Victoria 's Reviews

My favourite local in Balham. Within weeks of moving into the area we knew all the staff – I've even left my house keys there for friends to collect with the gorgeous owner Ellie – a fabulous host, and it's the reason I often end up overdrawn every month.

It's open everyday (except Mondays) and we've gone in there on hungover Sundays for a lovely fry up, with amazing coffee and all the newspapers, cheeky cocktails after work on a Thursday and dined in there regularly. Part of the main attraction is you can just grab a table for beers and not dine and you still get the same great service and attention (although we often end up ordering at least a sharing a huge pizza sized brushcetta with parma ham)!

Lovely simple pastas and pizzas at very good prices along with other classic Italian mains, I love watching Nadko spin pizza dough in the main bar where they have their wood fire pizza kitchen (he was trained in Lake Garda). They have a small decking area which is perfect for people watching.

It has become nigh on impossible to pass Caminata with a friend or housemate without somebody raising their eyebrows… ‘Beer’? ‘Quick bite’? ‘Fancy Dinner’? ‘2 cocktails I promise’… They also do a selection of their great pizzas and pastas to takeaway for £6.

I've also seen private parties booking the whole venue and as an independent they can be totally flexible.

The constantly changing contemporary artwork on the walls lifts the decor, the loos are great and the staff are always pleased to see you. It's the first place I've truly felt like a local from Cheers. Love it.

I've been there twice now, both for after work drinks and have been ‘greeted’ on the door by somebody jumping in front of me and blocking my path asking if I have a reservation. On being granted access to the hallowed basement I have received slow and pretentious service but served beautiful cocktails. Shame.

The decor looks like the harem headquaters of a Russian billionaire (not in a good way) and the toilets aren't amusing or clever, just ridiculous. The bar staff watched me go into the kitchen and then into the mens toilets without comment.

If you liked the toadstools at McDonalds when you were a kid you'll like their white pvc poufs that adorn the bar.

There are friendlier, classier and more customer focused places serving excellent cocktails in London which I feel valued and looked after in. There's no reason to return.

I was lucky enough to be invited to the dry run early this week and my first impressions were positive.

It's difficult to review a restaurant before it's really open and I'm sure the experience will be even better in a few months when the front of house staff and the brigade are more familiar with their surroundings.

The room is beautiful. A little ostentatious for my needs but hotel guests will love it and it certainly feels like a special occasion room. It's also a nice change from the magnolia and grey blandoramas that have become so popular in recent years. The door staff were charming as were the waiting staff (a little hesitant but that's to be expected)! The food was suprisingly simple, the presentation interesting without being fussy and big bistro portions. I really enjoyed my scallop and leek starter and the hot smoked salmon with horseradish sauce and colcannon. I was also pleasantly suprised by the prices.

I had a tour round the kitchens as I wanted to see the chefs table and briefly met Stuart who was very welcoming and friendly. The chefs table (seats 8) is in the heart of their enormous kitchen and would be a fantastic experience for passionate foodies.

I love the look and feel of this restaurant, it's glamourous without being pretentious (Dean Street take note)!

The menu looked like it was designed around all my personal food heavens and I was not disappointed. Snail and bacon pie as a starter is a must, although make sure you go hungry as it's a big portion! Warm onion tart with figs and goats cheese was exactly as you'd expect.

For mains we had pork belly with puy lentils and the bavette which was delicious but I still prefer the one at Terroirs. I like the presentation of mini le creuset pots and pans, very cute.

For pudding we shared the lemon tart which was the nicest I've ever had *I've had a lot*…

At the moment it's clear they're having some early teething problems with staff which is why our service was very patchy but that certainly won't stop me going back, I'm sure they'll have them ironed out soon.

Great value for money – 2 courses, 2 carraffes and a bottle for £100.

Could be my new favourite.

I really wanted to like this place and there's certainly no denying the owners passion and knowledge for wine but I was left a bit cold by the whole experience.

The greeting we received was strange. Friendly but we were offered water at the bar whilst waiting for our guest?! What – no wine?

Bread and water arrived quickly at the table but things went downhill after that, the waiting staff seemed unfamiliar with the menu and a bit unsure of themselves. The manager took our order though and was very charming.

I found the food a bit fussy for the environment, it seemed to be crying out for some simple big flavours and seemed a bit ‘try hard fine dining’, the puddings however were really very, very good.

