All reader reviews by Diner
Mela
We've visited Mela on a number of occasions, always using the special offer on london-eating. The restaurant has always been busy and the service has been great. If you're looking for a great meal at short notice then Mela is a fine choice. We've never been let down here.
My suggestion is to order a variety of plates to share from the starters menu and do the same for the main meal. Their kebabs are great, fish dishes are lovely and curries delicious. Mela's food is down to earth, tasty and nicely flavoured. Whether you're out and about in town, booking a pre-theatre meal or looking for somewhere where you know you'll be guaranteed good food choose Mela. And for an even better deal book their special offer.
Mela is the kind of place to go back to again and again. It doesn't win loads of points for decor or atmosphere, having said that it does just fine in both those departments, but some restaurants, like Mela, you go back to for the good service and good food.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Overall rating 
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 9
Boulevard Dining Room
We visited Boulevard Dining Room last night and took advantage of the special offer (£15 for three courses and a Bellini). I suppose we should have been more cautious and steered clear of such a cheap price for three courses. Having said that, we've been to numerous restaurants booked via london-eating special offers that have been excellent and the high scores and handful of good reviews this restaurant received convinced us. Unfortunately, the reviews had no resemblance to our experience. This is the first time I've been inclined to write a review in order to register our disappointment.
The set menu looked fine enough with plenty to choose from and good descriptions that inspired confidence. However, it seemed from the state of the food that the chef had merely copied the menu and descriptions from the back of a microwave meal. The starters were simply offensive. I had the 'American flat bread with chorizo, jalepeno and tomatoes' that was a flour tortilla, smeared with tomato puree, a couple of slices of cheap chorizo and some grated cheese on top - zapped in the microwave. As ludicrous as it sounds, that really was it. My partner had a bowl of 'Roasted butternut squash soup' that was flavourless and unseasoned. The main meals had no vegetables whatsoever. How you can cook frites badly is a mystery to me. To give the chef his/her due the steak was cooked well, to my liking, though anybody who doesn't like bloody steak would have been out of luck as the waiter didn't ask how I'd like it cooked. My partner's meal, the salmon option, tasted as though it came pre-cooked and pre-packed. Dessert was sweet; the best part of a lack lustre and downright shoddy meal.
The waiting staff were fine. The dance music seemed at odds with a 'Dining Room'. I will not be visiting this restaurant again. The food really was offensively bad. There are plenty of places in Soho to get a decent meal for £15. This is not one of them.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Overall rating 
Food 0 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 0
Barrio Bars to open a new site in Shoreditch next month (via Caterer) -