All reader reviews by The lady that lunches
Swan at the Globe
This was my fourth visit to the Globe, and the first shock was caused by the refurbishment. The place now looks more contemporary, with design chairs and square wooden tables. No longer quaint, not really elegant.
But the food was as good as ever, and at £25 per person including mains, dessert, coffees and non-alcoholic drinks, this is still excellent value for money. The roast beef was succulent and the trout perfectly judged. The sorbets were declared very tasty, and my own honey comb ice cream was luxuriously creamy, with a full flavour. It's a pity that the chocolate terrine which it accompanied was not colder - it could happily be frozen, and I have to deplore (again) the habit of flavouring what I suspect to be poor quality (ie bitter) couverture with alcohol. It spoils it.
If I could change one thing about the Globe, i think it would be the service: perfect when you want to laze around, appaling if you want to get a move on. Manager: please get a grip! What are the front of house staff doing hiding in the kitchen?
Friday, June 22, 2007
Overall rating 
Food 7 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Baltic
I went to Baltic with a group of 10 friends on a recommendation.
The space was nice and airy (better than web picture), the service relatively quick, and the staff friendly.
My starter was pierogi - cheese and leeks filling in ravioli-shaped batter - quite tasty but not terribly sophisticated. Another diner's "slightly soggy black pudding with slightly pickled red cabbage" was rated excellent. Nice smoked eel salad, lovely roasted beetroot (if you like beetroot) with carrot crisps and sour cream.
For mains, the goulash was served out of hot Le Creuset dish, making the whole table salivate. It seems that Baltic knows how to do fish: both the hake and the sea bream received plaudits from the table. My koulibiak portion(salmon and bulgur wheat salad in pastry) was huge and tasty, as was the shashlik lamb.
We ordered side dishes of perfectly al dente courgettes and red cabagge like my grandmother used to cook it (and this is praise indeed coming from me!) However, the grated carrots dressed with an alcoholic mixture and caraway seed were promply discarded by all. I still do not know whether to blame the freshness of the vegetables or the seasonings, but the result was vile.
The evening ended with disappointment all round on the pudding side. The sour cherry and vodka ice cream didn't have the expected kick - indeed, it did not have any kick at all - and neither did the sour cherry crème brulée. Cherry yes, but where had the soureness gone?
Huge portions, nice food but not exceptional. The bill was £45 pp including aperitif and wine.
The jury is still out.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Overall rating 
Food 6 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 6
Texas Embassy Cantina
Worst food I have had in months!
I went there with 3 friends. The steak of one arrived looking like charcoal (to their credit they took it back without fuss). My cheese enchillada was filled with something orange, plastic and tasteless.
Unappetising range of desserts.
Service indifferent.
Cheap-ish, but not worth the money.
Don't go there unless desperate.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Overall rating 
Food 2 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 2
Texas Embassy Cantina
This is probably the worst food I have had in months. And the waiters are not what you'd call attentive.
Cheese enchilladas tasting (and looking) like melted plastic, unappetising desserts... One of our group of four had to send back a steak that was burnt (to their credit, the staff did not make a fuss).
Not very expensive but not worth the bother... unless you are truly desperate.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 3
Baltic
I went to Baltic with a group of 10 friends on a recommendation.
The space was nice and airy (better than web picture), the service relatively quick, and the staff friendly.
My starter was pierogi - cheese and leeks filling in ravioli-shaped batter - quite tasty but not terribly sophisticated. Another diner's "slightly soggy black pudding with slightly pickled red cabbage" was rated excellent. Nice smoked eel salad, lovely roasted beetroot (if you like beetroot) with carrot crisps and sour cream.
For mains, the goulash was served out of hot Le Creuset dish, making the whole table salivate. It seems that Baltic knows how to do fish: both the hake and the sea bream received plaudits from the table. My koulibiak portion(salmon and bulgur wheat salad in pastry) was huge and tasty, as was the shashlik lamb.
We ordered side dishes of perfectly al dente courgettes and red cabagge like my grandmother used to cook it (and this is praise indeed coming from me!) However, the grated carrots dressed with an alcoholic mixture and caraway seed were promply discarded by all. I still do not know whether to blame the freshness of the vegetables or the seasonings, but the result was vile.
The evening ended with disappointment all round on the pudding side. The sour cherry and vodka ice cream didn't have the expected kick - indeed, it did not have any kick at all - and neither did the sour cherry crème brulée. Cherry yes, but where had the soureness gone?
Huge portions, nice food but not exceptional. At £45 pp including aperitif and wine, the jury is still out.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 6
The Gate Vegetarian Restaurant
Hubby and I wanted somewehere a bit special and very vegetarian for our wedding anniversary. We spotted The Gate listed in the Guardian on world vegetarian day, and promptly checked this site out for a better feel of what other diners thought. "Worth trying out" was our conclusion, and well worth trying out it was too.
