All reader reviews by Belen

Salvador & Amanda (Bloomsbury)

I came here on a Saturday night with some friends and had a total blast. I am a huge Dali fan so loved the decor with some fantastic photos and prints to look at. The staff were incredibly friendly and attentive, they made us feel so welcome. The rosemary and mango mojitos were superb, went down far too easily! We tried a few other cocktails, all of them yummy but the unusual mojito and the Passion Fruit and Valencia Mandarin Mule were definitely my favourites. As for food, well being Spanish I often laugh at what some restaurants insultingly call tapas but I was not disappointed. The tapas here are really mouth wateringly good, really scrumptious and of superb quality. We had a delightful array of tapas including pimientos de padron, cured hams, manchego cheese, wild mushrooms, black rice with squid & prawns, baby squid, albondigas, chorizo lollypops. All of it was cooked to perfection and was wolfed down with much gusto. As it was a Saturday night they had a DJ playing and we ended up staying until 3am dancing and drinking with a very friendly crowd. We left tired and very happy indeed and will certainly return to this cool hangout. Forget cheap imitations of Spanish tapas, this is the place to be at.

Sunday, April 21, 2013
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8

Bread Street Kitchen

I attended Bread Street Kitchen on a Friday lunchtime for a business lunch. On entering I was greeted with big smiles by the welcoming staff and taken upstairs to my table. The restaurant was packed, every table was full so I was glad I had booked.

I was expecting great things as it's a Gordon Ramsay restaurant and I wasn't disappointed. The wine list was great, they had some superb choices and it was difficult to choose. The artisan bread was superb and the food was what you would expect from a place like this - absolutely delicious! I went for the baked scallops with salsify puree and treacle bacon which were cooked to perfection and simply divine. For mains I had steamed sea bream, braised spring leeks, brown shrimp with shellfish dressing... absolutely delicious and again cooked to perfection.

The service was good despite the restaurant being really busy. The only thing I disliked was the waiter asked if we would mind using the same cutlery from our starters. If I was in a little bistro I wouldn't have minded but when you are out for an expensive meal I expected better.

All in all I would say I enjoyed my experience of Bread Street Kitchen. It's not the kind of place you would go for a romantic meal but it is great for a celebratory business lunch.

Sunday, April 21, 2013
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7

The Promenade at The Dorchester

I came to the hotel with my grandma for afternoon tea and may I say it was absolutely wonderful. My grandma absolutely loved it, she felt incredibly spoilt and pampered and it really made her 90th birthday super special. We had Paris and Ceylon tea which was delicious. The sandwiches were yummy, fabulous artisan bread.. the ham one was definitely my favourite with the pesto bread and they offered more if you wanted. The scones were divine, the cream was decadently thick and the rhubarb jam was exquisite. We enjoyed the little cakes too; pina colada macaroon, peanut chocolate cake, strawberry & caramel cake.... each of them delicious and it was lovely when the wonderful piano player stopped to play happy birthday to her when they brought out her little birthday cake making her cry happy tears (he played so well & some fantastic songs).

My grandma is dying of bone marrow cancer and this will probably be the last birthday she has. The Dorchester Hotel took special care of us and made us feel so looked after. Our waiter Tim was fantastic; so friendly, charming and attentive.

I would highly recommend the Dorchester Hotel. Yes it's expensive but it's a small price to pay for delicious afternoon tea in such a beautiful setting. It was a truly wonderful experience.

Monday, March 11, 2013
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9

Piccolino (Heddon St)

A fab restaurant & quickly becoming one of my favourite places to dine in the West End. Recently refurbished, it is a lovely place with a great menu & cheerful, attentive waiters. I've been twice for business lunches & was impressed by the quality of food. The home made ravioli was divine, amazing flavours bursting through. It's very rare to find great home made ravioli outside of Italy but this roast butternut squash, amaretti biscuits, hazelnuts & sage delight was mouthwateringly delicious. I've also had Spiedini di pesce with scallops, king prawns & swordfish skewers marinated in oregano, chilli & lemon which were heavenly! I highly recommend this place, there is no doubt it is one of the best little Italians that doesn't cost the earth.

Saturday, June 30, 2012
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9

Galvin at Windows

Fantastic restaurant, this one ranks up there with my all time favourites. It's expensive but the expense is well worth it. The food is really so very special and the service is second to none. We were lucky to get a table with a beautiful view across London. A very special place and have completely fallen in love with it.

Saturday, June 30, 2012
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9

NOPI

Came with two girlfriends & had a fab lunch. A light & beautiful interior of marble and brass, with the sun streaming through the roof window you would think you were in Ibiza. I drank a Hendricks Punch cocktail which was lush but what was really special was the food which we shared between us. The courgettes with truffle oil cooked to perfection, roasted romano peppers with delicious almond pesto, prawns with unusual but delicious black pepper caramel, spiced fish wrapped in banana leaf with pineapple... the flavours, the freshness of the food & the presentation were all top class. Our cute waiter, a charming black guy with black glasses was really fab too. This is now one of my favourite places to dine, I can´t wait to take my friends.

