Latest reviews by austinmax's friends

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.

Fishworks Seafood Cafe - review by sue

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 13:22:53 +0000

Fishworks Seafood Cafe - review by sue

Rating: 2.0

Location: 13 - 19 The Square, TW9 1EA, Richmond Upon Thames, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 8948 5965

Website: http://www.fishworks.co.uk/richmond

Tags: lively, seafood, expensive

Fishworks is one of those (supposedly) more upmarket chain restaurants that you have meant to go to for ages but have never made it there. Well, a 50% off food offer finally inspired us to give it a try for lunch one Sunday. We headed to our local branch in Richmond. I liked the look of the place - it was nice and bright with a large sky-light helping to brighten up the grey and rainy last day of summer.

We shared a starter of South Coast Crab Cakes, which had an interesting texture and some tasty dipping sauce. For main course we had the Organic Salmon Fillet with hollandaise sauce; and the Baked Monk Fish with ratatouille.

The most positive thing I can say about the food was that the fish seemed to be good quality - and rightly so as there is a fish mongers attached to the restaurant.

But we thought the food was overpriced, particularly when you have to order sides with many of the dishes. My Â£14.50 salmon became expensive once I ordered side orders of greens and potatoes, as the menu price just gets you the piece of fish. Coupled with this, the meals were unattractively presented on grotty looking, greasy plates. Not good enough.

Byron - review by sue

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 13:03:27 +0000

Byron - review by sue

Rating: 2.0

Location: 4 Jerome Place, KT1 1HX, Kingston Upon Thames, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 8541 4757

Website: http://www.byronhamburgers.com

Tags: american, child friendly, family & home feel, cheap eat, modern, burgers

Finding ourselves in Kingston one lunchtime, I recalled reading a positive review about Byron and was keen to check it out. I am not a regular burger eater, though do enjoy the occasional one at places like Gourmet Burger Kitchen, and was curious how Byron would compare.

Byron in Kingston is a large restaurant with some outside seating and modern dÃ©cor which reminded me a bit of a Carluccio's, in a good way. There were plenty of smiling staff buzzing around and a smattering of customers.

There is a short burger menu, offering the usual type of burger, along with a "Skinny" (with no bun), a chicken burger, and a veggie one too. We both opted for the "Byron" burger which came with dry cure bacon, mature cheddar and 'byron' sauce.

The meat pattie was juicy and flavoursome. Wasn't so keen on the bun though. And the chips were disappointing - think McDonald's fries. There was nothing wrong with the food, though I probably wouldn't seek out Byron again for my next burger fix as I didn't enjoy it as much as GBK.

The Golden Hind - review by sue

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 15:31:56 +0000

The Golden Hind - review by sue

Rating: 4.9

Location: 73 Marylebone Lane, W1U 2PN, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7486 3644

Tags: lively, british, seafood, cheap eat, fish & chips, good value

There seems to be a constant debate in London on where to get the best fish & chips. One place that always gets a mention is the Golden Hind in Marylebone, so I went there to see for myself how it rated.

The Golden Hind is a very cool place, not 'hip' cool, but historic cool. It has been open since 1914, and there is a little board that shows the names of the various owners since then. The simple dÃ©cor doesn't look like it would have changed much over the years, nor the furniture, which is basic yet functional. This is a lively place, with a constant stream of customers coming and going, along with locals picking up their takeaway. It is cramped, a little noisy, but the food is good, the staff are so smiley and friendly, and to top it all off, it is BYO.

Bottle in hand, we managed to grab a table one evening without having a reservation. In fact we were allocated a luxurious table for 4 when there was only 2 of us. Happy days. We ordered some Calamari to start, which was lightly battered and very soft. We both had Haddock with chips and mushy peas (why are mushy peas so much tastier than normal peas!?). Really enjoyed it all and found the batter very light and not too greasy.

So, were the fish & chips at the Golden Hind the best I've ever had? Maybe not the best (there was this amazing place in North Walesâ¬¦), but certainly one of the best.

