• Added: 12th of November 2008
• Area: Shepherds Bush
• Category: Restaurants

London W12 8LH

claypole said
The best kebab in West London
Looking just like your standard kebab house from the outside, Shebab serves a great selection of kebabs, all wrapped up in a fresh Naan bread from the clay oven in the corner.

The place looks clean, the food is excellent, it's open late, the staff are friendly, there is plenty of space at the back to eat in, its a short walk from Shepherds Bush Green, and a very short walk from Shepherds Bush Market tube station.

It really is as simple as that! Highly Recommended.

• Added: 12th of November 2008
• Area: Edgware Road
• Category: Restaurants

London W2 2HX

claypole said
Kebab Mecca
London has a certain reputation as being a 24hr city, which for all intents and purposes is true. So at 3.30am on a Tuesday morning in central London, the simplest and most important of pleasures, the kebab, should be readily available right? Well... not exactly. So, if you find yourself heading west after a night out and the Edgware Road is en route or a short detour (being at the western end of Oxford St) then this little establishment is what you have been looking for...

Put simply this is a great place for Shawarma, Middle Eastern lamb or chicken kebabs, wrapped in lafa (a sweet, fluffy flatbread) with a good helping of garlic and chilli sauce. Closed during the day, Café Helen opens from 10 o'clock onwards (the sign outside says 24hr) and provides a perfect compliment to your high blood sugar induced hunger.

Importantly, this isn't some dodgy Döner Kebab joint (though I have nothing against Döner Kebabs!), Shawarma is made by placing strips of lamb or marinated chicken on a spit, then animal fat, with an onion or tomato placed at the top of the stack for flavouring. The meat is then slow roasted on all sides as the spit rotates in front of a flame for several hours. I'm no Shawarma expert, and I've had some lovely Döner Kebabs in my time, but as kebabs go, these are excellent.

The place looks clean, is sensibly priced and is very small with a few high chairs at the back, and is always very busy, consisting mainly of Arab customers, no doubt on their way home to somewhere near Edgware Road! So, a Kebab Mecca indeed.

• Added: 3rd of November 2008
• Area: Farringdon
• Category: Restaurants

London EC1M 4NU
020 7608 1558

claypole said
A great place to go with friends
This place almost gets 5 stars except for the fact that it is such a large and cavernous place, it is difficult to attain that intimate atmosphere you would expect from your "favourite restaurant". It has that Conran Chop House feel about it in terms of the size and upmarket canteen styling, but with darker tones and huge glass windows.

The service was excellent, and entertaining, falling down initially by the level of knowledge of the wine list and then adequately made up for when the waitress brought out a selection of bottles from our choice (plus a sensible recommendation) to try first. This was also proceeded by a simply classic one-liner from the waitress "this wine is ok, it won't feel like someone has thrown acid in your face", relayed in a wonderfully sincere Eastern European accent, I thought I was in a sketch from the Harry & Paul show!

It is a big restaurant and it wasn't that busy (though not empty) when we went on a Wednesday night so it is difficult to say whether this standard of service could be maintained if they were full, but regardless, on this evening we felt extremely well looked after and it was a highlight of our visit. And the food?

...was simply first class, the sort of dishes you would expect to get at say Pont de la Tour, but for a fraction of the price and in my opinion of a far higher standard. Of particular note, my main of pork belly with black pudding and scallops was perfectly cooked and tasted fantastic. A rich gravy managed to stand out against the other strong flavours without overpowering the dish, and the scallops provided a perfect accompaniment to the pork, as did the black pudding. My chicken liver parfait starter tasted good, was well presented and perfectly chilled.

We didn't try the deserts on this occasion, but will look forward to that next time.

And now for the clincher. By booking through a popular but inferior online restaurant website, toptable (and alas not trustedplaces, which I am a huge fan of but don't seem to be encouraging the same level of integration they offer their users with the restaurants themselves) and possibly even by booking with them directly, you get two courses and a glass of prosecco for £19.99! With the wine, sides, coffees and service it came in at about £40 a head, which for the quality was still outstanding.

A great place to go with friends to enjoy first class food in a relaxed environment.

• Added: 12th of August 2008
• Area: Shepherds Bush
• Category: Bars and Pubs

London W12 9DH
020 8749 5886

claypole said

This newly refurbished pub on the Uxbridge Road is exactly what "The Bush" needed. It has been turned into a fantastic open space, with high ceilings and plenty of light, the food is excellent (I have only had bar snacks so far, but plan to have dinner and Sunday lunch here soon. You can eat in the pub or they have a large connected dining area), they have three pages of wine for white and then another three pages of red. The price of the wine escalates quite quickly however, so not a huge selection sub £20, which is a shame. That said, all the wine is good (including the house) and we have had some spectacular bottles around £30-40 mark. They are very knowledgeable too, just ask for an expert behind the bar. And you can take away at off-license prices, which is a nice touch.

