Ms. Macaroon's Reviews

Where to start? Probably as close as you can get to the perfect meal if you don’t mind sharing and like to try as much on the menu as possible. The warm inviting space, despite being white and minimalist, is more welcoming and comfortable than Ottolenghi restaurants – making you want to hole up for a good few hours and try as much as possible on the extensive menu. A splash of colour comes from huge bunches of tulips in fabulous round gold vases, and large gold lampshades give off that elusive ‘perfect’ light that makes everyone and everything look gorgeous.

We were given a sweet potato & pumpkin houmous with bread on arrival, whilst having a chat with the approachable female sommelier who recommended some unusual wines at well under our proposed budget (always a good sign), including an aromatic, juicy Slovenian Riesling. Staff were attentive but not overly so, and really knew the menu inside out, giving some spot-on recommendations.

Four of us shared 14 dishes in total, which arrived in waves decided on by the kitchen, but there was never too much or too little at once. Pretty much everything blew us away, but highlights included prawn toast rolls and beef brisket croquettes to start (fried food heaven), followed by pigs cheeks with celeriac mash and ossobucco with parmesan polenta, both powerfully earthy but elegant and luxurious at the same time.

Our waiter insisted we try the spiced baby chicken which came with a crisp, zingy vegetable accompaniment, as did many of the other dishes, the sides lifting each dish to another level – in fact they were so good we asked for more of the Asian coleslaw that came with the trout. The only duff note was a bland vegetable dish of swede gratin, and perhaps the burrata, which needed some more blood orange to cut through its oozy milky richness.

We somehow squeezed in a couple of puddings (just to make sure…). Churros y chocolate felt naughty and moreish – but how can deep fried pastry dipped in melted chocolate be anything… More

My absolute favourite set lunch is the fabulous Viajante. Weekend lunches are a more accessible way to sample Nuno Mendes' culinary skills – instead of the 9 or 12 course tasting menus which are offered in the evening (with the 12 course menu taking a whopping 4.5 hours to munch through!), weekends are a more relaxed affair with tasting menus of just 3 or 6 courses. We chose 3 courses, which was perfect for lunch, but is pretty hefty in itself as it also includes a couple of amuses, a pre-dessert and petit fours. At £25, this has to be the bargain of the century, especially as you can add well-chosen matching wines for each course for a paltry £15.

Everything, from bread and spicy whipped butter, to the brilliantly attentive service, and the theatre of watching sharply skilled chefs preparing your lunch about 2 feet away, makes for a dazzling experience. Our first course of sous vide-cooked lobster with milk skin and leek ash was challenging at first, but once we got used to the crazy ingredients, it really came together. The main course was duck two ways, one a confit, the other cooked sous vide (notice a theme?), which was earthy but elegant. Pudding showed off Mendes' skills honed at El Bulli with light as air chocolate mousse encased in a chocolate cube, with a salty chocolate ‘soil’ scattered around. It was beautiful to look at and the textures were intriguing, but I would have preferred an extra ingedient or flavour, as it was all a bit too chocolately. The highlight for me was a beauiful pre-dessert of sea-buckthorn granita. Sea buckthorn is a new one to me, but the flavour was instantly addictive, incredibly delicate but very memorable.

I can't rate the experience highly enough and am planning to return again and again. Shame about the dodgy Bethnal Green location but it only serves to make the restaurant sparkle even more. A true gem.

Top tips: start with crazy cocktails in the bar, and ask for tables 1, 2 or 3, closest to the kitchen action.

This is a brilliant offer – £10 for a whole meal inclduing a drink – with some interesting menu options. Much better than some of the other pizza offers around at the moment, most of which are pretty uninspiring. Well done Prezzo!

What's not to love: prosecco on tap served in giant tumblers; italian tapas to start; followed by chewy but crisp woodfired pizzas with innovative, generous ingredients; salted caramel tart for pudding; wine by the carafe; fab cheese selection; DJ spinning cool tunes; beautiful crowd and buzzy atmosphere; nice loos; great prices; proximity to Callooh Callay for post-dinner cocktails and a boogie.

The only downside? The rigourous enforcement of the rule about pizza toppings. When I asked for anchovies on my salami & chilli pizza, I was told a firm no – Pizza East does not allow extra or different toppings in any circumstance. Crazy or what?!

I whole-heartedly agree, this place is a rip-off joint. The steak & chips I had looked like cheap pub grub, and tasted even worse. Bad quality frozen chips, and a tasteless, stingy piece of unappealling steak, was presented very unattractively. The female staff members are rude and unhelpful. The fact that this place has a bar upstairs that you can only sit in if you buy Champagne says it all really…they are trying to woo the City boys who love their steaks, with little regard for quality. They should take a leaf out of Gaucho's book – the steaks, imaginative sides & charming service knock Black & Blue off the scale. This is probably the worst place to eat around Borough Market – luckily there are plenty of other great places to chosse from such as Brindisa, Feng Sushi, or Wright Bros Oyster Bar.

OK two things about this place rock – the food & Georgio. Every dish is a perfect balance between gutsy & delicate, with a few things I could eat every day, such as the papardelle with kid goat ragu. Also, the opportunity to catch a glimpse of gorgeous Georgio himself is a huge incentive to visit, and is not a rare occurance. But a few things let Locanda down. Firstly the common sight of more than a few glamorous 'younger ladies' with men who are certainly not their Daddys. Secondly, ladies, whose husbands have long meetings in the adjoining Churchill hotel, who sit with lots of children at huge tables in the restaurant, barely eating or speaking. Sadly, it stifles the atmophere in what should be a glamorous, buzzy restaurant.

There are few restaurants like Baltic in London: tons of atmosphere, great food & drinks, and fab service- but you don't leave feeling ripped off at the end of the night. The cocktails absolutely rock (try the Baltic Spring Punch), and the bar is great fun for just drinks washed down with caviar & smoked salmon blinis. Don't forget to order one of their special vodkas – you can choose the size of carafe you want – they come encased in ice to ensure the temparature is tip top. The food is normally brilliant, and the sour cherry creme brulee is not to be missed. Great for star-spotting too, especially the actors from the nearby Old Vic.