Latest reviews by lenalouise

Brindisa

lenalouise — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 12:28:15 +0000

Rating: 4.3

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

Phone: 020 7357 8880

Website: http://www.brindisa.com

Tags: lively, spanish, good atmosphere, crowded, tapas

Tasty tapasAfter coming back from my holiday in Barcelona this year, I started craving tapas after about a week so me and Sam decided to give Brindisa a visit. We ventured there on a Thursday lunchtime so the market was also in full flow. Our names were added to the waiting list and 15 minutes later we were seated.

It was quite difficult deciding on what to get as so many things sounded delicious on the menu. We eventually went for some charcuterie (salchichon de Vic); potato, chorizo and pepper omelette; pan fried cuttle-fish with romesco sauce; sauteed chicken livers with capers and fino sherry; deep fried monte enebro goat cheese with orange blossom honey; patatas bravas; country toast with tomato.

The omelette was packed full of flavour and really moist. The charcuterie was velvety smooth on your tongue. I think those two dishes were my favourite out of everything. The cuttle-fish, chicken livers and goats cheese had really interesting flavours but weren't amazing. The potatoes were a bit of a let-down, nowhere near as good as the ones I had in Barcelona. The meal was Â£40 for 7 tapas and 2 beers.

Wong Kei

lenalouise — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 14:56:11 +0000

Rating: 3.0

Location: 41-43 Wardour Street, W1D 6PX, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7437 8408

Tags: lively, big groups, cheap eat, fast service, chinese

bad mealI came here with a big group of people and we were seated straight away even though it was on a busy Friday night. I wasn't expecting the food to be great but I still managed to be disappointed! The food was extremely sub-standard and bland. There wasn't anything that was good in any way. The food was gloopy and full of unappetising food colourings. I agree with the other reviewers that is is cheap but there are places around the same price that actually has edible food. I don't think I'll be back

Etsu

lenalouise — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 14:07:59 +0000

Rating: 4.0

Location: 25 The Strand, L2 0XJ, Liverpool, United Kingdom

Phone: 01512 367530

Website: http://www.etsu-restaurant.co.uk/

Tags: japanese, sushi special, good value

Friendly, good value JapaneseWhen I was back in Liverpool recently, my cousin Mike and my sister Lisa recommended a Japanese restaurant that they had discovered so we went before I had to come back to London. The manager and staff were extremely friendly. I had flown back from Barcelona that day and was still dressed like it was 30 degrees so I was feeling pretty cold. The manager came over and offered to move us to a table further away from the door which was nice.

They had a sushi special which was pretty exciting. It was a plate of 7 different things, all really unique and contemporary. (Have a look at the picture). We got this to share between us with some prawn tempura and a suimono soup.

For mains, we got a tonkatsu, chicken teriyaki, seabass teriyaki (which all came with rice and salad) and I requested a chirashi sushi which they didn't have on the menu. I really enjoyed my chirashi, they ended up putting a lot of different things into it...7 different kinds of fish, seaweed and egg slices with various garnishes. I think the others enjoyed their meals aswell.

The dessert, however was a bit of a let down. Usually, Lisa and Mike get the chocolate cake which apparently is delicious but what we got on the day was a piece of dried, over-sweet cake that was difficult to finish.

The meal came to Â£81.50 for 4 of us which isn't bad at all. We pretty much had 3 courses each and green tea to go with it.

Chinese Experience

lenalouise — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 13:23:49 +0000

Rating: 4.3

Location: 118 Shaftesbury Avenue, W1D 5EP, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7437 0377

Website: http://www.chineseexperience.com

Tags: crowded, cheap eat, chinese

All day dim sumMy friend Michelle had come up from Brighton for a few days to work (she's a facepainter at the aquarium). She's half chinese and missed eating chinese food, especially dim sum so we agreed on a meal out. Problem was that she finished work at 6 which is when most places stop doing dims um and that's how I came across Chinese Experience.

The place didn't look bad, they'd made an effort to present themselves well compared to other chinese restaurants in the area and this was also reflected in the dishes. We hadn't booked so we ended up waiting for 20 minutes which was fine. I noticed that apart from me and Michelle, there weren't any chinese people in the restaurant.

