• Added: 2nd of September 2008
• Area: Victoria
• Category: Restaurants

London SW1V 1DE
020 7834 0507

chinbergs said
Nice, relaxed restaurant in Victoria
It's handy to have another handy, 'stylish' enough (by that I mean not a grimey pub or a fast food restaurant) eatery in the area.

I went here with a few friends for lunch one weekday. It was sunny outside so we sat in their outdoor seating area, which was really nice. There are plenty of tables and plenty of space, so we could relax without feeling crammed in.

The service was good - polite and friendly - and the food didn't take long to arrive.

Each of us thoroughly enjoyed our meals, and were happy with the prices being charged.

There were several tasty sounding vegetarian options, so that kept me happy.

We were left to relax at the end of our meal with some green tea, and the staff didn't hassle us with requests for drinks or desserts, which we all appreciated.

• Added: 2nd of September 2008
• Area: Kingston Upon Thames
• Category: Bars and Pubs

Kingston Upon Thames KT1 1QN

chinbergs said
Fairly relaxed
This Slug and Lettuce isn't the best of the chain I've been into. It's fine for a Sunday afternoon beer, but that's probably the only time I'd visit.

The location is good - just off from the busy shops of Kingston and right by the river.

The service is ok - it seems a bit confused between not allowing food to be ordered at the bar, but not having alert bar staff who wait the tables.

The prices are average.

I ordered a tomato soup here once - taste was ok but not great and the bread was a bit tough!

Atmosphere is a bit lacking. It's quite family oriented (during the day at the weekends), so isn't adult or relaxed enough (because of the kids around) for a good place to kick back and relax with a beer and a paper.

• Added: 2nd of September 2008
• Area: Kingston Upon Thames
• Category: Restaurants

Kingston Upon Thames KT1 1QN

chinbergs said
Bit of a mixed review
Bit of a mixed review here - the food was really good, but the atmosphere and service was a bit poor (in my experience).

When we turned up to the restaurant we were left waiting in the entrance for quite a while before anyone bothered to come and seat us. The waitress who finally came over looked puzzled by our request for a table - so this wasn't the most friendly of welcomes to the restaurant.

I found the atmosphere a little empty and pretentious (and the place isn't good enough to merit pretention). The restaurant wasn't particularly busy, but it still took 20 mins for an onion soup to arrive!

The food itself (onion soup, another veg dish) was actually very nice.

Maybe we just turned up at a bad time.

The food is ok price-wise.

• Added: 2nd of September 2008
• Area: Kingston Upon Thames
• Category: Restaurants

Kingston Upon Thames KT1 1EY

chinbergs said
Good friendly service
As a chain, you mostly know what to expect. The food menu is nice enough (noodles, rice dishes, veg options, soups), the prices are quite good (around £8 each), and the atmosphere is fairly lively.

They were actually running a 2-4-1 on main meals, so the total cost for the 2 of us was £10 - bargain!

The layout of this Wagamamas in Kingston is quite nice - high ceilings and seating is quite well spaced out (as with Wagamams restaurants, everyone gets seated next to everyone else on their long wooden tables).

The service was the best part. I hate being hassled in a restaurant - I just want to get on with my meal in peace, and with my friends. We were left to our own devices and the staff were very friendly when they appropriately came over to check on us. This made for a relaxing, chilled out meal.

The food was also good. They have enough vegetarian options, which were actually really tasty.

Well located, just away from the busy centre of Kingston.

• Added: 2nd of September 2008
• Area: Bournemouth
• Category: Restaurants

Bournemouth BH2 5AA
01202 555559

chinbergs said
Disgusting, tacky, avoid at all costs
This place has to be one of the worst places I have ever been in my life. I felt like I was stuck in a nightmare.

A day trip to Bournemouth in the pouring rain and we came here because the other restaurant on the beach was full.

The interior is really tacky - trying to be an American surf diner but not feeling like one. To ask for a table we had to ask what looked like a security guard at the foot of the stairwell (despite the place being empty) - he then radioed up to let the "restaurant" know we were coming before we were allowed up. This was just weird. What a bad procedure.

Upstairs was just as bad looking as downstairs. Cheap, tacky, nasty.

For the type of place it is, the type of food it serves, and for the location, the food prices are WAY too high (my nasty chilli was £10 - it'd be cheaper in London).

The service was poor - useless kids standing around and mumbling to us when they served us.

