• Added: 27th of September 2008
• Area: Kensington
• Category: Food and Drink

London SW7 3EX
020 7052 0732

carolinebee said
And I thought Carte Dor was good!
Everyone who's visited this ice cream shop has always seemed very impressed - and quite rightly, because the stuff they serve in here goes beyond ice cream.

Before I tasted Oddono's, I thought supermarket-bought Carte Dor ice cream was good... but boy, was I wrong! A tub of, say, chocolate chip from this place will change your ice cream palate forever.

Rich and creamy, but with real flavours that you can actually taste, literally every variety I've had from here has been excellent. Unfortunately the prices have risen (like everywhere else) but the quality has stayed the same. It can be an expensive habit to break at £2 per tub, but it is most certainly worth it to satisfy your sweet craving on a dull weekend night.

I usually carry out my ice cream but you can also sit in on one of their modern looking chairs, and enjoy a moment of cool Italian bliss in an otherwise ordinary London shopping day.

• Added: 27th of September 2008
• Area: Rotherhithe
• Category: Restaurants

London SE16 2XU
020 7064 9810

carolinebee said
A great meal out
I really love Frankie and Benny's restaurants. They have consistently impressed me, and this one just down from Canada Water tube station didn't dissapoint, either.

I went with a few friends after visiting someone in the area, and found it really enjoyable. The first thing about Frankie's you will notice is the unusual surroundings - it's like an old-time diner, with lots of random items on the walls, from bicycles to portraits of Frank Sinatra. The music also blares 50's type jazz swing as you enter, which is really great and sets the tone nicely.

The food is wonderful - I'm sure a lot of it will be frozen, due to the volume of customers, but it's all cooked freshly and not re-heated for you. I usually have the garlic ciabatta to start which always tastes really fresh and is utterly different from normal, frozen stuff.

For the mains you can get a huge selection of American/Italian stuff - pizzas, pastas, burgers, wonderful steaks, sandwiches, baguettes, etc. etc. It's all fresh, hot, and you can see the kitchen staff cook it since it's open plan!

The desserts are the last thing - and they're amazing! Big portions of spongey and syrupy cakes, tall glasses of ice cream sundaes and a general mishmash of sugary delights await you.

The prices can be higher than your local takeaway but trust me - it's worth it!

• Added: 27th of September 2008
• Area: Wanstead
• Category: Restaurants

London E11 2RL
020 8989 9989

carolinebee said
Better than pizza hut, anyway!
I admit, I'm not particularly partial to pizzas. Usually, they're greasy, doughy, and generally far too "fast foodish" to stomach. However, Gioberti's changes that a bit, and prepares freshly made, authentic pizza which is actually pretty good.

I've been here twice, but have sampled various pizzas having taken some friends along, too. They were all freshly made (not frozen like the stodge from Pizza Hut) and were truly thin and crispy - real Italiano!

The pizza tasted fresh and flavoursome, although was perhaps a little sparsley topped, so if you like your pepperoni you might be dissapointed. The prices were also mis-proportioned, with a single pizza to share rising above £10.

Good for an irregular Italian treat but not a regular visit.

• Added: 27th of September 2008
• Area: Leytonstone
• Category: Restaurants

London E11 4RD
020 8556 7591

carolinebee said
Excellent
Having glanced at the other reviews for Ichiban, I can only agree with the consensus that this place is great.

It serves your general Japanese/Oriental fayre including all the soups, noodles, dumplings and bizzare salad-type mixtures you can eat. The prices really are great, so it's the only place you could possibly go if you wanted to try Japanese food without forking out too much cash.

The service is always lovely, but can be a little sluggish at busy times (understandable!) The best thing about this place is, as mentioned, the BYOB policy - where else in London can you take supermarket-bought booze into a restaurant, have their waiters open it and decant it for you, and not pay a penny extra?

Brilliant.

• Added: 27th of September 2008
• Area: Aldersbrook
• Category: Restaurants

London E12 6AS

carolinebee said
Not great
Another day, and another Indian takeaway in East London. This one serves the masses to the south of Romford Road, and is in a busy little corner of streets around Ilford.

When I visited, it was busy (being a Friday night) but I was served rather quickly which had me hopeful. Unfortunately, however, the rest of the experience was not great.

I had a chicken puri to start. Anyone who knows Indian cuisine should know that a good puri should be light, crispy and should contain a rich, thick sauce. This one was far too heavy, soggy and greasy, and hardly had any chicken in it! A sore dissapointment.

Next, onto the lamb tikka. It was average - quite hard, not very flavoursome but freshly cooked, at least. The chapati which went with it was, to their credit, quite light and fluffy.

The whole meal was only about £9 which is pretty good for a filling Indian carry out, at least in London. So give it a go, but don't expect much.

• Added: 27th of September 2008
• Area: East Ham
• Category: Restaurants

London E12 6SA
020 84728025

carolinebee said
Below average
Before I start, I should mention that I've only used this place for a takeaway meal on one occasion, so please don't consider me a regular expert by any means.

