• Added: 14th of August 2008
• Area: Clerkenwell
• Category: Restaurants

London EC1M 4EH
020 7253 6950

amandaharrison said
Smart and light and airy
Was lucky enough to be taken here this week. It used to be Cafe Lazeez. The restaurant is a fantastic space, with gorgeous light coming through and a glass wall looking onto bamboo. Assorted tables offer intimate or more sociable dining. Food, just great. I had wonderful hake. Not cheap, but then where is anywhere in London these days that is halfway decent? Great for a treat or if someone else is paying!

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

London W1D 3JW
020 7734 4545

amandaharrison said

I liked it, but the acoustics make it difficult to hear and the layout is cramped. Also, when we went, the waiter a) got my order wrong b) managed to put his thumb in my friend's water then ignored the fact that he'd done it much to our hilarity. The management fixed the fact that he'd got my order wrong (maybe writing it down would have helped) by waiving the cost of it.

• Added: 8th of August 2008
• Area: Leighton Buzzard
• Category: Restaurants

Leighton Buzzard LU7 0QF
01296 668423

amandaharrison said

this is my local. not cheap and the pub is tiny but the restaurant and gardens are spacious.

• Added: 7th of August 2008
• Area: Soho
• Category: Restaurants

London W1D 5HP
020 7734 6112

amandaharrison said
soft spot for this Soho institution
I'd never eaten here before but over the years when working in London every so often ended up to quaff some champagne for whichever account win was being celebrated. Walked in the other day at 1pm without a reservation (as El Cantina around the corner, which I'd booked, had decided that the chef wouldn't be ready until at least 2pm)and asked if we could have a table for two. The girl rolled her eyes and took us to the - empty - dining room. There was no-one sitting in the bar area sofas either. But I had a nice time, the dining room is lovely and light. I had some crab pasta parcels which were quite nice but then anything with loads of butter on it can be quite nice. Not cheap for a variety of pasta, pizza, main dishes though.

• Added: 25th of July 2008
• Area: Mayfair
• Category: Restaurants

London W1S 1EY
020 7659 1500

amandaharrison said
Conde Nast's Canteen
Tucked away in a courtyard, you can dine al fresco (popular with all the local skinny Conde Nast trustafarians who prefer smoking to eating). Inside, the tables are all at that unsociable angle wereby one diner can see the whole room and the other just the other diner and the wall. Menu was good value with toptable's current 50% off food deal; wine list SO expensive. I had a rather nice steak tartare, although presentation was such that it looked like a small flat pancake.

Flash.

• Added: 25th of July 2008
• Area: Oudtshoorn
• Category: Restaurants

Oudtshoorn
+27 442727313

amandaharrison said
Excellent place for a tourist attraction
Lovely to find great dining options at a tourist attraction. Cango Caves, well worth a visit (not for the claustrophobic!) but also worth planning to give plenty of time to dine here too. We didn't have time for the whole restaurant a la carte shebang, but had a great plate of cheeses out on the deck outside (only marred by some old bloke ringing everyone he could think of on his mobile and speaking very loudly).

• Added: 25th of July 2008
• Area: Leicester Square
• Category: Restaurants

London WC2H 7HL
020 7451 0191

amandaharrison said
Could be much better
Light dining area, sofas, could see it being very popular if it got the menu right. I could be being unfair as both of us had the burger (which I chose because nothing else tickled my fancy from the fish dishes, which I would usually snap at; they didn't even ask us how we wanted the burger cooked. It was overcooked. Accompanying lettuce was limp. Very nice house chardonnay though (am assuming it was house, I just asked for a glass and that's what they brought me, could've been v expensive I didn't pick up the bill - for once.

• Added: 25th of July 2008
• Area: South Kensington
• Category: Restaurants

London SW3 3AE
020 7589 4257

amandaharrison said
always a delight
I go to Daphne's once a year; always a delight. Rabbit-filled pasta is delicious if a little buttery. Service always attentive. I sat under a huge display of lilies, the scent of which was a bit overwhelming. Very ladies who lunch.

• Added: 27th of June 2008
• Area: Soho
• Category: Restaurants

London W1D 3DY
020 7851 1585

amandaharrison said
Lounge Lizards
I actually booked this place by accident, not remembering the name of Maison Touaregue just down the road, which is a great place.

I'm all for lounging around on cushions but the seats were so uncomfortable. Mezze for two was a bunch of dishes that all tasted the same. Hoummous blah, vine leave blah, other stuff blah.

• Added: 17th of June 2008
• Area: Kensington
• Category: Restaurants

London W8 5SA
020 7937 7994

amandaharrison said
Great views shame about the loos
A lovely buzzy restaurant. Saturday lunchtime the service is a little slow, but then it was very busy. Value for money with a set menu - two courses £16.95, three £19.95, which is excellent for the quality. Two happy steak eaters, one happy risotto eater and another happy smoked salmon and scrambled egg eater (yes, a bit of an eclectic choice of main course). BUT - the ladies toilet so badly needs refurbishing. Look down to see where the water is coming for the stupid wash your hands in a waterfall that is too far away to reach properly and you can see straight through to the mens' loos, and, ahem, not what you want to see at lunchtime (or anytime for that matter.) And nowhere to put your bag when you do wash your hands, all together very inconvenient. But great for a Saturday family lunch; on this occasion for a 21st birthday.