Michelin Stars 2008 - UK

3 stars:

ENGLAND

Bray-on-Thames	Fat Duck
Bray-on-Thames	Waterside Inn
Chelsea	Gordon Ramsay

2 stars:

ENGLAND

Belgravia	Pétrus
Bloomsbury	Pied à Terre
Cambridge	Midsummer House
Chagford	Gidleigh Park
Chelsea	The Capital Restaurant
Cheltenham	Le Champignon Sauvage
Mayfair	Le Gavroche
Mayfair	The Square
Newbury	Vineyard
Oxford/Great Milton	Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons

SCOTLAND

Auchterarder	Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles

1 star:

ENGLAND

Abinger Hammer	Drakes on the Pond
Altrincham	Juniper
Baslow	Fischer’s at Baslow Hall
Bath	Bath Priory
Bath/Colerne	Lucknam Park
Bayswater & Maida Vale	Assaggi
Belgravia	Amaya
Belgravia	Nahm (at The Halkin H.)
Belgravia	Zafferano
Biddenden	The West House
Birmingham	Simpsons
Blackburn/Langho	Northcote Manor
Blakeney/Morston	Morston Hall
Bloomsbury	1 Lombard Street (Restaurant)
Bloomsbury	Club Gascon
Bloomsbury	Hakkasan
Bloomsbury	Rhodes Twenty Four
Britwell Salome	The Goose
Brockenhurst	Le Poussin at Whitley Ridge
Channel Islands	Atlantic
Channel Islands	Bohemia
Channel Islands	Christophe
Chelsea	Aubergine
Chelsea	La Noisette
Chelsea	Rasoi
Chelsea	Tom Aikens
Chester	Arkle (at Chester Grosvenor Hotel)
Chichester/West Stoke	West Stoke House
Chiswick	La Trompette
Cranbrook	Apicius
Cuckfield	Ockenden Manor
Dartmouth	The New Angel
East Grinstead/Gravetye	Gravetye Manor
Emsworth	36 on the Quay
Faversham	Read’s
Fowey	Nathan Outlaw
Grange-over-Sands/Cartmel	L’Enclume
Grantham/ Great Gonerby	Harry’s Place
Hammersmith	River Café
Helmsley/Harome	The Star Inn
Hyde Park & Knightsbridge	Foliage (Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park H.)
Ilkley	Box Tree
Kew	The Glasshouse
Kington/Titley	Stagg Inn
Ludlow	Mr Underhill’s at Dinham Weir
Malmesbury	Whatley Manor
Marlborough/Little Bedwyn	The Harrow at Little Bedwyn
Marlow	The Hand & Flowers
Mayfair	Benares
Mayfair	Gordon Ramsay at Claridge’s
Mayfair	Hibiscus
Mayfair	Maze
Mayfair	Mirabelle
Mayfair	Nobu (at The Metropolitan H)
Mayfair	Nobu Berkeley St
Mayfair	Sketch (The Lecture Room & Library)
Mayfair	Tamarind
Mayfair	The Greenhouse
Mayfair	Umu
Mayfair	Wild Honey
North Kensington	The Ledbury
Nottingham	Restaurant Sat Bains
Oakham/Upper Hambleton	Hambleton Hall
Pateley Bridge/Ramsgill-in-Nidderdale	Yorke Arms
Penzance	The Abbey
Petersfield	JSW
Reading/Shinfield	L’Ortolan
Regents Park & Marylebone	Locanda Locatelli
Regents Park & Marylebone	Rhodes W1 (Restaurant)
Ripley	Drakes
Royal Leamington Spa	Mallory Court
Scilly Isles/St Martin’s	Tean
Seaham	Seaham Hall
Sheffield/Ridgeway	Old Vicarage
Soho	Arbutus
Soho	L’Escargot
Soho	Richard Corrigan at Lindsay House
Soho	Yauatcha
South Molton/Knowstone	The Masons Arms
Stamford/Clipsham	The Olive Branch and Beech House
Strand & Covent Garden	L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon
Torquay	The Room in the Elephant
Ullswater/Pooley Bridge	Sharrow Bay Country House
Victoria	Quilon
Victoria	Roussillon
Wandsworth	Chez Bruce
Whitstable/Seasalter	The Sportsman
Winchcombe	5 North St
Windermere	Holbeck Ghyll

