apple and some excellent, crispy Savoy cabbage to give an earthy contrast to
the sweetness of the fondant potato and apple.
The wine list
has plenty of choices from around the world, and there is the sublime De
Bortoli Noble One available at dessert time.
Last visited June 2004.
|
Restaurant |
Golden Dragon |
|
Food
rating |
2/10 |
|
Address |
28 Gerrard Street, London
W1D 6JW |
|
Phone
Number |
020 7734 2763 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Leicester
Square |
|
Open |
All
week 12:00-14:30, Monday-Saturday 19:00-22:30 |
|
Price |
£37
a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
The Golden Dragon is a
large, bustling place on two levels. We
ate upstairs, and the place was packed, with tables being turned even on this
midweek evening. The dining room has
along one wall a mounted set of wooden Chinese screens, and on another a gaudy
red and gold patterned dragon display.
Otherwise the walls and rather low ceiling are plain cream. There is a tatty green carpet that has seen
better days; lighting is bright, from ceiling spot lights. No music plays, but the sheer bustle of the
place generates plenty of noise, so the lack of music is a relief. Waitresses and waiters, formally dressed,
scurry back and forth delivering dishes and taking orders in a generally
efficient manner, though there is no pretence at friendliness: this is all
about turnover. The tablecloths have
pink linen tablecloths and napkins and chairs are conventional wooden and
perfectly comfortable. The tables are bare
except for chopsticks, a soy sauce bottle and, rather oddly, a metal fork (presumably
for those tourists from isolated parts of the country who stumble in and go
“what was I thinking: a Chinese restaurant and they have chopsticks: I can’t
cope”).
The menu is vast; it is
mostly standard Cantonese fare, with little in the way of “specials” or unusual
house specialities. The wine list is an
odd mix of joke wines (Mateus Rose: £14.50) and perfectly drinkable wines e.g.
Opal Ridge Shiraz at £13.50. The wines
are mostly French, and there is an odd mix of simple tasting notes with most
wines, vintages for some but not others, and not even the grower in other
cases. It is cheap, with Moet et Chandon
at £42, a price well below any bar in central London. Beer is Tsing Tao at
£2.80, and tea is 70p. Please note China
Tang at the Dorchester: 70p for Jasmine tea including refills, not £6 and £6
per refill.
A starter of crab meat and
sweetcorn soup was rather mean on the crab meat (and even on the sweetcorn) but
the broth, laced with egg white, nonetheless tasted well enough of its claimed
ingredients, and the seasoning was accurate (1/10). Better was soft shell crab,
deep fried and then liberally sprinkled with salt and pepper, served with
a little shredded carrot and cabbage and
a few slices of green and red chilli.
Soft shell crab is not so delicate a flavour that it could not cope with
the vivid seasoning, and the crab itself tasted fresh and had pleasing texture
(3/10).
Steamed sea bass had good
fish, well timed and served already partially filleted. The black bean sauce that it came with rather
lacked black bean taste, and was a little watery compared to the best examples
of the breed: the fish was garnished with fresh coriander. Still, the fish itself was fine (2/10,
verging on 3/10). Szechuan prawns had
tender prawns but a curiously insipid sauce, a brown glutinous concoction that
tasted hardly at all of chilli or pepper, and resembled gravy (1/10). Gai lan was tender, steamed lightly with a
light garlic sauce (3/10). Singapore
noodles had good texture and had relatively little in the way of distractions
(chunks of meat or prawns, for example) but tasted a little too strongly of
curry powder, which blotted any other taste out and was just used to excess
(2/10). Egg fried rice was fine, the
grains distinct though the texture was a little on the hard side (2/10)
There are virtually no
desserts: just a fruit plate or some tinned lychees. The jasmine tea was fair, but not of the
quality used at better establishments like the Royal China or Hakkasan. This was £75, and just appeared with no
breakdown. Service was apparently
included, though the waitress still offered us the opportunity of making a
further donation to the management on the chip and pin machine.
This does exactly what you
might expect, serving good, fresh Cantonese food in a simple, lively setting,
with few adornments. Ingredients were
fine and the technical side of the cooking generally good. The sauces for the main courses were both
rather lacking in taste, which is odd given the bold seasoning of the soft shell
crab. However overall this was a very
pleasant experience, and the large portions will appeal to many. It certainly deserves its 2/10 rating, and
indeed is better than most restaurants in the area. Last visited March 2006. Disturbingly, in September 2006 it was
prosecuted for serious food hygiene problems, including cockroaches and mouse
droppings. It is supposedly now OK.
|
Restaurant |
Gordon Ramsay |
|
Food
rating |
9/10 |
|
Address |
68
Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea, London SW3 4HP |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7352 4441 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Sloane
Square, plus a fair walk |
|
Open |
Monday
- Friday 12:00 – 14:15, 18:45 - 23:00 |
|
Price |
£120
a head with drinks |
|
Web
site |
|
|
Map |
Click
here |
In 2000 I wrote on this web site: “The kitchen here is cooking at very
high two Michelin star level, and would be a good bet for the UK’s next 3rd
Michelin star restaurant” and this indeed transpired in 2001. In the premises of the old Tante Claire, this
is a cosy dining room, with a maitre d’ formerly from the Aubergine, and a
knowledgeable and friendly sommelier formerly at Pied a Terre. Service is of a very high standard, and the
main problem is getting in. They operate
a completely surreal booking system, with attitude to spare: “Try calling back
in about three week’s time between 09:00 and 09:05 a.m”, for a table in exactly
a month’s time is a common. If you get
past this without screaming and don’t just give up entirely then the dining
experience itself is lovely. Here are
notes from a recent meal.
Amuse
guele of pumpkin soup, flavoured with truffle oil (10/10). My starter was pork belly flavoured with
spices, remarkably tender after slow braising, surrounded by a somewhat
superfluous ring of baby sautéed langoustines, which were adequately rather
than perfectly timed, and whose delicate flavour was rather overwhelmed by the
pork, spices, and by the horseradish flavoured blanc à la crème that was poured
over them. The dish would have been
better without the langoustines, though the pork was remarkably tender (8/10,
higher without the langoustines). For
main course I had a breast of Bresse chicken, poached then grilled, served on a
bed of vegetables including asparagus, confit shallots and wild mushrooms,
themselves atop a layer of Savoy cabbage seasoned with marjoram, resting on a
bed of delicate borlotti beans (10/10).
The chicken was perfectly cooked, full of the flavour that comes only
from Bresse chicken, while the vegetables were faultless. For dessert I had tarte tatin, which was very
good but was less good than the rest of the meal. The pastry was flaky, the tart suitably caramelised,
but somehow this lacked the flavour of the very best tarte tatin (for which try
the Waterside Inn). This was served with
some perfect vanilla ice cream (overall 7/10 for the tarte, 10/10 for the ice
cream). Coffee was served with a little
box of macaroons and also some home made chocolates. Service was effortless. Last visited March 2006.
Top ten favourite
Almost
opposite Harrods, with another entrance at the back, from which you go down a
couple of steps into the dining room; this has a large window into the
kitchen. Service was excellent
throughout, attentive and efficient.
Popadoms were fine, but the pickles were nothing special; out of a jar I
fear. A starter of king prawns was
costly at £16 but did feature no less than five large prawns, cooked in the
tandoor, tender and tasty (4/10). Even
better was a starter of fish cooked in the tandoor, timed very well with a
lovely, smoky taste (5/10). My main
course was cumin chicken, very capable (3/10), while aloo gobi was in no way
slimy and fully retained the texture of the vegetables. Dhal was excellent (4/10), as was another
fish main course, coconut flavoured fish fillets (Machli naryai pani) with a
curry sauce (4/10). A problem was the
rice, which was cooked in a microwave and was clumpy and tasteless. This was completely out of character with the
rest of the meal (0/10). Naan bread was
quite good but was really only 2/10 at best; it needed to be lighter and
fluffier in texture ideally. Halwa was
quite good, but kulfi had too much saffron and had a crystalline texture
(1/10). They need to stop cooking rice
in a microwave, make some pickles (or buy better ones) and improve the texture
of the bread. However, despite these
flaws much of the cooking is very good indeed.
The portion sizes are very generous and prices by no means outrageous
given the location. It is worth trying
the chicken burra tikka, which is superb, and probably the best in London;
virtually all vegetarian dishes are excellent.
Last visited October 2006.
|
Restaurant |
Hakkasan |
|
Food
rating |
4/10
|
|
Address |
12-14
Hanway Place, London W1T 1HF |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7927 7000 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Tottenham
Court Road |
|
Open |
Lunch
all week Dinner
All week 18:00 - 00:00 |
|
Price |
£50
a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
Super-cool designer basement down the end of an
unpromising alleyway just north of Oxford Street. The walk down the dark spiral staircase does
not prepare you for the carefully lit, artfully architected dining room (with
obligatory trendy bar). The menu is
broad and appealing, with dim sum at lunch excellent, as good as any in
London. In the evening the food has
shown some variability but is generally good.
Good experiences from the evening menu include
Singapore noodles with very good texture (4/10), while rice was more ordinary
(2/10). Spicy prawns were carefully
cooked (4/10) and even better were gai lan (Chinese broccoli), lightly steamed
to an excellent consistency. The place
is still buzzing at midnight and it even has a Michelin star now. Last visited March 2004.
|
Restaurant |
High Road Brasserie |
|
Food
rating |
3/10
|
|
Address |
|
|
Phone
Number |
020
8742 7474 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Turnham
Green |
|
Open |
All
day every day (breakfast to dinner) |
|
Price |
£60
a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
The style of cooking here is a little like the
Wolseley, with an appealing bistro menu. Tuna Nicoise was a really excellent
example of how to do this properly. No
nasty little chunks of timed tuna: here was a generous slab of tuna, light
seared, served with hard boiled eggs, a few anchovies, new potatoes and lettuce
leaves. All the ingredients were fresh,
and the tuna itself tasted great (4/10).
Fillet steak and chips was simple but also worked well, the steak itself
was good quality, cooked as requested, served with thin chips that were nicely
crispy and properly seasoned (comfortably 3/10). A side order of iman bayeldi was also
excellent, aubergine stuffed
with onions, tomatoes and garlic and them simmered in hot oil,
served with two pieces of crisp toast (4/10).
Bread here is just a single choice: slices of crusty country bread,
presumably bought in, but very pleasant (4/10).
The wine list is on the back of the menu and is somewhat limited, but
has a few decent choices from
|
Restaurant |
Huong Viet |
|
Food
rating |
1/10
|
|
Address |
12-14
Englefield Road, Hackney, London N1 4LS |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7249 0877 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Angel,
but none near |
|
Open |
Lunch
Monday – Saturday Dinner
Monday - Saturday 17:30 - 23:00 |
|
Price |
£22
a head (Bring your own alcohol) |
|
Map |
Click
here |
The building looks distinctly
uninviting, but as you enter a good sign is a real charcoal grill, with the
coals red hot and meat being grilled.
The dining room itself has fairly a low-ceiling and is very
cramped. Tables are crammed in, and need
to be moved around just to sit down. The
floor is a grey-green lino, and tables have quite unpleasant plastic
tablecloths, which are wiped now but none too successfully: ours was not the
only one to be badly stained. The walls
are cream except for the far wall as you enter, which is red. The ceiling has white ceiling tiles, and
there are overhead spots: it is quite brightly lit. On the cream walls (with blue painted dado
rail) are various black and white framed photos of Vietnamese scenes, and there
are a couple of pleasant flower displays, one on the right as you come in and
one on the bar area. Windows have bamboo
blinds. Each table had a little glass
containing carnations and narcissi.
Napkins are paper and tiny. The
chairs are uncomfortable fold-up metal things, with red plastic
upholstery. China is a cheap blue
pattern on white. The crowd is casual
and mostly local.
Service was friendly but poor. Admittedly this was a busy Saturday night,
but the staff were clearly over-stretched, and long gaps occurred. Our fairly simple meal took over two and a
half hours to produce. Dishes appeared
as they were ready rather than at once, and there was some difficulty in
getting any attention. The Vietnamese
staff were dressed casually, mostly in black trousers and white shirts. The restaurant has no alcohol licence, which
would have been
useful to know when I made the booking, but this went un-remarked when I made
the reservation; there is an off-licence, but it is several minutes walk up the
road. As this is the sort of area where
the Alsatians go around in pairs, it is best to bring something from home.
Vietnamese spring rolls were served as four rolls, with a little lettuce
and coriander leaf as salad garnish.
These had excellent flavour and texture, though were not piping
hot. A sweet chilli sauce was a good
compliment to the richness of the rolls (1/10).
A prawn pancake was a large crispy affair, stuffed with well-cooked
prawns and bean sprouts: this dish worked fairly well, though was a generous
size for a starter (1/10).
I tried the chicken with lemon-grass, which was cooked on the charcoal
grill but was grilled a little too long: not chewy but not optimal either. This was served with a small salad and some
pickled vegetables, as well as a pile of none-too-hot but acceptably textured
noodles (1/10). A “tamarind fillet of
fish” was not a fillet at all, just a fried catfish with little flesh and
plenty of bones, with what I can only describe as a brown gravy since it
manifestly failed to taste of tamarind, or indeed anything else. This had some snow peas and red peppers for
garnish, but they could not rescue the dish (0/10). Better were the vegetables dishes. French beans with garlic were lightly cooked
with a generous amount of garlic (2/10).
Even better were some very lightly cooked snow peas, served with garlic
and a well made black bean sauce (3/10).
A dish of Singapore noodles was very bland, while some egg fried rice
was acceptable.
A pineapple leaf cake came as two slices of conventional cake, whose
filling was green and managed to have no discernable taste whatever. I’m not sure what pineapple leaf tastes like,
and after this I am none the wiser.
Still, the cake was moist and well enough made (round up). Creamy tofu in a sweet ginger sauce was served
in a bowl and was essentially a sweet ginger soup with pieces of tofu and
coconut floating on top.
Coffee was served in a cup with a little filter draining into it. Unfortunately it was all too authentic
Vietnamese coffee, which is made with chicory, and is frightful (0/10). Jasmine tea is a better bet, and was
fine. Last visited March 2002.
|
Restaurant |
Khans |
|
Food
rating |
1/10 |
|
Address |
13-15
Westbourne Grove, London W2 4UA |
|
Phone
Number |
020 7727 5420 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Bayswater |
|
Open |
All
week 12:00 – 15:00, 18:00 – 23:45 |
|
Price |
Around
£20 a head with (soft) drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
An institution, with its high ceilings and
cavernous dining rooms with pillars kitted out as fake palm trees. This is a major logistical operation, with
vast numbers of tables to support, yet the food comes out efficiently, indeed
perhaps briskly, even on a busy Saturday night.
The food is fairly basic, with modest quality but well cooked chicken
tikka, capable chilli chicken and excellent breads. Service is a joke – dishes are practically
thrown at you, and you are very much a cover being processed rather than a
customer. But prices are low and
portions generous, and the standard of cooking is still higher than a high
street tandoori, so as long as you are after a good curry rather than a
romantic evening then it is a place to consider. Last visited November 2002.
|
Restaurant |
Ibla |
|
Food
rating |
4/10
|
|
Address |
89
Marylebone High Street, London W1M 3DE |
|
Phone
Number |
0207
224 3799 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Baker
Street |
|
Open |
Lunch
Monday - Friday Dinner
Monday - Saturday 19:00 - 22:30 |
|
Price |
£45
a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
This meal
was in the back part of the dining room, decorated with red walls. This gives a quite cosy feel to the
low-ceilinged room. To begin with were
rather ordinary nibbles e.g. fried squid, some pate on a little toast, baby
tarts with finely chopped Mediterranean vegetables and stuffed tomatoes
(2/10). The first course was a trio of
raw fish: salmon topped with crème fraiche, dill and a crisp, prawn tartare
topped with a cooked prawn and tuna topped with cold soft-boiled quail egg,
each shredded and packed into little cylindrical shapes. This was very good, the fish very fresh
(4/10). Risotto was of the authentic
variety, in this case made with stock of quail rather than chicken, but using
Arborio rice, topped with a few wild mushrooms and a slice of quail, all
scented with rosemary (4/10). My best
course was an excellent fillet of venison, served with a reduction of the
cooking juices, an apple sauce and a few baby mushrooms and a little green
cabbage; the meat was pink and of very high quality, nicely hung (7/10). Dessert was a honey mousse, layered between
caramel and almond tuiles, topped with a raspberry and a sprig of mint, with a
drizzle of very intense blackcurrant sauce to the side (5/10). The only worrying slip was Stella’s main
course, a simple dish of sea bass with a cream-based sauce that was accompanied
by a pool of balsamic vinaigrette that was not fully integrated into the
sauce. The sea bass was not cooked
through and was raw except for the very edge of the fish, though it tasted OK
after it was sent back and re-cooked.
This was served with a ball of rather dull spinach.
The wines
with the meal were excellent e.g. Vermentino di Gallura 1999 from Capichera
with the fish tartare, Ciro Classico Reserva Duca San Felice 1995 from Librandi
with the risotto. Best was a wine not on
the list, a Barbaresco 1995 from Bruno Gaicosa, perhaps one of the best three
or so producers. At £35 retail this is a
beautifully structured wine that was a fine foil for the game. Dessert wine was a lovely La Passule 1994
from Librandi, where the grapes are, hung on racks to dry before being pressed,
giving a lovely intensity of rich fruit.
Service was friendly if sometimes inattentive, while the bread was a
major let-down, just hard foccacia and a selection of other very poor Italian
bread. (0/10). Coffee was fine
(4/10). Last visited October 2001.
|
Restaurant |
Incognico |
|
Food
rating |
4/10 |
|
Address |
117
Shaftesbury Avenue, London WC2H 8AD |
|
Phone
Number |
020 7836 8866 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Leicester
Square |
|
Open |
Lunch
Monday to Saturday 12:00 – 15:00 Dinner
Monday - Saturday 17:30 – midnight |
|
Price |
£55
a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
Things
were certainly busy here, even though we came in late at 22:30 to eat. Both halves of the dark dining room were
completely full. Some tapenade arrives
as you look at the menu, which is Marco-style on a large card (same for the
wine list). The wine list has plenty of
choices below £30, a pleasant change, and some decent selections e.g. Chateau
Musar at £34, Trimbach Riesling at £23.
We had the latter, though were charged for the Trimbach Gewürztraminer,
which is slightly more expensive; I think this was an innocent slip. Bread is very good (6/10) and is baked daily;
this has excellent texture and good balance of salt. A starter of smoked salmon with horseradish
cream had a generous portion of good smoked salmon. I had three excellent seared scallops, cooked
in garlic butter and served with very fresh rocket salad. The scallops were fresh, plump and full of
flavour, perfectly timed (6/10).
Grilled
baby Dover sole is an old Nico’s favourite, and is still pretty good here. The fish is of high quality, served on the
bone and timed to perfection. It is
difficult to impress with such a simple dish, but this succeeded
admirably. The tartare sauce, while good,
was not as stunning as the Chez Nico version, but that is hardly to be expected
(6/10). Crisp salmon was cooked well and
served in slices on a skewer, cooked with ginger (though this was barely
discernable) and served with a rather bland plum sauce (4/10). The salmon was farmed and so had relatively
little taste. You order vegetables as
extras here, which bumps up the price.
Petit pois were disappointing, almost a mushy pea style, while French
beans were distinctly soggy (vegetables barely 1/10). However a portion of chips was
excellent. Dessert was a let-down. My chocolate marquise was fairly rich, but
the Crème Anglaise had not one speck of vanilla (3/10) while Stella’s passion
fruit sorbet was just poor. This had
nowhere near enough sugar and so was very tart, and to compound things it had a
far too crystalline texture (0/10).
Coffee was fine. I guess 5/10 was
a fair mark overall except for dessert, which were very weak. Service was reasonable, though the staff were
obviously tired at the end of this busy Saturday night. Last visited August 2001.
|
Restaurant |
Iznik |
|
Food
rating |
2/10 |
|
Address |
19
Highbury Park, London N5 1QJ |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7354 5697 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Highbury
& Islington |
|
Open |
All
week 10:00 – 16:00, 18:00 – 23:00 |
|
Price |
£25
with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
Most Turkish restaurants in London
(and for that matter in Istanbul) are gruesome affairs, but here is how it
should be done. A simple but charmingly
decorated dining room, friendly staff and authentic cooking. The starters, as ever in this type of
cuisine, are more interesting than the main course dishes (“let’s stew the meat
in, er, yes olive oil again”), and falafel is way above the supermarket
standard, as is the home-made hummus.