Galvin at Windows - review by sue

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 15:21:56 +0000

Galvin at Windows - review by sue

Rating: 4.3

Location: 22 Park Lane, W1K 1BE, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7208 4021

Website: http://www.galvinatwindows.com/

Tags: romantic, glamorous, views, cocktails, expensive, friendly, french, european

Located on the 28th floor of the Park Lane Hilton, Galvin at Windows is the perfect place to celebrate a special occasion. We went for dinner on my birthday and had a magical night. Yes, one of the highlights of a visit here are the fabulous views across London, but we also had mostly delicious food and were served by some very friendly staff which all added to a very enjoyable evening.

We started off the night with a drink in the bar, really enjoying the views and the cocktails. We were then ushered to our window seat in the restaurant, where we looked out over Green Park and Buckingham Palace. The staff were all charming, and I found it very amusing when the sommelier recognised us from a meal we had had 6 months earlier at Latium, where he used to work, and he even remembered which wine we had ordered back then (so did we as it was an excellent Barolo).

The meal started with an Amuse Bouche of Chilled melon soup which was nice and summery. We then had the Salad of summer vegetables, hand picked leaves, walnut vinaigrette & creamed Perigord goat cheese; and the Warm Lincolnshire smoked eel, seared foie gras & caramelised Victoria pineapple. The salad was nice and light and prettily presented. The eel was excellent and combined perfectly with the creamy foie gras.

For main course we had the Confit fillet of halibut, crab pommes ecrasees, courgette & radish puree; and the Fillet of Glen Fyne beef, braised cheek, English carrots & Madeira jus. Only complaint would be that the fish was a little bland, though it was nicely cooked and presented.

Dessert was the highlight for me (ok, when isn't it!). We had the Hot chocolate fondant, Szechuan pepper ice cream & almond milkshake; and the Peanut butter parfait with chocolate pearls & berry jam. Both desserts were superb, but the best flavour combination was to have a mouthful of the fondant and the parfait at the same time, making it one of the tastiest desserts ever!

Brindisa - review by sue

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 15:10:41 +0000

Brindisa - review by sue

Rating: 4.3

Location: 18-20 Southwark Street, SE1 1TJ, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7357 8880

Website: http://www.brindisa.com

Tags: lively, borough, spanish, crowded, tapas

Brindisa is a tapas bar located on the edge of Borough Market. They don't take reservations and every time I have walked past they have always been very busy. That said, we did manage to walk in at around 12.30pm on a Saturday and nab a table, well it was more a bench type windowsill than table, but perfect for two.

It was another busy lunch time for them, but our lovely waitress still took the time to check on us throughout our meal which was much appreciated. Speaking of our meal, it was tasty.

We ordered:
Gran Reserva Joselito loin (a type of Spanish ham)
Country toast with tomato
Grilled Sardines
Iberian ham croquettes
Deep fried Monte Enebro goats cheese with orange blossom honey

Our favourite was the goats cheese with honey - delicious. In fact it was all pretty good, though not as keen on sardines when they are as this big. Only real complaint about Brindisa would be that wine is expensive, with only one bottle of white wine for under Â£20. We just stuck to a glass each - I chose an intriguing white rioja which I would be happy to become better acquainted with in the future.

Giaconda Dining Room - review by sue

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:37:41 +0000

Giaconda Dining Room - review by sue

Rating: 4.0

Location: 9 Denmark Street, WC2H 8LS, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7240 3334

Tags: relaxed, british, business, good value, friendly, french, european

The Giaconda Dining Room opened just a couple of months ago in an unlikely street that is better known for its guitar shops than its cuisine. When I first read about this new restaurant I moved it straight to the top of the to-do list, mainly as the chef/owner is an Aussie who had a very good name in the Sydney dining scene a few years back.

On arrival the greeting from the lovely French waitress was friendly, and continued to be so throughout the meal. She was charming, and did nice things like, for example, telling me not to bother ordering extra salad as a serve came with one of the other dishes and would be enough for two.

The dÃ©cor in the small dining room is fairly plain, with the tiny kitchen to the rear. Toilets are downstairs and are not nice - obviously weren't renovated before the Giaconda Dining Room opened. They could at least buy a toilet seat that fits.

A 'cover charge' of Â£1 per person is charged which covers the bread and unlimited water - this was good value for us as we drank a few carafes of sparking water, and ordinarily we would order a couple of bottles anyway.

