Latest favourites and wishlist by Bernd

Zebrano - review by LondonLocal

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:33:49 +0000

Zebrano - review by LondonLocal

Rating: 4.4

Location: 14-16 Ganton Street, W1F 7BT, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7287 5267

Website: http://www.zebrano-bar-london.com/

I saw Abbey Clancy in here the other day! I work in Soho and Zebrano is probably our work's second home...it's always so chilled out in a good way. Drinks are lovely, cocktails in particular and so cheap compared to everywhere else. Food is lush and they do these cheeky sharing platters that fill the whole 'after work, drinking but hungry but don't want a whole dinner yet' hole. A little (well quite big downstairs actually) Soho gem.

Clos Maggiore - review by RagingAardvark

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 13:18:24 +0000

Clos Maggiore - review by RagingAardvark

Rating: 4.4

Location: 33 King Street, WC2E 8JD, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7379 9696

Website: http://www.closmaggiore.com/

Tags: italian, expensive, french, romantic

Maggiore's is a true find. A romantic, sophisticated restaurant serving superb quality food, attended by knowledgeable and discreet staff.

It gets very busy before the theatres open but, if you don't mind an early evening meal, they are happy to seat you on spec.

If you value your partner, then I can't think of a much better place for a romantic tete-a-tete. Why not precede with a drink at the Stafford in St James'?

Clos Maggiore - review by jlonners

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 18:55:41 +0000

Clos Maggiore - review by jlonners

Rating: 4.4

Location: 33 King Street, WC2E 8JD, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7379 9696

Website: http://www.closmaggiore.com/

We choise this reastaurant is it looked great from the outside, there were massive chandalliers hanging down with candles in them (I think its been changed slightly now) and it had a cosy yet posh apperance. Unfortunatly we got the sleazy italian waiter type who decided to prey apon two woman alone by flattering us in hope of a large tip. He even sat with us as he took the order. This really put me off and I think we asked him to leave us alone in the end. The food was good, the steak was perfect and the dessert lovely. This is quite an expensive place, add to that the pushy waiter and you might want to avoid it if your party is all female. The location of course is bang on, about 30 seconds walk from the market area of covent garden.

The Funny Side of Covent Garden - review by laurierose21

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 16:29:18 +0000

The Funny Side of Covent Garden - review by laurierose21

Rating: 4.7

Location: Downstairs at The Corner Store, WC2E 7BN, London, United Kingdom

Website: http://www.thefunnyside.info/

Tags: friendly, pop, standard pub food, traditional pub

I had my Hen night at the Funny Side, we ate upstairs at the Corner Store. It took an hour to be served our food and we had 15 minutes to eat it before the comedy show started. I had made the restaurant staff aware that we were booking both and they advised us it would be ok. We just about got to eat our main course - no time for desert. They had ran out of fish, chicken and cheese (all by 6pm) - the staff got our drinks wrong and one of my friends meals wasn't put on the order so she got given a bowl of chips.

Comedy show was brilliant - no probs with going back there. Then we went back upstairs for a few more drinks and decided to have some shots. We were left waiting at the bar for almost 15 minutes whilst they served everyone else because they couldn't find the person who knew how to do the shots!! How stupid! So we ordered a cocktail and left.

I would def go back to the comedy club, but I would never eat or drink in the Corner Store ever again. They can just about speak English too!

Clos Maggiore - review by Litro_K

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 19:39:48 +0000

Clos Maggiore - review by Litro_K

Rating: 4.4

Location: 33 King Street, WC2E 8JD, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7379 9696

Website: http://www.closmaggiore.com/

Tags: romantic, business, mediterranean, french

I had heard great things about this restaurant and had wanted to try it out for some time. Finally an occasion presented itself: my mum's birthday. I booked a table for lunch at very short notice (ie. same day) with no fuss and no quibble when we arrived slightly early.

The interior is impressive - a cosy, intimate setting with quirky, stylish design features such as walls covered with foliage and a beautiful central room at the back of the restaurant with the famed fireplace and sliding glass roof. We didn't get to sit in that part this time, but the whole restaurant is charming.

The wait staff all have different set jobs, making the service extremely efficient and letting each person's expertise shine. From the Maitre'd who greeted us warmly, through the drinks waiter, the sommelier, the person we ordered our food with and finally our desserts waiter, each interaction was poised, polite, and effortlessly amiable. We were made to feel valued and special, something which should happen more often, as we discussed afterwards. We both felt as if our birthdays had come all at once.

