Latest reviews by mrsevans101

Balans

mrsevans101 — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:10:50 +0000

Rating: 3.9

Location: 34 Old Compton Street, W1D 4TR, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7439 3309

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

Tags: american, british, good value, crowded, breakfast, lively

Pancakes and bacon and syrup - Oh my!I had breakfast / brunch here two mornings in a row last weekend (return visit after a failed trip to nearby Amato's).

I'll keep this short.

Service was friendly (with a hint of California) and very efficient (without making you feel rushed.
I had amazing pancakes with bacon and maple syrup. Fluffy and light and gooey all at the same time with properly cooked bacon. Hubby had the cooked breakfast and was disappointed. He sent it back the first time because it was cold and was overall a bit disappointed that the sausage was not fab quality and the bacon a little underdone. I suspect that it didn't help that my pancakes were so delish.

And when I went back the second day they recognised me. Which was a nice touch but how embarrassing to be seen in the gay area of London tucking in to pancakes AND syrup AND bacon two days in a row, when all the other punters are so fit!

Amato Patisserie

mrsevans101 — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:52:20 +0000

Rating: 2.5

Location: 14 Old Compton Street, W1D 4TH, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7734 5733

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

Tags: quick bite, left, chaos, late, average brew

How the mighty have fallenI've eaten here plenty of times but not for a while, so I was quite excited to be in London for the weekend to have chance to enjoy their wonderful breakfasts.

Sadly it was not to be.

We arrived on Suday morning about 11 am to find a pretty empty dining room. We ordered breakfast (mostly eggs on toast and eggs benedict, as no one could face a full English). Our complimentary fruit juices were brought over. And we waited. And waited. And waited. Oh my goodness.
The large table next to us complained about the wait (despite many of them arriving after us) and somehow their food was magicked up.
We were not so lucky. 45 minutes after ordering and repeated promises of food on its way we gave up, told them to cancel our food and that we would pay for our drinks. The waiter took the food off the bill and told us that the cost of our drinks (4 fruit juices, one tea and one coffee) would be Â£14. Â£14! We argued that we only ordered the fruit juice because it came with the breakfast that they had not been able to supply so they relented and charged us only for the hot drinks.

I have so many good memories of eating here. This has been burst like a soap bubble by this terrible experience. Worst of all, we had brought friends from out of town with us and told them how marvellous Amato's is. Or was, I should stay.

We left, went to Balan's (along the road) for their cracking American style pancakes and friendly, efficient service.

The Peasant

mrsevans101 — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:54:39 +0000

Rating: 4.5

Location: 240 St John Street, EC1V 4PH, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7336 7726

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

Tags: jazz, indie, gastro pub, young professionals, friendly, relaxed

Delicious food, nice venueHaving eaten lunch here some time ago in the downstairs gastro pub we decided to make a return visit for an evening upstairs in the restaurant proper.

The pub was full of wedding revellers so it was a little surreal to wade through the crowds to go upstairs to the sombre-by-comparison dining room.

The upstairs restaurant is beautifully decorated with vintage cinema posters and the furniture is very much of the French brasserie style (with a wonderful high ceiling, proper napkins and French waitresses).

The menu is short and concise with half a dozen choices for each course.

Of particular note was the squid with mini stuffed peppers, a salad dressed with a drizzle of balsamic glaze and little pieces of gently fried chorizo. The best dessert (which I can only recommend second hand as there was no way my husband was going to share) was the assiette of chocolate - a chocolate parfait, chocolate mousse and (I think) a white chocolate milk thingy. I also enjoyed the pan fried haddock which was served on a delicious bed of crushed potatoes, flavoured with mustard and plenty of butter (making the additional mash we'd ordered rather superfluous).

Service was excellent - friendly but laid back - and the selection of wines available both by the glass and by the bottle were excellent.

All told, three courses with wine (including a delicious red dessert wine) came to about Â£90 including service charge.

I'd definitely recommend a visit, especially at the weekends when this neck of London is pretty quiet.

Mya Lacarte

mrsevans101 — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 22:54:39 +0000

Rating: 5.0

Location: 5 Prospect Street,, RG4 8JB, Reading, United Kingdom

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

Tags: lively, british, gastro pub, family & home feel, good value, delicious, french

Wonderful British placeSo happy to find this place in out of the way Caversham. We happened upon it when visiting another restaurant in Caversham and was amazed to find out it had been there for a year.

