Latest reviews by lightlines

Villandry

lightlines — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 14:38:10 +0000

Rating: 3.7

Location: 170 Great Portland Street, W1W 5QB, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7631 3131

Website: http://www.villandry.com

Great stir-fry takeaway, probably the best value for money deal you'll get in the area. Rest of the food is good but perhaps a bit pricey. No comments on the restaurant as I haven't had that pleasure.

Vasis

lightlines — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 14:34:57 +0000

Rating: 5.0

Location: 56 Maple St, W1T 6HW, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7637 5283

Amazing Amazing Amazing. Food, service & decor. You can actually have a conversation here. Downside is probably the price, but when you consider how freshly prepared everything is you simply cannot argue with it. Plus the proprietor is charm personified.

Lotus Thai Restaurant

lightlines — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 14:33:25 +0000

Rating: 4.5

Location: 80, Cleveland Street, W1T 6NE, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7580 7213

Lovely food, and the fact that they do takeaway is a massive bonus

Smugglers Tavern

lightlines — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 14:15:23 +0000

Rating: 5.0

Location: 28 Warren Street, W1T 5ND, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7255 9921

Good place for after-work drinksWarm, cosy, helpful staff. Liked it here and would definitely go back.

Alphabet Bar

lightlines — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 14:14:18 +0000

Rating: 3.0

Location: 61-63 Beak Street, W1F 9SL, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7439 2190

Website: http://www.alphabetbar.com

Music a bit too loud, which was unexpected, but DJ played great tunes. Had I come to dance it would've been the perfect place downstairs. Other downside is minimum spend is Â£10 to use a card - forgive us non-cash carrying women!

Great atmosphere though. Would go back.

Old Bexley Greek Taverna

lightlines — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 16:48:39 +0000

Rating: 4.0

Location: 82 Bexley High Street, DA5 1LB, Bexley, United Kingdom

Tags: family, greek

True to the Taverna's styleI believe this to be a family restaurant, it has a wonderful charm that is enhanced by the wood panelling and accompanying decorations.

The food is homey, the portions are on the slightly-generous side, making it difficult to reach dessert. True to its roots!

Ferraris

lightlines — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 16:46:26 +0000

Rating: 4.5

Location: 2 Bexley High Street, DA5 1AD, Bexley, United Kingdom

Tags: italian, modern, friendly

Modern, stylish and great attention to detail.This place has not failed to impress on any occasion I have visited. Wonderful italian food, and the desserts are awesome. The icing on the cake is the always friendly, attentive service we get here.

Best-kept secret in the bexley village.

Stein's

lightlines — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 16:38:47 +0000

Rating: 3.5

Location: 55 Petersham Road, TW10 6UT, Richmond Upon Thames, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 8948 8189

Website: http://www.stein-s.com/

Tags: friendly

Very enjoyableGreat ambience, helpful staff, and great platters of food that really brings Bavarian food to mind. Massive beer jugs though, which is why the requirement that one has to order food with any alcohol is understandable.

The Slug And Lettuce

lightlines — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:46:38 +0000

Rating: 2.0

Location: 12 Low Pavement, NG1 7DL, Nottingham, United Kingdom

Phone: 0115 958 9100

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

Tags: cool, pub chain, cool & smart, young and fun, students, friendly, relaxed

Going downhill?Popped in for lunch - staff absent-minded. Sat for an hour before lunch came, which consisted of two wraps and a chicken burger - seriously?

2 of us have come down with mild (thankfully!) food poisoning. Just as well that I complained about the lacklustre meal I received.

Saving grace? Waitress dealt with my complaint politely and gave us some 20% off next meal vouchers, unfortunately doubt I'll be using them any time soon.

Tonic Nottingham

lightlines — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 22:01:02 +0000

Rating: 3.0

Location: 6 Chapel Bar, NG1 6JQ, Nottingham, United Kingdom

Phone: 0115 941 4770

Website: http://www.tonic-online.co.uk

Tags: lively, good value

Wow! Must go again!What can I say? This place floored me the moment I walked in, raising my expectations, especially as we knew that it had won various awards for its menu.

The restaurant is on the top floor. The entrance on the ground floor has a bar. On the second floor is another bar, with a few comfortable booths that are perfectly designed for relaxing later in the evening. On the third floor, the restaurant section begins. The seating is set in the back, with a waiting section at the front near the bar. It is a considered design in terms of space and comfort, giving enough so that it doesn't feel oppressive, without losing the intimacy created by the lighting and sectioned off seating running along the walls.

Allow me to gush a little more - besides the lovely setting, it has an extensive wine and cocktail list that ranges wonderfully across a range of prices.

On to the food - we went for their pre-theatre set menu, 3 courses. For starters, the most delightful Leek, Potato & Saffron soup. It was delicious, light but filling, smooth but with sufficient texture. The bread that came with it set t off wonderfully in colour too (orange bread, green soup).

The main course was char-grilled salmon with curried cauliflower and potatoes with aubergine pickle. I was concerned about the combination of flavours, but decided to go with it, and glad I am! Fish was cooked to perfection, and my fellow guests were happy with their choices of beef and chicken.

