FeignedMis­chief's Reviews

This is my 2nd visit to Barioja which means its also the second time around for me in Edinburgh. We stayed at the Travelodge in St. Mary’s which is just a stone’s throw away to Barioja’s. We had spent the whole day sightseeing inboth Edinburgh and Glasgow and by the time we got back in the evening we were famished. It’s a shame my friend Richard from Filmstalker couldnt meet with us being swamped with work and personal stuff so its a quiet time alone with gypsy who is simply dreading the last few days of her stay.

We ordered chorizo and sardinas for our appetisers which was so good I forgot to take photos. But we really came for the paella mixta that because they know how to make proper paellas, when you order, it actually takes an hour to make so you have time really to catch up or get all loosened up by the time you dig in. We also ordered their house Rosé. And by the time the paella arrived and it touched my palate, it was just as I remembered it, just delicious and tasty. The staff are very attentive even offering to take a photo of ourselves. We had some strawberry gelatin with mocha ice cream for afters.

If you are ever visiting Edinburgh, pop down Jeffreys Street and check out Barioja. If you dont wish to wait for an hour for your paella and would like to order then come back later, they will ask you to pay in advance which is just fair. Their menu is moderately priced, be prepared to shell out between £20 ppn for a three course meal with wine and coffee plus gratuities. Paella mixta is good for 2 persons at £16.

My sister gypsy has been obsessed to dine in this restaurant since she heard about it from Jimmy James, but we failed to try it on both occasions that she was in town, so she finally had her wish come true the third time around when we made a go for it today. As the case with any good restaurants around London, weekends is their most busy time so a reservation is always worth it, so I have booked my reservation whilst we were still in Edinburgh to come this Wednesday. To get there is a challenge not being that familiar with every nook and cranny of Notting Hill but we eventually found it after a very exhaustive search. Well, this restaurant better be worth all the hype! It was packed with what seems like yuppies to me, the Italian waiter who welcomed us and pointed us to our seat was very friendly, I suppose that goes for all Italians, who seems to be almost always sweet.

For starters, we opted for their once-only visit to the buffet table but with a huge plate to put your selection in, at £7.00 it’s a steal. Just look at the choices! I ordered a glass of the Pinot Grigio, Andrea di Pec Igt. (£4.50) which was fruity enough and tasted so much better after having had the buffalo mozzarella. And their olives are to die for.
For our main course gypsy chose the flat spaghetti with sea-food in a fresh tomato sauce (£10) and being a huge anchovies fan, I chose their pizza capricciosa – artichokes, anchovies, sweet peppers, ham and egg (£8.50). It was pure heaven. I have always loved Italian food but was always stuck with the franchise restaurants which is really not that bad at all but then of course you’ll be singing a different tune once youve tasted a much better Italian meal elsewhere. Now my sister having just returned from Verona where all she ate the 4 days she was there was (you guessed it right) purely Italian food vouched that the food at Osteria was the best outside Italy. For afters we settled to share the Chocolate cheesecake served with chocolate sauce which just… More

It was a choice whether to go to Osteria Basilico in Notting Hill or Carluccio’s in nearby Islington, but not having booked our reservations with the former, we were left with the latter. My sister Shi have not tried Carluccio’s in all the times she visited London so this is really more like her treat. For starters, we ordered their antipasto massimo which is a large mixed antipasto for two – focaccia, Napoli and Milano salami, roast ham, stuffed chicken, fresh green bean and mint salad, caponata, oven roasted tomatoes, marinated peppers and olives (£9.95). I wish I had taken a photograph to show you how it couldnt possibly be good for two but it did taste quite good.

For our main course Shi ordered Branzino con salsa e patate – fillet of seabass panfried with a tomato salsa and sauteed potatoes (£11.75) and I opted for the Fegato Veneziana – panfried strips of calves liver and balsamic onions with rosemary potatoes (£10.95) which I must admit despite a not so generous portion tasted good on the palate. Four our dolci (afters) Shi had a ciocolatto fondente – warm chocolate and kahlua pudding and vanilla ice cream (£4.75) and a cafe latte (£1.95) whilst I had affogato – vanilla ice cream served in a tall glass with a strong espresso to pour on top (£3.95) .

This was a much better experience than I had at their Canary Wharf caffé. Meal for two with Peroni Nastro Azzurro was £49.50 plus 10% gratuities.

I have lived in Hackney in the last 8 years and have been passing through Islington via the 38 bus route and have always been curious about this quaint restaurant called The Afghan Kitchen just on the corner of Islington Green as it merges with Essex Road. First off, I liked the simplicity of the restaurant with its canteen style wooden table and chairs and how it’s always full everytime I pass by there. A work colleague was due to have a leaving do here last Wednesday and I couldnt make it, then I realised I was going to be in Islington anyway to watch Duet for One at the Almeida with fellow theatre trotters Lynne and Tony, we decided to book seats and try it out for our pre-theatre meal. The excitement to finally dine here stems from the fact that I have never tasted traditional Afghan cuisine before, I have heard quite good praises about this place, and tonight that curiousity will be finally satisfied.

I booked the table for 6 pm but knew I wouldn’t get there till 630 pm so on my way texted Lynne my order to save us time waiting for the food to arrive. I ordered their Qurma Suhzi Gosht (lamb with spinach), rice, and Afghan mixed pickles, whilst Tony & Lynne both had the Banjon Borani (aubergines with yoghurt). Service was friendly and lightning quick, our food arrived just as soon as I got there. So how was it then? Decadently delicious! My lamb reminded me of the Indian sag aloo but as I am picky with my sag aloo and only ever orders it in my local Indian take away, this was just as tasty and the lamb very tender. How many ways can you describe the rice. I mean how did they cook the rice, it’s already a meal on its own! Tony and I both couldnt get over it. The portions are generous although their menu is quite limited with just 4 meat and 4 vegetarian dishes but I can say now that I would like to try them all! I had my eye on the Lavand-e-Murgh (chicken in yoghurt) and will also try the highly recommended Sarah’s (kidney beans, chick peas and potatoes cooked with… More