All reader reviews by Gethin

del Parc

There's something odd about Junction Road. A rather ropey road connecting Archway and Tufnell Park contains the excellent (if a little erratic) St John's and this little gem.

Went on a whim with friends who, despite living nearby, had also never been there and had a fantastic meal. Whilst you could label this as a Tapas restaurant, there's actually a big North African influence on the food - in much the same way as Moro.

The restaurant seats around 30 and has only (what I presume is) the owner and the chef staffing it. Because of the nature of the food this means you get your dishes in a steady stream rather than all at once - and makes for a nice leisurely meal.

Highlights included delicately spiced lamb meatballs with yogurt and pomegranate, duck with chorizo in a sherry sauce and chilli king prawns. The bread served at the start was fresh from the oven served with a high quality olive oil.

Only "misses" during the evening were the spanish "cider" and the Fallafel which were a little too stodgy.

Meal for three came to a very reasonable £76 which included 9 dishes and a couple of drinks each

Sunday, June 22, 2008
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 9

Kyoto

To counter my review from a couple of weeks ago, went in tonight with a couple of friends and the experience was completely different

We arrived at 18.50 and were clear that we needed to be in and out within an hour. Unfortunately a different sushi chef was on and they just couldn't cope with the volume

Our two friends got what they ordered but out of two sets of Maki and one sushi selection that we ordered to share - only the soft shell crab maki showed up. Even on that the avocado wasn't ripe.

To be fair they gave us two small free dishes that we hadn't ordered - but I couldn't understand why they made them instead of just making what we asked for. In the end we had to leave just as the platter showed up - an hour after ordering it.

A huge disappointment after last time.

Thursday, June 05, 2008
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5

Kyoto

Believe the hype! We'd never been to Kyoto before but paid a visit on the strength of the reviews on this site. Very glad we did as it was one of the best Sushi meals we've had in London

First up was a selection plate. Sitting near the kitchen we could see the chef preparing it and it was obvious that there was a huge amount of skill and care going into the preparation. We were given a beautifully presented plate of Salmon, tuna, prawn, mackerel, see eel & tamago nigiri and crispy salmon maki. It got demolished very quickly.

We followed this with a Soft Shell Crab and a King Prawn maki. They were huge - almost too big for my mouth (which is an achievement in itself!) - but once again fantastic quality.

This is a world away in quality from what you get at chain restaurants - the price however is very similar. £40 for the above plus 2 large beers and tip.

We were in a bit of a rush this time. I'm looking forward to going back when we can spend a bit of time exploring the menu. My wife is a recent convert to sushi and she raved about it - so they're definitely doing something right. A real gem in central London

Saturday, May 24, 2008
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 9

Little Bay (Belsize Rd)

If you're judging a restaurant solely on the quality of the food and value for money then Little Bay would score very highly. Unfortunately it has a couple of big issues that really let it down.

The food itself is well executed, tasty and very cheap. We ate here recently with 3 adults and 2 kids – and two courses plus two bottles of wine came to only £80.

The food is mainly French influenced with a good selection of seafood and vegetarian options. Starters of Crab with Avocado Salsa, Parson’s Pastry (Filo pastry filled with Smoked Chicken in a Tomato sauce) and Moules Mariniere were excellent. Rib eye steak and duck for mains were good but over sauced.

The main reason that we didn’t stay for desert is that we were sat in one of the funky looking upstairs alcoves. What looks like a great novelty idea, especially if you’ve got kids with you, ruined the meal as it gets unbearably hot up there. Only when we asked to be moved did they turn the air conditioning on which made it slightly less uncomfortable.

Only after getting the bill did were we told that they don’t take cards – it’s cash or cheque only. This was rather embarrassing and resulted in an unexpected trip to Kilburn High Road to get some cash out. Putting a notice on the window alerting customers to this would have saved a lot of hassle.

So in summary, decent cheap meal if you’re in the area – just don’t sit upstairs and bring cash.

Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 7

Sabor

There's a lot to like about Sabor; great cocktails, a decent wine list (mainly based round Spain, Chile & Argentina), bright decor and a kitchen that uses quality ingredients and isn't afraid to experiment with South American favourites.

Unfortunately my overriding memory was that the food was just too salty - even the home-made bread. I'm not one of these people that hates the use of salt in food but this was a little OTT and took the edge off what could have been a great meal.

That aside, highlights were one of the nicest Mojitos I've ever had, my starter of Empanadas de Cordero (Lamb pasties with a spicy, minty relish) and my wife's sorbets - made using South American fruits. Will definitely be giving Sabor another try - in the hope that the salt thing was a one off.

Sunday, May 27, 2007
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7

La Tasca (Docklands)

Terrible.

Slow service, overstretched waiting staff, bland unauthentic tapas. Was very glad I wasn't paying for this one.

Saturday, May 26, 2007
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 2

Gem restaurant

When I say Gem's a glorified kebab house it's not meant as a bad thing. The great tasting food here is simple - but cooked with care and sold at exceptional prices.

Visited for the first time in a while this weekend and was pleased to discover it's been given a bit of a make-over. There are still the rather eccentric Kurdish farming tools on the walls and ceilings, but new furnishings and a lighter coat of paint makes the whole place look smarter, bigger and brighter.

Even though the decor has changed, the quality of food coming out of the kitchen hasn't changed. We shared Meze (the plate for 1 is plenty for 2 people) and the world's best Feta with melon to start, then followed that with a lamb stew and kebabs that follow live up to the same high standards - the chilli sauce is perfect, a nice bit of heat that doesn't ruin your tastebuds.

There's also some nice surprises - both of which are free - Qatame (filled Kurdish flatbreads made fresh in front of you) when you arrive and then Balclava with Ice Cream for desert.

Cost of all this? 3 courses for 2 came to £42 which included a tip and a £15 bottle of wine. Great value & great food. Well worth a visit

Sunday, May 13, 2007
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10

S&M Cafe (Islington)

We’d been meaning to visit the S&M Café for ages but never got round to in until recently. Unfortunately, what could be an excellent pit stop really lets itself down with the quality of its ingredients.

You’d expect the sausages to be really high quality but we found them, and the rest of the meal, to be bland. Put it this way, I found it very difficult to tell the difference between a Cumberland sausage and one with pork and cider. The pork, celery and stilton was similarly tasteless – with hardly a trace of cheese in it. You’d find better sausages in any decent butcher, even supermarket “premium” sausages compare favourably.

It’s not even that cheap, we both had 3 sausages and mash, a side (the mushy peas were excellent to be fair) and a glass of wine, which came to almost £30 with service. S&M Café was a huge disappointment - next time we want sausages we’re staying in!

Monday, January 08, 2007
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 2

Spices

If the standard of the food & service we had from a take away last night is any indication, we’ll be calling in to the restaurant for a meal soon.

I used to use Spices ages ago and remember it being good, but with my wife not being a huge Indian food fan I’d managed to lose their menu. Being in the mood for an Indian I decided to call them up anyway.

The guy I spoke to couldn’t have been more helpful – I described the dish I used to usually order and he remembered it. Unfortunately it wasn’t on their new menu but he said they’d make one for me anyway. He then spoke to my wife and described a few dishes from the menu that he thought she’d like.

Food arrived within 40 minutes and was absolutely delicious. I’m a big fan of well flavoured Indian Food rather than stuff that blows your head off – and that’s exactly what we got. Even my wife was impressed and that takes some doing with Indian

Helpful service, well priced good quality food – and you can even see the menu and order online A big thumbs up from us….

Friday, December 08, 2006
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9