Latest reviews by mazphd's friends

Maison Bertaux - review by walid

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:30:51 +0000

Maison Bertaux - review by walid

Rating: 4.6

Location: 28 Greek Street, W1D 5DQ, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7437 6007

Have been there for coffee and cakes a few weeks ago with a few friends. I love the decoration, it's quite original. As for the cakes I found them to be average and overpriced for the quality. If I wanted just cakes and no funky decoration then I would have gone to Paul down the street.

Le Pain Quotidien - review by walid

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:29:28 +0000

Le Pain Quotidien - review by walid

Rating: 4.0

Location: 18 Great Marlborough St, W1F 7HS, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7486 6154

Website: http://www.painquotidien.com/

Not to bad, but I personally prefer Paul which is close to Le Pain Quotidien

Gerry's Off Licence - review by walid

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:28:41 +0000

Gerry's Off Licence - review by walid

Rating: 4.3

Location: 74 Old Compton Street, W1D 4UW, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7734 4215

Friendly off license place run by a Greek I believe. Seems to know a lot about the area.

Brew - review by Browners

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:03:00 +0000

Brew - review by Browners

Rating: 3.0

Location: 45 Northcote Road, SW11 1NJ, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7801 9300

Tags: quick bite, average brew

Terrible. Only one type of tea!

Adventure Bar & Lounge - review by Browners

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:01:41 +0000

Adventure Bar & Lounge - review by Browners

Rating: 4.3

Location: 91 Battersea Rise, SW11 1HW, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7223 1700

Website: www.adventurebar.co.uk

Tags: cocktails, local bar

Great bar. Really friendly guys behind the bar. Make you feel like you're at home.

Out of the Blue Bar & Kitchen - review by Browners

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:00:56 +0000

Out of the Blue Bar & Kitchen - review by Browners

Rating: 4.0

Location: 140 St Johns Hill, SW11 1SL, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7207 8548

Good breakfast. Probably one of the best in the Clapham Junction area. No idea what it is like as a bar.

Alley Cats - review by oogywawa

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:43:46 +0000

Alley Cats - review by oogywawa

Rating: 4.0

Location: 3 Coffee Yard, YO1 8AR, York, United Kingdom

Tags: cosy, proper food, quiet & relaxed, good brew, cultured

I've grown to like Alley Cats from inauspicious beginnings. The first time I went in was fairly raucous and we are treated to a raunchy striptease by a voluptuous lass - so not all bad!! It all felt a bit cliquey though, but I think now I was probably mistaken.

The handsomely restored 16th century building is on 3 floors, with dining in the lower and upper environs and drinks in the bijout bar and outside. The candlelit atmosphere lends itself to the varied clientele - from lovers to groups to the silver pound...

There could not be a lovelier courtyard either to drink in - facing the stunning Barley Hall which has been there since 1430.

The bar is well stocked with Premium spirits, Cocktails, a judicious Wine list and a varies stock of ice cold bottled Beers.

The best bit is that unless you know where it is you ain't going to find it - hidden away along an atmospheric stone passage, or "snickleway" between Swinegate and Stonegate. Now doesn't that make you feel smug when you finally do...!

Gaucho Piccadilly - review by Browners

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 16:36:20 +0000

Gaucho Piccadilly - review by Browners

Rating: 3.2

Location: 19 Swallow Street, W1B 4DJ, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7734 4040

Website: http://www.gauchosgrill.com

Tags: expensive, argentina, business, steak

Victoria and Alex gave us a very good pre meal analysis. Expect glitz and glamour; immaculate mear; slick service; steep prices; good chips. But occassionaly watch out for inconsistent service, greasy vegetables and listen to how you should have your steak.

Armed with this wealth of advice it all seemed to correct as we shown to our table amongst a dark and sultry dining room. A huge space, crawling with money and girls who had spent hours getting ready and men who were about to spend a fortune.

We settled in and were shown the array of steaks on a wooden board. The waitress gabbled through the description so rapidly we didn't catch a word she said. But Victoria had given us a good sumamry so we weren't too fussed. I ordered a 400g lump of rib eye which the waitress advised me to have medium. I insisted that it should be pink and she said it would be. Cowie ordered a trout ceviche and a prawn and palm heart salad.

The trout ceviche wasn't. It was a collection of three generous slices of cured trout. But it hadn't been cured in citric acid. Now I am clearly no Peruvian but I did think that lemon or lime juice was the central ingredient. A bit like ordering toast and getting bread. It was very tasty, just a bit of a problem for anyone who gets annoyed by misdescriptions.

Then onto the main show. The warm up was over and the headline act was taking the stage. My mega steak arrived with great cermeony. Lots of bernaise. Some chips. A big hunk of....

O dear....

Massively overcooked steak. Grey and rigid it stood lifeless like those a performance artist in Covent Garden. And the chips were cold.

We called over the waitress with a smile and a firm look. She whisked it away and told the chef to cook a fresh one. Meanwhile Cowie devoured her prawn and palm heart salad. It was tasty but incredibly stingy. Cowie counted six medium sized prawns. And then realised that they had all been sliced in half so she had actually only had 3! Three prawns! Not good enough.

