Latest reviews by Ladis19

Bombay Brasserie

Ladis19 — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 13:36:40 +0000

Rating: 4.7

Location: Courtfield Close, SW7 4QH, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7370 4040

Website: http://www.bombaybrasserielondon.com

Tags: indian

Colonial IndiaThe reason for the title comes from the decor inside the restaurant where you can almost feel the Colonial influence the moment you walk in. It just oozes of the olden days, times gone past. Far from Urban Chic and latest design techniques, this place has a soul.

I am no expert on Indian food, far from it but have to say that the dishes I was served (and the food I tasted from my co diners' plates) was delicious. I particularly liked a starter called "Palak Pakodi Chaat". It is a fairly big plate of Large spinach leaves, coated with a thin gram flour batter, deep fried to make crisp spinach pakodas which are topped with sweet chutney and yoghurt and sprinkled with roasted cumin powder. Simply divine.

The Service was very attentive without being over the top. The waiters Maitre D and chefs were all very friendly. I will definitely be going again to try out the rest of the menu.

Benihana

Ladis19 — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 17:28:10 +0000

Rating: 2.5

Location: 77 Kings Road, SW3 4NX, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7376 7799

Website: http://www.benihana.com

Tags: japanese, crowded

FunWent there with just one friend and discovered that it wss the wrong choice. This place is more designed for groups of 5 or 6. If there's just 2 of you, you'll be sharing a table with someone else. This is generally not the idea when you are trying to have a "tete a tete".

Anyway. The food was very good however the whole reason for going to that restaurant, which is the acrobatic cooking, was not as impressive as I had hoped. Admitedly it we arrived at around 10 pm and the chef was probably just simply tired.

I would not discount this restaurant just yet so will have to try it out again with more friends.

Dans Le Noir

Ladis19 — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 12:22:06 +0000

Rating: 3.1

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

Phone: 020 7253 1100

Website: http://www.danslenoir.com

Tags: lively, good value, First Date, crowded, french, romantic

Is that your hand? oops, no sorry, that's not your hand!!I went there last night (21/8/07) and had what can only be described as one of the most exciting dining experiences I have ever had. It's one of those Marmite places, some will love it, others will hate it but you just have to try.

We arrived shortly before the time of our booking (best all to arrive at the same time because they can only seat you all in one go) and were greeted by a slightly cheesy but polite, enthusiastic and charming Frenchman. He explained procedures, dos and don'ts, offered us a drink at the bar whilst we waited for our waiter, took our order and sent us on our way. The Surprise Menu is divided into 4. White (anything), Red (No Fish), Blue (No Meat), Green (Vegetarian). So you make your choice of food and drink before entering the room.

You walk into the Dark Room led by a blind or partially sighted waiter in a single file with your right hand over the right shoulder of the person in front until you reach your table, you are seated and then he explains protocol. Don't move, don't get up and walk around, if you need something ask etc&

So there we were, just seated, feeling around trying to familiarise ourselves with our new surroundings and co-diners (Did I mention I only knew 1 person out of the 6 others). Talk about a blind date! there's no better way to find out about someone

The experience is great, there's a fair amount of touchy feely going on because you have to feel your neighbour's hand before you pass her a bottle of wine or some bread etc. You suddenly become much more intimate with the person sitting next to you than you would if you were in a lit room (make sure you sit next to someone you have no problem touching).

The conversation at dinner was also completely different. A lot more comments about the food, what are we eating? Who's nicked my wine? (btw Melanie that was me:)) where's the water? No not that one, the still water&etc. I wonder what we would have done if someone had asked for the salt? You have to put in a lot more effort in HOW you say things, normally a lot is said just by a smile or a deep look, there you have to use your voice in a very different way, it's fascinating.

I would have liked to stay there a little longer and just sit and chat but we felt that they needed the space for other customers and felt, although very politely and discreetly, slightly pressured into leaving.

The only down side to this restaurant is the food. This place having very strong French roots you would expect the food to be tastier. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad, just nothing to write home about. The price is around £50 a head (service not included) which in itself is acceptable considering we had aperitifs and wine and a great experience.

I definitely recommend the place and if you can't find friends to go with you, call me, I'd love to go again.