It didn't seem as if the waiting staff had completed their full training as the wine we ordered came out with a different year to the menu, it wasn't mentioned and we were the ones that spotted it. The waitress (who was very sweet) looked non-plussed as to why that might be an issue. For a place that prides itself on its wine list I was shocked by that. It could have been fixed by getting the manager to recommend a different wine or to explain why the replacement year was just as good but she poured on regardless.

I love the idea of the wine flights though and I'm sure some people will love it. I think if I was to go back it would be to try lots of different wines and share some bread and olives.

Oh and bearing in mind it's had a recent fit out and is brand new, how come the toilets looked like they've been ripped out of a council leisure centre?

Must alter this after a recent trip – different girl on the door and was utterly charming. Every single member of staff we came in contact with was friendly and helpful. Just keeps getting better 13/05/10

One of my favourite restaurants in London.

Perfect food, great wine list and helpful staff. To really enjoy Terroirs you need to accept the fact that the lady on the door will finish her conversation on the phone without even turning to look at you and there is plenty of blank stares and gallic shrugs among the staff. If you can get past that and embrace the ‘frenchness’ of the place you'll love it!

The staff are actually very knowledgable and passionate and are always happy to answer any questions. The service has always been perfectly paced and I've never eaten a bad meal here and have been several times.

Go with friends for a relaxed evening and don't expect fine dining service, it's a wine bar after all!

Yet to try the 40 cloves of garlic roast chicken though…

You can book ahead at Polpo but only during lunch.

We went there for a booze free quick lunch and I was very impressed – naturally it was packed what with the overwhelming media attention it's had recently, I wasn't suprised.

The food was better than I expected, delicious mushroom bread, outstanding meatballs and a slow roasted duck dish with rosemary roasted potatoes were all of excellent quality and cooked with real attention.

The tables are VERY close together though so it has a canteen vibe – not a romantic spot by any stretch. The service was quick and polite and I like the idea of the dishes coming when they're ready. Just as well as there's no way you'd get them all on the table in one go!

We also enjoyed some of the tiny tasters, the arancini and the anchovy paste on toast. I know everyone's been raving but when the bill came it was easy to see why. It was the same price as the Pizza Express meal I'd had the night before. When fresh, exciting flavours in generous portions like this come so cheap the only excuse not to eat there more often is the queue! I can understand why this place is proving so popular.

My only gripe is those bloody ‘rustic’ glasses! If I was drinking wine I might not have been so positive! I understand their purpose is to be as faithful as possible to the mediterranean roots of these restaurants but I hate drinking good white wine out of rough Ikea tumblers.

This new tapas bar is a welcome addition to the already busy restaurant scene around Goodge Street.

I called ahead to book a table and was told they couldn't fit me in until 9.30 but I was welcome to try my luck at their busy bar. Easier said than done as their bar stools feature infuriating sloping rails that make it impossible to rest your feet on and at 5' 2″ I was falling off and climbing back on like a 8 year old.

The manager saw my discomfort and explained they had been open only 7 weeks and he was ‘pained’ that the bar stools weren't right. He assured us he would replace them and make it more comfortable to eat at the bar in future. He found us a table and we got comfy for our 4 hour marathon!

The food was excellent. Realy high grade olive oil for dipping bread, delicious stuffed olives and salted almonds to start us off. Followed by prawns (no mayo dip – shame) that were good but absolutely covered in unneccesary salt. Patatas bravas with really crispy potatoes, a sweet sundried tomato tasting sauce and plenty of aioli soon distracted me. My friend had also ordered Seville spiced carrots as they reminded her of the jars of spiced root vegetables so typical in many Spanish bars. They were amazing and I would highly recommend them. Whole pickled herb covered sweet baby carrots. Delicious. The bonemarrow on toast was apparently superb with baby shallots and sherry dressing. The Manchego cheese with rosemary was nice and the blended blue cheese was fantastic, both severed with an usual but delicious jelly, fig perhaps?

I finished with their chocolate pot which was one of the nicest, albeit richest deserts I've had in ages. A slightly crisp outer coating followed by a very dense mousse with chunks of high quality chocolate at the bottom.

The service was friendly, informal and Spanish! The English owner was very hands on, taking orders and hosting. Although they are clearly having some expected teething problems he seems to be dealing with them in the best way –… More