We ordered 6-7 different dim sum but it seemed to be a bit expensive in the end. I think it was Â£30 for 2 but usually I pay around Â£20 for 2. The dim sum were really average on flavour and texture and were nothing special. The presentation was a bit nicer and looked more contemporary than normal dim sum. I think I'll only go back if I was really desperate for dim sum in the evening.

Brick Lane Beigel Bake

lenalouise — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 01:41:33 +0000

Rating: 4.6

Location: 159 Brick Lane, E1 6SB, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7729 0826

Tags: good value, bagel

salt beef is the way to goI've always been a salmon and cream cheese kind of bagel girl but the other reviews convinced me to try out the salt beef. After a lazy Sunday afternoon hanging around Brick lane, I made my boyfriend accompany me to find Beigel bake and promptly ordered myself a bagel with salt beef and mustard. I really enjoyed it, the beef is so lovely, just the right texture and flavour. She did go a bit crazy with the mustard though...a bit much for me but I braved it and finished the whole thing anyway! I think I need to do what the other reviewers are doing and buy loads and keep them in the freezer.

Cha Cha Moon

lenalouise — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 01:31:17 +0000

Rating: 3.5

Location: 15-21 Ganton Street, W1F 9BN, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7297 9800

Tags: lively, cheap eat, good value, quick, chinese

Bargain at Â£3.50When I heard about the new opening of Alan Yauâ¬"s latest venture, I couldnâ¬"t resist having that on the top of my mental list of â¬Üplaces to tryâ¬", especially at only Â£3.50 a pop. We joined the queue and watched the chefs in the kitchen through the coloured glass wall while we waited. They seemed to have plenty of space but only let in a certain amount of people, probably so that the kitchen didnâ¬"t get too overwhelmed.

The wait wasnâ¬"t too long (15-20 mins) and we were eventually seated on a bench near the pass. Naturally, we took advantage of the opening offer and ordered way too much. We got 5 starters and 5 mains for the THREE of us!!

Starters:
Spring Roll
Guotie (Potstickers)
Cha Cha Mooli â¬ A Chinese turnip cake with shrimp, spring onion and egg.
Braised Shiitake
Garlic Chinese chives

Mains:
Jia Xiang beef ho fun
Singapore char kway teow
Char siu mian
2 Taiwan beef noodles

The spring rolls were different to normal ones that you might find in Chinatown, it didnâ¬"t just contain the usual beansprouts, char siu, prawns. It had cloud ear, chives and dried shrimp. The guotie were average but I enjoyed watching the chef cook them. The turnip cake was nice but not as nice as the traditional one that is found in a normal Chinese restaurant.

Both the braised shiitake and the garlic chives were delicious. The mushrooms had been braised in a soy-based sauce and were soft, tender and full of flavour. The chives were refreshingly crunchy and just about garlicky enough for me (love the stuff, sorry Keith!).

My beef noodle was fairly flavoursome. They'd taken a classic chinese dish of braised beef flank and chinese turnip and added a broth and noodles to it so the idea was right but the braised meat/turnip needed a bit longer, it just wasn't tender enough for me. The other main meals were okay but nothing special.

I'm truly glad that there is now somewhere like this to get quick, chinese meals. Even though the decor isn't trying to hard and you sit on benches, it's still much more pleasant than sitting in a typical chinese restaurant of a similar same price range. I probably wouldn't pay much more for the food when they do put the prices up. Does anyone know if they have and what they put it up to?

Flaherty's Irish Bar

lenalouise — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:07:25 +0000

Rating: 3.0

Location: Placa Joaquim Xirau, , Barcelona, Spain

Tags: relaxed, sport pub, standard pub food, beer garden, friendly

1 euro beers :DA fairly large, irish pub with an outside seating area. The main thing is that they have the cheapest happy hour around with 1 euro bottles of beer (6-8pm on weekdays). At other times, the drinks are averagely priced though.