Last visited June 2000.
|
Restaurant |
Jaks |
|
Food
rating |
2/10 |
|
Address |
77 Lower Sloane Street, London SW1W 8DA |
|
Phone
Number |
020 7730 9476 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Sloane
Square |
|
Open |
Monday
– Friday 12:00 – 14:15, 18:30 – 22:30 |
|
Price |
£37
with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
Jaks is a pleasantly relaxed neighbourhood restaurant, avoiding the
stuffiness that might be expected in this part of London, but also managing to
avoid the pretension that might equally be expected. The basement dining room is simple, the menu
a limited set of modern British choices, the service relaxed but able. The cooking generally delivered well enough,
with no great flair but no technical errors either, which is relief
enough. You have the impression that the
kitchen is cooking within itself. The
crew are all ex Chapter Two and have settled into a similar rhythm. Here are notes from a recent meal.
The owner previously ran a catering and entertainment firm, so this is a
bit of a departure. However he has
wisely recruited an experienced team from Chapter Two in Blackheath to cook,
along with a few waiters from the same establishment. Jaks seems genuinely relaxed rather than
trying to impress you that it is. You
enter at street level to an unpromising room with a welcome desk and three
tables, though this area was unmanned for much of the evening, which must be
disconcerting to spontaneous diners passing by.
The laptop PC on the welcome desk appeared firmly locked down, though
they’d be advised not to try that in the East End, where local ingenuity would
take several seconds to deal with the security cable.
The dining room is downstairs and has low ceilings. It is quite plain, with pine flooring, white
walls and ceiling, and simple ash chairs with green upholstery. Yet tables have linen tablecloths and
napkins, and there are side-plates for the bread (albeit the ubiquitous
Churchill plain white catering crockery).
The walls have a few eclectic black and white photographs but are
otherwise unadorned. Lighting is from
ceiling spots and could be a little brighter.
The tables each have a glass vase, inside of which are coloured glass
beads rather than flowers, which presumably would not flourish in the
basement. Otherwise the tables are
plain, with not even salt and pepper.
Warm bread arrives near the beginning, a mixture of plain white thick
slices, with brown slices that are surprisingly rich, almost like molasses
bread. The menu is enclosed, and as you
will see the kitchen restricts itself to a limited number of dishes. The wine list fits on a page, with ten
whites, a few more reds and some champagne from around the world. The typeface
of the wine list could do with being larger given the slightly gloomy
lighting. There is a fair selection
under £20, and most wines are under £35, with a few costlier French reds. Mineral water is Hildon. Waiters and waitresses are fairly casual,
wearing black trousers and white shirts, and keep things casual e.g. the wine
is left on the table for customers to top up.
However there is no trouble getting attention, the dishes are brought at
a fair clip and the waiter remembered who had ordered what. There are no amuse gueles. Background music was initially Queen and then
the Fine Young Cannibals, though the 80s cool was rather undermined by the
later introduction of some Gene Pitney.
Stella had grilled red mullet and crab mash. The mullet was reasonably cooked and moist,
but the crab mash was rather dry and did not taste much of crab at all, just
picking up the taste of some mixed herbs with which it was prepared. There was a drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette
that seemed more for display than taste, and on appearance the fairly uniform
colour could have benefited from a little green, perhaps some herbs or a few
salad leaves (2/10). I tried the
sardine, shallot and green bean salad.
This was pleasantly presented, the single sardine displayed on a bed of
broad beans and a few salad leaves with shredded shallots around the side, with
just a thin emulsion of dressing. The
sardine was cooked lightly, and retained its distinctive taste well, while the
broad beans were good quality and tender.
The shallots were shredded in a chutney form, cooked a little long for
my taste and had begun to lose texture but had not gone as far as caramelising. Overall 3/10 for this dish.
Stella
had sole that had been poached in cider, an interesting idea but one that ended
up with the sole, which has a delicate flavour, just tasting watery. Some prawns served with it (were these
necessary?) were rather chewy, though a central swirl of pasta had reasonable
texture. There were already flavours
enough here without some rather superfluous mussels, some in their shells and
some surrounding the sole. The fish rested
in what was presumably intended to be a beurre blanc but which was far too watery
for its own good (1/10). I fared better
with poussin served in a casserole dish, cooked with a few peas, a little
asparagus and some morels. The poussin
was cooked through well, still moist and firm, and the peas were fresh. However the asparagus and morels were not
very high quality, so did little to enhance the dish as they should have, since
they were fairly tasteless.
Three
cheeses were offered. A Bath cheese was
long past its best, and a St Nectaire was rather young, but a slice of Roquefort
was in good condition (cheeses 1/10 at most).
This was served with some pleasant home-made walnut and raisin bread and
some sadly misjudged onion chutney, which looked stringy and tasted remarkably
nondescript. Passion fruit sorbet
arrived as two spheres served in a large wine glass. The sorbet had fair passion fruit flavour,
but was a touch acidic, while the texture was not perfect, with some ice
crystals (3/10). Stella’s pistachio ice
cream was served in the same style but was smoother and had good pistachio
flavour. The chocolate waffles were
possibly not home made but tasted of chocolate, and had acceptable texture
(3/10).
Coffee, both cappuccino and espresso, was of fair quality, and they were
not stingy with the espresso. There are
three dessert wines by the glass, including the Andrew Quady black Muscat and
also a red Welteverde Muscat: if you are going to offer just three dessert
wines, having two of them red seems eccentric.
Coffee 4/10. There are no petit
fours, but a couple of small squares of rather dull flatjacks arrived with the
bill. The bill here is rather quixotic -
service of 6.8% (?!?) was included but then the credit card slip was left open,
which seems odd. Last visited April
2000.
|
Restaurant |
Kastoori |
|
Food
rating |
3/10 |
|
Address |
188
Upper Tooting Road, Tooting, SW17 7EJ |
|
Phone
Number |
020
8767 7027 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Tooting
Broadway |
|
Open |
Lunch
Wednesday to Sunday 12:30 – 14:30, |
|
Price |
£25
a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
A long established family-run restaurant, Kastoori cooks Gujerati
vegetarian food, and does so very well indeed.
Here are notes from a meal. The
Kastoori dining room has a blue carpet and blue-upholstered traditional wooden
chairs, while tablecloths and napkins are a cheery bright yellow. The walls of the restaurant are plain white,
the only decoration some repeated white reliefs of a female Indian figure. The ceiling is also white, in the middle of
which a rectangular recess (perhaps a skylight once?) covers an air
conditioning unit through whose grill plastic climbing plants hang. On each table is a single exotic flower to go
with the pepper and salt cellar, and the tables are lit by a mix of ceiling
spots and directed modern spotlights.
There is even a respectable wine list, with Leon Bayer Gewürztraminer as
well as a range of wines from Chile, South Africa, Australia and even one from
India, 24 wines in all (10 each red and white, the rest sparkling) ranging from
£7.75 to £24.95. The wines have grower
and vintage listed, with brief descriptive notes. Alternatively there is Kingfisher beer, or
Ballygowan mineral water. Waiters are
dressed in white shirts and black trousers, and the service is efficient and friendly.
Crisp grilled popadoms are accompanied by three homemade chutneys:
yoghurt and mint (very good) and, even better, a tasty tomato and carrot
chutney and a pungently spicy coriander, garlic and green chilli chutney (3/10
for the chutneys). I began with sev
pooris. Five were offered, the little
crisp pooris filled with potatoes, chickpeas and onions and puffed rice, laced
with a sweet and sour sauce. You eat
them whole, the tangy sauce enlivening the savoury filling, the crispy poori
giving a crunchy texture. The best
example of this is to be found at the Sabras, but these were quite respectable,
with a light poori and lively sauce (2/10).
Onion bhajee was a cut above the cliché, five generous pieces in a dark
batter, the onion and flour filling suffused with spices, with the chutneys on
the side to add another dimension (2/10).
Often onion bhajee can be either soggy or burnt to a crisp, but here
they were timed just right.
Potato curry featured carefully cooked potatoes that retained their texture,
in a good tomato and onion sauce (3/10).
Mattur paneer had good cottage cheese and peas and a tasty sauce (3/10)
while moong bean curry had the pulses cooked to a firm texture (2/10). Best of all was a channa curry, the chickpeas
tender and in an excellent dark spicy sauce, with a few slices of firm potato
(4/10). Plain rice was fine (1/10) while
paratha was of the non-greasy variety (2/10) and chapatis were very fresh and
had excellent texture (3/10); these are offered with or without butter, for
those on a diet. Cucumber raita was also
excellent – fine shreds of cucumber in creamy yoghurt topped with chopped
coriander. Throughout the meal the
spicing was that clear and distinct kind that you only get through the use of
freshly ground spices. This is an
establishment that even makes its own garam masala.
Kulfi is not made here; as so often it is bought in (the supplier is
Everest). This was ordinary, more ice
cream than kulfi (0/10). However
shrikand, which is a fairly rare dessert to be seen outside Indian areas like
Southall and Wembley, was homemade and excellent. The curd cheese had a rich flavour enhanced
by the strong tastes of cardamom, nutmeg and saffron, which were in good
balance here (it is easy to overdo the saffron), topped with a coating of
pistachios. Sometimes this dish can be
almost chewy, but here it was very smooth indeed (4/10 for the shrikand). Overall the dessert mark would be lower, say
2/10. Avoid the tea, which is
disappointing. It was fairly cheap tea
served in a cup with a teabag in the cup; worse, the tea was already stewed
(0/10). Last visited December 2004.
|
Restaurant |
Kensington Place |
|
Food
rating |
6/10 |
|
Address |
201
Kensington Church Street, London W8 7LX |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7727 3184 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Notting
Hill Gate |
|
Open |
All
week 12:00 – 15:00, 18:30 – 23:45 (22:15 Sunday) |
|
Price |
£50
with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
An institution in the London
restaurant scene, the busy, noisy dining room with the floor to ceiling windows
has managed to keep its standards high over the years. Service, despite the bustle, is friendly and
competent. Old favourite dishes continue
to impress e.g. seared scallops with pea puree is a classic, the scallops fat
and juicy, the odd-sounding puree a fine foil for the scallops. Seafood is handled well, but then so was some
excellent corn-fed chicken on my last visit here. The lemon tart here is particularly good, and
features excellent citrus bite to balance the sweetness of the filling. The wine list is attractive and acceptably
priced. Overall Kensington Place is a
place to be cherished. Last visited
March 2004.
|
Restaurant |
The Ledbury |
|
Food
rating |
6/10 |
|
Address |
127
Ledbury Road, Ladbroke Grove W11 2AQ |
|
Phone
Number |
020 7792 9090 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Westbourne
Park |
|
Open |
Lunch
all week 12:00 – 14:00 |
|
Price |
£65
a head with drinks |
|
Web
site |
|
|
Map |
Click
heer |
A simple but pleasant dining
room in a rather quiet corner of Ladbroke Grove, but just a couple of months
after opening they are already turning tables.
The chairs are comfortable and the lighting excellent, so the place
feels welcoming rather than over-designed.
Helene Hell is the Swedish maitre d’(ex Menu, formerly sommelier at La
Trompette) while the chef was sous chef at the Square. Bread is just in one form: crusty white
rolls, not made here but bought in (from the supplier Millens) and are served
warm. The bread had good texture, perhaps lacking a fraction in salt for my
taste (5/10). Amuse guile was a clear
tomato jelly with a little avocado and tiny pieces of diced raw tuna as
garnish; the jelly had excellent clarity and the components worked well together
(7/10). Ravioli (actually just the one)
of shellfish with champagne and chives featured delicate pasta and carefully
cooked mixed shellfish, resting in a little a dark shellfish sauce (7/10). Lobster with asparagus was certainly not
chewy, but was too plain a dish to really shine without perfect ingredients;
here the lobster (Canadian) and the asparagus were good, as were some Jersey
Royals, but they needed something to lift them; you’d need to be in the
Mediterranean to get the kind of ingredients that would allow this to work
(4/10).
Similarly ballotine of
Glenarm salmon is just organic farmed salmon, although in this case it was
enhanced by being wrapped in pancetta, which gave some taste to the otherwise
bland farmed salmon. This was served
with more Jersey Royals (crushed in this case), good peas and some
disappointing morels. Given that this
new season’s morels in France are the best for years, these were either dried
or of poor quality (5/10). Better was
carefully cooked sea bass with a rather lackluster creamed but tasteless potato,
with an effective vinaigrette of raisins, pine nuts and cockles (6/10). Chocolate soufflé had good texture, mixed in
with pieces of banana and sprinkled with pieces of honeycomb, served with a
rich dark chocolate sauce at the table (7/10).
Even better was assiette of mango, with a mango mousse wrapped in a
tuile, a warm mango upside-down cake, a mango crisp and, best of all, a fine
mango terrine. The mangos used were
Alphonso mangos in season (their season is May to June in India) and have a
great taste which came through well here.
I’m not sure why they were served with a vanilla ice cream (surely a
mango ice cream or sorbet would be better?) but the technical quality of the
cake and terrine was high (8/10).
Service was capable, from staff dressed in fashionable black (this is,
after all, near Notting Hill). The wine
list is very good indeed, though mark-ups are a little higher than La
Trompette. Still, seven different Kracher
dessert wines gives an idea of the ambition of the list, which spans the
globe. Overall, a very capable
performance by the kitchen, with essentially no technical errors in this
meal. My only quibbles are with the poor
morels, the rather tasteless mash and the bland farmed salmon, but this is an
ingredient issue. At £39 for three
courses they are not trying for the very top of the market, and perhaps these
are the sorts of compromises that are inevitable. A very successful place to match its sister
restaurants Chex Bruce, La Trompette and Glasshouse. Last visited November 2005.
|
Restaurant |
Lindsay House |
|
Food
rating |
6/10 |
|
Address |
21
Romilly Street, London W1V 5TG |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7439 0450 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Leicester
Square |
|
Open |
Monday
to Friday Monday
to Saturday 18:00 - 23:00 |
|
Price |
£60
a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
Set in a charming Soho townhouse,
this is Richard Corrigan’s most successful venture to date. The restaurant is a converted Soho town
house, and you need to ring the doorbell for admittance. The menu is rather limited in choice, but the
quality of the cooking is very high. For
example a risotto of girolles and broad beans was freshly
made and featured fat arborio rice that had soaked up the flavours of the
stock, along with tasty and delicate broad beans and lightly cooked girolles.
Desserts are also good e.g. a white chocolate
parfait laced with excellent cherries and served with a fine dark chocolate
sorbet. Service is competent and the
wine list extensive. However a recent
visit exposed some inconsistency in delivery, with a generally good meal marred
by some chewy scallops. Last visited February 2005.
|
Restaurant |
Locanda Loctelli |
|
Food
rating |
6/10
(just) |
|
Address |
8
Seymour Street, Portman Square, London W1H 7JZ |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7935 9088 (good luck getting through) |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Marble
Arch |
|
Open |
All
week 12:00 – 15:00, 19:00 – 23:00 |
|
Price |
£75
a head with drinks |
|
Web
site |
|
|
Map |
Click
here |
Perhaps the most difficult place in
London to get a reservation. At least at
the Ivy they answer the phone before sorrowfully giggling at the notion you
might want to eat there some time the same year; whereas here they don’t bother
answering the phone at all (they reportedly get 2,000 calls a day). The only way to do it is to go around in
person – they are actually within the Churchill hotel on Portman Square. The reason for the crush is that this is the
hallowed dining room of Giorgio, the original chef at the superb Zafferanos,
and boy has his PR company done a good job.
Beneath the hype, the experience is actually very like Zafferanos, with
many dishes identical (perhaps that will change in time) but with a more
spacious, if less cosy, dining room. I
would have to say that, based on three visits, Zafferanos still has the edge on
the food, at least in terms of consistency (perhaps Giorgio trained Andrew at
Zaffs too well!). On the three visits we
had two very good meals and one complete shambles in terms of service when
Giorgio was not present and the staff had presumably decided they could get
away with anything. Assuming this was an
isolated experience, the place can be recommended although the pricing is
steep, reflecting the high demand. .My notes from the less successful evening
follow.
Trouble
in paradise tonight. With a 19:30
booking we left the restaurant just before 22:00, having managed to be served
just two courses. The food was generally
fine, with excellent Italian breads (better than Zafferano) at around
6/10. Then fettuccini with porcini
mushrooms had good texture, the porcini fresh and well cooked; a quibble would
be that the pasta was cooked just a fraction too much, but still 4/10. Pasta with red mullet and olives was also to
a high standard, with excellent texture (5/10).
My main course of wild sea bass with artichoke puree is a straight lift
from Zafferano, and no bad thing at that, the fish fresh and timed well
(6/10). However the tuna with rocket
salad (also a Zafferano regular) was rather disappointing tonight, the thick
slab of tuna rather chewy at one end of the steak. The rocket and cherry tomatoes were good but
not as fresh or full of flavour as the exquisite ones at Zafferanos
(4/10). This sounds fine as a meal, but
the service experience was dire tonight.
During the interminable wait between starter and main course I had to
practically stand on the table to get attention to get wine an water refilled,
while when the main course finally appeared the vegetables with it (roast
potatoes) failed to arrive, and took three reminders to various bemused waiters
to even check for. Similar chaos ensued
all around us, with other diners increasingly tetchy as their dishes failed to
arrive. The waiter was singularly
unapologetic about the whole thing, and only when I spoke to the manager at the
end was there any real concern shown.
Even the wrong bill was finally delivered, which was in line with the
rest of the service experience. These
sorts of slips are all the less excusable when considering the very high prices
here, which are higher than that of the far more consistent Zafferanos. Last visited April 2003.
|
Restaurant |
Madhu’s |
|
Food
rating |
3/10 |
|
Address |
39
South Road Southall, Middlesex UB2 5DZ |
|
Phone
Number |
020
8574 1897 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
None
(Southall BR station) |
|
Open |
Wednesday
- Sunday 12:00 – 23:00 |
|
Price |
£28
a head with drinks |
|
Web
site |
|
|
Map |
Click
here |
After a fire, Madhu’s was
completely refurbished, and owner Sanjay Anand took the opportunity to
significantly upgrade the already smart surroundings to West End standard. There are many good value Southall restaurants,
but this is the first one to really go up-market. Fortunately Sanjay also upgraded the chefs,
bringing in two excellent new chefs (one
from the Taj New Delhi, the other from the Grand Hyatt in Delhi), and leaving his
cousin to do the catering – the restaurant food is much improved as a
result. However there is no fusion food here – the cooking is traditional, with
some new dishes but plenty of the old menu intact.
The décor has certainly moved very up-market: as you
enter you walk over a glass display containing water, whose colour changes in a
repeating pattern. We were seated in a
dining room upstairs that on this busy Saturday night was used as an overflow,
but is usually a private dining room or for customers discussing catering (Sanjay
Anand runs the leading Indian wedding catering business in the UK, so in some
sense the restaurant is intended as an advert for his catering business). This room had stripped wood floor, walls with
gold wallpaper and tasteful modern lighting.
The general look is very modern and smart: chairs are modern black
leather, while tablecloths are white linen.
Popadoms came with three chutneys: a mango chutney that was fine but
from a jar, a good home made mint chutney and a home-made tamarind sauce that tasted
good but was rather thin for use with popadoms.
An entirely new dish was
“Achari prawn”, basically king prawns marinated in spices and cooked in the new
tandoor. The tandoor is gas-based rather
than charcoal-based, so you don’t get the true charcoal flavour of the best
places in India, but the prawns were cooked very well indeed, tender and having
absorbed the spices, served with a simple salad of shredded carrot, beet and
cabbage (4/10). Aloo papri chat had
whole pooris amongst the chickpeas and yogurt/tamarind sauce, and had good flavour
(1/10). Methi chicken was a huge
improvement over the old chef, the chicken tender and resting in a dark, thick
fenugreek sauce (3/10). Masala fish was
tilapia, carefully cooked in a lively sauce (2/10) while dal makhani featured
black lentils cooked carefully, though the sauce was rather thin in texture for
my liking (1/10). Pulao rice was
excellent, as were a non-greasy paratha and, a major improvement, a light
fluffy naan (3/10). For dessert halwa
was tasty and well made, while kulfi is home-made and good, though served
tonight a little too cold (2/10).