The food is a mix of French/British/European, with a great sounding menu making the ordering process difficult. The three of us couldn't decide on which starter to order, so we ordered three to share - the Shellfish Bisque; the "Boneless (almost!) & Crisped Pigs Trotters" (as it is written on the menu); and the special of the day, Foie Gras with green bean salad. The bisque was flavoursome, the pigs trotters were a little bland. The foie gras was melt-in-your-mouth delicious.

For main course we had the Ham Hock Hash; the Rib Eye with chips and salad; and the Crisp Roast Salmon with deconstructed piccalilli. The Ham Hock Hash was the favourite. Desserts had to be sampled, and we opted for the Chocolate Truffle cake with coffee sauce; and the Tiramisu. Both were very rich - I couldn't finish my cake - and the tiramisu was nice and groggy.

Prices are lower than average for the quality of the meals on offer, and service and atmosphere were great. Certainly hope to return.

Yauatcha - review by sue

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 18:48:40 +0000

Yauatcha - review by sue

Rating: 4.5

Location: 15 Broadwick Street, W1F 0DL, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7494 8888

Tags: lively, tea, dim sum, cakes, cocktails, chinese, unique, expensive, trendy, good service

Why did it take me so long to visit Yauatcha? I think because I thought it was some sort of pretentious, expensive place where only the 'beautiful' people could get a table. I was so wrong, well they let us in didn't they!

Booking in advance, we got a table at Yauatcha for a Sunday lunch. After some serious browsing in Carnaby Street before hand we were ready to sample what we hoped would be some pretty special dim sum, and happily our experience lived up to expectation.

We had booked a table on the ground floor, and I'm glad we did. The downstairs, whilst interestingly decorated, looked a bit cramped and dark, especially on a sunny day. The service was friendlier than I was expecting and I was impressed with their efficiency considering how busy the restaurant was.

Knowing the menu was going to be large, and not being dim sum experts, I did some research in advance to see what dishes others recommended. This did indeed make the ordering process easier, though we still took our time, starting with a couple of interesting sounding cocktails - the Kumquatcha and the Lalu (or something like that), neither of which I was too keen on.

The food we ordered was:
Har Gau
Scallop and Kumquat Dumplings
Baked Venison Puffs
Prawn Cheung Fun
Pork, Prawn and Tofu balls
Pork and Century Egg Congee

My favourites were the Prawn Cheung Fun and the Venison Puffs - those tasty little venison parcels were as good as everyone says. The congee wasn't something I had had before - a type of creamy, rice soup with pork and preserved egg, the latter tasting better than it looked!

Can't believe we didn't have room for dessert, as they have amazing looking cakes on display which you can buy to take away too. My next visit may well just be for tea and cake sampling. And perhaps a cheeky serve of Venison Puffs too...

Fernandez & Wells - review by sue

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 18:37:58 +0000

Fernandez & Wells - review by sue

Rating: 5.0

Location: 73 Beak Street, W1F 9SR, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7287 8124

Website: http://www.fernandezandwells.com/beak.php

Tags: friendly, great coffee, amazing brew, cakes, quick bite

People 'in the know' kept telling me that Fernandez & Wells made good coffee. So we went there. And they certainly do!

We didn't visit their main shop on Lexington Street, but the smaller coffee bar on Beak Street. It was morning tea time one sunny Sunday and coffee was in the agenda. Ordering a couple of Flat Whites and one of my favourite treats - a Portuguese custard tart (Pasteis de Nata), we took a seat by the window.

Our coffee arrived and it looked really good. A nice dark crema and a pretty pattern in the milk. It tasted even better than it looked. And the custard tart was nice and fresh and custardy. Staff were friendly too. Top marks.

Scoop - review by sue

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 18:32:06 +0000

Scoop - review by sue

Rating: 4.5

Location: 40 Shorts Gardens, WC2H 9AB, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7240 7086

Website: http://www.scoopgelato.com/

Tags: helpful staff, gelato, ice cream

What do you do when you've had a big lunch, and later you are strolling the streets of Covent Garden when suddenly you spy a place that is supposed to serve the best gelato in town. You do what you have to do, don't you, and eat some, full belly or not.

So we rocked into Scoop, not in top ice cream eating form unfortunately, but keen to sample at least one flavour anyway. The gelato looked lovely and creamy, and there weren't too many flavours - when there is it makes it impossible to choose and you also wonder how long some of them have been sitting there... But there was still enough choice to make our decision difficult. Thankfully we were able to have a couple of small tastes before making our final choice.