SCOTLAND

Achiltibuie	Summer Isles
Ballachulish	Ballachulish House
Ballantrae	Glenapp Castle
Dalry	Braidwoods
Edinburgh	Martin Wishart
Edinburgh	Number One
Edinburgh	The Kitchin
Fort William	Inverlochy Castle
Linlithgow	Champany Inn
Portpatrick	Knockinaam Lodge

WALES

Monmouth/Whitebrook	The Crown at Whitebrook
Pwllheli	Plas Bodegroes

Auchterarder

Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles

Coffee@Brick Lane

Taste

I was going to order a coffee, but after several bad experiences, I've learned to stick to Hot Chocolate (£1.79 for small). Plus, the hot chocolate was actually cheaper than a coffee, so it was a no brainer really. And the drink? Nice and frothy, not too sweet, like warm frothy chocolate milk.

Rating - 7.5

Look

Very grunge and definitely a student joint. There are a few tables with mis-matched chairs, so big old couches at the back, cubes, stool, you name it, it was there. The other adjective that comes to mind is dark. So dark.

Rating - 2

C-factor

It's cheap as it's a student hangout. With every purchase you get to go on the internet for 1 hour.

Rating - 1.5

Swiss Points - 11

Available At

154 Brick Lane
Spitalfields
London
E1 6RU
Phone+44 (0) 20 7247 6735

Sri Nam Thai Canary Wharf

I’m quickly building up my collection of Canary Wharf eatery…I am actually hoping to space them out so I don’t visit them all within a year.

Food

I managed to taste my colleague’s red curry, which was quite nice. It is a bit on the sweet side, but on the bottom note, has some heat and spicing. The Phad Siew (£7.50) – rice noodle with king prawn also lean on the sweet side. But the greens are fresh and the 4 prawns that I got were juicy and charred nicely.

Rating - 7

Atmosphere

OMG, there were actually a lot of “Orientals” dining here, and the wait staff too, were oriental. Whether this is showing authenticity or they were just hiring cheap labour, I don’t really know. I’ve heard that this place gets very busy, but we had no trouble getting a table after 1pm. The room was about ¾ full, popular for dining with your co-workers. Décor isn’t too cliché, the room is very good looking, but that brown timber theme is here too. How about some individuality?

Rating - 1.5

Service

They were pleasant, asking for our drink order then coming to take our food order in good time. They delivered in good time too. I hope this service level is the same when it’s busy. The waiters have to wear those Thai style uniform (no, not the bikini looking one, rather, the Chairman Mao ones but in bright colours).

Rating - 3.5

C-factor

If you don’t convert it back to Aussie $, it’s not too bad. The servings are generous enough and the quality is not too bad. I did get 4 prawns afterall.

Rating - 0.5

Brownie Points - 12.5

Info

10 Cabot Square
London
E14 4QB
Phone+44 (0) 20 7517 2898
Website

Slug & Lettuce County Hall

S&L is another one of those ubiquitous pub/bar/café space that is very popular in the UK. I’ve been holding out for as long as I could, but sooner or later, you find yourself in a position where it’s just the easiest thing to go in there for a meal. That is exactly how I ended up in there on this cold and wet Thursday evening.

Food

The menu consists of your usual café/bar/pub offerings, a lot of traditional stuff, the odd pasta, some vegetarians, and a few specials. I ordered the Sicilian Chicken (£8.75) - Chicken breast, wrapped in prosciutto ham, filled with sun-dried tomato, basil pesto and mozzarella, served on sautéed potato and onion, with a lightly spiced tomato & red pepper sauce, which was much less exciting than it sounds. 2 small pieces of chicken, wrapped with some so-so ham. The tomato was not that sweet, and you couldn’t really taste the basil either. The rest of the plate was filled with the potatoes. I couldn’t see any onion at all, and you can’t really taste anything on the potatoes.

Slokky’s Fish and Chips (£8.45) - Cod fillet, with a light, golden batter, served with chips, tartare sauce and smashed minted peas were not any better. The batter was a bit flat, the fish tasteless. Peas are ok, but I never understand why mint and peas go together. At least they got the chips right.

Don’t get me wrong, everyone is fine if you are desperate, but if I had the time or the choice, I would go somewhere else.

Rating - 5

Atmosphere

The Jubilee Line caused me to be 45 minutes late, and the place was filled with groups of people drinking or eating. They have a lot of drinking special, so I guess people have a jolly good time. I found it difficult to hear anything, just like in a bar really.

