Food fiend's Reviews

Theo Randall is a fantastic restaurant – i picked the place because i'd seen the chef on ‘Celebrity’ Masterchef and thought the food looked divine (coming from someone who doesnt often pick Italian as her food of choice) and the man himself came across a really nice talented sort – rather than the slightly pushy arrogant chefs you often see.

Booked a table for 6 – hotel is impressive as you might expect from Park Lane (think ferraris and lamborghinis parked directly outside), and the restaurant itself is very hotel-ish (think relaxing piano in background). The place was empty and staff were still getting ready for custom. Started with the bread, home made bruschetta and foccacia – beautiful and comforting carbs…then came the menus – to my sheer delight, the set menu was pretty much identical to the a la carte – i rarely ever have the set menus anywhere as they are always limited but here was a dream coup! Cost cutting AND great food – I decided on pan fried chicken livers to start, ricotta and basil tortellini for second, stuffed guinea fowl with mascarpone and pancetta (it really worked!) to follow and pudding was some sort of masarpone and fresh raspberry mix which i think i fell in love with – to the chagrin of my partner sitting opposite. He picked squid to start, pasta with beef for seconds, beef for main and lemon tart for pudding. Everything was flawless, brilliantly presented and also big portions. I was nearly full after the first two courses so by the end, we left feeling completely stuffed, the height of gluttony…

In the end, the place filled up with hotel visitors and the odd couple/loud group here and there. The overall bill came to approx £98 for 4 courses each + two non alc cocktails and 2 supplement charges. The £27 for three courses is a fantastic deal and ive been raving about it to my colleagues – definitely one of the best places to go in London and i cant believe i havent discovered it before. Only thing id say is make sure you are starving beforehand… More

I was also surprised at the good ratings for this restaurant. A friend and i went here on a spur of the moment thing as Square Meal had voted it ‘Best in East’. The actual place is a small Argentinian cafe in a trendyish part of the area – old wooden tables/laminated short menu etc. We had a slightly pushy waitress who gave us the hard sell on wine and food and when we finally got a chance to view the menu, it was quite limited and looked like huge cuts of meat (10oz fillet and no other smaller pieces of the same meat). In some ways, its good because £22 a steak isnt cheap, but quality vs quantity was my main concern when pieces of meat were this big.

When the meal arrived – it was huge but not seasoned. Chips were delicious but very oily. My meat was meant to be medium but was actually bleeding and so i had to send it back to get cooked further. The waiter again did the hard sell on puddings – everything seemed to be covered in Duche Leche toffee which made my cheesecake and the ‘traditional pancakes’ overly sweet and not really worth the money. I just didn't feel anything was worth returning for.

All in all, bill came to £72 for two courses and 1 drink – as the other reviewers have said, Gaucho is pricey but at least its somewhere where there is a far better selection of meats and veggie options and you'd feel less hard done by when you leave! Buen Ayre is ok but i dont think it's anything special and certainly not worth revisiting.

I finally got a chance to visit the lovely Maze Grill – i had only heard from those who had been on business lunches that it was excellent so i longed to try it out myself. Hurray – finally!

OK, in terms of decor, its very white/light in colour a la Chez Bruce and tables are well laid out so where i sat, you could see the chefs at work. I was hoping to see Jason Atherton as id loved watching Great British Menu but nothing, just normal cheffy types. Service was good – pleasant knowledgable waiter who was very friendly, and i noted how other groups were treated as so too – always a nice thing rather than waiters frowning as they turn their backs.

Foodwise – both of us picked lovely fillet steaks which was close to £28 each. This was Hereford grass fed – ie i think meant to be very good, but there was also an array of meaty options, many of which i could have gorged down. I have to hold my hands up and say, the food is excellent and mouthwateringly so. I don't remember tasting a more perfect steak aside from maybe the ever excellent Gaucho. Anyway, I didn't really want to say that Maze Grill is as good as it is as it is hugely expensive for ‘just a steak’ but as my sister put it, ‘its really not that easy to find a decent cooked one’. Everything was also exceedingly well presented on a little wooden chopping board type things with a large roasted garlic bulb – very cool and satisfying my comfort craving tendencies…all in all, the main course was incredibly filling and satisfying that we didnt have pudding but i'd say we were mainly there for the steaks, desserts could come later!

Downsides – the price as at £70 for two and just for one course, this was very hefty for the average person who sees dining out as a treat but hasnt a huge disposable income – but i did note that one of the larger family type groups there went for the set menu which was 2 courses for £15, 3 for £18 which is pretty amazing given it's Central London and part of the Gordon Ramsey chain. I left thinking… More

I have loved and loathed Yautacha and have considered it one of my favourite places to indulge.