The food didn't let us down, either. We plumped for the 3 course set menu for Â£19.50, incredibly good value considering a 3 course a la carte meal for two with wine would have worked out at maybe Â£70-Â£90 a head, but chose a starter of pea soup from the main menu, with the waiter adjusting our bill accordingly to make the price around the same. The soup was basically a gorgeous concoction of pureed peas and cream, with a poached egg and a hint of truffle oil, plus a lovely little chorizo crouton on the side. Mains were simply made with excellent quality ingredients: I had pan-fried salmon fillet with a fennel duxelle and crispy socca, an Indian-style fried chickpea crepe, whilst my mum's corn-fed chicken breast was exquisite, served with simple buttered greens. We asked the sommelier for two wine recommendations by the glass as the wine list is dauntingly extensive (a huge 100 page tome, complete with contents page, that they place on the table with a knowing smile), but no doubt incredible. Her choices suited our dishes perfectly. Mum finished with an Ile Flottante for dessert, while I plumped for coffee and petits fours- beautiful little handmade Ã©clairs, truffles, and meringues.

I found Clos Maggiore to be a complete gem and the kind of place Iâ¬"d love to be surprised with a visit to for another special occasion. The service and general dining experience really beats most other Covent Garden venues hands-down. Worth booking in advance next time you have a cosy tÃªte-a tÃªte to attend to.

Zebrano - review by cheiropoieton

Wed, 07 May 2008 14:12:25 +0000

Zebrano - review by cheiropoieton

Rating: 4.4

Location: 14-16 Ganton Street, W1F 7BT, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7287 5267

Website: http://www.zebrano-bar-london.com/

Tags: lively, international, business, good value

Had a great time here: came after work and chilled upstairs with a few beers, and then we moved downstairs for some great cocktails that weren't overly expensive. Some of them packed quite a kick, and it's just as well that it closed at 1, or we wouldn't have made it home otherwise!! We ordered a couple of the platters to share. They weren't the most amazing thing in the world, but they were huge and not too pricey, so we were all happy with them.

Zebrano - review by ILoveSoho

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:40:18 +0000

Zebrano - review by ILoveSoho

Rating: 4.4

Location: 14-16 Ganton Street, W1F 7BT, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7287 5267

Website: http://www.zebrano-bar-london.com/

Tags: lively, good value

This place is fantastic, from the food to the drink to the staff. It is a class act all round.

Zebrano - review by QueenB

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 11:19:24 +0000

Zebrano - review by QueenB

Rating: 4.4

Location: 14-16 Ganton Street, W1F 7BT, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7287 5267

Website: http://www.zebrano-bar-london.com/

Tags: lively, platters, nibbles, sandwiches, international, cheap eat, crowded, brasserie

I went here last night with a friend, planned on having a few drinks then eating dinner.

The drinks part was great - the bar downstairs is lovely, very spacious, 50" TV screens on the walls, nice vibe and mixed crowd with a happy hour on drinks from 5 - 7pm.
They have a good selection of drinks and the staff are really good humoured, helpful and so polite.

The food - we booked for the upstairs restaurant - this was non existent, it was a small area with a few tables to the side of the bar in the entrance of the place. It was cold, loud and overly busy.
My friend had the chicken and prawn skewers to start, which were over cooked and tasteless.
I had the houmous,taramasalata with about 5 black olives and pitta bread - very bland and bought in - rather than freshly made.

We then shared the oriental platter - that consisted of a mass of deep fried EVERYTHING.
The tempura was just a thick, heavy crusty batter and ruined the vegetables.
The prawns tasted like chicken nuggets and the spring rolls tasted like they had lemon washing up liquid on them, with a soggy centre. We couldn't eat any of it apart from the wedges and chilli jam.
Luckily I used my tastelondon card, so wasn't toopissed off that we had to pay for such bad food. The waitress couldnt apologise enough, bless her!

