TomTom's Reviews

34 is certainly a slick, professional operation. It’s nice looking too, with lots of natural light at lunchtime and a flattering warm glow in the evening – Terry Wogan looked great in it! Food is bang on trend with its range of steaks flaunted in an appealing, user-friendly menu that also touts posh brasserie alternatives like grilled octopus with roseval potatoes and chorizo, and cep, truffle and prosciutto lasagne. Wines by the carafe and by the glass add further appeal.
But there’s something quite corporate about the room, and the prices reflect this too. Besides the £4.35 sides and £2 cover charge, an unpriced Halibut ‘special’ at just under £40 is steep.
Nevertheless the buzz and people-watching are compelling. And the restaurant has certainly hit the ground running – it looks like it’s been here for years, a myth the staff do little to dispel.

This new Indian beacon in the peaceful surrounds of Devonshire Square makes the most of its heritage sight – it's a nice contemporary spin on a historical warehouse setting. I loved the elliptical lampshades whose light softens the setting's harder edges. Currently there's lots of space between tables and the user-friendly menu reflects rather than duplicates the Westminster template, but despite a relatively tight set of options I found them all appealing.

Excellent flavours, nice spicing, lots of wider Asian influences. Loved the aubergine dish, above. Look forward to trying the tandoor bar.

Private room with full view of kitchen is bright, fun and stylish.

5.12.11
Went back last week and tried their excellent canape tasting menu. This is a brilliant way of trying 14 dishes for just £30. I'd forgotten just how good the crab and cod cake with a green prea ratia shot was. Other favourites included the intense-flavoured sweet corn soup, the tandoori black leg chicken breast, and the shrikhand cheesecake with tamarind glazed berries.

Despit being quiet at lunch – at least on the early weekday we went, and I suspect most lunchtimes – standards are high and bright intense flavours are complemented by exciting executions. Open ravioli of confit pork, ragout of white beans, Jerusalem artichoke and horseradish foam is a complex and masterful starter, deliciously textural and packed with flavour. Asparagus, mushroom and tarragon beignets, mushroom vinaigrette, red mustard leaves looked strikingly pretty and was, according to my guest, a riot of taste too. Pan-fried cod with crushed potatoes and baby carrots, with a carrot and star anise pureé and tarragon sauce was again pretty as a picture and another assault on the taste buds, the sweetness of the carrot offsetting the savoury elements of the fresh, fleshy cod and the earthiness of the potatoes.
Strawberry and macadamia nut crumble, strawberry sorbet, basil ice cream struck a comparatively low note (a pass rather than distinction) but my friend’s mascarpone pud saw the kitchen right back on track. Budget prices these are not, but the 2 and 3 course set lunch is a bargain at £18.95 and £22.50 respectively, with the added attraction of wines to match if desired.
The setting is a surprisingly simple brasserie-style room which engenders a relaxed, informal vibe.

A restaurant dressed in pub clothes, this has bundles of pubby character and nice English service that makes you want to order a half of Black Sheep bitter with your smoked mackerel paté, even if you’re a wine junkie. When you look at the bill later you’ll realise you’ve been to a restaurant, but your memory will be of a pub – a good one – and perhaps the post-lunch walk on Wimbledon Common
We ate ox liver pate as well as the aforementioned mackerel pate – both full of flavour, both priced at £7.50. This was followed by a vegetarian risotto with an oeuf mollet in a scotch-egg-like casing and a tender-as-they come confit shoulder of lamb – both hugely tasty and sympathetically priced at £12 and £14.50 respectively. To finish an apple and rhubarb crumble for two (at £10) that could have easily served four was a comparative let-down with way too little rhubarb, though it was rescued in part by a delicious homemade custard.
Would I go again? Yes, though if it had been crowded as it must get at the weekend, I would have reservations on a value footing.

Regulars from the Hanway Place original will recognise the ice-cool aesthetic, the insouciant poise and the top-class food and drink offering, only on a grander, more-monied scale. Afterall, why change a winning formula? The new site spans two floors, bigger restaurant downstairs, with a smaller but not inconsequential ground floor which may become the place to have lunch. The same ‘sexy’ vibe has been maintained, fostered by an edgy soundtrack, wooden ‘cage’ latticework, back-lit electric blue glass and moody lighting from hanging halogen lights. It all works really well: lots of atmosphere but not so much to hinder conversation or suffocate intimacy. Well-briefed staff – notably waitresses dressed in fuschia pink – seem to have hit the ground running, conveying all manner of sweet, salty and savoury Szechuan dishes from classic signatures like roasted mango duck with lemon sauce and soft-shell crab deep fried in the lightest of batters to new concoctions like black-truffle roast duck and what seemed like endless blue abalone dishes. Some of the most successful are the simplest – take for example the crunchy fresh steamed vegetables, a triumph of texture, timing, simplicity and flavour. Plenty of opportunities to offload sackfuls of money, of course, but if you take care and don’t over order you won't need a second mortgage. Great for a furtive afternoon or playful night. Stellar wine list too. Destined to be the place to eat in 2011.

Proximity to my office as well as a love affair with this high spec, often changing Indian cuisine means I dine here fairly regularly. It’s never not been full when I’ve been, and for me the service has always been exemplary. Sure, as you’d expect there are waiters with varying degrees of experience, but they’re nothing if not courteous, always keen to please and some have been there for years. I’ve always found them well drilled and efficient, too. Generally I choose wines by the glass so haven’t encountered the issue with a wine bottle being parked out of reach (one of those restaurant habits that can of course be irksome). This is not a cheap restaurant, but for me the overall package is first rate, and I’m happy to count myself a loyal regular because it consistently delivers in spades.

You can tell there’s enormous passion in this restaurant through the constantly changing roster of special menus, the lovingly put-together wine list and the way the staff, particularly Sue (wife of chef Roger Jones), explain every aspect of the menu – from starters to cheese. Well-crafted menus are a celebration of flavour and good (not fanciful) technique. Understated, but in every respect a foodie's haven.

Effortlessly stylish. Flavourful food. First rate, bespoke wine list – real passion here. Pricey, not that I mind this with clients. A special occasion place, for sure. Funky, moody decor best experienced at night or lunchtime on dark winter days.