Coffee, usually the bane of Indian restaurants, is now from a modern
Italian espresso maker, and was very pleasant (3/10). Service was extremely good, with a new team
of attentive staff. The female reception
staff wear beautiful black saris, while the waiters are uniformed. Last visited July 2005.
|
Restaurant |
Mandarin Kitchen |
|
Food
rating |
3/10 |
|
Address |
14-16
Queensway, London W2 3RX |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7727 9012 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Queensway |
|
Open |
All
week 12:00 – 23:30 |
|
Price |
£32
a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
The Mandarin Kitchen specialises in
seafood, though there are meat dishes also.
The restaurant has perhaps the fastest service in London: at a recent
visit we had two courses and were out of the restaurant in 45 minutes. This is no reflection on the food though:
soft shell crab was succulent, while for main course a sea bass was steamed
whole with garlic and ginger, and was nicely cooked. Bak choy were excellent, while garlic and
chilli prawns, Singapore noodles and fried rice were also fine. Not a place for a leisurely dinner, but very
good cooking. Last visited January 2002.
|
Restaurant |
Mantanah |
|
Food
rating |
3/10 |
|
Address |
2
Orton Buildings, Portland Road, South Norwood London SE25 4UD |
|
Phone
Number |
020
8771 1148 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
None
near |
|
Open |
Tuesday
– Sunday dinner only 18:30 – 23:00 |
|
Price |
£28
a head with drinks |
|
Web
site |
|
|
Map |
Click
here |
This simple restaurant delivers
cooking well above the standard of the formulaic Thai places that are dotted
around London. This gets beyond the
clichéd dishes into regional cooking, and there are some attempts to innovate
on the long menu. The ingredients are
good and generally the execution is reliable in dishes like green curry and
non-greasy Thai fishcakes. Another dish
that worked well was moo pad king, thinly sliced
pieces of lightly cooked pork combined with oyster mushrooms, spring onions, garlic
and ginger; the cooking juices were nicely flavoured with the spices, giving a
sauce that was in fine balance. There
are a few wines but best stick to beer. Last visited April 2001.
|
Restaurant |
Masala Zone |
|
Food
rating |
1/10 |
|
Address |
9
Marshall Street, Soho, London W1F 7EJ |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7287 9966 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Piccadilly
Circus |
|
Open |
All
week 12:00 – 15:00, 17:30- 23:30 |
|
Price |
£20
a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
The
Masala Zone is a brisk, lively restaurant serving authentic Indian dishes, a
rare sight in central London. The
ingredients are OK, the spicing capable and even the desserts are home-made. There is no pretension to greatness here,
just straightforward food, capably cooked.
A solid 1/10, a distinct notch up from the lager and vindaloo
brigade. The main gripe is that the
non-vegetable ingredients e.g. prawns and chicken, are served in cynically tiny
quantities, it being cheaper to fill people up with potatoes and pulses. Here are my notes a meal here.
There are full drop windows to the street, letting in plenty of natural
light. The décor is predominantly brown:
brown lino floor tiles (two shades), plaster walls painted brown, then
enlivened a little by white painted designs (flowers, stars etc) with brown
chairs. The last are simple wooden
chairs with extremely low backs. The
ceiling is plaster in the form of square tiles, with recesses for ceiling
lights. The lighting was bright when we
entered, though the lights were dimmed later.
The ceiling is quite low, but there is some sense of space because the
dining room has an offset area that is down a few steps; this adjoins the open
kitchen showing the chefs at work. The
clientele is young and casual, the restaurant clearly aiming to get covers
through as quickly as is decent. To this
end they bring out the dishes in no particular sequence (except for desserts),
which involves the odd notion of getting your main course then a starter, then
perhaps a side dish. This, while no
doubt very convenient for the kitchen, is not an endearing trait. Waiters wear black trousers and red Masala
Club T Shirts, and are of mixed nationality, but the chefs all appeared to be
of Indian origin. The tables are plain
wood with no tablecloths and just paper napkins. There is muzak, modern house music with no
vocals. By the welcome desk is a tub of
flowers floating on water. The wooden
bench seating shown has lighted panels on top of the benches, in mock art-deco
style.
There is a brief set of wines on the large menu, which contains all the
dishes and drinks on one large page (they would not let me have a copy of the
menu). Mineral water is Hildon (despite
the menu saying Highland Spring) while Cobra and Tiger beer are available, as
well as the somewhat bizarre choice of Phipps beer (Sweden not being noted for
its spicy food and matching beers). The
wines are at least fairly priced, all between £9.75 and £15 e.g. Thorne Hill
Shiraz/Merlot/Cab blend at £13.50.
Popadoms were crisp, with two home-made chutneys: spicy mint chutney and
unusual pineapple chutney with very small cubes of pineapple. These were interesting and well made (1/10).
The concept of “starter” has no meaning here, since every dish just
shambles along when it is ready. Sev
poori had five pieces of poori, hollow shells with a potato filling, coriander,
spices and topped with sev, the potato filling topped with a sambal, itself
garnished with small pieces of cucumber.
These were quite good, though miles away from the perfection of those at
the Sabras. Perhaps the ratio of sambal to potato filling was a little low for
my taste, but the pooris were crisp and the spices lively enough (1/10). Aloo tikki chat, usually not seen outside
Southall and Wembley, was also good. The
potato and vegetable patti was accompanied by a tasty sambal, yoghurt laced
with coriander and fairly tender chickpeas (1/10)
Butter chicken featured an almost vanishingly small amount of chicken,
but this was cooked tenderly enough and the tomato and butter sauce with it
avoided the usual traps: it was not oily and the spicing was fresh. This was served in a bowl, with a mound of plain
boiled rice in the centre. Apart from
the stinginess with the chicken this was quite good (1/10). Potato curry was served with unannounced
spinach i.e. sag aloo, and both components were fine, the new potatoes
maintaining their texture, the spinach not over-cooked (1/10). Chapatis were very small (just one chapati
per order) and were a fraction hard with a slightly sour taste (0/10). Stella had the thali, where there is a choice
of the main dish. This consisted of a
prawn curry with slightly chewy small prawns (and a measly four of these) but a
capable sauce that tasted of prawns, along with a reasonable, non-watery dhal
and a vegetable curry of pumpkin, interleaved with long strips of lemon
grass. This maintained its constituents’
texture well and soaked up the spices nicely.
This also had the same plain boiled rice and sag aloo, as well as a
popadom (1/10). A side order of raita
was fine (1/10).
Dessert was a cut above the norm, with shrikand i.e. strained yoghurt
flavoured with saffron, in this case served on top of a few sliced bananas,
raspberries and some grapes. Shrikand is
another dish not usually seen outside authentic Indian areas, and can be overly
rich, but here the saffron was not overpowering and the dish had good balance
(2/10). Kulfi was home-made; I had
caramel kulfi, the usual cone shape split down the middle and served with a
solitary raspberry for decoration. This
was also well made, served at the right temperature and tasting of the caramel
(2/10). Espresso was just a little
chalky but acceptable (1/10). This could
not be said of the Masala Tea (surely it would make sense to offer normal tea
as well?) as this came ready brewed in a pot with milk, tasting too strongly of
spearmint and aniseed (0/10). Last
visited May 2001.
|
Restaurant |
Maze |
|
Food
rating |
5/10 |
|
Address |
10-13
Grosvenor Square, London W1K 4AB |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7107 1000 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Piccadilly
Circus |
|
Open |
All
week noon – 23:00 |
|
Price |
£77
a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
You enter up a small flight
of steps to the restaurant from Grosvenor Square. After passing the welcome
desk you walk into an L shaped room. On
the right is a substantial bar, on the left various chairs and sofas, and it
seems that you can also dine at the bar.
The dining room stretches beyond and to the right. The flooring is wood, though there are a
couple of carpeted stretches. The décor is unfussy, with plain white walls and
ceiling, with no paintings or adornments at all on the walls. The ceiling is quite low, with overhead spots
carefully directed and producing a good level of light to the tables. The upholstery is cream, with low modern
chairs and also several runs of banquette seating, also with cream
upholstery. Tables have no tablecloths,
but there are white linen napkins. The
room’s designer is David Rockwell, an American architect. Overall the feel is modern and informal, and
they have done a good job with a rather awkward L-shaped space with a low
ceiling. Pop music plays in the
background, quietly initially though a little louder later on.
Crockery is plain white
Limoges china, and wine glasses are Riedel.
Waiters are dressed in black trousers and light brown shirts with no
ties. Even four weeks after opening, service
was very slick, with food arriving at a regular pace, wine and water topped up,
and no trouble getting attention. The
maitre d’ is one of those “guest” ones who opens restaurants (recently seen at
Pengellys) while the head waitress was formerly at Mossimans. Chef Jason Atherton was chef at the excellent
Verre, Gordon Ramsay’s Dubai venture. I
went there two years ago and scored the meal there 8/10, so this is someone who
can cook. Maze is already a success,
with 90 covers at lunch a day (for a place seating 80) and they have already
had a 150 cover evening. Not bad for
four weeks in operation.
The menu is ambitious. It must be a lot of work in the kitchen, as
there is an a la carte as well as the primary tapas style, with about 6-8
dishes per person the advice from the waiter. One feature I found rather odd was
that your knife and fork are retained between dishes (until the main course
stage) and a little silver rest is provided for this. This seems to me to be taking the informality
too far – I don’t like having to eat a course with tastes left over from the previous
course; I think they charge enough here to be able to afford fresh cutlery with
each course. The menu is full of
appealing dishes, though what is strange is that the dessert menu suddenly
switches into El Bulli territory (where Jason spent a short stint) with a set
of bizarre ingredient combinations without a single dessert that would be
considered classical. This seems odd
given the pleasant and wide choice for earlier courses. Peanut butter and cheery sandwich is one of
the desserts, to give you an idea, and this was one of the saner choices.
The wine list runs to 16
pages, and there was a helpful and knowledgeable Hungarian sommelier to guide
you through. The list covers the globe,
with choices from Chile and even Greece as well as the usual classics. JJ Prum Kabinett 2002 was a fair £42, while
Mas de Daumas Gassac white 2000 was £58, to give an indication. There are a number of choices under £30,
though virtually nothing under £20 that I noticed. At the other end of the scale, Vega Sicilia
Unico 1962 was £840, and there were some even costlier French classics for
those for whom mark up is no object.
Bread comes in just two varieties: a cylindrical white roll, and a
similar granary one, which looked home-made.
The bread is well-seasoned and has reasonable taste and texture, but was
not from the top drawer (5/10).
Tuna carpaccio was served as
five discs of very thin tuna, alongside five discs of marinated daikon
(Japanese radish), each topped with a little viola flower, served with a little
olive paste. The tuna seemed of good
quality, though sliced so fine that limited taste could come through
(4/10). I am not sure that the flowers
really added anything other than colour.
Scottish lobster was of the non-chewy variety, served with a little good
quality green asparagus, fennel shoots and an “aigre doux” i.e. sweet and sour
dressing that was fairly well balanced (4/10).
Artichoke salad had shredded leaves and a pleasant dressing along with a
few slices of summer truffle, with artichokes that in themselves had rather
ordinary flavour (4/10).
Two Orkney scallops were
roasted with spices and served with a little delicate cauliflower puree and a
peppered golden raisin puree. The
scallops were of high quality and correctly timed, the spices adding a hint of
interest without dominating the subtle taste of the scallops, while the raison
puree was a nice counterpoint to the sweetness of the scallops (7/10).
Monkfish tempura was served on a salad of strips of
Granny Smith apple and endive, the tempura quite delicate and the fish cooked
through properly, offered with a mild mango and chilli dressing. Though the components were pleasant, I didn’t
think they worked very well together as a combination (5/10). Piquillo red peppers encased a brandade of
morue (a rather tasteless salt cod) alongside new season garlic puree and
garlic chips (4/10).
Risotto of carnaroli with peas, broad beans and wood
sorrel worked very well, the flavour of the peas coming through strongly and
the risotto working very well with the carnaroli rice (used in Piedmont and
Lombardy instead of Arborio rice) giving a creamy texture to the risotto, which
was topped by a little summer truffle – definitely not the “white truffle”
announced by the waiter (7/10). Honey and
soy roasted quail was tender and pink inside, served with a sliver of silky
warm Landes foie gras, alongside a chutney of peach and saffron (6/10). The main course was a wild sea bass, fresh
and nicely timed, with good flavour.
This was served with a little asparagus, a smear of tomato and lemon
grass nage, and candied aubergine and a little caviar as garnish (6/10).
My main course was squab
cooked in a wood-fired oven, tender and pink and served on the bone. This was served with celeriac cooked with
spices, a puree of spring cabbage and an unusual idea, a “sandwich” of bacon
and dates, the dates resting between two slices of bacon. I thought that the flavours here worked well
together, and the squab itself was of high quality (7/10).
Cheese is from La
Fromagerie, a popular source for London restaurants, and yet the condition of
the cheeses sourced from there is rarely very good; tonight was no
exception. A Manchega was as hard as
rock – I literally could not cut it with the knife provided. A British goat’s cheese was pleasant, as was
Forme d’Ambert and Cornish Yarg that was not quite yet at its best, but
Epoisses was unripe. I really don’t know
why restaurants in London are incapable of producing a good cheeseboard. I can literally buy better condition cheese
from the delicatessen at the end of my road, as I did the following day. The deli gets their cheese from Neal’s Yard
and a French supplier i.e. there is no magic here, so if he can do it, why can’t
the top restaurants in London? In this
case Maze didn’t even have a large board, but were selecting a few cheeses, so
were in a position to pick the cheeses in best condition, so there is no excuse
whatever here. Perhaps 5/10 for the
cheeses, but this is being on the kind side.
For dessert a chocolate
fondant produced a rare technical error tonight, the fondant being much too
runny in the centre, though as it was made from Valrhona chocolate it still
tasted pleasant enough, served with a sea salt and almond ice cream, which was
as pointless and bizarre to taste as it sounds (3/10). A passion fruit and rhubarb trifle was topped
with an excellent granite and served with two high quality Madelaines
(5/10). Both filter coffee and espresso
(a decent sized portion) were very good (6/10).
These came with a Turkish delight, a pleasant hazelnut chocolate and a
terrible idea – a lapsang souchon tea flavoured chocolate, which tasted
vile.
I like the tapas idea – it
works well at Atelier Robuchon in Paris (Jason worked for three weeks there prior
to opening to learn about the tapas approach), and indeed also at Club Gascon
in London. The kitchen here seems
capable of delivering courses at a steady pace, and there were no major
technical errors in the dishes served.
Ingredients were of sound quality e.g. the Orkney scallops and the tasty
squab. There was a general tentativeness
with seasoning, and the dessert menu seemed incongruous with the rest of the
menu. However these are fairly minor
quibbles. I think the kitchen can step
up a gear beyond its current level, and I know that this chef is capable of
better. For now, 5/10 is the correct
mark, but there is potential for a higher mark here in the future. Last visited June 2005.
|
Restaurant |
Melati |
|
Food
rating |
1/10 |
|
Address |
21
Great Windmill Street, London W1D 7LQ |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7734 6964 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Piccadilly
Circus |
|
Open |
All
week noon – 23:30 |
|
Price |
£30
a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
This is
a long established fixture of Soho, churning out authentic and reliable
Malaysian and Indonesian dishes. Beef
rendang is excellent here, as are the classic satay dishes. The long menu has plenty of vegetarian
options, and the service is pleasant.
Last visited June 2000.
|
Restaurant |
Mirabelle |
|
Food
rating |
4/10 |
|
Address |
56
Curzon Street, W1jJ8PA |
|
Phone
Number |
0207
499 4636 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Green
Park |
|
Open |
All
week 12:00 – 14:39, 1800 – 00:00 |
|
Price |
£60-£70
a head with wine |
|
Web
site |
|
|
Map |
Click
here |
The most assured of Marco Pierre
White's restaurants. The designer has
done wonders with the basement setting, creating an atmosphere that buzzes but
does not deafen. The menu is extensive
and very appealing, and the kitchen is extremely consistent in its
delivery. Fish and seafood dishes are
is excellent here, but the kitchen hardly puts a foot wrong with any dish. Risotto and pasta are well handled, and
desserts are very good e.g. a good lemon tart.
Recently a few signs of inconsistency have crept in, which is a little
worrying. Rare for a Marco restaurant,
the service is civil. For private
functions, there is a private dining room that can be hired which is decorated
with exquisite Chinese wallpaper.
My notes on one meal follow. Stella’s starter was a crab salad, the crab
in a cylinder shape on top of a “Russe” salad i.e. cold peas, potatoes and
carrots with a thin later of mayonnaise over the top, garnished with three half
quails’ eggs, a little caviar and some tiny sprigs of fine chives. The crab was delicate and the salad had very
good quality ingredients (6/10). My
starter was less successful: a few scallops were cooked in a leek and champagne
veloute inside a very large scallop shell sealed with a little pastry. The problem was that the scallops inside the
shell had become waterlogged and soggy.
The champagne veloute is very bland once cooked inside the shell, and
the leeks add little, so the overall effect of the sauce is not particularly
effective. It is fair enough not to try
and put in a strong flavour that would overpower the scallops, but then you
need to cook the scallops properly if they are to be the focus of the
dish. This is a new dish here and one
that they need to fix or avoid, in my view (2/10). Main courses were back on track: haddock was
carefully timed and served with a grain mustard sauce, on a bed of sliced
Jersey potatoes. On top of the fish was
a single poached egg (6/10). Stella’s
Dover sole was served on the bone and was cooked just right, offered with home
made tartare sauce and a good pomme puree garnished with a tower of broccoli
and a half-lemon in muslin (6/10). My
lemon tart was worryingly off-par, as this used to be a regular dish here for me. The pastry was fine but the filling did not
have enough acidity, too much sweetness coming through (3/10). Stella’s dessert was fine: summer fruits in a
translucent champagne gelee, surrounded by a few individual strawberries and
raspberries, and slivers of citrus fruits and blueberries. This was surrounded by a practically
invisible film of passion fruit coulis (6/10).
Coffee was good (6/10), breads cooked a little too hard and with not
enough salt for my liking (4/10).
Service was merely adequate, with a long gap before ordering and then
the dishes arriving in a rush. Still,
service was always Marco’s weak point.
Overall, I feel a slip in standards from when I was eating here
regularly. Some dishes are identical,
but the Mirabelle used to be a model of consistency, and the problem with lemon
tart is especially worrying given that this is one of their old standards. The menu is still long and there is the usual
long list of expensive wines. The
excellent Alion is £59.50 here compared to £48 a La Trompette, for
example.
Last visited June 2002 – it was
distinctly below its previous level, so it may be on the decline.
|
Restaurant |
Mint Leaf |
|
Food
rating |
3/10 |
|
Address |
Suffolk
Place, London SW1Y 4HX |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7930 9020 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Piccadilly
or Charing Cross |
|
Open |
Lunch
12:00 – 15:00 Monday-Friday only Dinner
all week 17:30 – 23:00 |
|
Price |
£70
a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
The restaurant is tucked
away at the bottom of Haymarket, and is a basement. It is very reminiscent in its décor of
Hakkasan, though the design is in fact done by Julian Taylor Associates. If I was the designer of Hakkasan, I would
sue, as this is a clear rip-off of its design.
The effect works very well, with an intimate feel. It is a very large (4,000 square feet) venue
that can seat 140. The dining split up
by hard-wood screens into more manageable areas, each with a few tables. There is also an extensive, attractive
bar. The lighting is superb, the
directed hanging lamps and spots illuminating the tables very well while
retaining a dark, romantic overall feel.
No popdoms here, but methi murgh was a dazzling starter, four delicate
pieces of chicken flavoured with fenugreek around a central compote of onions,
with a drizzle of mint sauce in a ring.
