• Added: 6th of July 2008
• Area: Leicester Square
• Category: Restaurants

London W1D 6QN
020 7287 3885

geeyeah said
No No No
Had the misfortune after seeing Love in the Time of Cholera. Here I learned the meaning of that film.

• Added: 16th of June 2008
• Area: Soho
• Category: Restaurants

London W1F 7JY
020 7434 1650

geeyeah said
The erroneous description above rages me.
“Least favourite” (Americanism?) – the term suggests you have carefully considered and ranked accordingly every item or idea from the front to the back of an effectively endless line of preference. “Least favourite” could possibly be construed as a euphemism for dislike or hate or… just “least favourite”. I don’t think its possible to have a least favourite, or whatever that means, when it comes to food, having felt that a) there is no retrievable record for the bottom of bad food experiences as they have all been successfully repressed, and; b) I’m not really about making crass value judgements like “Martian food is my least favourite” or “this food is so gross it tastes like it came from Uranus” – food is very much an article of culture, and culture sustains itself with food (peeps need to eat); so disses on the particular can be seen (however unjustifiably) to refer to the whole. I guess the cosmopolitan and sensitive folk of the world would have a more 3-D arrangement of likes and dislikes. TrustedPlaces have naturally understood the complex and sometimes pernicious taste situation and have come up with the rather good TrustedPlaces Taste Maker [sic] which analyses the broad ‘quilt’ of data you input and cross references your tastes with their databases yielding all kinds of restaurant suggestions, etc. Algorithmic stuff is kind of chic and very now (people say algorithms even caused the Credit Crunch so they must be quite formidable), especially in this kind of application. However, we are really waiting it seems for TasteMaker V.02 which will potentially go into even more detail; maybe to include values like predominant ingredients e.g. “hydrogenated fats” and “MSG” or even clientele e.g. “Friends of Marc Jacobs cougars” or “FT reading bondage crowd”, etc. So if I were to enter my favourite food values into a big futuristic virtual taste generator or super ‘Deep Blue’-type cuisine aggregator or whatever they would run: “BBQ”, “BEEF”, “PICKLE”, “SANDWICH”, “GARLIC”, “CHILLI”, BATTER”. I guess that would probably generate “KOREAN” and “TEX-MEX” as top results. Tex-mex is not my least favourite nor my favourite food - so the machine is already broken or has severe glitches, or cannot be designed to take in all the idiosyncrasies and nuanced experiences which fashion taste. But Korean is by far my favourite food, and this is what Ran serves.

The restaurant interior is optimistically beige (style not a concern), with enormous monochrome photographic prints of historical South Korean landmarks, for the sake of ID, and dark plain wooden furniture. This boring background belies the rich and bizarre foreground of food and smells: garlic, sesame, caramel are diffused by the red emulsions of chiges (Korean stew) and sizzling tabletop barbecues - this is alchemy happening! Guests are all engaged convivially in the banquet food layout of shared plates, the traditional Hanjeongsik, of numerous side dishes, namul, condiments, and kimchis, with long metal chopsticks unique to Korea. Everything served here is excellent. Pin-up dishes include the seafood panjeon, bulgogi, bibimbap and udon plates and don’t be afraid of offal!! The Korean food enthusiasts of my group are convinced it’s the Japanese of our twenties, which is kind of true, and according to my Japanese hair-dresser, is to Japanese people what Japanese food is to us, but whatever it is, its my favorite so...

• Added: 6th of June 2008
• Area: Mayfair
• Category: Restaurants

London W1K 3DE
020 7399 0500

geeyeah said
Polished Mahogonay on Rot
After writing this review I intend to e-mail CERN (the European particle-physics research body). These are the only people i suggest come to this restaurant - not for the food - but because i am almost certain this is whence all the Dark Matter of the universe is derived, so there may be some value in a study visit for those professionals in that field only. Aside from that, the food is abysmal, unless you have an extremely retro palette wherein Findus' 70's frozen canellonis are your notion of fine cuisine. The staff were OK and typically jaunty as you might expect at any established Italian restaurant in Mayfair. However, the clientele were of the spectacularly evil euro-set; I thought I had walked into one of those modern vampire movies. The net from ridiculously overpriced food I'm sure is funneled into some sort of fund to enchance the splendid yacht-like interior. In summary, more of a place to be seen than a place to eat - but i was hungry so... END

