HP’s Reviews

There are some great deals on at the moment and £19.50 for three courses from the a la carte menu at The Clerkenwell DIninrg Room is excellent value. The restaurant itself was cosy and packed on Saturday night, populated by couples and friends/family groups. The menu is modern and varied with a heavy emphasis on fish and a reasonable choice for vegetarians. All the dishes were beautifully presented, well portioned and extremely good; the pork belly was outstanding, succulent and extremely tender. We found the desserts a little limiting as there wasn't really a lighter option and we made the mistake of ordering the ‘tart of the day’ alongside the chocolate fondant; the former was more of a mousse-like chocolate torte and completely overwhelming. We were very impressed by all the little culinary touches (amuse bouche, plentiful bread and petit fours) which are often extra at other establishments when eating on a ‘deal’. Overall, it was a lovely meal and we shall definitely return. Be warned about the staff though; although gracious and attentive, they were little too conspicuous for the majority of the evening (i.e. constant glass refilling and loitering by the table) and then had completely disappeared by the time we wanted to pay the bill!

Fig truly is a hidden gem tucked away in the leafy streets of Barnsbury. Once a grocer's shop, it is a cosy little place usually full of couples and small groups of friends. Don't be put off by the menu – my husband rarely finds a dish without at least one inrgedient which he isn't too keen on (and he's not THAT fussy) but always really enjoys whatever he's ordered. It can be quite eye opening and the food has always been outstanding – there are few places in London where you can eat like this at such reasonable prices.

Fish Central is a great place if you need to impress guests with your local knowledge. The setting is hardly picturesque…the restaurant nestles on the edge of a concrete plaza surrounded by high rises but inside is inviting, bright and bustly. Most of the clientele are local – no tourists, lots of family groups and always a number of cabbies. The banter between other diners and the waiting staff give you the surreal impression of being on set of some Italian gangster film…the Cypriot mafia, if there is such a thing! The menu is a decent length and there are always specials, reassuring in a restaurant where the emphasis is on the catch of the day. The straight forward fish dishes let you choose how you want it cooked (from grilled to battered) and there are a number of sides, from bead and butter to mushy peas. There is something to suit all budgets, from cod and chips to sole and lobster and the prices are to be reckoned with.

We ate at the White Horse with friends on Saturday night. The dining room operates by placing all the diners in the same area of the restaurant for each sitting (i.e. every half an hour) which only heightens your awareness of watching the clock and rather killed the atmosphere. We were the last table to vacate our 'area', surrounded by a sea of tables laid up for the next lot! The decor is modern and befitting of a gastro pub, although maybe a little too generic…considering the prices, the oversized menus felt rather commercial. The meal itself was pretty good; the food was presented beautifully and tasty although the side dishes and the desserts were a little disappointing…nondescript vegetables and an overly tart summer pudding that came with a minute scraping of clotted cream that was verging on butter! We would probably return if in the area but wouldn't make a special trip back.

Pho on St John Street is definitely worth a visit when in the area. The decor is simplistic and the staff friendly and knowledgeable about the subtleties of Vietnamese cuisine. The dishes we tried were both tasty and filling; steaming meal-in-a-bowl dishes of predominantly 'pho' (rice noodle soup) and 'bun' (room temperature noodles with hot toppings). Makes a nice change from the other noodle chains across London.

We actually visited the Monmouth Street branch of this Italian chain. The decor is incredibly modern and red…very red. Indeed, you may be forgiven for thinking you had stepped into a Ferrari showroom. The food is not particularly different from other UK chains and possibly a touch more expensive but the pizzas were fresh and tasty and well cooked. A warm salad of roasted vegetables was also nicely presented but possibly a little overpriced at just under a tenner. Rosso source all their ingredients from the region round Naples, a feature they could make much more of in order to set them apart from the competition.