Daniel's Reviews

I had heard and read alot about this place so knew what to expect. Yes, it is chaotic. I didnt get any cuttlery until 3 or 4 minutes after my food arrived! Yes, it is busy, and YES the food is fabulous. Food doesnt wait long on the hotplates here… straight off the grill and WHOOOSH, it arrives in a flurry of activity in front of your eyes. Fabulous naans like I've never tasted, and the lamb kebabs looked amazing… I dont even eat meat! The only downside for me is the location; it is a little difficult to get to from central London. Nevertheless, I recommend you go. It is quite an experience. Don't forget to BYO!

We were staying at the hotel, and ate the Braserie for convenience. The food also sounded great and we took advantage of the set menu deal which allowed for a three course menu with unlimited drinks. Value for money was definitely a plus point.

To begin, my wife had the caesar salad and she really enjoyed, in fact, saying it was the best she had ever had! I had fresh prawns which were simple, huge and fresh. For main course, I had the fishermans' pie done in a french style, according to the waiter. It was creamy and moreish, with a finesse that the made it a cut above the standard fair. The side salad was beautifully simple, with a good, punchy dressing. My wife had Homemade Crab Rolls, but these were not so enjoyable; they were way too salty which ruined an other wise interesting dish (although the name didn't do it any favours either). The desserts, a blueberry macaroon and Semi Freddo respectively were a charming end. The atmosphere was a little dry, although it can be difficult in a hotel restaurant, especially with grumpy lone diner nearby. Staff were happy and attentive. An enjoyable god value experience let down by a poor main course dish.

This place did exactly what I thought it would. The food was beautifully presented and lovely. Our waitress was delightful and definitely had an engaging personality. Once we had sat down our amuse bouche arrived – which was AMAZING, a sweet potato veloute – creamy and very moreish. The attention to detail was what made me feel so positive about this place, for example the little oil droplet sitting on the soup making it look wonderful. I had a lovely tart to begin which was beautiful, with gruyere cheese on the top. For the main I chose the grilled cauliflower which had lovely flavours, not least of the whole grain mustard used. La Cave is not cheap, but then the food and the experience was worth it. Starters begin at five pounds and mains at thirteen rising to twenty five. It was relaxing and small enough in size so that service was excellent and attentive.

We ate at Ondine whilst in Edinburgh on a little honeymoon. It was recommended to us by the lady who ran the guesthouse where we were staying. She said it was a special place and indeed, it was just right for our special Honeymoon meal.

Just after we sat down, two rather stylish businessmen arrived, one having told the other was vegetarian. After looking at the menu, this matter arose. There ensued a conversation where the host, proclaimed, without any malice, ‘…but I though vegetarians ate fish…’ followed by ‘Hang on, …so you dont even eat chicken?!?’. It certainly made us smile. Still, it seemed the guest was happy, as Chef seemingly arraged something just as delicious as the rest of his menu for Mr Vegetarian.

We were booked in for the early sitting, and arrived to see a cool, classy but textured interior and smart, smiling staff. Being on the first floor, with glass throighout gave a lovely light and airy feeling. Throughout the meal had fantastic service, with all the staff knowledgable and attentive, especially the waitress who looked after us. One of us was always going to have the fish soup to begin, and it was delicious being fragrant, creamy and very moreish! My starter the potted shrimp was lovely, and not greasey at all, which can sometimes be its downfall.

My wife had the fish curry which was delicate and flavoured. Different from the asian restaurant version that I'd tried, in that the curry was delicately and beautifully placed on the fish rather than being a stew. I chose the fish of the day, Plaice served with a peperonata, which was fantastic.

It is clear that Corporate Social Responsibiility matters to the establishment, with envelopes for donations to protect the local fishermen on each table. I just wonder if they couldn't go further, and increase the numbers of fish on the menu from sustainable stocks.

We had a terrific meal, with great service. The manager came over at the end, and we were delighted to tell him how much we'd enjoyed our… More

My girlfriend had been many times to this Blackheath independent restaurant, and I looked forward to my first visit! I had phoned up in advance to book, and that was needed as the establishment was full to the brim!

We were greeted by the smiling owner. The large spherical wine glasses give you a clue that red wine is an important part of this eatery, so we ordered a Malbec, and lovely it was too. Before the wine came however, the lady serving us, had brought us a carafe of iced water, without even asking, and as I drink lots of water, that was a good mark for me!