They are doing a farmers market outside on a Saturday, although I haven't had a chance to check this out yet. And they are planing to bring in experts and do wine tasting. They have a decent selection of draft and bottled beers and cider, and do some classic cocktails too.

All in all then, my only criticism is how much I end up spending whenever I "pop down the local" with my friends!

• Added: 23rd of May 2008
• Area: Limassol
• Category: Restaurants

Limassol
+357 25 762030

claypole said
Hidden Gem?
On a recent trip to Cyprus, it took a while to find places I could wholeheartedly recommend, and in particular, good bars and restaurants. Dino Art Cafe is in Limassol's old town, which has seen a major face lift and has lots of new places to hang out since the last time I was here a few years ago.

Where Dino's stands out is in its ability to provide excellent food in a great atmosphere with friendly service. It is a great place for lunch, when the place is buzzing and they have an extensive selection of sandwiches and salads (Jamaican Jerk chicken salad being a favourite) and super-fresh sashimi and sushi. In the evening, the atmosphere manages to be both more relaxed and formal at the same time. The dark chocolate cake is something to behold and reminds me of the first time I had the chocolate cake at E&O in Notting Hill when it first opened. The only bad dish I had was the Wasabi Seaweed salad which was too sweet and sticky, everything else was excellent and we visited Dino's quite a few times once we had found it.

Because of its location in the old town, you can check out a few other places before or afterwards too. Highly recommended.

• Added: 9th of November 2007
• Area: Bankside
• Category: Food and Drink

London SE1 9AB
020 7645 3562

claypole said
Brilliant Coffee
The best coffee I have had anywhere (well, except Laos but that's a bit further afield!). Great location bang in the heart of Borough Market (which also gets 5 stars), there is another Monmouth Coffee Company in the Market itself, which is more like a market stall, great for a quick takeaway. The main one on the corner is open, bustling and makes you realise just how generic the likes of Starbucks and Costa have become, no comparison.

They is also do bread and jam on the long central wooden table (help yourself and pay a flat fee), and cakes and biscuits laid out on a counter. In the summer the jam and cakes attracted quite a few wasps which the staff didn't seem to care about which put me off having anything to eat here, but then that's not why you come here anyway.

One other thing to bear in mind, the double espresso really is the strongest coffee I have ever had, in fact I think that applies to all their coffee. You have been warned!

• Added: 9th of November 2007
• Area: Turnham Green
• Category: Restaurants

London W4 2ED
020 8995 4548

claypole said
Top quality burger action
It does what it says on the tin. Recommended.

• Added: 9th of November 2007
• Area: Hammersmith
• Category: Restaurants

London W14 0QL
020 8741 2507

claypole said
Simple, consistent and damn tasty Thai!
I have been coming here for over 13 years. The décor and ambience are ok, the pub at the front is ok too, relaxed and friendly and always fairly busy. Where Latymers stands out is the food; simple and authentic versions of all the Thai staples such as Tom Ka Gai - chicken in coconut soup, choose spicy; Pad Nam Prik Pao - chicken in a tasty Thai chilli paste - at lunch just ask for No.8 chicken spicy; some great specials, Gai Tord Rad Prik is a big favourite - basically like Thai KFC but a lot fresher and tastier! And the closest I have had to Thai food in Thailand. It is excellently priced, especially at lunch time, service is friendly and relaxed and it's a great place to go with a group of mates or just the two of you.

• Added: 7th of November 2007
• Area: Chiswick
• Category: Restaurants

London W4 5LF
020 8742 2121

claypole said
Ce Magnifique!
I have visited Le Vacherin twice in the last 3 months, having previously been to Racine for the first time (Knightsbridge). On balance I would say the food, efficiency of the service and ironically the price was marginally better at Racine; Le Vacherin makes up for this in atmosphere, serving fantastic traditional french food with very friendly service and in a relaxed typically french bistro setting.

Highly recommended.

• Added: 9th of October 2007
• Area: Barcelona
• Category: Restaurants

Barcelona CT 08008

claypole said
Tapas Tapas Tapas
This place is a staple whenever I visit Barcelona, I have been coming here for over 10 years. I end up here on numerous occasions day and night (it's open from 7:30am until 1:30am Mon-Sun). The tapas is superb, with some fantastic daily specials such as baby squid, it has a nice outside area and the atmosphere inside is great too. There is a real buzz and it feels like a local place, not a tourist trap. On my last trip, and a little worse for wear, I managed to forget how to get here and a group of us spent nearly an hour and a half (no, really) in a taxi trying to find it. And failed. The following day some friends that live in Barcelona took us to their favourite tapas bar... you guessed it. Suffice to say, highly recommended.