Décor is nice, but boring. There’s no individuality , you could be anywhere really.

Rating - 1.5

Service

It’s kinda confusing. You can order your drinks at the bar, but it’s table service if you plonk yourself down…Waiters don’t exactly float around the place, so you have to go to the bar to ask a waiter to come to your table? They were nice enough once they came over, and took drink orders and everything.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

The prices are average. It’s pretty cheap if you can happen to score one of those vouchers they have quite often (and of course I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t have one of these).

Rating - 1.5

Brownie Points - 10.5

Info

North Block (1-63),
5 Chicheley St
London
SE1 7PJ
Phone+44 (0) 20 7803 4790
Website

The Fine Line Canary Wharf

Work lunch No2, right next to Davy's.

Food

We started off with some Bread and olives (£2.50) to share. By bread they meant a soft white Turkish. The olives were fat and juicy, so it was a great start. I decided I wanted to have pasta, and the Spaghetti with peppers and tomatoes (£9.50) was their only choice. A huge plate of pasta arrived, with a generous amount of Parmesan shavings on top. The sauce itself is studded with cream and tomatoes, is a bit tasteless, although the tomatoes were fresh.

Rating - 6

Atmosphere

Another one of those corporate lunch places, with brown wooden tables and chairs, a bar dominates almost one wall of the space. The place is quite roomy, but when it feels up, gets quite noisy. I still feel like I am in some kind of boys club though.

Rating - 1.5

Service

The service was pretty decent. Our drink order promptly delivered and food ordered arrived without too much of a wait. They were able to accommodate a last minute addition without any problems either.

Rating - 3

C-factor

We ended up splitting the bill, so I had to fork out for other people who ordered much more than me and had more expensive drinks. That worked out to be £16, which is ok for London prices, and considering the huge servings, is much better value than Davy’s right next door.

Rating - 0.5

Brownie Points - 11

Info

20-30 Fisherman's Walk, 10 Cabot Square
Canary Wharf
London
E14 4DH
Phone 020 7513 0255
Website

Davy's Canary Wharf

Yet another of those work hangouts by the waterside.

Food

Right after the excess of Christmas, I decided to have a lighter lunch. There were 4 choices of hot sandwiches available, so I chose gamon steak, cheddar and mushrooms (£8.95). The sandwich was nicely made, on some fluffy white bread which was unfortunately old as the crust was quite hard. I made the mistake of ordering ham as it was quite salty. Otherwise it was quite nice. There were 2 pieces of leaf that they called a salad but the hand cut chips were very nice.

Rating - 5.5

Atmosphere

By the water, which would be great on the few beautiful days that you get in London. As usual, this was not one of them, so we sat in one of the dark wooden tables inside. The style is of a wine barn, all dark wood, with oak barrels as decoration. I could imagine that it would be very buzzing when filled, but this was not one of them.

Rating - 1.5

Service

It was the day after Boxing Day, so there were no people here. Still, the waiters acted like they were on “full house” time. It took ages after we were seated before we got menus, longer for drinks, and we decided to order then instead of waiting for them to come back again.

The food too, ran along the same line, and took ages to arrive. The bill though, arrived promptly – was given to the guy on the table.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

It was very expensive for what I got. I guess you are paying for the "atmosphere" and the glimpse of water view.

Rating - 0

Brownie Points - 8.5

Info

31/35 Fisherman’s Walk, Cabot Square
Canary Wharf
London
E14 4DH
Phone 020 7363 6633
Website

Song Que

I was looking forward to this, my second restaurant on Kingsland Road, after the favourable experience I had with Tay Do.

Food

I decided to test out the thing that separates the good and the bad of Vietnamese cuisine, so ordered the pho with rare beef, tripe and tendon (£5.50), and was severely disappointed. The soup was so one dimensional, and the bits of beef tasteless and the texture was just wrong. It only improved with loads of chillies, which I don’t usually add to my pho. Oh how I long for some good pho. Slokky’s hot and spicy seafood noodle soup(£6.20), was actually even worst! Not particularly spicy or hot, where the “seafood” consisted of a couple of pieces of watery prawns.