The restaurant has a really Brighton-esque feel to it, with a smart but laid back vibe. The decor is in muted shades of green with dark wood tables. One of the owners (Matthew. The name Mya is a mix of his name and Yasmin, his sister the chef) is an experienced hand from London Street Brasserie in the centre of Reading (and it was nice to be recognised when we arrived - a nice touch).

Now, on to the food. The food is all British, with as much sourced locally as possible. The menu changes seasonally (the night we were there the broccoli was off and was replaced by new season asparagus) and they promise that 80% of waste is recycled. So all good.
Finally the food is delicious. I had the asparagus starter, with hollandaise sauce and boiled egg, then I the fillet steak with a peppery potato rosti, braised shallots with a delicious sticky sweet gravy. And finally a light-as-a-feather treacle tart with a hint of lemon, vanilla ice cream and cream. It was all beautifully done. The only complaint I could make is that my steak was medium rare rather than rare, but it was such a delicious cut that it was hard to care.

Service is excellent - friendly and informal with just the right amount of presence that is so hard to get right.

I shall be returning later this month for the British Tasting Night. I can't wait.

Sweeney & Todd

mrsevans101 — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 19:32:09 +0000

Rating: 3.8

Location: 10 Castle Street, RG1 7RD, Reading, United Kingdom

Phone: 0118 958 6466

Tags: crowded, grumpy, british, family & home feel, pies

A Reading institutionThe pies here are tasty, yes, and if you're after a retro night out then this is the place.
However, the service is slow and can be a little offhand and if you're eating in the restaurant the pies (I believe) are re-heated (which somewhat defeats the object of tasty hand made pies) and not quite in the microwave for long enough, as they're invariably lukewarm in the middle. Of course, if you're in the grim basement eating then there's no-one around to rectify this and can one be bothered?
The cauliflower cheese, on the other hand, is tasty and moreish (and means I can forgive them for slopping it on the side of the plate like an inmate at Sing Sing).

Oh, and it's never as cheap as it should be, once you've added on the extras. Probably best to get take away then you can give it plenty of time in the oven and decide if you want to serve yourself in a grumpy fashion.

Pinxto People

mrsevans101 — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 22:40:00 +0000

Rating: 3.3

Location: 95 Western Road, BN1 2LB, Brighton, United Kingdom

Tags: tapas, pinxto, bargain, mediterranean, lunch

Tasty tapasWe really enjoyed our spot of lunch at Pinxto People in Brighton on Friday. A bit of a trek (it's almost Hove, really) but well worth it.

We ordered some manchego-like cheese, spicy pork, empanadillas (little pastry packages filled with tasty meat), some bread and oil and some squid. With a couple of hot drinks this came to about Â£25.

The spicy pork (a special on the day) was lovely - a bit like the chorizo in red wine that you find in Andalucia. The bread and oil was gorgeous - crusty bread with a delicious fruity fragrant oil. The cheese came served with a separate dish of toasted thin bread slices with fresh tomato saucy stuff that was scrummy (it tasted of summer to me - fresh and sweet and sunshin-y). Service was quick with dishes coming out nicely spaced to make sure we got to try it all when it was hot.

We thoroughly enjoyed it and if we lived closer I know we'd be there more often. Not sure if I'd go there of an evening, though.

La Fourchette

mrsevans101 — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:00:30 +0000

Rating: 4.0

Location: 101 Western Road, BN1 2AA, Brighton, United Kingdom

Phone: 01273 722556

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

Tags: romantic, family & home feel, crowded, expensive, french

Good but not perfectWe visited La Fourchette on Saturday 16th Feb for a celebratory meal (as part of a trip to Brighton). Service (including on slightly potty, slightly camp French waiter) was excellent and not over the top (no one does service like the French, I believe). The wine list has a wide range of prices with something to suit every pocket (and you can tell where you are on the scale - cheap wine = standard glasses, mid range wine = big glasses and posh wine = decanter).

Bread was expensive at Â£2 each (which consisted of one cigar roll and one small crusty roll).
The food itself was delicious. Of note was the lamb rump with a confit aubergine and basil beans (scrummy) and the scallop brochette starter with ginger and mango chutney.

