Le Saint Julien

Le Saint Julien is a cosy bistro. As soon as I walked in the door I knew it was going to be a good night, due to their display of desserts wine and their cheese cabinet near the entrance.

Food

The menu is all classic French, nothing too fancy, not too flashy, just right for the setting. And to top it off, the servings are huge! We started with some (what else) baguette with butter, which also went very nicely with the snails in garlic butter. Nicely garlicky, with that chewy texture. A beauty, and the butter is definitely bread dip worthy. The Country style Terrain with red wine jelly - again, another hit. This is a rough and ready terrain, with all the goodness of the meat and fat mingled to give the most melt in the mouth taste.

After the excellent start, we were looking forward to the mains. The steak frites with onion marmalade didn't disappoint. This had fat chips instead of the French fries and mayo instead of Bearnaise sauce. Still, it was nicely done, medium rare as requested. It wasn't as good as the one at France Soir though. The duck breast with poached pear and truffled mash was so fatty and gamey and juicy. The truffle mash was very heavenly.

Even though we were really full, we couldn't resist a creme caramel. Executed very well.

Rating - 7.5

Atmosphere

We were seated in a fairly crowded table, after the wine glasses, didn't leave much room for anything else. Le Saint Julien isn't one of those poshy places with low lighting and steel or wood. Instead, it has its own charm. The cutlery is old world, the tables small. The crowds seems to be group of older men, on business. Still, it's a relaxed kind of place you can go for a full meal or some wine and cheese for an afternoon.

Rating - 2

Service

The staff were friendly, but sometimes a bit hard to attract attention. One particular waiter was a standout, whereas another didn't even seem to speak English. They were nice enough to wrap up Amber's meal in a doggy bag since she didn't actually make it afterall.

Rating - 3

C-factor

2 courses for £19.95, 3 for £24.95, but with supplements for a lot of the dishes on the menu. We had 2.5 courses + wine for £25 each, which was reasonable.

Rating - 1

Brownie Points - 13.5

Info

63 Long Lane
London
EC1A 9EJ
Phone 087 1971 4388

Four Seasons

The "duck place" as it's also known. This place is famous in London for their ducks and it shows. There are rows and rows of roast duck displayed in their front window. Queues sneak out the door and the cleaver man never stops chopping. Well, the duck was really good, but the rest of the meal really didn't justify the queues.

Food

We had:

• fried frogs legs - really really bland, and the accompanying sauce was overpowering and didn't really go.
• braised abalone mushrooms and vegetables - the mushrooms were nice and fat, too bad the sauce was thick and starchy.
• dried scallops stewed with winter melon - this was nice, but the sauce again, was not as complex as I imagined it to be. Slokky's braised chokos actually taste better!
• salt and pepper squid - one of the better dishes, but the batter was very heavy and the spicing a little heavy handed.
• Japanese tofu hot pot - the best dish (besides the duck). Japanese tofu is really soft and light and airy, encased in a puff outer. The texture was divine.
• whole roast duck - the piece de resistance, the sauce was what made the duck. The duck itself was fat and moist, oozing sweet juice everywhere.

. The score would be even lower if it wasn't for the duck.

Rating - 6

Atmosphere

The place was absolutely packed. There was a mix of Asians and non Asians, but most came in big groups - the best way to enjoy Chinese food afterall. The tables were quite packed in together, so it was loud. Our table was too small so we all had to squish in too.

Rating - 1.5

Service

For a restaurant, I can't believe they can be that rude and get away with it in this day and age. They threw the menus at us, and despite asking about our duck, which took forever to arrive, they didn't bother checking for us. It got to the stage where we actually ate everything and had to sit and wait for the duck to arrive.

Rating - 1

C-factor

We paid for the b'day girl so worked out to be £16 each.

Rating - 0.5

Brownie Points - 9

Info

84 Queensway
London
W2 3RL
Phone 020 7229 4320

Wong Kei

Wong Kei is famous in London... no not for their food, but for their rude waiters! Even my aunty and uncle in HK know about the place, so it was a no-brainer on this cold Sunday night. Rude waiters in Chinese establishment usually equates to pretty authentic food!

