• Added: 14th of April 2008
• Area: Clapham
• Category: Bars and Pubs

London SW4 6DZ
020 7498 1779

lenalouise said
No longer a burlesque virgin
I came here for a burlesque night when the London burlesque festival was on. I didn't even know this place existed as it's a ten minute walk down a residential road from Clapham High St. The atmosphere was buzzing as we walked in and there were some very glamorous looking ladies in there. It was quite full in the main room so we grabbed a tasty bottle of Rjoja and made our way out to the beer garden until the performances started.

The host was a slightly scary looking lady with a massive chest. Tee hee. There were about 10 different acts with a 15 minute interval halfway through. It was extremely fun but the only downside was that it was so packed that it was quite hard to see at some points. (They did later open up the curtains so people could watch from the beer garden). I'm not sure if the food is any good but the menu looks a bit more interesting than your average pub food.

Anyway, gotta go...off to get some nipple tassles ;)

• Added: 11th of March 2008
• Area: Camberwell
• Category: Restaurants

London SE5 0RP
020 7274 7037

lenalouise said
Great food and beer
I love that there are more and more great places to eat out in Camberwell and I'm annoyed this place didn't exist when I lived about 5 minutes away! They have a really good selection of bottles. When we went, they had 2 on the specials board that day and were £2.50 each.

I had the onglet (medium rare) with snail butter and chips. I wasn't really familiar with that cut of meat but I thoroughly enjoyed it. They weren't holding back on the portion either! The snail butter was quite nice but didn't have huge amounts of flavour.

Sam had a chicken and mushroom pie with mashed potato and some vegetables. It was quite massive as you can see in the photo. That could have been a serving for 2 as even he couldn't finish it. This is somewhere I'll definitely come back to.

• Added: 11th of March 2008
• Area: Clapham
• Category: Restaurants

London SW4 7TG
020 7720 5853

lenalouise said
Fancy fish
Fish club is another one of these upmarket fish and chip restaurants that are coming into being along with Fish works and Tom’s Place. (It used to be called Sea Cow). All 3 serve high quality and local fresh fish and you know you’re not going to get soggy fish and chips wrapped in newspaper! They offer much more than your average battered cod and chips.

At the Fish club, you can get haddock, coley, oysters, squid etc (changes with the seasons) and it’s more of a sit-down meal at a low-key restaurant. They also have vegetarian and non-fish options aswell. I had battered haddock with tartare sauce and chips. The batter was light and crisp and the chips stayed crunchy for ages. When I cracked into my haddock, it was like a Marks and Spencer advert moment, i.e. food porn. You could see the steam coming out of the moist and succulent fish. So sexy!

Sam had squid with a sweet chilli sauce, chips and mushy peas. It was nice but I think I won, yet again with my choice, mwahahaha.

• Added: 11th of March 2008
• Area: Barbican
• Category: Restaurants

London EC1R 4QL
020 7837 0009

lenalouise said
Great evening
I came here with the Trusted places gang for the Christmas party last year. We pre-picked from a Christmas set menu so I ended up having:

*Foie gras and fig ballontine with sourdough toast
*Braised Galloway veal breast, creamed parsnips and wild mushrooms
*Cheeseboard

All 3 courses were delicious but I don't really remember much of the details as I was pretty drunk when I got there (got lost on the way aswell!) but that just means I have to go back again :D

• Added: 11th of March 2008
• Area: Farringdon
• Category: Restaurants

London EC1M 6AA
020 7253 3003

lenalouise said
Fantastic find
After reading that it’d be 50% off food at lunchtime for the first month of opening, I quickly rocked on down to Tart with my eating buddy as the website made it look like an interesting place. I was intrigued by the promise of naughty pictures anyway! It is located about 5 minutes away from Farringdon station and fairly easy to find. Upon arrival, we were greeted with a very warm welcome from the French waiter (he might have been the manager, not sure) and seated halfway into the restaurant. It’s quite narrow but goes far back into the building. The bar is situated near the front of the restaurant with a very glamorous looking chandelier hanging near to the entrance. Halfway through the restaurant were a couple of tables with very colourful, funky seats which is where we were sitting. Further on is another dining room with the toilets downstairs.