All Fired Up

lenalouise — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 09:42:56 +0000

Rating: 4.0

Location: 34 East Dulwich Road, SE22 9AX, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7277 8616

Website: www.allfiredupceramics.co.uk

Tags: quick bite, quiet & relaxed, good brew, cafe

coffee and ceramicsMe and my friend Tasha were due for a coffee and a catch up and Tasha also wanted to make a present for her friend's wedding so we killed two birds with one stone and came to this ceramic studio cum cafe.

It's a bright and relaxing place where you can sit for hours (which is what we ended up doing). They have shelves full of different things yo can paint (think plates, cups, teapots, bowls, frames etc). The idea is that you pay for the price of the thing you want to paing plus a one-off "studio fee" which is Â£3 for the use of their paints, paint brushes and firing it up with a glaze. If you don't finish painting, you can always keep it in-store and finish painting it another day. They have pretty good opening hours, on some days they're open until 10pm.

It's a pretty unique concept which also happens to be bags of fun. The staff are extremely helpful for first-timers. Tasha went for a teapot and preceded to draw on her design. I helped by grabbing the paints and getting some coffees in. They also have some pretty delicious-looking cakes.

International II

lenalouise — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 09:14:20 +0000

Rating: 3.0

Location: Carrer Vendrell, 12, 43840, Salou, Spain

Phone: 977 352401

Tags: good value, apartment, pool

Cheap aparmentsThis is the apartment block that we stayed in during our few days in Salou (down the coast from Barcelona). It was really cheap (Â£62 each for four of us sharing a self-catered studio flat for four nights).

The shower was great, the water was always hot and the temperature stayed constant i.e. didn't switch between hot an cold forcing you to stand in the shower with soap all over you waiting for when it was safe to get under again!

There wasn't much in terms of room service but you get what you pay for. The towels are changed twice a week and you have to take out your own rubbish.

There's an outdoor pool, bar and restaurant on the ground floor. The pool starts to pack out around 11:00 as the guests reserve sunloungers for themselves by putting towels on them.

Next to the restaurant, there's a games area (mainly arcade games and a few pool tables). Internet access is also available at â¬1 for 10 minutes.

I'd say 90% of the guests were British and were made up of either young groups out for a cheap, boozy holiday or families with young children. It's a good place to stay if you have a low budget, especially with the crap exchange rate at the moment.

Fish and Chips

lenalouise — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 01:05:52 +0000

Rating: 3.0

Location: Rambla del Raval, 26, , Barcelona, Spain

Website: http://www.fishandchipsbarcelona.com

The only fish and chips in the village...It's all in the name. Fish....and....chips! The only chippy in Barcelona, or so the owners claim. It was â¬7.50 for fish and chips. If you don't fancy fish and chips, they also have pies, sausages etc.

They have an outside seating area so you can relax and enjoy your meal there or you can do what I did....get it to take away, walk along to port Vell and eat it on the pier, with your legs dangling over the water! Ahh....sun, sea, fish and chips, what more could a girl ask for? (Actually, maybe an ice cold beer!).

This place won't offer you the best fish and chips you'll ever taste but for when you're missing British food, it certainly fills the spot!

The Globe Tavern

lenalouise — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 00:47:51 +0000

Rating: 2.0

Location: 43-47 Marylebone Road, NW1 5JY, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7935 6368

Tags: relaxed, pub chain, standard pub food, beer garden, friendly

convenient pubSituated right by Baker St tube, I'd say the Globe attracts more customers for being in a convenient location than for anything else. They have a typical pub menu with old favourites such as fish and chips. They also have seats out front for sunny days.

Can Conesa

lenalouise — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 14:04:17 +0000

Rating: 3.0

Location: Carrer de la Libreteria, 1, , Barcelona, Spain

Tags: quick bite, crowded, takeaway

Entrepans and BocadillosSeeing the long queues outside at any time of the day and taking in the smells wafting out was enough to make me salivate and join the long queue. I noticed that I was clearly the only non-Spanish person in the line so presumably they were all locals (good sign).

