Rosemary Lane

The tasting menu (I believe only done on Saturday evenings) made it well worth braving torrential rain to get to the restaurant. We had 8 courses and each was a gourmet treat. And the food was great value at £30 a head! The house red was delicious and inexpensive so our bill with pre dinner gin and tonics, coffee and service was £51 per head! We had a great evening and I'll be going back.

DFD

2 July 07
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Monday, July 02, 2007

Went here last Friday following a recommendation. Food was excellent as was the Prosecco. I eat out a lot and it was the best meal I'd had fro a while and the set menu was great value. The only problem was there was only 4 people eating there on a Friday lunch. Come on everybody get along there so the next time I'm in that part of town its still trading!
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Uncle Donald
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, May 30, 2007

One the best french restaurant I tried over the last two years in London and I know what I am talking about since I am french. The food was delightful, the service was perfect. Price was not insane, it worth every penny.

The place is charismatic, I especially liked the jazz music.

MS
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, May 22, 2007

What a shock, a great experience we had in what most people would describe as a hellish neighbourhood. Once on the premises you get a clear understanding of what is about to come. It's a clean and honest establishment with charm, but the best charm came from Kevin (I think he said his name was) but more importantly the food. The waiter (Kevin or Gavin) was honest and understanding to budget and explained exactly what wine he thought would go with our food, not trying to sell the best wines but an honest answer, which you do not find often in London. He explained why he thought these would work best, getting us away from the usual Sancerre!!

The food, well what can I say or any member of my party was amazing. We had never dined there before and was greeted with free delicous bread, a free amous buche (a delicious Gazpachio) then on to starters. I had the tuna which was just as the menu said but was a work of art the colours and inspiration was amazing. For mains I had the Sea Bass, the fish itself was okay but it was the sauce and the smoked fish mash which made it a true delight. I can only give my comments on the food, but it is the first time I have seen empty plates on all the table.

To die for is the chocolate fondant.....Just Heaven.

You have to try it to believe it!!!

The total bill came in at just over £50 per head, but it was worth every penny and considering the night before in a Gordon Ramsey PUB we spent £80 per head it is excellent value for money.
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Friday, May 11, 2007

Presenting wines last Tuesday around the corner at Corney and Barrow, we followed their recommendation and came to you for lunch. C&B did us a real favour: the food was delicious, excellent! I was escorting a celebrated Spanish winemaker (Benjamin) and his Spanish commercial manager on our second visit together to the UK, and our unanimous verdict was “best food we’d had at any meal in the UK”. The wee dining room’s a gem, and we also had fun with the wine-list… the Gruner Veltlioner elegantly eased us in, and the Le Cigare Volant – Benjamin is an acquaintance of Randall Grahm (of Bonny Doon) – a great choice!
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Reg Ward
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Monday, April 30, 2007

Two years ago, as we visited our son in London, a friend of ours let us discover Rosemary Lane.

It was, indeeed, a real discovery, not only by reason of the somewhat remote location of this restaurant, far from the overcrowded tourist paths, but first and foremost by reason of the friendly atmosphere and of the excellent quality of the food we enjoyed there.

Subsequent visits confirmed the exciting gastronomic experience we had the first time.

Food was elegantly presented and tasted deliciously, the wine selection was accurate and all that was offered at fair prices.

The young waiters were helpful and attentive.

By the words of the "Guide Michelin", we would say that the chef''s culinary skill

"vaut le voyage".
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giovanni gallo
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10
Sunday, April 29, 2007

We are very lucky in living just two streets away from Rosemary Lane, which makes it helpfully easy to get to. But even if we moved to the other side of town, we would be back on a regular basis for outstanding cooking in unpretentious but very charming surroundings. We have taken friends and business contacts there on many occasions now, and every one of them has been utterly charmed by both the food and the environment - though it has to be said that it is the former that really makes the place outstanding. We have simply never had a bad meal there, or even a questionable dish. Like all the best food, the ingredients are fresh and of the highest quality (heaven only knows how the economics of this work - to say this is value for money is a significant understatement), and what they do with them is sympathetic and delicious. The wine list is exemplary and manageable (I have a horror of interminable lists with no character). Then there are the little touches that make what is already a great dining experience special: the "unexpected" (at least the first time) amuse bouche to get everything going, which is always a little gastronomic delight in itself, and a sorbet explosion of palate refreshment to get you ready for the main event. In our experience, dinner is best seen as a relaxed event with good conversation to complement the food - only an idiot would want to rush a culinary experience like this anyway. But I have also taken a number of people there for business lunches, and the timing and pace of things has been exemplary, from brisk no-nonsense working lunches, to a lengthy, negotiation-heavy intense meal, which other restaurants would have stepped in to terminate at an appropriate moment, whereas we were allowed to go on talking until we had really finished.