Buona Sera Jam

Ladis19 — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 22:14:43 +0000

Rating: 4.0

Location: 289A Kings Road, SW3 5EW, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7352 8827

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

Original Dining ExperienceNice, different, original, refreshing way to dine.
Went there with a friend and had a great dinner. Can't remember the food so it can't have been spectacular. If you do go, you MUST book a table at top level (ladies, avoid short skirts).
This could be a good place for a first "Dinner" date because of how original it is. Also you end up dining at quite close quarters and intimacy is rather good.

If you intend on going with friends, tables upstairs don't cater for more than 4 Max

Galvin Bistrot de Luxe

Ladis19 — Tue, 08 May 2007 17:15:15 +0000

Rating: 3.9

Location: 66 Baker Street, W1U 8EP, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7935 4007

Website: http://www.galvinrestaurants.com

My visit to Galvinâ¬"s was in the company of 7other people 5 of which I had never met before and this time round, lunch was on the menu. However I left the restaurant somewhat disappointed by the lack of choice on this menu. This place sells itself as a French restaurant however there isnâ¬"t a single French person in there, the menu does not have Steak, Entrecote, Bavette or even fries. No crÃ¨me brulee for desertâ¬¦.. need I go furtherâ¬¦ Iâ¬"m sure youâ¬"ll understand that as a Frenchman, I took a little offence to being told by a German waiter that there was no steak because they served â¬SFrench Foodâ¬

Guanabara

Ladis19 — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 09:52:36 +0000

Rating: 3.7

Location: Parker Street, WC2B 5PW, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7242 8600

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

Tags: cool, live music Samba, free to get in, reasonably priced, sexy, trendy, friendly, dance

Samba DelightGuanabara is a cool place to spend a Friday night. I took the advice of Trusted Places reviews and got there early. As others have mentioned, get there before 8.30pm because it gets VERY busy. If you manage to get there before 7pm, you'll be able to take advantage of the Happy Hour, which counts a lot when cocktails start at £5.50. Food is very nice, specially those mixed combo plates with cheese breads&. Yum!!

Samba, live band, live bongo performance, loads of great Brazilian dancers, Great atmosphere, gorgeous people. Quite simply a fabulous night out. God what I'd give to know how to dance like those people! I swear they must have an extra muscle somewhere

La Brocca

Ladis19 — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 23:56:14 +0000

Rating: 4.0

Location: 273 West End Lane, NW6 1QS, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7433 1989

Tags: lively, family & home feel, cheap eat, good value, indian, romantic

Perfect for a dateReviews on other sites which will remain unnamed&.. have not really painted a great picture of this place mainly with regards to the attitude of the waiting staff. Well, let me tell you, I have just been there for dinner and had outstanding service. So much so that it feels like the restaurant owner has read all of the reviews and acted upon them. If that is the case, hats of to him.

The food was great, very tasty but a tad too rich and greasy for my liking. That being said the menu offers a decent variety with original combinations, such as mushroom ravioli with gorgonzola. The tiramisu I had for desert was also very original, it had nuts inside! We didn't get to try the wine but the wine racks above the bar do look impressive.

The overall experience was delightful; the 2 waitresses were outstanding in every way, the food was good, the atmosphere was cool, relaxed and cosy, the bill very reasonable, perfect place for a date. The people are from all walks of life, mostly locals.

Zander Bar

Ladis19 — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 23:34:10 +0000

Rating: 4.0

Location: 45 Buckingham Gate, SW1E 6BS, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7379 9797

Website: http://www.bankrestaurants.com

Tags: cool, mature, cool & smart, glamorous, sexy, trendy, friendly, relaxed, posh

Stylish Drinks and CoktailsI have just come back from the Zander Bar where I had a drink and a quick bite to eat with an old friend from Uni and thought this place was worth a little mention.

The Zander Bar is part of the Bank Restaurant, which itself is part of the 4 star 51 Buckingham Gate Hotel complex. It is renowned for the length of its bar, supposedly the longest one in the UK&.. all 36 meters of it. Quite impressive.

