• Added: 5th of December 2007
• Area: Hammersmith
• Category: Restaurants

London W6 7PB
020 7603 2142

ruperthowe said
Nice Atmosphere, Lacklustre Food
We were long overdue a nice meal out together - babies and work had got in the way. So I looked on TP for local places to eat, and read the reviews that suggested it was quality food, nice atmosphere, not OTT.
I can't claim to be a real foodie - but even by my modest standards, the food was a bit lacklustre. Maybe it was the regular chef's night off - it was a weeknight (can't remember which).
The Americans at the next table who were there for a farewell dinner, were complaining a bit about it, too, according to my eavesdropping wife....
But the atmosphere was nice and dark and cosy and the company was 5 star, so we had a nice evening anyway.

• Added: 5th of December 2007
• Area: Hammersmith
• Category: Restaurants

London W6 9JT
020 8741 8563

ruperthowe said
Best South Indian food
This place really can be stunning.

When it first opened, it had huge plate glass windows and very bright lights and was always empty, despite the quality of the food - my mother-in-law, who's a cookery writer and an Indophile who LOVES it here, made it her personal crusade to get them to dim the lights and soften the atmosphere and post their rave review in Time Out in the window, which they eventually did, slightly amused and bemused.

Now they're deservedly busy. Because of the food. They still have things to learn about ambience.

Don't sit near the stairs, for instance. For as long as it's been open, that part of the restaurant has always smelled of amazingly acrid cleaning chemicals.

Puris for dessert are fabulous.

• Added: 5th of December 2007
• Area: Shepherds Bush
• Category: Cafes and Coffee Shops

London W12 8QQ

ruperthowe said
Net Curtains and Big Chips
It makes me hungry just to think about it.

I'd passed by many times, and then came across a review of it on Russell Davies' Egg Bacon Chips and Beans blog. It looked quite cute from the outside, and he raved about the chips, so I hoodwinked my wife into a Saturday morning trip on the way to pick up our car from round the corner - after a disappointing meal at Snows on the Green the night before.

It was magnificent. Partly because of the decor - wood cladding/panelling outside with a 50s style sign, net curtains (white and fresh) in the huge windows, sticky rubbery carpet inside and 50s colours that are almost fashionable again. It's still got a local working class vibe, but the staff and the customers were very unchippy - unlike the food: a perfectly cooked chip mountain.

It laid me out for the rest of the day, but it was worth it. Majestic gluttony.

• Added: 22nd of November 2007
• Area: Marylebone
• Category: Bars and Pubs

London W1G 6EP
020 7486 7420

ruperthowe said
Red Rum
I like this place a lot, but I'm not sure why. Partly because it's become an easy meeting place for me to come from West London to meet friends from the South, North & East. Seems to have gone through a number of owners in the last few years. Was once owned by Denise Van Outen's boyfriend, I heard - who converted it into a very red yuppie pub with sofas and big tables inside and out for big or small groups of friends to meet up and hang out.
The men's toilets are so red that they almost make you feel you're in that dream image in The Shining when the blood cascades out of the elevators. They were super shiny once, but now they've got a bit shabby. But shiny or shabby, the redness of them really gives me the creeps, and as a result I'm a bit in love with them.
The food seems to vary - has had periods of being very good and bar snacky in large quantities. Last time I visited, they were trying to do something more wholefoody, which didn't work as well.
Have a video of the toilets somewhere - will upload at some point.

• Added: 22nd of November 2007
• Area: Hammersmith
• Category: Cafes and Coffee Shops

London W12 9AU
020 8222 6958

ruperthowe said
Great coffee, good food, laid back café
Louche started with ambitions that it's had to let slide a little... But it still serves good breakfasts and lunches, and the lattes and cappucinos are magic. One of the staff - the blonde girl - doesn't yet have the magic touch with the coffee, but the guy and the other girl nail it every time.