The meat was extremely tender, the fenugreek in careful balance. This was one of the very best chicken dishes
I have eaten outside of India (5/10). Also excellent was tandoori salmon, the
fish carefully cooked (4/10). The only
blemish was two jumbo tandoori prawns cooked in their shell. Although correctly cooked, there was a faint
hint of chlorine, the tell-tale sign of farmed prawns, and none too well-farmed
at that (1/10). Better was jeera aloo,
though the texture of the potato suggested just a hint too much softness,
though the cumin was well judged (2/10) while tarka dhal had a good, thick
consistency and nicely judged spices (3/10).
My duck was excellent, wild duck slices lightly cooked (still pink in
the middle) and served in a pool of tamarind sauce, the slight sweetness of the
tamarind an excellent foil for the duck; this was served with a cylinder of
competent peas pulao (4/10). Naan breads
(the only choice) were pleasant rather than inspired (2/10). Desserts are also much better than one
expects in an Indian restaurant, with panacotta flavoured with passion fruit
having excellent texture and nicely judged flavour, served with a fine tuile.
Halwa was in itself excellent, and probably did not need to be stuffed into
filo pastry cases, but was served with excellent ginger ice cream in a firm
biscuit tuile (4/10) desserts. A
comfortable 3/10 overall. Service was
brisk and efficient, if not very friendly.
The problem is the price, with Hildon water at £4, a glass (half) of
Cobra £4 and the main course prawns at £28, with service of 12.5%. Last visited May 2006.
|
Restaurant |
Mister Kong |
|
Food
rating |
3/10 |
|
Address |
21
Lisle Street, London WC2H 7BA |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7437 7341 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Leicester
Square |
|
Open |
All
week noon – 02:45 |
|
Price |
£30
a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
It is surprisingly hard to get a
decent Chinese meal in Chinatown; both the Royal China and the Mandarin kitchen
in Bayswater (“little Chinatown”) knock the restaurants in Chinatown proper
into a cocked hat. Part of the problem
is that the ones in Bayswater cater mainly to Chinese people, whereas the trade
around Leicester Square is dominated by western tourists. Perhaps the best of the Chinatown places
these days is the long-established Mr Kong in Lisle Street (parallel to, and
one street south of, Gerrard Street, which is the heart of Chinatown). Don’t go for the décor: scruffy green carpet,
toilets with bare wires hanging out of the wall, harsh lighting. However the food is consistently good. The menu is vast, which is rarely a good
sign, but the kitchen seems able to deliver across the range. Steamed scallops are excellent as a starter,
while pork belly cooked with yam in a hot pot results in tender, moist pork and
yam slices that have absorbed the cooking juices of the pork. Rice is excellent, as are Singapore noodles,
while vegetables are generally handled well.
Service is fairly brisk, but not rude as in so many Chinatown venues (in
case you thought this frequent trait was put on for tourists, it isn’t: try
eating in Hong Kong). Last visited April
2001.
|
Restaurant |
Miyama |
|
Food
rating |
4/10 |
|
Address |
38
Clarges Street, Mayfair, London W1J 7ES |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7499 2443 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Green
Park |
|
Open |
Monday
– Friday 12:30 – 14:30, all week 18:00 – 22:30 |
|
Price |
£50
a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
A very
peaceful Japanese restaurant, with discreet little booths as well as
conventional tables. A wide range of
dishes is executed effectively here, from very fresh sashimi and sushi through
to the grilled teppanyaki and fried tempura choices. Service is extremely courteous. Stick to beer and sake to drink. There are many trendier Japanese restaurants
in London, but there is a reason why a mainly Japanese crowd returns year after
year to this establishment. Last visited
May 2000.
|
Restaurant |
Morgan M |
|
Food
rating |
6/10 |
|
Address |
489
Liverpool Road, Highbury, London N7 8NS |
|
Phone
Number |
020
8609 3560 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Holloway
Road |
|
Open |
Tuesday
– Saturday Wednesday-Friday
& Sunday 12:00 – 14:00 |
|
Price |
£65
a head with wine. |
|
Map |
Click
here |
Morgan M (after the chef
Morgan Meunier) is situated in a desolate part of North London that has been
optimistically labelled “Islington” when it is very clearly a dodgy bit of
Holloway (first clue: nearest tube Holloway, second clue the postcode). The number of police sirens coming past made
you feel as if you were in an episode of Miami Vice, and when we came into the
restaurant we were advised to move our car from just around the corner on to
the main road, as there had been “problems” with cars parked in the quiet
street next to the restaurant; we are not talking about parking tickets here
either. It is an unlikely setting for a
serious restaurant, but I guess the rent is cheap. Morgan came to the UK under Max Renzland and
cooked at Monsieur Max for four years before moving to Admiralty. Max has a gift for picking out talented chefs
(cf Bruce Poole) and this ability showed up in much of the cooking this
evening.
The room itself is unprepossessing,
with bare wooden floors, plain white walls (apart from opposite sections that
are, rather oddly painted green – see diagram) and ceilings, and no distracting
music (the bare boards ensure it is noisy enough). Lighting is pleasantly
bright, from overhead ceiling spots. On
the walls there is a wood-framed mirror on one side and two shelves of Michelin
Guides on the opposite wall (a none-too subtle hint). Otherwise the decoration is restricted to
several pieces of art, a couple of which one would describe as abstract
landscapes; the eagle-eyed will recognise the signature on the paintings as
Morgan’s own. Chairs are much too
narrow, low backed wooden chairs with green upholstery that are uncomfortable
unless you are a dwarf. Windows surround
the front of the building (top of the diagram) and these are frosted at the
bottom, clear at the top, with white blinds.
A reasonable amount of natural light comes through. Tables have white linen tablecloths and
napkins, and crockery is plain white.
The cutlery is an unusual style from Robert Welch. The tables are uncluttered and indeed are not
that large, with no distractions like flowers, candles or condiments.
The wine list is entirely
French except for a lonely bottle of Rioja, and I have to say that the prices
are steep but the choice of growers and balance of the list leaves something to
be desired. This is a long, eight page
list only from France, yet there is just one wine from Alsace, a Gewürztraminer
from an obscure grower. There is very little
under £30 (just five whites and seven reds) with the cheapest white at £19 and
the cheapest red at £18. There are three
white and three red wines by the glass (and three dessert wines) with either
obscure growers, or good ones that are very costly e.g. Mas de Daumas Gassac
white and red is a chunky £54 while Ramonet 1997 Chassagne Montrachet is
£180. A wine list this expensive could
at least spell the best dessert wine in the world correctly: “Chateau Yquen” is
just careless. Water is Hildon at £3.50
for a 75cl bottle.
Waiters are smartly dressed
in dark suits and ties, with the solitary waitress in a nice black suit with a
red tie. Service was very good,
attentive and friendly. Our dishes arrived
at a steady pace, though the people at the next table were getting
restless. Three types of bread are
offered: classic baguette slices, or slices of either soda bread or
multigrain. The baguette was ordinary,
but the other two breads were excellent, with a nice crust, good seasoning and
flavour and fluffy texture; they are actually bought in, but you could easily
think they were made on the premises.
7/10 for the multi-grain bread, 6/10 for the soda bread and 3/10 for the
baguette. The menu is enclosed; you will
see that it has very few choices, though there is a complete vegetarian menu
(though you cannot have a dish from one of the tasting menus if you are
ordering a la carte, which seems unnecessarily restrictive). Mr Meunier has a very French style of writing. On the menu is printed a line which is beyond
parody: “Only when a guest is touched by the spirit of my dishes have I
succeeded – Morgan M”. Maybe this works
in “Islington”, but don’t try this in Yorkshire.
An amuse guele was rather
odd: a blob of crème fraiche laced with horseradish on a smear of balsamic
vinegar and topped with finely-cut chives, around which was poured a warm
beetroot sauce. This lacked any real
substance to get one’s teeth into, so was an odd conception, though the sauce
itself was fair though a little over-acidic (3/10). A ballontine of foie gras was a tasty
cylinder, the ballontine silky smooth and topped with a little Sauternes jelly,
the liver taste coming through well but not as intensely as the very finest
examples of this dish. Served alongside
was a leg of tender quail, grilled but still pink inside and resting on some
strands of what were essentially noodles which turned out to be made of
celeriac. This is an excellent example
of kitchen over-technique. The strands
were cut so fine that I would challenge anyone to identify them; even such a
strong and distinct flavour as celeriac was entirely lost. A correctly-toasted slice of brioche (which
could have been warmer) was served with the ballontine, which had a smear of rather
superfluous “fig caviar” next to it.
Overall 6/10, as the quail and foie gras itself were pretty much 7/10.
but the tasteless celeriac deserves to be punished.
Stella had four grilled
langoustines served with an aubergine and red pepper caviar. This was accompanied by a salad of herbs
without dressing, and a “shellfish cappuccino” i.e. sauce, that had good
flavour. The langoustines themselves
were cold, yet were cooked in their shells extremely well; they tasted fresh
and had a delicate flavour. The “caviar”
of vegetables worked well, bringing an earthy contrast to the shellfish, and
the salad lightened the dish. The
components here worked well together (7/10).
A squab from Anjou was cooked carefully, the pigeon grilled perhaps a
little longer than was strictly necessary though still tender, served on a bed
of excellent puy lentils. These rested in a smear of “soubise sauce” i.e. an
onion sauce that was capably made.
However braised lettuce was disappointingly soggy, while a decorative
slice of fried “pomme anna” seemed just irrelevant (6/10). Turbot was fresh and timed well, but was
topped with a rather hard raviolo of crayfish.
Moreover a few small crayfish as garnish were distinctly chewy. A puree of celeriac was smooth and at least
did taste of celeriac, while a champagne veloute was light and worked well with
the turbot. The fish rested on a bed of
delicate spinach. The fish itself was
excellent, perhaps 7/10, but the hard pasta and rubbery crayfish bring this
down to at most 5/10.
A limited selection from the
nearby La Fromagerie is displayed on a board, just nine cheeses this
evening. St Maure was not at its peak
but still in reasonable condition, while Mont d’Or was suitably creamy, St
Nectaire was not quite ripe and Epoisses was very young. Pont l’Eveque was in better condition. With a limited choice and a good supplier I
felt that these cheeses could have been closer to peak condition (4/10 for the
cheese). No biscuits or bread were offered,
which was rather odd, but they brought bread after I requested it. A pre-dessert was a rice pudding made with
Tahitian vanilla served in a cylindrical orange tuile surrounded by raspberry
coulis, topped with a raspberry sorbet and garnished with a sliver of vanilla
pod. The sorbet had excellent texture
and flavour, and the vanilla flavour came through well in the rice pudding
(5/10).
Raspberry soufflé was very
well made, even in appearance and fluffy inside, served with a strawberry
coulis and a smooth rhubarb and Jurancon ice cream, garnished with a slice of
strawberry. The only criticism could be
that it seems odd to mix the strawberry flavour with the raspberry soufflé,
perhaps one effect too many. However the
execution of the dish was excellent (7/10).
I had an orange tarte served with an orange and vanilla sauce. The tart had good pastry while the filling
had reasonable orange flavour, but could have been a little more acidic for my
liking. It came across a little too creamy, although the sauce was good. A capable chocolate ice cream was served on a
tuile and actually was made with a little honey, decorated with a triangular
wafer of marbled dark chocolate. The ice
cream in itself had good texture but I am not sure that such a creamy ice-cream
made sense with the creamy filling of the tarte, and Stella perceptively noted
that a chocolate sorbet would have worked better, in order to reduce the
overall richness (6/10).
Filter coffee was pleasant,
as was espresso, though the beans used here were good rather than top class
(5/10). Petit fours included an orange
jelly that was unrecognisable as orange other than its colour, a competent
shortbread biscuit, a good white chocolate coated with coconut, a dark
chocolate, a slightly too crisp tuile and a very capable raspberry tart. These were variable but 6/10 overall would
seem fair.
In summary, I was impressed
overall by the standard of cooking this evening. There were blemishes e.g. the chewy crayfish
and the tasteless celeriac noodles, but generally the kitchen showed good
technique, while ingredients were excellent.
One lingering issue from the chef’s days at Monsieur Max is the tendency
to want to add too many components to the dish, which even if they are each
well made can make the dish confusing: Morgan seems to have forgotten his early
training at Michel Guerard, who is a master of understatement and
simplicity. Nonetheless, the restaurant
is cooking at 6/10 level, and would compare well to some other places at this
level in London. I think he has the
potential to go up a notch, though it will interesting to see whether he can
iron out the odd slips in the cooking that occurred tonight. Last visited May 2004.
|
Restaurant |
Nobu |
|
Food
rating |
5/10 |
|
Address |
19
Old Park Lane, Metropole Hotel, London W1K 1LB |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7447 4749 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Hyde
Park Corner |
|
Open |
Lunch
Monday-Friday Dinner
all week 18:00-22:15 |
|
Price |
£80
a head with wine. |
|
Map |
Click
here |
I feel this is still a step up from Zuma. Terribly fashionable, bordering on
pretentious – staff now shout out a greeting in Japanese as you walk past them
(is this really necessary?) and the dining crowd has settled into a mix of
hotel guests and the well-off (Zuma had a more crowd). There are no starters and main courses here –
things come as they will. A highlight
was a “rock shrimp” tempura that was served on a green salad and given a heavy
dose of lemon: this worked very well indeed (6/10). Conventional tempura of carrot, broccoli and
prawn was good, though the batter was a little heavy compared to the very best
tempura (I ate at a famous tempura place in Tokyo a few years ago which had
truly gossamer-like batter). Teriyaki
scallops served on a skewer were of good quality and carefully cooked, while
sushi toro (the fatty and prized belly of tuna) and normal tuna was very
good. Blackened cod was very tasty,
though £24 for a none-too-large piece of cod is scarcely a bargain. Salmon teryaki was pleasant (though the
salmon was farmed – surely at these prices they could get wild?). Service was attentive, and there is a good
wine list though we stuck to beer at £4.50 for a small bottle of Kirin. With no wine, no dessert and no pre-dinner
drinks the bill was still £75 each, so this is hardly a bargain, but it
certainly works well overall. Last
visited September 2002.
P.S.
Avoid Nobu Berkely, which is a poor imitation of the real thing, but
with the same high prices (visited October 2005)
|
Restaurant |
1 Lombard Street |
|
Food
rating |
6/10 |
|
Address |
1
Lombard Street, London EC3V 9AA |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7929 6611 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Bank |
|
Open |
Dinner
19:00 – 22:00 |
|
Price |
£75
a head with wine |
|
Web
site |
|
|
Map |
Click
here |
Situated by Bank tube, the
premises consist of a large airy bar and casual dining area, with the fine
dining room tucked away at the back. We
were booked for 21:30 and arrived just a few minutes late (parking is a
nightmare here) but it became icily apparent that we were in fact the last
diners by some margin. There was a
caucus of managerial staff as it was decided as to whether the kitchen could
actually accommodate us, despite us being more than 15 minutes prior to their
official closing time of 22:00.
Eventually they grudgingly conceded that they could serve us provided we
placed our order “immediately”. Not the
start I was expecting. There were just
four other diners, one couple on dessert and one couple lost on a haze of
alcohol. My mood was improved by the
superb celeriac veloute amuse bouche, with superb texture and intense flavour
(7/10 easily). My starter of tuna
carpaccio was beautifully presented, circular slices of tuna presented as a
flower petal, with a central lime and a circle of toasted sesame seeds, around
which was a ginger and lime vinaigrette. The tuna was excellent and the dressing a
perfect balance (7/10). Salad of crab
was presented n three forms, the central one being a tian of crab with a red
pepper top and a red pepper sauce, along with two caramelised langoustines and
a gazpacho sorbet (6/10). A palate
cleanser of red berry granita had perhaps slightly large ice crystals yet had
good flavour (5/10). My main course of
blackleg chicken was nicely cooked, with a few dried morels, good peas and
young leeks in a vin jaune sauce (6/10).
Better still was monkfish, extremely tender, with a superb ginger
coriander and wasabi sauce that was bold with wasabi but still in control,
served with a risotto of Thai crab that was slightly mushy. The monkfish and its sauce were 8/10, let
down by the 5/10 risotto. Chocolate
pyramide had dark slabs of chocolate encasing a quite light yet rich mousse,
with a tuile cage of almond milk granitee (7/10). Chocolate, whisky and coffee praline
“Lombardo” also had intense flavour (7/10).
Presentation was dazzling throughout, while ingredients were excellent
and technical execution hard to fault.
This to me was actually borderline 7/10 meal rather than 6/10. Service, after the initial hostility, was
efficient and, eventually, pleasant.
This visit was in October 2005, but a more recent visit’s notes follow.
It was pretty quiet here on
a Monday evening, and although we sat down at
Last visited
November 2006.
|
Restaurant |
Notting Hill Brasserie |
|
Food
rating |
5/10 |
|
Address |
92
Kensington Park Road, London W11 2PN |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7229 4481 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Notting
Hill or Holland Park |
|
Open |
Check |
|
Price |
£62
a head with wine |
|
Map |
Click
here |
In the old Leith’s premises, this feels a little
like the Lindsay House in style; they have gone for the dark look with just a
small candle on each table, which may create a romantic mood but also means
that the menu is unreadable without a torch.
There is a live jazz duo playing in the bar, and it works well as it is
not intrusive and they play easy listening jazz. On one vist, amuse bouche of parsnip soup was
excellent, the soup having strong parsnip flavour, creamy and frothed up, with
little bits of parsnip to add some texture (7/10). Bread was very good, either
rolls of white, brown, olive or walnut and raisin, served hot (6/10). Scallops with herb gnocchi and shallots featured
unusually delicate gnocchi, nicely seasoned with herbs; this in itself was
nearly as good as Zafferanos gnocchi, which is sublime. Unfortunately the scallops, which were
certainly divers scallops (from the Shetlands) were slightly overcooked, and though
moist and sweet were a fraction chewy.
4/10 due to the scallops, but otherwise this would have been a higher
mark. Red pepper was roasted and
marinated, spread out in a flat circle, topped with goats cheese, pine nuts and
a garnish of rocket – an unusual idea with good quality ingredients
(5/10). Sea bass was timed well, wild
sea bass served with Provencal vegetables, pesto and some very good spiced
aubergine (6/10). My venison was
excellent, pink and sliced thin, served on a bed of good quality red cabbage
that were cooked in alcohol, served with an intense parsnip puree (7/10). For dessert, a mix of red berries,
blueberries and blackcurrants were served on a layer of home-made vanilla
yoghurt with berry compote – this had excellent fresh fruit, and was a
well-conceived dish (6/10). My tarte
tatin of apple had reasonable (though bought) pastry but apples that had not
sufficiently caramelised; they were Braeburns, and the chef should try using
Coxes, which are easier to caramelise (3/10).
A side order of chips were wide in girth yet had excellent flavour and
texture (6/10). Coffee was good, without
petit fours. The wine list is rather
esoteric, though service was pretty good throughout. Prices are fair for cooking at this
level.
Here are notes from q recent meal. This evening there was a pianist and bassist
playing live jazz, which was pleasantly relaxing and unobtrusive. Amuse guele was a mini tuna tart with a baby
artichoke on top, alongside a cup of lobster ravioli in a shellfish broth. The
pastry and tuna were high quality while the lobster and pasta were tended and
the shellfish veloute had great depth of flavour (6/10 for the tuna tart 7/10
for the veloute). Bread was either
white, olive or walnut and raisin rolls, served warm. They get the bread from a small supplier, an
ex chef at Mirabelle; it is quite soft bread but with good texture, is well
seasoned and has plenty of flavour (5/10).
Scallops were sautéed and served as four rectangles of scallop, of good
quality though seared on one side a fraction longer than necessary. This rested on some genuinely top class herb
gnocchi, which had lovely texture (gnocchi was at least 6/10, overall
5/10). Stella’s gazpacho was the weakest
dish of the night, pleasant and made with good ingredients but a little thinner
than is optimal (4/10). A middle course
appeared from the kitchen of three slices of roasted magret of duck with
caramelised onion puree and a little duck confit; the duck was served pink and
had lovely flavour (6/10). For the main
course Stella had halibut, which was pan fried, with baby artichokes, a little
pancetta as garnish and the roasting juices (5/10). I had neck of pork, cooked slowly and served
on a bed of puy lentils, alongside a slab of pork belly and good celeriac puree. Served alongside was a little cup of
cassoulet, which was perhaps one thing too many and in any case was a little
watery, though it had good beans (5/10).
