• Added: 3rd of September 2008
• Area: Ladbroke Grove
• Category: Restaurants

London W10 5TY
020 8968 8898

MSE_Eater said
The Best Comfort Food In West London Bar None.
You will have to excuse first impressions as you approach the S&M Cafe; the surroundings near the Westway flyover on London's Portobello Road are slightly grimy, the lack of parking is a pain (the nearest car park is 20-25mins away so get the Tube) and the exterior of the cafe itself is unassuming and slightly worn, but that is not what this place is about. Likewise, the interior is also functional and basic - tables and chairs are mix and match, even tatty on occassions, yet for some reason this purely adds to the very genuine and homely feel when you first walk through the door - it may not be acceptable virtually anywhere else. For a split second you may think twice, but then the atmosphere and the amazing smell hits you.
The S&M Cafe doesn't pretend to be something it is not. It is about simple, hearty home cooked comfort food at very reasonable prices - mostly under a tenner - with genuinely warm, chatty service. When I say the food choice is simple perhaps that is slightly misleading; you have the choice of a minimum of nine different sausages plus daily specials and vegetarian options, four varieties of mashed potato and three types of gravy, plus veg and extra sides, if for some unearthly reason you need them. Add to that a mug of PG, or a bottle of wine or a beer if you prefer, plus a large bowl of hearty fruit crumble with Bird's custard and you have one of the most brilliant comfort food experiences in London. (Disclaimer: other meals are available if you don't like sausages!)
It is great to hear that a branch has opened at the o2, but you should try Portobello Road to see where it is really at.

• Added: 3rd of September 2008
• Area: Chiswick
• Category: Restaurants

London W4 2ED
020 8994 6887

MSE_Eater said
A Real Treat.
Located at the Acton Green end of Chiswick, this restaurant offers good modern European food and excellent wine (many served in caraffes) at reasonable prices (especially before 8pm) in a relaxed, friendly environment.

Look out for their Gourmet Nights, you will often find unusual and rare dishes on the menu.

There are two choices of menu; an early evening two or three course menu running up until 8pm and after 8pm an a la carte menu is available, both of which are refreshed frequently. Some would see this as a failing - you cannot always get the same dish you have had previously - however you will always find something that you will like. The last time I was there I selected Pidgeon on a bed of mashed potato from the a la carte menu...I wasn't quite sure why they brought me a finger bowl, but I soon learnt. Very tasty but a little fiddly and messy!

Service is second to none. It is warm, friendly and efficent - the staff know when they are needed and when they are not - rather than being suffocating and overbearing as it can be in similar establishements.

I have personally used this restaurant for celebratory occasions, I know others who eat here much more frequently and I'm certain that if I lived a little closer I would be there more often.

Price wise, early evening (before 8pm) you can expect to pay in the region of £15-£20 per head, a la carte £30-£35, including wine.

A little more adventurous and not as safe - menu wise - as some other restaurants, but as long as you are prepared to eat something a little different you will have a fantastic meal.

• Added: 3rd of September 2008
• Area: Hounslow
• Category: Restaurants

Hounslow TW4 5AR

MSE_Eater said
An Excellent Takeaway Choice.
Whenever I move, one of my top priorites is to find a really good Chinese takeaway to live off for a week or two. As we moved into the area, I noted this takeway was very close by. The same evening I moved in I went and picked up a menu. I did not regret it. I found their service to be freindly and warm, they told us if we needed any advice on the area to just call them and ask, they couldn't have done anymore.
We ordered a substantial meal for four of us, plus our cat. Well the cat got to share some chicken anyway. The meal was ready in good time, the only downside being that they do not deliver. Once home we all found our food to be very hot, fresh and extremely tasty. A lot of Chinese restaurants boost the taste of their food using monosodium glutamate - this is what often gives a very sticky ("glue") mouth for many hours or if you are unlucky when you wake up the next day, but this was not evident with the Empire's food - they didn't need to artificially enhance the quality of the food as it clearly stands on it's own.
Pricing is very reasonable, you can get cheaper but the quality will suffer. The only place in the Hounslow area that could beat this has been reviewed by myself on this site and is a lot more expensive.