We skipped dessert and decided to go for the cheese, as the French are so good at cheese, right? Wrong. The plate of cheese we had was chilled (a cardinal sin in my book) and so very dull, served with half a dozen grapes, two celery "twigs" and crackers. Disappointingly the crackers were just plain cream crackers and water biscuits. Awful. I really wish I had left the cheese out altogether then I would have come away raving about La Fourchette (and the selection of Creme Brulees that I saw served to a adjacent table looked fantastic and were receiving enthusiatic noises).

Mysteriously when it came to settling up the bill it did not add up. Every item we had bought was in round pounds (sensible, really) but the bill total was Â£xx.75. Very odd. So we took this off when working out the total plus tip.

Finally, the other nail in the 5 star coffin was the temperature in the restaurant. It was arctic. There is small hallway buffer to the outside world but often both doors were oopen at the same time or the door to the chilly hallway was left open. And in February, this close to the coast this is not good.

So, a nice experience but a few jarring elements that made it fall short of 5 stars.

The Natural Kitchen

mrsevans101 — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 21:01:03 +0000

Rating: 4.0

Location: 77/78 Marylebone High Street, W1U 5JX, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7486 8065

Website: http://thenaturalkitchen.com

Tags: cultured, top food, quiet & relaxed, good brew, organic

Tasty brekkieI came here wih my husband on a weekday morning when we were looking for a proper breakfast (harder than you'd think in Marylebone, chains aside).
We wandered into the store to browse the deli and saw a sign for the cafe on the first floor so trolled upstairs to have a look. A nice bright space with lots of windows and neat but rustic wooden tables with Daisy, a large carbon fibre cow outside on the roof.
We checked that they were offering their cooked breakfast (because it says "weekends or by request" on the menu) and they were - hooray! tehy also do egg and bacon sandwiches, but we needed more sustenance than this...
So, we both had a full English - two rashers of organic Berkshire back bacon, a meaty, herby sausage, a poached or scrambled egg, mushrooms and some cherry tomatoes, served with two half-plate sized slices of toasted fresh bread.

We were really impressed - bacon that tasted of bacon, tasty, dense sausage and a perfectly poached egg. And the toast! Oh the toast! I had brown sourdough bread that was tasy, chewy and had plenty of butter (on request). Hubby had milk and honey bread that he declared as "delicious". All for Â£8. We'll come back for more when we're popping to Conran and Skandium...

ShakeAway

mrsevans101 — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 08:50:24 +0000

Rating: 5.0

Location: 4 Union Street, RG1 1EU, Reading, United Kingdom

Phone: 0118 958 3858

Website: http://www.shakeaway.com

Tags: rare finds, milk shake, bargain

The original milkshake barOften imitated but never bettered (esp in other towns) Shakeaway not only has the funkiest music on the stereo and the youngest most cheerful staff, but it does blummin amazin' milkshakes. Any flavour you care to suggest is available (plus lots that you'd think of as just plain wrong) such as maltesers, apple crumble, ginger cake, smarties, marshmallow and fudge. All at the same time if you want. Plus you can add malt to your shake for that extra rich flavour. The menu is massive plus they have recipes, with three of four ingredients plus a topping (which gives you something to scoop out of the cup when the shake has all gone).
I think they also cater to the soy milk brigade...

Definitely worth a try, though I don't think I could manage one every other day like coldclimate. Try the simple fudge malt. Yummy. Worth the visit to Smelly Alley.

Sea Sprayers Spray Fish Bar

mrsevans101 — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 12:13:01 +0000

Rating: 4.0

Location: 53 Crown Street, RG1 2SN, Reading, United Kingdom

Phone: 0118 9861248

Tags: cheap eat, british, seafood

Excellent takeawayExcellent takeaway provided you get there at the right time (otherwise the chips can be a little limp).

The battered fish is very good (excellent, light batter) especially the haddock.

Thai Corner

mrsevans101 — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 12:11:44 +0000

Rating: 5.0

Location: 47 West Street, RG1 1TZ, Reading, United Kingdom

Phone: 0118 959 5050

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

Tags: lively, cheap eat, crowded, thai

Excellent cheap eatsFab place for late night meals or a cheap bowl of something tasty and hot.

Thai Corner serves a wide variety of dishes and all for Â£5 to Â£7 for a main. Excellent food (though I'd recommend avoiding the prawn dishes as they are uncharacteristically stingy) and very friendly service.

Try the mixed starters for a bit of everything. The green curries are good. The Pla Chu Chi (a big salmon fillet with red curry paste) is excellent - crispy, tasty and generous. The coconut rice is divine. The massamun curry (with cashews and little potatoes) is always good.