Saturday, June 30, 2012
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9

Proud Cabaret

We had a storming and most fabulous night on Friday at Proud using Groupon vouchers which were £20 for 3 course dinner and show. The venue is wonderful and decadent, down the stairs lined with huge vintage mirror and candelabras into a basement decorated 1920’s style with a clear view of the stage from most the tables in the restaurant (unlike some other venues where you can barely see the stage). It was incredibly busy, the place was completely full but the staff are fantastic at whizzing around the tables and checking you are enjoying your evening and are attended. Our waitresses were lovely and looked great too in their corsets and feathers and took our order while the piano player played wonderful songs before the main show. They recommended seriously yummy mandarin martinis and a great choice of red wine and the drinks kept flowing. The drinks are not cheap but then they never are in these type of places. The food was good, not spectacular but it was nice, served promptly too and it was great to dine and be entertained at the same time, the preordering was great as meant the food arrived and you weren't later interrupted whilst watching the show. The portions are on the small side though and its not 5 star cuisine but it was tasty. We loved the show and the dancing with the DJ afterwards, this was the best part of the night and we were fortunate to have a table right next to the stage so could enjoy the action close up. The performers were fantastic including a gorgeous Elle Amour and a stunning Banbury Cross performing Marilyn Monroe inspired stripping to Diamonds are a girls best friend, amazing contortionists who blew your mind with their flexibility and beautiful performances and a wonderful compere too who was incredibly funny & who at one point pulled me up on stage to dance. The burlesque performers were not sleazy but chic and saucy, we certainly loved it! We stayed late rocking and rolling and dancing away to fantastic soul and funk music after the show. My friend had a super special birthday and we had a ball, even her sparkly cake you provided went down a treat! (this was extra but well worth it to see her face light up with joy!). They do add a 12.5% service charge which on top of the drinks does push up the bill but with the Groupon vouchers I thought this was worth it for such a different and wonderful night out.

Monday, September 12, 2011
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 7

Yauatcha

My boss had taken his wife to Yauatcha for their anniversary and had a bad experience (was kept waiting half hour for the table & sat next to a large table that increased in numbers) so he wrote in to complain. By way of a goodwill gesture the manager gave him a voucher which my boss then passed on to me as a treat. Firstly it’s not every day that a restaurant makes such a lovely gesture and secondly they did redeem themselves on my visit.

I had a late lunch there with my boyfriend 2pm on Sunday 10th April. We were sat promptly downstairs and seen to quickly, the service was attentive without being overly so. I'll admit I wasn't that impressed by the decor considering its Michelin starred and an expensive restaurant (although the fish tank along the bar was beautiful). The restaurant however redeemed itself in every other way. The cocktails were delicious, we had four different ones, and the food was absolutely delightful. We had prawn shui mai with chicken, venison puff, chicken taro croquette, fried chilli squid, seafood dumpling soup, rice paper prawn & mango roll, three style mushroom cheung fun and King crab Shanghai siew long bun. All of it was truly delicious, every bite left my taste buds tingling with delight, each dish was sublime with the flavours complimenting each other perfectly. I’ll admit that this place is expensive and not the restaurant that you go to when watching the pennies. If you wanted cheaper dim sum then Royal China or Phoenix Palace are better choices, the dim sum there is amazing too. However as a treat Yauatcha is certainly a great place to go.

Monday, April 11, 2011
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 5

Phoenix Palace

Phoenix Palace is a real gem of a place tucked away behind Baker Street, those who know it keep coming back, us included because it is such a fabulous find! We visited again yesterday for lunch and had the most wonderful dining experience : )

My boyfriend had booked a table (advisable as they get extremely busy), it was a Sunday and this place is famous for its dim sum so the place was absolutely packed. There was a queue for tables but as we had reserved ours we were promptly seated and joined the throng of diners, a buzzy atmosphere all enjoying the fantastic food on offer over 8 menus, you seriously are spoilt for choice here.

Despite the restaurant being so busy the service was quick and efficient and it came with a smile too. If you want to go to a restaurant where the waiter fusses over you then don't come here, they are very polite, take your order and leave you to it, they don't hover around your table and only reappear to bring you your order. The food arrives quickly and steaming hot. We chose to go there for their amazing dim sum which is delicious, little parcels of exquisite taste, so authentic and fresh, perfectly cooked and totally mouth watering. The flavours were divine and the taste, well, what can I say its heaven in your mouth, your taste buds will swoon with the yumminess!

I would highly recommend Phoenix Palace, go and you wont be disappointed. In fact I would go back every day if I could and I know that I wouldn’t get bored with the beautifully prepared and delicious food they have here, they have over 300 dishes to choose from there is something to suit everybody who dines there.

Monday, February 14, 2011
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8

Theo Randall

I was taken here by a good friend with 3 other friends for dinner and we had the set course for £27 a head. The restaurant was very sleek and modern and the staff very attentive, they took our coats, seated us quickly, brought our drinks and complimentary bruschetta and ciabatta whilst we waited for the other guests to arrive (they were slightly late). I liked the table layout of the restaurant plus it was calm and very intimate, the kind of place where you can talk and hear yourselves clearly. The food was very good - the devilled crab was delicious, really very yummy and delicious. I ordered a starter as a main which was the freshly made ravioli. I have to say it was the best I've had in years, it was exquisite!. The last time I had pasta that amazingly tasty was in a small tratoria in Bergamo, Italy... it was a special dish although I wish there had been more of it (they didn't seem to account for the fact I'd ordered the starter as a main). For dessert I had the chocolate cake, which was good (a bit stodgy though) and a slice so huge I couldn't finish it... a rarity for me!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7