Food fiend's Reviews

Singapore Garden is in a slightly offbeat location near Swiss Cottage and i doubt most would know about it unless locals. I decided to go as it had got a Squaremeal 1 star and was looking forward in anticipation to my meal.

The venue itself has been refurbished nicely, very opulent inside and a decent amount of tables. Id completely recommend booking as it was packed on a Saturday night – book for 8pm so you dont get shooed away due to their 2 hour table turnaround!

We ordered most of the starters – very tasty but nothing new to me – standard spring rolls, duck etc. Mains had a good range of pork, fish, lamb with an additional summer menu where you could choose from lobster or variations of crab. These looked very interesting and gave the place a slight edge over the normal oriental places we go to. There were a distinct lack of veggie options though which was quite disappointing.. Desserts looked unappealing – variations of deep fried fruit so we passed. Overall came to £30 per head with no dessert.

Service was ok but all in all, this is a good place to have a catch up with friends (with slightly more money than poor students) and have a classy night out in Swiss Cottage. For better oriental food, id recommend going into town to places like Haozhan (my favourite in Chinatown), Yautcha or Hakkasan, expensive but worth it!

Im surprised by the last couple of reviews for Le Gavroche. I was taken here for a surprise birthday meal and i found it to be really stunning and a great experience.

The place itself is very old school inside (the woman gets the menu without the prices and also men must wear jackets). The general atmosphere seems to be that of real wealth – we were the poor cousins! I started with the cheese souffle which was quite huge but actually every mouthful was perfectly light and airy so i didnt feel in any way stuffed. My partner had veal to start which he enjoyed. Our main was black leg chicken which was cooked in a sealed pot and quite huge but again, beautiful flavours which worked very well together. We ended up sharing an assiette of puddings which allowed for two helpings of each of the delicious puddings on the menu (rum baba, chocolate, tiramisu etc etc…).

Overall, my partner had agreed that though no course was particularly wow, they were all very good – however the service was outstanding. We were never made to feel out of place despite obviously being the poor people out for a treat! All were incredibly friendly and attentive which is why i gave them a 10!

Its the most expensive place ive been to – £180 for two people without alcohol!! However its such a lovely experience for a real foodie that id recommend at least going once in your life.

I went here in between shopping and its very much like the other HIX in Soho, enjoyable British food. Puddings were great and it should be a great place to rest before you head out again.

The only main gripe i have is service was terrible – hardly anyone in there and just didnt get served for at least 15 min – this continued between courses! What should have been a quick meal just took forever. Plus the waitress slammed down the drinks/plates like she was completely fed up with the place. Very poor and offputting – Mark Hix needs to get better trained staff as this did put a dampner on things.

We went here prior to a comedy gig as i had heard great reviews about the place. It was empty so early on but the place was getting very busy post half 6. Id recommend calling for tables as online it showed it was full.

For the first time in ages, I decided on the set menu, there were choices of nettle soup or black pudding to start, mains were guinea fowl or fish fingers, pudding was lemon bakewell tart or chocolate tart. My partner tried the black pudding and said it was very tasty – i just looked on in disgust being an unadventurous sort! My guinea fowl with garlic mash was quite enjoyable though i found the meat slightly tough. Fish fingers seemed ok but small portions. Pudding was a 10, decent sized portion and melt in the mouth texture. Partner's bakewell tart was similarly delicious.

Service felt a little so so because the waitress didnt seem very experienced plus there were a couple of mistakes in the order but overall a great bistro type place and i think if i went back, there was a really good selection on offer on the a la carte. The bill came to £50 bfor two which didnt seem bad at all for three course each (this was the pre-theatre). I really didnt enjoy Boppo di Luco nearby so was looking for a good alternative to this before a show so id really recommend this as a great pre-show option to anyone. I can imagine it will do great business.

I usually frequent E&O in Ladbroke Grove but decided to pop over here.

Food is excellent – i recommend passing on starters and having the beef tahoon – simply delicious accompanied by egg fried rice and veggies. Pad thai is also massive, not out of this world, but huge and tasty. The non alc drinks selection is also good – obviously a good barman works here. Puddings – the banoffee pie is to die for – bigger than at E&O. The menu is the same word for word but the only main difference is this place was half empty on a Tuesday night (and no doubt each weekday) however E&O would normally be packed, with people being forced to leave within the 2 hour time frame! I say this because i was denied a chocolate pudding at 8.45pm there because ‘it would take 18min’ and this would take me past the 9pm cut-off…

My friend also said that the other Ricker place, Great Eastern Dining Rooms, was similarly packed out during the week – perhaps this was due to the location here, somewhere in Belsize Park (not near the station!)

Id say if you are looking just to have a good meal, not be rushed, and good service, then this is the place to go. However if you want the whole buzzy, rushed feeling – and some do!, then E&O is better for you. It definitely has the right atmosphere and good for star spotting but not sure the rushed service makes it worth it every time.

Stunning food – my chicken liver pate was melt in the mouth, my roast was delicious (though bathed in too much gravy) and my ferrero rocher ice cream was utter bliss. Place was packed out plus a party upstairs so expect to book. Food was beautfiul though despite the slow service (almost 45min for my main to arrive!). I still prefer the Junction up the road for mains but for everything else, the Bull & Last hits the mark!

I took my partner here for his birthday – its certainly beautiful and opulent inside, like a big lovely hotel bar!

We arrived early though the waiting area is tiny, managed to get a comfy seat. Its very impressive inside – smelling of money! We were greeted by a friendly waiter and a huge basket of lovely homemade bread. Mental note – try not to pig out. I had the most delicious gnocchi to begin with whilst my partner had scallops – both wonderful. The mains werent as impressive though could be because we chose wrongly. I had pan fried cod but it tasted slightly sweet and sickly. Perhaps it was the side of lentils. My partner had pumpkin ravioli but he also said it was very sweet and almost like a pudding. My cod was massive and dare i say it, too much of it…Pudding was as exceptional as the starter – i had white chocolate soup with passion fruit jelly and pistachio ice cream – a strange combination but worked perfectly. Altogether, the final bill was £110 for all this which was fair enough for such a place but i didnt feel the food lived up to scratch.

Id say, if you are a bit boring like my partner and i!, choose something tried and tested for your main and youd have a dream night – otherwise i think there are other very good, slightly cheaper places – Enotuci Turi, Theo Randall – to name but a few.

I went to Artigiano on the 50% a la carte deal which you can get on Toptable or Squaremeal and it was excellent value. There was a great selection on the menu, pasta, meat, fish etc and the place was packed out. The venue itself is in a small mews area of Belsize Park so i dont think its as easy for those who dont drive. The food was great though – though my friend did find a small squid piece in her salad (she didnt order this and she was allergic! Also got charged twice for drinks. However i think this is a mistake which could have happened in any restaurant.

I ended up having ravioli with cream cheese stuffing and a main of lamb cutlets. The meals dont come with sides so you have to order that on top. Both meals were good though portions seemed a decent size. My friend had buffalo mozarella and a main of breaded chicken. Everything was extremely tasty.

Anyhow – the final bill for two people having three courses each plus a drink came to £45, so £23 each and i though that was excellent value. Ill definitely be going back – a great ‘neighbourhood’ haunt which felt cosy and stylish.