Restaurant Reviews October 2009
Caleya
Some critics have had a pop at Caleya’s decoration and style, but I rather like it. Bright and modern and with chairs that boast extra wide seats, presumably for extra wide bums, it’s friendly and cheerful but is also a tale of bi-polar cooking. Starters and desserts of true genius, mains of less than perfection.
Stanza
You will find Stanza on the corner of Shaftesbury Avenue and Greek Street, opposite the fire station. Set in the heart of buzzy theatreland, the restaurant has a lot to offer.
Mehek
Just a five minute walk from Moorgate station, Mehek nestles under the overhanging office buildings just short of where London Wall meets Moorgate. A modern, but comfortable and popular Indian restaurant..
Jeremy’s Restaurant, Haywards Heath
On the drive to Borde Hill gardens, through tree-branch tunnels, I spied the aftermath of a great many game birds, spread on tarmac. Morbidly, I found the sight mildly appetising. Rather than irrational bloodlust, I interpreted this as impatience to sample the speciality at destination, ‘Jeremy’s’, a family-run restaurant known for its game...
Canteen Baker Street
The suffix Canteen never boded well for meal prospects: School Canteen, Staff Canteen, Office Canteen, you knew it meant grisly grey dishes of indeterminate meat served by a woman in a tabard, probably with a cigarette dangling from her lips. In this Canteen,they could do with a bit of a tighten up in the kitchen, particularly by whoever is on the chip station, but they have the right work ethic.
Harrods now has a Spanish Accent
Some people are seduced by Selfridges, others bang on about Borough Market, but for me there is only the corner shop in Knightsbridge when it comes to food heaven on earth. Right now the focus is on Spain both in the Food Hall and in the restaurant.
Ondine Edinburgh
Douglas Blyde last saw Edinburgh’s ‘Ondine’ restaurant as a building site. Two months on, he returns to test-dine the finished product and is enthusiastic about this glamorous seafood restaurant and what is arguably 'Edinburgh’s opening of the year'.
Lucy’s on a plate
Lucy owns a number of foodie businesses in the village and wider. Lucy's on a plate is a popular destination for both locals and visitors alike.
The Glass House
The restaurant achieved some fame, or infamy, through its having been featured on the Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares programme some while back. Whilst we imagine that The Glass House is not quite the ‘nightmare’ that it was, it’s not all sweet dreams!
Rothay Manor
Situated on the edge of Ambleside village, Rothay Manor is a long-established hotel and restaurant. There was a delightful quaintness about eating there and its somewhat theatrical experience deserves to be tried.
Equilibrium at Fawsley Hall
Dating back to the 7th century, this beautiful and historic country house once welcomed a very special guest in the shape of Queen Elizabeth I in 1575 and her suite has now been named the “1575” to commemorate the visit. More recently Sabin Ghayour went to dine. No news on the Gahyour suite just yet, though
Buddha Bar London
The Buddha Bar, whose giant model of Buddha sits among Dionysian excess, can seem like an oxymoron given the wise one's probable aversion to the demon drink.
Anita Pati sashays into the celeb’s favourite hangout to see what all the fuss is about.
The Criterion
The menu states that the seafood has been driven from Looe in Cornwall that very day and I imagine a bleary-eyed Cornishman belting his Vauxhall Astra up the M4 at dawn with a glum-faced turbot sat in the back. Is this good for the Criterion’s carbon footprint? Is it good for the turbot?
Harry Morgan's
It’s a bit Jewish is Harry’s, not Kosher you understand, but the accent is there. Bit of an institution too; apparently it’s been here since 1948 but has since evolved into a New York Deli style place, somewhat dismaying its older customers but luring in the kind of people who want fast-food without added chav.
Chez Bruce
The last time I dined in Chez Bruce I had an absolute horrid time, we had been stuck upstairs in Siberia on my birthday with a waiter who informed us it was his last day and didnít really care. Fast forward five years, another birthday and a decision that it was time to go back. After all you don't keep your stars for that long with crap service and the cheese board was still tempting after all those years.
Game at Trishna and The Harwood Arms
There still may be just a whisper of game left if you’re quick. Two very different establishments this season, with opposing cuisines, have been in on the act of serving the furred and the feathered. Anita Pati gives them both a shot.
The Loft
Sitting between Clapham Common and Clapham North Underground Stations, The Loft is a substantial Bar and Restaurant, which, as you might imagine, is on the upper floor of a building containing other businesses and produces some seriously good food up there.
