All reader reviews by SS

Haven Bistro & Bar

Decent spot in outer north London - perfect for getting together with friends.

Nice touches such as good bread and butter served when you sit down and efficient service.

Food is decent although can be a bit heavy.

Monday, March 21, 2011
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7

Tai Pan

I love this place and have been coming here for years. The vegetarian menu is much more inventive than standard chinese restaurants. However you do have to know what to order to get the best dishes.

Ones I'd recommend from - salt and pepper broccoli, lettuce wraps, sea spiced aubergine, crispy chilli asparagus (as a starter), the spice vegetable dumplings and the black bean.

It can be expensive if you go for the set menus + drinks for a local restaurant but I think the quality of cooking is superior to most local restaurants and worth the price

Carnivorous friends rave about the duck.

Monday, March 21, 2011
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7

Bluebird Restaurant

I went last week with a group of friends for the mid-week 2 course for £20 menu. Loved the decor of the place, not an easy task to make such a large space feel warm and inviting.

Service was excellent. Food wasn't bad and portion sizes were bigger than we expected them to be.

My main criticism is that the wine list was pretty expensive, whilst not unexpected I thought there would be a better choice for more reasonably priced bottles and glasses.

Definitely would go back for the deal.

Monday, March 21, 2011
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8

Spuntino

Having been in love with Polpo I was looking forward to going to Spuntino for lunch as soon as I heard it was opening.

The place was packed when I arrived but I was immediately seated at the bar by the waiter.

Tap water in a bottle immediately arrived with a complimentary portion of cayenne popcorn. The venue feels very lower east side and the American vibe is apparent from the style of service right through the menu.

I ordered the zucchini, chilli and mint pizzetta. Echoes of Polpo are apparent in the cooking. The pizzetta was light and crispy, a bit more chilli would have worked even better. A side of shoestring fries weren't bad, could have been a bit more crisp. The revelation was a complimentary side of aubergine chipsticks - aubergines in a crunchy fried outer with sesame seeds and a fennel seed yoghurt. This is a dish to go back for again and again and again.

Service was friendly and efficient.

Total came to £10 including service so not an everyday lunch place but a treat and perfect for dinner.

I didn't have wine, but the list looked good. Shame most on the list are Italian wines and not American.

Saturday, March 19, 2011
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9

Andrew Edmunds

If coming here for dinner you have to be prepared to sit on sometimes wobbly tables packed tightly together and not be able to see what the menu is like. Planner-types beware!

The wine list is truly great and reasonably priced to boot.

The food is always very good and their desserts are decadent. Raviolini was well made, thin pasta with tasty filling and fresh rocket and pine nut sauce. Lemon tart was just as it should be - short, buttery pastry, creamy citrus sharp and sweet lemon and accompanied by creme fraiche.

Monday, August 09, 2010
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8

Ziloufs

Usually come here to meet friends for drinks in the bar area but decided to have dinner here this time too.

Food was lovely - fresh and vibrant. Only gripes were not enough vegetarian options and they could have used more chilli in the dishes.

As always excellent atmosphere too. Love this place

Monday, August 09, 2010
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7

Polpo

I wasn't sure about going here initially as I wasn't sure it could live up to the hype.

However it is really good. The place was full on a Monday night, menu is appealing and varied, service assured, food delicious and prices are reasonable.

Stand out dishes for our table were the fennel salad, meat platter and the pizza broad bean and mint bruschetta; but every single thing we ordered was really good - excellent.

Even though the restaurant was really busy, service was unhurried and we were able to linger over the meal, another major plus point.

Definitely will be returning again!

Monday, August 09, 2010
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9

Clifton Restaurant

Went to Clifton last night as Tayyabs was too full and when we walked past it was busy and we thought rather than go to ones we knew it would be good to try somewhere different. If only we'd stuck with the original plan!

Aside from excellent naan breads and the masaldar dahl food was mediocre to satisfactory at best

Service was abysmal. Too slow and when it arrived rather inept.

At the end of the meal we were paying by card and the waiter asked about tips and whether we'd put them on card or cash. We said probably card and he stated that he'd prefer cash and proceeded to wait till we took some cash out! I prompted him to get on with processing our card transaction and even after this he waited at the table for us to get a cash tip together. Shame for him we'd already decided against leaving anything as service so awful (this is something I rarely would do but it was really dreadfu)

Monday, August 09, 2010
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5

Dishoom

When I heard a new Bombay style cafe had opened up in town my mind was filled with happy memories of Channa Bathura at Cream Centre, Sagars in Juhu and of course Leopalds for the ambience. Memories seen through rose-tinted glasses are often that hardest to live up to.

In most areas Dishoom doesn't disappoint. The venue is well designed and the atmosphere buzzy. My one gripe - some of the tables are too close to each other.

Food-wise the menu isn't extensive but what there is a decent range of dishes to choose from. Chilli cheese toast is exactly as to should be, gooey and spicy and the bread infinitely better than expected. Pau Bhaji and the daal both live up to their expectations too. Dishes however came out too fast and in no particular order thus we were left with a rapidly cooling roti whilst still waiting for the curry that it was meant to accompany to arrive.