In the end I just had a single serve of Lemon sorbet. It was very lemony and tangy and I liked it. Though next time I will be having some of that incredibly dark chocolate one, and perhaps some of the coffee... or the panna cotta... or the nougat... or some of each!

Austins - review by sue

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 18:17:04 +0000

Austins - review by sue

Rating: 2.5

Location: 29 The Green, TW9 1LX, Richmond Upon Thames, United Kingdom

Tags: quick bite, smoothies, free wi-fi, proper food, tea, average brew, juices, cakes, organic

Austins is a small cafÃ© located across the road from Richmond Green. It specialises in organic and fair trade food and drinks. Its location ensures it is very popular, especially when the sun is shining as it has some tables outside.

After often walking past Austins for over a year, I finally ventured there one morning in search of a cup of tea and some cake. I had never seen it so quiet. The only two customers there were hogging all of the outside tables with their giant baby buggy and even larger, slobbering dog. I decided to sit inside.

All of the cakes in the display cabinet were still covered in clingfilm, which I always find off putting. I ordered a cuppa and a slice of 'organic chocolate cake'. The tea was served in a large cup that had seen better days. The cake was covered in lots of rich icing which was nice, but if you ate the cake part without the icing it was too dry. As I sat, sipping my tea to wash down the cake, I noticed how dirty the floor was.

Pierre Victoire - review by walid

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 19:28:43 +0000

Pierre Victoire - review by walid

Rating: 3.7

Location: 5 Dean Street, W1D 3RQ, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7287 4250

Tags: french, good value, soho

I've been to Pierre Victoire a few times over the past few years and always found it to be a relative safe bet. What characterizes Pierre Victoire is pretty good food at a very good value. I went back there last weekend for a meal and had a fairly good experience. As mentioned the food at Pierre Victoire is pretty good French food but it isn't exceptional. I had one of my favourite dishes bavette with shallots. Now for me a bavette is a good fairly chunky piece of great beef. The one from PV looked as though it had been flattened. For dessert I had the tiramisu with amaretto biscuits, which was alright. Overall I like this place and would probably return there if only it didn't get as noisy as it usually does.

The Pipe - review by sue

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 07:41:47 +0000

The Pipe - review by sue

Rating: 4.0

Location: Kirchstrasse 38, , Zermatt, Switzerland

Phone: 079 758 53 24

Website: http://www.gozermatt.com/thepipe/

Tags: lively, south african, african, international, asian, expensive, indian, friendly

The Pipe is a 'fusion' restaurant serving up dishes with African, Indian and Asian flavours. I was dubious at first, but the enthusiasm of the owner, coupled with the hope of never eating another rosti again (joking, I love them!), found us sitting down for dinner one evening. That and the fact the restaurant was about two steps from our hotel.

The Pipe Restaurant and Bar is a "Surfers Cantina", with quirky dÃ©cor and cheerful staff. Prices were a little higher than the other places we ate in Zermatt, though atmosphere and service was certainly better.

We started with an unusual Lamb Salad to share, which had strips of tasty lamb, salad and banana. For main course we had the Karroo Lamb, which was marinated in African spices; the Tamarind Chicken Tikka; and the Springbok Biriyani. All of the dishes were nicely presented and filled with great flavours. I had the Tamarind Tikka and it was really nice and moist. Serving sizes were large though and unfortunately we had no room for dessert.

Bergrestaurant Alphitta - review by sue

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 07:38:23 +0000

Bergrestaurant Alphitta - review by sue

Rating: 4.0

Location: Riffelalp, 3920, Zermatt, Switzerland

Tags: relaxed, swiss, views

After a visit to scenic Gornergrat, we stopped off in Riffelalp for a wander and some lunch. When we happened across Bergrestaurant Alphitta, with its large, shady balcony we were smitten. The restaurant is perched on the side of a hill and there are lovely alpine views from here across the valley.

Grabbing a great table on the balcony, we lapped up the views whilst waiting to order...things move slower in the mountains. We all opted for a Rosti - either topped with ham, cheese and egg, or with bacon and egg. They were really delicious and very filling.

If the sun is shining I can really recommend Alphitta as a good place for a drink or meal.