Latest reviews by shelo9's friends

Picasso - review by sue

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 13:02:01 +0000

Picasso - review by sue

Rating: 4.0

Location: Bellagio, 3600 Las Vegas Blvd South, 89109, Las Vegas, United States of America

Phone: 866.259.7111

Website: http://www.bellagio.com/restaurants/picasso.aspx

Tags: romantic, mediterranean, spanish, expensive, french

The Bellagio is filled with excellent restaurants, and of the fine dining options, one called Picasso caught our eye, so we pre-booked a table for our first night in town. The restaurant is accessed via the Bellagio casino, and looks out over the lake. It has been awarded 2 Michelin Stars, and a AAA Five Diamond Award for seven consecutive years.

The dining room is grand and beautifully decorated - it is filled with Picasso paintings and ceramics. The professional but amiable service made us feel welcome and relaxed from start to finish.

The food is "French cuisine seasonally prepared with a Spanish influence". There was the choice of a degustation menu, or a fixed price, four course menu. We chose from the fixed price menu, and also opted for the Sommelier's wine pairing. This was not a cheap meal, but a memorable one.

To start, we had the Poached Oysters, garnished with Osetra Caviar, Sauce Vermouth; and the Warm Quail Salad with Sauteed Artichokes, Pinenuts. Both dishes were beautifully presented and the oysters were so good they earned a place in Alex's "Top 5 Oysters I have ever eaten" list.

Next up we both opted for the Sauteed Filet of Black Bass with Saffron Sauce and Cauliflower Mousseline - really delicious. Then for the 'main' course we had the Roasted Milk-Fed Veal Chop with Rosemary Potatoes and Au Jus; and the Sauteed Medallions of Fallow Deer with Caramelized Green Apples and Zinfandel Sauce. The deer was certainly the winning dish, I found the veal a little over-cooked.

Desserts were happily devoured, in particular my Warm Chocolate Fondant with Carmel Chocolate Ice Cream. The fondant was good, but the ice cream was exceptionally good and I could happily have eaten it all night.

Yellowtail Sushi Restaurant & Bar - review by sue

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 12:52:10 +0000

Yellowtail Sushi Restaurant & Bar - review by sue

Rating: 4.0

Location: Bellagio, 3600 Las Vegas Blvd South, 89109, Las Vegas, United States of America

Phone: 866.259.7111

Website: http://www.bellagio.com/restaurants/yellowtail.asp

Tags: lively, bellagio, cocktails, sushi, japanese, expensive, romantic

While staying at the Bellagio, one evening a lighter dinner was required in-between drinking cocktails and hitting the casino, so we ventured to Yellowtail Sushi Restaurant, which is conveniently located in the casino area.

A fairly new addition to the Bellagio restaurant directory, Yellowtail is a very stylish looking place, with very attractive staff who seem to have shares in push-up bras.

We were seated at a high table in the front section of the restaurant, so unfortunately didn't have views of the lake and fountain. We weren't ravenous, so just ordered a few things to share. The stand-out item was the Salmon Nigiri - wow, the salmon was so melt-in-your-mouth that we promptly ordered another serve.

We also ordered the Grilled eggplant skewers with sweet miso, some Tuna sushi rolls, and the Popping spicy crab, which was a sushi roll with crab, cucumber, asparagus and a sprinkling of those pop-rock candies that pop and crackle in your mouth. Interesting.

Fontana Bar - review by sue

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 12:38:39 +0000

Fontana Bar - review by sue

Rating: 4.0

Location: Bellagio, 3600 Las Vegas Blvd South, 89109, Las Vegas, United States of America

Phone: 702.693.7089

Website: http://www.bellagio.com/nightlife/fontana-bar.aspx

Tags: jazz, bellagio, cool & smart, live, views, cocktails, friendly, relaxed, cool, live music

Fontana Bar is located lakeside in the Bellagio, accessed via the casino. There is a large bar area inside, with a stage and dance floor, and a terrace that looks over the lake and Strip. We visited early one evening and of course headed straight for the terrace, and a prime fountain watching position.

There was a band playing inside, and speakers outside so we could still enjoy the music. Every now and then the bands music would be replaced by the various backing soundtracks for the dancing fountains, and we would enjoy the eruptions from our seat.

We ordered mojitos (really good!) and martinis and felt pretty content. I can highly recommend the combination of a terrace table, a cocktail or two and watching the colours of the Strip change and those fountains dance.

Jean Philippe Patisserie - review by sue

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 12:27:41 +0000

Jean Philippe Patisserie - review by sue

Rating: 4.0

Location: Bellagio, 3600 Las Vegas Blvd South, 89190, Las Vegas, United States of America

Website: http://www.bellagio.com/restaurants/jean-philippe.