Food

There were a lot of non-Asians in the room, and the menu was vast and reflected that. I decided to stick to the basics. The won ton noodle soup (£2.80) didn't disappoint. The broth was excellent, much better than a lot of the Chinese places in Sydney, and the wonton was generous and meaty. For the price, you don't get a lot, but it was enough for a very satisfying meal. The beef and raw egg rice (£3.80) was also executed well. The raw egg made the sauce thick, just like it was supposed to be. There was a suitable wok breath to the noodles. The only gripe was that it was a bit too oily and too strong for my liking, but Slokky had no problems with it at all.

Rating - 6.5

Atmosphere

I can see why many westerners would stay away. The place is very basic, laminated tables, basic chairs. Harsh fluorescent light. You come here to eat, not to be seen. The toilets also look revolting, but when you can be in and out in 15 minutes, who cares. I happen to think that this harsh environment adds to its appeal.

Rating - 1.5

Service

I was actually expecting worst service, but the waiters were pretty cool. They were all wearing special Wong Kei t-shirts too, that is so cool! This is no high class restaurant after all, so you shouldn't expect high class service.

Rating - 3

C-factor

Cheap as chips. Anytime you need a quick fix on a budget, this is the place to be.

Rating - 1

Brownie Points - 12

Info

41-43 Wardour Street
London
W1D 6PY
Phone 020 7437 8408

Ristorante Sirena

Ristorante Sirena is situated along a row of restaurants on James St, and on this Friday night, every restaurant looked like it was full, with guests spilling out onto the pavement. On closer look, it seemed like all the restaurants just filled their best tables (i.e. outside) first, so there was plenty of room. We were lead to the almost empty basement, which slowly filled up during the night.

Food

We started with some Turkish bread with olives and balsamic oil. The bread was super oily, so the oil wasn't really need. The olives were additive (even though they were small and had not much meat).

Since they proclaimed the Branzino al Cartoccio (£16.95) - Whole sea bass stuffed with herbs, baked in foil with white wine and lemon as a house specialty, we had to try it. It was served dramatically at the table, peeling back the foil to review a whole fish swimming in poaching liquid. It was pretty glorious, the flesh moist from the cooking method.

The rest of the menu is pretty stock standard. You have your usual pizzas and pastas, so I chose the Talionini Procini (£10.50)- angel hair pasta with mushrooms wrapped in prosciutto as it sounded a little unusual. Again, the presentation was superb. The pasta was in a circular disk, wrapped by some prosciutto. The taste though, was ok. The pasta wasn't quite al-dente, and the sauce was a little dry, and I couldn't really taste the mushrooms in it.

Rating - 5.5

Atmosphere

We sat downstairs in the reject area. We miss out on the people watching and being seen, but on the plus side, it was much quieter here so you could talk. It really felt like you were sitting in the storeroom, as they didn't really bother making downstairs feel very homely.

Rating - 1.5

Service

Well, I guess everyone wants to come to London. Our waiter seemed to be Italian, or spoke with some kind of European accent anyway. It seemed like he had the run of the downstairs area. Our meal took ages to arrive, and we had to get him to chase it up several times. He was pretty apologetic, but didn't really do anything about our really long waiting time. He did debone our fish pretty skillfully though.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

This was one of the most expensive meals we've had, and in a very modest setting too. I guess you have to pay to hang in the cool spots.

Rating - 0.5

Brownie Points - 10

Info

44 James St
London
W1U 1EY
Phone 020 7486 5620
Website

Brasserie Roux

Our aim for moving to London is to of course try all the food around here, so we started with the Bib Gourmande of London. Brasserie Roux is a restaurant by Albert Roux.

Food

We chose the pre-theatre menu, which started with wholemeal and grain bread with olive oil, butter and spiced onion. One thing that I have noticed about London is that the bread is almost always yummy here, and these bread were no exception. We polished off the bread, but left those little onion bits alone.

Entrees:

• duck terrain with toasted bread and conserve - excellent dish. The duck was gamey and the
• beetroot salad with goats cheese and walnut - very fresh and cleansing, but not really exceptional.

Mains:

• lamb shank - I love lamb shanks. This one was not quite fall off the bone, but I think it might have something to do with the English lambs. The sauce was great though.
• sea bass - I keep forgetting not to order seafood in London. The sea bass was well executed, only let down by the quality of the seafood.

