Joanna's Reviews

I've been here for breakfast now a couple of times whilst visiting friends in Brighton & I can honestly say this is the place to go if you're in the know! It is in the North Laines & not easily found.
Get here early as the queue grows quickly on a Sunday morning.
I can only describe the place as an old converted warehouse, but once inside it's a true Emporium. Long, wooden communal tables make up the seating area & you are completely surrounded by bays of groceries, carts of fresh fruit & veg and more. The cakes here are truly exceptional & I have never seen their like before, not even in top stores, restaurants etc in London. Don't attempt to photograph them though as I was sternly told it was not allowed!
They are adorned with all manner of fresh grasses & flowers & not even shown on their website.
The food is all organic & truly tasty. The full English was fabulous & even that manages to come with edible pansies!
Boiled eggs are delivered to the table in an assortment of hotch potch egg cups, some I've not seen since childhood.
They have just got the whole place right. In the summer months you can get made up picnic boxes for the beach, containing all manner of good old fashioned goodies.
It's the sort of place that you just have to tell everybody about, it would be a shame if you didn't visit.

Returned to this bar in the clouds for celebration drinks. You have to book in advance as you are required to sit at a dedicated area, facing out towards London…your table is a large window ledge.
On entering it really has the WOW factor, you can see the whole of London & beyond & it's great fun pointing out the landmarks.
The staff are extremely attentive & constantly top up your glass, so you finish sooner & buy another bottle!
We ordered the canapes & they were tasty, if not a bit on the small side. I must say though that the champagne prices have definately increased dramatically over the past year, which is no wonder then why most people now seem to opt for wine instead.
If you're out to impress somebody, book an hour here & they won't be dissapointed…any longer & you won't have any money left for dinner afterwards :-)

Tucked away in Devonshire Square, but right on top of Liverpool Street, this place is a real gem. Visited here with girlfriends on a Friday night & took advantage of the 50% off food offered by Squaremeal. I think without this, the food would be deemed as quite expensive, but great value for money with!
On arriving, the courtyard/walkway to the restaurant is covered with candles, morrocan floor rugs & rose petals, leading you down the winding staircase down to the large basement restaurant.
Very atmosheric & decorated in a sumptious style. Staff very attentive, friendly & helpful.
We ordered 6 dishes from the Meze starters & all were well presented & extremely tasty. The main dishes were delicious too & portion size was good. We had the chicken & lamb kebabs which came on long, metal skewers on ornate brass oval platters,with flat breads,salad & the tastiest rice any of us had ever eaten… very impressive.
At around 9.15pm, the music is turned up & belly dancers perform at your tables & you are encouraged to get up & try your hand, great fun.
The toilets deserve a mention too, Morrocan in style with fantastic, brass hand basin/trough…& sweet smelling :-)
I believe you could enjoy this restaurant for any occasion whether with friends or a romantic meal for two. I will be returning & will request the booth type tables which are enclosed with ornate carved wooden canopies. Great if there's six or more of you.

Visited Fredericks for an early lunch on a Saturday. Not much atmosphere early on but by the time we left the place was filling up & it felt more lived in.
We went for the set lunch, options were reduced & so was the price, but the food was tasty & well presented. Great wine list. Our table was situated in the conservatory & at times felt a little cold. It would also benefit having the roof cleaned as when the sun shined through the perspex roof, it was awfully dirty which didn't compliment the surroundings.

A group of us went to the Swann Inn for lunch on our way to a weekend away. It's tucked away off of the main road, but don't give up, you'll find it eventually!
What a find…if fish is your thing this is THE place. Portions are HUGE, unless you haven't eaten for a week I would skip starters, although they were delicious & 2 starters would have fed 6 of us.
I ordered the goujons & there were 4 of them the size of house bricks! Chips came up on a shared plate & I've never seen so many in one place apart from the fryer in a chip shop.
Service is friendly but I feel they should have mentioned the portion size as we felt awful leaving so much food.Although out in the garden, they have around 100 feral cats laying around & they receive the leftovers, so we didn't feel so bad.
The pub is really old fashioned & quaint & the restaurant part is a bit dated, but overall a great place…if you're heading up the A12, veer off & you won't be disappointed.