Tags: quick bite, bellagio, ice cream, top food, average brew, cakes, crowded

Jean Philippe Patisserie is located inside the Bellagio, and is well worth a visit if you have a sweet tooth like me. Not only are there beautifully created (and tasting!) pastries and cakes, but there is also some very good ice cream on offer.

Also of interest is what claims to be the "World's Tallest and Largest Volume Chocolate Fountain". The photo I took only shows the bottom half of it. It certainly looked impressive, but was behind glass, so it was not the type of choc fountain you could dip marshmallows in.

We sampled a couple of the cakes - a Lemon Tart, and a chocolate concoction that had choc mousse and nutella and praline crispy biscuits. Yes, it was good. Another day we returned for a small serving of ice cream, which was creamy and full-flavoured.

The Buffet at the Bellagio - review by sue

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 12:12:18 +0000

The Buffet at the Bellagio - review by sue

Rating: 2.0

Location: Bellagio, 3600 Las Vegas Blvd South, 89190, Las Vegas, United States of America

Phone: 702.693.7089

Website: http://www.bellagio.com/restaurants/the-buffet.asp

Tags: lively, bellagio, all you can eat, international, family & home feel, buffet

I don't really 'do' buffets, basically cause I can't eat that much in one sitting so I never feel like they are good value for me. Oh, and nothing compares to the brunch buffet I once had at the Delano Hotel in Miami. Anyhoo, that said, it seemed like having a meal at the Bellagio Buffet was one of the 'things to do' whilst in Vegas, so we did.

We turned up at around 11am on a Sunday and there was a queue out into the casino. Thankfully it moved quickly, so our tummies weren't grumbling for too long. You have to pay before you are seated, and they ask if you want to leave your tip in advance, or at the table. We opted for the table option, unsure how much service we wanted to pay for at a 'self-service' restaurant.

We were shown to our table and then sat there waiting till eventually our waitress arrived and took our drink orders. Service was pretty non-existent after that.

So, the buffet. There was a massive selection of food - everything from cornflakes to pizza to scrambled eggs to sushi to cakes to roast beef. There were chefs cooking dishes in front of you, so you knew that (some) things were nice and fresh.

We didn't pile our plates too high, though after a couple of visits to the buffet we were pretty much full and unfortunately didn't sample anything worth mentioning.

Canaletto - review by sue

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 11:54:47 +0000

Canaletto - review by sue

Rating: 4.0

Location: Venetian, 3355 Las Vegas Blvd South, 89190, Las Vegas, United States of America

Phone: 702.733.0070

Website: http://www.venetian.com/Pages.aspx?id=838

Tags: italian, venetian, romantic

Canaletto is an Italian restaurant located on "St Marks Square" inside the Venetian Hotel. We had dinner there one night and opted to sit on the terrace in the square. It really did feel like we were back in Venice at dusk. The restaurant was lively and had a real Italian feel, helped along by the Italian staff, and the gondoliers and carabinieri walking past in the square.

We started with a glass of prosecco and reminisced about our last time in Venice. Then it was dinner time. We started with the Calamaretti Fritti and the Minestrone soup. Main course was the Veal shank braised in a marsala wine with porcini & shiitake mushrooms, served with saffron risotto; and the Fillet of seabass with tomatoes, artichokes, prosecco and saffron, served with organic sautÃ©ed spinach and roasted Yukon gold potatoes.

All the food was very enjoyable, and the couple of glasses of wine we had were very good value.

Carnegie Delicatessen - review by sue

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 12:08:29 +0000

Carnegie Delicatessen - review by sue

Rating: 3.0

Location: Mirage, 3400 S. Las Vegas Blvd, 89109, Las Vegas, United States of America

Phone: 866.339.4566

Website: http://www.mirage.com/restaurants/carnegie-delicat

Tags: american, jewish, cake, good value, deli, lively

Carnegie Delicatessen is located within the casino of the Mirage Hotel. It is apparently quite like the original Carnegie Deli in New York.

The main draw card here seemed to be the "overstuffed sandwiches" - they were so massive. Think two average slices of bread with a filling of pastrami, and when I say filling I mean a 25cm high tower of meat! Then add sides including a big stack of fries, a tub of coleslaw and a giant pickle, and you will get the idea of what a meal here entails.

But we ignored all that and just shared a giant slice of Cheesecake instead. And a pot of tea to wash it down. And tried to take sneaky photos of people with huge sandwiches.

Plane Food - review by sue

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 17:15:16 +0000

Plane Food - review by sue

Rating: 2.0

Location: Heathrow Terminal 5, TW6 2GA, Hounslow, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 8897 4545

Website: http://www.gordonramsay.com/planefood

Tags: expensive, heathrow, ramsay, gordon ramsay, british, international, breakfast

We thought we would start our last holiday in style - instead of the usual pre-flight breakfast at Giraffe, we would instead dine at Plane Food, which is Gordon Ramsay's restaurant in Heathrow Terminal Five, airside.

