Latest favourites and wishlist by jennufcboss

Petek - review by jackmale86

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 18:30:23 +0000

Petek - review by jackmale86

Rating: 4.6

Location: 96 Stroud Green Road, N4 3EN, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7619 3933

Another turkish restaurant i wasn't sure about visiting. The exterior decoration doesn't exactly sell the place, but i'm glad i gave it a try. In terms of volume of food in comparison to price paid, this place has everyone else beat. Its really cheap and you get so much! You plate is literally piled high with food! I had a chicken dish which was cooked to perfection. The drinks here are also cheap so you can enjoy yourself even more! Only bad point, hence the loss of a star, is the service. A little slow to get the food out and then not around after that!

Buen Ayre - review by acrobat

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 12:40:32 +0000

Buen Ayre - review by acrobat

Rating: 3.6

Location: 50 Broadway Market, E8 4QJ, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7275 9900

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

I went with high expectations which were not exactly lived up to. The staff were pushy about time and not attentive - for a small place it shouldn't take 10 minutes to get the attention of a waiter - and then when you asked for things they tended to forget.

But this should be about the food - which was well there in abundance. But from a table of 6 we sent back 2 items for either being overdone, or not cooked at all (uncooked blooded sausage is not exactly appetizing) - we should have sent back more.

Two people were lucky to get probably some of the most amazing steak I've tasted - but the 4 other people were left chewing on overdone/under done or just plain poorly done steaks.

If you think your order is not perfectly rare/medium/well done or however you ordered it - send it back.

This should be great a great restaurant, but its needs to be producing great food all the time in order to be considered a London must.

Buen Ayre - review by bellaphon

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 22:33:38 +0000

Buen Ayre - review by bellaphon

Rating: 3.6

Location: 50 Broadway Market, E8 4QJ, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7275 9900

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

Tags: lively, argentine, argentinian, steak, good value, steaks, crowded, expensive

Popeseye to the West, Buen Ayre to the East and when I do forget to top up the Oyster I shall walk to Black and Blue on Wigmore Street instead. These are my steak faves.

No Iâ¬"ve not been to Argentina and yes Iâ¬"ve certainly been to at least three of the Gaucho branches. This place unequivocally knocks the spots off the latter. Tremendous steaks, the best so far. Dining companions are absolutely mandatory for the sole reason of sharing the Parrillada (brazier mixed grill) courses. The sirloins and the rib eye were suitably beefy, well hung and beautifully tender, which can only suggest that they came from a herd of happy cows and a savvy griddler. My fellow diners almost always pass up on the black pudding that comes with the course, oh well all the more for me, as they were contrastingly luscious to the steaks. Given the presence of the huge amount of meats on the table the relative parts of the salads and Atkinsâ¬" nightmare of chips were purely cameo. A bottle of Malbec provides the right synergy with these beautiful steaks. Helado (ice cream) is the ideal afters following the epic red meat mains. Service was no nonsense and time wasters are promptly dealt with, the friendly multi-tasking waitress was brilliant. Veggies are thankfully acknowledged as well.

You canâ¬"t take the fertile pastures of the Pampas out of Argentina but Buen Ayre has more than allow us Londoners to enjoy its beef.

Petek - review by Cate_Brisby

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 11:16:10 +0000

Petek - review by Cate_Brisby

Rating: 4.6

Location: 96 Stroud Green Road, N4 3EN, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7619 3933

Tags: lively, good value, turkish

Decided to eat here based on other previous good reviews and I was not disappointed. The food was extremely good, fresh and served promptly. I had prawns with monkfish and my boyfriend had a selection of chicken and lamb kebabs which were both succulent and well flavoured. The portions are pretty large, well presented and good value. The only criticism I would make was that service was a little lax and then rushed when we did receive it, but it was nine o'clock on a Friday so a pretty minor point and it definitely wouldn't prevent me returning

Buen Ayre - review by Sprotch

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 13:57:42 +0000

Buen Ayre - review by Sprotch

Rating: 3.6

Location: 50 Broadway Market, E8 4QJ, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7275 9900

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

Tags: lively, crowded, expensive

If you're looking for Argentine beef, this is the place to go.

