Tanya's Reviews

Things have definitely improved since 2009 when the last review of this restaurant appeared. Firstly, you cant help but be impressed when you arrive at this little oasis just off the M3; an aperitif in the gardens overlooking expanses of trees on a warm evening is the ideal start to the evening.

Then into the restaurant which could lose the flocking on the wall but apart from that, it is a cosy, welcoming, elegant restaurant. We opted for the tasting menu and apart from the sweetbreads, we left the rest of it intact. Of the 11 dishes you get including the amuse bouche, only the two cold savoury dishes, well, left us cold. The rest were simply sublime including the creatively presented cheese dish and the 3 different desserts (one made with pea shoots of all things!). All presented like miniature works of art and infused with a decadence of flavours. The sommelier couldnt have recommended a more perfect wine to complement it: a simple and delicious pinot noir. The service was lovely too, from the hostess seating you right through. My only gripe is that I dont know when it became acceptable to charge £10 for a gin and tonic, that is the only thing that left a bad taste in my mouth.

I would have given Cinnamon Kitchen a 10 for food if the main courses were as good as the starters and the grill dishes. The chilli pepper with paneer was not at all what I expected it to be but was one of the most divine and original tasting things Ive eaten in a long time and was so more-ish. The cocktails were delicious, the bill reasonable, and the staff friendly but only thing nice about the layout and design was the light coverings; the restaurant has a horrible canteen feel and the battleship grey does nothing for the look of a restaurant.

Oh dear, another celebrity chef that is coasting along on his reputation and the fact that celebrities dont know their arse from their elbows when it comes to good food and amazing flavours. The only dish to knock our socks off was the porcini with rocket and parmesan: one of those simple dishes where each ingredient was at its peak and it was sublime! The other dishes were bland at best but one dish stood out for sheer horribleness: the seabass with artichoke. On the menu it said white wine sauce, fair enough, that goes with fish but it turned up with a tomato sauce. Sorry, I dont believe tomatoes and fish have been good bedfellows since 1988! Something was off, the tomatoes had a horrible sour taste, the artichokes were horrendously lemony/vinegary and I wanted to send it back but my boyfriend being oh-so-polite English insisted on giving me his dish instead.

We got there at 715, were told the specials, one of which was grouse, and ten minutes later when we wanted to order it, they said they didnt have any!?! Selling out of a dish that early on a Friday night is very poor. The rest of the service could not be faulted and the cosiness of the tables was another plus but hardly points enough to ever persuade me to give them my money again.

Hmmmm, I don't believe River Cafe deserves the accolades once bestowed upon it, I remember eating there for the first time more than 10 years ago and being blown away by how a simple dish could be so supremely tasty. Now, however, the food is bland, tasteless and oily. To start off with though, the menu was less than inspiring. Our starters of fritto misto and the langoustines (at a whopping £26!) were chosen due to a lack of anything better to pick but the porcini, mullet and courgette flower were indistinguishable from each other under the oil and batter. The langoustines were fine but nothing to write home about. We both ordered the salmon for main and it was sitting in a bed of oil alongside some very overcooked soggy vegetables, the whole dish was pretty embarrassing. Not feeling brave enough to touch the desserts, we settled on a cheese plate. What was strange is that they offered no chutneys so we had to ask for some. Minor but still, seems like a nice addition to a cheese plate apart from just having grapes. Overall the bill came to £200 for 2 and I have definitely had far superior meals for the same money and in nicer settings. River Cafe is now so overpriced for what it is and I cant believe how hard it is getting a reservation. Dont waste your time and money.

I am still yet to understand how Beach Blanket Babylon justifies its prices, they are always £25 for most mains which to me is identical to what you pay in Michelin star restaurants and their food is very hit and miss and not very interesting. Years ago they did offer more eclectic modern European fare whereas now its shifted to boring English and a hamburger?! Scallops with asparagus and a citrus butter had zero taste and at £13, were the most embarrassingly minute, tasteless things Id ever encountered, what a rip off! The main course of monk fish was delicious but the spinach that came with it was frightfully salty. Overall, we all found our starters over-priced and boring. The main courses fared better but the chateaubriand was over-cooked, asked for medium and it was very close to well done. Their cocktails have alwasy been horribly over-priced, averaging about £12 but they are delicious so I would suggest that if you want to go and see the restaurant, just go for a couple of cocktails and head somewhere else for better food for your money. Oh, and what is this ridiculous thing of adding a cover charge of about £2 a head for bread and butter?! Im pretty sure that before you give people something that you are supposed to inform them beforehand that they will be charged. I would suggest that as punishment for this little trick since your waitstaff dont inform you that you remove the automatically added service charge.

Wow, the food was incredible, we went for the £65 tasting menu and apart from the broccoli dish which was sickly, everything else was stunning! You know that feeling when your taste buds get all excited with each thing you eat, and you each bite is different. Some interesting non-traditional Indian food and modern twists on traditional dishes made it all very interesting. Our waitress too was informative and honest about what we ordered which was a nice change. What lets Amaya down is the decor, I felt like I was in a canteen, nothing at all like the gorgeous Veeraswamy and at these prices, the canteen look with uncomfortable chairs is not acceptable. Also, the wine list was terribly overpriced for the standard of the wines on offer, the Barolo we ordered at over £70 was the worst Ive ever had and I instantly regretted paying that much money for it. I love Veeraswamy's decor and Amayas food, if the two were combined it would be sheer bliss!

I love this place, we went in a group of 6 girls (and I would definitely recommend that you go in a group) and from the cool decor as you walk in, to the very attentive and helpful service, to the way the tables are laid out giving you plenty space to be comfortable and a good distance between the next group, the gorgeous cocktails and extensive sake list, the moist and divine sushi ending with the very reasonable bill, this is place was wonderful. The only dishes I would not recommend are the crab wrapped in seabass, its tiny and tasteless, and tempura but thats because I just cannot see the point of this oily tasteless dish at any establishment. The aubergine with sesame was the surprise dish of the day. The wine list was reasonable, we ordered a lovely Vouvray for a mere £27.