I didn't enjoy my visit here. The complaints are largely with the food. I walked in for a carry out, and ordered a mixed pakora, a lamb boonah with a chapati, and a small portion of chips.

The short journey home took only a few minutes, but already, I found, the pakora was steamed, soggy and limp. Not freshly made, apparently. This was really dissapointing, as the starter usually always sets the tone for the rest of the meal - and yes, unfortunately, it did.

The boonah was very thin, more like a soup than a curry, and tasted of packaged curry powder instead of freshly crushed spices, etc. The lamb was also quite fatty, which is a huge no-no in Indian cuisine. To top this off, the chapati was rock solid and very thick - you could have put icing on it and served it at your wedding! - and the chips were, like the pakora, steamed and limp.

So by all means, give this place a go, but if you think there's somewhere better, you're perhaps safer avoiding.

• Added: 27th of September 2008
• Area: Ilford
• Category: Bars and Pubs

Ilford IG1 4LZ

carolinebee said
The not-so-great spoon of Ilford
The Great Spoon of Ilford must feed about half of East London's population every Friday night - it's always so busy! However, I suspect that's nothing to do with the quality of the food, drink or service, and more to do with the cheap prices.

To start with, the place isn't great looking. Rather run-down, although like most Wetherspoons pubs, they have attempted to make it look nice regardless. Then there's the food. Normal gastropub-type stuff (burgers, sandwiches, fried stuff) which can be OK if you want a cheap, quick lunch, but isn't the place to go for a proper meal. Then there's the drink. The barmaid when I visisted didn't know how to make a Martini, or a Mojito cocktail - shameful!

Finally, there's the service. I know bar staff are run off their feet most of the time, but tables in this pub can lie uncleared for an hour without anyone noticing them. The toilets are also a bone of contention.

I've made it a personal goal to stay away from the place, even if my friends are trotting along for the £1 drinks.

• Added: 27th of September 2008
• Area: Aldersbrook
• Category: Restaurants

London E12 5BP
020 85141352

carolinebee said
A regular haunt
Both the best and worst thing about this kebab shop is its location - it's right beside Romford Road and the Manor Park station, which means it's wonderful for picking up a quick bite to eat if you're travelling, but means it's also terrible for picking up a quick bite to eat EVERY TIME you're travelling! A dieter's nightmare! :P

Seriously though, I've been to this shop several times on my commutes, and it's your average kebab shop without much to set it apart. The food is good quality and the prices are very fair, so again if you're a regular kebab fan you might want to check out this place as your new haunt.

I usually get a chicken kebab, which is freshly sliced off the gigantic "pole" of chicken which rotates so tantalisingly behind the counter. It's served in a pitta bread which is pre-packed but still is soft and light, or you can ask for something else (i.e. a chapati or naan) if you'd like. This place also does the usual burgers, chips, pizzas type thing, too, so it's perfect for everyone!

Give it a go, if you don't like it, you haven't wasted much.

• Added: 27th of September 2008
• Area: East Ham
• Category: Restaurants

London E12 6PQ
020 84706566

carolinebee said
Not just Dosa
Contrary to the name, this place doesn't just serve dosa! A dosa, by the way, is a kind of similar to a bhaji or a puri, which are both fried Indian snacks. Anyway, in Chena Dosa you can get the usual Indian fayre (pakora, naan breads, chips, etc.) as well as their crispbread dosa.

The fillings are plentiful, and you can choose from numerous mixtures (chicken, lamb, different curries, vegetable, etc.) for roughly the same price of £4 or £5. The building itself is your average London restaurant - nothing too fancy, but not run-down either. It's a pleasent enough place to go for a quick meal, although can get quite busy and therefore noisy at times, so maybe not the place for a romantic meal (even if you do both love dosas!)

The staff always act politely and are delighted to see you return as a regular, if you're unfortunate enough to become a dosa addict!

• Added: 27th of September 2008
• Area: Highgate
• Category: Cafes and Coffee Shops

London N6 6QX
020 8348 1384

carolinebee said
Like the music, Mozart's cafe delights
Quite rightly, the first thing most people notice about this quaint cafe is its name - Mozart. Being a classical music fan myself, it drew me in on what was otherwise going to be a normal day out in London.

The place is perfect for someone like me - someone who loves dark, musty, traditional decor and a slightly subdued, private atmosphere. Don't get me wrong - it's not the Ritz Carlton by any means - but it's really nice for a quiet cup of coffee or a sandwich on a nice day.

The food is lovely, by cafe standards, and has the usual mixture of home baking, freshly made sandwiches, salads, and some hot offerings, too. The prices are average (for London, at least!) but I'm not sure it's somewhere you could afford to eat out of every day.

The staff members haven't really made an impression - they're always polite but don't seem to reach out or make any real conversation, however this shouldn't really bother you if you're just after a moment of solitude, anyway!

The bottom line is if you're around the neighbourhood, fancy a coffee and are somewhat interested in classical music, this place is one hundred percent perfect for you.