The restaurant has been beautifully designed, taking advantage of the light-filled space which offers views out to the airfield. The space was much larger than imagined, and although stylish looking, the ambience was somehow more canteen like than I was expecting. Perhaps it had something to do with the large number of empty tables waiting to be cleared, meaning we had to wait around 10 minutes to be seated (eating into our valuable duty free shopping time).

Was it worth the wait. Not really. As this would be our second breakfast for the day, we just wanted something light and both opted for the Suffolk sweet-cured bacon and egg roll. It was the most boring and flavourless bacon and egg roll I think I have ever had. Next time we'll just stick to Giraffe.

Petersham Nurseries Restaurant - review by sue

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 19:23:22 +0000

Petersham Nurseries Restaurant - review by sue

Rating: 4.0

Location: Petersham Nurseries, TW10 7AG, Richmond Upon Thames, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 8940 5230

Website: http://www.petershamnurseries.com/cafeandteahouse.asp

Tags: relaxed, rustic, international, quirky, expensive

Just back from an idyllic lunch at Petersham Nurseries Restaurant (not to be confused with the cafÃ©). The restaurant is open for lunch, six days a week, and is housed in a pretty nursery greenhouse. Your rickety chair wobbles on the dirt floor as you eat some very pricy food, surrounded by pot plants and creepers. But the food was very good, and the gorgeous setting seemed to numb the pain of the bill a little.

We timed our visit to coincide with a 'chef swap' that was taking place - Petersham's regular head chef, Skye Gyngell, had traded places with top Sydney chef Sean Moran for a month.

The menu was small, with only 5 choices per course. We started with the Beetroot Ravioli with Ticklemore Aged Goats Cheese. I really loved this dish - not only did it look fabulous but the flavours worked really really well. Main course was the Milk Fed Veal Chop barbequed with peperonata, sage, runner beans and anchovy butter; and the Hampshire Pork, roasted with fennel, greengages & butternut squash. Both meals were generous in size and flavours. Really happy with our choices.

Unfortunately there was nothing on the dessert menu we fancied, so we paid up, and wandered back across Petersham Meadows, dodging cowpats along the way, and stopped off at our favourite chocolate shop for a sweet treat.

Hawksmoor - review by sue

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 19:19:35 +0000

Hawksmoor - review by sue

Rating: 4.3

Location: 157 Commercial Street, E1 6BJ, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7247 7392

Website: http://www.thehawksmoor.com

Tags: american, steak, cocktails, expensive, friendly, relaxed

When the birthday boy (BB) requested a meal at a nice restaurant where he could have a decent martini and a more than decent steak, Hawksmoor sprang to mind. From what I had read, it sounded like the perfect place for both. And it sure was.

We arrived early evening and slipped onto a comfy stool at the bar. Cocktails decided on, we relaxed at the end of a hectic week, really enjoying our perfectly mixed beverages. The place was fairly quiet at that stage, but the restaurant filled up as the night continued.

After drinks we moved to our table and had to decide just how big a piece of meat we could eat. We laughed (a little nervously) when we read on the menu - "Some people have mentioned that our cuts are on the big side - we hope you can forgive us."

I opted for the 400g Rib-eye, while BB went for the 600g Bone-in Sirloin. The steak just comes by itself, so sides are required - we ordered the Triple Cooked chips, the Honey-roasted vegetables, and the Macaroni Cheese. The steak was pretty expensive but so worth it. Lovely char-grilled flavour, rare and flavoursome. Very excellent pieces of meat. The sides were tasty too, though I did think that the Macaroni Cheese was over-priced. A big, full bodied bottle of Australian red wine complemented our meals perfectly.

Somehow we managed to clean our plates and still find room to share a dessert - the Chocolate Fudge Sundae. It was so delicious - ice cream, brownie chunks, crispy peanut brittle bits, chocolate sauce. Yum.

The prices at Hawksmoor mean this isn't going to become a regular haunt for us, but the quality of the steaks, along with the really lovely service and the relaxed atmosphere mean that next time we have an occasion that requires a decent martini and a more than decent steak we may well be back.

Santore - review by sue

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 19:11:17 +0000

Santore - review by sue

Rating: 3.6

Location: 59-61 Exmouth Market, EC1R 4QL, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7812 1488

Tags: italian, pizza

Santore - review by sue

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 19:11:17 +0000

Santore - review by sue

Rating: 3.6

Location: 59-61 Exmouth Market, EC1R 4QL, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7812 1488

Tags: italian, pizza

Exmouth Market is a happening place on a weekday lunch time, with market stalls and numerous restaurants and cafes catering to hungry office workers. Santore is an Italian restaurant on this lively strip, and I visited one day for lunch with my work mates.

