Latest reviews by ONscotland's friends

Plane Food - review by sue

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 17:15:16 +0000

Plane Food - review by sue

Rating: 2.0

Location: Heathrow Terminal 5, TW6 2GA, Hounslow, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 8897 4545

Website: http://www.gordonramsay.com/planefood

Tags: expensive, heathrow, ramsay, gordon ramsay, british, international, breakfast

We thought we would start our last holiday in style - instead of the usual pre-flight breakfast at Giraffe, we would instead dine at Plane Food, which is Gordon Ramsay's restaurant in Heathrow Terminal Five, airside.

The restaurant has been beautifully designed, taking advantage of the light-filled space which offers views out to the airfield. The space was much larger than imagined, and although stylish looking, the ambience was somehow more canteen like than I was expecting. Perhaps it had something to do with the large number of empty tables waiting to be cleared, meaning we had to wait around 10 minutes to be seated (eating into our valuable duty free shopping time).

Was it worth the wait. Not really. As this would be our second breakfast for the day, we just wanted something light and both opted for the Suffolk sweet-cured bacon and egg roll. It was the most boring and flavourless bacon and egg roll I think I have ever had. Next time we'll just stick to Giraffe.

Caffe Caldesi - review by Browners

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 12:44:56 +0000

Caffe Caldesi - review by Browners

Rating: 3.7

Location: 118 Marylebone Lane, W1U 2QF, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7935 1144

Website: http://www.caffe.caldesi.com/

Tags: italian, business, good value, crowded, brasserie, lively

Our table for 5 could barely support the weight of the contents of the entire anti-pasti menu! All 6 of their starters appeared on our table and were devoured with a combination of greed, starvation and foodie curiosity. As you'd expect all of the wonderful hams and cured beef were exemplary. But the joint stars of the show were the ball of mozerella and the cougette matchsticks with calamari - a sqeeze of lemon transforms them into little sticks of joy.

Main courses were good too. My haddock was fine, but the spinach and tomatoes stole the show. The skin on the fish could have been crispier and the flesh was well cooked but its integrity had been compromised - maybe it fell apart as it left the pan and was carefully reconstructed. It didn't affect the taste - but as we all know we do eat with our eyes.

The girls had linguine with tomato, chilli and cream which looked great. I've had it before and can testify to its depth and kick. Jess had a vast veal escalope which was large enough to feed the whole of Northern Italy. Tasty though.

My panacotta with passion fruit was perfect. I am a complete sucker for passion fruit. Handled correctly I fall head over heels for it. It wobbled sexily before disappearing inside my already bulging tummy. Yum and twice yum.

We probably didn't need any Calvados - but it added to the fun of the occasion and put me in the mood for the Pie Competition to follow!

Our only gripe was the lethargic service. They didn't get anything wrong. But they just took an age doing everything. And it didn't help that we were obviously all wearing our invisibility cloaks. Probably best not to wear them next time.

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.

Magdalen - review by Browners

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 18:12:14 +0000

Magdalen - review by Browners

Rating: 4.2

Location: 152 Tooley Street, SE1 2TU, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7403 1342

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

Tags: lively, british, expensive, romantic

My parents are obsessed with Mark Rothko. A bit like how Peter Stringfellow is obsessed with girls in plastic high heels and bikinis. It's a sort of pseudo-sexual thing. All encompassing and fascinating. So it was with great excitement that we went on a Brown family outing to the Tate Modern for their hugely anticipated "Rothko - the late years" exhibition on Friday for a private viewing. It didn't disappoint. It just served to reconfirm, if that was needed at all, that Rothko's work is as moving and haunting as Bach and Mozart. It was more like an existential philosophy exhibition than a gallery of paintings.

We returned on Saturday to be in the audience for the all afternoon seminar connected to the exhibition. We were surrounded on all sides by people with even more emphatic Rothko fetishes than Mum and Dad! Not that I thought this was possible. I guess it's a bit like thinking your pretty good at football having scored a few goals for your school side and then going off to the regional trials - only to see all the other boys can kick the ball miles and have all the kit! But I am pleased to say that the Brown family held their own. Mum has vowed never to wash her right hand again having shaken hands with Mark Rothko's son, Christopher!

