All reader reviews by Anonymous

Saki Bar & Food Emporium

Lovely atmosphere, creative dishes, great service and a real treat but the price is a bit on the dear side. I suppose it is meant to cater for all those horrid bankers in the city. Once they did this sushi buffet for £17 a head and that was one of the best experiences I ever had of sushi but maybe because we ate so much - as much as you can they said and we cleared the entire amount and no one else came for the buffet - they never did it again. They also sponsored a dinner for a famous actor and decorated his plate with a unique design that was nostalgic for him so have to rate this place.

Sunday, November 14, 2010
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 5

Ribon

This place looks like a dump, the food is good if you are a stuck up Japanese company employee but really it's not that nice. The prices are way too high but the owner is very helpful and I've seen worse. It has fallen down in standard. The best place was Noto as they served baby squid and octopus but that went and closed which was sad.

Sunday, November 14, 2010
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 3

Niko Niko

An awful place. Overly priced, Koreans trying to make a name out of a Japanese restaurant and then doing poorly. No customer service. They brought out the miso soup for a starter which is just the ultimate no no in japan. The rice was awful and yet you were asked to pay extortionate prices. No free tea as a service either which is a must in Japanese restaurants. A dreadful rip-off.

Sunday, November 14, 2010
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 1

Afghan Kitchen

This tiny, cosy place is like a canteen but very small and very romantic, especially if you go upstairs and get the Upper Street/Essex Road dissection with the overhanging trees lit by orange lights. Okay your romantic meal is then bombarded by other diners in close proximity, sometimes even sharing tables but it can be nice to get to meet people - if only we lived in a society where people wanted to get to know you. The food is awesome though the menu is small. Nonetheless you can have all of them as they are exceptional, the aubergine, the pumpkin, the thick sesame filled bread, lamb, spinach and if you come in winter you get the fish curry or chicken in yogurt. Prices are reasonable and set at round figures. I loved this place and the service isn't as bad as it may seem at first. yes it's unassuming but that's what i like about this tiny place. They do try their best even if their best isn't always good enough when in such a cramped space offering a handful of dishes.

Sunday, November 14, 2010
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 7

Khan's of Kensington

The speed of service is fast but you'd think you were being served in prison. the food is fresh because it is busy and quite tasty and cheap for this part of town. A nice atmosphere with very uncomfortable seats and tables not big enough for human beings to eat properly. All a real shame as the food is tasty and reasonably priced. You can't go wrong in those two departments. The staff seem to hound you and want you to leave as soon as you arrive. Why on earth would anyone want to buy some Khan's memorabilia like a mug or t shirt?

Sunday, November 14, 2010
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 9

Yas (Kensington)

This place used to be not so bad. But you have to ask yourself, why do I have to pay £11 for a piece of meat and dry crispy bread with a tomato on top and £15 after midnight? It is ridiculous that they want to charge more for food after midnight and they also suddenly stop accepting credit cards too with not a cash point in sight. It used to be a God send when you came after a long night's work and stopped off for some food and a nice tea for £10 with a nice atmosphere. Those days are gone. Slow service, food quality down and prices up. Some staff are very aggressive. Rice is the best I've ever tasted. A real shame this place went down the pan. Compare this place to Miran next door and you wonder why everyone goes to Yas? People live on past reputations. Copernicus believed the world was round but everyone else didn't. Sad that the world likes to follow the bad places. They used to have the best home made sauces too but those went.

Sunday, November 14, 2010
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 1

Loong Kee Cafe

Used to come here before they tarted it up as well and bring lots of parties and connoisseurs of Vietnamese food and they all left satisfied. The notorious service was even fantastic as we always got the same friendly carefree waiter. Prices were dirt cheap for healthy and authentic to die for food. Sadly a victim of its own success - a change of management actually since I saw the old guard down the road and a new place they opened up we went there recently. Service is lacking and they really do get offended if you dare to do anything of your own accord. Food and prices have fallen by the wayside and although it remains busy, the crowd are the it type and all pretending to be trendy whereas before it was the original Shoreditch residents so far less pretentious. Now the people seemed to have lost their soul.

I am also voting on past experience re. the food etc. but give service almost a nil for rudeness and haven't been back in ages.

Sunday, November 14, 2010
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 9

Bundu Khan

This place was hyped up as the best thing to come out of Pakistan in terms of authenticity. You waited for an extra 6 months for it to open since the placard outside declared proudly of its imminent opening in April and yet here you are in November leaving the place. The place was trying to be something out of this world but the costumes and environment seemed to overwhelm the staff. It was all hype for nothing as the food came out cold, in silly trays and staff fumbling about. There was nothing tasty about the place. A real odd restaurant that was always fairly empty and felt distant.

Sunday, November 14, 2010
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 1

Abu Zaad

A very authentic, cheap eat with lovely food, fast service and a good atmosphere. It feels like we're in Damascus. A real treat and the fresh juices are amazing. Cheap and cheerful at it's best.

Sunday, November 14, 2010
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9

You Me Korean Restaurant

We loved the food. It was very authentic Korean food. The staff were quick to serve us although a little cold. The price was cheap and the decor very nice and cosy. One of the best Koreans in London.