Service was brisk but friendly.

A great place for an informal dinner, snacks or even pre-theatre.

A few classic Bombay dishes weren't on the menu - especially the Bombay Sandwich and Dabeli - hopefully they'll have a changing menu and these will appear soon.

Monday, August 09, 2010
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9

Eriki

Visited for New Years Eve and was pleasantly surprised that they managed to keep up such a good level of service and food even on such a busy evening.

The special menu was reasonably priced and they included some dishes not on the normal menu.

Good food that was not greasy at all although a couple of the dishes were too hot for even my indian palate!

The restaurant itself is buzzy and well laid out. The service was charming, accommodating and efficient.

I think you can eat better indian food at some of the cheaper indian clubs/pubs in Harrow or Wembley (think 5 Hot Chillies or Regency). However Eriki excels at providing a more refined dining experience along the lines of more expensive West End indian restaurants.

All in all a local gem.

Sunday, January 10, 2010
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7

3 Oceans Restaurant

Ate here last week with the family and food was overall was good. Masala mogo starter and the sarson ki saag curry in particular stood out and I would go back for these two dishes alone. Dal makhani was just OK and breads weren't bad.

Generous portions and reasonably priced.

Shame that the service was slow and uninterested despite the restaurant not being at all busy, it's not as if the waiter had much else to do.

Sunday, January 10, 2010
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 7

Lemonia

I visited Lemonia again recently for a girlie catch up meal with close friends, chosen because it was local and the first time I went I loved the ambience.

Service was as always fantastic; we were made welcome and even though some of the party were running late due to train problems we were never rushed to order.

The mezze are overall very good, especially the smoky aubergine dip and the halloumi. Pitta breads aren't as good as expected considering these have to be paid for separately and not provided with mezze automatically.

Mains aren't bad. Decent wine list, especially some of the greek wines.

Overall I agree with one of the previous reviewers - food at Lemonia is decent and the reason people come back is for the overall service and ambience.

Sunday, January 10, 2010
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8

Cinnamon Kitchen

My friend and I dined here last night on the London restaurant week special menu, which turned out to be a shortened version of the a la carte one. The bar was busy when we arrived and looked fun, the space is interesting - very New York actually, although I think the room is a bit too big so you can feel a bit lost in the space.

Cocktails were expertly made with some interesting indian twists on classics such as the cinnamon cosmopolitan.

Food overall was delicious. The starter of paneer stuffed in giant chilli was lovely, especially the fresh tasting mint chutney accompaniment. Our other starter of aloo tikki (pea and potato cakes) were OK but I wasn't blown away and it's not something I'd be in a rush to try again. Mains were good, we ordered a bread basket as accompaniment but found this wasn't really necessary as they were filling enough and already came with sides. Sorbets for dessert were a cut above - fresh tasting and a perfect end to the meal.

Service was great, attentive but not intrusive. The manager made a point of making sure we were satisfied with the meal and was seen to muck in with other staff and the head chef also did a tour of the tables. They even gave us free champagne when we had to move tables!

My one complaint is that the menu is solely in english and it would be good to have the indian names of dishes on the menu too

Overall a great experience I would definitely recommend to others.

Friday, March 27, 2009
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8

Almeida

Had dinner at Almeida on Tuesday night and it was pretty good overall.

The menu is good, if you ask they have a separate vegetarian menu which for french place is great.

Starters we had pumpkin and chestnut soup which was lovely - thick and creamy and well seasoned. For mains a risotto and again good food, larger portion then I expected, make sure you save room for dessert, one of the best creme brulees I've had in a long time.

Service was attentive, if a little absentminded and no salt or pepper on the tables. A lot of the wines on the wine list were unavailable which was annoying.

Thursday, January 01, 2009
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 7

Gordon Ramsay's Boxwood Cafe

Just had lunch here and it was lovely. Being vegetarian I've always shied away from Ramsay restaurants as generally we're not well catered for at his places but at Boxwood I was spoilt for choice. In fact my two meat-eating companions also ended up ordering veggie options as they sounded so good!

Stand out dishes were the leek and pea tart which was light and crisp and the chocolate fondue.

Service was generally good but could have been a little more refined e.g. they kept forgetting to top up our water and wine. However they were more than happy to let us sit for as long as we wished and did not rush us once even though by the time we left the restaurant had closed.

Overall I would definitely recommend this place and would visit again

The set lunch menu is a very good deal however we ordered a la carte and it was expensive, but I think for dinner the price we paid (£55 per person including 3 courses, service, cocktail and wine) worth it

Monday, December 29, 2008
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7

Sabor

Had a great night out here recently, the two standout points being the cocktails and service.

Decent food too with ample choice for vegetarians, we found the portions were good sizes too and the mango with chilli dessert especially yummy

overall a great place to go with friends and to make a night of it.

The only drawback was that the shape of the room is long and thin so you do feel a bit like being in a latino themed train carriage!

Monday, December 29, 2008
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8