Still buzzing from 4 hours of in depth intercourse about the ins and outs of the world of Rothko, we strolled along Bankside up towards Tooley street where we were delighted to find Magdalen. It's from the Anchor and Hope school of cookery. Or if you are from Bristol, it's similar to The Albany. The deep maroon walls made us feel like we were eating with the Seagram Murals hanging around us!

The menu excited me more than the others. I loved the 3 part simplicity of it all. But on the downside it means that it reads less flamboyantly than menus tended to a few years ago. Beds, jus, tranches and so forth are gone. Now it's all about guess work and trust. It's the sign of a confident restaurant.

I was in two minds about what to have. The devil inside me was whispering in my ear... telling me to have the grouse... but at Â£26 I couldn't. Instead I was delighted with my choice of potted crab which was as silky as a silkworm's sleeping bag, followed by an unctuous combination of shoulder and leg of pork - served with a mustardy sauce and the lightest crackling I have ever had. This was top class cooking. And brilliantly British.

The others had a very good cauliflower soup with walnuts and other earthy autumnal bits and pieces... and Dad had a Rothko coloured maroon on black seared haunch venison. The fish soup, slow cooked shoulder of lamb and halibut that followed were equally memorable. All bore the hallmark of a kitchen that is at ease with itself. Don't get me wrong - it was all very good food. But I wonder what they are capable when they push things a bit further?

I shared a blindingly good lemon tart with a burn sugar crust which was top class The pastry was thin and crumbled at just the right moments when you showed it the spoon. And the lemon custard was still warm and silky.

Our only criticism concerns 3 embarrassments.

1. The step at the bottom of the stairs is not the same depth as the other stairs... I almost tripped over twice in the middle of the dinning room.

2. I had to queue to get into the gents in full view of the restaurant. It didn't really feel right.

3. Dad had an altercation with the manager about their policy of automatically adding a gratuity of 12.5%. Our waitress had been fantastic all evening - so we wanted to give her a tip... but we disagreed severely with their tipping policy. Surely if the gratuity is at the discretion of the person paying... it is not up to the restaurant to behave like this. It leaves a very sour taste in the mouth and we hope that Magdalen changes their policy.

Tremendous food. The perfect place for a Rothko inspired dinner. O... and how are you supposed to pronounce the name?

The Stonhouse - review by Browners

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 17:12:32 +0000

The Stonhouse - review by Browners

Rating: 3.0

Location: 165 Stonhouse Street, SW4 6BJ, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7819 9312

Website: http://www.renaissancepubs.co.uk/SH/index.htm

Tags: posh, gastro pub, excellent pub food, young professionals, beer garden, independent pub, young and fun, friendly

My first house in London was a horrific ground floor flat with cracked lino floors, a terrifying gas oven and a serious mouse problem. Our moving in party on November 4th 2005 caused chaos. Someone hot boxed our landlord's car. Someone was sick over the fence into our lovely next door neighbour's sand-pit. Someone then fell through the same fence and propped it up with a super-market trolley. Then we let off enough fire-works to make our local community wish they were living in the Helmand Province. Then the police arrived to ask if any of us had witnessed the assault that had been committed in the pub opposite our house - in the Stonhouse.

It was the grottiest pub you can imagine. The most hostile atmosphere that makes being a Liverpool fan in Istanbul seem like a romantic holiday. My housemate at the time and I went to have our inaugural pint in our local and couldn't have felt more uncomfortable... the pool table had no baize, the walls had no paint, the toilets had no toilets and the walls were riddled with bizarre holes. It was horrific. Then mysteriously one night it conveniently caught fire and almost over night transformed into a very smart gastro-pub.

So it was with great fondness and no less curiosity that I returned to Stonhouse Street for a pre-cinema meal on Friday. I arrived feeling very warm and fairly full having been treated to some fantastic prawns and white wine at Wright's in Borough Market on the way back from the brilliant Rothko exhibition.