Rating - 4.5

Atmosphere

On this particular Monday night, the place was packed. In terms of décor, it is worn down and dated. Even though it was close to Christmas, the decoration looks like they had been there for years and never taken off. Tables are packed together and haphazardly arranged. Normal I don’t mind this mind of joint, as it usually means that the food brings the people here, but in this case, I’m not sure what draws the crowd? Familiarity? Location? Or did I just order wrong?

Rating - 0.5

Service

Terrible. For a Vietnamese restaurant that should survive on turnover, it took a long time to deliver the pho. You only expect them to have to spoon the soup over the noodles, but it was about a 20 mins wait, which is definitely unacceptable. The waiters were quite rude and it took us a long time to get the bill.

Rating - 1

C-factor

All things considered, not so cheap afterall, especially since it has so much competition so close by!

Rating - 0

Brownie Points - 6

Info

134 Kingsland Road
London
E2 8DY
Phone +44 (0)20 7613 3222

SO Restaurant

Not the most obvious place for a Christmas party, but that’s what makes it better. None of that hoo-la and drunkenness (in fact, nobody had any alcohol at all!), just Japanese in a tranquil setting.

Food

Quite a few of us went for the Chefs Selection (£22.95 ) , which gets you 3 courses, changeable on a daily basis. On the menu for us were:

• scallop salad - again, the produce let the side down. The salad was so so, nothing spectacular about it at all
• fresh fish - I was disappointed to be getting 2 fish courses, but this was fresh and nicely cooked.
• Black Cod in Miso - Black cod marinated in white "miso" & grilled - this was the dish I wanted most out of this menu, so at least it was executed nicely. The miso made a heavenly sauce for the moist yet firm cod.

Slokky opted for the soft shell crab as a starter. As far as soft shell crabs go, this one was pretty good, with a light batter, a bit of juice. The dipping sauce was quite unremarkable so it was a good thing that the crab was fresh. I wanted to order sushi but you had to order it individually which I thought was too hard to do in a large group setting, so Slokky’s Chirashizushi (£11.00)- A selection of prawns, salmon, crabmeat, eel, "shiso" & salmon "ikura" served on a bed of rice . It was good, but I thought it would be great as this place has been acclaimed for its sushi.

I guess a good thing about having Japanese is, you usually have room for dessert. Slokky tried out the Tofu Cheesecake (£5.00), which was actually very good. It tastes just like a normal cheesecake, only the texture was much lighter. I opted for the Daily Dessert (£7), which on this occasion was green tea cake and warm mochi. Green tea just tastes good in cakes, and the warm mochi was pretty tasteless as usual.

So, some good stuff, but nothing out of the ordinary, especially for a “fancy” Japanese.

Rating - 6

Atmosphere

According to a friend, SO opened only last year, but it has already had a refurbishment. Change of heart maybe? It's certainly good looking. Clean lines, decorations, and a huge window to see into the working kitchen, as well as the prominent sushi bar. It's nothing out of the ordinary though. The clientele is very subdue, as if they don't want to interrupt the sereneness of the place.

Rating - 2

Service

Our waiter was absolutely charming. He did left us WAY too long to pursue the menu and drinks went unfilled. He did anticipate our needs and turned down the heating for us though...so he was probably an out of work actor or something.

Rating - 3

C-factor

Japanese food is expensive. Good thing we didn't have to pay. Still, I wish the food was of a higher standard.

Rating - 0

Brownie Points - 11

Info

3-4 Warwick Street
London
W1B 5LS
Phone +44 (0) 20 7292 0767
Website

Awana

Awana is a great night out. Stylish, inviting, and delicious. I think I have found THE Asian place for London. It's so good that I might actually pay it a repeat visit!

Food

The food was exceptional, everything was so delicious, I had to resist the urge to lick the plate clean to get that last bit of sauce! Order the roti canai - traditional Malaysian style flat bread, made from a traditional family recipe, plain (£5.00), garlic (£5.50), fresh herbs (£5.50), with your choice of either red curry sauce or dahl curry sauce (v), and watch the chef make it fresh on the plasma screen.

I don't know if it's because it's fresh, but these are the best darn roti I've had (though I haven't been to Malaysia) and the sauce really is something else.

The other entrees were just as good. The salad sajian laut (£9.50) - tiger prawns tails and crab meat with pomelo and green mango reminded me of a papaya salad. The seafood nice and fresh, the dressing sour and tangy, the mango flesh inviting. ketam lembut lada hitam (£10.50) - peppered soft shell crab served with stir fried greens in chilli jam was served up as a whole crab. The crab itself taste very similar to the Japanese variety, it was the sauce, again, that made all the difference. The same story goes for the satay corn-fed chicken (£7.80) - served with our house made spicy peanut sauce. The chicken is grilled in the "grill bar", and that sauce, just made me want to drink the whole dish worth.