10 minutes later my replacement steak arrived. I could hear it mooing as it arrived. As I sliced it in half I could hear the staff collectively sigh with relief. Or maybe I could hear myself. It was tender, juicy and tasted of animal. You could really taste the beef. A delightful piece of meat. The bernaise sauce was fantastic but the second bowl of chips were as cold as the first. Disappointing.

Our carafe of Malbec was delicious. But we didn't need it pouring for us. If you are given a jug of wine the protocol is that you pour it yourself. Cowie only wanted one glass. Having finished her first glass the waitress steamed over and agressively filled it to the brim leaving me with 3/4 of a steak to eat with no wine. Yet another irritant. Cowie and I swapped glasses. But we shouldn't have had to.

Scanning the room we completely agreed that this is one of the best restaurants we have been to for people spotting. Over Cowie's left shoulder was a girl tarted up to the nines wearing a short black dress, some scary heels with a tattoo on her foot. The both fesated on well done steaks whilst drinking glasses of rose topped up to the brim. Kissing and fondling their way through the meal they were having a great time.

It's also great fun to watch the chef at work on the grill. With an earpiece wedged into the side of his head I was surprised he managed to completely balls up my steak.

It was one of the best steaks I have had in London. But given that the first was awful the overall mark averages out as being well below par. Add to that Cowie's measly prawn salad and the abysmal service and you've got glitzy money trap. Give me the steaks we had in Buenos Aires or the USA anyday.

New Mansion House - review by imperina

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 15:34:32 +0000

New Mansion House - review by imperina

Rating: 1.0

Location: 38-40 Lancaster Gate, W2 3ND, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7723 4421

Website: http://www.london-hostels.co.uk

hi guys! if you are thinking about coming and living at new mansion house in lancaster gate london, you must be aware of what happened to me!
I was forced to live for 2 months with a french woman alcoholic and drug addicted that ripetitively urinated on the carpet of the room and was not evicted till i was nearly there to call the police!
This is not the only problem I had there, I had scabies and the food is always the same and crap! The hygine too is not good, there are cockroaches and dumps of rubbish in the corridors!
if you can go somewhere else!

Vertigo 42 - review by oogywawa

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 14:04:32 +0000

Vertigo 42 - review by oogywawa

Rating: 4.0

Location: Tower 42, 25 Old Broad Street, EC2N 1HQ, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7877 7842

Website: http://www.vertigo42.co.uk

Tags: posh, cool & smart, young professionals, friendly

Want to impress someone? Then V42's your place.

Yes it's expensive, full of liggers on expense accounts and has the atmosphere of a corporate office but that pales into insignificance the moment you peer out of the glass.

If you pick the end of the day when the light is fading from a hazy sunshine through that glorious transition period from day into early evening and finally night you get 3 experiences in one.

Once you get used to the sheer height of the place (the lift covers 42 floors in 20 seconds or so...) and that indefinable feeling of being slightly unsettled and heady then you can enjoy the panoramic view of London and the horizon for as far as you can see.

You have to book well in advance and you get your own amount of space at the window, which depends on the size of your party. Drinks are mainly Champagne, with Wine & Cocktails available and snacks such as peanuts and olives. Service is attentive and the bill attention grabbing !

Butlers Wharf Chop House - review by oogywawa

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:46:53 +0000

Butlers Wharf Chop House - review by oogywawa

Rating: 3.0

Location: 36E Shad Thames, SE1 2YE, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7403 3403

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

Tags: lively, british, crowded, expensive

On a balmy night in London overlooking Tower Bridge there can't be many better places to spend a couple of culinary hours. It's about as good as it gets and the newly gentrified Shad Thames area makes a pleasant change from the hustle and bustle of the well worn paths to the doors of West End eateries.

It trumpets itself as serving "British Classics" and sadly delivered "Carry On" food rather than Shakespeare...

On the night I eat recently, the food was not as good as I had a right to expect given that we paid around Â£70 per head in our group. Rather than cooking that demonstrated talent and verve, we got competence which was more than a little disappointing. Small things such a dry cardboard bread was not a good omen for what followed and whilst there was nothing heineously wrong with our food it just didn't excite. I had 4 small lamb cutlets, all bizarrely differently cooked - varying from rare to medium, the accompanying veg was overcooked, the steaks came as served and not one of our party was consulted as to how they wanted them - 2 were returned as one was blue and the other well done !!!

The desserts were all of Sara Lee standard and the cheese board came as advertised - Cheese with bread that had the consistency of Board...

Conran have taken this under their wing and much needs to be done to lift the food standard to befit the location. The much trailed surly service to be fair has disappeared and staff were bright & helpful, but Butlers Wharf's continued absence in any noteworthy food guides is some way off being remedied judging by this experience.