The transformation from ugly duckling to sauve, urbane swan is really hard for me to cope with. But in a good way. Somebody has done a fabulous job of resurrecting this phoenix from the flames.

The Â£12 fixed menu was tight but generous... whilst my crab cakes could generously be described as poor, the steak was as good as you'll get for the price. It came with a very commendable basil and lemon mayonnaise and enough chips to put a smile on Mr McCain's face.

The girls probably did better than me. Victoria's chicken liver and mushrooms on toast was delicious and extremely plentiful. I'm not one to take off marks for large portions... but it did dent her appetite for a few minutes! Cowie junior's smoked salmon pate was very smokey and beautifully coarse. Good honest food. Really tasty. Far tastier than my lump of crispy edged deep fried mashed potato with ghost of crab.

They both couldn't resist having fish pie on a Friday being the good Catholic school girls that they are. I didn't even get a sniff of it so it must have been good.

Our Chilean red was robust and good value. I certainly left with a good ready brek glow... ready to battle through 2 hours of Keira Knightly plodding her way through another period drama.

Hats off to the Stonhouse. It was completely packed when we left. We will definitely be back next time we go to the cinema - especially if they keep their Top Table offer going.

Harrison's - review by Browners

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 11:38:30 +0000

Harrison's - review by Browners

Rating: 4.5

Location: 15-19 Bedford Hill, SW12 9EX, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 8675 6900

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

Tags: lively, brasserie, french

It's not every school night you get to meet Rick Stein! We whizzed down to Balham in a nick of time to find Rick sat at a low round table, slightly awkwardly making small talk and signing books. After a brief chat with the publicist about Rick's forthcoming TV series and book called Coast to Coast Victoria and I siddled over for a chat.

Our chat was derailed pretty quickly when both pieces of infomration the publicist had told us turned out to be emphatically wrong! There is no TV series. And the book is about his travels around the world and not just the UK.

Perturbed by the sudden end to our conversation... I grabbed a conversational topic from nowhere and landed up asking Rick Stein whether he had ever cooked a fish meringue!!! As it turned out he was really interested in the idea and I explained that it's like baking fish in salt. Essentially you stuff a whole fish such as a sea bass with fennel, lemon and other goodies... and then pour over 6 or 7 whipped egg whites. Pop it in the oven for enough time to cook it and then serve your gobsmacked guests the most moist fish you'll come across. I first read about it a really cool book called "The Daily Italian" by one of Jamie Oliver's proteges.

So look out for this badger featuring on Rick's menu sometime soon!

We broke off from the book signing and settled in for dinner. Ignoring the special offer that had drawn us in the first place... we loved our raw salmon with soy, ginger and chillie. Although it may have been a bit feisty for some. But the star of the show was the liver and bacon... Having never had liver and bacon before I was twitching with excitement when it arrived and became increasingly anxious as I saw it drying out on the pass. But I needn't have worried because it was blissfully awesome. Soft and moist. Meaty and slightly charred. The mash was brilliant and the pancetta and onion rings didn't let it down either. I feel like a smack addict. I'm now gagging for the next hit.

Having had a few OK experiences at Harrison's we are now big fans - keen to pop in for dinner more often.

Ly Ly Canteen - review by Browners

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 11:36:02 +0000

Ly Ly Canteen - review by Browners

Rating: 2.0

Location: 69 Bedford Hill, SW12 9HA, London, United Kingdom

Website: http://lybar.co.uk/

Tags: oriental

For some reason they have changed Ly Bar which was good into Ly Ly Canteen which is bad. Don't ask me why. Gone are the steamed sea bass, pork in a clay pot and dark mood lighting. In are imitation Wagamamma dishes, benches and bright lights.

We shared a bland salmon ramen which we doused in chiili... and were slightly more impressed by the salmon kichup manis with rice which was perfectly cooked but lacking in flavour.

The couple on the table next to us complained that their food had arrived too quickly... the implication being that the food is just popped in a micro-wave.