Shan ordered a laksa (£14.80) - crab meat, prawn, corn fed chicken, tofu and bean sprout served with vermicelli noodles and a mild broth of lemongrass, curry leaf and coconut. We didn't share it, but I did taste the broth. This is definitely up there in the laksa hall of fame. Although I hadn't had laksa for so long I might be a bit bias. kari ayam (£13.50) - corn fed chicken curry with coconut, potato and snake beans was the recommendation from our waiter. This one is simple but satisfying. My order was the ikan panggang (£14.50) - chargrilled butterfish wrapped in banana leaf with lemongrass, coriander and chilli served with shallot and cucumber salad, which, like most things that are wrapped, was moist and tender, and the dressing was superb, not too overwhemling for the fish. The udang galah cha kuew teow (£22.00) - sea food and lobster, cha kuew teow was sensational. The presentation included the lobster shell, and the meat and the juice combined in the sauce...heaven. We even chose a cool vegetable dish, the aubergine with spicy sauce, quite pungent, delicious aubergine that still retains some bite. We washed it all down with nasi lemak (£3.00) - coconut rice. The only disappointment was the cocktail - pricey and not worth the money, I hope it was because I ordered the wrong thing, as the bar is very inviting. Slokky again had his mocktail. The virgin colada (£6.00) - pineapple juice with coconut and cream was really sweet and boring, but I blame him for getting such a boring drink. I had the rumbutan fantasy (£8.00) - rumbutan juice, vodka, blue curarcao, which was nice and sour, but not anything spectacular. Meza do their cocktails better.

Rating - 8.5

Atmosphere

The front room is dominated by the dimly lit bar with low stools and candlelight. The dining area consists of some banquette seatings, large round tables, and of course, the grill bar, where plasma screens show the chefs in action. The place was packed on a Wednesday night, and I can see why. Interior consists of clean line with dim light and candles.

Rating - 2.5

Service

The waiters were charming and made some excellent recommendation. Before I came, I was called twice to confirm my booking and my credit cards details taken. They really made sure that you turned up, and I guess that's why. The waiters are pretty accommodating though, and are keen to help you put together a menu and they have personal recommendations and seem to all enjoy their jobs, which is a surprise and a delight.

Rating - 4

C-factor

I thought the drinks were outrageous at Meza, but they are even more expensive here, so I guess that's the going price for the hip places. The food though, is worth every penny, so maybe they make their money in the drinks?

Rating - 1

Brownie Points - 16

Info

85 Sloane Avenue
London
SW3 3DX
Phone +44 (0) 20 7403 8403
Website

Meza

Going to tapas so soon after visiting Spain might be a mistake.

Food

The cocktails are over priced but very nice indeed. They don't skim on the alcohol there. My Peach Capricoska (£7.5) was well balanced and nicely executed. I guess when the bar is the centrepiece of your restaurant, you learn to make some decent cocktails. Slokky was able to get himself a mocktail too, the Not so Cosmo (£4.5) consisted of oranges & lemons with Cranberry Juice. Not bad, but very expensive for what it is.

We had the pre-theatre menu, which had a wide enough choice that if you have 3 people going, you can try everything on the menu. The portions were generous, but the food was average.

• Hommus with Pita bread - not particularly enticing.
• Crab stuffed piquillo peppers - these were sweet and sour and quite pleasant.
• Fuet Catalan - another type of cured meat, served with gherkins.
• Grilled chicken, Romesco sauce - was really boring, like soy chicken wings.
• Manchego 8 month - very pleasant, and you get quince paste. But I still don't like eating cheese as part of a meal.
• Riojan cured chorizo - not as good as the stuff in Spain, why is that? Don't they just cut the stuff up and serve it? They did pair it with some gerkins though...
• Roast pork belly, fennel seeds - the product was nice, with a nice bit of fat, but the execution only so so...the roast potatoes on the side were more interesting
• Salt cod croquet - this one was done well, the salt cod had been soaked in milk and tasted delicious.
• Spanish tortilla (V) - kinda cold and uninteresting
• Thick cut chips, aioli (V) - these were the best of the night. Crispy and hot, with a killer aioli
• Tomato bread (V) - not very tomato like.
• Tomato, basil & spring onion salad (V) - again, a side thought, not really that interesting.
• Torralba Mahon
• Warm churros, chocolate sauce - after eating these in Valencia, I was looking forward to them. Instead, they were nothing like the ones we had in Spain, kinda more cake like, with an overtly sweet but not very rich chocolate sauce. A miss.
• White chocolate & orange rice pudding - I was a bit put off by the white chocolate, but this was easily the pick of the desserts. Rich and creamy and satisfying, I couldn't finish it though
• Santiago tart, cinnamon ice cream - this is like a rice flour cake, very tense and pretty bland. The cinnamon ice cream was excellent though.