Piada - review by walid

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 20:17:40 +0000

Piada - review by walid

Rating: 4.0

Location: 12-14 St John Street, EC1M 4AY, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7253 0472

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

Tags: italian, piadine, farringdon, good value, crowded

As littlevegemite's review explains, paidines are filled flatbread which with the right ingredients taste delicious. I've been there before and today had the chance to have another bite at one of their famous Piadines. They have 16 different varieties of piadines. Piadine zero for example has salame milanese and stracchine cheese, piadine nove has bresaola and parmesan and the one I had today is the piadine uno which comes with prosciutto and mozzarella. Whatever piadine you take you can pretty much guaranteed that the filling ingredients are quite fresh and tasty.

Prices are reasonable and vary between Â£4.10 and Â£5.00. If you find yourself in the area and want a little something different then try out Piada.

Silk - review by Browners

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 09:34:28 +0000

Silk - review by Browners

Rating: 3.0

Location: 19 - 21 Great Marlborough Street, W1F 7HL, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7297 5555

Website: http://www.courthouse-hotel.com

Tags: indian, oriental, international, business, expensive

Their concept is pretty interesting: they serve a range of dishes from along the ancient silk trading route. A mix between Indian, Middle and Far Eastern cuisine with a of sibtle spicing and dishes with amusing names.

Neither of us could find the restaurant to begin with. This isn't helped by the map they provide on their website. Neither is it helped by the lack of any prominent signage outside. Probably the result of some weird planning restrictions. It's tucked away inside a hotel so needless to say the restaurant was empty.

Gilly and I settled down and immediately started chatting only to be interupted in order to be told about the concept and how old the room was. Given that we were in mid conversation and that we had read about the fact that the dining room is located in an old courtroom on the Top Table and Silk website, we really didn't need to be told again. This kept happening throughout the meal which was annoying.

We shared both of our starters and main courses... the scallops with a zesty foam were succulent and accurately cooked. The zingy foam was tremendous. It made for a fantastic change from cauliflower or pea puree.

My medium rare venison was more medium well than medium rare which was odd because they made quite a fuss of telling me how their chef was going to cook it. Putting that to one side, like Gilly did with a stray peanut on his plate, the venison was very cleverly spiced and accompanied by a cheeky green sauce. The best thing about my starter was the name. I simply couldn't resist a dish called "Jangli Maan".

Main courses were good too. My lamb chops were accurately cooked. Singed on the outside and juicy in the middle. They had been marinaded delicately in a range of yoghurty spices. Not much heat, but a lot of flavour. I wish I had a better grasp of Easter flavours so I could tell you what it involved... but I don't!

Gilly's vast wild tiger prawns were sweet and juciy. Well cooked once more and full of interesting and slightly unexpected flavours.

The food is really very good. But the atmosphere and service are both big negative factors. There's probably a reason that courtrooms are unusual in the restaurant business. They remind you of school dining rooms and the prospect of being in prison. Neither school's nor prisons have a great reputation for fine food... apart from that one in Italy of course.

If it hadn't been on a 2 for 1 offer from Top Table it would have been very expensive, but this way it made for a great chance to catch up and try some interesting food. Neither of us could see this one staying around for very long. So get here whilst you can, or wait for the next one which will probably be called Phoenix.

The Diner - review by walid

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 19:04:24 +0000

The Diner - review by walid

Rating: 3.0

Location: 18 Ganton Street, W1F 7BU, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7287 8962

Website: http://www.thedinersoho.com

Tags: relaxed, american diner, carnaby street, french toast, pancakes, young and fun, noisy

A friend of mine brought me to The Diner this afternoon as she wanted French Toasts.... ooohhh French Toasts hmmmmm. I love French Toasts but I also love pancakes, especially a pancake tower American style. Fighting our way up Regent Street we approached Carnaby Street where tucked to the side you can find The Diner.

The decoration is what you'd expect a traditional American diner to look like abroad, ie. close to the real thing, but trying a little bit too hard.

My friend ordered the French Toasts and me my pancakes. Now I make French Toasts, and I love them when they're crispy from the outside and soft in the inside. Her pancakes looked nice, except that they weren't crispy from the outside and had some cinnamon which may please some but not me. As for my pancakes as you can see from the picture it was a good portion but not what I would describe as a pancake tower.

Overall we had a good experience, the food was ok, the service was fine, the pricing is good, but the music was getting too loud. So I'm giving this place a "small" 3 stars.

Kensington Square Kitchen - review by Izabel_blue

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 18:04:27 +0000

Kensington Square Kitchen - review by Izabel_blue

Rating: 4.0

Location: 9 Kensington Square, W8 5EP, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7938 2598

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

Tags: cosy, top food, proper food, amazing brew, classy, friendly, lively

Popped in here for a random Saturday brunch with my hubby and was really impressed. Friendly service, nice decor (from what could see from our outside table) and simple quality food. I had excellent scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, served with chewy, morish sourdough bread. Hubby had a pile of American-style pancakes with yoghurt, honey and berries - surprisingly light and delicious for such a traditionally heavy food. Wonderful coffee too from the Monmouth Coffee Company.

The table next to us was raving about the club sandwich for lunch, and apparently they are opening in the evening (right now it's a all-day joint only) from July 1st onwards. I will be back!