The lunchtime menu had a good choice of dishes. Usually, I find that with lunchtime deals, it’s more difficult to find something that you haven’t tried anywhere else. We decided to go for a starter and main each. I had wood pigeon, beetroot puree and pancetta with a chocolate reduction. Sam had a ham hock terrine with pickles and pear chutney. My pigeon was perfectly cooked, still pink and tender in the middle. I was curious as to how the chocolate reduction would work with the dish but the flavours went really well. The sauce was only slightly chocolaty but combined with the deep gamey flavours of the pigeon and the slightly sour flavour of the beetroot, it was just unbelievable! I just love it when you go and eat somewhere and get something where all the things on the plate unite and work perfectly well with each other. It worked texture-wise as well. You have the slightly crispy skin of the pigeon, the tenderness of the meat, the smoothness of the beetroot, the crunch of the salad. I’d say it’s in my top 10 restaurant dishes that I’ve had ever. Sam’s terrine was pretty good too, it was fairly moist (for a terrine) which was nice and I especially liked the pear chutney that came with it.

Almost forgot, the bread was pretty unique. It was a sweet potato bread that they make themselves and it was refreshing to be given a bread that is a bit different. I gobbled it up pretty quickly and I think they realised how much we loved it and gave us a second helping, yay!

Now the mains… I had a slow roasted belly of pork served with cocotte potatoes and roast vegetables. Sam had a chicken breast with mushroom risotto. I think I was slightly disappointed with the mains at the time as the starters we just had were so fantastic but I did enjoy it. I’ve had quite a few belly of pork dishes now so it’s difficult to top the best ones and I think I’m a bit bored of having seasonal vegetables/potatoes with dishes. It’s just a bit too easy isn’t it? Lol. Sam’s chicken with risotto was perfectly cooked but nothing special.

The service is really good here. The French guy was obviously so passionate about his food and came over and recommended things and explained some of the dishes. He was raving on about the Tartinis which are cocktails that taste like desserts. We couldn’t resist and ended up trying two of them….the Lemon Meringue tartini and the Apple Tarte Tatin one. Both delicious and highly alcoholic! They do actually taste like their respective desserts aswell. My favourite was the tarte tatin which came with an apple crisp. The only thing missing is the flaky pastry! Somehow they managed to incorporate the deep caramel flavours and spices into the drink. If you do come here, you have to try one!

With the 50% off, our meal turned into a bargain as the food and drink was very high quality. I think the tartinis alone were £7 for each one. With a starter and a main each, everything came to only £45 which is awesome. I’d definitely come back again but maybe for a treat rather than making it a regular place. Hopefully after reading this review, more people will try it out as I want them to do well!

• Added: 10th of March 2008
• Area: Soho
• Category: Restaurants

London W1D 5DJ
020 7494 9888

lenalouise said
Best Vietnamese so far in London!
I didn't even know Viet existed and randomly tried it out when we were in Soho one day. The food is utterly beautiful, another hidden gem! They have deep yet delicate flavours in their aromatic soup base and also do the tangy, sweet and chilli flavours that also exist in Vietnamese cuisine well.

When I first went, there were 8 of us so we tried most of the things on the menu. I would strongly recommend the warm beef salad. It was heavenly :D. Their Banh Xeo is superb aswell. They managed to get the pancake so thin and crisp whilst still managing to hold together.

For mains, we all had a bowl of pho noodle soup. I had the spicy beef and pork one - plenty of flavours coming through the soup and a good portion size. I tried some of Lisa's chicken one and the meat is melt in your mouth tender, it just put a smile on my face!

The prices are really low here and I would actually be willing to pay twice as much for the food, it's that good! We shared 6/7 starters and with a main each, it only came to a tenner each which is fantastic value for money. It's quite a small place so you may have to wait a few minutes for a table.

