Rosemary Lane review by Sam Cole
My girlfriend & I went to Rosemary Lane for the first time for her birthday last night, and the food we had was really good. The place was empty except for us and another table but then this happens every year when you eat out on Jan 2nd!
Anyway, the restaurant can probably best be described as "understated" which I like and is a refreshing change from some of the Mayfair-based Michelin-starred restaurants that can often be so pompous. For anyone who has been to Thyme in Westcombe Park (next to the train station) they'll know what I mean - in a good way.
Rosemary Lane isn't exactly in the nicest area, a couple of minutes walk east from the Tower of London, and looks like it used to be a pub. Hence the use of terms like "hidden" and "modest", but don't let that put you off.
So the two of us are sitting in this virtually empty restaurant and there's only one waitress on duty (who needs more when it's dead) and we're both thinking that maybe we have made a mistake coming here. We ordered our food and then we were given an amuse bouche (don't you just love it when that happens and it isn't advertised as part of the 5 or 6 'courses'). And this is when we started to realise that it was well worth coming.
The beetroot soup amuse bouche was fabulous (and I don't normally like beetroot) as was my tuna starter. Then another non-advertised palate-cleanser of guava sorbet, followed by the main courses of gorgeous pork belly and a perfectly rare fillet steak. All the food was beautifully presented and tasted wonderful.
And, if that wasn't enough, it all came in (including wine & coffee but no desserts) at a shade under £100 for the two of us. So great value for money.
I can now see why the perfect description for this restaurant is a "hidden gem". We will definitely be going back again. See you there!
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Overall rating 
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 10
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