This place is generally buzzing with trendy, professional, beautiful people, although tonight was particularly quite. No doubt due to people being concerned about how they would get home after the apocalyptic comments of today's weather forecasters.

Aside from the size of its bar the other worth while fact is that they do exceedingly good cocktails, both with and without alcohol. The food nibbles are also rather tasty. We had the charcuterie plate and the tapas plate which I guess came from the Bank kitchens and therefore were very good, well presented and in the correct proportions.

Staff are friendly, attentive but not intrusive. All in all a very good night out. Perfect place to sit ay the bar with an old mate and catch up on old times.

Naked Turtle

Ladis19 — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 10:43:31 +0000

Rating: 4.3

Location: 505-507 Upper Richmond Road West, SW14 7DE, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 8878 1995

Website: http://www.naked-turtle.com

Tags: lively, Australian Meats, family & home feel, good value, romantic

Exotic FoodI have been wanting to try this restaurant for a good 12 months but never found people willing to travel that far. I had heard and read he best reviews about this place and although we initially wanted to go for the live music (which is only from Wednesday to Saturday), I was told that the menu was also something to write home about. I finally went last night with 3 friends and had a marvellous time. I had heard one bad comment about the service being slow, specially with regards to the drinks as they have to come from the bar but aside from my friends being 35minutes late, I felt everything was prompt and on queue.

For Starters, I had the Scallops with baby leek in butter sauce with lemon&..an absolute delight. My friends, being all French, all decided to have the Duck Foie Gras. As it happens this was indeed duck liver but should be renamed to Duck Liver Paté as, delicious as it was, it does not resemble the taste of Foie Gras in any way.

My main course could not have been anything else than the Roo Platter, a dish with a combination of crocodile and kangaroo. Very normally served with 2 bits of roast potatoes and a Celeriac purée. We asked if we could have something else than celeriac purée and were recommended to have the Sweet Jerusalem artichoke heart purée which ended up being fantastic. Crocodile tastes very very slightly fishy. The consistency of the meat is somewhere in between a tender chicken or a firm fish. The Kangaroo is just to die for. I envy the Australians who have these meats available on their doorstep. The Sauce in this dish is slightly too hot and peppery for my liking, I feel it overpowers the delicacy of the meats. All in all a very good dish however they could have put a bit more on the dish for the £20 price tag.

Desert was more beautiful than tasty. Hence the chosen picture.

We went there for the food and the only disappointment is that we couldn't taste everything that was on the menu. There are plenty other dishes which look very appetising and will definitely be an incentive to return. Hopefully on a night when they actually sing.

Aside from the food, the restaurant itself has a nice, warm, friendly, low light atmosphere. The place was full and customers are a mixture of young trendy professionals, young mums on a girl's only night out, couples, business partners etc.

There is a selection of artwork on the walls, all up for sale. The style is difficult to describe, although Kid Art is probably the closest thing. Not kid art in the sense that it was done by kids but in the choice of design, picture, subjects etc

A special thanks to the lovely Victoria whose bubbly personality made our evening one to remember.

Volt Lounge

Ladis19 — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 14:31:52 +0000

Rating: 1.0

Location: 17 Hobart Place, SW1W 0HH, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7235 9696

Website: http://www.voltlounge.com

Tags: posh, young professionals, cool music, pretentious, expensive

Identity CrisisOh Dear. What a disappointment. This place is has a bit of an identity crisis on its hands. It is not clear whether it is a bar, a club or a restaurant.

I went to Volt with 16 people the day after it opened on the recommendation of its owners, who are the owners of Noura, the Lebanese restaurant next door which happens to be one of my absolute favourite restaurants in London. Unfortunately our dinner ended up being a very frustrating experience. We booked a table to have a nice and pleasant diner but we spent most of the evening wondering why there were so many people standing and walking around us.

That being said, the décor is fabulous and glamorous. the food was acceptable it arrived a little late but was hot and eatable. Nothing to really right home about.

All in all, the only enjoyable part of the evening was the attention, helpfulness and general positive attitude of our Waiter, Ray.