The décor is minimalist, the staff friendly and fast, there is a huge and very interesting painting of a factory workers' meeting on the wall. The floor space is quite cramped but very high ceiling and enormous window make it feel ample and airy. True, the toilets are out of keeping with the restaurant, but the smell will be quite familiar to anyone with experience of using parish church toilet s(the restaurant shares a building with a church).
For a good introduction to the chef's range, try the Meze platter as a starter. It included a gorgeous sweet and sour indian potato cake, courgette flowers in beer batter that were crispy, delicate and tasty, nice falafel (but shame about the smoky guacamole which disguised the rest of the flavours). By the time I tried the dolcelatte, pesto and courgette quiche, the spices had blunted my palate slightly - so go for that first. The Thai salad combines the bite of chilli sauce, crisp texture of baby sweetcorn, and pak choi, and the oily munchiness of peanuts. Amazing. In comparison with all this the Ceasar salad was disappointing, and suffered from unripe avocado.
Overall, the attention paid to retaining individual flavours in combinations deserves high praise, and it follows the "Gordon Ramsay rule No.3": no more than 3 or 4 are blended in any one dish.
Our mains was a creamy but oversalted risotto with beans, peas, mint and asparagus.
For dessert, we had pressed chocolate cake cake, rich but nor bitter - in other words, pretty perfect - with a tasty fruit compote and fresh red fruit (though where they came from in this season I dread to think). My husband's hazelnut creme brulee with small bits of nuts was excellent.
At £63 for two (including service but with no alcohol), this is not cheap, but the inventiveness of the menu will keep us coming back.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Overall rating 
Food 7 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Cafe des Amis
I had been to Café dea Amis for the first time in 1996, and had been underwhelmed by the food then. However, Nick's recent review on this site persuaded me to give it another go.
So I went there with a group of 9 people a few weeks ago. It did not feel cramped. The service was prompt, attentive and smiley. Some of us ordered a la carte; others took advantage of the fixed menu (£17.95 for 2 courses). The varied menu will satisfy all except non-fish eating vegetarians, for whom options are very limited.
First courses were simple affairs. My tartlet was a thin layer of flaky pastry with thin slices of tomatoes, parmesan and rocket. Nice enough, but nothing unforgettable.
The meaty main courses - lamb shank, steak and chicken leg- were all pronounced beautiful. My monkfish on a bed of spinach was slightly undercooked. Many of us could not resist trying the 'tripple-cooked chips', a very crispy version of your local chippy's fayre, first boiled, sealed in oil, and then deep fried. Good for sheer entertainment value.
Readers might be delighted to learn that the chocolate soup so highly praised by reviewers on this site is still on the menu. What is more, it fulfilled all its promises: creamy, rich, nice contrast with the vanilla and black pepper ice cream. Chocoholics heaven. Long may it remain available.
The dinner set us back £40 per person for 3 courses and drinks. Given the very central location, this is decent value for money.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Brasserie Roux
I am afraid I have to agree with the more negative end of the review spectrum.
I went to Brasserie Roux for lunch last week with a colleague, and was sorely disappointed. The décor is OK, but the fact they have a 'water menu' (I kid you not) suggested pretentiousness rather than love of food.
With an eye on the desserts, we passed on the opportunity to have starters. We both had what was described as 'seabass with fennel en croûte' and tomato sauce, fully expecting half a fennel in some kind of pastry. Alas, no. It was the undercooked and oversalted seabass that came in chinese-style batter, on a tiny bed of sautéed fennel strips. If I had been in different company I would have sent the whole lot back, and called for a Gordon Ramsay-type intervention in the kitchen (and on the menu writer, who needs grammar lessons).
As for the dessert, the much-awaited chocolate truffle tart was too sweet and not flavoursome enough. I suppose its saving grace was that it contained neither alcohol nore gelatine.
Service was indifferent.
Would not recommend.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Overall rating 
Food 2 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 3
Swan at the Globe
I went to the Globe for the second time on 7 December with a group of 8 friends, having been very impressed on a dinner à deux with my husband a few weeks earlier.
The restaurant was reasonably quiet, and the jazz music makes for a relaxed atmosphere. Best of all is the riverside view, with the various churches (including St Paul) well illuminated. Perfect for a night out with your significant other!
The Christmas menu was already on, and £30 for three courses and coffee proved very reasonable. The meal starts with a selection of delicious fresh homemade bread, and it just gets better. The stuffed turkey was moist and tasty, the vegetarian raviolis with mushroom perfectly judged, and all commented very positively on their respective choices.
My only reservation was my chosen dessert. The 'Chocolate pecan pie' was all pecan and sugar. Where they had hidden the chocolate I have no idea. That said, my first experience of the pastry chef suggests that this is not a common occurence: both the chocolate torte and the summer pudding were sophisticated and luxurious.
The service is good, though a bit slow. They were very accommodating when the last of our party turned up late.
In summary, I thoroughly recommend this restaurant.
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