Our starters were actually quite decent. The sticky ribs were really good. The meat fell away from the bone. But the sauce was so hot that Cowie burnt her mouth with her first bite! Microwaved perhaps? It's actually dangerous to serve food, especially sugary sauces this hot. I remember McDonald's were once sued for serving coffee so hot it burnt a woman's lap. Maybe Cowie could sue for having her taste buds nailed! The dip should at the very least come with a government health warning.

We're disappointed Ly Bar has gone... and now looking forward to exploring the rest of Balham's restaurants. Cattle Grid and Dish Dash to be precise.

Cattle Grid - review by Browners

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 11:29:30 +0000

Cattle Grid - review by Browners

Rating: 3.0

Location: Balham Station Road, SW12 9SG, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 02086739099

Website: http://www.cattlegridrestaurant.com/

Tags: steak

Balham is going from strength to strength. Whilst claims that Balham is the new Notting Hill might be a little bit premature... the area is definitely on the rise.

Aside from Gazette and at a push the Devonshire, you will struggle to find a decent steak in Balham. Until now.

It has filled the slightly awkward boots left by Raviolo - which didn't last very long. When you walk out of Balham station you are greeted with the sight of a large statue of a cow which makes you think you are in Milton Keynes... hardly the centre of the bovine universe.

Cattle Grid is essentially a steak version of the Gourmet Burget Kitchen. No table service. Utilitarian look and feel. Short new world wine list packed with bold reds. You get a choice of steaks - rib eye, sirloin or T bone, supplemented by two variations on piggy ribs or a burger. I admire the fact that the menu is so bare. I hate the way that some restaurants offer a billion options - Starbuck's is currently boasting that they have 80,000 different combinations of coffee. Fuck off and just give me a good espresso. Oh hang on... you can't.

... but I think I'd like to see some different cuts on the menu. Maybe a feather steak, or a hanger steak... or possibly a little bit of rump. Maybe, they'll do this once they've established themselves.

We ordered 2 rib eye steaks - medium rare. One arrived perfectly cooked but the other one was grey through the middle. Possibly we should have sent it back. The chips were good and we were delighted with the watercress salad. My bernaise sauce was a bit stingy - but then again I do regard steak eating as an excuse to eat bernaise sauce!

One of us had a very substantial burger which looked good. But strangely we weren't permitted to request how it was cooked. They insist on serving it medium well which is a bit odd. I love a juicy burger... but a meaty, cloying burger is less fun.

Our bottle of Argie Malbec was good value and was a perfect match for the steak... as it always is. And at well under Â£20 it was good value.

But the star of the show was without question the onion rings. Soft, sweet onions hid beneath a crisp, light batter. Stunning... if a little bit naughty.

We couldn't resist baked cheese cake which was served with very vanillery ice cream. Tremendous. We were really impressed.

Cattle Grid isn't the finished article. But it is an improvement on Raviolo... and will we're very pleased to have a steak restaurant in Balham. But the key question is... will we go back? I won't actively avoid it... but I reckon the steak is better at Gazette and Bodeans... plus they offer dishes that Cowie would like to tuck into too. So I have a feeling that I will return at some point... but it won't be a regular occurence. If you are going to concentrate just on serving steak... it has to knock your socks off.

Beach Blanket Babylon - review by Browners

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 11:22:04 +0000

Beach Blanket Babylon - review by Browners

Rating: 3.4

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

Phone: 020 7229 2907

Tags: unhygenic

Beach Blanket Babylon is one of London's trendiest bars and has a buzzing restaurant. It is beloved by the Notting Hill set and typifices the idea of style over substance. Which is why we went there in the first place!

Your senses are blown away by the over the top decorations - it couldn't be more rococo if it tried.

No matter how trendy or posh you think your restaurant is... there are some basic catering rules that you can't break. Such as don't swear at the customers. Don't serve unhygenic food. Make sure there aren't any mouse-traps on show... etc. Common sense basically.

