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2001

Orrery, 55 Marylebone High Street London W1M 3AE


55 Marylebone High Street London W1M 3AE

Unless you are a true gastro whiz, and would enjoy venison in chocolate sauce, the Orrery is not the place for you. At £169 for two starters, two mains a gin & tonic and £40 bottle of wine you would expect something pretty special - but the as much at the place tries, and the service is superb, it's not quite hitting the mark. A bit of a disappointment really. Al&Al

New Thai Jen, 1--11 Clerkenwell Green London EC1R 0DE


1--11 Clerkenwell Green London EC1R 0DE

When you look in, it looks like it is a large restaurant that is usually full. There is actually another vast room at the back (which still fills up quickly in the busy periods). It is slightly surprising how popular it is because the food is quite good but not spectacular. I think it is probably because it is a reliably good standard and decent prices (especially for Clerkenwell) and very prompt service which is good for the business lunch crowd. I had sliced barbecue pork with Chinese leaves and (bright yellow) egg fried rice. My friend had vegetarian two mushrooms in mild Japanese Horseradish sauce and white rice. Both were just a little on the bland side for our tastes. OK King Mob

Mortimer Arms, 174 Tottenham Court Road London, W1P 9LG


174 Tottenham Court Road London, W1P 9LG

This is horrible. Just horrible. Sub service station food. Big ugly chips or a scoop of flavourless mash which brings back the full horror of seventies school dinners. Fish that obviously isn't, pie that would rather be pudding and peas that look suicidally depressed. And lots and lots of training consultants taking out their clients to show them their human side. Revolting. Rejected King Mob

Mirrors, Shaw Park Plaza, 100 Euston Road London NW1 2AJ


Shaw Park Plaza, 100 Euston Road London NW1 2AJ

It feels like every restaurant scene in American Psycho. This is not a good thing. But being the front of a conference centre between Kings Cross and Euston is bound to have some drawbacks, notably, most people there put everything on expenses and don't care how much it costs, which is a lot. The food however is very good, the wine list comprehensive and the service excellent despite being included in the bill which often leads to a degree of apathy. Go if you have a business expense account. King Mob

Mint, 182-186 St John Street, Clerkenwell, London, EC1V 4JZ


182-186 St John Street, Clerkenwell, London, EC1V 4JZ

From the outside, looking for a nice cool place to eat lunch with Q, Mint seemed a fairly safe choice in the culinary no mans land of mid Clerkenwell. There's class to the north and south of this place so easy peasy to fill the gap. But no - Mint is a disaster.

The decor is defiantly trendy - heavy "Oceana" style chairs and lots of glassware and cutlery on the table but it all seemed a bit like playing modern restaurants. Conran does this exact kind of thing much better elsewhere and this eating experience was dire.

Millenium Cafe, 500 Holloway Road, London N7 6JA


500 Holloway Road N7 6JA

Far too many people had the idea of calling themselves something millennium related in 1999. It was going to be the party to end all parties, we would all stride bravely forward and nothing would ever be the same again. Now, this just has a depressing effect; we didn't even get a Y2K bug that wiped out all our bank records and removed all that credit card debt. This is another one of those greasy spoons where you get all the usual with a page on the menu that is country specific, in this case Turkish. Although not a desperately exciting range of choices, they're relatively cheap and with big plates, mostly filled with bland frozen chips. I didn't try any of the Turkish wines but they were all priced the same as the Liebfraumilch. I find it somewhat chilling that there is anyone still serving it. Rejected King Mob

Memsaheb-on-Thames, 65-67 Amsterdam Road off Manchester Road Isle of Dogs London E14


65-67 Amsterdam Road off Manchester Road Isle of Dogs London E14

This is a first class restaurant, the staff are friendly beyond belief and the cooking is sublime. The restaurant is situated on the bank of the Thames, with great views over the river and the Dome in the distance. The interior is tasteful (unlike most Indian restaurants I've visited) and the price is amazingly average considering the quality of the food. Choose from the 'old favourites' and get your Chicken Korma/Chicken Tikka Masala, etc or go for a special such as the Reicardo. The dish is gorgeous trout stuffed with spicy prawns. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone as it is the best Indian I've ever visited, plus set in a delightful environment. Go there and enjoy! From a regular.... Kate

Melati, 21 Great Windmill Street, London W1.


21 Great Windmill Street, London W1.

(1) One of the two best Indonesian restaurants in the whole of Europe---the other being Tempo Doeloe in Amsterdam. (Yes, I have eaten in Indonesia and was taught Indinesian/Malay cooking by a native). At Melati herbs/spices are properly used with distinct flavours. Rather an exciting café, tables close together, friendly atmosphere, and the food is superb----arguably better than in Jakarta, because the produce is higher quality, while the cooking is as good. Large menu--20 starters, then 11 rice, 9 noodle, 13 chicken, 10 beef, 6 mutton, 26 seafood, 18 veggie, 18 desserts. Tiger and other beers, wines. Difficult to get in, must book, even then may have to wait 5-10 minutes. Service excellent, but not obsequious. Air-con. Very convenient before/after West End theatre. 1200-2330 hours (0030 on Friday/Saturday night) Closed Sunday. £15 - 20 for three large courses (several items per course) plus beers, tea, tip. Annie Ethel

Mela, 152-156 Shaftesbury Avenue London WC2H 8HL


152-156 Shaftesbury Avenue London WC2H 8HL

Chose this place because it's directly opposite the Covent Garden Odeon, and booked a table for 5. It's recently opened, and both the decor and the food are modern - far more fish on the menu than in old fashioned "Indian" restaurants, and few - if any - of the hackneyed old "favourites". I've really had it with chicken/lamb/prawns with korma/madras/vindaloo. You can see the full menu on their excellent website. Given the location, it's not cheap - starters were £3-£5; mains £9-£12. We shared big bottles of Cobra beer (660ml for £4.95). Service was attentive, the food was interesting and good and we all enjoyed ourselves. The bill for two courses, beer, papadums, naan and a few vegetable plates came to £105 - which worked out at £21 a head. Refreshingly, they don't add service, but we did. I'd be delighted to eat here again if in the area, but there's so much choice in London, that I wouldn't make a special journey. DM 2001

Made in Italy, 257 Kings Road, London, SW3 5EL


257 Kings Road, SW3 5EL

Looks good, but don't be fooled by the apparently cosy / amusingly disorganised appearance. Their menu is very dishonest. Be warned the menu prices are pre VAT and there is a 12.5% service charge that you are not told about when you sit down. Pizza is described as 250g, how do we know it is? It helps considerably if you're Italian as you will benefit from the two tier service system. Dolly Bird and Dave

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