Rating - 5.5

Atmosphere

Meza is very good looking indeed. I certainly felt under dressed (or should that be over-dressed?) going in. Nevertheless, we were made to feel welcomed. It's all mood lighting and funky tunes, with a circular central bar dominating. This is where the cool people hang out.

Rating - 2.5

Service

The waiters are obviously quite used to handling a big group. The problem was that all our dishes didn't all fit on the table, and in the end, we couldn't remember who ordered what, so we just shared everything. They even allowed us to pay separately, but we didn't realise and had already gathered the money ourselves.

Rating - 3

C-factor

The pre-theatre menu was £15 for 5 tapas dishes and dessert, but the drinks prices were outrageous, so I only had 1 cocktail.

Rating - 0.5

Brownie Points - 11.5

Info

100 Wardour Street
London
W1F 0TN
Phone +44 (0) 20 7314 4002
Website

Bengal Cuisine

Ahh, Brick Lane. If you've never walked down this street at lunch or dinner time, you are definitely missing out. We took our overseas visitor here, and we weren't disappointed. Restaurateurs hawking their restaurants follow you down the street, tempting you with their sweet offers. Each time you turn away, they come up with something more enticing. Bengal had the advantage of being quite up the street, so it catches the diner when they haven't familiarised themselves with the offerings. We walked away a few times, but in the end, they offered what we wanted.

Food

We were given the 10 menu, which had a limited choices of mix and match specialties. But first, our complimentary popadum (which we managed to wrangle out of and we had to especially ask for, as this was more than the usual deal). These were quite generous, and came with 2 chutneys, one yoghurt and one pot of vegetable. Some quite hot, others not, but all definitely fulfilling.

For entrees, we chose the Aloo Chat (£2.50) - Potato in various herbs and spices cooked with coriander and cucumber, which was quite rich and filling. The flavouring wasn't as complex, but it was satisfying enough. We also got some Lamb Samosa (£2.95) - triangles of thin bread stuffed with delicately spiced lamb, which were quite good.

For mains, we shared the Chicken Vindaloo (£5.95), Lamb Rogon (£5.95) and Chicken Bhuna (£5.95). All were spiced nicely, if somewhat Westernised in their tastes. We also accompanied our meals with Coconut Rice (£2.95) (nice), Pehswari Nan (£2.95) (less sweet than Lahore, which I find is actually better), and Garlic Nann (£2.95) (not oily, and piping hot. We also got beer (I tried the Kingfisher, which was on tap) or soft drinks (Slokky had a coke) with the deal. For £10 we were literally stuffed at the end of the meal.

Rating - 6

Atmosphere

There were quite a few large tables - looked like work mates or sports group, as well as some uni students dining. The place is nicely done up, wine glasses and white paper over the white tablecloths. Various awards and clippings hang on the wall. The dining room is small, and it soon filled up, no doubt people caught with the "special deal".

Rating - 2

Service

The guy promised us service with a smile when we came in, but they didn't so much as look at us all night. We had to call several times for service, and they seemed not very keen to explain the menu at all. We had to call them for our popodum, and I chased up my naan several times before it was finally delivered. They also charged us wrong on the bill, which they then fixed up wrong, so we gave up trying to work things out.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

We managed to whittle the price down to £10 per head. I'm not sure what the lowest you can go to is, but I thought they were pretty generous with their food.

Rating - 1.5

Brownie Points - 11

Info

12 Brick Lane
London
E1 6RF
Phone +44 (0) 20 7377 8405
Website

Lahore Kebab House

According to many, this is the best "Asian" restaurant in London, so I was definitely looking forward to this.

