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Rosa's Dining Room - review by blackpenwriter

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 21:19:58 +0000

Rosa's Dining Room - review by blackpenwriter

Rating: 4.8

Location: 69 Westbourne Park Road, W2 5QH, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7221 5329

And yes, i have to say i agree with the previous reviewer whole heartedly. Despite the number of stars dining here, it doesn't do a huge song and dance about their clientele or have its own head up its bottom. The staff here are just normal, not pretentious in any way. They really are nice people, friendly and welcoming. They get on well with everyone and do a fantastic job! The menu has lots of choices for everyone, even veggies, so all will be able to find something that makes their taste buds dance. Food tastes delicious and canâ¬"t be faulted. Its not the cheapest but it is worth it!

Dans Le Noir - review by Browners

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 12:41:19 +0000

Dans Le Noir - review by Browners

Rating: 3.1

Location: 30-31 Clerkenwell Green, EC1R 0DU, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7253 1100

Website: http://www.danslenoir.com

Tags: lively, dark, expensive, romantic

In a sudden fit of bravery we decided to take our wonderful Client out for an adventurous dinner. She is based in the States so we rarely get to see each other face to face.

This will now seem like a non-sequitor...

So we took her to Dans le Noir in Farringdon for a fabulous night of dining in the dark. We are working on a project that is all about sensual experiences, so it made perfect sense to finish the day's hard work with a meal that would push all of our sensual boundaries.

Arriving at the restaurant we were greeted in the foyer by a collection of very engaging maitre d's. They made us put all of our kit in a locker so that no mobile phones or watches with illuminated faces could disturb the sheer blackness of the dining room.

I don't think any of us were ready for the attack on our senese that was to follow. After a quick cocktail to instil a bit of Dutch courage in all of us, we queued up behind a blind waitress/guide and were led into the pitch black room. Some squealed. Others were a bit more stoical. We found our table using our hands and all sat down around what we all thought was a round table, but turned out to be oblong!

We groped around the table looking for water glasses and bottles. The only way you can pour everyone's wine is to put your finger in the glass and keep pouring until your finger gets wet! Not very hygenic. But great fun.

We all spoke very loudly to begin with as we acclimatised to the dark. Towards the end of the meal our voices became more calm and we shouted a lot less! It's bizarre just how reliant we all are on our sense of sight.

I found it really hard to determine what I was eating and to be honest can't quite remember. Memory works very badly when you remove the sense of sight. My starter may have involved something resembling spring rolls filled with what I thought was minced chicken and somebody else thought was tuna - which turned out to be duck.

Likewise I got terribly confused by my main course which I still swear to the this day was lamb, but turned out to be a mixture of ostrich fillet on one side of the plate and venison on the other. But we all recognised the distinctive smell and flavour of the truffled risotto that acted as a division between the two meats.

Personally I loved the whole experience. There is something very liberating about being in the dark. It may have been the amount of wine I was drinking because I was thirsty and couldn't find my water glass... but I found myself saying things at a work dinner that I would never otherwise have said. I've never had so much fun chatting a joking around a (now clearly rectangular) table. Everything seems funnier in the dark.

Be careful about coming here if you know people are claustrophobic or are a bit strapped for cash as it isn't cheap. But remember you are coming here for an experience and not simply a meal. In many ways this is the idea of a restaurant pushed to the extreme. It's not about the food. It's about opening your mind and having an entertaining time. We learnt a lot about each other during the course of the meal and feel like we all bonded along the way.

Will any of us return? Unlikely. But not in a bad way. We've all been talking about the experience ever since and won't ever forget that crazy meal we all had in the dark! It's a great place to come if you want to break the ice.

Rosa's Dining Room - review by QueenB

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 15:35:49 +0000

Rosa's Dining Room - review by QueenB

Rating: 4.8

Location: 69 Westbourne Park Road, W2 5QH, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7221 5329

Tags: romantic, Fair priced, british, international, family & home feel, great wines, good value, Delicious

I LOVE ROSAS.