• Added: 3rd of September 2008
• Area: Hounslow
• Category: Restaurants

Hounslow TW3 3DA
020 8570 2161

MSE_Eater said
Amazing Food, Excellent Service
Sung's specialises in serving simply delightful Beijing and Cantonese cuisine. It also offers a takeway
service with which you can get 20% off your bill and free delivery within a three mile radius, should you not want to dine in, but it really is a pleasure if you do.

The restaurant is clearly very popular within the Chinese community as many seem to patronise this restaurant, which is always a good sign of quality food.

It has a warm, relaxed atmosphere, it functions just as well as an intimate venue as it does for larger gatherings, the interior design is well though out and is designed to accomodate most needs.

Service itself is a pleasure, the staff are so freindly and attentive that you don't quite know what you've done to deserve being treated so well!

The menu is mouthwateringly good to say the least.
Shredded Smoked Chicken, Grilled Dumpling, Hot and Sour Soup, Shredded Beef Fillet, there is something with mindlblowing flavour here for everyone. The produce used is clearly of the freshest quality available and you can tell as much with every bite.

I wouldn't normally recommend Hounslow for a night out, but this fantastic restaurant is worth the time and the effort to visit and is easily accessible by tube and bus.

• Added: 3rd of September 2008
• Area: Basingstoke
• Category: Restaurants

Basingstoke RG22 6PG
01256 300770

MSE_Eater said
Littel Frankies, Little Service
A group of eight of us went for a meal here after our original destination ws full when we got there.

We should have simply gone home.

Little Frankies is pretty much a slimmed down version of Frankie and Benny's. Unfortuantely in this branch at least they have slimmed own on the calibre of staff, customer service, atmosphere and quality of food as well.

We were seated at a table by the door which was freezing. We asked to move but were told part of the restaurant was closed for cleaning. The atmosphere ws distinctly flat.
Some of us were pretty desperate for a drink, but we just had menu's thrust at us. We had to ask for drink after our order had been taken.
We ordered as a group. Two of the group did not recieve a starter as the order was not processed properly. One received the wrong starter. 20 minutes later th two other starters arrived, after the rest of us had finished. We pointed this out to the duty manager who simply did not care less. She even went to some of her staff at the counter and pointed over to us in a "what do they expect?" sort of way.
The main course took a further 45 minutes to arrive. When it did start to arrive it took 20 minutes again from starting to give out dishes until the realistaion that one was wrong and one was missing.
The food was below average which didn't help the situation either.
We again complained to the duty manager as she passed, who made it pretty obvious that she wasn't about to do anything about it. A member of our group left the table and challenged the duty manger and expressed our dissatisfaction with our meal, the time it took the mistakes that were made and how it had really spoilt our evening out.
The interesting thing was that there were two other groups we could see who were also complaining, deeply unsatisfied with their experiences.

Every one can have a bad night, but to compound this with terrible service and lack of concern or care from the Manager in charge is totally unacceptable.

I would NEVER visit this establishement again.

• Added: 3rd of September 2008
• Area: Hounslow
• Category: Restaurants

Hounslow TW3 1RH

MSE_Eater said
Bad Service, No Atmosphere, Average Food
Considering what it is, it's not cheap to eat at Pizza Hut. To be honest, we only ended up here as it was quite late and we didn't fancy anything else.
We regretted going there from almost the moment we sat down. The restaurant was empty bar us and the staff, yet it still took five minutes before we were acknowledged and seated - by the manageress.
She was quite surely in approach - perhaps we had arrived later than she had wished - and we felt very much pressured into hurrying to make a decision of what we wished to eat.
Once our order had been placed we were told the sald bar was shut, so no salad then. When the food arrived after 25 minutes - a bit long for a pizza when there was nobody else in the restaurant it was suprisingly lukewarm and average tasting. It was quite clear litte care had been taken in the preparation of our meal.
We hurredly ate as the eyes of some staff members viewed us with distaste - including the manageress.
We paid and quickly left, with no by or leave from the manageress.
Now normally I would stand my ground and challenge the service and food quality, however I was tired and simply stunned at how bad the service had been.
Suffice to say we have never dined in at a Pizza Hut restaurant since.

