The River Café (Thames Wharf, London, London, W6 9HA) Having read the rather negative reviews so far, I feel compelled to write a more positive one about my visit yesterday. I ate at River Cafe a good few years ago and remember a simple, but utterly delicious experience. Knowing that restaurants can fade quite dramatically once the accolades start rolling in, there was always the risk that standards had fallen. Arriving at our outside table on a glorious sunny, warm day, the tone was already set for a fabulous long, lazy lunch. If you are looking for fancy new techniques, ingredients, and fusion combinations, this is not the place for you. If you want excellent ingredients done well, then indulge yourself at the River Cafe. Undeniably the prices are high, but the antipasti are definitely good for 2-3 people sharing. The serving sizes are not stingy. And how many restaurants do you know in London that serve top quality filtered still or sparkling filtered water at £1.50 per pitcher with unlimited refills? And the olive oil for bread dipping was indescribably good. I am no olive oil fan, but this stuff was peppery and full bodied without being cloying and over-powering. But now onto the food… We started with the Scottish langoustines split and wood-roasted with garlic and parsley. Fresh, juicy and tasty. I found myself sucking every last remnants from it. Then followed with the linguine with Devon crab, fennel herb, lemon and dried chilli. Again, seafood this fresh, does not need much done to it. There was plenty of crab – white and brown – to give it a satisfying kick. My main was the chargrilled marinated leg of lamb with salsa verde and verdura mita of aubergines, zucchini and peppers. The lamb was tender with distinctive taste of the grill. When meat arrives more cooked than I usually like, it is usually a bad sign. Not here. I could cut through it like a piece of fine fillet. Our table indulged in share desserts of chocolate nemesis, which a flourless chocolate cake that the Italians do so well, and almond tart with…
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Link to this review4 September 2011 | | Overall: | 9 |
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| Food and Drink: | 9 |
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| Service: | 9 |
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| Atmosphere: | 8 |
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| Value for Money: | 8 |
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Tenshi (61 Upper Street, London, N1 0NY) Despite being packed and what looked like too many people in a small(ish) kitchen, food arrived very quickly and hot. Sushi was tasty and fresh. As was the unagi don (eel & rice) and tempura prawn hand roll. Though not cheap – what Japanese is? – it was good value for the quality. Not a date place, but not overly stark or ‘eat quick and get out’. The upstairs – which I passed through on the way to the loo – seemed to have a quieter atmosphere. Though I didn't drink any alcohol, the sake list looked pretty comprehensive. The service was mildly haphazard. The waitress came back twice to check the order the had just taken, but she was polite and I would prefer she checked than arrive with the wrong food. It was very busy in a street packed with restaurants, which in my mind is always a good sign. Would definitely go back.
Link to this reviewJune 2011 | | Overall: | 8 |
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| Food and Drink: | 8 |
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| Service: | 8 |
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| Atmosphere: | 7 |
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| Value for Money: | 8 |
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Benares (12a Berkeley Square House, Berkeley Square, London, London, W1J 6BS) After watching Atul Kochhar on Saturday Live many times and liking what he does, I snapped up an offer of a 3-course (starter, side, and main picked from a la carte menu), coffee and petit fours for £40. Sometimes special offers can fall flat, particularly in restaurants who secretly feel they are below doing ‘offers’. But not so Benares. Only the lobster was excluded or available for a £10 supplement. Based on special offer I was on, value is 10/10. At a la carte prices, I would probably give it 8 out of 10. The service was excellent. Staff was exceedingly polite and informed. My companion felt that the place lacked atmosphere, but I didn't agree though granted the ambience was not striking. The decor is modern and gently luxurious. Though it was only about 20% full when we ate (special offers eat early!), I didn't feel that it was clinical. Had nice gentle buzz and NO horrible loud music drowning out conversation. We ordered the crisp soft shell crab, spring roll, apple & peanut salad; and fennel lamb chop, chicken tikka and mustard king prawn platter to start. I had the crab, which was delicately spiced and delicious. Tried piece of my friend's chicken and it was moist and equally tasty. For mains and sides we had beetroot marinated tandoori king prawn, celeriac puree, pickled red cabbage; braised lamb shank, punjabi chickpea, gold leaf; courgettes tossed in Goan spice; and yellow lentil. Again, everything was well spiced and cooked with good, fresh ingredients. The portions were good size. Not so much king prawns as giant prawns and the lamb shanks was falling off the bone. We also had a side of rice. Everything was polished off. If you go scanning for the usual chicken vindaloo variety, you will be disappointed. The spicing is not over-powering, so if you want a chilli kick, this is not the place for you. If you want to enjoy modern Indian food in a contemporary environment then this is the place for you. So would I go back and pay full price? Yes, I think I would…
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Link to this reviewJanuary 2011 | | Overall: | 9 |
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| Food and Drink: | 9 |
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| Service: | 9 |
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| Atmosphere: | 8 |
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| Value for Money: | 10 |
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Ottolenghi Islington (287 Upper Street, London, London, N1 2TZ) I arrived at Ottolenghi full of anticipation after strong recommendations. Undeniably the food is good. Interesting flavours and textures blended with fresh, high quality ingredients. However, a good experience needs more than good food, especially at the prices charged here. The menu is broken down between food from the counter (about £8) and food from the kitchen (from about £10). They are starter size and you do need 3 portions to not leave hungry. I had to be out of there in 50 mins, which I thought would be fine when half the menu was food from the counter that just had to be scooped out. I had to wave the staff down 5 times to give me a menu, take my order, find out where my food is (x 3). With the exception of one waitress, all the serving staff looked like they would rather be somewhere else instead, confused sneering for smiling, avoided eye contact to make it easier to ignore me, and exuded a ‘you are so lucky we have let you in to taste our food’ attitude. 5 minutes before I had to be out of there, my hot dish finally arrives and I literally bolted it down. Though I refrained from kicking off, clearly I was not a happy customer. I took my bill to the manager to pay and despite standing there for a few minutes whilst the card went through, she did not ask at all how I enjoyed my time. Maybe she didn't want to hear or could care less. Restaurants that have a good reputation can sometimes take themselves too seriously and up their own ass. In a city packed full of restaurants offering great food at reasonable prices, to my mind Ottolenghi is seriously over-priced. I will not be returning.
Link to this reviewMay 2010 | | Overall: | 5 |
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| Food and Drink: | 8 |
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| Service: | 5 |
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| Atmosphere: | 5 |
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| Value for Money: | 4 |
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Shu40s, Female, London