• Added: 11th of September 2008
• Area: Herne Hill
• Category: Restaurants

London SE24 9HU
020 7095 9922

gogmagog said

There's lots to like about Number 22. Friendly staff, tastefully decorated, good cocktails. The food is really good, from the simple (bread with a great olive oil & 12 year old balsamic) to the easily ruined (deep-fried squid in a light, crispy batter and completely non-chewy). The menu is limited, but what is there is done really well.

• Added: 14th of July 2008
• Area: Soho
• Category: Restaurants

London W1F 0DL
020 7494 8888

gogmagog said
Dim sum fans will love it
We went for lunch and were seated downstairs in the sumptuous basement. Sleek and stylish but without being stuffy. The bar with in-built fishtank is great. Possibly not the best place for a lunch on a sunny day - it is one of those rooms that you could happily emerge from hours later, half-cut and wondering what happened to the day.

Other reviews below have mentioned bad experiences with waiting staff? There was no sign of this when we went. None of us at lunch were experts on dim sum so we asked the waiters to suggest dishes for us. They were helpful and polite, even though, out of a table of four, there was one vegetarian who did eat fish and one meat-eater with a serious allergy to seafood. A tricky situation when eating dim sum. Not only did they advise us well, they also remembered to point out exactly what was in each dish as it came to the table.

So, is it expensive? Yup. It is. But it's supposed to be a step or several up from your standard Soho dim sum house and that's what you're paying for. Was it value for money, though? Well, I guess my view is coloured slightly. I'm not a huge fan of dim sum, as a rule. It's easy for it to end up greasy and stodgy and although Yauatcha's food was never either of these things, I can't say that it was a Damascene revelation for me. It was beautifully cooked and very tasty, but ultimately rather unmemorable.

The venison puffs (as mentioned by other reviewers) were fine, but not to die for. Various prawn and chicken dishes went past, although it's now 2 weeks later and I'll be damned if I can remember anything about any of them. There was nothing wrong with them; in fact I remember them as being nice, but nothing stood out for me. An ostrich chow mein was interesting, but mainly because it was a first try of ostrich, rather than because it was an incredible dish. There was also crispy duck, but it was no better or worse than one you could get on your local high street, unfortunately.

Take a fan of dim sum and I'm sure they'll love you for it. It's a beautiful restaurant, with friendly and attentive staff. And the food is, well... fine.

• Added: 9th of April 2008
• Area: Shoreditch
• Category: Restaurants

London EC2A 4QX
020 7613 5346

gogmagog said
Size Matters
There are a lot of very big things at Eyre Brothers. The portions, happily, seem to be one of them. Less good is that the prices are too. Are they justified, though? Well, the jury's still out on that one.

The atmosphere of the dining room when we entered was calm and relaxed, and the service was polite and attentive without ever being intrusive. The room itself wasn't to my taste - there is something of the 70s office block about it. With plate glass windows running along the whole of the longest wall and looking out onto the street this is definitely a place to see and be seen. It's a venue in which to do business not to romance someone - it's certainly not somewhere to go for an intimate meal.

The food itself seems to be rather at odds to the visual style of the place. They offer big, hearty Mediterranean peasant food: enormous octopi tentacles, the size of babies arms are delivered to our table, with some recipients being rather intimidated by them. Pigeon breasts are slightly more delicate in appearance but not so in flavour which is still a pleasing richness, although they could have been slightly more tender.

A main course of lamb was a huge hunk of meat on the bone, but was fantastically moist, flavoursome and perfectly cooked, with herbs clinging to it's sticky outside. The potatoes on which it stood were also done beautifully and complemented the meat well. Some vegetables with it would have been nice, but having already spent £11 on the pigeon and £24 on the lamb it seemed like an extravagance too far.

These are my only serious gripes with Eyre Brothers: the food would have suited a top notch gastropub, along with the prices to match. But as great as the cooking was, it never quite seemed to be able to justify the cost or sit very comfortably in its surroundings.