Food

We decided to order a feast to share. But first, something to wash it down, so Mango Lassi (£3.5) and Sweet Lassi (£3.0) were in order. Pretty soon, our entrees arrived:

• Salad and Raita - really really nice sauce, fresh salad
• Paneer Tikka (£3) - cube cheese, done in the tandoor. Not much taste, a little sour, but definitely had a nice chewy texture
• Samosa vegetable (£1) - beautifully crisp and tender
• Seekh kebab (£1) - heavily and expertly spiced

We were still licking our fingers from the entrees when our possession of curries arrived:

• Rioni (Okra) curry (£5.50) - I love okra, and this was great. Somehow though, it just wasn't quite up there with the Janani version.
• Chicken Tikka Masala (£7) - a wonderfully complex sauce, not too hot and not too sweet.
• King Prawn Curry (£9.50) - my pick of the night. The prawns were not so generous, but when the sauce is this gorgeous, who cares.
• Nihari (Lamb Shanks) (£8.50) - this was one of their special limited availability item, and I am a sucker for lamb shanks afterall. The sauce was great again, but there was only 1 shank to be shared among 8, and it was not that tender either.
• Fish Curry - another excellent dish, the firm flesh of the fish holds the sauce very nicely.

We accompanied all these with the all important bread and rice:

• Plain Rice (£3) - uhh, plain?
• Plain Naan (£1) - nicely executed, not too oily, nice and fluffy. They do roll it fresh in front of you afterall.
• Butter Naan (£1.25) - too oily for my liking, but I guess if you order butter naan, you expect that.
• Garlic Naan (£1.50) - really strong garlic flavour.
• Peshhrawi Naan (£3) - I like this one. It's actually filled with a coconut paste/spread thing.
• Tandoori Paratha (£1.50) - thin and satisfying.

Needless to say, we were absolutely stuffed, and fully satisfied, after that feast.

Rating - 7.5

Atmosphere

This place was totally not what I had expected. A basic foodhall, in the manner of Janani it isn't. It's a big space alright, but it's filled with bright lights, big tables, and plasma screens showing your Bollywood movies. As you enter, you are confronted with the huge glass fronted kitchen, where you can watch several chefs tending to the tandoor, rolling out bread, and all other manners of drama. They also have upstairs as well, which I suspect would be much better if you are trying to have a conversation.

Rating - 1.5

Service

As it's a food hall, I actually didn't expect any service. However, someone comes to take your order, you pay at the table, and everything is all very efficient. Everyone here must be regulars as no one explained to us what anything on the menu meant, what the specials were and how many you get of each starter in a serving. I guess you just have to come a few times to find out.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

For Indian and Pakistani food, it's very expensive, considering you can walk down Brick Lane and eat for half that price. The food is definitely top notch, so I will have to try all the ones in Brick Lane to compare before I can say if it's worth the money.

Rating - 0.5

Brownie Points - 12

Info

2 Umberston Street
London
E1 1PY
Phone +44 (0) 20 7488 2551

Tai

I have seen this chain around a few places, and have always been intrigued - by the £3.50 sign they always have hanging out front. Of course, the reality is much different than it seems. Still, the food look fresh and inviting, so we went in.

Food

There were some labels on the food, but I still couldn't really tell what I was eating as the labels were kinda mixed up and everything was like made of tofu. This was vegetarian buffet afterall, so everything kinda look and taste strange. They use very fresh ingredients and the spicing is superb. The food is quite oily, but surprisingly, it's one of the best Asian meals I've had for ages. Highlights were the "meat" balls, tofu and bamboo shoots.

Rating - 6.5

Atmosphere

The place was very Thai looking, with intricate carvings, big lamps and Chinese painting. The food was Asian leaning, but not very Thai though. There were a mix of tourists and Londoners alike, but not many Asians at all. Quite a few people ate by themselves too. It's really a fuelling stop, not an occasion lunch.

We were seated right next to the kitchen, even though there were plenty of other seats available. Every time they open the kitchen door (which was very often), you get a cold blast of kind in your face. Oh yeah, they play Chinese music too!

Rating - 2

Service

It's buffet, so you help yourself. They save cost by only giving you one plate, so the plate was pretty disgusting by the end. I used my tea to rinse it down before dessert.

