See Cafe
our review
Historically Paddington has not been a great place to go and eat. Down Praed Street are the last examples of ‘restaurants’ you thought had died in the 70’s and yet here they are still, luring in tourists and bemused visitors from Cornwall and Wales alike. With the area’s regeneration however has come a bit of class and See Café, a modern place next to the canal is a prime example.
Here the emphasis is on squeaky clean Oriental food delivered in a fast, fuss-free style to diners that aren’t out for a leisurely lunch or dinner but who want to refuel and move on. From the hard IKEA chairs that discourage lingering, to the sharply styled tables, the ‘café’ part of the name is clear.
So what’s on the menu when you find yourself wandering in? Light, healthy food is the focus and so there are plenty of tangy salads to tuck into, plus soups, dim sum, satays and curries. It’s all MSG free, unless stated otherwise, and the cheerful staff are quick on their feet to get it to your table. Nothing is particularly expensive and we liked our Char Siu buns with their rich pork filling and the healthy helping of fish sauce soaked crushed peanuts on salad leaves. Won Ton soup with pork and prawn wonton was deep and filling, but could have benefited from a bit more zing either from chilli shards or maybe some fresh herbs. The Malaysian curry of the day certainly had plenty of heat and it was good to see the chicken on the bone and not some tasteless piece of breast. Tofu pad Thai noodles looked good for the pure veggies and the classic roast duck was tempting too.
Many of the dishes are available straight from the deli counter for you to take away and the deli side of See has plenty of ingredients to let you restock your own Asian larder without the need to take a trip to Chinatown, including authentic satay sauce mixes and green, yellow and red curry pastes direct from Thailand. Open all day from 11a.m. to 10 p.m. (9 p.m. on Saturdays) See Café is a smart concept that delivers what it promises and a bit more besides.
N.H. - July 2007
your comments review this restaurant and win a bottle of champagne
I came here with a friend for lunch and were greeted by the warm and friendly staff. We started off with an assortment of steamed dim sum dumplings which were fresh and delicious. I went on to order the Chinese Roast Duck rice, while my friend had the "See" Curry, needless to say both plates returned back to the kitchen empty! The food and drinks were reasonably priced and the service was efficient and quick. I would certainly go back again and look forward in trying the other salad and noodle dishes.
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Chi - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating 
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Good menu, very tasty food and nice wines. Recommended
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10
Monday, July 30, 2007
A couple of friends had told us about this new place opening up in Edgware Road. We went at lunchtime. The menu had a really good mix of dimsum type starters and really lovely asian salads as well as hot noodle and rice dishes. I had the thai green curry which looked beautiful on the plate and had just the right amount of kick. The decor was smart stylish and simple and the place had a good buzz with plenty of people using the deli style counter as their local sandwich shop. The service was quick and efficent and we had a good bottle of wine, very reasonably priced. It would have been good to have been able to sit at the outside tables and enjoy the excellent cheesecake and coffee but the weather didn't allow. We had a really lovely meal and will definitely go back and would certainly recommend it to anyone looking for a nice lunchtime venue or a drink and snack/dinner after work or even with the family at weekends .
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Angela Gee
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
