All reader reviews by Pdotie

The Reading Room at Claridge's

Afternoon tea - fabulous surroundings, great tea selection, but the cakes were throughly disappointing.

My wife is a big fan of afternoon tea, and has eaten at a few of the famous places in London. We booked into Claridges to kick off our pre-honeymoon!

the Sandwiches were nice, they brought two trays. Ham and orange mayonaise; cream cheese and cucumber, poached salmon, egg and cress and chicken were on offer.

Scones were delicious. We were given two plain scones, and two apple scones, with clotted cream and a tea-infused preserve.

Cakes were the disappointment. One plate of four desserts between two people is not exactly great. One was a shot-glass filled with some very bitter berries and a little jelly - how underwhelming. One was a mini-chocolate tort filled with some kind of blackberry jelly. the chocolate was so bitter, but the blackcurrant syrup so sweet that the concoction was actually unpleasant. The mini-lemon drizzle was ok, as was the mini fruit-custard tart.

All in all, for £90 including a glass of champagne each, plus service, it was ok. Nice for the occasion, but from what I have heard, the Ritz just brings a tea tray of cakes and you help yourself - thats what I imagined afternoon tea to be like.

Thursday, August 26, 2010
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7

L'Autre Pied

Whilst I can understand the gripes of some of the more negative reviewers on here, I do feel that they are being a little harsh on L'Autre Pied.

I ate here with my wife on their Summer menu, which was great value at five courses for £21. Regarding the comments of small portions, if you want a mound of food that will fill you for hours, go to Dominos and order a large pizza - that should do the trick, and if it doesn't go seek some help.

Good food is not about eating so much you need to undo the top button. The flavours in some of the dishes at L'autre Pied are intense, because thats the way they are supposed to be!

Our starter was delicately cured salmon, served with a poached quails egg. No overpowering flavours there, just right.

The next course was chilled carrot and ginger soup - an intense deep flavour, served in a small portion simply because doling it out by the ladleful would simply be overpowering.

Entreé was poussin, cooked well, with a delicious taragon jus. Delicious!

After that, there was a Meadow Sweet and Mint Granita which was fresh, and did cleanse the palatte.

Finally, the chocolate mousse was deliciously deep and chocolatey. Velvet smooth and a portion size just right to finish off the meal.

This was accompanied by a reasonably priced white Beaujolais, which was attentively poured by the wine waiter through out our meal.

The staff were well worth their 12.5% service charge, (which I was pleased to see was not compounded with VAT - a small bugbear of mine) and the maitre d' was delightful.

All in all, excellent value for good quality food. I have paid a lot more for meals I would rather forget, but this was one to remember.

Thursday, August 26, 2010
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 9

Maroush Gardens

Expensive for what it is, the same standard food is available elsewhere on Edgware Road for less.

Maroush Gardens is owned by the same group who operate the Beiruit express down the street, and the standard of food is identical. Whilst I can not actually fault the food, I think it is poor value considering this fact.The environment is plush but it is hard to see that justifying the price hike.

The set menus offer a good selection of lebanese fare, the usual staples are there, from houmus, moutabal, tabouleh and falaffel, through to the hot main courses of shish taouk and shwarama.

Save yourself a few quid and go over the road.

Thursday, August 26, 2010
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 3

Ed's Easy Diner (Euston)

Barely average. Given the price differential I would rather eat at McDonalds.

I opted for the equivalent of an extra-value meal: The fries were just chips, not french fries which I would have prefered (and expected) with a burger. They are bog standard chilled fries, and on their website they are advertised as being made from fresh Dutch potatoes - great, having worked in the food industry in the past this just means mass-produced average, bland chips. Anyone reading their website would think there was barely a potato in the country for chipping!

The burger was ok, plus points included a proper (slightly sweet) sesame seeded bun, and the burger itself was ok, but I asked for medium rare, and it came, medium well. Bad points - there was the most meagre amount of pickled gherkin on it (one little piece about the size of a pound coin. The cheddar cheese was not really melted, one single little ring of onion on the burger was a little disappointing

The coleslaw - again, average, whilst it may have been made on site, I very much doubt it. It tasted like the same stuff you can get in the deli counter at the supermarket, and so if it was homemade, they really need to sort out hte recipe! However, it is usually easy to identify home-made coleslaw.

Finally, the onion rings were ok, nothing special, but not bad either.

All-in-all I felt underwhelmed, and for the 8.75 this cost me without a drink, I feel like I would have been better off in McDonalds!

One final word about the staff, the guy at the till who served me was abrupt and rude. When he took payment, he did not give me a receipt, and when I said "you did not give me a receipt" his reply was "did you ask for a receipt?" I could only stand there and say "no" I was taken aback by this retort.

Thursday, August 26, 2010
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 2

Mai Sushi

I have eaten in and had takeaway from MAI several times and every time it has been excellent. Whilst it is not very big, the compact size allows the sushi chefs to actually make up each order, rather than having prepared sushi sitting round for a while going stale.

The fish has always been fresh, the fried squid tentacles are delicious, the rice is nice and soft, and tends to be served at room temperature, not fridge-cold like many of the take-away sushi places popping up in London such as Samurai, Wasabi and Itsu.

The staff are friendly, and the menu is comprehensive whilst not being overly complex. The Chef Set menus are changed regularly, and whilst you will always have salmon and tuna the others all vary. The scollop nigiri and the alaska rolls are some of the best sushi I have ever eaten.

Recommended for all those who like real sushi, and not the mass-market stuff being churned out by others

Thursday, August 26, 2010
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9

Karaam Restaurant

Visited a couple of weeks ago on the spur of the moment. Having eaten here once before, I was expecting good things, and yet again, I was not disappointed.

We had a series of mixed starters followed by chicken and lamb dishes. At the end of it we were completely stuffed. The salads are deliciously fresh, the meat is tender and the portion sizes generous.

We were there on a saturday night and the place was packed. The service despite the crowd was attentive and helpful.

I am leaving Ealing in 6 months and this is one place I will definately miss.

At about £20-25 per person incl wine it is a bargain

Thursday, February 21, 2008
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10

The Weir Bar & Dining Room

I used to work in Brentford and had visited the Weir on several occasions but never eaten in the dining room till last Saturday. I have to say it was reasonably good if a little expensive. I visited with my Girlfriend and three friends.

Disappointingly our (three of us) choice of starter was not available, but my second choice of potato and chorizo salad was tasty. Myself and GF had the Chateaubriand which was cooked to perfection. The chips left a little to be desired however - I am tired of getting "chunky chips" which are little more than big soggy bits of spud. The Spinach we had as a side was delicious. For dessert, I had a taste of the GF's Baileys Creme Brulee. While I am not a fan of that particular dessert (creme brulee), I have to say I would order that for myself if I visited again.

The winelist was a nicely balanced between new and old world wines, with a few light French reds there for me, and plent of full flavoured Cab Sauvs for the others on the table. All in all, somewhere I would go back to but not straight away.

Very quiet for a saturday night though. Only about four other tables full at peak 8pm

Thursday, February 21, 2008
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5

Bosphorus Kebabs

Was craving a good quality quick snack last night and I could not decide between Tacos or Kebab.

Came on to the trusty London-Eating to see what I could find, and it threw up this gem of an establishment. I had a mixed grill and it was fantastic. I dont think I have ever tasted donner meat quite like that! The various meats were all cooked to perfection, and the salad and sauce were both fresh and plentiful.

Definately one for the future again, and given the range of different kebabs on offer, there is plenty of milage left in here. South Ken is a slight detour for me on the way home from the City to Ealing, but is definately worth the effort.

Thursday, August 02, 2007
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10