Nick's review of Eastside Inn

Five of us went to the Bistro at short notice following a meeting in the City on Tuesday evening. We were given the choice of the restaurant or the bistro as there was room in both. The Bistro was barely half full which meant there was not much of an atmosphere but we made our own atmosphere and enjoyed it!.

The service was good throughout, cordial and informative (esp the wine waiter who chose excellent wines to our stated budget) and we were impressed to be visited by the Patron himself which rarely happens elsewhere in our experience.

The food was good to very good – my and another individual's squid was very tasty but overcooked so rather ‘rubbery’, my cassolete was also tasty but a rather small portion. My wife's crab and tortelloni were both declared excellent! As mentioned the wine selected for us was excellent.

Which brings one to the subject of price – even the bistro is pretty expensive for what we feel we had – £280 inc tip for 5. On the wine there is barely anything below £35 per bottle and the wines we enjoyed were £60 and £50 respectively.

The cost element counts against the bistro and therefore brings the rating down to average.

We had a look at the restaurant menu (£70 for 3 courses) which looked interesting and my wife and I will try that another time for a special occasion but I suspect we will not be visiting the bistro on a regular basis given the huge choice in the area of Smithfield.