The restaurant has a relaxed feel, with smiling staff and a large menu. My colleagues all opted to order from the special 2 course lunch menu, whilst I, always the trouble maker, selected from the main menu.

I had the Rucola pizza, which had Parma ham, rocket and parmesan cheese. It was enjoyable, with generous toppings, though the middle was a but soggy. Everyone else seemed to enjoy their choices, and some people continued on to dessert too. I may have sampled the bosses giant serve of Tiramisu (apparently the waitress has a soft spot for him), which was a little too cream-focussed for my liking.

The Grill Room - review by sue

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 13:26:35 +0000

The Grill Room - review by sue

Rating: 4.0

Location: 2 Whitton Road, TW1 1BJ, Twickenham, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 8891 0803

Website: http://www.thegrillroomtw1.co.uk

Tags: meat, lobster, british, seafood, steak, good value

The Grill Room is located close to Twickenham station and is well worth trying if you find yourself in this neck of the woods. The interior is dark and cosy, the type of environment you can imagine indulging in a big juicy steak and glass or two of red wine, which is exactly what we did.

Dining early evening, midweek, in August, we almost had the restaurant to ourselves. This did give us the chance to have a good chat with the friendly and helpful waitress, who kindly let us taste one of the wines before settling on a bottle.

The menu focuses on steak, though there are a decent selection of seafood dishes as well. We were there for meat. I had the 8oz Scottish Fillet and it was buttery goodness - the knife just glided through it. Alex went all out and had the 16oz T-bone. It was a big piece of meat, but he gallantly worked his way through it, declaring it the best T-bone ever. All steaks are served with some very moreish chips, and a side of corn fritters was good too.

Somehow we managed to find the room to share a dessert - the Chock-a-block Stanley frozen chocolate cream slice with Baileys Irish cream. Tasty and a sweet way to end the meal.

My only complaint would be that there wasn't anything on the wine list I wanted to order. Would have been good to see a couple more mid-priced options that weren't French.

Lola & Simon - review by sue

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 13:24:56 +0000

Lola & Simon - review by sue

Rating: 3.0

Location: 278 King Street, W6 0SP, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 8563 0300

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

Tags: lively, kiwi, antipodean, new zealand, Argentinean, international, fusion

An impromptu dinner with friends one evening found us at Lola & Simon, near Hammersmith. The restaurant is owned by a couple - he is Argentinean, she is a New Zealander, and the food reflects this, drawing on both countries for inspiration and flavour. The name Lola & Simon apparently comes from the owner's dogs back in Buenos Aires.

I liked the look and feel of the restaurant, but wasn't so keen on the acoustics. Or maybe the table of 6 sitting near us in the mezzanine dining area were just particularly loud and annoying. And service was a little hit and miss, our main waiter didn't seem to be very experienced, but he meant well.

The food was pretty good for the most part. We started with the Argentinean Empanadas; and some New Zealand green-lipped mussels. Next was the Roasted rump of dukkha crusted New Zealand lamb with grilled eggplant and sweet potato mash; the Milanesa Napolitana with crispy potatoes; and the Seared then roasted cod fillet with crispy potatoes and mustard caper lentil dressing. For dessert we shared a couple of Rich chocolate brownies with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream.

The main courses were the highlight of the meal - I really enjoyed the flavours in the lamb dish and the cod looked great and was cooked just right.

The friendly Brazilian manager had a chat with us at the end of our meal and we learnt that he was looking after the place for a couple of weeks while the owners were on holiday. Apparently he usually works at the newish Princess Victoria (gastro)pub in Shepherds Bush which is getting rave reviews.

Fishworks Seafood Cafe - review by sue

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 13:22:53 +0000

Fishworks Seafood Cafe - review by sue

Rating: 2.0

Location: 13 - 19 The Square, TW9 1EA, Richmond Upon Thames, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 8948 5965

Website: http://www.fishworks.co.uk/richmond

Tags: lively, seafood, expensive

Fishworks is one of those (supposedly) more upmarket chain restaurants that you have meant to go to for ages but have never made it there. Well, a 50% off food offer finally inspired us to give it a try for lunch one Sunday. We headed to our local branch in Richmond. I liked the look of the place - it was nice and bright with a large sky-light helping to brighten up the grey and rainy last day of summer.

We shared a starter of South Coast Crab Cakes, which had an interesting texture and some tasty dipping sauce. For main course we had the Organic Salmon Fillet with hollandaise sauce; and the Baked Monk Fish with ratatouille.

The most positive thing I can say about the food was that the fish seemed to be good quality - and rightly so as there is a fish mongers attached to the restaurant.

But we thought the food was overpriced, particularly when you have to order sides with many of the dishes. My Â£14.50 salmon became expensive once I ordered side orders of greens and potatoes, as the menu price just gets you the piece of fish. Coupled with this, the meals were unattractively presented on grotty looking, greasy plates. Not good enough.