All reader reviews by FoodJunkie

Ishtar

Fabulous in every way! I went to Ishtar last week with my husband with our 50% off voucher in tow, and let me say...our expectations were very much exceeded!

For one, the atmosphere is very sweet...romantic even, with tea light candles, and neautral coloured decor. It is not your typical Turkish restaurant, as many put the emphasis on the food, and not too much else (from my experience). Even the cutlery was gorgeous!

The food was presented lovely - and tasted divine also. We got the mixed meze for an appetiser, and although we needed to order extra bread, our order came in about two minutes! For a main, I got the lamb iskender - which was presented differently to any other Turkish restaurant I have been to, using real lamb pieces rather than cheap doner slices. It tasted lovely! My husband ordered the Mixed grill and thoroughly enjoyed his also.

For dessert, I got baklava which was one of the nicest I have ever tasted! My husband got the apple pastry dish which was lovely...and quite a decent size too!

Overall a brilliant feed, and at 50% off (food only)... it made the experience even more enjorable! Highly recommended for a quite night out....and on a side note, take a trip down to their toilets and you will discover a hidden gem: their function room in the basement, light up like Aladdin caves!! (very impressive!)

Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10

Tinseltown

I agree with many of the other points made earlier. The food isn't Michelin star quality, but basically for us Muslims it is a trade-off really. Yes the burgers may not be as tasty and gourmet as some non-Halal establishments, but considering they are halal, Muslims continue to go there as there aren't too many alternatives. The young fun atmosphere, as well as the milkshakes (Oreo is best!) seem to make it all worthwhile. The service isn't great, that indeed is true, but I find management more than pleasant if you have some sort of a query to raise.

Plus - when it's someone's birthday and they have a dedicated Tinseltown video clip on display, as tacky as it is, there is something fun about it too.

And to answer the review earlier regarding having their burgers "rare", "medium/rare" etc, the reason all burgers are "well done" here is because they're for Muslims the meat cannot contain blood in it. Everything has to be well cooked. So if you are after a choice in how you want your meat cooked, I would certainly not choose a halal establishment!

Thursday, August 28, 2008
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8

Ten Ten Tei

Good value for value restaurant, sushi/sashimi tastes great and obviously extremely fresh, but I thought our rice dish was VERY bland indeed. We got rice with prawn tempura. A definite no, no.

As described, the decor is not great, but that's fine as we read the reviews online and knew what to expect.

Very authentic tasting Japanese food, with Japanese customers!

Friday, July 18, 2008
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 6