Dessert was fantastic, highlights include the lovely lemon tart - just the right amount of tang and wonderfully smooth. The brownie was good too, the passion fruit sorbet set it off nicely. The presentation of the food at each stage was great (though revealing a tendency by the chefs towards towering the food....)

What can I say? The attentive service was the icing on the cake to be honest. Without a doubt, best overall restaurant I've been to in Nottingham.

Virgin Active

lightlines — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 22:33:52 +0000

Rating: 4.0

Location: London Road, NG2 3AE, Nottingham, United Kingdom

Phone: 0845 270 4058

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

I do like it.... when I get to it.I signed up for this place because of a promotion. It is worth the money, the equipment is great, the staff are friendly and approachable. The classes are also good fun as well as strenuous.

What I like about it is the choice of equipment, the building(former railway station) and the fact that there's a cafe inside. There's also a shop that sells a lot of gear. And definite highlight is the ability to watch terrestrial tv on the 4-6 screens, as well as listening to the music channels available on the machines. Another good thing is that it has a dedicated Ladies' Zone. Oh, and the changing rooms are well laid out, clean and offer hair dryers as well as shower cubicles with included shampoo, conditioner and moisturizer. Well, it is Virgin Active and you are paying for it, but its nice not to have to add 'extras' or overthink going to the gym/pool too much.

The main drawback for me personally is its location. While it is in Nottingham, it is away from the main center of town. There's no direct bus route, although it is a 10/15min walk away from the main public transport hub. This doesn't make it as appealing for me late at night, but hey, sacrifices!

Maxwell's

lightlines — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 22:16:25 +0000

Rating: 3.0

Location: 8-9 James Street, WC2E 8BH, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7836 0303

Tags: american, good value, crowded, lively

I'd go back for the dessert....My experience with this place was so-so, in terms of the service that I received. A friend and I went in just to have dessert - we were hustled through by the waitress at around 5.30 to a table with four seats, which I thought was strange! We were then asked to move upstairs because it was their theatre rush hour and basically wouldn't be spending enough money. I didn't have any problem with that, but didn't like the overly efficacious manner in which she went about it. Nevermind that, she then attempted to seat us at the bar, which was full (and where I didn't want to sit), she then palmed us off to another waitress who attempted to seat us next to a pillar at the top of the stairs near the entrance. I made my discomfort known and was politely moved somewhere else (with only two seats, finally!), by this time some 10 minutes having passed since we stepped foot in the place.

The service after that was great (a waiter with humour!) and the dessert of sticky toffee pudding and pistachio ice cream was wonderful.

Still, the place is a bit loud, so I probably wouldn't go there if I wanted to chat, but if it were with a group of friends it would be fine.

Nando's Chickenland

lightlines — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 13:19:14 +0000

Rating: 3.0

Location: Forman Street, NG1 4DB, Nottingham, United Kingdom

Phone: 0115 950 5252

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

Tags: lively, family & home feel, good value, portuguese

Sure, its ok.I have no complaints with the food that they serve, I like it hot and spicy. Furthermore, I also don't try to make it more than it is. It's marinated chicken. I don't think it tries to make itself out to be an amazing place, just that it serves good food for an good price.

My only complaint with this particular venue is that it was ridiculously hot upstairs where we were seated.

The Slug And Lettuce

lightlines — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 13:16:13 +0000

Rating: 2.0

Location: 12 Low Pavement, NG1 7DL, Nottingham, United Kingdom

Phone: 0115 958 9100

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

Tags: cool, pub chain, cool & smart, young and fun, students, friendly, relaxed

RelaxedIn comparison to the new slug and lettuce near cornerhouse, this venue cannot compete in terms of outfittings, being beaten in terms of the modern look. However, it is still a great venue. The menu is obviously exactly the same, given that it is a chain, and I detect no difference in quality.

This place is a favourite of ours because of the 2 for 1 dessert, which always gives us an excuse to take a break from work! The staff are friendly and attentive.

We also brought a party of 12 people on very short notice, which given that it was a thursday and already very busy, they dealt with admirably well. My only complaint would be that they turn up the music a little bit too much as the evening progresses, making it difficult to hold a conversation - and when I'm sitting down, that's generally what I'm there to do.

The Slug And Lettuce

lightlines — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 13:09:40 +0000

Rating: 4.3

Location: Forman Street, NG1 4DB, Nottingham, United Kingdom

Phone: 0115 947 4260

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

Tags: cool, pub chain, late license, cool & smart, young professionals, young and fun, students, friendly, relaxed

Nice placeStaff are attentive, and the bar staff were entertaining. Probably best mojito I've had in this country so far.

Can get a bit too busy on thurs/fri/sat for my liking, but very cozy place throughout the week. The menu is good enough too, find it a great place to take people who aren't too adventurous. Good value for money (2 for 1 dessert helps!)

Management were very good at planning party and arranging an area of the restaurant for us, so would definitely use again.