The staff, the ambience, the food - always without fault.

I've been coming here for years now, never had a bad meal or even run of the mill - it's always delicious.

Despite the A List customers,this place lacks any sort of pretention. Thankfully, also a lot of the people who go there could care less if you are Kate Moss or Kate from up the road. everyone is treated equally well and welcomed warmly.

It's such a laid back unassuming affair that you can't help but go back. Perfect for intimate dinners but also nice for joint coupley nights or girl gatherings.
The decor is is homely but still stylish and unusual.

Rosa's Dining Room - review by tightwad

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 22:01:18 +0000

Rosa's Dining Room - review by tightwad

Rating: 4.8

Location: 69 Westbourne Park Road, W2 5QH, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7221 5329

Tags: romantic, british, family & home feel, good value

I can't fault Rosas dining room in any way - its perfect! I first started coming here when i was single. I wanted to go to a place where i wouldn't feel uncomfortable and have a nice meal - the staff here made me feel so welcome unlike some other restaurants in the area. Now Iâ¬"m with a partner, we also come here and the service is still the same impeccable service. Its perfect for a romantic meal for two or in a group of friends. The food is delicious and there is a good choice on the menu. Its also not that expensive considering the area or the quality of food

Busaba Eathai - review by Natnat

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 07:23:33 +0000

Busaba Eathai - review by Natnat

Rating: 3.9

Location: 106 Wardour St, W1F 0TR, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7255 8686

Website: http://www.busaba.com

Tags: lively, good value, thai

This place is always packed at lunchtime and in the evening, and itâ¬"s easy to see why. The food is fresh and delicious (and healthy too), and thereâ¬"s an interesting selection of teas and juices to accompany your meal. Expect to pay around a tenner for a drink and a meal. Diners sit around large square tables, and thereâ¬"s never a long wait to be served (although you may queue to get in of an evening). The only downside is that it isnâ¬"t somewhere where you might spend a long drawn out evening â¬ itâ¬"s very much eat and leave. This is one of a chain of restaurants in the capital.

Rosa's Dining Room - review by Qqueenie

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 16:25:29 +0000

Rosa's Dining Room - review by Qqueenie

Rating: 4.8

Location: 69 Westbourne Park Road, W2 5QH, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7221 5329

Tags: romantic, british, family & home feel, good value

delish food, great staff, decent winelist...ideal for couples

Eat and Two Veg - review by messydesk

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 19:45:25 +0000

Eat and Two Veg - review by messydesk

Rating: 3.2

Location: 50 Marylebone High Street, W1U 5HN, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7258 8595

Website: http://www.eatandtwoveg.com/

Tags: american, good value, vegetarian, lively

I love Marylebone High Street,I know I shouldn't because it's dead wanky and overpriced, but I just can't help myself. I usually find myself working in the area about twice a month so I was really pleased when Eat and Two Veg opened a few years ago.

Eat and Two Very really looks lovely inside and I've gone back and back over the years primarily for that reason. There's cafe tables in the window (often full though), a canteen style table down the middle of the room and booths along the edges, they're all comfortable and the staff never squish you too close to other diners on the canteen table. The design is an odd mixture of American Diner and Art-Deco but, as I say it works really well and is just lovely. It's restful and tasteful, but still interesting and unusual.

Unfortunately, the food is really quite average and is most certainly over-priced. The menu seems pretty wide and interesting when you're choosing from it, but the quality of the cooking is often very poor and the taste can be bland and uninspiring. Another gripe is the speed of the service. All the waiters and waitresses are informed and helpful but there's simply not enough of them, when you finally do get to order, the food takes a long time to arrive, especially considering how underwhelming it often is. Have to admit though, the cocktails are ace.