Dessert:

• creme brulee - I think desserts were a bit of a letdown. The creme brulee was ok, but it wasn't quite creamy and quite cracked enough to say "this place has a Bib Gourmande".
• fruit datois - I ordered this jsut to see what it was. The waiter kindly described it to me, but it wasn't as I expected. Kinda like a millefeulle.

Rating - 6.5

Atmosphere

Situated in the Sofitel hotel, the dining room was all high ceiling and chandelier. It has a certain old world charm, and reminds me a bit of Galileo at the Observatory Hotel. It actually took us awhile to find the entrance to the restaurant, but we certainly felt very English dining here, and the plush (if not practical) chairs certainly added to its gentleman's club looks.

Rating - 2

Service

Exceptional, in that English way. The waiters here dress up in the full dinner suit. Suitably, we were attended to our needs, and our bread basket got refilled without any questions asked.

Rating - 4

C-factor

£15 for 3 courses and another £5 for 2 glasses of wine. This is exceptional value.

Rating - 1.5

Brownie Points - 14

Info

Sofitel St James London
6 Waterloo Place
London
SW1 Y4A
Phone 020 7968 2900
Website

The Old Explorer

There are two kinds of pubs in London, the first, a pub where it's all about the drinks, the food is only an accompaniment to the drinks. The second, is termed the "gastro-pub", where they serve restaurant quality meals at the pub. The Old Explorer, our first pub meal in London, belongs to the former category. Still, you can do simple food well, or you can do it badly. Unfortunately, The Old Explorer put our pub experience off to a pretty bad start.

Food

Since this was our first pub experience, we decided to go try some British "cuisine". The Cumberland Sausages & mash (£6.75)- British farm assured sausages served with petit pois & IPA spiced onion gravy and giant Yorkshire pudding definitely fits the bill. The plate was filled with a giant square pastry, with sausages and mash filling the middle, and then the whole thing covered with gravy. I should have known better. This definitely looked better than it tasted. The sausages were bland and dry, the mash of the instant variety. The gravy was tasteless, but at least it gave some moisture to the reconstituted peas.

The Minestrone Soup with Doorstop Bread and Butter (£3.35) was not much better. The soup resembled those alphabet soup you get in a can, overly sweet and tasting of tomato paste. It's a sin to call this minestrone.

Rating - 3

Atmosphere

There are a few pokies machine, a separate smoking and non-smoking area, otherwise it's a refurbished pub, with the usual polished wood. There are bar stools, normal tables and comfy sofas, which were all taken this lunch time. We sat on a table next to some screens showing what looked like a talent contest. Thankfully the sound has been turned off.

Rating - 1.5

Service

It's a pub, so you just about serve yourself. They bring the food to the table after you order, so I guess that's above average.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

A rip off for some mediocre food.

Rating - 0

Brownie Points - 7

Info

23 Great Castle St
London
W1G 0HY
Phone 020 7491 0467

Le Tour de la Pont

Located along the trendy Shad Thames harbourside, Le Tour offers indoor and outdoor dining, all with a view of the magnificent Tower Bridge. You can choose to dine in the more formal restaurant, but we chose the more relaxed bistro.

Food

We ordered from Le Menu du Marche, which offered 3 choices of each item. As you might've figured out from the name, Le Tour serves up modern French cuisine.

Entrees:

• Deep fried salt & pepper squid - a super light batter, with a fresh tangy lemon dipping sauce.
• Duck & pork rillette - quite meaty, with a great flavour.

Mains:

• Braised chicken with olives - a rich tomato based sauce.
• Classic fish pie - like a cottage pie really, not what I imagined, but quite good nevertheless.

Dessert:

• Eton mess - how very English for a French restaurant. Berries were still in season, so made this dessert much better than it should be.

All in all, much better than I expect for a place with a view.

Rating - 6.5

Atmosphere

Situated by the Thames with a great view of Tower Bridge. We sat outside in the covered patio, and watched the sunset over the Tower. There were groups and couples, all enjoying drinks or snacks, winding away a lovely spring weekend. This is definitely a place to bring your date.

Rating - 3

Service

Very slow to take our order and deliver drinks, but the food arrived very quickly. Nearly all the waiters were genuine French, so I forgive them.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

Two courses at £13.50, Three courses at £17.50, pretty decent for great food.

Rating - 1.5

Brownie Points - 13.5

Info

The Butlers Wharf Building
36d Shad Thames
London
SE1 2YE
Phone 020 7403 8403

Website