The Terrace

When booking, I was thinking of location, and I wasn't disappointed. An oasis of calm so close to the West End and Holborn, the simple decor and floor-to-ceiling windows made the most of the winter sun and the leafy surrounds.

The jerk chicken ceasar salad with pancetta (enough of a twist to tempt me to this mainstay) was just the right size, and the flavours well balanced - without being drowned in fatty dressing. The vegetarian options were well-thought-out, although risotto and goat's cheese tartlet made a typical appearance.

Service was good and the price reasonable. I will be back in summer for the terrace barbeque and to try the goat curry and other carribean-tinged dishes.
Comment on this reader review

Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Lunch 03/2/07

As a teetotal meateater this restaurant pushes all my buttons. It's clean

and modern and very bright and seems to attract nice laid back people. When

I was in it was about half full and everything seemed to run smoothly if not

superfast - but then for Saturday lunch you don't want to be hurried along,

do you?

The waitresses were very sweet and helpful. I got offered freshly squeezed

blood orange juice when I explained I only really liked fresh juices, and

then got down to the serious business of eating beef rib and goat curry,

which was incredible. It was a hard choice with confit of duck and lamb

shanks also on offer cause I'm a bit of a mash fan. The curry was full of

flavour but so subtle, not at all raw or fiery like they often are, and the

meat was firm but somehow flavoured all the way through, leg steak I'd

guess. If you're put off by the idea of goat, don't be, it's very lean and

good for you, and tastes like slightly more intense lamb, it stands up

particularly well to being curried too. I can't quite describe how different

it was, but it's not at all like an Indian curry, and comes in a broth

rather than a thick sauce as you might expect.

Afterwards I found room for a bakewell tart, which came on its own except

for a couple of dabs of sauce - weirdly chocolate and a damson/plum, but it

actually worked okay. I'd expected ice cream or custard or something to come

with it but didn't really miss it once I was eating the tart. The pastry was

exceedingly crisp and the flavour of almonds came through well. I would have

liked a bit more jam but the girlfriend pronounced the balance perfect.

All in all it was really cool and we'll certainly return.
Comment on this reader review

Jim Roberts - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 9
Monday, February 05, 2007

Great atmosphere, good service and a thoroughly enjoyable meal. Tucked away in a park it was hard to imagine but inside the restaurant was modern and light. Can thoroughly recommend the fishcakes and the ribs for starter and the crumble for dessert is hard to beat! The wine recommendation was excellent. We will definitely go back.
Comment on this reader review

M Smeele
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Sunday, January 28, 2007

Dinner on 21/6/2006.

As we arrived I spotted Patrick Williams (the owner) outside. I acknowledged him warmly and he nonchalantly said, "hiya". Oh Dear !! I bet Jamie Oliver would have given us a warmer reception.

I ordered jerk chicken which came with mashed potatoes, my friend ordered lamb on sweet pototo and my other friend ordered steak. We were not impressed with the food at all. My jerk chicken had no jerk marinade whatsoever, in fact it didn't taste like they had put any salt and pepper on it either and what is with serving jerk chicken with mashed potatoes, it's supposed to be served with rice n peas. My friend had a minuscule portion of lamb that sat on boiled carrots chopped into centimetre squares in watery gravy. No one can convince me that it was sweet potato because it wasn't. My other friend ordered steak which when it came was soo tough that she had to send it back. I can only assume that the chef threw a piece of stewing steak on the grill instead of rump. Our main courses were bland and boring and we all complained that the food was barely warm.

For dessert I had chocolate brownie which in all honesty you can't really go wrong with. My other two friends had fruit crumble served with pistachio ice cream. I'm still trying to understand why vanilla ice cream was not served with it because pistachio ice cream was a wrong choice altogether.

Apparently during our meal a glass of champage each was sent over as an apology for the main course and later Patrick came over to our table and apologised. The champagne as well as apology was nice but overall we were not impressed. With a bottle of rose wine we paid £35 each for an extermely substandard meal especailly when a few weeks later we had a slap up set three course meal at our local French restaurant for £14.90 each excl. drinks.

It seems that the kitchen staff are trying too hard in their attempts to be original. There isn't an ounce of caribbean flavours in any of the dishes that we had so I would warn anyone to avoid this restaurant if that is what they are expecting.

I would not recommend this restaurant at all. It is way too expensive for what you get and it has no real atmosphere either.
Comment on this reader review

B Carr
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 1
Friday, August 04, 2006

Been here twice, once when it had just opened and we were the only people having lunch on a Saturday.

We went again last Saturday and thought it would be great place to have lunch outside. Unfortunately there is absolutely no shade on the terrace so it's only suitable if you want get roasted yourself. We went inside but it's still a very warm place to eat.

It took quite a while for the food to arrive but on the whole it was pretty good. It's not exactly a place for a light bite, the kitchen sometimes aims a bit too high.
Comment on this reader review

Dutch_Food - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 6
Monday, June 26, 2006

I went there for lunch yesterday and had a fabulous meal with my husband. The jerk chicken is amazing. The restaurant was busy even though it was a bit chilly outside. This place will be amazing in the summer for al fresco dining!!! Would definitely recommend it. Service is excellent.
Comment on this reader review

Sarah
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Thursday, April 13, 2006

Had an excellent dinner here a few weeks ago. Modern european with a west indian twist, the dishes manage to stay authentic throughout. Fantastic setting in Lincolns Inn Fields-would be an excellent place to eat in the summer as the whole restaurant opens out. Staff were attentive though not overbearing, all in all a great experience, can't wait to go back.
Comment on this reader review

JM
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Tuesday, March 28, 2006

There were 6 of us having a birthday. It was fantastic. The service you couldnt fault,the food was absolutely sublime!

It is the perfect place to escape from the mad city! Definately will be going back.
Comment on this reader review

Susi
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, March 28, 2006