Desserts, as you would probably expect, are frozen and not really worth bothering with.

Try the thai red wine - very tasty and goes well with the spicy food, for only a tenner a bottle.

Book ahead for peak weekend times and be prepared to be a little cramped as it's very popular.

Santa Fe

mrsevans101 — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 12:06:45 +0000

Rating: 4.0

Location: Unit 13, RG1 2AG, Reading, United Kingdom

Phone: 0118 958 2822

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

Tags: american, tex mex, good value, crowded, lively

Closing downThis restaurant is closing down in the New Year and will be replaced by Ha Ha Bar & Grill.

Shame, because it does good solid tex mex food but even better cocktails.

I have spent many a Friday evening here with friends, winding down after the working week, indulging in their two for one cocktails. You will be sorely missed, Santa Fe.

Prezzo

mrsevans101 — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 12:03:00 +0000

Rating: 4.3

Location: 228 King St, RG1 2HF, Reading, United Kingdom

Phone: 0118 959 6092

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

Tags: italian, cheap eat, crowded, lively

Excellent chainExcellent chain restaurant with a good range of dishes.

Good standard Italian food that you'd expect from a chain, but with a little more flair and quality. The dining room is broken up into lots of smaller rooms which gives it a more intimate feel and also keeps the noise down.

Particularly recommend starting with the pane con cipolla - pizza base with red onions and mozzarella. The dauphinois potatoes that come as a side dish are scrummy. The creamy pastas are tasty and indulgent.

Desserts are probably all out of a packet but they are pretty good, although they tend to be dressed with too many zig zag sauces or dusted with sugar, where it's just not needed.

Service is smooth and efficient, though if you're tucked away from the main room, you can get a little forgotten.

Good for a cheap eat or a reasonably organised group meal.

Pepe Sale

mrsevans101 — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 11:56:46 +0000

Rating: 5.0

Location: 3 Queens Walk, RG1 7QF, Reading, United Kingdom

Phone: 0118 959 7700

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

Tags: italian, sardinian, family & home feel, good value, mediterranean, romantic

Fantastic food, fantastic serviceThis is one of my favourite restaurants in Reading.
Located on an ugly side street behind Argos and looking on to the side of the Renaissance hotel, the restaurant itself looks a little odd and can be a little cold, but this is soon forgotten.
The restaurant serves a wide range of Sardinian food and sources wine from Sardinia too.

The staff are really lovely - warm, friendly and good humoured and opinionated on the food and wine.
Oh, and the food! First on the table is a basket of bread - the flatbread studded with rosemary and salt and then dipped in olive oil is scrummy, and the crusty bread that is also in the basket tends to get ignored until the flatbread is gone.

The specials include such simple dishes as crab ravioli in a tomato, cream and herb sauce (divine), monkfish with leeks and butter (and more but I can't remember) - again, just gorgeous. Of note on the main menu is the roast suckling pig, only available on weekends and only if you get in quick - it's succulent, tasty and plentiful. And if you ever see tagliatelle with cream and mushrooms on the special menu I urge you to try it - it is heavenly.

The wine list gives a wide range of choice and are very affordable. Forgive my spelling and memory but the Raim is very good and they also do a carignan wine (whose name I forget and which is not listed on the website) which is rich and smooth and delicious.

Finally, I must mention that the restaurant is a family business and therefore only opens for one Sunday every year - Mothering Sunday.

So, book now. You will not regret it.

Lsq2 Ltd

mrsevans101 — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 11:45:05 +0000

Rating: 3.0

Location: The Pavillion Lime Square, RG2 6UF, Reading, United Kingdom

Phone: 0118 9873702

Tags: expensive, australian, seafood, international

Cold and emptyFunny little place stuck out on an industrial estate on the south edge of Reading. Nice venue with view across a little pond, floor to ceiling windows and trendy furniture.

Mostly let down by its atmosphere - we went there on a weeknight and there were only 2 or 3 other occupied tables. the room was pretty cold and we were sat at a table close to the loos, where we kept getting a whiff of disinfectant. Nice.

The food is Australian in style and is pretty good. Service is good too, but then there were so few of us I think we might have been outnumbered by the staff!

I imagine it's a good place to go for lunch during the week when it is packed with workers and is probably quite lively, but I would stay away from it any other time. Too cold, too empty and just not worth the drive.