We are already looking forward to our next visit in a couple of days, and cannot really praise this little gem highly enough.

Just one thing more: it may not be quite done to comment adversely on other reviews, but I am in a position to make just an observation about the one dated December 11th. The previous Friday evening we were the "other people" who were there when the large (for a place that size) Christmas party referred to in the review was booked in. We had literally begged to be allowed to go that night in order to take two special friends along for their first Rosemary Lane experience, and were allowed to have a table on the understanding that we knew that the rest of the place would be full of a Christmas Party and would not mind. (Lesser restaurants would have just taken the booking and the money and not even thought about what it would be like for us.) Without going into details, I would just say that the staff handled a pretty tricky party in an exemplary fashion and my respect for them grew markedly. What's more, at the same time as dealing with that situation, they also served us a fantastic meal with exemplary good humour and personal warmth, which was astonishing under the circumstances. We had a great evening in spite of the Christmas party. If the other tables didn't enjoy themselves, it certainly wasn't the restaurant's fault from where we were sitting.

Rosemary Lane is a very strong recommendation from us. It is well worth negotiating your way to Royal Mint Street (three tube stations and the DLR all within a few minutes walk) to experience cooking of this quality.
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Nicholas Riddle
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Saturday, April 14, 2007

Rosemary Lane is easily one of my favourite restaurants in London. Chef/Owner Cristina Anghelescu is an artiste who creates inventive and delicious dishes in a small setting (25-30 seats) and in an edgy unexpected location which is part of the allure. Cristina could be hidden away running a large scale uber expensive restaurant in the West End, but instead you get her personally cooking your dinner with maybe the help of an assistant with the aid of 1 or maybe 2 dining room staff. Very intimate, personal experience. The setting also adds to the "cosy/home dinner party" feel. If service is irregular to some or timing not perfect, so what? If that is important, go back to a Conrans and have perfectly timed, professionally presented....predictable fare. And maybe that is what you like. However, Rosemary Lane is a treat for those who can appreciate it. Menu is limited and regularly changing and is NOT expensive with some starters in £single digits and some mains even in the £teens. It is difficult to choose an option as you'd like to try everything. Wine list is short but is balanced with some good finds and great value without a ludicrous mark-up and changes periodically, as well. (For example, I discovered Ayala Champagne at Rosemary Lane a while back....) I have never had anything less than a spectaclar meal. Guests have always been very excited at such an unexpected "find" that is typically word-of-mouth. Given the City location and low-profile, the restaurant is not as busy during the week as it would be in a more central location. And that is great for those in-the-know as it is not a hassle to get a reservation late week.

When I discovered Cristina Anghelescu and Rosemary Lane about 2yrs ago I ate there on a regular basis and just loved it. I had the opportunity to go with a work related table of 12 on Tue. and felt that I was at a semi-private dinner party to great success. I had a similar experience end of the year with a group of 8. Food is on par with ANY of the most acclaimed restaurants in London (or New York).

I cannot recommend Rosemary Lane more highly. You should go and go soon. High calibre owner/chef single proprietors venues like Rosemary Lane are very uncommon. Go before Cristina is made an offer she can't refuse to run your favourite chic venue in London and becomes too well known to get a seat at one of her tables!

This is a gem.
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SB
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Thursday, April 12, 2007

Rosemary Lane is one of the very best restaurants of its kind in London. The food is delightful and worth every penny. The room has retained much of the character of the east end pub it was but has been tastefully updated. We have eaten there on many occasions - sometimes the only people there and sometimes it has been full - on each occasion it has been a very pleasurable experience. This is a real owner/chef restaurant - not a plastic Ramsay clone.
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Tony Ledger
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Overattentive, try-too-hard staff made for very uncomfortable dining in a deserted restaurant. Our waiter messed around changing cutlery so much he broke my wine glass. The food was disappointing; lamb shank served without any option of veg or potatoes, risotto tasted flavourless and after complaining, we were told 'sorry, the chef doesn't use stock in risotto'. Only one vegetarian dish meant I did not have the pleasure of choosing what I would eat. All in all, a disappointing experience.
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Lisa Howard
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Tuesday, December 19, 2006