Sunday, November 14, 2010
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8

Me Me

This is a nice cosy place with a good atmopshere but having tried many Vietnamese dishes along Shoreditch where there is a big Vietnamese community, none of the dishes match the quality of their Eastern contempraries. The other thing that makes this even more upsetting is the price which is much higher. The service is good if you get the manager or his wife who are very helpful but the other staff seem to struggle with the command of English.

Sunday, November 14, 2010
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 2

Sodere

A good Ethiopean restaurant slightly off the beaten track with very friendly and obliging staff. Apart from the very nice food, eating here is a real experience, best shared with friends and the interior is very Ethiopian. It can feel a little empty at times which is a real shame but that's not so much the organisation's fault. People just don't take a chance and prefer to go to kebab shops, Mcdonalds, KFC or some ponsy French gastro type place where the plate is huge and the food fills up a tenth of the surface.

Dishes can be light or spicy, dry or with sauce, meat or vegetables. Everything is served with a sour pancake (injera) which absorbs the flavours and goes beautifully with all the dishes.

Ethiopean drinks are available, and trying the post dinner Ethiopean coffee complete with aroma other sense tingling treats is highly recommended! They soemtimes have live music but you have to hang around till very late. A cosy feel to the place even if a little empty at times.

Sunday, November 14, 2010
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9

The Regency Club

The queues are long giving preferential treatment to some regular wealthy Indian industrialists but the food and atmosphere are incredible. Where can you go to find a classy pub full of Indians and the occasional white person in the minority within London? The keema peas and the lamb rogan are the best you'll ever find and the food is fresh and on the bone, that is unbeatable. But the service is hit and miss and only the manager has the authority to seat you. he may dump you in the middle of the sweaty bear pit where your back will get permanently damaged or he may give you a luxurious booth straight out of the Orient Express. Some dishes are not so tasty but if you go for your favourites you will love them. Awesome atmosphere and fast service from the youthful waiters. No more Lowenbrau on tap so that's a shame and waiting for 2 hours is not fun just to get a table but take your friends there for a bit of fun and very cheap dishes.

Sunday, November 14, 2010
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9

Sushi Hiro

This place looks like a funeral service. A dead atmosphere. Staff are cold and emotionless. But the sushi is the most authentic you will ever eat in London and the freshest as well as the cheapest so if it has closed down, it is a real tragedy because Atariya is a chain and they go for high class style and fusion over substance. Nowhere better for real sushi in London.

Sunday, November 14, 2010
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 9

Fitou's Thai Restaurant

I have been going to this place for a decade when it was a greasy spoon and you couldn't spend more than a tenna even if you tried. The management at the time were incredible and the owner a real eccentric suave Malaysian fellow. Staff were volunteers who enjoyed the ethos of helping out a real gem of a place. It really was London's best kept secret with the head chef making authentic Thai cuisine that was straight out of Thailand and ingredients really did and still do come directly from there. They even sponsored our catering for an event on one occasion and would allow us to bring our bikes out back. I'd even get invited for a traditional Sunday lunch. Then the BBC heard about it down the road and came in their drones. Expansion got the better of the place and prices went up, service went down and attention to detail fell by the wayside. If anyone thinks this place is amazing, then they should have visited a few years back. Perhaps British diners are not used to high quality service and open house hospitality - we are a cold bunch! Visit Japan and you'll know what I mean or even Pakistan for that matter where people you never met who are extremely poor will show you hospitality by inviting you to eat food they have cooked for their family. So staff look like they want to count the cash and go home, food arrives late and a snobby English manager likes to show off his Thai and insult a few customers. he belongs in the army rather than a restaurant. Gone are the days when you could get the chef to make something not on the menu. If you ask for such a dish, the staff stare at you with a puzzled look. It really was London's best kept secret. Not anymore. The food is still great because the chef - when she's there - is an incredible woman.

Sunday, November 14, 2010
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 5

Miran Masala

This is the best Pakistani restaurant by far! The prices at buffet are unbeatable, the service second to none. You can give your baby to the staff and they would look after them. They cook food at your request, always willing to add or take out ingredients to your satisfaction. Every person I have taken to this heavenly restaurant has left feeling like they have eaten at a king's palace. The owner is a calm man of great integrity and the chefs are a lively group of culinary experts. They have some unique dishes that are well known in Pakistan but not available on most UK restaurants' menus. Nothing really compares. You feel relaxed when you come here and they even negotiate the prices as if you are bartering in a market. This place is an experience never to be forgotten. The place is also kept very clean.

Sunday, November 14, 2010
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10

Fez Restaurant

The decor was splendid and the staff most accommodating and attentive. They regularly checked how we were getting on and went far enough as to explain each dish and their own history. The food was delicious and reasonably priced. They were also helpful with our baby. They are conveniently located near the Hammersmith tube station unlike, say, Azou which claims to be in Hammersmith but is actually all the way in Stamford Brook! I thoroughly recommend this place as the real deal Moroccan restaurant.

Sunday, November 14, 2010
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 5