3 plates of perfectly good sushi arrived at our table along with some sets of chopsticks. The light wasn't great... but it was bright enough to detect a luminous green glow. On closer inspection we realised that the chopsticks were covered in a furry green mould. Gross! The elegant waitress simply took them back and didn't even consider apologising for it!

Our next course was very tasty... but sadly undermined by such a major lapse.

Petersham Nurseries Restaurant - review by sue

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 19:23:22 +0000

Petersham Nurseries Restaurant - review by sue

Rating: 4.0

Location: Petersham Nurseries, TW10 7AG, Richmond Upon Thames, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 8940 5230

Website: http://www.petershamnurseries.com/cafeandteahouse.asp

Tags: relaxed, rustic, international, quirky, expensive

Just back from an idyllic lunch at Petersham Nurseries Restaurant (not to be confused with the cafÃ©). The restaurant is open for lunch, six days a week, and is housed in a pretty nursery greenhouse. Your rickety chair wobbles on the dirt floor as you eat some very pricy food, surrounded by pot plants and creepers. But the food was very good, and the gorgeous setting seemed to numb the pain of the bill a little.

We timed our visit to coincide with a 'chef swap' that was taking place - Petersham's regular head chef, Skye Gyngell, had traded places with top Sydney chef Sean Moran for a month.

The menu was small, with only 5 choices per course. We started with the Beetroot Ravioli with Ticklemore Aged Goats Cheese. I really loved this dish - not only did it look fabulous but the flavours worked really really well. Main course was the Milk Fed Veal Chop barbequed with peperonata, sage, runner beans and anchovy butter; and the Hampshire Pork, roasted with fennel, greengages & butternut squash. Both meals were generous in size and flavours. Really happy with our choices.

Unfortunately there was nothing on the dessert menu we fancied, so we paid up, and wandered back across Petersham Meadows, dodging cowpats along the way, and stopped off at our favourite chocolate shop for a sweet treat.

Hawksmoor - review by sue

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 19:19:35 +0000

Hawksmoor - review by sue

Rating: 4.3

Location: 157 Commercial Street, E1 6BJ, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7247 7392

Website: http://www.thehawksmoor.com

Tags: american, steak, cocktails, expensive, friendly, relaxed

When the birthday boy (BB) requested a meal at a nice restaurant where he could have a decent martini and a more than decent steak, Hawksmoor sprang to mind. From what I had read, it sounded like the perfect place for both. And it sure was.

We arrived early evening and slipped onto a comfy stool at the bar. Cocktails decided on, we relaxed at the end of a hectic week, really enjoying our perfectly mixed beverages. The place was fairly quiet at that stage, but the restaurant filled up as the night continued.

After drinks we moved to our table and had to decide just how big a piece of meat we could eat. We laughed (a little nervously) when we read on the menu - "Some people have mentioned that our cuts are on the big side - we hope you can forgive us."

I opted for the 400g Rib-eye, while BB went for the 600g Bone-in Sirloin. The steak just comes by itself, so sides are required - we ordered the Triple Cooked chips, the Honey-roasted vegetables, and the Macaroni Cheese. The steak was pretty expensive but so worth it. Lovely char-grilled flavour, rare and flavoursome. Very excellent pieces of meat. The sides were tasty too, though I did think that the Macaroni Cheese was over-priced. A big, full bodied bottle of Australian red wine complemented our meals perfectly.

Somehow we managed to clean our plates and still find room to share a dessert - the Chocolate Fudge Sundae. It was so delicious - ice cream, brownie chunks, crispy peanut brittle bits, chocolate sauce. Yum.

The prices at Hawksmoor mean this isn't going to become a regular haunt for us, but the quality of the steaks, along with the really lovely service and the relaxed atmosphere mean that next time we have an occasion that requires a decent martini and a more than decent steak we may well be back.

