Refined and indulgent

There's afternoon teas and then there's the fortnum and mason afternoon tea. A friend and I indulged in this age old treat in celebration of motherhood, both new and impending. So this was a rather special occasion and one for F&M to really deliver on its reputation. Which I'm glad to say it did, with dollops of cream and lashings of cake to boot.

Rather than scoff only cakes galore, we decided to have the best of both savoury and sweet and opted for high tea, ordering the ham hock scotch egg with pea purée and Lobster Omelette Victoria with Lobster Bisque and Shaved Truffle. Well we were at The F&M so we thought we'd really go out to town! Both dishes were the right balance of indulgence and melt in your mouth goodness. The cake selection and vast range of teas really do make it a lengthy decision but our waiter come tea sommelier was kind enough to guide us and even let my friend have a slice of two cakes rather than a large slice of one. The smokey earl grey was unusual and divine.

The only quibble if you can call it that, is after the initial gloss and novelty of the pistachio green surroundings you do start to feel like you are sitting in an old hotel ballroom but that's a minor and quickly irrelevant point as soon as you take another mouthful of light and airy orange cake.

Lots of promise

I was first introduced to The Perkin Reveller by a fellow local and have since been three times already, but I've walked out each time with an entirely different opinion which is both confusing and unfortunate because it leaves me wondering if there will be a fourth visit.

The food is good there's no doubting that, and it gladly makes up for the slightly inflated prices (but then you are literally next door to a world renowned historical site). Whether its a perfectly soft poached hens egg on a bed of rocket and pickled mushrooms or a creamy and sumptuous risotto with a crunch of pumpkin seeds. The cake selection will not disappoint either, and the wine list is nicely balanced with a particularly good biodynamic Alsace number.

The problem is the speed at which both service and the dishes arrive at the table. If its a quiet day, you may be in luck but as I've also strangely experienced, you may not, which leaves you wondering what on earth is going on in the kitchen. There's also been slow service on a busy Saturday lunch service where the wait staff, friendly as they are, flit around like headless chickens and its all just a bit inconsistent really which is a shame. I get the feeling a little fine tuning would do the trick and I hope it comes sooner than later, because otherwise there's truly nothing standing in the way of this being a good gastro find.

Food and wine heaven

Great and unusual wines by the glass, which we chose over the usual Rioja or Tempranillo thanks to their informative and friendly barman who took us on an oenophilic journey of Spain whilst we dug into delicious small plates featuring marinaded, roasted and ultimately flavoursome morsels. Its busy at the best of times but even though we were seated at the bar close to the entrance, we could still take in the atmosphere in full and what a buzz it is. Perfect for when Jose is packed like sardines.

While away hours in here

I'll keep it simple, as that's what Jose has accomplished here. Delicious tapas treats, all the usual suspects and more. Fabulous wines by the glass, carafe or bottle. Happy smiley staff. A small yet lively taverna atmosphere where you will happily while away hours. What's not to like. I only wish it was slightly bigger to fit my enormous buggy, so us local mothers could swap coffees for a carafe of fine Rioja!

A local treat

We've been fortunate enough to bag a table at Zucca a few times now and each visit leaves us with a belly full of fresh and flavoursome food and a big satisfied smile. Yes service can be a little slow on the uptake every now and then but the vibrant, delicious dishes more than make up for it, like the sweet and creamy pumpkin burrata or that gorgeous melt on your mouth pistachio cake. The wine list is pretty extensive and dares you to venture beyond a meagre Pinot Grigio. All in all a fabulous find, if only we could keep it to ourselves, bookings might be easier.

Style over substance

Our visit to Banca was rather impromptu and upon walking into the stylish and elegant establishment, you can't help but eagerly anticipate a good meal. Good though it was, the ignorant service and slightly too steep prices made a real dent into what would otherwise be a great pitstop for shoppers and local hoi polloi alike.

Don't miss the dessert bar

Though my visit was a while back now, I remember the experience well and those delicious, fresh and innovative desserts. As soon as you walk in to Pollen St Social, you are met with friendly staff who eagerly show you to your seat where you witness the magic of the restaurant. Interiors are understated but the finishing touches are contemporary and refreshing.

The menu too seems simplistic in its approach but the executed dishes are a thing of beauty. The master piece for me however were the desserts, which you take in at the dessert bar instead of remaining at your table ( a clever way of table turning but one that works for the diner too), where you witness your desserts in the making.

I love this kind of culinary theatre and best of all staff make it a fun interactive experience. There are also a few pre-desserts to gobble down whilst your waiting for your main dessert, and although you may think three desserts might be over kill or extreme indulgence, you'd be wrong. A light and refreshing combination of flavours and textures (lime granita, passion fruit coulis, coconut sorbet) all blend to leave your taste buds zinging and your palette suitably cleansed.

Definitely one to return back to.

An average night

I've seen Cyrus Todiwala cook up some magical dishes as various food events across London and so it was with great anticipation that we booked our meal at Cafe Spice Namaste. I must add this review is of a meal going some time back now, but the memory is fresh and unfortunately I still remember the disappointment with which my fellow diners and I left the restaurant with.