• Added: 10th of March 2008
• Area: Liverpool
• Category: Bars and Pubs

Liverpool L25 3PB
0151 4282526

lenalouise said
wholesome comfort food
I came here over the Christmas period for a lazy lunch with a couple of my cousins and my sister. It’s not quite a gastro pub (of London standards anyway), more like a cosy local with decent comfort food. The Bear and Staff is fairly large with many nooks and crannies to hide away and relax in. Filling the spaces is a mish mash of different wooden tables and chairs, almost like it’s a home for lost and neglected furniture.

They have the standard pub meals such as sausage and mash, steak and ale pie etc. However, there is a changing specials board featuring some regional dishes such as scouse. We all went for a starter and a main each. Lisa had garlic and butter mushrooms on toast. All the flavour of the sauce oozed onto the toast underneath, simply just lush! I had a chicken liver parfait with wild honey and thyme served on fresh bread. The flavour was perfect and it was really light and smooth.

For mains, I had a rump of lamb with carrot and swede mash, fine beans and a red wine jus. The lamb was slightly overcooked but still fairly tender. The flavours worked well but I wasn’t amazed by my main as I was with my starter. David had the biggest steak and ale pie that I’ve ever seen (look at the pics!). It was crammed full of juicy meat and the pastry was pretty good too, golden brown and flaky. Mike had scouse which is traditionally a lamb stew eaten by sailors. It was quite nice but not any nicer than your average stew. Lisa had salmon en croute with new potatoes. I’m not really sold on cooking fish with pastry as fish is quite delicate and I don’t really understand why anyone would put the two together. The portions were fairly massive. With just 2 courses, we were totally stuffed!

• Added: 10th of March 2008
• Area: Camberwell
• Category: Restaurants

London SE5 8BG
020 7737 1888

lenalouise said
Modern vietnamese restaurant
I’ve been meaning to try this place out for a while and eventually went with the ex last week. It’s another Vietnamese place – they seem to be popping up everywhere now. It’s a lot more trendy than your typical Asian, family-owned restaurant and I was pleasantly surprised by how nicely decorated it is. There’s one main room with a smaller long room at the back, presumably used for private parties but I can see myself sitting in there in the day sipping on coffee with a good book in the near future!

They have the usual things on a Vietnamese menu… spring rolls, soft shell crab, pho noodle soups, Vietnamese chicken curry and also some dim sum. I wasn’t too hungry so I went for the Banh Xeo which is a thin, crepe-like pancake filled with pork, prawns and bean sprouts and served with fish sauce and fresh herbs. It was so tasty and actually really healthy as well. I can’t wait to go again to try the other things on the menu!

• Added: 10th of March 2008
• Area: Balham
• Category: Bars and Pubs

London SW12 9AU
020 8772 0082

lenalouise said
Nice pub
I’ve ended up here on quite a few occasions when I’m visiting my friends in Balham. It’s a bit of a strange one as it does feel like a chain pub but slightly nicer. They have an outside area at the back with heated lamps which is nice on summer evenings. I’ve never had any food here so can’t comment on that. The toilets are a bit grotty though.

• Added: 10th of March 2008
• Area: Soho
• Category: Restaurants

London W1F 9TX
020 7734 7316

lenalouise said
Cheap sushi
I was meeting a friend for a cheap dinner to catch up and we decided that kulu kulu sushi was the perfect place. There's a good atmosphere in there and being able to watch the sushi chefs is great, albeit a bit distracting! I was a bit surprised that the chefs weren't Japanese even though the owners were. All a bit strange really...

Anyway, the sushi was about average I guess but pretty good for the prices. It is one of those conveyor belt places so it's really easy to get over-excited and spend too much. I would have preferred a bit more variety. They didn't have any scallop nigiri which I'm told is quite tasty. I spent £12 on six plates which is not much at all for sushi. Would definitely go back again.