Santore - review by sue

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 19:11:17 +0000

Santore - review by sue

Rating: 3.6

Location: 59-61 Exmouth Market, EC1R 4QL, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7812 1488

Tags: italian, pizza

Santore - review by sue

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 19:11:17 +0000

Santore - review by sue

Rating: 3.6

Location: 59-61 Exmouth Market, EC1R 4QL, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7812 1488

Tags: italian, pizza

Exmouth Market is a happening place on a weekday lunch time, with market stalls and numerous restaurants and cafes catering to hungry office workers. Santore is an Italian restaurant on this lively strip, and I visited one day for lunch with my work mates.

The restaurant has a relaxed feel, with smiling staff and a large menu. My colleagues all opted to order from the special 2 course lunch menu, whilst I, always the trouble maker, selected from the main menu.

I had the Rucola pizza, which had Parma ham, rocket and parmesan cheese. It was enjoyable, with generous toppings, though the middle was a but soggy. Everyone else seemed to enjoy their choices, and some people continued on to dessert too. I may have sampled the bosses giant serve of Tiramisu (apparently the waitress has a soft spot for him), which was a little too cream-focussed for my liking.

The Grill Room - review by sue

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 13:26:35 +0000

The Grill Room - review by sue

Rating: 4.0

Location: 2 Whitton Road, TW1 1BJ, Twickenham, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 8891 0803

Website: http://www.thegrillroomtw1.co.uk

Tags: meat, lobster, british, seafood, steak, good value

The Grill Room is located close to Twickenham station and is well worth trying if you find yourself in this neck of the woods. The interior is dark and cosy, the type of environment you can imagine indulging in a big juicy steak and glass or two of red wine, which is exactly what we did.

Dining early evening, midweek, in August, we almost had the restaurant to ourselves. This did give us the chance to have a good chat with the friendly and helpful waitress, who kindly let us taste one of the wines before settling on a bottle.

The menu focuses on steak, though there are a decent selection of seafood dishes as well. We were there for meat. I had the 8oz Scottish Fillet and it was buttery goodness - the knife just glided through it. Alex went all out and had the 16oz T-bone. It was a big piece of meat, but he gallantly worked his way through it, declaring it the best T-bone ever. All steaks are served with some very moreish chips, and a side of corn fritters was good too.

Somehow we managed to find the room to share a dessert - the Chock-a-block Stanley frozen chocolate cream slice with Baileys Irish cream. Tasty and a sweet way to end the meal.

My only complaint would be that there wasn't anything on the wine list I wanted to order. Would have been good to see a couple more mid-priced options that weren't French.

Lola & Simon - review by sue

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 13:24:56 +0000

Lola & Simon - review by sue

Rating: 3.0

Location: 278 King Street, W6 0SP, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 8563 0300

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

Tags: lively, kiwi, antipodean, new zealand, Argentinean, international, fusion

An impromptu dinner with friends one evening found us at Lola & Simon, near Hammersmith. The restaurant is owned by a couple - he is Argentinean, she is a New Zealander, and the food reflects this, drawing on both countries for inspiration and flavour. The name Lola & Simon apparently comes from the owner's dogs back in Buenos Aires.

I liked the look and feel of the restaurant, but wasn't so keen on the acoustics. Or maybe the table of 6 sitting near us in the mezzanine dining area were just particularly loud and annoying. And service was a little hit and miss, our main waiter didn't seem to be very experienced, but he meant well.

The food was pretty good for the most part. We started with the Argentinean Empanadas; and some New Zealand green-lipped mussels. Next was the Roasted rump of dukkha crusted New Zealand lamb with grilled eggplant and sweet potato mash; the Milanesa Napolitana with crispy potatoes; and the Seared then roasted cod fillet with crispy potatoes and mustard caper lentil dressing. For dessert we shared a couple of Rich chocolate brownies with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream.

The main courses were the highlight of the meal - I really enjoyed the flavours in the lamb dish and the cod looked great and was cooked just right.

The friendly Brazilian manager had a chat with us at the end of our meal and we learnt that he was looking after the place for a couple of weeks while the owners were on holiday. Apparently he usually works at the newish Princess Victoria (gastro)pub in Shepherds Bush which is getting rave reviews.