The food was AWFUL. I'm veggie so had 2 choices; I went for the vegetarian chili. HORRENDOUS. Vegetarian doesn't equal wanting to eat every single vegetable. I've never seen anything like it. It had huge chunks of carrot and courgette (literally an inch thick), broccoli, pepper, aubergine, sweetcorn. Disgusting. Not only that, but the huge inch thick chunks of carrot and courgette were completely raw. I told this to the waitress who sent over the manager: he looked annoyed and told me it was because their style of cooking was to "lightly stir fry the vegetables before adding them to the meal" - er, no... the vegetables are raw.

I felt violated coming away from this place. It was the worst place I have ever been to in my life.

Avoid, avoid, avoid.

• Added: 2nd of September 2008
• Area: Vauxhall
• Category: Nightlife

London SE11 5AW

chinbergs said
Good fun in Vauxhall
It's good to have a late night bar in Vauxhall, amidst its many clubs.

The venue is well spaced out, well lit (I think it's actually been made environmentally friendly: the lights are low energy and consequently air conditioning that would counter the head this produces is used much less), and holds the atmosphere well.

Bar prices are standard, and if you apply for a dog-tag on their website, you can get 2-4-1s on a few of their drinks (Corona is one).

The bar staff are always friendly and helpful.

The crowd is mixed - mixed ages, mixed 'types' - but the bar is more at the bear end of the spectrum.

The dance room at the other end of the bar is good for some sweaty fun later on in the night/early morning.

Good house music, with a DJ playing in the evenings at the weekend.

I like this place. It's good fun, masculine, pretention free.

• Added: 2nd of September 2008
• Area: Soho
• Category: Restaurants

London W1D 6HG
020 7851 1586

chinbergs said
Great, cheap vegetarian food in Soho
This place is especially great for vegetarians who want to get some late night takeaway food for their journey home after a night out with some drinks.

They have plenty of salad, falafel and pita options, which are all tasty and good enough value.

Their chips are great though. I love their chips! They're always really hot and fresh. Always! And they taste really really good. The portion size is good; they're wrapped in a foil packet to stay hot; and you can pile on the ketchup or garlic mayonnaise too.

The food tastes nice, is fresh, good value, and vegetarian. Great!

This place is always busy at nights, often scooping up the drinkers and the drunk. But it's always been friendly and lively in there, never too messy. I'd definitely recommend.

• Added: 2nd of September 2008
• Area: Soho
• Category: Restaurants

London W1D 4DH
020 7287 3730

chinbergs said
Good value chinese veggie food
This place is great for when you want some takeaway food for your journey home after having had some drinks in town. They have a variety of rice dishes, noodles, curries, crispy seaweed, spring rolls..

The best part of it for me is that I'm veggie, and this is an Oriental vegetarian takeaway place. Most takeaway places are all centered on meat, so this is really good for the non-meat-eaters in town.

You can pack your takeaway box with whatever you want from the buffet and all for under a fiver - which is really good value. The food isn't incredible, but for what it is it's worth it.

• Added: 2nd of September 2008
• Area: Soho
• Category: Bars and Pubs

London W1F 0TG
020 7437 1400

chinbergs said
Chilled out
This is another venue that's good to chill out in after work. It has plenty of tables and seats, so you can usually get somewhere to sit down and have a relaxing beer for that afterwork drink. It's also good at the weekends when you want somewhere to avoid the crowds of shoppers around Oxford St.

The crowd is usually 20s, 30s, young professionals. The crowd is usually relaxed and energetic. I never find the atmosphere stale or boring in here - it's never party party, but a good atmosphere nonetheless.

The food is ok - pretty standard bar food. Prices are ok but not great value for bar food.

• Added: 2nd of September 2008
• Area: Soho
• Category: Bars and Pubs

London W1D 4PR
020 7479 7921

chinbergs said
Nice, relaxed bar
I like this bar. It has plenty of space to move around in, high ceilings.. it's a place you can breathe in, even when it's busy. I like the seating options available. There are small bar tables running along the entrance, which are handy when you're there with your partner or just a mate, or there are larger tables in the main bar if you're there with a group of friends.

The place is usually relaxed and chilled out - you can sit with a beer for hours and not feel like you're expected to order food or more drinks or give up your seats for other people.

The crowd is friendly, bar staff are friendly.. good atmosphere. This is a good place to go to during the day.

The food menu isn't too bad but quite pricey for what it is, in my opinion.