The food is excellent and i always come away thinking i've had something very special. Im not a huge dim sum lover myself but the selection on offer changed my thoughts on this. I've tended to go for the crispy lamb in the past but companions have loved the venison dim sum with a passion. I also love how they have the tea house link to it so i can also indulge in a lovely beautifully presented cake on show in the window. In the past, i've always neglected desserts at Chinese restaurants but Yautacha is somewhere where you can't say no. Ill certainly be giving vouchers to friends for afternoon tea there, just to experience the indulgence on offer!

Decor should be mentioned as the downstairs is stunning – like Busaba Ethai but more moody lighting. I'd never sat downstairs before but i realise now it's the place to be if you have a few friends with you.

The only big point i have to make is the service – aside from maybe one person ive been served by, the service has been very poor. I've had the same feedback from several friends who have been completely put off by table turning or rude snobbish staff. I haven't had such a worst case scenario but i have had offhandish people serving who do make you feel very unimportant and do tend to put you off rebooking and on one occasion has tended to demand the service charge be paid when the service was pretty poor.

At the moment though, im in a ‘love it’ stage and as with most people in love, a bit of a sucker for it so will still go back – certainly very highly recommended!

Tom's Kitchen is one of the hotspots of famed Michelin starred chef Tom Aikens. I had to comment as i'd read it was going into receivership or something but it's actually really good and worth hunting out!!! He has a couple of other pricier places but this one seemed right up my alley, comfort food in a relaxed trendy slightly crowded diner, lots of meat, pies – just plain old hearty food! We got there about 8pm, half an hour early and the place was heaving so we sat in the luxury bar upstairs. When i say luxury, i mean leather sofas and papers to read! We sat for a little while before being called down for our meals. The menu itself is not huge but it's split into types of meat and one or two vegetarian options. I decided on slow roast pork as i hardly cook it, whilst partner had roast leg of lamb. Both were equally delicious and melt in the mouth meals and truthfully, i rather missed my meal when it was gone…for dessert we picked a romantic Baked Alaska for two which the waitress brought along in a copper pot and set it alight for us. This was lovely but could have been improved as it was like one giant burning meringue. My basic knowledge of Baked Alaskas suggest that there should be a bit more ice cream! But for visual impressions, this was quite glorious.

Overall, the bill came to £56 which was for two mains, one side, one dessert for two + 2 soft drinks. In my mind that was quite a lot but then again the mains were near perfect and since id certainly be going back, it was well worth it. Finally how did it set my heart alight? Well, that's just a nod to having my pudding set on fire, so to speak – how many Sunday evenings can i say end that way!

Chutney Mary is quite lovely inside. The best place to sit is in the conservatory, where you can sit under a big tree, on lots of pretty cushions, and feel somewhat enlightened as you tuck into your chicken tikka. Our starters ranged from veggie street food to duck kebabs and all were quite delicious, yes, EVEN the veggie ones. For mains, we asked if they did any biriyanis, which themselves weren't on the menu. The waiter kindly said it should be possible to make some so we ordered several of these, plus some sort of chicken dish for one of our group. Actually, this is the second time i've ordered something which was ‘off menu’ (pomegranete raita) and both times, the waiters were happy to oblige. Biriyanis were delicious, with a similar pastry crust as Zaika introduced, but not as nice, but the content was certainly mouthwatering, as you might expect! We had a number of standard sides but all in all, a very comforting good indian meal. Our bill came to £100 approx for 4 people, and that was with the discount. Which does mean that without a discount, you'd be looking at £40 a head without alcoholic drinks, which is quite hefty given the array of indian restaurants in London. But then we are in Chelsea…

The thing with Chutney Mary is, i feel, the food is not quite outstanding, as i'd say Zaika is, but on the flip side, it's been around so long that there has to be something special about it, maybe the out of the way oasis location, or the excellent service, or just the lovely decor. Worth trying after you've tried Zaika and Veeraswamy and the Painted Heron…

The Ivy itself is an institution, fantastic reviews, some saying it's overrated but most raving about the quality. However, i always felt there existed that aura of stuffiness which has put me off going there in the past. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was posh inside but not in an intimidating way. Friendly staff guided us to our table where we proceeded to look hungrily at the very British menu provided. I started with Eggs Benedict, roast lamb for my main and ended with a chocolate pudding. Mr Foodie – fiend stuffed himself with gnocchi to start, skate for main and a sorbet for dessert (with ‘Happy Birthday’ written for added effect in chocolate). All those plus drinks came to just over £100. My food was near perfect. I half wanted it to be rubbish so that i could say it wasn't worth the money but it was actually very lovely and i left with a big smile on my face, well we both did.

I have to say Chez Bruce certainly lives up to expectations – i was nervous as i thought i wouldn't be the right ‘fit’ for a place rated so highly and seemingly so ‘posh’ but the food is delicious and the service is flawless. My partner and i took a lazy afternoon off as it's cheaper during the week/at lunch and spent the time indulging there.