Not just a great view

It goes without saying that the views from halfway up the Shard are stunning. The design is also great and the service was slick even on the second day. As expected, the cooking is excellent. as you'd expect from the Zuma/Rokka kitchens. The wine list is interesting. We enjoyed Romano peppers and scallops to start followed by Lobster and Lamb chops with garlic and harissa; all beautifully cooked and presented.

A Soho Classic

Trading in the old Zilli space the restaurant hasn't changed a lot. Good quality food with lots of friendly Italian hospitality and a staple Italian menu. They greet everyone like they're old friends and if they're not they soon will be. Soho used to be full of places like this, sadly there's not many left.

The views are amongst the best in London so the restaurant has an immediate wow factor, but hopefully you're dining with someone who deserves your attention more than the view, so the food better be good, and it is.
Sometimes I think the Chef tries a bit too hard to be creative but overall it works; the menu is far more wide ranging and experimental than one would expect in a Brasserie, especially as it shares the space with a fine dining restaurant. The live music is also an added bonus. Front of house seems to often let them down as they seem to overbook regularly. Also I preferred it when the bar was at the back of the building unlike today when it creatyes a cvery busy and often overcrowded entrance to the restaurant.

Best Restaurant in Soho

Although not positioned as ‘fine dining’ the pedigree of the chef shine through. The decor is funky and the food classic with lots of original touches. Lots of care has gone into this restaurant and it should thrive, book early to avoid disappointment. there's also a brilliant chef's table in the basement and a cool little bar upstairs.

Brasserie or Fine dining ?

The press coverage suggested that M Chavot was eschewing fine dining for a Brasserie. In fact we have fine dining masquerading as a Brasserie. The results are tremendous. The room is elegant and the service attentive, albeit not yet slick!
We started with chicken parfait and sardine escabeche, the presentation of each was exemplary and the flavours fabulous. Mains were Tiger prawn with chick peas and chorizo and Daube de Boeuf both delightfully flavoursome. The wine list is a bit ‘old school’, that is a tomb; if you're in delightful company why would you want to take time out to study a huge list? It did seem reasonably priced though.

Highly recommwended!

No wonder London had such a bad reputation

Back in the day this was considered one of the premier London restaurants, so I can only imagine how bad the others were. Service is attentive but surly! The food is OK but not inspired and the prices are astronomic ! Heaven knows why it was so busy!

A Pleasure

This is one of my favourite restaurants in London. In truth the only fault I can find is that it's so easy to run up a huge tab without even trying. Last nights delights were a Duck salad with pomelo and stuffed Scallops and prawns. All washed down by a very pleasant Alborino.

Does London need another psuedo French Brasserie? Yes it does !!!

There have been a number of excellent ‘classic’ French Brasseries opened in London over the past few years: Les Deux Salons, Galvin as well as Racine, so I pondered whether we needed another. Based on my initial visit the answer is an unequivocal – yes!
The restaurant is huge , full, noisy and fun. The atmosphere bristling. As for the food, it's good, but not quite as good as the others I've mentioned, but the atmosphere compensates. The Brandade and pumpkin ravioi were both lovely. The Ox Cheek Bourgigone strangely lacked sauce, but the waiter quickly fetched some when asked. it was beautifully cooked and served with papardalle but lacked moisture. Serrvice throughout was excellent. It's not as elegant a Wolseley or Delauney but well worth a visit.

Although the bar downstairs is very nice and probably a bit more atmospheric and authentic for the Tapas feel, I prefer the comfort of the restaurant above. I also like that this isn't just Spanish Tapas but that flavours from France and Italy have also been combined into the format. This amalgam makes Opera Tavern pretty unique and the choice of dishes very interesting. The wine list is also very good and reasonably priced. The only snag with this kind of dining is that it's easy to get carried away ordering lots of great dishes and quickly rack up a large bill. It's also ideally located in Covent Garden where there lots of people but not many decent restaurants.

Baltic is a loud buzzy vibrant place and probably perfect for pretty much any occasion; from a romantic liaison to a large group (work or family). Unless you're from E.Europe the flavours and sometimes the ingredients won't be familiar. Don't worry, experiment, they all work and you won't be disappointed as the cooking is very skilful. In addition to the excellent menu is an extensive list of vodka's which is also highly recommended.

I arrived for a 1pm lunch and was told politely but firmly, that even though the restaurant was visibly less than half full I had to wait at the bar for my guest to arrive. I was shown to a stool in an otherwise empty bar. My instinct was to leave but B&L had been my guest's idea. Fortunately I didn't have to wait too long on on her arrival we were seated immediately.
Service was excellent and between us we had a Burger and the Lobster Roll. The quality of both was excellent. Service was very speedy so the price seemed a bit steep. If it hadn't been for the idiotic seating policy I would have left feeling fairly positive.
If you like Burgers or Lobsters I recommend the place, but make sure you meet up before you get there.

I re-visited this classic for the first time in years and was left wondering why I hadn't been back recently. The atmosphere (on a Saturday night) was buzzing and remained so until well after midnight, which surprised me. The cooking as I remembered was very good. It was very busy, but service was a bit slow. Overall a thoroughly enjoyable evening and I'll be back rather sooner than before.

Everyone should visit this brilliantly refurbished room, at least once. Despite it's name it's a bar not a restaurant, merely a bar. The prices are steep (think Claridges or Connaught) ; £25 for a glass of their cheapest champagne (Tattinger). The room though is exquisite, quite the most beautiful bar in London. Unfortunately the room was mostly empty when I visited so it lacked atmosphere, but the service was good and the excellent background music helped. When word gets out it's going to be hard to get a table, so go soon.

Under previous management these premises were known as a ‘Meat Market’. Under Hawksmore the emphasis of meat is on the menu rather than the clientele. They've done an excellent job re-decorating the room introducing a contained bar, and then opening the main room and furnishing it with leather banquets, whilst retaining the art deco windows and ceiling. As with other branches the meat is first class. The addition of a wide range of high quality fish to the menu massively broadens the audience for the restaurant. The wine list is interesting and competitively priced.

As we opened the door we were greeted by a waft of enticing spices. On a Saturday night the restaurant was rammed and was noisy so if you're looking for solitude I suspect this is not for you, but if you're looking for great food, service and a great buzzy atmosphere Trishna should be at the top of the list! The food was excellent and the portions were huge so a very generous sized doggy bag left with us.