• Added: 5th of January 2008
• Area: Soho
• Category: Restaurants

London W1F 8PZ
020 7267 6623

geeyeah said
A great place for election night??
2008, one only hopes, will feature the demise of Britney Spears and the Republican Party (yes I used that symmetry) and thus, naturally, a window of potential for renewing and redressing America’s image globally. Whether we get Obama’s youthful vigour or Clinton’s solid pragmatism, both should read as classic American traits, and, however you are inclined, either will be taken as some improvement on the current administration (or is it a ‘situation’?). A little deli/takeaway kind of ‘joint’ on Poland Street sort of embodies both candidates’ strengths. Now I’m not extending so far as to claim this as some hilariously sloppy and loose culinary metaphor for a new America under the Democrats, but it just seemed to have everything I like about what has become individualistically American flair for doing things, and also what I like about the main candidates.
Firstly, Bodeans is a fairly decent visual approximation of how an American restaurant of this ilk actually looks in America: simple and unassuming, without screaming kitsch but subtle, sometimes tongue in cheek references to theme (the American love of theme is sometimes overstated abroad – see your local TGI’s). Neon lighting is used sparingly and what can only be described as an assortment of surfaces are deployed, from white glazed bricks, woods from maple to elm, steel, mirrors – its not overwhelming it just all works to serve a scruffy ‘accumulated’ Americana look. The seating configuration basically comprises of stools on counters and a few large communal tables. As you may have already guessed, this is number-system canteen style dining, you go to the counter to order your food, collect your food, get the cutlery you require, napkins, beverage refills, etc, etc. The process was just so swift and efficient (think Hilary) I left a token tip despite doing all the heavy lifting. The food is presented on a tray with a sheet of greaseproof paper with a big dollop of mystery mayo-like sauce, a handful of really good seasoned fries and sliced pickles (Haimsha?). My medium hamburger was very, very good in comparison to what is offered at these various ‘gourmet hamburger’ places that populate the area, and the fresh homemade slaw was not inundated with mayonnaise. Actually, this maybe a candidate for the best no-fuss hamburger in London, a claim that is also assisted by the fact that everything for two came under £20, and we were veritably stuffed. The casual presentation of food (loved making a mess on the greater tray surface area with all the condiments), delivery, décor, atmosphere compounded with value for money gives this place a youthful appeal. Strategically speaking, it’s a good lively place to ‘line one’s stomach’ without expense on a Friday evening before hitting the town. So it’s quite cool and casual (like Obama). The menu is mostly meat-based quotidian American stuff as you would expect (with the exception of smoked brisket which is virtually impossible to find), but its quality, value, execution and setting is what really separates Bodeans from the existing American eateries in London. Certainly gets my vote!!!

Note: This review refers to the upstairs deli/takeaway only.

• Added: 2nd of January 2008
• Area: Mayfair
• Category: Restaurants

London W1J 7LT
020 7499 3292

geeyeah said
Never coq au vin up! Perfect and true!
In London, the majority of French falls in either the category of: insipid tasting carby stuff from schlock bistros who disregard seasonality as much as Dina Lohan’s terracotta tan, or; the sometimes (or sometimes not) excellent abstractions of haute French cuisine by the hyper-chefs that are served at prices as lofty as their conception (literally reaching for the (Michelin) stars!). This shameful asymmetry of quality/value really gets to me, especially when you just want some steak and fries done in the same way they made it for you in that little place you and your significant other dined in some picturesque Parisian quarter back in March ‘06. What breaks this mould in London is the un-radical, conservative Le Boudin Blanc, which ideally rests on some point in the upper-central, slightly to the right in an imagined chart of London French food. Physically located in a genteel little enclave of Shepherd’s market between Curzon St and Piccadilly, Le Boudin Blanc is quintessentially French in appearance where woods are treated to look old, floors and walls chemically distressed, and quality virgin-white cloth is soflty blended under the low light of stalagmite candles.

I have been to LBB, I think at time of posting this review, four times. It is always very, very good in terms of food and service and they have not messed up a single thing, be it an order or a corked bottle of wine, once! The biggest testament to the kind of attitude, or rather lack of, which inhabits this restaurant which I can think of was the occasion when a co-diner asked for her meat to be cooked further and the request was completed in literally under five minutes with a gracious apology from our presentable waitress who’s visible goal was to improve our experience. The menu changes throughout the year and comprises of both classic hits and more uncommon seasonal numbers (the menu is published on their website - go see for yourself). It is very difficult to recommend any particular item on the a la carte menu when they are all extremely good (actually, dover meuniere might be the best thing on the menu?!) but my only piece of advice to potential diners is DO partake in a desert (the crème brulee… *thud*), or live a life in regret. Ambience gets a 10.

"Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative" said Oscar Wilde, but, thankfully, someone very imaginatively came up with a consistent restaurant: the subject of my review.

note: Sister restaurant La Bouchee is just as good.