Restaurant Spy - Other

Rose Revived The, Ashes La, Hadlow, Tonbridge, TN11 0AN

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 20:02:30 +0000

Address:
Ashes La, Hadlow, Tonbridge, TN11 0AN

Review:

We should've known better.

In pursuit of a lovely country pub (with fire and large dog), we trundled around the Hadlow and Tonbridge area. Eventually after a long almost circular route and a few wrong turnings, we ended up at the Rose Revived. The warnings were there - "Cafe-Bistro-Bar" proudly on the outside.

Q almost turned round, back out of the door when faced with a huge blackboard saying "Please wait here to be seated".

Little Bay, 228 Belsize Rd. London NW6 4BT

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 00:03:07 +0000

Address:
228 Belsize Rd. London NW6 4BT

Review:

Little Bay is one of those restaurants that appear in lists - secret London - best bargains in London - 'restaurants for those in the know' type lists. Unlike a lot of them Little Bay really does deliver. It is a bit out of the way, in a sort of no-man's land between Kilburn and its posher neighbours and is in a fairly innocuous little parade of shops. Inside it is anything but innocuous. It is not very big and looks like a cross between a pantommime set and a Turkish bordello. I have never actually been in a Turkish bordello but I imagine they would look a bit like this. It is mysterious, atmospheric and candle-lit, there is a lot of red, gold and wood around and there are secret looking balconies to the left and right and facing you, with little staircases leading up to them. We sat in a discreet table for two tucked away under a balcony and felt as if we were in our own secret world and should probably start plotting something. But in a good way. Tables are wooden with Sylvan scenes let into them. The whole effect is quite decadent but in a cosy Bohemian style.

Seven Fish, 24 Thurlo St, Kensington, London SW7 2LT

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 12:57:20 +0000

Address:
24 Thurlo St, Kensington, London SW7 2LT

Review:

This place is a real find. Smack in the middle of one of the poshest parts of Kensington it is charming, unpretentious and most important, reasonably priced. Even the lobsters. Only open a few weeks it is a fairly small fish restaurant and is designed to look like a Meditarranean seaside cafe. There is a sea mural on one wall and the others feature fishing nets, some containing some rather surprised fish. A marlin (I think it's a marlin) is suspended from the ceiling, over a brass rail. Tables and chairs are wooden, the tables with gingham covers. There is a bar/food preparation area at the back.

Bonaventure, Aird Uig, Isle of Lewis, HS2 9JA

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 00:02:48 +0000

Address:
Aird Uig, Isle of Lewis, HS2 9JA

Review:

My wife and I dined at this restaurant on 23 August 2007. I had been induced to seek it out by the rave reviews on the home page of the restaurant's website and in local tourist brochures. We looked it over on 22 August and we were (or at least I was) enchanted by its position. Anticipating an excellent meal we arrived ravenous having spent the day motoring around the island.

The intrusive piped music that we heard on arrival should have warned us; but it was a wet day and the open fire seemed very welcoming. A table by the window with a view over the sea took our minds off the background noise and we ordered our wine.

Lindsay House, 21 Romilly Street, London, W1D 5AF

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 14:56:31 +0000

Address:
Lindsay House, 21 Romilly Street, London, W1D 5AF

Review:

I have wanted to go to Corrigan's Lindsay House since it opened, and wonder whether I shouldn't have gone sooner.
First, Lindsay House is a beautiful, Georgian building in central London. You ring the bell to get in, but the welcome is far from warm and a little indifferent. The rooms are on the small side which means the tables are close together, but the décor of muted browns and modernish art help them to be attractive, well lit and nicely presented.

Limani, Upper Level, 11 Narrabeen St, Narrabeen NSW 2101, Australia

Sun, 21 Jan 2007 07:00:39 +0000

Address:
Upper Level, 11 Narrabeen St, NARRABEEN NSW 2101

Review:

We saw an ad in the Sydney Morning Herald: $25 for two courses, and after 3 hours on Narrabeen Beach we wandered in, wearing shorts, flip flops and covered in sand. We got a really friendly welcome, they found us a seat with a panoramic view and showed me to the cool, well appointed washroom where I was able to scrape off most of the sand and have a good wash before sitting down. The room is cool, crisp and beige, with white napery, big windows and ocean views - like something out of an architectural magazine.

The Bridge, 49 Bridge Street, Bendigo 3550 VIC Australia

Tue, 19 Dec 2006 09:58:53 +0000

Address:
49 Bridge Street, Bendigo 3550 VIC Australia

Review:

On our second night in Bendigo, we managed to book a table at what is generally held to be the top restaurant in town. The waiter showed us to our table, gave us the wine list, invited us to choose pre-dinner drinks, and left.

When she returned we asked for a menu, but she said she wanted us to order aperitifs first. We said we would choose our food, and then choose a wine to go with it. She had obviously been told not to give out menus until people had chosen pre-dinner drinks. To me, this kind of ploy is tacky and amateurish, and got the meal off to a bad start. Eventually we got menus and a wine list, and in the end were able to place our order. It was a laborious process.