Great bar and staff - just avoid the food

Favela Chic - review by OrsoFilippi

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 23:23:05 +0000

Favela Chic - review by OrsoFilippi

Rating: 3.4

Location: 91-93 Great Eastern Street, EC2A 3HZ, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7613 5228

Website: http://www.favelachic.com

Favela Chic was created in PAris many years ago. I 've been there many times, alone, with friends, with a girlfriend, looking for tenderness or for fun... Everytimes it was great. Good wine, good mojitos and big lates of food ... And the music is inventive, funky, DJ-global-nostalgic-romantic-kinky-magic-and-so-and-so...After those night I went in an hotel (different each night I spent in PAris) that I found on http://www.hoosta.com,a website with fabulous addresses of hotels, not all expensive, but all unforgettables;

Ember - review by QueenB

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 11:45:53 +0000

Ember - review by QueenB

Rating: 3.5

Location: 99-100 Turnmill Street, EC1M 5QP, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7490 3985

Website: http://www.faucetinn.com

Tags: cool, fun, drinks, music

This is mine and my work mates after work, lets have a drink bar! Great selection of people, all different genres of work, you have your media crowd, financial, PR, all spliced iwth the clubbers heading to Fabric and Turnmills due to it being a stonethrow from the tube station.

You can either chill on a sofa and head home or get ready and have a dance to the DJs and just start your night at Ember.

Staff are nice, helpful and friendly.

Just a shame its Farringdon ;)

Clos Maggiore - review by akira22098

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 00:06:10 +0000

Clos Maggiore - review by akira22098

Rating: 4.4

Location: 33 King Street, WC2E 8JD, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7379 9696

Website: http://www.closmaggiore.com/

Tags: romantic, business, expensive, french

Lovely restaurant in Covent garden area. Delicious food, amazing service, conservatory at the back with fireplace. Amazing selection of wine (the wine list is the size of a phone directory) although drinks can be a bit on the pricy side. I highly recommend this restauant.

Mosob - review by mif

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 19:46:03 +0000

Mosob - review by mif

Rating: 4.3

Location: 339 Harrow Road, W9 3RB, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7266 2012

Website: http://www.mosob.co.uk

Tags: eritrean

There is a warm atmosphere in this restaurant probably due in large part to the attentive service from the proprietor(s) whose friendly and knowledgeable guidance about what to order are invaluable if you have never sampled Eritrean fare or even know what it is! Can't remember the names of the dishes ordered as we were a group of 10 so we ordered a couple of different dishes to share. But I do remember the yummy food came out in large platters - each had a colourful mound of meat and veg piled on top of thick spongy pancakes. To eat it the traditional way, you tear pieces of the pancake off with your fingers and use that to scoop up chunks of the meat & veg. The pancake itself has a slightly sour taste so it's not tasty on its own. Overall, it's fun to try if you've never eaten Eritrean before. Including a drink or two each and half of us ordering dessert, we paid around Â£22pp.

Favela Chic - review by alba

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 16:34:01 +0000

Favela Chic - review by alba

Rating: 3.4

Location: 91-93 Great Eastern Street, EC2A 3HZ, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7613 5228

Website: http://www.favelachic.com

Tags: cool, cool & smart, friendly

I thought that the food was going to be a complete disaster but I was surprised. I oirdere fish and it was amazing. The only thing is that you'd better go very early to have dinner otherwise it will be impossible to have a decent conversation. The caipirinhas were not very good from my point of view and they difer from what a caipirinha should be. However the place is great and the atmosphere it's good!

Favela Chic - review by MaxVinicius

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 13:46:30 +0000

Favela Chic - review by MaxVinicius

Rating: 3.4

Location: 91-93 Great Eastern Street, EC2A 3HZ, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7613 5228

Website: http://www.favelachic.com

Ok. You will not believe this.
Six friends eating awful overpriced food, but trying to enjoy it any way, after all when friends get together is always fun.
Until some waitress kick you out of the table because a bigger group has showed up to eat.
I got told off, because I was taking to long to pay the bill, while my friend was trying to chew the supposed sirloin steak
Â£40 per head and kick out of the table, fantastic!
Please do never compare that place with Brazil; the real favela can be friendlier.

The Funny Side of Covent Garden - review by libbym

Wed, 03 Oct 2007 18:43:43 +0000

The Funny Side of Covent Garden - review by libbym

Rating: 4.7

Location: Downstairs at The Corner Store, WC2E 7BN, London, United Kingdom

Website: http://www.thefunnyside.info/

Tags: posh, mature, cool & smart, young professionals, young and fun, students, sexy, underground, trendy, friendly, relaxed

This really is the best comedy club in London - in fact I think they've even won an award that says so.

I've lost track of how many friends I've recommended this place to and they've all loved it too.

Great for a fun evening for couples or for groups, or even go on your own, its got such a friendly vibe you won't feel out of place.

The club gets great acts (they had Harry Hill on last week at a regular show - I mean it wasn't a special or anything) and its SO much better than the big nasty beer-on-the-floor venues most people go to. Try it, you won't be disappointed.