• Added: 3rd of September 2008
• Area: Sutton
• Category: Restaurants

Sutton SM1 1HN
020 86434725

MSE_Eater said
I Love Pizza Express, But Not This One...
There are many fine restaurants in Sutton, unfortunately this is not one of them. Pizza Express is one of my favouirte chains, however I have been let down twice by this branch in particular. It has a lot going for it; a great menu, excellent location on the way to Sutton railway station and a reasonable amount of room inside.
I'm not sure how you can make a winning formula go so wrong. Sloppy service, incorrect food, poorly cooked food that I have had to send back twice in one sitting and on two different occassions. Add to this an apparent lack of caring from the mangement team and a meal here has disaster written all over it.

• Added: 3rd of September 2008
• Area: Sutton
• Category: Restaurants

Sutton SM1 1DF
020 86426174

MSE_Eater said
Great Food, Good Price, Lacking Atmosphere
I was a little suspicious of Mama Dumplings when it first opened in Sutton. It is very basic in appearance and I passed it by many times looking at it curiously until one day I gave up and went in as I fancied a change.
I sat down reviewed the menu and ordered. The waitress took my order effciently, but she could have been more freindly. To be honest I remained pretty unimpressed until the food arrived.
The food came quickly, it was hot and fantastically tasty and I would highly recommend it. The soups and duck are an absolute treat, indeed all of the food I have ever had there has tasted great. I have since returned many times and never been let down.

It's location is ideal, almost sat on top of Sutton railway station and it is good for all the local offices at lunch time.

It's just such a shame the place doesn't have a little more soul.

• Added: 3rd of September 2008
• Area: Sutton
• Category: Restaurants

Sutton SM2 5AJ

MSE_Eater said
A real treat!
There is a little gem a few minutes walk from Sutton railaway station. That gem is Ricci's.
Ricci's is a family run business, placing emphasis on great award winning food and good service without breaking the bank. An average meal costs in the region of £20 per head, whilst portion sizes could possibly feed two.
Although I have heard it said the hostess can be a little cold at times - she expects customers to at least try and dress properly when they come in her restaurant, (which is not a bad thing if you ask me). It is probably a little of her Italian temperament coming through which just adds to the atmosphere for me! I would not want to be on the wrong side of her, but she has been genuinely warm and welcoming on the many occasions we have eaten here.
The restaurant itself is characterised by the traditional clay oven, used for preparing and cooking all of the pizza's which is in full view to extensive parts of the restaurant. The ambience is relaxed and warm, ideal for romantic meals or special occasions.

The chef obviously loves his work. He has a traditional, authentic approach and quite clearly takes a lot of pride in the food that he makes, evident by the exquisite tastes you experience whilst dining.
The menu itself is traditional wholesome Italian fayre; plenty of pasta and pizza amongst numerous other dishes for those who don't like pizza or pasta or perhaps simply fancy a change, with a specials board that makes chosing a meal the most difficult part of the evening. There is something to cater to evryones tastes.

Worth booking as it gets very busy. I cannot recommend this restaurant highly enough.

• Added: 3rd of September 2008
• Area: Chiswick
• Category: Restaurants

London W4 4PU
020 8747 9400

MSE_Eater said
Great Food, Suprisingly Cheap Bills.
One of my favourite restaurants.

Service is great, staff are friendly and accomodating, food is served quickly and is always piping hot.

The atmosphere is cozy, relaxed and luxurious it's good for romantic meals, quick lunches, family do's - it's an all round great place.

The menu is above average Italian - plenty of pizza and pasta amongst other choices - and it is very well executed. My favourite is Penne Della Casa; a chicken and pasta dish with pancetta, spinach and grana padano cheese, baked al forno.
The pizza's and calzones are great as well! Their apple crumble dessert is one of the best out there, but alas it is not on the summer menu, which is a big miss.

The one thing that suprises me every time is the price. The bill usually comes in around about £18 per head with wine, which is outstanding value for such good quality.