I think I could forgive Eat and Two Veg the food and just have the vege burger, enjoy the atmosphere and treat it like a snack place if it were not so fearfully expensive. I had a halloumi sandwich there once that cost me eight quid and wasn't even very good. For that, I'll get a sandwich from tesco and drink in the design and atmosphere by sitting on the opposite side of the road and looking in.

Rosa's Dining Room - review by jackmale86

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 17:49:57 +0000

Rosa's Dining Room - review by jackmale86

Rating: 4.8

Location: 69 Westbourne Park Road, W2 5QH, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7221 5329

Tags: lively, british, good value, crowded

This place is wonderful! I love to go to Rosa's Dining Room, you never know who you may see! I've seen a couple of major stars here and i know other who have dined in the vacinity of even bigger ones! The food here is fantastic, you get a really good portion in comparison to what you pay. Its really not expensive yet you get so much! The food is also cooked to perfection and can't be faulted at all. When all you ever hear about is italian or oriental cooking in London, you have to think that British seems to be dying away. Not so here, its a perfect restaurant that cooks the most delicious british foods. I love it!

Dans Le Noir - review by smileylaura0

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 12:32:05 +0000

Dans Le Noir - review by smileylaura0

Rating: 3.1

Location: 30-31 Clerkenwell Green, EC1R 0DU, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7253 1100

Website: http://www.danslenoir.com

Tags: lively, expensive, french

I made a visit to this restaurant in a party of 9, feeling a little nervous about how I would cope inside the restaurant, considering that it is totally and utterly dark! You enter in a conga line, directed to your table, expecting to find that your eyes might adjust to the darkness and perhaps you'd start to see the outline of the room, or the doorway - but nothing happens, it really is pitch black.

After a tricky moment or two fiddling with cutlery, you quickly abandon your knives and forks in favour of eating with your hands - well, why not? It's not as if anyone can see you! It is also very loud inside the restaurant, but I don't think this is only because our other senses are heightened when sight is taken away, I think that it's also because guests genuinely did raise their voices. Perhaps to over compensate for the fact that they could not see each other?

Unfortunately, I was right to be nervous - after about 10 minutes I had to leave as I felt claustrophobic, no matter how much I tried to convince myself that it was a large room, I still felt closed in by the darkness. The rest of my party were fine, so I ended up paying Â£50 for a meal which I ate on my own in the empty, lit bar on the second floor. To make matters worse, I was not at all impressed with the food - the fact that I could see my food didn't help, it still tasted no better than a school dinner!

The only redeeming feature about this place is the fact that they hire blind people as waiters/waitresses, and support Deaf-Blind charities with donations - hence the 1 star.

Villandry - review by joslyoung

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 18:19:15 +0000

Villandry - review by joslyoung

Rating: 3.7

Location: 170 Great Portland Street, W1W 5QB, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7631 3131

Website: http://www.villandry.com

It's interesting to read such mixed reviews for Villandry, because it's one of my favourite places and I've always found it to be of an exceptional standard, both in terms of food and service (the latter seemingly being quite a persistent problem where other people's experiences are concerned). For what it's worth - and I don't dispute the possibility of service being a problem because they're a laid back bunch at Villandry, which could easily spill over into lacksadasical - I've never had any issues and always had a good meal.
The most recent occasion I ate there was only a month or so back, when I went with my partner. I had a really fresh and lovely salad to start, and calves liver with mashed potato and bacon, crispy sage and a light gravy. Very nice, simple food, well cooked. No real surprises, but that's not what Villandry's about, to me: it excels on the quality of its ingredients and their freshness. It also scores points on the relaxed atmosphere in the restaurant and indeed throughout - other areas in the place are great for coffees, meetings and lazy brunches.
It's true that Villandry isn't cheap: you could top Â£100 on a lunch for two without trying too hard, which is steep by most non-expense-account-holder's standards. So I'd say it was a special occasion place, really, one that I always enjoy.