The waiters were ok, they kept refilling the buffet with big tubs from the kitchen, and I managed to get some hot tea a few times.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

£6.50 for our vegetarian buffet lunch as we were paying Sunday rates. Although they actually don't state that anywhere. Lunch is normally 5.50, but that only applies on a weekday, but they don't tell you that until you pay. We had the tenancy to ask before we sat down, so we were prepared. I think the price is ok, but still, I don't like getting deceived.

Rating - 0.5

Brownie Points - 11.5

Info

53 Warren Street
London
W1T 5NL
Phone +44 (0)20 7387 6875

Tay Do

Ever since I moved to London, I've been hankering for some good Vietnamese food. Alas, that doesn't exist here, and Tay Do is the best you can get.

Food

The menu is quite extensive, even for a Vietnamese restaurant. We ordered some starters to share:

• Vietnamese Spring Rolls (£4) - made using the traditional wrapper. It was a bit too heavy, but the filling was fresh and tasty, and went down well wrapped in lettuce.
• Traditional Vietnamese Pancake (Prawns & Chicken/Pork) (£4.50) - a bit big and hard to share. It was nice but not overly so.
• Green Papaya Salad (Pranws/Pork/Prawns & Pork) (£5.50) - my pick for the night. I had been hankering for papaya salad ever since Thailand. This one was fresh, with a killer sauce to boot.

For mains, I, for once, decided to forgo the usual pho to try the intriguing sounding Hot & Spicy Crab Special Rice vermicelli Soup (£6). The result is much more boring. The soup is a tomato based broth that has all sorts of herbs and spices added to give it flavour, but it wasn't really very hot and spicy. And the crab? Well, I didn't expect to get anything much for a soup that price, and I didn't get anything. Still, the soup is pleasant enough, enough for me to want to come back in the future and try that pho.

Rating - 6.5

Atmosphere

It was quiet on this Tuesday night. Obviously another family run affair, with modest and very homely and mish mash decor. The whole family seems to have fronted up tonight.

Rating - 1.5

Service

I would describe it as strange, and I don't even mean that in the Asian way! Some things they did so well, but they were kind of aloof, and had to be asked several times before they poured us any tea.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

As far as London goes, it's cheap enough. Just don't convert the prices on what you could get in Vietnam or even Australia, and you'll be right.

Rating - 1

Brownie Points - 10.5

Info

65 Kingsland Rd
London
E2 8AG
Phone+44 (0) 20 7729 7223

Made in Italy

Even though it is in a hip suburb, Made in Italy is still out of the way. It's the only restaurant on the strip, and certainly not near any other restaurants. It was a hike, but judging by the amount of people there on a Wednesday night, definitely worth the hike.

Food

A classic Italian menu, with the focus on pizza. we decided to order a variety of pastas and pizzas to share.

Pasta - were better than average. We had:

• Ravioli anima e core (£8.95)
• Gnocchi mare e monti (£9.50)

Pizza - this is what you come here for. If you order 4 or more pizzas, they come on a metre long slab, and takes up the whole table. It's a feast to behold. The crust is not too thin, but suitably charred, and the toppings are more sparing than packed on, and tastes great. The only problem with the big slab though, is that your pizza gets cold really quickly, and it's a pain to cut. We had:

• Diavola (£7.95)
• Capricciosa (£8.50)
• Salsiccia e peperoni (£7.50)
• Pomod rucola e prosciutto (£8.95)

Oh yeah, we also got a Mista (£4.50) to make us feel better, but we shouldn't have bothered. The pizzas had loads of veggie, and the salad was rather bland and unimaginative.

Rating - 7

Atmosphere

It's a small restaurant, with a few tables downstairs, and another small section upstairs. There was a huge crowd there for a Wednesday, mostly big groups, with a few couples. It's very loud, but there are enough space between the tables to hear yourself talk. The only problem is actually fitting those metre long pizzas on your tables!

I do have a question though, what's with the plant blocking the door next to our table? Where does that door lead?

Rating - 2

Service

It's a family run restaurant. We had trouble figuring out who were the serving staff and who were guests, as the waiters did not wear uniform. For that reason, and the fact that the waiters never approach you and you have to get them, it's very hard to get any attention at all. They were busy, but still, you expect some level of service.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

It worked out to be £15 per head but we only drank water. Not too bad for somewhere famous for celebrity spotting right?

Rating - 0.5

Brownie Points - 11

Info

249 King's Road
London
SW3 5EL
Phone +44 (0) 20 7352 1880