• Added: 18th of September 2007
• Area: Barnsbury
• Category: Restaurants

London N1 0PS
020 7359 8804

brennfalcon said
Cheap Chinese 'all you can eat'
A friend and I wanted to see the Simpsons Movie recently and fit in a couple of beers and some food beforehand so I did a bit of a trawl of the internet and came up with this place.

Just up the escalators at the N1 Shopping centre very close to the Angel tube in Islington, this Chinese buffet is very convenient for the cinema. It's a very basic setup and unique in my experience with Chinese restuarants they supply knife, fork and spoon as standard. Drinks were reasonably priced and once seated you're provided with a plate and told to just help yourself.

There is a large counter filled with about twenty or so stainless steel dishes with a reasonable range of dishes. The makings for duck pancakes can be found at one end of this and there are also bowls for a couple of soups and a couple of trays of sauces.

The temptation, of course, is to load your plate up with loads of everything - which is what I did! However, my advice would be to do a circuit of the whole counter before choosing a few individual dishes and try not to fill up too much on rice and noodles.

This is certainly a 'cheap eat' and if you like fine Asian cuisine then there are many other restuarants that do it a whole lot better for more money but if you choose carefully and don't just stuff your face a pleasant experience can be had and at £8.50 for the dinner buffet and £4.50 for the lunch buffet you're not going to be too disappointed. I particularly enjoyed the Deep Fried Mixed Vegetables and the Lemon Chicken.

• Added: 5th of July 2007
• Area: Liverpool Street
• Category: Restaurants

London E1 7DJ
020 7929 7923

brennfalcon said
Some good food but service going downhill
Haz is always packed at lunchtime and busy in the evening. Little more than a stone's throw from Liverpool street it's in the heart of the business district and does a roaring trade in city lunches and dinners. There's always a delightful smell wafting onto the street from the grill vents and the look is clean, crisp and classy.

A group of work colleagues and I went for dinner a couple of years ago and had a very pleasant time. Service was pretty swift and polite, food was good and despite the fact that they then allowed people to smoke it was an altogether good evening.

The cuisine is modern Turkish but quite brit friendly with a good range of spicy and not so spicy food, although as you'd imagine there are pretty slim pickings for any vegetarians.

The menu is quite extensive and reasonably priced for the area and they do three set menus starting at 8.45 per person for two courses.

Second time round (a few weeks ago) the experience was rather disappointing. This time was for lunch. Although we arrived just before two, so they weren't as busy as at peak time, it took quite a while for us to be served. When the starters arrived mine was missing, assuming that it was on the way I waited a few minutes and then the mains arrived but then I'd filled up on bread and olives and so wasn't too fussed. I had the 'Haz', a lamb casserole. The plentiful supply of bread was fortunate as the portion was rather inadequate but I must say the lamb itself was amazing. Literally melt in the mouth, succulent and tasty.

I forget what my lunch partner had but I recall he wasn't as impressed as me but said it wasn't bad.

Unfortunately we were cleared away before we'd quite finished - I guess the waiting staff were keen to get on with their on lunches. Dessert was baklava for me, which was miniscule and rather sickly. We then had coffee. Having never tried Turkish coffee I was happy to go along with my colleague but then again never having had Turkish coffee before I wasn't aware that it was made with sawdust! Shan't be drinking that again!

Dishes:

Haz - "Gently stewed lamb and smoky flavoured aubergine pure" Devine' melt in the mouth Lamb - the best I've ever tasted.

Hellim - "Grilled Cyprus cheese" Never arrived so can't say

Baklava - "Filo pastry with pistachio, walnuts and honey syrup" Don't waste your time unless you like sickly sweet

Turkish Coffee - Yuk!


Haz has recently opened another restaurant in Mincing Lane

• Added: 5th of July 2007
• Area: Covent Garden
• Category: Restaurants

London WC2E 7HE
020 7379 7585

brennfalcon said
Central Cheap Eats
I stumbled across this place on the internet looking for a cheap place to host a small dinner party. Since that time we've been back several times and friends have also used the venue for their own gatherings.

If you're after a chic, intimate venue for a quiet romantic dinner this place is probably not for you. But if you want to get together with a group of friends and have a three course dinner for less than a tenner in central London then give this place a try.

The menu is not as extensive as some but with around 15 starters, 15 mains (including several of each for vegetarians) and half a dozen desserts there should be something for everyone.

The cuisine is basically Mediterranean with a Middle Eastern twist. Nothing particularly fancy just good, tasty food in decent portions. They have a decent enough wine list but the house red or white is drinkable enough and a lot cheaper than you'll pay in many other restaurants in the area.

My abiding memory will be the birthday dinner my wife threw for me. At the end of the dinner in came the cake accompanied by a waiter thrashing the heck out of a huge pan with a metal spoon and singing happy birthday flat at the top of his lungs - unfortunately he forgot who it was for and sailed off to another table. When my wife went and told him that it was actually for me he came and stood right behind me and did the whole thing again - it was great if somewhat deafening!

Only real minus: Can get crowded at peak times and they can tend to cram them in a bit.

• Added: 3rd of July 2007
• Area: Holborn
• Category: Bars and Pubs

London WC1V 7HP
020 7242 5669

brennfalcon said
A Decent Place to Stop for a Burger and an Beer
So I had an hour in between appointments and wanted to find a place that would do cheap food and free wireless. I'd walked past this Wetherspoons loads of times and always thought that it looked quite nice except for the fact that it wasn't one of their few non-smoking pubs. Post 1st July that's all changed of course and I walked right in, past the couple of die hard nicotine addicts huddling by the door on a wet and windy 'summer' night.

The ambiance was pleasant and they had what looked like a very useful 'bendy breakfast bar' in the front of the pub which could seat a good number of people who wanted to nip in for something quick to eat - presumably it gets busy in here. In addition there are booths and tables scattered around.

As you'd expect they do the usual range of cheap food and cheap booze and I went for the Burger and a Beer deal at 4.99. The Fosters was cold and sharp and the Burger, which arrived within ten minutes, was tasty, the chips were cooked properly and came with a tomato salsa - which made a pleasant change from ketchup.

Arriving around six I was surprised to be served so promptly. The only downer was I couldn't get the wifi to work!

I expect I'll pop in again soon.

• Added: 2nd of July 2007
• Area: Soho
• Category: Restaurants

London W1F 9AN
020 7494 1634

brennfalcon said
Amazing vegetarian secret that'll even satisfy the meat eaters
My wife's a vegetarian and so when picking a venue to meet her for a Valenine lunch I had a look for suitable veggie joints that were fairly central.<br /><br />Mildreds came up and I read a few online reviews before booking a table.<br /><br />It's a bit hidden away but well worth the hunt. The staff are friendly and helpful and the food is simply great. A good selection including a range of hearty mains that will satisfy the keenest of carnivores like me. Value for money is also a major factor with this place as it's all very reasonably priced.<br /><br />This is the ideal venue to try vegetarian food or at least vegetarian dining as you'll not be disappointed. look for the vegan (incredible but true) chocolate cheesecake by the way - it's amazing!<br /><br />Following the success of the lunch I booked their private dining room for a birthday dinner later in the year and we had a great evening. Again the food was wonderful, staff friendly and it proved to be the perfect venue - particularly amusing was the victorian porn that's dotted all over the walls!<br /><br />Since that dinner several guests have been back on their own and had similarly good experiences.