For dessert a chocolate fondant had good quality chocolate and a rich
liquid filling, though the fondant base itself was a fraction crisp when it
should be barely solid, due to just a little overlong in the oven (5/10). Cocoa cream crème brulee had good texture
though I am not sure cocoa beans are the most interesting thing as the flavour;
here they were rather subdued, though coffee and white chocolate ice cream had
great depth of flavour and smooth texture (5/10). Coffee was of good quality,
both filter and cappuccino (6/10). The
wine list runs over two pages and is mostly French with a few new world
choices; it is not a great list but there are plenty of wines in the £30-40
range. The female sommelier (from South
Korea) was pleasant and knew her list.
Service was excellent. A charming place; no wonder it is full even on
weekdays. Overall this is 5/10 bordering 6/10.
Last visited July 2006. It should be noted that there is a new chef in August 2006, from the Great Eastern Hotel.
|
Restaurant |
Oottupura |
|
Food
rating |
2/10 |
|
Address |
|
|
Phone
Number |
020
8741 3127 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
|
|
Open |
Check
with restaurant |
|
Price |
£16
a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
|
Hygiene |
Click
here |
This Keralan restaurant has been open since mid
2005. It has unprepossessing premises
near Ravenscourt park tube, with perhaps 40 covers. The popadoms are very similar to those at Rasa
i.e. a mixture of styles including some fried plantain discs as well as more
conventional popadoms; these were served with pleasant coconut chutney and
quite sour onion chutney. A start of
madai vadai was two fried balls made with lentils laced with spices, a little
plain but pleasant enough (1/10). Much
better was excellent
Last visited November 2006.
|
Restaurant |
Orrery |
|
Food
rating |
5/10 |
|
Address |
55
Marylebone High Street, London W1U 5RB |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7616 8000 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Regents
Park |
|
Open |
All
week 12:00 – 15:00, 19:00 – 23:00 (22:30 Sunday) |
|
Price |
£95
a head with wine |
|
Web
site |
|
|
Map |
Click
here |
The most
successful of Conran’s ventures from a food viewpoint, the Orrery is quieter
and less flashy than its larger brethren Mezzo’s, Quaglinos et al. The narrow dining room is peaceful, the
service a definite gear up from what one might expect. Above all the kitchen ventures beyond the
char-grill and manages some genuinely classy cooking, strong with seafood. The desserts are very good also, for example
a fine lemon tart. An orrery, by the
way, is a model of the solar system that was fashionable in Victorian times, an
example of which sits in the dining room.
A measure of the success of the kitchen is that it was awarded a
Michelin star in 1999. However the
departure of the chef Andree Garret to the new Galvin at Windows on the World
has caused some jitters in the usually smooth delivery, and on my recent visit
things were distinctly shaky. They were
awaiting the arrival of a new chef in July 2006 and it will be interesting to
see whether equilibrium is restored. In
the mean time treat the place with caution.
Last
visited June 2006.
|
Restaurant |
Oxo Tower |
|
Food
rating |
5/10 |
|
Address |
8th
floor, Oxo Tower Wharf, Barge House Street, London SE1 9PH |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7803 3888 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Waterloo
or Blackfriars plus a ten minute walk |
|
Open |
Sunday-
Friday 12:00-14:45, 18:30–23:15 |
|
Price |
£50
a head with wine |
|
Map |
Click
here |
A great place to take visitors to
London or for a romantic evening, as the Oxo Tower has a stunning view over the
river from its 8th floor perch.
Hayler’s law of food says that food gets worse as it gets higher –
witness airline food, ski lodges, revolving restaurants etc, but this is an
exception. Despite some bizarrely hostile
press when it opened (perhaps the usual free meals and grovelling were not
offered to the denizens of the fourth estate?) I have found the food here to be
consistently competent. The modern
British cooking has a wide selection of dishes and avoids undue excess, and
both fish and meat are executed well, while ingredients are generally
good. You won’t get creative genius
here, but you will get consistently well prepared, enjoyable cooking, and I
wish I could say that of more restaurants.
Service is fine though it can be a bit stretched at times. The wine list is also very good, with a wide
selection from around the world. Last
visited August 2004.
You enter past pillars with
a few rows of red banquette seating, used as a waiting/bar area. The main dining room has stairs on the left
as you come in leading down to toilets but also to another full dining room,
seating 50 covers. The décor is very
smart and modern (the same designers as Benares), with charcoal grey lino,
taupe walls, red banquette seating and a suspended wooden ceiling. The lighting is from directed overhead spots
and is excellent, creating an intimate atmosphere yet illuminating each table
carefully. Chairs are low and wooden,
with red upholstery to match the banquettes.
The walls are plain except for four Thai figures, made from wood but
with inlaid glass mosaic tiles. There is
also a miniature (but still several feet tall) Thai house made from teak. At the rear as you enter is a brickwork
effect with candles in the wall. Tables
have white linen runners and napkins, with a single variety of moss in a vase
as decoration. Modern muzak of the
Hakkasan variety plays (rhythmic dance beats with little in the way of
lyrics). Waiters wear golden coloured
raw silk (“slub”) jackets. Service was
impeccable, with drinks brought almost instantly, no difficulty at all getting
attention and a very courteous, polite manner from all the staff. This is one of a chain of places owned by a
Thai company, with branches in Bangkok, Singapore, Taipei, Geneva and
London.
There is a wine list with
fifteen white and thirteen red wines, picked from all over the world although
mostly not from top producers. However
the prices are low, with almost all wines under £25. Mondavi Pinot Noir is £21 compared to retail
of around £6. Champagne is fairly
priced, with Laurent Perrier at just £35 a bottle and Dom Perignon £110, which
is only slightly more than it can retail for.
Beer is Singha and water is “Source”.
There are even a couple of Thai wines.
Prawn crackers are a bit of a cliché but these were a
cut above the norm: for a start they actually tasted of prawn, with just a
faint hint of chilli, and were crisp (2/10).
Tom yum
goong soup featured large, tender prawns and shiitake mushrooms, all resting in
a thick, delicious spicy broth that had great depth of flavour (3/10). Three fish cakes and two prawn cakes had,
unlike so many versions of this dish, plenty of fish and prawn flavour
respectively, and avoided being too greasy.
They were served with a sweet chilli sauce in which rested cucumber
slices halved with scalloped edges and a few chopped peanuts. This made a good
foil for the richness of the fishcakes (2/10).
Prawn curry featured large
prawns cooked and served in their shells, each tender and the prawns resting in
a pool of red coconut-cream based curry sauce laced with green peppercorns,
with basil leaves to garnish. This was
slightly spicy but not so much as to overwhelm the prawns (3/10). Angus beef was cooked medium (slightly pink in
the middle) and served as small slices, cooked with red chillies and a green
curry sauce. The beef was of good
quality and nicely cooked, though it could have been cooked a little less for
my taste. Still, the green curry sauce
had authentic flavour and complemented the beef well (3/10). Mango salad consisted of fine slices of green
mango, along with thin slices of red onion, dried chillies and cashew nuts, all
doused with a sweet chilli sauce. The
ingredients were fresh and the chilli sauce nicely balanced to provide a spicy
tang without killing off the flavours of the salad ingredients. This was served
with two deep-fried soft shell crabs, that were cooked through well with a
light batter (3/10). Assorted mushrooms
included brown mushrooms, shiitake and a few wild mushrooms sautéed and served
with garlic and chilli. This was a
little on the bland side but the mushrooms retained their texture and flavour
well (2/10). Pad thai noodles had good
texture, served with several large tender prawns served in heir shell
(2/10). Steamed rice was fine, though a
very small portion indeed.
Crepes with tropical fruit
had adequate crepes (though they may have been bought in) but mediocre and
rather odd tropical fruit: fresh papaya is fine, but kiwi fruit? Moreover pineapple cubes were tinned, as were
the lychees, while strawberries were tasteless and scarcely tropical. The crepes were soft enough, soaked in an
orange sauce, but the fruit was poor, as was the clearly bought-in vanilla ice
cream, that had no trace of vanilla (round up).
Coconut rice with sweet Thai mango had slices of fresh mango, while
coconut rice was gelatinous and green in colour; this did nothing for me, though
there was no technical problem (1/10).
Double espresso was bitter and, though by no means the worst I have had,
was at best 1/10. Jasmine tea was from a
tea bag, though served in a teapot (1/10).
The total was £137, including service at 12.5%. Service was included and the credit card slip
was closed.
Please be aware that there
are three other branches of Patara in London. I have tried each of them now
and, though they are all very pleasant, the Greek Street branch has
significantly better cooking (it is also the best decorated).
Last visited July 2006
|
Restaurant |
Pétrus |
|
Food
rating |
7/10 |
|
Address |
Berkeley
Hotel, London SW1X 7RL |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7930 4272 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Hyde
Park Corner |
|
Open |
Monday
to Friday 12:00-14:30 Monday
to Saturday 18:45-23:00 |
|
Price |
£85
a head with wine |
|
Web
site |
|
|
Map |
Click
here |
Marcus Wareing has moved Pétrus to
the Berkeley Hotel, taking over from Pierre Koffman. The original St James Street site was made
over into a slightly more casual affair called Fleur but soon died a death. Overall I feel the move has not improved the
food at all.
The new room is smart but
quite dark, the walls a deep plum colour.
The design has a masculine feel, much like the original premises. The service is very attentive, and clearly
Wareing is in search of the second Michelin star. The main differences are with some additional
amuse gueles and a pre-dessert. The menu
seems to feature more elaborate taste combinations, not all of which are
positive. Bread is either: country
bread, not very sour sourdough, a crisp baguette or tomato bread (7/10). Amuse guele consisted of cauliflower puree on
a crouton (8/10), a rich chicken liver pate (8/10), and a surprisingly ordinary
dish of assorted vegetables (5/10). This
is followed by glass of gazpacho soup, which has a quite unnecessary addition
of vanilla and pineapple (5/10, though probably much higher without the
extraneous tastes). Five fine scallops
are each topped with a drop of carrot puree, served with tender baby artichokes
a central tower of cold Charlotte potato and leek salad, the ring of scallops
having a perimeter of a smear of truffle cream (8/10). Lobster “Arnold Bennet” is a haddock omelette
served with Scottish lobster and a little lobster bisque poured on at the
table. While the lobster was very tender,
the bisque intense and the omelette excellent, the haddock taste seems slightly
too strong for the lobster. Grilled John
Dory was excellen, served with roasted pumpkin, a caper and golden raisin
puree, braised leeks, all in a beurre noisette sauce (8/10). I had pithivier of game (grouse, duck,
venison) served with root vegetables (parsnip, carrot, baby ceps) in a red wine
jus (8/10). Cheese was in good
condition, entirely French (7/10) e.g. Camembert, Beaufort, Epoisses. As a pre dessert were a pair each of stunning
beignets, served with a little lemon curd (9/10). For dessert, chocolate fondant was
technically excellent, with a rich liquid centre (easily 7/10). Parfait of cherry and yoghurt worked well
(7/10). Overall the meal was excellent, though
at times I feel he is trying too hard e.g. not being content with a fine
gazpacho, he feels he has to add pineapple and vanilla to somehow denote this
as “serious” cooking. The beignets were
divine, and indeed there is little to fault, though at £55 for three courses
and wines that are seriously expensive (over £10 for a glass of champagne and
£3.50 for a half litre of water i.e. £7 a litre) this is no bargain. Last visited May 2006. I preferred this in the old days at Pétrus in
St James Street. The prices have gone
up, but the cooking has not.
Top ten favourite
The
fire that closed the restaurant for a year has allowed a cosier refurbishment
of the small dining room, with booths on one wall and better lighting. There is also a small upstairs bar. Sadly the makeover has not included
replacement of the chairs, which must be the most uncomfortable anywhere in
London. Fortunately this is compensated
by the natural charm of David Moore as maitre d’ (and co-owner) whose relaxed
style makes him the best maitre d’ in the capital. Amuse guele set the tone of ambition: a wafer
thin potato crisp sandwich, in which is a puree of sole. A Spanish influence shows in a two-layer gelee,
the bottom layer ham, the top layer a remarkably delicate pea puree. Also a delicate quails
egg coated in batter, and a little gnocchi (9/10). All this before you have ordered. Breads, which so often set the tone for a
restaurant, are excellent: rolls of either baguette,
white, brown, tomato, onion, olive, walnut, each different style of the highest
quality. The wine list is lengthy and
spans the world, while specialising in
Shane
Osborne’s cooking style is a little simpler than his predecessor Tom Aikens
(admittedly, that is not hard). Four
tails of langoustines were timed to perfection, served with some very ripe
cherry tomatoes and a little millefeuille of tomato, a matching vinaigrette and
some garlic puree (8/10). Stella’s red
mullet was less successful, pan-fried with an olive potato puree, with a green
olive and vanilla emulsion. The fish
was timed well enough, but I am unsure as to the wisdom of the combination of
flavours, though the execution was good.
This had some excellent mashed potato and a little salsify on the side
(6/10). A bonus dish of warm foie gras
was served in a bowl of remarkably intense jus with peas (9/10). For main course, monkfish was of the rare,
non-chewy variety that is not often seen in restaurants in
A
pre-dessert was a little rhubarb custard (8/10). Desserts are a
|
Restaurant |
Phoenix |
|
Food
rating |
5/10 |
|
Address |
162-164
Lower Richmond Road, Putney, London SW15 1LY |
|
Phone
Number |
020
8780 3131 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Putney
Bridge |
|
Open |
All
week 12:30 – 14:30, 19:00 – 23:00 |
|
Price |
£50
a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
Not too far from Putney Bridge, the Phoenix has
modern décor with a bright, relaxed feel. The table we had was perhaps the smallest I
have ever seen, so I felt a bit like a character in “Land of the Giants”. Bread was mixed, with good foccacia but
walnut bread that had no discernable walnuts, and which had an overly thick
texture, while brown bread slices were a little heavy but OK. . For starters I had an oddball dish in the
otherwise Italian menu, a Thai pork wrap.
This consisted of two balls of lettuce containing slightly spicy minced
pork with peanuts, chilli and basil.
This dish is, I believe, more Laotian in origin than Thai, but was
executed pretty well. The addition of a
few orange segments was not a noticeably good idea, nor is it authentic. Not as good as the version of the dish that
used to be served at the old Thailand in New Cross, but still worth 2/10. Stella’s pasta with “barba di frate” (a salty
vegetable rather like samphire) and sun-blushed tomatoes was better, the pasta
having excellent texture and flavour (5/10).
For main course Stella’s sea bass with artichokes was carefully cooked
(4/10). I had an “18th
century recipe” of essentially a creamy lasagne made with cep mushrooms,
truffle and Parma ham. Again the pasta
was very good indeed, and the Parmesan and Parma ham worked well with the
mushrooms (6/10). We didn’t have
desserts, but coffee was extremely good (7/10).
Two quibbles here: service, which was of the “who ordered what?”
variety, it being difficult to get attention and serving wine that was so warm
that I had to ask for an ice bucket for the red wine (Cigare Volant) that we
ordered. The other issue is price, with
main courses by no means cheap and vegetables extra, we are up in Zafferanos
price territory for a distinctly less slick and consistent experience. However, the current 5/10 mark feels just
about right, so the introduction of Frank Tanuschio from the Walnut Tree as
executive chef seems to have had little effect either way on the culinary
level. Last visited October 2004.
|
Restaurant |
Pizza Metro Pizza |
|
Food
rating |
1/10 |
|
Address |
64c
Battersea Rise, London SW11 1EQ |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7228 3812 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
None
(this is South London) |
|
Open |
Sunday
to Monday, dinner only 19:00 - 22:30 |
|
Price |
£20
a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
A long way from the clinically
clean, over-designed chains that we have become used to over the years. This is a chaotic little place in Battersea,
the tables crammed in, loose wires hanging from the ceiling and Italian waiters
running around and shouting as only Italians can. The tables are basic and small, and the
pizzas themselves arrive on battered plastic trays rather than plates. It is a long time since I have seen a wine
list that said “champagne” – that is it, no country, let alone a brand. To start with there are many antipasti dishes
for which you have to walk around, squeeze past a few tables and choose by
looking at the food on a series of trays: this changes regularly but is mix of
salads and dishes that are heated up e.g. some warm vine leaves with red
chillies, which was adequate but no more (0/10). Pasta is rather better e.g. spaghetti that is
clearly home made and has good consistency, with a simple tomato sauce having
plenty of real tomatoes (1/10). However
the reason people come here is for the pizzas, cooked in a wood-burning oven
and of the classic style: thin crusts, traditional toppings.
It is popular to order pizzas for
the whole table, and judging by the other tables “a metre of mushroom pizza”
would be an entirely appropriate order.
The pizzas are indeed way better than the norm, the base thin and light,
the ingredients fresh. Service is
frantic but charming, and when the bill is delivered there is an original
gimmick: you choose a number from 1-90 and draw from a container – if you guess
right, the bill is on the house. On my
last visit my knife was not exactly glistening, and our pizza tray had part of
its surface missing, exposing the bare wood underneath, which made it look
actively infectious, and so cleanliness is really my only concern about the
place; still, not many bacteria survive a pizza oven. Fun atmosphere and good value. Last visited March 2002.
|
Restaurant |
Prism |
|
Food
rating |
5/10 |
|
Address |
147
Leadenhall Street, London EC3V 4QT |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7256 3888 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Bank
|
|
Open |
Monday
–Friday Monday
+ Wednesday-Friday 18:00 – 22:00 |
|
Price |
£55
a head with wine |
|
Web
site |
|
|
Map |
Click
here |
A striking
dining room with towering pillars and enough marble to satisfy a 3rd
world dictator, Prism takes full advantage of its ex-bank location. There is a long bar on one side of the dining
room, and a separate downstairs bar that is quite lively, with music playing. Service is very capable – dishes arrive at
the correct person (no “now who ordered the…”), bread and wine is topped up
well, and there are no long delays. On a
recent visit I started with a dish of pan-fried tiger prawns that were
carefully timed, served with a mound of carefully cooked basmati rice and a
gently spicy sauce of ginger and garlic, coconut and coriander. This was very good indeed (6/10 easily). For man course I had sea bass, fresh and well
cooked, served with a simple but effective Jerusalem artichoke puree
(5/10). On the side I ordered some
excellent chips, nicely salted. For
dessert, an apple tart had good pastry and nicely cooked filling (5/10). Coffee was good quality. The wine list is extensive, with plenty of
New World choices. Try perhaps the Petaluma Riesling or a bottle of the
wonderful Cigare Volant from Bonny Doon in California. Last visited May 2001.
|
Restaurant |
Quaglinos |
|
Food
rating |
3/10 |
|
Address |
16
Bury Street, London SW1Y 6AL |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7930 6767 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Green
Park |
|
Open |
All
week 12:00 – 15:00, 17:30 – 00:00 (Friday and Saturday they open until 01:00,
Sunday until 23:00) |
|
Price |
£60
a head with wine |
|
Web
site |
|
|
Map |
Click
here |
The first
of the mega restaurants in London, and Conran’s creation has spawned many an
imitator and a whole range from Conran himself.
Apart from the more serious Orrery, I feel this is still the best of the
bunch, now that Pont de La Tour has forgotten how to cook. On the site of a fashionable restaurant from
the 1930s, Quaglino’s vast space (350 diners at one sitting can be
accommodated) is handsomely decorated, and even many years on retains its
stylish feel and manages to fill the tables.
As is inevitable with a venture of this size, you may experience some
variability in the standard from one meal to the next, but generally things
work well. The sometimes harsh press
Quaglinos has received seems churlish to me based on the many meals I have
eaten here. Here are notes from a meal
in late October 2000.