Having lived in Buenos Aires for two years, I always enjoy going to Santa Maria del Buen Ayre. They took the best of Argentinean restaurants (the beef) and added proper service and confortable seats.

Do not expect refinenement, a parilla is simply beef that's grilled steak till it's very well done. It's perfect for meat lovers.

The atmosphere is nice as well, informal and packed with people having a good time. Service is consistently friendly and efficient.

Pricewise it may be a bit expensive given that's it's just a parilla place. You'll be paying 8 times BA prices for food and 16 times for wine, but you're in London. That amounts to about Â£20-30 per person total.

Buen Ayre - review by heyphilip

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 18:28:35 +0000

Buen Ayre - review by heyphilip

Rating: 3.6

Location: 50 Broadway Market, E8 4QJ, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7275 9900

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

Tags: good value

Those who live in Hackney can tell over the past few years the quality just gets better and better. The complete tranformation of broadway market still astonishes me. That said when Buen Ayre was open, i immediately fell in love the restaurant. We are not talking about steak which is flatted out, dry and tasteless that you will in pubs these days. This was steak was huge as if it was just chopped off from a cow. Anyone tried the suagages there.. man they are huge. The food there is lovely and service is quality everytime i have been there. The dissappointed thing i can say is that it is always packed out, full of people, and it can be hard to get a reservation there.

Buen Ayre - review by CooperOil

Wed, 28 May 2008 10:06:06 +0000

Buen Ayre - review by CooperOil

Rating: 3.6

Location: 50 Broadway Market, E8 4QJ, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7275 9900

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

I went here based on its reputation for high quality steaks.
My visit was an utter disapointment. Terrible service and large flavourless slabs of meat.

I love a good steak and living in England provides us with access to some of the best raised and hung beef in the world, this is not the place to find it.

Avoid if you like your steaks juicy and flavoursome.

Buen Ayre - review by qwghlm

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 13:43:39 +0000

Buen Ayre - review by qwghlm

Rating: 3.6

Location: 50 Broadway Market, E8 4QJ, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7275 9900

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

Not bad - but it did seem to over-prioritise quantity over quality, and the beef I got was neither as tender as full of flavour as I would have expected.

That said, there was lots of it, and if you have a big appetite - or a fan of novelty-sized superbig cuts of meat, then you won't be disappointed. And the atmosphere is nice and lively, and the service fine.

Also the house red wine wasn't too harsh - not expecting world class here obviously, but it didn't complement the meat at all.

Kampung Restaurant - review by jennufcboss

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 10:54:20 +0000

Kampung Restaurant - review by jennufcboss

Rating: 4.5

Location: 879 Green Lanes, N21 2QS, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 8360 8998

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

Kampung is definitely one of the best restaurants in London. I eat out a lot, and while there is a wide array of restaurants in the Winchmore Hill area, it seems to be Kampung that we return to most often. For a set price, you can order as many dishes as you want, including duck, king prawns etc etc. As you are ordering the dishes rather than partaking of a buffet, the food is always brought to you cooked to perfection and piping hot. I have never been disappointed by this restaurant. I particularly recommend the tempura vegetables starter dish, and the Roast Honey Pork main course, whole the Kong Po prawns are a real treat as well! This restaurant is excellent value for money, the finest quality indo-chinese food for miles around, and a lovely atmosphere. I recommend this restaurant for family meals, group celebrations, or couples..perfect for everybody really!!!!

Petek - review by Sami

Fri, 03 Aug 2007 13:24:34 +0000

Petek - review by Sami

Rating: 4.6

Location: 96 Stroud Green Road, N4 3EN, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7619 3933

One of my new favourite reasons about moving to Stroud Green is Petek - the portions are so large, the food is so cheap, and most importantly, it's absolutely excellent. I don't know how they manage to charge so little yet consistently serve wonderfully fresh and tasty Turkish food.

Although the strip its on is not what one would normally choose to eat in, Stroud Green is - dare I say it - becoming gentrified as younger, media types move in to the area to benefit from the cheap rent and exceptional transport links, due to its proximity to Finsbury Park tube station. Further up Stroud Green Road is the north London yuppie enclave of Crouch End; both Finsbury Park and Crouch End act as book-ends in between which Stroud Green sits, changing rather quickly as a result of various new businesses opening.