Can Conesa specialises in entrepans and bocadillos i.e. filled rolls and baguettes. I didn't want to complicate things when ordering so I went for a "Catalana" which is coutry sausage, onion and cheese in a toasted roll (3 euros).

It wasn't out-of-this-world amazing but I certainly enjoyed it. The thin chipolata-style sausage was cooked freshly on the grill and the roll was perfectly toasted. I did feel that it was missing something though. Possibly gherkins or a pickle perhaps? They have the same roll with black or white sausage aswell although I'm not sure how they differ.

One of the highlights of the visit was watching the one-man show of the guy cooking the food. He moved at superfast speed, multi-tasking to the max! I dread to think how slow the queue would be if he wasn't there.

This is worth a try as it's much nicer than the dry, touristy baguettes that are found around Barcelona but expect to queue and don't expect it to rock your world

Bagel Shop

lenalouise — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 13:49:24 +0000

Rating: 3.0

Location: Carrer de la Canuda, 25, , Barcelona, Spain

Tags: cosy, quiet & relaxed, coffee, takeaway, quick bite

Bagel maniaSituated just off la Rambla, this cafe offers a variety of different flavoured home-made bagels. You can even get an "everything" bagel which contains every flavour they have.

The variety of fillings available is pretty good too. You can get anything from "The classic" (smoked salmon and cream cheese) to "Pastrami" (pastrami, cream cheese, dijon mustard, lettuce, tomato). They also offer sweet bagels (honey, chocolate, cinnamon, sweet apple).

Bagels are between 4 and 7 euros but you can build your own one from the fillings that they offer aswell.

Asakusa

lenalouise — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 13:20:19 +0000

Rating: 4.2

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

Phone: 020 7388 8399

Tags: japanese, cheap eat, good value, crowded

sweet sushiSokratis was spot on about this place. When we were outside looking at the menu, a group of Australians who were having a fag break started raving on to us about how amazing the sushi is and that it was definitely worth the wait for a table. They convinced us by their enthusiasm even though we were starving and wanted to eat as soon as possible.

After we were seated, the waitress explained that there was only 1 sushi chef catering for a packed restaurant so we only ordered a few pieces of sushi. Sam ordered tonkatsu with rice and I had the asakusa udon which was basically udon noodle soup with a bit of everything - prawn tempura, japanese fish cake, seaweed, egg etc. We also got a starter of agedashi nasu which is deep-fried aubergine in a kind of soy/dashi based stock. It was pretty nice but not as good as the one from Tokiya in Clapham Junction.

The main meals were really decent and I noticed that they had a lot of other japanese dishes on the menu that I haven't really seen much in other places so I'm looking forward to trying them out.

Now to the sushi. Well, I'm not sure I can stress how fantastic it was. They got the fish-to-rice ratio just right. One of my pet hates is when they slice the fish so thin that you can't taste the texture of it, only rice. Also, the fish was really flavoursome which must be down to it being really fresh and of a high quality.

The only downside to the meal is that it didn't fulfil my sushi craving, it just made it worse. I'll have to go back pretty sharpish.

Guanabara

lenalouise — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 12:56:30 +0000

Rating: 3.7

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

Phone: 020 7242 8600

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

Tags: brazilian, salsa, cocktails, crowded, lively

salsa centralI'd heard about this place from various people in the past and was intrigued as it sounded like fun. I met a date at covent garden with no plans on where to go. We were handed flyers for Guanabara with promises of a free drink so off we went.

We weren't impressed with our first impressions of the exterior but gave it a chance and wandered in. It felt like it used to be a cinema or a theatre so it was kinda weird in that way. When you get through the double doors to the main room, the atmosphere was such a big difference though! The music was blaring, there was a group of people dancing, having fun. It was great!

We made our way to the bar to claim our drinks. I ended up with a Mojito (one of my favs)so I was happy. It was kind of surreal walking into a bar like that sober when it's all in full flow but it's always nice to see people enjoying themselves, especially as it was people of all ages.

We didn't stay for very long, I think we were both secretly scared that we'd be spontaneously pulled onto the dancefloor! Tee hee. I didn't get a chance to sample the food but the menu looks interesting so maybe next time.