This
meal was in the private dining room above the main dining area. A terrine of foie gras and
figs was served on toasted brioche with an excellent fig chutney (5/10). This was accompanied by the lovely de Bortoli
Noble One 1993. Fruits de mer was more ordinary, with pleasant prawns and crab (3/10), with a
reasonable 1996 Sancerre from Roger Cailottes.
What was billed as a watercress sorbet actually tasted like lychee
sorbet, with a garnish of watercress, and had rather too many ice crystals but
good lychee flavour. For main course I
had a well timed fillet of sea bream, with nicely cooked crushed new potato
with chives, with some superfluous mussels served in their shell, all with a
pleasant saffron vinaigrette (5/10).
With this was a fine Chianti Classico Reserva Racasoli 1996. For dessert was a competent amaretto panna
cotta with poached apricots, accompanied by a pleasant lemon sorbet
(3/10). With this was an unusual dessert
wine – Moscato Passito di Pantelleria, a rich wine tasting of apricots that was
most enjoyable. Coffee was fine
(4/10). Last visited August 2000.
|
Restaurant |
Quality Chop House |
|
Food
rating |
3/10 |
|
Address |
94
Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3EA |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7837 5093 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Farringdon
|
|
Open |
Sunday-
Friday All
week 18:30 – 23:30 (Sunday 19:00 – 23:30) |
|
Price |
£35
a head with wine |
|
Map |
Click
here |
An amazing little place, originally
a “working class caterer’s” and now reworked into a place doing very unpretentious
British cooking. Here you can get egg
and chips, but also gravadlax with mustard sauce, or potted shrimps. Best dish is the salmon fish cake with sorrel
sauce, which is superb. The seating is
on communal wooden benches. These would
be one contender for the least comfortable restaurant seating in London, though
there are so many candidates here that it would be by no means a
certainty. One tip: “Theopole Roederer”
champagne is definitely NOT Louis Roederer, so don’t make my mistake and glance
too quickly at the name! Friendly
service and fair prices. Last visited
March 2006.
|
Restaurant |
Quo Vadis |
|
Food
rating |
4/10 |
|
Address |
|
|
Phone
Number |
020
7437 9585 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Leicester
Square |
|
Open |
Lunch
Monday to Friday Dinner
Monday to Saturday 17:30 – 23:45 |
|
Price |
£50
a head with wine |
|
Web
site |
|
|
Map |
Click
here |
Another successful Marco Pierre
White venue, originally involving Damien Hirst.
Now, however, the art on the walls is Marco’s own rather than the
Damien’s, which shows nothing if not self-confidence from the owner. The dining room is split into several
sections, and although low-ceilinged, the lovely old building with its stained
glass windows still exudes style, though the room is rather dark. Chef Phil Cooper’s kitchen never stretches
itself beyond its capabilities, a rare and admirable trait in a restaurant –
the menu is long and appealing. Here are
notes from one of my meals there.
Risotto Milanese (with saffron) was excellent, not a creamy mush as so
often seems to happen these days, but a dish in which the arborio rice is soft
but retains its integrity - the saffron flavour was rich but was kept nicely in
check (5/10). Main course was a pricey
spit-roasted Bresse pigeon, cooked pink and full of flavour, but rather let down
by a somewhat watery jus which badly needed additional reduction, though an
accompanying pair of little ravioli of wild mushrooms were excellent, and a
medley of vegetables were cooked well enough (5/10). Dessert was best of all, a stunning lemon
tart in which the pastry was delicate the filling a perfect balance of
sweetness and acidity, so easy to say but so difficult to achieve (7/10
easily).
Coffee was fairly generous double
espresso of good quality (5/10). The
wine list is very fine, scouring the world for top notch producers, though
prices are not generous - pretty standard three times retail throughout. JJ Prum Kabinett is a relative bargain, while
there are plenty of wines by the glass, and a strong suit of dessert wines e.g.
Bonny Doon Muscat by the glass. Service
was very good throughout, with attention easily obtained, water and wine topped
up without prompting, and a generally formal but efficient air. The cooking now has lost the edge it had on
opening, but is still reliable, and I recently sat on the next table to Marco
himself eating there, which at least shows that he takes an interest in his own
restaurants. Last visited May 2001.
|
Restaurant |
Radha Krishna Bhavan |
|
Food
rating |
1/10 |
|
Address |
86
Tooting High Road, London SW17 0RN |
|
Phone
Number |
(020) 8682 0969 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Tooting |
|
Open |
All
week 18:00-22:45, Sunday lunch 12:00-14:30
|
|
Price |
£28
a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
This establishment (previously
called the Sree Krishna) is an old faithful, having been serving capable
Keralan food for over twenty years. The room is fairly small, but with photos
of palm-fringed beach scenes blown up and paste on the walls in the form of
murals. It is best to stick to the South
Indian specialities here: for example the utthapam (a sort of Indian pizza) is
excellent, as is the Mysore bhonda (lentil balls) and dosas. There is also a
wide selection of curry house fare, of which methi chicken is capable but the
fish dishes have proved disappointing.
Vegetable dishes veer between very good and poor, though the paratha
bread is excellent. I last visited in
December 2003.
|
Restaurant |
Rasa |
|
Food
rating |
3/10 |
|
Address |
55
Stoke Newington Church Street, N16 0AR |
|
Phone
Number |
0207
249 0344 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
None
near |
|
Open |
All
week 18:00-22:45, Sunday lunch 12:00-14:30
|
|
Price |
£25
a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
The excellent Rasa reproduces the
cooking of Kerala. The dining room is
very simple, and service relaxed and friendly.
Nibble on the unusual popadom selection while perusing the vegetarian
menu. An example is Mysore Bonda,, three balls of vegetables encased in a chickpea flour
batter and fried to a golden brown: crisp but not overdone. As you bite through the batter you encounter
the predominantly potato filling, enlivened by coriander, black mustard seeds,
ginger and curry leaves. As well as good
dhosas (rice pancakes) the vegetable main courses are handled well e.g. a tarka
dhal with lentils retaining their texture, laced with spices and topped with
fresh coriander. The central London Dering Street
branch (0207 629 1346) offers identical food but at about twice the price,
though admittedly in smarter surroundings.
A new variant is Rasa Samudra
(5 Charlotte Street, 0207 7637 0222) that, in addition to the usual vegetarian
dishes of the other branches, also offers a selection of seafood. This is actually the best of the Rasa
group. Rasa Samudra features a stunning
okra dish and also excellent appam pancakes.
The latest in the chain is Rasa Maricham, in the unlikely setting of
the Kings Cross Holiday Inn. This does a
few meat dishes as well as the regular ones, but on my experiences in March and
June2006, stick to the excellent vegetarian and seafood dishes e.g. the
signature mysore bonda
The best cooking of the chain is to
be found at Rasa Samudra.
Last visited Rasa Sumudra: November
2006
Last visited Rasa Maricham:
September 2006
|
Restaurant |
Real Greek |
|
Food
rating |
1/10 |
|
Address |
15
Hoxton Market, London N1 6HG |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7739 8212 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Old
Street |
|
Open |
Monday
to Saturday 12:00 – 15:00, 17:30 – 22:30
|
|
Price |
£35
a head with drinks |
|
Web
site |
|
|
Map |
Click
here |
This desperately up and coming area,
where the pop stars mingle with the seedy end of the rag-trade, is terribly
self-conscious and now has a restaurant to match. From the wooden floor to the open kitchen and
the casually dressed staff, this exudes edgy trendiness. The menu is written in both Greek and
English, but oddly I could see one vaguely Greek-looking person in the
kitchen. No standard fare here: “marrow,
feta and basil filo pie from Epirus, served with tomato and grape salad” or
perhaps “poached meat dumplings and seared calf’s kidneys in an avgolemono
sauce served with pan-fried chickpea kiofte”.
We tried a grilled loin of tuna with a reasonable lentil salad and a
rather dull olive pate. However my roast
loin of pork was so chewy that my knife was unable to cut through it. Other than this the cooking delivered an
acceptable meal, but this is quite ordinary food once you get beyond the exotic
combinations. The wine list has entirely
Greek wines, of which there are some promising examples these days. Service was friendly and good. It even has a web site – www.therealgreek.com - but overall this
seems more style than content. If you
decide to go there then visit the web site for directions – it is tucked away
down some very unlikely streets. Last
visited September 2001.
|
Restaurant |
Red Pepper |
|
Food
rating |
3/10 |
|
Address |
8
Formosa Street, London W9 1EE |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7266 2708 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Warwick
Avenue |
|
Open |
Lunch
Saturday and Sunday only 12:30 - Dinner
all week 18:30 – 22:45 |
|
Price |
£25
a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
It is a bit like an episode of “Land of the
Giants”: you are seated at a tiny table, and are brought the smallest
breadbasket in the world, which nonetheless does a good job of filling the table. The table spacing is, how can one put this:
“snug”. I am surprised they don’t employ
one of those people you see on the Tokyo subway system to push people in to the
carriages. The wine list is simple, and
at least the bottles are full size, almost all Italian. At a recent meal, a soup of borlotti beans
was the least good dish, edible but rather lacking in flavour, decorated with a
few clams, which did not really go as a flavour with the beans (1/10). For a starter I had papardelle of quail and
peas; the pasta had excellent texture, and although the quail had a few chewy
bits the peas were good (4/10). Pizza
rossi and a mushroom pizza were both superb, with excellent base and fine
toppings – as good as any pizza in London (4/10). Coffee was good (4/10). Service was friendly. The prices are very fair here, the only gripe
being that they add on 12.5% and then leave the credit card slip open. You have to give credit to the eminently fair
prices, which are barely more than a pizza chain. Last visited November 2003.
|
Restaurant |
Roka |
|
Food
rating |
5/10 |
|
Address |
37
Charlotte Street, London W1T 1RR |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7580 6464 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Goodge
Street |
|
Open |
Lunch
Monday - Saturday 12:00 - Dinner
all week 17:30 – 23:00 |
|
Price |
£60
a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
A
trendy sister restaurant to Zuma, oozing style.
Tuna sashimi was stunningly good, of the highest quality (easily
5/10). Sushi of soft shell crab was
excellent (4/10). Salomon teriyaki was
of somewhat similar style to the Nobu blackened cod, with a rich teriyaki sauce
(5/10). Prawns in their shell were
pleasant though not in the same league (3/10) while tempura of vegetables was
rather ordinary (2/10). New tonight for
me was quail, served on and off the bone, which was very tender (4/10). Service from an Australian waitress was
excellent. Clearly a place that is the
height of fashion, judging by the profusion of pretty girls dressed in
black. Last visited April 2005.
|
Restaurant |
Roussillon |
|
Food
rating |
6/10 |
|
Address |
16
St Barnabas Street, Pimlico, London SW1W 8PB |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7730 5550 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Sloane
Square, then a fair walk |
|
Open |
Lunch
Sunday to Friday 12:00 - Dinner
all week 18:30 – 23:00 |
|
Price |
£65
a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
Situated near the river in a quiet part of
Pimlico, this has already attracted one Michelin star. Here are notes from a meal there. We started with Mrs Beeton’s Prince of Wales
soup, a simple veal consommé that had excellent rich taste (6/10). Next was a single raviolo of cepes and bone
marrow, topped with grated Cheshire cheese and resting in a pool of beef
jus. The pasta had good texture and the
cepes were fine (4/10). The best dish
was caramelised Dublin Bay prawns, with lovely delicate taste, served with an
unusual fondant artichoke and a limited smear of good crustacean sauce
(7/10). Pan fried fillet of Highland
venison was very tender indeed (supposedly this was wild venison, “hung for 18
days”) served with caramelised pumpkin, a Connice pear with a smooth celeriac
and truffle puree (7/10). A small
selection of French cheese in decent condition followed (5/10) and then a good
crunchy chocolate and praline concoction, with high quality chocolate (5/10). Service was friendly and the bread was
excellent – especially some lovely little walnut rolls with excellent texture
and taste (7/10 bread).
On our last visit we went for a tasting menu,
which also worked out well. Amuse
guele had delicate savoury beignets served with a mustard sauce, a little
sliver of foie gras ballotine and a skewer of lobster with fresh ginger
(7/10). Breads were very capable,
especially excellent walnut bread (7/10).
Lobster soup had good taste and fair intensity (6/10). A little risotto of white summer truffle had
good rice and stock (6/10). A little cut
of grilled wild sea bass had excellent flavour, served with a few baby girolles, an unnecessary piece
of lettuce, a little pancetta and a good chicken jus (6/10). Roasted tornedos of beef featured Donald Russel
Angus beef cooked well, served with a few assorted vegetables e.g. caramelised onions, a little
piece of turned turnip and a pleasant meat reduction, along with a single thick
chip cooked in duck fat (6/10). Cheese
was on a board and was in good condition: St Maure was not too chalky,
Camembert was runny, Munster a fraction under ripe and a French blue cheese in
good condition (7/10). A warm vanilla
millefeuille was very creamy, served with a caramel veloute (5/10). The only flaw of the evening was a shortbread
biscuit that was rather soggy, on which was served a few tasteless apricots,
along with a decent marscapone sorbet and a dreadful tuile that could literally
be folded like paper (0/10). Apart from
this aberration, I felt that the meal was a straight 6/10. Service was impeccable, with excellent
topping up, the sommelier extremely knowledgeable (he used to work with John
Burton Race at Ortolan and Landmark) and a capable waitress. Last visited September 2004.
Top ten favourite
No need to go to
From the vast evening menu, my
favourites are the baby bak choi (if only most top French restaurants could
cook vegetables this well), gai lan, the
The branch in
Last visited November
2006.
Top ten favourite
Hermant Desai has been running this
vegetarian cafe in the unpromising location of Willesden (where even the
Alsatians go around in pairs) for over a decade. It has very basic café decor, but the
extensive Gujerati menu is the best rendition of vegetarian Indian food in
The Sabras looks better since its
refurbishment – they even have tablecloths now (though these are the cheap and
nasty washable kind). We always start
with deluxe sev puris: little crisp puris filled with spiced potatoes, spiced
yoghurt and hot and sour chutneys topped with sev and garnished with fresh
coconut, coriander and lemon juice. This
is a wonderful flavour combination, mixing crunchy outside with a tangy liquid
centre (5/10). For main course I tried
panch-kuti dal, made from five varieties of lentils (blackeye, moong beans,
masoor, chickpeas and pigeon peas) cooked with garlic, herbs and fresh
spices. This is not the watery soup that
so often passes for dal in Indian restaurants – here the pulses retain their
texture and have excellent flavour (4/10).
Sakkariya features tender slices of sweet potato, sow cooked and lightly
coated with fresh spices that are held in check so they nicely complement the
flavour of the sweet potato (4/10).
Mutter paneer is the classic dish of home made cottage cheese cubes
fried with petit pois and spices in a mild gravy; an excellent rendition with non-chewy
cottage cheese, good quality peas and fresh spicing (4/10). Rice is cooked with onions and potatoes
(Masala Bhat) and has very godo texture (4/10).
Chapatis are cooked fresh to order and were also excellent (4/10). Last visited August 2006.
|
Restaurant |
Salt Yard |
|
Food
rating |
4/10 |
|
Address |
|
|
Phone
Number |
020 7637 0657 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Goodge Street |
|
Open |
Weekdays only |
|
Price |
£45 a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click here |
Upstairs is mainly a bar,
with the main dining room downstairs.
This is a tapas restaurant with an Australian chef and an English owner,
which doesn’t sound promising. The
premises are quite cramped and completely full this evening. Acorn-fed Iberico ham from Jabugo (the finest
Spanish ham) was superb, sweet and with lovely texture (6/10). Chorizo was so much better than the usual
tapas, where it is often hard. Here it
was cooked in Asturian cider and was tender yet still with retaining its spicy
nature (4/10). Tortilla i.e. Spanish
omelette has good texture (3/10) while tiger prawns char-grilled with chilli
and rosemary were served in their shells and on a skewer of rosemary
(4/10). Tuna carpaccio with baby broad
beans and salsa verde beans had good quality tuna, tender beans and a pleasant
though not dazzling salsa (4/10). Piquillo
peppers were filled with salt cod and had a pleasingly robust tapenade as garnish
(5/10). Braised artichokes with borlotti beans were served warm, cooked with
winter greens and truffle salsa (3/10).
This is comfortably the best tapas in London. Service was brisk and efficient. Coffee was pleasant if very small in
volume. The wine list is rather weak
though there are plenty of cheap choices; I would have expected better Spanish
wines than this. Still, overall, who
could complain? Last visited November
2005.
|
Restaurant |
Sakana Tei |
|
Food
rating |
3/10 |
|
Address |
11 Maddox Street, London W1S
2QF |
|
Phone
Number |
020 7629 3000 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Piccadilly Circus |
|
Open |
check |
|
Price |
£70 a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click here |
When I asked Richard Hosking
(perhaps the leading authority on Japanese food in the UK) where his favourite
Japanese restaurant was, I expected him to say Umu, which I knew he was
impressed with. In fact he said Sakana
Tei, which I had never heard of. This
place caters to Japanese; there is no Zuma-like fusion or compromise here.
Indeed even getting a booking can apparently be tricky if you are not Japanese,
and indeed we saw no other western diners this evening. Fortunately we took Richard, who chatted away
in Japanese to the waitress. It is a
modest place, with an upstairs sushi bar and a single table (where we were
seated) and a downstairs dining room with wooden screens discreetly separating
the tables. This is not grand tea
ceremony cooking, but essentially a very good sushi bar. Service is friendly but informal. We started with a sort of amuse bouche that I
guess could best be described as a sandwich filler served in a little bowl:
tuna, onion and sweetcorn, made from the less good parts of a large tuna they
had in that day; the tastes worked well together (4/10). Next was sashimi of
blue fin tuna (the best kind) which was indeed of very high quality
(6/10). Next was a soup bowl in which
was picked salmon, octopus, mackerel and a rare Japanese shellfish, served cold
with lettuce and seaweed in a vinegary dressing. Again these fish were extremely fresh, with
the seaweed having lovely taste (4/10).
Next was a trio of dishes served on an oblong dish: lotus root had great
depth of flavour, while “devils tongue” was a cube of the root of a
Japanese plant called devil’s tongue, which had a pleasing, peppery taste and a
jelly-like texture. Between these were two slices of cold pork interleaved with
prawn (4/10). Tofu was stuffed with an
excellent prawn and served in a bowl with a simple consommé (3/10). The only
let down was the main course. Salmon
teriyaki was fine (2/10) and tempura was fairly delicate (3/10) but my beef
teriyaki was badly overcooked (0/10).
This was an odd slip, but perhaps they really deal in fish. We finished with excellent orange slices
served in a hollowed-out orange. Last
visited November 2005.
|
Restaurant |
Sam’s Brasserie & Bar |
|
Food
rating |
2/10 |
|
Address |
11 Barley Mow Passage, London W4 4PH |
|
Phone
Number |
020 8987 0555 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Chiswick Park |
|
Open |
All week 12:00 – 14:30,
19:00 – 22:30 |
|
Price |
£45 a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click here |
A new venture partly backed
by Rick Stein, in large premises in an unpromising alley n Chiswick next to the
post office. The chef is ex Kensington
place, and I noticed Rowleigh Leigh and Simon Hopkinson dining this evening. The starter I had was the best dish:
excellent tagliatelle with light texture and a hint of buttery smoothness
cooked with girolles (4/10). Stella had
an artichoke, which it is perhaps hard to do much with, though t was nicely
presented and the heart had a coating of lemon and herbs (1/10). Mt roast chicken was correctly cooked, served
with crunchy green beans and a rather insipid gravy (2/10). Stella’s sea bass was well timed, again
simply cooked with more green beans and a few small saffron potatoes that
tasted of saffron (2/10). A side portion of thin chips was good. The bread was announced by the inexperienced
waiter as “home made” but when I checked this was not true, and it is merely OK
(2/10). Desserts did not work so
well. Raspberry millefeuille was changed
to peach millefeuille, but the pastry was clearly very hard and even black in
places, though the peach slices were cooked OK (0/10). My vanilla and chocolate ice cream also had
to be changed to mango sorbet, peach sorbet and hazelnut ice cream, the latter
arriving as coffee ice cream. These had
fair taste but rather weak texture, with too many ice crystals (1/10). Service was friendly but weak e.g. no wine arriving
when the starter arrived. Early days for
the place, but despite the dessert problems this seems overall a promising
venture. Last visited January 2006.
|
Restaurant |
Salisbury Tavern |
|
Food
rating |
4/10 |
|
Address |
21
Sherbrooke Road, Fulham, London SW6 2HX |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7381 4005 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Fulham
Broadway |
|
Open |
All
week 12:00 – 14:30, 19:00 – 22:30 |
|
Price |
£40
a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
Half of this place is a conventional pub, the other half dedicated to
food. The atmosphere is casual, with
lots of trendy twenty something Fulhamites smoking and being generally
fashionable, sweety darling. Here are
notes from a recent meal. Service was
from a friendly, reasonably efficient and very posh-sounding waitress. My taglialini had excellent texture, the
pasta having absorbed some taste of fresh herbs as it was cooked; this was
served with competent mussels and generally non-chewy prawns (5/10). Stella’s starter was much less good, a tarte
tatin of onion and goats cheese that had moved beyond caramel to just black on
one side, the goats cheese flavour not surviving the process well, and the
onion needing something more to rescue it (at best 2/10). We both had excellent
salmon fish cakes for main course, the fishcake firm and moist, served on a bed
of fairly tender spinach and a simple cream and chive sauce (4/10).