Petek is one of these restaurants. It's very cozy, decorated with colourful pendant glass lights and other traditional decor. The menus runs from mezze to grilled meats and fish, but the best value for money comes from the various tasting menus available - we chose the largest one at only 13 pounds per person, and left incredibly satiated after 7 different types of mezze, fresh bread hot out of the oven, and grilled chicken shish with rice and salad. For the price you pay, the food is unbelievably good and well worth a visit.

Buen Ayre - review by Sami

Mon, 23 Jul 2007 22:39:04 +0000

Buen Ayre - review by Sami

Rating: 3.6

Location: 50 Broadway Market, E8 4QJ, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7275 9900

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

Tags: lively, charcoal grill, barbecue, parilla, South American, Argentinean, family & home feel, steak, good value, crowded

If only I lived around the corner from Buen Ayre... this Argentinean shrine to all things meat has been open for a couple of years now, its main attraction the South American style of grill called the parilla, where meat is barbecued in a special fashion over a long, moveable charcoal grill in order to achieve the most tender and luscious results.

Owned and run by an Irish-Argentinian who mans the grill on a regular basis, Buen Ayre pays homage to the Argentinian tradition of celebrating family get-togethers and events over the asado, or barbecue. All meat on the bone is imported from Argentina; due to import restrictions, meat off the bone cannot come from Argentina but is supplied by niche UK meats purveyor.

The prices are excellent, especially when you take into consideration that someone must stand over a very hot grill for hours on end in order to achieve the intended juicy and slow-cooked result when using more difficult cuts of meat, and the wine list is a very thoughtfully chosen point of reference for Argentinean wines. Of course, the focus of the restaurant is on the meat - and I'm lost for words when it comes to describing how fantastic it is.

Buen Ayre acts as a home away from home for many ex-pat Argentineans, many of whom travel from outside of London on the week-ends to eat here, and it's safe to say that 95% of the staff is of South American descent; it is very, very busy with an extremely loyal clientele and it is advisable to book roughly three days in advance.

Please, please go here - I promise that you will not leave disappointed - the food is simple and superb, the staff is incredibly friendly, and the prices are just right.

Kampung Restaurant - review by KarmenY

Mon, 15 Jan 2007 11:16:56 +0000

Kampung Restaurant - review by KarmenY

Rating: 4.5

Location: 879 Green Lanes, N21 2QS, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 8360 8998

Tags: malaysian, good value, fresh, crowded, friendly staff

This place is fantastic! My friends and my family all eat here! Its great value for money eat as much as you like! The food you get is ordered from the menu and brought to you, so its always REALLY fresh and hot, ALL 4 courses of it. Starters, soup, duck, and the main. Its clean, and the staff are all really nice and good at what they do. Its always busy in there so you have to book and the atmosphere is great!

Petek - review by Mez

Sat, 22 Jul 2006 01:25:33 +0000

Petek - review by Mez

Rating: 4.6

Location: 96 Stroud Green Road, N4 3EN, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7619 3933

Tags: cosy, friendly staff, traditional decoration, great atmosphere, turkish restaurant, lively

Petek is a Turkish restaurant which has opened recently. I discovered it through a friend who organised a leaving do there. The staff and owner are very friendly and hospitable and the restaurant nicely decorated, traditional style. The food was excellent. The set menu consisted of many mezzes and the main course included a choice of a delicious oven-cooked seabass, a great traditional Turkish kebab dish and also a vegetarian option. The food was truly excellent, and the service the same. The night was truly great value for money. I thouroughly recommend it!

Petek - review by sokratis

Fri, 21 Jul 2006 16:02:56 +0000

Petek - review by sokratis

Rating: 4.6

Location: 96 Stroud Green Road, N4 3EN, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7619 3933

Tags: turkish, ffinsbury, kebab, mixed, great

Petek is a newish restaurant in FInsbury. I went there for a friend's leaving do and really like the place. The food was great and the prices great too. The best thing though were the people there, exspecially the owner. They took care of everything for us to have a great night and send Steve and Becs on their way in top style.