All reader reviews by Anonymous

Tate Modern Restaurant

This place was a lot better than I expected. Instead of the over-priced tourist trip it could have been, the food was pretty good and not bad value. We were there for a late weekend lunch and had to wait 20 mins for a table - not much of a hardship since there was a wide range of wines available by the glass at the (admittedly very crowded) bar. We then lucked out with a window table so ate lunch with an incredible view. From the light lunch menu available late afternoon we had a great mezze plate, with fantastic pepper and beetroot purees; very good quality mussels in a lovely creamy sauce and excellent chips. Puds were not quite as good as mains but cheesecake and bakewell tart were perfectly decent. Service was very friendly. Prices are hiked up at dinner, but better value at lunchtime.

Sunday, January 25, 2009
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8

Anchor & Hope

Had a much better meal here than many of the reviewers on this site. Showed up about 7:30 on a Tuesday night and were told we'd wait an hour - but were seated before we were halfway down our carafe of wine. The food was excellent - skate on lentils with herbs was a big chunk of fish with lovely, flavoursome lentils; potato and ardrahan (cheese) pie was also very tasty. Of the puds, the buttermilk pudding was so spectacularly good I've tracked down a recipe for it and will be trying to make it this weekend. The details were also spot on - the bread was delicious and fresh (and not charged extra for!); the salad leaves with the pie were beautifully dressed; and the service was efficient and friendly.

One small moan - the heating was apparently turned off since all the radiators (and so the room itself!) were cold. It may be lovely and warm in the kitchen, guys, but spare a thought for your poor customers shivering at their tables when it's minus several degrees outside!

Thursday, January 08, 2009
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8

Great Queen Street

Lovely. Went here for a spontaneous Tuesday night dinner and was very impressed. The place is popular - there were only seats at the bar available at 7pm on a wet and windy January Tuesday. The menu is short - so short we didn't fancy the mains (not as finnicky as it sounds since we don't eat meat - carnivores are well-served here), and had starters and sides instead. Which I don't have a problem with - much prefer places that do a few things well than a large number of things badly. And they do do the food well here. Smoked mackerel with beetroot and horseradish was fabulous - it came as a chunk of fish, backbone included, rather than a fillet, and was much less greasy and the smoking more subtle than is usual with mackerel. Crab on toast perhaps didn't hit the heights of the mackerel but was still a very tasty plateful, and both portions were substantial for starters (the menu doesn't in fact distinguish between starters and mains, so these might be have 'light bites' rather than starters). Sides of mash, with a hint of nutmeg, and greens, buttery and tender, were also very good. Despite not having mains, we were too full to manage a pud each and shared a muscat custard caramel - a slightly boozy creme caramel. I'm not usually drawn to creme caramel on a menu but if they were all as good as this one I might change my mind. Service was polite and efficient, they'd turned the heating up enough for January (which SO many restaurants don't do!), so overall we left very happy and will undoubtedly return - though will take the precaution of booking next time.

Thursday, January 17, 2008
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10

Theo Randall

Not wholly impressed by this place. Some of the food was great, some was just so-so. Starters of smoked eel and squash ravioli were good, but mains were really disappointing - dover sole was just OK, and the frittata wasn't any better than one we could have knocked up at home. What rescued the evening, at least for me, was the soft chocolate cake - absolutely amazing, so good it made it into my all-time top 3 desserts! Unfortunately my partner wasn't so happy with his pannacotta - which came with prunes instead of the advertised raspberries (and he's not a prune fan...). Given the rave reviews this place has had I wonder if perhaps it's one of those places where you need to eat a la carte, rather than on the toptable deal we were on.

Sunday, September 30, 2007
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 5

Galvin at Windows

Fabulous place. Much more intimate than I expected, with absolutely fantastic views. Food ranged from good to amazing. The highlights were a perfectly cooked sea trout starter, and the mains of scrumptious cod with a superb salsa verde and the best risotto I've ever eaten (pea and parmesan - but so much better than that sounds). Desserts a little disappointing after the mains (though one did include a gorgeous honey ice cream), but the plates of luscious petit fours we were given after the meal made up for this. Service utterly delightful. Certainly not cheap, but not bad value on a toptable offer. Perfect for a special occasion meal.

Friday, August 31, 2007
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7

Inside

Confess to feeling a bit disappointed by Inside. Greenwich badly needs a decent local restaurant with good food at reasonable prcies. Given the enthusiasm of many of the reviews I thought Inside might be it. Unfortunately not. The food on the whole is by no means bad - nicoise salad followed by potato and pea somosa were perfectly pleasant, but not spectacular (and the chef tries a bit too hard with the fancy presentation of dishes). But I would steer clear of dessert. The white chocolate and passionfruit cheesecake was frankly a disappointment - somehow managed not to taste of anything much despite two such strongly flavoured ingredients! Perhaps the biggest complaint though is the cost - these prices are simply too high for a local restaurant that doesn't serve spectacular food. (This may be a minority view, however, as the place was packed out on a Thursday night - which may say more about lack of alternative quality restaurants in Greenwich than about Inside...)

Saturday, August 12, 2006
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 3