We each ordered an Empanada – a filled pastry starter, with either beef or spinach. They look alot like Cornish Pasties in fact, a reflection of the great immigrant influence in Argentina. They were lovely, and the pastry fresh, but I thought the presentation was a little sparse, with only a parsley garnish on top, surrounded by empty plate. Perhaps a pretty little side salad would have improved it.

For main courses, my girlfriend and I both ordered pizzas, and as a vegetarian, these were welcome options. They were huge, and crispy! Mine was lovely, although smothered in garlic, but being half French, that wasn’t a problem for me. It was so big, I perhaps overdid myself in eating the whole thing while my partner ate sensibly and then had hers boxed! Great idea. I love that you can do that in America, but I seldom see it here, except at this Blackheath Argentinean! My friends had selections from Carne, and thoroughly enjoyed them. I have to say, I did take to smothering the Chimichanga sauce on my pizza. Yum!

Now for dessert, we wanted Alfajores Havana which my girlfriend knew were lovely. Little stuffed biscuits filled with Dulce de lece, a decadent caramel sauce. They had run out, so instead we had Flan Con Crema y dulce de lece. I'm not normally sweet toothed, but the Dulce de lece was amazing, like sweet gooey heaven. Terrific. You can buy it in the shop in pretty blue jars, I must invest some time!

The… More

The restaurant was bustling when we arrived and I had a refreshingly creamy mango lassi. The colourful canvases covering the walls and a bright orange colour scheme ( the colour of hunger incidently, or perhaps easy jet… ) certainly makes an impression!

Our waitress was lovely, and although I was initially sceptical about the tapas style idea, it actually worked well and certainly makes a change to CTM and Peshwari naan! Dishes come out when they are ready, so you get you your order in sections. The restaurant recommend three dishes per person, which is probably about right. The food was hot and fresh, and all tastey and flavoursome. The four if us particularly enjoyed Ragda Potatoe, the Stuffed Panneer ( which was a novel and lovely idea ) and the Spicy Squid, which is a favourite among customers. One very unnusual dish was the Papdi Chaat- tastey and very different.

The service was brisk, and a little rushed at times, but I guess you expect it with places like these. I wasn't mad for the flashy, modern interior. The food was lovely but twelve hours later and I feel there was too much salt. Would I go again? Perhaps. Time will tell.

My fiancee found this place on this wonderful site and we decided to visit on a saturday evening. The establishment was busy and as we arrived early for our table and decided to sit outside and have a drink. There was a lovely ambiance with the exotic smells of the Shisha pipe drifitng on the evening air. The drinks list is phenominal-made up of beautiful long creations, numerous with a middle eastern twist aswell as traditional cocktail fare! We plumped for a pitcher of the Long Morrocan Mint- a delicious refreshing take on the Mojito in that it didnt have the copious amounts of grainy sugar!

We sat on a long sturdy wooden table inside, which actually was a struggle with my long legs- so if you're tall, sit at the square tables! There was live music was good and added to the ambiance. Our friends arrived and we all decided to choose off the very good value £20 three course dinner menu. The waitress was very knowledgabe and answered all our questions about the dishes, and very impressively, didnt need to note our order of 12 dishes! I had the cheese and mint Bourek to start, which was lovely and the Israeli couscous. The latter, was a little bland but my fiancee had the Mirza Ghassemi – warm aubergine with tomoatoe and egg – and it was delicious,so much so that we asked for more lovely bread to mop it up with! Our friends had the sardine chermoulah, Houmus, Baba Ghanush and Mergez sausage. They were all tasty!

The main corses arrived, and mine was delicious, I had the vegetarian option- the Ghemieh- aubergine, tomatoe and yellow split pea stew with saffron rice. The rice was flavoursome and cooked perfectly and the stew fresh and tastey.

For the desserts we were directed to the bakery part of the restaurant and we all chose something from the sweets on display. I had delicious middle eastern pastries. There were actually some interesting deserts on the set menu which I would have loved to choose from – but it was midnight, and we were told later on by the head… More

I went to Mela on the back of the review on this site and really enjoyed it. The food was delicious and fresh and it has an open kitchen which is always a good sign for me! The service was friendly and our waiter was excellent. They had run out of a well known beer served with curry, and the waiter gave us our next round free of charge which we didnt expect at all! The menu was not over bearing, yet varried and interesting. It was busy and has a good atmosphere. The naan breads were beautifully fresh. They do some curries from Kerala which I will definitely try next time I visit! Very good value.