For pudding I ordered the summer pudding, to be told “ah it is just
setting – it needs several days to set you know” - really? Perhaps a course in basic catering might come
in handy here. Stella had some competent
chocolate and toffee ice creams served in biscuit tuiles (3/10). Coffee was very good (5/10). Overall a very pleasant experience that is
fair value. We had a Meerlust wine from
the list, which is a single page of wines printed on the back of the menu. There are lots of New World wines combined
with a smattering of French, supplied by Berry Brothers. As well as the usual Australian Chardonnays
there are a few up-market offerings e.g. a half bottle of Chateau d’Yquem (very
fairly priced) while there is just a Muscat Beaumes de Venise by the glass for
dessert. Bread is either a slice of
brown or rye, and was very pleasant, though it could have done with a touch
more salt. The tatin apart, a very
enjoyable meal. Last visited July 2001.
|
Restaurant |
Sappho |
|
Food
rating |
1/10 |
|
Address |
9
Clapham High Street, London SW4 7TS |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7498 9009 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Clapham
South |
|
Open |
Check
for opening times |
|
Price |
£15
with wine |
|
Map |
Click
here |
A very interesting, unassuming place introduced to me by Ari Sofianos, a
Greek food expert. This is barely a
restaurant, more a café, serving a no-choice meze menu. A couple of oddities: the meze, which has 25
little dishes, costs £7.50 (we had a lot of wine, which is why the meal was
more costly than it could have been) and seems to feature very authentic Greek
cooking. I confess to not being an
expert in this cuisine, and indeed it is not a favourite of mine, but there
were some definite touches of class here.
Yoghurt with honey as dessert featured home made (delicious)
yoghurt. Main courses included tenderly
cooked chicken, lamb cooked with a very light touch and pleasant moussaka. There is no pitta bread here, just plain
white bread (pitta bread is a Cypriot thing - not a true Greek dish) and dishes
are simple e.g. meat has no sauces, yet the salads were very fresh and some
dishes unusual - a broad bean dip starter was excellent. Many dishes were just ordinary e.g. a
nondescript taramasalata, and an OK hummus, but this is clearly a league up
from normal Greek restaurants in London.
It is certainly more than fairly priced.
Last visited August 2001.
|
Restaurant |
Sarkhels |
|
Food
rating |
3/10 |
|
Address |
199
Replingham Road, London SW18 5LY |
|
Phone
Number |
020
8870 1483 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Southfields |
|
Open |
Lunch
Friday to Sunday Dinner
Tuesday to Sunday 18:00-22:30 |
|
Price |
£30
a head with drinks |
|
Web
site |
|
|
Map |
Click
here |
Already expanded substantially from
its original premises, Sarkhel’s offers that rare thing, genuine Indian cuisine
– not a korma or balti in sight. Instead
try delicious snacks like ragara pattice, a mashed potato cake enlivened with
fresh spices, served with a chickpea curry that had very good texture, along
with three contrasting chutneys – tomato, mint and tamarind. Classics like Tandoori prawns are cooked very
well here. Breads can be excellent if
freshly made. Even the coffee here is
drinkable, almost unheard of in an Indian restaurant. The chef Udit Sarkhel used to cook in the
glory days of the Bombay Brasserie, which ironically has long since lost the
ability to produce food of this standard.
Last visited April 2006.
|
Restaurant |
Singapore Garden |
|
Food
rating |
1/10 |
|
Address |
83
Fairfax Road, Kilburn, London NW6 4DY |
|
Phone
Number |
020
8328 5314 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Swiss
Cottage |
|
Open |
All
week 12:00-14:45, 18:00-22:45 |
|
Price |
£30
a head with drinks. |
|
Map |
Click
here |
The
Singapore Garden has been a long-reliable fixture in this unpromising part of
London. It is a simple neighbourhood
restaurant, but the cooking is better than you might expect. Fish is handled well, and the menu has a
seasonally changing element to reflect ingredients. Vegetables are treated with a suitably light
touch. There is even a good wine
list. Last visited July 2000.
|
Restaurant |
Sonny’s |
|
Food
rating |
5/10 |
|
Address |
94 Church Road, Barnes, London SW13 0DQ |
|
Phone
Number |
020 8748 0393 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Hammersmith,
but none near |
|
Open |
All
week 12:00-15:00, 18:00-midnight (23:00 Tuesday to Sunday) |
|
Price |
£65
a head, with wine |
|
Map |
Click
here |
Sonnys chefs have the lonevityof mayflies, but after Helena Pudokka (ex head chef at Tante Claire) left things went downhill. New chef Ed Parkin (ex Galvins) has raised the game. The bread here has always been good, in this case a choice of olive bread, walnut and raisin and ciabatta (6/10). There are no fripperies here like amuse guele or petit fours. Tonight I started with saffron risotto with ricotta and gremolata (a mix of capers, olives, lemon zest and parsley). The rice had soft texture and had absorbed the stock, which in itself lacked depth of flavour but was saved by the strong flavours of the saffron and the gremolata (5/10). Salad of endive, Roquefort and walnut was an interesting blend of components but the leaves needed a dressing (4/10). Pork belly was served as two slabs, nicely crispy on top, served with a cassoulet of Tarbais beans but the stock strangely lacked any real depth of flavour (5/10). Better was poached halibut, nicely cooked with a creamy celeriac puree, trompette mushrooms and a red wine sauce thickened with butter (6/10). A side order of chips were extremely good, thin, crisp and pretty much exactly what you would hope for from a bowl of chips, which is something that rarely happens (7/10). Chocolate marquise was simple but had honest chocolate taste, served with a passion fruit sorbet that I requested instead of the crème fraiche sorbet advertised (5/10). Pain perdu (“forgotten bread” but essentially French toast) had good texture, served with a well made vanilla ice cream with a rich dark chocolate sauce (4/10). Coffee was pleasant (5/10). Overall a return to form for Sonnys. The waitress we had was fairly grumpy, but dishes were served correctly and at quite a pace, though there was no table turning The wine list is on two pages and does better on reds than whites, with Bonny Doon Big House red and Guigal Cotes du Rhone as pleasing mid-range choices,.
Last visited October 2006.
|
Restaurant |
Spiga |
|
Food
rating |
2/10 |
|
Address |
84-86
Wardour Street, London W1F 0TG |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7734 3444 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Leicester
Square |
|
Open |
All
week 12:00-15:00, 18:00-midnight (23:00 Tuesday to Sunday) |
|
Price |
£30
a head, with wine |
|
Map |
Click
here |
This is
a simpler sibling to Zafferano’s. Here
are superb Italian pizzas from a genuine wood-fired pizza oven, with a very
light, thin base and excellent ingredients.
The pasta dishes are also extremely good here – the menu varies so it is
not easy to single out a particular dish.
As with its parent restaurant, salads benefit from very fresh leaves and
ingredients. Service is not as slick as
at Zafferano but is pleasant enough, and the atmosphere is very lively. Last visited February 2004.
|
Restaurant |
The Square |
|
Food
rating |
8/10 |
|
Address |
6-10
Bruton Street, London W1X 7AG |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7495 7100 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Green
Park |
|
Open |
Monday-Friday
12:00–14:45, all week 18:30-22:45 |
|
Price |
£85
a head with modest wine |
|
Map |
Click
here |
Philip Howard is undoubtedly one of
the most talented chefs in London. The
menu is very appealing, the execution superb – for example a faultless lasagne
of crab, very delicate pasta containing perfectly cooked crab meat, the pasta
resting in a remarkably intense langoustine sauce. Another dish that impressed was veloute of
truffles, little pasta funnels suffused with truffle flavour and accompanied by
a two of pieces of remarkably tender chicken, along with a few wild
mushrooms. For a main course try Bresse
pigeon cooked pink with Savoy cabbage, itself stuffed with pigeon meat, in a
reduction of the cooking juices with some diced vegetables with a little bacon
mixed in. The wine list is pricey but
has good growers e.g. try the lovely Novembre dessert wine. The giant sucking sound that you hear from
your wallet as you enter is amplified when you realise that the dessert wine is
served, not in a normal wine glass, but a 75 cl glass i.e. about a half
glass. The prices, however, are very
much on the basis of one third of a half bottle, and the wine prices here are
not exactly charitable to begin with.
This is sheer, unadulterated greed, and they were completely
unapologetic when challenged about it.
Now I just avoid drinking dessert wine here, so it is their loss. The dining room is very attractive, and the
only problem here is the service, which while usually polished suffers from an
attitude that would make a New Yorker blush.
They don’t discriminate though – Johnny Depp was ignored for as long as
I was on one visit. Another service
experience was when our petit fours arrived on one occasion – each had been
slightly nibbled (presumably someone had just wanted to taste each one, and the
waiters hadn’t noticed and just replaced the tray for the next diner). When we pointed out this the tray was taken
away with much bad grace, and when we later mentioned this to the maitre d’ he
said “oh, we thought you were joking”.
Last visited August 2006.
|
Restaurant |
Sumosan |
|
Food
rating |
3/10 |
|
Address |
26
Albemarle Street, London W1S 4HY |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7495 5999 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Green
Park |
|
Open |
Monday
to Friday 12:00–14:45 Monday
to Sunday 18:00-23:45 |
|
Price |
£80
a head, with wine |
|
Map |
Click
here |
Very smart setting with
modern décor. Rock shrimp tempura had quite
good texture but rather less so than the version at Roka (3/10). Unagi rice was fried rice with a little eel;
this worked well (4/10). Wild mushrooms
were fried with a rich soy broth, retained their texture yet absorbed the
spices nicely (5/10). A tuna sashimi was
supposedly blue-fin, but was inexcusably cold, just out of a very cold
fridge. We left this dish until the end
of the meal and it was still cold at the end, well over an hour later (1/10). Yellowtail sashimi was of good quality. Soft shell crab avoided greasiness and worked
well (4/10) but yellowtail with teriyaki sauce was rather dull (2/10). Overall I felt that this was quite good but
less good than Roka or E&O, and significantly below Zuma. Service was reasonable but there was one mix
up over an order that was handled poorly.
|
Restaurant |
Tandoor |
|
Food
rating |
2/10 |
|
Address |
232
Kinsbury Road, NW9 0BH |
|
Phone
Number |
020 8205 1450 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Optimists
could try Colindale; best by car |
|
Open |
All
week 12:00 – 23:30 |
|
Price |
£25
a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
An impressive place that opened in late 2003 in a barely converted pub. There is a still a bar on one side, the dining room on the other. However instead of serving over-priced gatropub nonsense, here you get authentic Indian food, as evidenced by the high proportion of Indians actually eating here. Popadoms are free (remember those days?) and the menu is interesting. As well as the curry regulars there is a variety of different vegetarian dishes, and a wide range for carnivores also. There is a bare wood floor, the walls painted various colours, and a few fabrics hung from the ceiling with variu Indian artifacts on the walls. Music ranges from poor Western to techno Indian (a sitar with a disco beat!). I started with a form of chicken kebab, that had more than half a dozen large pieces of chicken marinated and then wrapped in a spiced batter, then cooked in the tandoor and taken off the skewer to served. The chicken was very tender, though the batter was rather floury, and I’m not sure the chicken would not have been better without it though it did keep it moist (round up). Main courses were much better.
I
had a fine chicken biriani, served in a little casserole dish, the dish sealed
with pastry to keep in the fragrance of the rice and chicken. This is the best way to make biriani, but I have only ever seen this
method used in India. The chicken inside
was moist and tender, the rice suffused with spices, with distinct grains and
delicious (3/10). Aloo jeera had good
potatoes laced with cumin, cooked with spinach which kept its flavour well; there was a distinct
taste of ginger amongst the other spices (2/10). Channa masala had tender chick peas (2/10)
and “khumb kaju matter” consisted of mushroom and green peas in gravy made with
cashew nuts (2/10). Plain rice was
fluffy, and the breads were great: garlic naan had plenty of garlic taste and
had a pleasingly soft texture. Even
better was romali roti, the thinnest Indian bread made on a very hot steel
hemisphere, the bread folded and put on the steel for just a few seconds,
folded again and again until you have a little parcel of bread that is very
thin yet keeps its heat due to the number of folds. I have only seen this in Tamarind outside of
India, and it was well made, with good texture.
All the main course dishes featured fresh and vibrant spicing, such a
change from so many places. Hot towels
are the proper variety (no lukewarm paper imitations here). Dessert featured kulfi that they actually
make on the premises, and this was very good, the texture smooth and the ice
cream having fresh pistachios and a few fresh almonds also (3/10). Service was mostly good, though attention was
erratic. Overall this was a place to
which I will definitely return, and has really authentic cooking from a chef who
cooked for over 20 years in various Indian hotels; it has been open just over a
year in its new guise/management, and deserved to do well. One point to note – portions are vast, so if
you order normally you will have enough for a complete takeaway meal as well. One other bonus, a pint of Stella Artois is,
wait for it, £2.40. I recently paid
£5.50 for a half of Signha beer at the Foliage, and you would be hard pressed
to find Stella Artois for £2.40 in a pub in London. Last visited January 2005.
|
Restaurant |
Tatsuso |
|
Food
rating |
4/10 |
|
Address |
32
Broadgate Circle, Liverpool Street, EC2M 2QS |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7629 3561 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Liverpool
Street |
|
Open |
Sunday
to Friday All
week 18:00 – 23:30 (22:30 Sunday) |
|
Price |
£80
a head with beer or (modest) sake |
|
Map |
Click
here |
This has a reputation for being fearsomely
expensive, a feeling reinforced when booking: not “which name?” but “which
company is the reservation for?” However
the reality is not quite that bad. There
are half a dozen set menus at the Teppanyaki counter, each of several courses
and ranging from £43 to £80, but five are in the £43 – £63 range, hardly a
bargain but not too steep by these days’ standards. The wine list looked somewhat costly, but who
drinks wine in Japanese restaurants?
Beer or sake are de rigueur, and even with several Kirins and an extra side dish from the a la
carte menu, plus one of more costly menus and service, the bill was still only
£80 a head. You’d barely get a couple of
sardines and a glass of house white at the River Café for that price. The food itself was very good indeed – I
asked for a dish just of sashimi tuna, which did not exist on the menu (“no
problem”), that was of the very highest standard (6/10 comfortably). Everything else is cooked on the steel
teppanyaki grill, and we had excellent vegetables, scallops, prawns and beef. Rice was extremely good, as was the miso
soup. Service was courteous and
efficient. Last visited May 2001.
|
Restaurant |
Thai Bistro |
|
Food
rating |
1/10 |
|
Address |
99
Chiswick High Road, London W4 2ED |
|
Phone
Number |
020
8995 5774 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Turnham
Green |
|
Open |
All
week 19:00-22:30 |
|
Price |
£25
a head with drinks. |
|
Map |
Click
here |
A reliable neighbourhood
restaurant. There is communal bench
seating, so this is not the place for a romantic dinner, but the cooking is a cut
above the norm. The menu goes beyond the
Thai classics to various regional dishes, and there is a complete vegetarian
menu. Tom yum goong features a correct
blend of spices together with tender prawns.
Red curry is normally served with pork or chicken, but if you ask they
will also do it with prawns – again, authentic spices with carefully cooked
vegetables. The kitchen is not generous
with the base ingredients in its dishes, tending to use a lot of vegetables to
fill out many of the dishes with meat or prawns, but the vegetables are fresh
and very lightly cooked. Rice is light,
pad thai noodles excellent. Service is
friendly and efficient.
Last visited Octiber 2006.
|
Restaurant |
Timo |
|
Food
Rating |
5/10 |
|
Address |
343
Kensington High Street, London W8 6NW |
|
Phone
Number |
0207
603 3888 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Olympia,
or for a useful tube station: Kensington High street plus a 15 minute walk. |
|
Open |
All
week |
|
Price |
£60
a head with drinks (£19 for 3 courses) |
|
Map |
Click
here |
A long, thin dining room decorated in a pleasant modern style, with a small overflow dining area in the basement. There is a small reception area at the front, a bar but no seating area in order to maximise tables. Waiters are formally dressed and seem very well drilled by the A-Z Restaurant team: wine was meticulously topped up, a napkin that slipped to the floor replaced without prompting (service 6/10). Nibbles were a pair of vol au vents with a filling of red pepper and salmon mousse: delicate pastry, pleasantly flavoured of simplistic filling (5/10). The formula is familiar from Zafferanos, with starters, pasta, main courses and desserts, the charge being based on how many courses you take – here £19.50 gets you three courses, so with no hidden charges for vegetables (though a few too many dishes with supplements) the food itself is barely more (and in some cases less) than many gastro-pubs these days.
I
asked for a green salad with tomato (not on the menu) and received a lovely
pile of very fresh leaves with a well-balanced dressing, though if one was to
quibble, the tomatoes were modest (5/10, more without the tomatoes). Stella’s gnocchi with artichokes and mature
ricotta cheese was also very good, taking the potentially dull gnocchi and
delivering a dish with good texture and well balanced filling (5/10). For the next course I had tagliatelle with
black truffle, a simple dish of pasta with just parmesan, supposedly some
rosemary, and grated truffle for
flavour. The pasta had good
texture though not quite as silky perfect as at Zafferano’s, but the flaw was
that the rosemary was almost non-existent, and the dish needed that flavour for balance (still
just about 4/10 though). I had risotto
for main course, the texture retaining quite a bit of liquid but the rice
having absorbed the stock well (they make it the old-fashioned way here, with a
20 minute prep time). This was capably
made (4/10). Stella’s monkfish was
served as small slices of fish in a circle on a central bed of peppers,
spinach, capers, cherry tomatoes and a little oregano? We did not have dessert, but had good coffee
(5/10). The bill was a little higher
than I had expected: I did have a pre-dinner drink, while the wine list has no
concession relative to central London e.g. Jermann Vintage Tunina is still
£51. Also, the little supplements (three
out of eight main courses, plus the special, had supplements of up to £5
attached) add up, water is a bit pricey, and quickly you end up with £75 a head
including service, even though the base food cost is just £19 each. The dining room lacks charm, and the service
is polished rather than charming, but it is still hard to find serious fault –
ingredients are top notch and kitchen technique was generally very good.
|
Restaurant |
Toffs |
|
Food
Rating |
1/10 |
|
Address |
38
Muswell Hill Broadway, London N10 3RT |
|
Phone
Number |
0208
883 8656 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
None
near |
|
Open |
All
week |
|
Price |
£15
a head |
|
Map |
Click
here |
This is a straight
chippie, nothing fancy, but just go in and order the haddock and chips. The chips could be improved upon but the
haddock cannot. It is freshly prepared
and with superb batter (sadly not as good on my most recent visit). The tartar sauce is home made, and even the
pickled cucumbers are excellent. There
is a friendly and casual atmosphere.