Would only go again if they separated the dining area from the bar area

Beach Blanket Babylon

Ladis19 — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 23:53:14 +0000

Rating: 3.4

Location: 45 Ledbury Road, W11 2AA, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7229 2907

Tags: cool, hip-hop, house, sexy, expensive, trendy, friendly

Very CoolHave been there a good few times to end the night after a Thai meal at the Walmer Castle or some drinks at the Lonsdale which are both within walking distance.

BBB is funky and trendy but as Lisa Says, it gets VERY crowded from Thursdays to Saturdays which makes it somewhat of a challeng to make a round trip to the bar. Few people take the time to enjoy this place as a winter Sunday pub where you can make full use of that beautiful fireplace. No crowd, you virtually have the place to yourself.

Drinks are good but pricey, crowd is young and beautiful place is well decorated (in its own baroque opulentway). Haven't ever tried the restaurant but have heard it is worth a try.

Tabernacle Bar Grill

Ladis19 — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 23:33:59 +0000

Rating: 3.3

Location: 55-61 Tabernacle St, EC2A 4AA, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7253 5555

Website: http://www.tabernaclebargrill.com

Tags: different pub food, modern pub

Good conitnental pub foodTabernacle is a pub on Tabernacle Street&.. as it happens !
I went there 2 nights ago for a friend's birthday do. Was very nice. OK, as you can tell from the picture it wasn't exactly packed but that was on a Tuesday night and the picture was taken at 10.30pm. The drinks are what you would expect from a pub, the food however, was a bit better. The chips and Mayo had a twist to them (called garlic) the mayo was actually Aioli which makes a difference, They also serve an exquisite mozzarella on toast with rocket leaves and olive oil. Finally their Hummus is served slightly spicy (could be a specific recipe or just paprika powder overkill&. Don't know) with a strips of toasted pita bread. All in all, quite a good place. Completely out of town for me though which makes it hard to get back home but the atmosphere was good, possibly a tad guys going to the pub after work feel but I say again, it was a Tuesday.

Wouldn't go out of my way to go back because it is so far away and there are so many other similar pubs in London closer to home but if I was in the area I would definitely go back

Fabrizio

Ladis19 — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 23:12:50 +0000

Rating: 4.2

Location: 30 St. Cross Street, EC1N 8UH, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7430 1503

Website: http://fabriziorestaurant.co.uk

Tags: italian, Amazing Authentic good value italian Food, "family & home feel", family & home feel, cheap eat, good value

New DecoFabrizio's has just been redecorated and now has a much more homely feel to it. The food is still as amazing as always.

I've attached some pictures of the new deco.

Bagatelle

Ladis19 — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 20:12:23 +0000

Rating: 4.0

Location: 44 Harrington Road, SW7 3ND, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7581 1551

Website: http://www.bagatelle-boutique.co.uk/

Tags: delicatessen, French Patisserie, rare finds

Sweet French StuffThis place is quite rightly situated in the heart of South Ken, just beside the French Lycee. It is THE place where French people gather to buy their delicious French bread and patisseries. I will agree that the quality of their food is outstanding however it does come at a price, £17 for a Gallette des Rois. Ouch!!!. My advice is to avoid this place around 4pm. It is packed with French mums and their multiple offspring trying to chose their Goûter (4 o'clock snacks traditionally in the form of a croissant or a pain au chocolat)

Bagatelle also provides catering services for bigger groups. Private parties and corporate functions.

If you are after seriously good French sweets, this is place is for you.

Adam Street

Ladis19 — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 19:53:47 +0000

Rating: 4.0

Location: 7-10 Adam St, WC2N 6AA, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7379 8000

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

Tags: cool, mature, cool & smart, glamorous, sexy, trendy, friendly, posh

cool and exclusiveThere is not much to be added to RobCarter's extensive review. I agree with what he says. This is a truly private member's club. You cannot find it if you don't know about it. From outside, it looks like the entrance to a flat. I was lucky to be invite a couple of times by my cousin who is a member and I have to confirm that the place is great.
I plead guilty to DJing a very very cheesy French fancy-dress party some years back in the room downstairs. The shear memories make me cringe&&.

As Rob says, if you get the chance, go. The people are beautiful, the staff are gorgeous and friendly, the atmosphere is relaxing and unpretentious. The drinks are a tad expensive but the portions are generous.