Whilst the food was fresh, the flavours lacked the depth and variety I was expecting and this was a common theme across the table, despite some initially promising starters. The atmosphere did very little to compensate; on a cold winters night, the lofty, sparsely decorated brick interiors, together with the surprisingly basic furniture made it difficult to warm up or feel truly welcome. Service was good but the wait staff lacked further knowledge of the dishes when asked a few questions.

All in all, it just didn't add up to the expectations Mr Todiwala had set in my mind, which was a shame indeed.

At MW, there's very little to fault but there's equally nothing that stands out enough to wax lyrical about. It is as you'd expect; refined and classic. Dishes come and go, everything brings a pleasing smile to your face but nothing dazzled my taste buds in the same way it did at Philip Howard's Square. Don't get me wrong, your not going to go home disappointed and there is the memory of that quirky dessert of horlicks ice cream, whisky foam and honey jelly which you were so sure wouldn't work, but did. It just wasn't the all singing all dancing tasting menu I had hoped for.

An oasis in the middle of Soho madness

Lets face it, the West end can be an utter nightmare sometimes with the gridlike lanes of Soho at the epicentre of the chaos. The buzz can be tremendous, especially in the evenings where after a hard day's work many Londoners can be found spending their pennies on some well earn't booze therapy. So entering Aurora is like taking a sip out of a bottle labelled ‘drink me’ and jumping down a a great big tunnel into a secret hideaway. An oasis of calm with one of the prettiest courtyard garden's in London.

I made my visit on a balmy summer's night. The occasion; a get together with friends. Our experience was promising from the start and Aurora kept giving and giving. From delicious and generous mains to indulgent desserts and several bottles of good wine. Staff are attentive and friendly and the whole atmosphere is one of ease. Definitely one to check out if you are in need of escaping Soho at its height.

Full of promise but...

I suppose it is to be expected when big celebrity chefs build an empire and then leave it to continue their expeditions elsewhere. All that promise and expectation building inside you from the moment you book, to being seated at your table is laid to waste, at the end of another ordinary night.

In short, this was an average meal with struggling wait staff, cramped tables and sound levels reaching higher than a teenage house party at one point. Several hours later I failed to pinpoint where it all went a bit wrong but I'd say it was somewhere in the fish main, which was alright. Just alright.

We were on the coast, with fish fresh from the sea yet it was surprisingly the melt in your mouth chocolate fondant and a well suggested dessert wine (Mas Amiel, Maury) that stands out for me. I think that says it all.

Big reputation, big let down

A friend and I are big fish fans and decided on a meal at London's famous J Sheekey for some fishy fare. Unfortunately whilst my friend got on well with her pricey yet sumptuous dish, I had several issues with mine – a fish pie – not least of all the lashings of what appeared to be dijon mustard coating and killing the fish in its entirety. I got up to about eight mouthfuls or so, before quitting and I should have sent it back if my sense had prevailed but this is J Sheekey I thought, and who am I to argue the merit of its otherwise much lauded food. So instead we continued the night, me in quiet disappointment and my friend excitedly moving onto dessert. What a shame I thought, on an otherwise perfectly good night out.

Dinner and a show

Viajante was the venue for my birthday dinner and so it had a lot to live up to, which it did, and with bags of style. Not your expected location for an award winning restaurant, the town hall was a little drafty and vacant looking when we entered but that soon changed when the tables started filling up and the kitchen, visible from our table, got all fired up – literally.

There's no menu at Viajante, or at least there wasn't all those months back, which makes for an interesting if not slightly nerve wracking night for sticklers like me. Instead your asked how many courses and what you don't like and off you go on a culinary almost-blindfolded adventure. Dishes are vibrant, full of flavour and ridiculously innovative, pushing beyond boundaries and transporting you to a fantasy land of taste explosions.

The show, that is the kitchen, is equally entertaining and you can see your dish transform from worktop to pass. A must for enthusiastic foodies and adventurists.

Retrospective reviews are quite an eye opener as they really do clarify the highs and lows of a dining experience. Walking into Rasoi really is like walking into someone's rather well decorated living room full of antiques and wares from a far away exotic land. At first you feel the silence of the room, as if your in a library but once seated and perusing the menu, you begin to let your guard down.

It's a shame the dishes didn't follow suit and express a little more spice, layering and depth as the menu and surroundings lead you to expect. The colour and presentation of dishes certainly makes you smile upon arrival to your table, its just the final execution, the taste, that doesn't quite match.

On the whole it wasn't disastrous but at the prices Mr Bhatia is charging, there's plenty of room for improvement.

I have to agree with Toby N. I always walk into a D&D London experience with a little hesitation and a lot of doubt but sometimes, just sometimes, I come out smiling. Our meal at Sartoria, though a while back, was almost there. Set menu's are a bargain and we were getting A La Carte dishes at half the price. The food is decent European fare, edible and worth the money but all that was washed out with the dishwater because of our rude and somewhat obnoxious sommelier who we ended up having a bit of a stand off with and who apologised to our table afterwards. Not your typical Friday night experience.