Fiona's Reviews

We held a corporate event here last week in the Playroom and the cinema and were thrilled with it.

We had drinks first in the Playroom with canapes and little tubs of fork food (fish and chips, bangers and mash, etc) which was great, then we moved downstairs for the film. If you haven't been to The Electric I would definitely recommend it, comfy leather chairs with a foot stool and a little table for your popcorn and drink. You can bring your glass of wine or beer to your seat and when we went down with our guests there was ice-cream, drinks and popcorn ready to welcome them. All very smooth and well run.

We went for afternoon tea in Number 16 before a girlie afternoon at the Grace Kelly exhibition at the V&A. The hotel is really lovely – very similar in style & atmosphere to the other Firmdale hotels (Covent Garden Hotel, Charlotte Street Hotel, The Haymarket, etc) and is a real find so close to the museums.

We sat in the bright conservatory as it was a bit chilly, but the back garden was gorgeous as well, really pretty and private. The only issue was that we were the only group in the conservatory and we arrived at 1 but no-one came to take our order until ten to two, by which stage we had gone out to reception 3 times to tell them we were ready to order. When we had placed our order the service improved substantially (prompt, helpful, second round of sandwiches offered), otherweise I would have given them 1/10 for service.

Once the afternoon tea arrived it was yummy – we gobbled up all the sandwiches in seconds and they brought another round. The scones were really warm and were brought out in two rounds so they didn't go cold, very thoughtful. The brownies were pure sinful and the presentation was lovely.

I will definitely go back, however next time I think we'll have to order as soon as we are shown to our table to make sure we don't get forgotten!

I work in the West End and regularly need to meet people who work in the City or Canary Wharf. The Royal Exchange cafe is my meeting place of choice as the breakfast is excellent, lunch is yummy, afternoon tea is alright and it's pretty well priced (seafood platter with oysters, crab, langoustines and prawns for £21 per person). It's very handy for meetings as it's always buzzy and noisy so no-one can overhear you, and it's quite smart. It's also always bright, even on a dark day.

However, the service varies from lazy to awful. It's not unknown to wait 10 minutes for a menu, and today I had to ask for my drink three times. They then brought me (and tried to charge me for) someone else's drink. When our food arrived it was delicious as usual, however everything we ordered was cold (seafood platter, tomato salad, mixed leaf salad) so I don't know how it took half an hour to arrive.

If the service was sorted out, this place would be a perfect tasty, smart but informal place for meetings or lunches with friends.

My first trip to Lutyens was a roaring success and I will definitely be making a return visit. I work in Lincoln's Inn and the dearth of quality restaurants to within walking distance can be quite depressing. I love the Bleeding Heart but there are only so many times you can eat in same place.

The food at Lutyens is typical Conran fare; good quality and seasonal although it's a bit depressing when you look at the sample menu online and then it's the exact same on the day. If Chez Bruce can change a decent portion of its menu every day/every few days I don't know why Lutyens (which is in the same price bracket) can't. Having said that, my imam baldini (middle-Eastern style spice aubergine salad) for starter was beautifully spiced and very tasty and the rabbit with bacon and mustard for main course was delicious; soft and juicy and not overly mustardy. The vegetable side dishes were also reasonably generous and lovely and crunchy and fresh.

Service was a little slow towards the end (10 minutes to get the bill is excessive), although the petit fours cheered me up while I waited. Having said that service was polite and unobtrusive throughout.

The tables are a good distance apart, nice for business lunches where you don't want to be easily overheard. There are also two tables for groups of 8/10 which are in alcoves, practically like a private room but still with the buzz of the main restaurant.

Le Boudin Blanc is a charming little place and I'm a big fan of the food – good quality french classics. The staff are indifferent at best; requests for drinks/condiments are met with a huffy sigh and they are distinctly slow. However, if you can see past that it's a great restaurant for a chatty business lunch. It's very noisy but the upside is that the other tables can't hear what you're saying as there's such much hubbub.

From the outside Pebble Beach looks like a small dormer bungalow – very unimpressive and we were a little doubtful as to whether it would be as good as we had been told. Inside it's a good size with an oyster/champagne bar, a large tropical fish tank and large glass windows with a great view out over the Isle of Wight. There's also a really great terrace with smart, trendy garden furniture, fairy lights, burners and a large, sail-type canopy; more like Ibiza than Dorset! The decor indoors is more traditional but still smart.

The menu was fresh & imaginative with plenty of local seafood. The half lobster tempura with pak choi stir fry, glass noodles and sweet chilli sauce was really fresh and tasty and beautifully presented, as was the beef bourginon. All the dishes we saw arriving at other tables looked equally good. The wine list had plenty of choice by the glass and a selection of dessert wines to go with the 8 options for dessert.

Service was faultless, prompt, helpful and friendly; one of the waiters took photos for us with the great view.

Dinner for four (3 lobster mains, 1 beef main, 2 desserts [1cheese board and 1 chocolate fondant], a bottle of chablis, a glass of red and a glass of port), including tip and donation to charity came to £125. Very good value for a great night out.

I've been going to Tayyab since I first moved to London 8 years ago and have never been disappointed – it's vastly superior to the identikit restaurants on Brick Lane (which is, admittedly, easier to get to being only a short stroll from Spitalfields/Liverpool Street and in a nicer area), which I would never choose to go to.

This Saturday was one of the very few occasions when I didn't manage to get a reservation (they were fully booked) and we queued for 20 minutes to get a table – however we were lucky compared to people who turned up after us, at one stage the queue wrapped the whole way around the restaurant! I would strongly recommend making a reservation to avoid hanging around.

Having said that, the food is still wonderful and we enjoyed it all the more for having had to wait. I went with 3 Tayyab Virgins who were all hoping for plain old Chicken Tikka Masala but then gave in and decided to branch out – and were amazed at how much tastier the food was than their usual curry haunts. The lamb chops for starter are amazing, so soft and juicy, really flavoursome and the masala fish went down a storm. For main course the four of us shared 4 naan (their peshwari naans are the best in the business, light and fluffy and not the greasy, doughy lumps you often get at other places), 2 rice, the dry meat (which isn't dry at all, it just means there isn't much sauce), the chickpea chana, karahi dhal gosht (lamb and lentils – divine!) and the chicken keema. We ROLLED out the door, fit to burst, with our leftovers in a little takeaway bag and there wasn't a peep about chicken tikka masala… It helped that we paid £20 each for a pakistani feast.

The three Tayyab Virgins were converted and are all dying to go back. Yum!

PS it's BYOB so stock up before you get to Fieldgate Street to avoid wandering around and being overcharged for Cobra, like we were.

I'm a Balham local and have been to Lamberts a few times now – it's a great alternative to Chez Bruce (which is AMAZING but v expensive) and to Harrisons (smart crowd & decor, indifferent food). Sunday lunch is great value at £20 for two courses or £24 for three and always yummy – the menu changes regularly to include seasonal produce but some house favourites (e.g. twice baked goats cheese souffle) apear regularly. They also do kids portions, which is very civilised!

Great wine list with bottles from £15 or so, including a few English wines, including the yummy sparkling Chapel Down Brut from Kent.

Service is smooth & friendly, the restaurant itself is modern & quite minimalist in a non-cold way and there's always a good ambience.

Looking forward to a return trip already.