Asakusa - review by LOVEANDKATE

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 23:42:59 +0000

Asakusa - review by LOVEANDKATE

Rating: 4.2

Location: 265 Eversholt Street, NW1 1BA, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7388 8399

Tags: japanese, good value

I decided to try out Asakusa on reading the reviews on Trusted Places and.....you're ALL right- its ace!

I took everyones advice and booked a table. Upstairs was reccomended but we could only get downstairs, which I enjoyed all the same.
The sushi and sashimi took a while but we filled the time by having amazing starters such as half an aubergine cooked in a sweet rich sauce, broccoli cooked to perfection [not too soft] with a sweet sauce and delicious japanese fish cakes.

the food just kept on coming.

The sashimi was beautiful and we couldnt eat all the sushi so they let us take it home in a little box.

Yes it is a bit grimey but more authentic and yes, next time I will try something off the menus written in japanese on the wall!!!

Can't wait to go again and tell all my friends! : )

Dans Le Noir - review by misstravelbug

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 22:22:14 +0000

Dans Le Noir - review by misstravelbug

Rating: 3.1

Location: 30-31 Clerkenwell Green, EC1R 0DU, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7253 1100

Website: http://www.danslenoir.com

Tags: expensive

This is an overpriced restaurant selling itself on a gimmick. The food here is worse than average though the sensation of eating completely in the dark is something different. Though not sure this experience is worth 40 quid with questionable cuts of meat and soggy overcooked vegetables.

Busaba Eathai - review by misstravelbug

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 22:14:04 +0000

Busaba Eathai - review by misstravelbug

Rating: 3.9

Location: 106 Wardour St, W1F 0TR, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7255 8686

Website: http://www.busaba.com

Tags: lively, cheap eat, thai

Always a line to get here during peak hour, it's a canteen-feel restaurant, quite cosy as you end up sharing the table with other patrons. The thai food is fairly average, the curry nothing to write home about but it's got a good vibe and the service is pretty good. Papaya salad was one of the better dishes here.

Eat and Two Veg - review by drdrdr

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 20:27:10 +0000

Eat and Two Veg - review by drdrdr

Rating: 3.2

Location: 50 Marylebone High Street, W1U 5HN, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7258 8595

Website: http://www.eatandtwoveg.com/

Tags: vegetarian

Went to Eat and Two Veg twice in 2007. My wife is a vegetarian but I am not. We go to vegetarian restarants from time to time and I must admit I sometimes find the food rather bland.

On both of our visits to Eat and Two Veg, the menu was imaginative and diverse, the food was tasty and the service was good and friendly. On the first occasion, I noticed ants crawling on the wooden skirting adjacent to the seating. I mentioned it to the waiter and he apologised profusely and said that management were aware of the problem and trying to sort it out and that the ants should be gone soon.

Our second visit was about 6 months later. All was well with food and service but the ants were still in evidence. I asked a (different) waiter about it again and he said that they were still working on the problem but the ants were proving hard to banish. They may well have sorted it out by now....but I haven't been back to check.

The Oak - review by alexgjohnson

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 17:15:47 +0000

The Oak - review by alexgjohnson

Rating: 3.7

Location: 137 Westbourne Park Road, W2 5QL, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7221 3599

Website: Westbourne Park

Tags: cool, gastro pub, young professionals, different pub food, young and fun, friendly, relaxed

Four stars as the best thing about the Oak is the upstairs bar - where you can wait for your table or just have a cool drink at pub prices. The restaurant has a great feel (it is a pub so there are no bookings) - there is a wood-burning pizza oven and limited outside seating. The menu is Italian with pizza the speciality - which is a pity as the pizza isn't quite as good as you'd hope and lets down what is otherwise a great all-round package. It's a bit limp - a bit Pizza Express really - and when there is excellent local competition it is a pity. However with a pleasant vibe, great olive oil, good wine, and that upstairs bar, it seems almost churlish to fault the slightly anaemic cooking.