• Added: 14th of September 2008
• Area: Bath
• Category: Restaurants

Bath BA1 2LP
01225 461199

Jongleur said
Lovely welcoming restaurant
My favourite thing about the Browns restaurant chain is that they always choose a beautiful old building for their setting. This one's no exception and the decor is welcoming and classic, with dark wood furniture and ceiling fans. Our table was in a prime position for people-watching with a big arched window looking out at the passing tourist crowds.

Service is very friendly and the food is of a high standard - we visited on a particularly grim day outside, cold, windy and raining, and were very glad we'd chosen this place to take shelter! Posh comfort food for a cold day is something they do extremely well – recommended dishes are classics like baked Camembert, steak frites, or goat’s cheese salad.

• Added: 14th of September 2008
• Area: Oxford
• Category: Restaurants

Oxford OX1 2HP
01865 310194

Jongleur said
Nice chain restaurant
With a Cafe Rouge you know what you’re getting – generic French food and a reliably familiar decor. In the case of Cafe Rouge, of course, that decor is a bit crazy (do they really employ someone to travel the country painting those strange doodles on the walls of all their restaurants?). The food is good and occasionally excellent, especially the specials menu – I’ve had a great plate of snails in butter at this restaurant, which was a bit more adventurous than I was expecting from them. Service is very friendly and it’s usually busy but not overcrowded. You’re not rushed and prices are pretty reasonable.

• Added: 14th of September 2008
• Area: Blackwall
• Category: Restaurants

London E14 4EY
020 7715 9515

Jongleur said
Thai food by numbers
One of Ken Hom’s restaurants, Sri Nam is a Thai ‘and Pan Asian’ located in the middle of Canary Wharf. Downstairs is a bar/cafe, and upstairs a restaurant, all largely populated by bankers and clients. A lot of people really rate this place but I’ve never really seen it – the service is impersonal and slow at peak times, the decor is generic (Thai for westerners).

Food is OK but doesn’t offer anything very exciting or new – some options are quite spicy and the sticky rice is good, but in general it feels like East Asian food-by-numbers to me. With a celebrity chef in charge it would be nice to see some real fresh thinking or new versions of traditional dishes.

• Added: 14th of September 2008
• Area: Limehouse
• Category: Restaurants

London SE16 5SW

Jongleur said
Great Chinese takeaway
I'm afraid I can only review this restaurant as a takeaway, but it's a good 'un. Very local to me on Rotherhithe St and provides excellent Chinese food – the menu’s got plenty of variety and although it doesn’t stray outside the standard Chinese takeaway selection, the quality’s good and the portions are plentiful. I’ve passed by the restaurant and it looks pleasant.

The staff take orders with terrifying efficiency on the phone and delivery never takes anything like as long as they say, so meets all my definitions of a good takeaway! I recommend the Mandarin spare ribs which are the tastiest of the lot...

• Added: 14th of September 2008
• Area: Oxford
• Category: Cafes and Coffee Shops

Oxford OX1 4BG
01865 204463

Jongleur said
Luxurious tea shop
The Grand Cafe is an opulent little cafe on the High Street opposite the Queen’s College, and a favourite with parents who’ve dropped in to give their student offspring a taste of luxury. I think it claims to be the oldest cafe in Oxford (along with about five others) but it certainly has the most gold leaf.

Food is excellent – lovely salads and terrines, but the real strength is the cakes and pastries. I’ve always wanted to try their full champagne cream tea, but even the lesser versions are fabulous, with scones warm from the oven and a selection of teas to choose from.

A little-known treat is their May Day morning cooked breakfast, a marvel of bacon, eggs and ciabatta toast served at 6am – but make sure you book early as it fills up long before May every year!

• Added: 14th of September 2008
• Area: Soho
• Category: Restaurants

London W1D 6PN
020 7437 3433

Jongleur said
Pork buns and dragons and jellyfish, oh my
You can always tell a real Chinese restaurant when the Chinese clientele outnumber everybody else three to one, and this one's no exception. The English on the menus isn't great but I strongly recommend just ordering anything with interesting ingredients, works for me every time!

The food is excellent, especially the enormous selection of dim sum, which is brought around on trolleys for you to select. I adore char siu bau (rice buns stuffed with savoury pork) and the ones here are gorgeous. I’ve also had some wonderfully weird dishes here, including vinegared jellyfish (tastes better than it sounds)!
Service is attentive but not exactly friendly – prices are reasonable and the location just off Piccadilly Circus makes it a convenient stop-off point when you’re out and about. Easy to spot from the dragon totem pole outside!

• Added: 14th of September 2008
• Area: Leicester Square
• Category: Restaurants

London WC2H 7AF
020 7930 7587

Jongleur said
Busy, crowded chain, good food
Wagamama do Westernised Japanese food and pop up everywhere these days. This one's one of the better restaurants in Leicester Square, hidden downstairs in an air-conditioned basement.

Seating is on crowded benches and the noise level tends to be high, so I wouldn't bring my granny here. However, the food's great, with a wide variety of noodles, rice dishes and salads. Service is efficient and largely technology-driven – they track your order and should your dish take 35 minutes or more to reach you they will automatically take it off your bill (this has happened to me once although the average time from order to eating is more like ten minutes).

Discounts for this chain are often available online so check before you go.

• Added: 14th of September 2008
• Area: Canary Wharf
• Category: Restaurants

London E14 5AJ
020 7719 0101

Jongleur said
Excellent food in unfussy surroundings
I'm a big fan of this particular Smollensky's - I find the chain a bit variable but the Canary Wharf branch has uniformly good food at moderate prices. Service is pleasant and the decor is nice - the only disadvantage is that the glass windows look on to the giant scrolling news/stock price ticker on the Reuters building and it's hard to concentrate on your dining companions if you're the one sitting facing it!

Canary Wharf has a lot of fussy and pretentious restaurants but this is the one I turn to for straightforward food with good quality ingredients and an atmosphere that won’t intimidate my mum.

• Added: 14th of September 2008
• Area: Blackwall
• Category: Restaurants

London E14 4QS
020 7715 7100

Jongleur said
Great business restaurant
This restaurant is situated above Waitrose and below the Reebok Gym in Canary Wharf with a nice view over Canada Square. It’s primarily a business restaurant and I’ve never been there except with clients – the food is good but pricey, portions are elegantly presented but small. Service is attentive and pleasant and I love the decor – design classic chairs and tables. There’s also a small conservatory area to each side which can be hired for corporate events, and a bar/grill section which I’ve never tried. I can’t say I would call this good value for a non-business visit but for entertaining clients it’s an excellent choice.

• Added: 14th of September 2008
• Area: Soho
• Category: Restaurants

London W1F 0UQ
020 7479 4794

Jongleur said
Great place to detour to while shopping
One of my favourite places to escape from the bustle of Oxford Street! Itsu is a sushi ‘conveyor belt’ restaurant but I like it much better than some other chains like Yo! Sushi. The food here is always extremely fresh and well prepared and with a good variety. It’s not the most authentic Japanese food (California rolls, chocolate mousse for dessert etc) but good for all that - and of course very healthy.

Just a note to a reviewer before me – this is NOT the restaurant where Litvinenko was irradiated, that was the tiny Itsu joint on Piccadilly. This one is officially polonium-free :-)