All reader reviews by AK

Hibiscus

After much research I chose Hibiscus to celebrate my wife’s birthday. We left happy but not raving about the experience. In short, Hibiscus has rather the feel of a local, very upmarket restaurant with excellent food and a more relaxed vibe than a fine dining “destination” restaurant, some which tend to take themselves rather seriously. We liked it for that very reason so as long as that’s what you’re looking for, you should enjoy it!

FOOD. Excellent fois gras, and raviolis with Cevennes onion and cinnamon for starters. We both chose pork for main course, which came in 2 services. Neither of us liked the first (sorry, we cant remember what it was called exactly but it was pork fillet). We both had 2 mouthfuls and left the rest. It tasted and smelled of fish to me! The sausage roll on the other hand was fantastic and every mouthful a delight.

SERVICE. Excellent. My wife is pregnant and they gave her good advice on the various ingredients and what she could and couldn’t have. I ordered some wine by the glass and the sommelier found me a glass of superb Puligny Montrachet that is normally sold only by the bottle, and he even topped it up later.

DECOR AND ATMOSPHERE. Some reviews had noted that the decor lacked character but to my taste, it was unfussy if a little muted – lots of wood panelling and beige. It would help if they dimmed the lights a little as it was quite bright! Plenty of space between tables.

For us the atmosphere is crucial and I was glad that this was not one of those restaurants where you feel like you have to whisper. At least you can joke with the waiters!

Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7

Tom's Kitchen

Undoubtably the best (and perhaps most expensive) breakfast in the area and we've tried them all over the years (VQ, Aubaine, Chelsea Bun etc). Tom's hardly ever disappoints when it comes to the food, which is clearly all well sourced and high quality. The occasional tasteless burger is more than made up for by beautifully cooked poached eggs and creamy hollandaise.

My only gripe is with the cost. They say you get what you pay for, and of course we are prepared to pay a premium for quality ingredients but charging almost £5.50 for a smoothie, £2 to add an egg to baked beans on toast and £4 for one sausage is a joke!

The buzzy atmosphere and the proximity of tables to each other means that noise volumes are high, so be prepared if you have a hangover…

Thursday, May 21, 2009
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 5

Chez Patrick

"That's the worst meal I have had in London for a long time" said my wife through gritted teeth after a Thursday lunch at Chez Patrick. Having just moved into the area, we had been looking forward to visiting this "local's" restaurant and hoping to discover a hidden gem. Whilst I didn't feel as strongly as my wife on account that my lunch was saved by a high quality sirloin steak (and so it should have been for £19!), we will not be returning.

First impressions: decor is simple and very French. After a while, we began to find things were tired and cheap. The MD is an acquired taste: at first we found him charming and funny but as the time went by he seemed overbearing, arrogant and irritating.

Now for the food: for starters, the grilled squid was rubbery and tasteless and my tuna tartare was mixed with a home-made mayonnaise, which meant you couldn't taste the tuna.

Main courses: my wife's crab and scallop ravioli had sounded so promising. Sadly it was swimming in a cream sauce that was far too rich and overpowering. She said it made her retch. My sirloin was "bleu" when it was served (I had asked for it medium rare) and they were quick to sort it out.

Value for money? Terrible. 2 starters and 2 mains with a bottle of water came to £47.50 (the sirloin accounting for 40% of this). Scandalously, the restaurant has a policy of adding a "discretionary optional" 15% to the bill. We certainly didn't think the service or the experience was worth this, but entering into what would undoubtably have been a heated argument with a haughty MD would have ruined our day not just our lunch.

Thursday, May 21, 2009
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 2