The Gunyah, 571 Woollamia Road nr Huskisson NSW Australia

Sat, 16 Dec 2006 05:21:43 +0000

Address:
571 Woollamia Road nr Huskisson NSW Australia

Review:

Gunyah was recommended by a local as the very best place to eat locally. Booking is essential, and you have to take down the precise directions, because it's in the middle of a forest and people are always getting lost. You have to drive; you go to a certain point, park and then walk the final few yards. It's also a kind of eco-hotel, and the whole outfit is one big tree house. You climb up into the paperbark trees (there's a staircase, don't worry) to find a very well appointed restaurant.

San Miguel Tapas Restaurant, 18 Greenwich Church Street, Greenwich, London, SE10 9BJ

Sun, 01 Oct 2006 17:16:46 +0000

Address:
18 Greenwich Church Street, Greenwich, London, SE10 9BJ

Review:

As a resident of Greenwich, I have tried many restaurants in the area but undoubtedly the San Miguel Tapas Restaurant has the worst customer service in Greenwich. A friend and I booked well ahead of time a table in this restaurant only to find ourselves waiting half an hour for our table. We stood waiting for our table with no notice from the staff to how long we were going to wait. The lack of hospitality made the wait long and tedious but we were determined to find out what the food was going to be like. Eventually we noticed that people who did not book a table were being seated before us and promptly asked why this was so. The rude Head of Service said that it “could be 5min, 10min or 50min so what do you want me to do”. We explained how we had booked a table and would like to know how much longer we had to wait. Not longer than 30seconds later we were shown to various tables which were available and were confused why we weren’t seated sooner.

Fusion, 71 St Dunstans Street, Canterbury, Kent

Tue, 26 Sep 2006 12:34:40 +0000

Address:
71 St Dunstans Street, Canterbury, Kent

Review:

Went for a meal at this recently opened resturant with my wife. Initial impressions were good, some nice decor/lighting, good use of the old building. Tried too hard at times to be different, -silly huge rigid plastic menus which were difficult to see over when put on your table. Music choice was strange, then went so loud we had to ask if it could be turned down a bit, then it went off completely making the resturant nearly tumbleweeed quiet apart from the thudding music downstairs in the trendy bar below...

Gaucho Grill, 64, Heath St London NW3 1DN

Mon, 11 Sep 2006 10:32:28 +0000

Address:
64, Heath St London NW3 1DN

Review:

Argentinian steaks with Argentinian red wine and the most delicious crunchy hand cut chips outside of St Johns, the Gaucho Grill makes quite a good job of being an upmarket restaurant chain. Its quite expensive with steaks being the main suspect, although various other fishy and veggie diversions have been provided for the more faint hearted. My rib-eye steak was vast and delicious and I saw it cut and cooked in the open kitchen. Q's fillet steak was again vast (even although she went for the smaller cut) and cooked to perfection. A variety of sauces are on offer - and to be honest, one portion of sauce can easily do two diners. Just perfect for what it does. M

Ancient Grill, Finsbury Park, London

Wed, 16 Aug 2006 20:16:03 +0000

Address:
192 Seven Sisters Road, Finsbury Park, N4

Review:

We sat at one of the outside tables, and the waitress asked what we would like. Our request for a menu was met with delight and surprise - nobody else was eating. It's meant to be Lebanese, and the menu looked quite good: to start I chose broad beans with garlic and lemon, L had deep fried kofta. For my mains I chose a Mixed Grill, which was chicken, lamb and kofta kebab, and L chose Mustard Chicken. Then we asked for the wine list, and that really threw her. We knew they served wine because there's a great big sign outside saying "Eat and Drink all you can for £23 (including alcohol)"

Hoffy's, Lange Kievitstraat 52 2018 Antwerpen, Belgium

Thu, 15 Jun 2006 16:36:01 +0000

Address:
Lange Kievitstraat 52 2018 Antwerpen

Review:

In the heart of the old diamond district, where there are more frummers per square yard than even Stamford Hill, we were the only customers in modern dress, and I was the only female. The food is all cooked on the premises and (obviously) all kosher. You make a selection from an impressive array at the counter, Hoffy piles your plate high, heats it up and brings it to you. Meanwhile, you sit down and tuck into hrine (horseradish and beetroot dip) and harissa (chili, tomato. sour cream dip) new green pickles and brown bread.

Andrews Restaurant, 782 Holloway Road, London N19

Tue, 23 May 2006 17:29:54 +0000

Address:
782 Holloway Road, London N19

Review:

We ate here years ago, when it was an archetypal Working Man’s Restaurant: brown paint, formica tables, roast dinners, chips and tea. And it wasn’t bad, mainly because it delivered exactly what it promised. We’ve not been back since it was tarted up a few years ago, but last week we gave it another go.

These days there are white plastic tablecloths over red plastic tablecloths, held down with those big chrome clips to prevent the wind bowing them away. This is a good idea if the tables are outside, but they’re not. The chairs have red plastic seats, many of which are cracked. The evening we were there, the only other customer was nursing a cup of tea, doing a puzzle in My Weekly and chain smoking.

Afghan Kitchen, 35 Islington Gn, London, N1 8DU

Mon, 10 Apr 2006 09:44:38 +0000

Address:
35 Islington Gn, London, N1 8DU

Review:
A couple of years ago, this was one of the places everyone was talking about. Interesting cuisine that was both very tasty and very filling, you would have been hard put to find anything that wasn't good on the menu and harder put to get a table. Now they've reduced the menu to a dozen or so dishes, its not quite as impressive but at least you can get a table. Except on Sundays and Mondays when its closed.