This won an award for best fish and chip shop in the UK some years ago,
and if you try this you will see why. It
has to be said that on my most recent visit the fish batter was less good than
I recall, though the haddock itself was still excellent. Last visited February 2004.
|
Restaurant |
Tom’s Kitchen |
|
Food
Rating |
6/10 |
|
Address |
|
|
Phone
Number |
020
7349 0202 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
|
|
Open |
All
week |
|
Price |
£60
a head |
|
Map |
Click
here |
Actually finding this place turns out to be
non-trivial. The street is tucked away
in a one-way system of labyrinthine proportions if you come by car. Moreover the restaurant’s phone number is
not, as of my visit in November 2006, listed in any of the mainstream directory
inquiries numbers. When you find it, is has a narrow frontage in a quiet
street. The dining room has numerous
bowl-shaped lamps which cast a rather poor light; there are no directed ceiling
spot lights. This combined with the
small font of the wine list make reading a challenge. The tables are plain wood and there are a few
pictures of rustic food scenes (e.g. a butcher with a pig’s head) on the walls
of the high-ceilinged room. The
atmosphere certainly feels like a bistro and was very buzzy this evening – two
weeks in and they were turning tables.
The wine list has about 40 or so bins and covers
Breads, both rye and sourdough, are both served as
slices and are very good indeed. These
are actually made on the premises (the same chef who prepares the bread for the
main Tom Aiken restaurant). Breads had
excellent texture and taste, and well-balanced seasoning (7/10). Goujons of sole were really top drawer, four
goujons with light, crispy batter and delicious fish filling, offered with
excellent home-made tartare sauce (7/10). Celeriac remoulade was well made, the
celeriac julienne into fine shreds and served with a mayonnaise to add a little
moisture; this was served with a single piece of toasted sourdough bread
(5/10). A classic beefburger featured
high quality meat, cooked medium and served on a nicely toasted bun. The other half of the bun was topped with
fresh tomato, pickled cucumber, onion rings and lettuce (6/10). The chips served with this were very good
indeed, quite large and managing to be crispy on the outside but carefully
cooked through n the inside, with decent seasoning (7/10 chips). Sea bass was baked through well amd topped
with a tangy red pepper relish (5/10).
Lemon tart was pleasant but
rather flawed in that the pastry base was slightly overcooked and a little
hard, while the filling was a fraction too sour (4/10). Coffee was a bit of a let-down, being a
little bitter (2/10). Service was
friendly if a little chaotic at times.
Waiters do not know who at the table ordered which dish, which seems a
bit too basic even for a bistro, while getting attention can be
problematic. At one point I wanted to
remind them about some mustard for my burger, which had not turned up. I counted at one point seven staff crowded
around the reception area, all talking to each other and looking anywhere but
at the dining room. I was three metres
away and literally waved my arms about like a demented football supported for
some time and no-one noticed (eventually I waylaid someone else delivering a
dish to a nearby table). The general
manager, who has been working in
Last visited
November 2006.
Top ten favourite
The most exciting new opening in London of 2001, La Trompette is an
off-shoot of the Square; while going for a simpler style of cooking, in its own
way the place is just as successful.
Here are notes from a recent meal.
The wood block floor and leather banquette seating contribute to a slightly
formal, even clubby atmosphere, with a brown theme throughout in this
low-ceilinged dining room. The menu is
refreshingly simple and free of manic experimental flavour combinations or
overly flashy effects. The wine list is
a corker, one of the best I have seen in ages.
Instead of the usual endless lists of unaffordable clarets, the 24 pages
of wine list span the world intelligently, taking in good value (an Argentinean
Pinot Gris for £13.50) through to careful selection (JJ Prum Wehlener Sonnenhur
Spatlese 1993 for £35) through to a nice half bottle selection e.g. Chateau
Musar 1994 at £16.50 (I saw the identical wine listed at £49 in one central
London restaurant recently). The dessert
wine list is a joy to behold, with almost all wines available by the
glass. Again they have avoided lists of
pricey Sauternes in favour of gems like the Will Opitz One at £55 and De
Bortoli Noble One at £35 for a half.
There are three (that’s right: three) different types of Pedro Ximine
sherry by the glass. Mineral water is
Hildon. Service was relaxed and
friendly, but never missed a beat. Wine
was carefully topped up, bread offered without my having to beg, the pace of
dishes was just right. The staff appears
to be mostly French, with at least one senior waiter transplanted from the
Square.
To begin with, two types of breads are offered, slices of white with
olives, and a wholemeal with walnuts.
Both are excellent, fresh and with firm texture, just the right amount
of salt and full flavour (8/10). There
were no nibbles, so it was straight into the starter. Stella’s starter consisted of two generous
fillets of rare grilled tuna served cold, on top of which was a spoonful of
guacamole, with shredded fennel under the central slices of tuna. There was a smear of coriander sauce on
either side of the tuna, with a Parmesan tuile for decoration. The fish was of the highest quality, dark and
with excellent texture and flavour. The
fennel was remarkable; very fresh and again of high quality; in fact I cannot recall
eating better fennel. I had deep fried
sole with tartare sauce, which had sliver of very fresh sole encased in a light
batter, resting in a pool of tartare sauce bursting with a fine balance of
creamy texture with the sharpness of the capers, with just a slice of lemon and
a sprig of parsley as decoration.
Tartare sauce has become such a devalued item that it is almost a shock
to remember what it can taste like when properly made. Here the mayonnaise was superb, with enough
bite from the cornichon and the capers to offset the richness of the mayonnaise
(6/10).
I had cassoulet touluosain, a classical version of this peasant
dish. The pork belly was remarkable
tender, the other pork so tender it fell off the bone at the slightest touch,
the smoked sausage was very fine indeed, the white beans tender, the whole dish
resonating with a rustic smoky taste (7/10).
Stella had pan-fried cod with creamed potatoes and buttered
carrots. The fillet of cod was again
very fresh and perfectly timed, the mashed potatoes of the rich creamy style
made famous by Robuchon, while the carrots were delicate and full of flavour,
perfectly cooked. The mash was
surrounded by a chive beurre blanc, the fish resting on a small bed of excellent
spinach (easily 7/10 for the main courses).
In my view, it takes more skill as a chef to conjure something special
out of a few carrots and a bit of fennel than to ladle on the truffles and foie
gras, and the savoury dishes at this meal showed just what is possible.
A fairly extensive board had a mix of French and English cheeses. The French waitress was very familiar with
the contents of the board, something that often does not occur in London
restaurants. St Maure was 7/10, a goat’s
cheese I had not tried before from Provence was in lovely ripe condition
(9/10), St Nectaire (6/10), Lancashire (6/10), Mrs Bell’s Blue (8/10) and a
Stilton (7/10) were in good nick.
Overall 7/10 for the cheese board.
A crisp apple tart was in the classic style, with dessert apples and
light, delicate pastry. This was served
with a scoop of very good caramel ice cream, which had smooth, creamy texture
and well balanced flavour; there was a drizzle of caramel sauce (7/10). A Square favourite (usually as a pre-dessert)
is beignets with a dish of apricot and vanilla yoghurt. This is one of the best dishes at the Square,
and here it was reproduced perfectly.
The beignets are remarkably delicate, the yoghurt providing a fine foil
to the sugary beignets (9/10, just as it is at the Square). Both espresso and filter were of very high
quality (8/10). There were no petit
fours. Last visited August 2006.
|
Restaurant |
Two Brothers |
|
Food
rating |
2/10 |
|
Address |
297-303
Regents Park Road, London N3 1DP |
|
Phone
Number |
020
8346 0469 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Finchley
Central |
|
Open |
Tuesday-
Saturday 12:00-14:30, 17:30-22:15 |
|
Price |
£20
a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
A
combination of a take away fish and chip place and sit down restaurant. To be honest, if you stray far away form the
fish and chips you are into mediocre ground, but why bother when you can have
fish as good as this? Fresh, cooked to
order, with excellent batter and good traditional chips. The tartar sauce is home-made, and the
service is friendly. Leon and Tony Manzi
have created a pretty much ideal fish and chip establishment. Probably the best fish and chips in
London. Last visited November 2001.
|
Restaurant |
Umu |
|
Food
rating |
5/10 |
|
Address |
14-16
Bruton Place, Mayfair, London W1J 6LX |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7499 8881 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Green
Park |
|
Open |
Monday-
Saturday 12:00-14:30, 18:00-23:00 |
|
Price |
£75
a head with drinks and careful ordering |
|
Map |
Click
here |
This was rather different
from my expectations. All the press has
been about the £200 per head kaiseki menu, yet in fact in general the menu is
not excessively costly. The simplest
menu is £60, and on the a la carte main courses are in mostly the £13 – 324
range, which, let’s face it, is no more than some gastropubs. The dining room is very stylish, with large
mirrors on one wall, opposite which is a counter at which sushi chefs, by no
means all Japanese, work. Lighting is
excellent, and there are perhaps 40 or so covers. An amuse bouche of raw mushrooms and shredded
green vegetables was pleasant but unexciting (3/10). My tuna sashimi was served in three forms:
conventional tuna, flesh from the back of the tuna, and hiro, the belly tuna;
this was offered with two soy sauces.
The belly tuna was superb, while oddly the normal tuna was merely
pleasant; still, 6/10 for the tuna. “Warm
sushi” of langoustine and eel both featured good rice and pleasant, lightly
cooked ingredients, but neither langoustine nor eel were by any means the bets
I have tasted (4/10). Prawn tempura did
not have the airy, gossamer texture that I have eaten in specialist tempura
places in Tokyo, nor indeed did it compare that well with that at Sketch
(2/10).
For main course, Stella’s
salmon was pleasant but distinctly unremarkable, almost dull, and did not have
the flavour of wild salmon as far as I could tell (2/10). I tried wagyu beef, which is imported from
Japan and is £45. Unlike the dismal fake
wagyu beef that one sees these days at some places, this was the real animal, with
fatty, marbled and very tender beef, in this case light cooked rare and served
on a bed of bamboo shoots. This was very
good indeed (7/10, maybe 8/10) while rice was very pleasant. The pickled ginger offered with the sashimi
was the best I have eaten, but apart from this and the beef I found little to
get really excited about, and too much that was ordinary. Perhaps it was an issue of expectations. The wine list is excellent (and there is a
fine sake list also) with mark-ups that are not unreasonable for London; there
are several good wines by the glass also.
Service was very good. I had
expected vast prices and yet striking food, so it was odd to find ordinary
prices but mostly ordinary food to match.
Last visited May 2005.
|
Restaurant |
Wagamama |
|
Food
rating |
1/10 |
|
Address |
4
Streatham Street, Holborn, London WC1A 1JB |
|
Phone
Number |
020
7323 9220 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Tottenham
Court Road |
|
Open |
Monday-
Saturday 12:00-23:00, Sunday 12:30-22:00 |
|
Price |
£15
a head with drinks |
|
Web
site |
|
|
Map |
Click
here |
This
wildly successful noodle bar produces mainly the Chinese ramen-style noodles
that appear in little shops on every street corner in Japan. For those of you who have never seen the
wonderful movie Tampopo, go and see it, for those who have – that style of food
is what you get. The cavernous basement has
rows of communal benches, with waiters taking the orders on hand-held devices. The queues that form every lunchtime testify
to the consistency and good value that is to be found here. The noodles themselves are usually in a
generous dish of broth, but for variety there are other dishes to be had too
e.g. grilled chicken. For drinks stick
to Japanese beer such as Kirin. The
formula has proved so successful there are now several other branches, but this
is the original and best. Last visited
October 2003. There is also a Covent
Garden branch (last visited March 2006).
|
Restaurant |
Windows on the World (Galvin) |
|
Food
rating |
5/10 |
|
Address |
Hilton Hotel, 22 Park Lane
London W1K 4BE |
|
Phone
Number |
020 7208
4021 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Hyde
Park Corner |
|
Open |
All
week; see web site for times |
|
Price |
around
£90 a head with drinks |
|
Web
site |
http://www.hilton.co.uk/property/1201_Restaurant.jsp?vid=11377338&hid=11000749 |
|
Map |
Click
on map |
Chris Galvin has been
tempted away from the Baker Street bistro to relaunch the restaurant Windows on
the World, at the top of the Hilton Park Lane, with Andre Garret lured away from Orrery to be head
chef. .
Hayler’s law says that food gets worse as it gets higher (think of
airline food) and Windows on the World has historically followed that rule to
the letter. Hence I was interested to
see whether Mr Galvin could, as it were, defy gravity and produce decent food
at such heights. Mostly, it seems that
he can. The setting is spectacular on a
clear summer night such as this. From
our window table we could look into the Queen’s back garden and over at the
Battersea Power Station, observe the MI6 building and even see Crystal
Palace. The dining room is pretty much
all windows, with a brown carpet and oddly low wooden chairs to bring you down
to earth. Staff are formally dressed and
the service was generally excellent, with flawless topping up of bread, water
and wine, though there was a delay in serving the petit fours. The waiting staff were just a bit overly keen
to sell you extra wine, but otherwise the service was fine. The wine list stretches over 17 pages but is
a bit of a let down; growers are generally not the finiest, and markups are
fierce and inconsistent. A simple Torres
Gran Coronas 2010 was £34 for a wine that retails at £9.36, but a 1990 Vega
Sicilai Unico was a simply ludicrous £898 for a wine that is £108 retail if you
look carefully. This is over eight times
retail, perhaps the worst markup I can recall.
They should be ashamed of themselves.
I even asked the “sommelier” (who seemed entirely clueless) about this
and he just shrugged uncertainly, as if the wine list had nothing to do with
him.
Bread is either baguette,
white or whole grain rolls or slices of olive bread, and is of good quality
(5/10). The bread is bought in from
Marcus Miller, though the waiter initially tried to pretend that it was lovingly
made by the staff here “they come in early each morning to make it”. Actually no, they come in to take delivery of
it from a van. The menu is appealing,
with sensible ingredient combinations and fairly expensive produce e.g. wild
halibut rather than, say, offal or pollack.
A starter had a central heap of fresh Dorset crab surrounded by a ring
of good smoked salmon, itself encircled by a ring of salad leaves (5/10). Provencal tarte fine had a rectangular layer
of delicate pastry on top of which was a vegetable layer with courgettes and
tomatoes etc, and on top of this a series of slices of somewhat ordinary tuna
(5/10). A main course risotto had a rather lacklustre stock and some strangely
large and hence ordinary broad beans when surely baby broad beans would have
been the thing? The risotto involved a
few nicely cooked morel mushrooms and some rather pointless summer truffle
(which to me always tastes rather like cardboard). 4/10 overall as the
execution of the risotto was fine, but it could have been a better dish. My main course of wild halibut had excellent
fish, fresh and well timed, served with a bed of cubes root vegetables
(carrots, courgette, sweet corn etc) and spinach which then had a consommé of
risotto poured all over it. The consommé
was fine but it had the effect of making the vegetables, especially the
spinach, limp; much better to have had this on the side, o not at all. The components were all good but the dish is
a poor concept (4/10).
Dessert was a mixed affair:
panacotta was very good, surrounded by a ring of tasty cherries (6/10) but a
Valrhona chocolate palet d’or had the decorative gold leaf but sadly the
chocolate itself had been waiting too long and was very soggy; it was visibly
sagging when it was served, which an alert kitchen would have spotted; the
raspberries with it were good though (3/10).
Coffee was very good (7/10) as were freshly prepared Madeleines (one
vanilla, one pistachio) and indeed these to me were the best thing all night
(7/10). There were also a couple of good
chocolates, though at £4.75 per person for coffee and petit fours you would
hope for something good. The three
courses of food were £50 each, which is tolerable though hardly cheap (and no
petit fours) while the wine prices are uneven but, as noted earlier, high to
scandalous. After adding service they
also left the credit card slip open.
Overall a pleasant experience, but you are still paying for the view. Last visited August 2006.
|
Restaurant |
The Wolseley |
|
Food
rating |
4/10 |
|
Address |
160
Piccadilly, London W1J 9EB |
|
Phone
Number |
020 7499 6996 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Green
Park |
|
Open |
All
week |
|
Price |
around
£55 a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
The art deco dining room is impressive, with a few tables in an upstairs gallery but mostly just a very high-ceilinged space. Tables are tiny and packed tightly in. The formula is very Ivy/Sheeky i.e. comfort food, and who is to criticise? A starter of mushroom risotto featured rice that had absorbed just about the right amount of chicken stock, all very good considering that the dish was not made the traditional way (5/10). For main course I ventured a hamburger, which arrived as an impressive slab of meat on half a bun, in order to show off just how generous a hunk of cow it was. The taste fortunately matched the confident presentation, and this certainly knocks the “Gourmet Burger Kitchen” into a cocked hat. The burger was served simply with a slice of cold tomato and a few slices of gherkins, along with (at extra cost) some quite capable thin chips (4/10). Stella had “crab hash” rather like a fishcake, served with sliced and marinated slices of cucumber and a slice of cooked tomato (3/10). Dessert was mixed, with a capable lemon tart featuring good pastry and well balanced filling (5/10), but a poor apple strudel that was almost cold when served, and with string apple filling (0/10). Coffee is of good quality (6/10).
Service
was a shambles, with a bottle of water having to be asked for three times
before something similar turned up. Then
on the bill I was overcharged for two items, which is annoying given they also
introduced that horror from the past, the £2 cover charge (for nothing whatever
that I could detect unless it was the barely replaced rather dull bread
rolls). Another oddity was that they use
a bizarre “wine glass” that is essentially a water glass, with no wine glass
shape whatever, allowing the bouquet of the wine to dissipate rather than being
concentrated. I asked for a champagne
glass instead as these were the sort of wine glasses someone might serve at a
bad student party (apparently they were “specially designed” for the place, a
triumph of design over utility). Oddly
the wine list, while short, is well chosen and fairly priced e.g. Mas de Daumas
Gassac white at £38 is not at all bad, and there are plenty of choices in the
£20-£25 area. Peculiarly, they have a
few coat-racks around the place and just dump people’s coats on these, yet
there seems to be a downstairs cloakroom (perhaps this is reserved for the
truly trendy). Overall, if I ignore the
dismal service, coat neglect and wine glasses from hell, the food mostly works,
though it is no yet as assured as the Ivy.
They open all day, serving breakfast and afternoon tea as well as the
usual meals. Last visited January 2006.
|
Restaurant |
Yauatcha |
|
Food
rating |
4/10 |
|
Address |
15
Broadwick Street, London W1F 0DL |
|
Phone
Number |
020-7494
8888 |
|
Nearest
Tube |
Piccadilly
Circus or Oxford Circus |
|
Open |
All
week |
|
Price |
around
£35 a head with drinks |
|
Map |
Click
here |
The new Alan Yau venture is an all-day dim-sum affair. Upstairs is a tea bar where you can wait for your table (plenty of this going on when we visited) and presumably try an exotic Chinese tea. The action is in the basement, which is less smartly designed than Hakkasan but still manages excellent lighting through a mix of candles sited in the walls, and a little galaxy of overhead spot-lights against a sky-like background. This is presumably intended to distract you from noticing the size of the tables, which are packed in like sardines. There is bench seating along the wall, and the chairs on the opposite side of the table are chrome affairs with just one low “arm” on one side – initially I thought this was some clever design effect, but I quickly realised that they are so small that normal human beings would not fit if the second side of the chair was built up.
Fortunately
the dim sum makes up for the relative discomfort. It is every bit as good as at Hakkasan, with
superb har gau featuring very tender prawns and feather-light steamed dumpling
surrounding the prawns (5/10). Prawns
with chives were similarly excellent (4/10), as was a venison puff with
excellent light pastry (4/10). Gai lan with ginger was lightly steamed and
tasted of ginger (3/10) while char sui had a fine fluffy bun inside which was
delicious sweet meat. Singapore noodles
were of thinner texture than usual but nine the worse for that. Meat lovers can indulge in fluffy char sui
buns (4/10) and excellent salt and pepper quail (5/10). There is just one beer, but a wide range of
green and black fermented teas.
Curiously, just one jasmine tea is offered, and although it is good I
would give the nod to the one served at the Royal China. Service was friendly and fairly efficient,
and dishes swiftly appear. The bill is a
nice surprise, just £55 for two with drinks for a hearty meal. The loos are distinctly cramped though they
have rather pretty wash-basin, with water cascading down a series of
steps. Last visited September 2006.