Cafe Emm

We stumbled on this place looking for somewhere to have a late supper after seeing a show on our visit to London last weekend. We passed a lot of places that looked expensive or pretentious or generic - or all of the above. It was getting late and as we passed my eye was caught by the homely, bistro type look of the place. Asked to see a menu before we committed ourselves and were pleasantly surprised by the prices for the middle of Soho. Our starters of tomato, mozarella & avocado salad and chicken liver pate were pleasant but unremarkable. My husband thoroughly enjoyed his main course of jerk chicken with vegetable rice; however the main event for me was a big pot of moules mariniere served with chips for about £8.95. The mussels were plump and plentiful and were served in the most delicious sauce of white wine, cream and garlic. It would have been criminal not to make the most of this so we asked for some bread which, whilst it was provided immediately by our helpful and friendly server, was somewhat on the stingy side. Maybe we were just being greedy but it was too delicious to leave! For the prices we weren't expecting a gourmet experience but for a hearty supper in a relaxed atmosphere we were not disappointed. We enjoyed it very much and will certainly go back again.
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Carolyn
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Monday, April 28, 2008

Extremely disappointing experience when visiting this restaurant in more ways than one. When arriving at the restaurant we were informed that they were not open until another ten minutes and ask to wait outside in the cold weather. The waitress that did serve us was not only verbally rude but also had a rude manner by spilling a bottle of drink on our table not apologising at the time and snatching the tissue from the young man with our party that was trying to help her clean up, when commenting on her rude behaviour she replied by saying “we all do make mistakes you know!” when one of our side orders did not arrive we inquired about the order, she stormed off, when she finally did bring us the side order she slammed the bowl down on the table, the final straw came when one of our party had a hair in their food, we called over the manager (we think was the manager) and explained to him about the hair in the food also how rude the waitress was he apologised by tell us that “she is very unwell” surly this is a hygiene issue? We did not have to pay for one meal of course the one with the hair in. This restaurant does have a lot to answer for we shall not be visiting again for sure.
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Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Sunday, December 23, 2007

The starters were good - the salad looked fresh, the brie was nice. The main courses were average - steak wasn't good at all, shank was nice. Yes the food portion is of good size - apart from the steak, but I'm really not sure if it's really worth the song and dance about this place?! The lemon tart although was let down by the soggy pastry.! With plenty of other places to choose from in the area, I'm not convinced we'll be back again.
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Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 5
Friday, July 27, 2007

This was our second visit to Café Emm, and it was just as good as the first.

It's sometimes hard to find places that aren't either pretentious or just poor service and value for money in central London.

Emm is laid back, simple and homely in terms of decor.

The food is fantastic value for money. Good variety of choice on the menu, very reasonable prices and then superb quality.

I had a mozarella, tomato and avocado salad to start, which had a tangy pesto dressing to liven it up. This was followed by seared scallops on cauliflower puree with a simple salad. For dessert I was a shameless pig and had their almost too rich chocolate mousse. Yum!

I'd recommend this to unpretentious diners who like good quality and good value for money.
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Izzy Johnson
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, June 27, 2007

I have to say I found this restaurant pretty poor value for money.

On a Saturday night, it was smoky and noisy. The service was adequate - nothing more - for example, you will be asked what you want to eat, and it will be delvered to you and cleared away. No checking that things are ok.

The food was poor value for money. I could have got much better quality food, better service round the corner.

All in all, I will definitely not return. I understand alot of people treat this place like an institution and go back time after time. I do not understand why!
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Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 3
Sunday, May 20, 2007

Called in last night for a quick snack, good honest food, very good value especially for it's location. Nice big fat chips and that's always a winner!
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Lee Mansell
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 9
Friday, March 23, 2007

The food is faultless everytime i visit. The menu has not changed much in the past few years, so you know what you're going there for...and to compliment that, the cost has not chnaged either.

For the quality of food, and volume, its a bargain.

The staff are friendly and whether its two having a romantic dinner or a group out for the night the atmosphere works perfectly.

I will always recommend the 'steak and ale' pie to anyone who visits...
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richard cole
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, March 20, 2007

I've always enjoyed myself here, it's not super posh but the food is good, portions large, atmosphere is friendly - I particularly recommend the jerk chicken and rice! Good for a laid back meal with friends but expect to queue at weekends as you can't book.
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alexx - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Thursday, February 15, 2007

we've been there once and are looking forward to returning to it. The place is very cozy and charming, with the exception of pop music being played throughout our evening there. The food was good, non fussy, just good delicious fresh food. we had chicken liver pate, steak, and stuffed peppers. all were good, including the apple crumble. its not expensive either, especially considering the location. The staff (owner?) was very friendly as well. really liked this place! will definitely try to return to it again in the near future.
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pea - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Sunday, February 11, 2007

My experience at Cafe Emm last weekend was excellent.

Friendly staff, ample of seating space and a peaceful ambiance left no scope for disappointment.

Good quality and sizeable proportions of food at very honest prices makes Cafe Emm our favourite restaurants in central London.

The Lamb Shanks and Ribeye Steaks were fantastic.

Thanks Cafe Emm - see you on Valentine's Day!
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Annette
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Saturday, February 10, 2007