Restaurant Spy

Review:

Walking around Anchorage, we stumbled upon Ginger, were very impressed with the menu of Pacific Rim cuisine so decided to have dinner there. Had we actually asked anyone, they would have said “Yes, but book a table, it’s Saturday night and this is an incredibly popular restaurant.” So, in all innocence, we strolled in at 7.30 and got the very last table. Everyone who came after us was turned away.

Review:

I've never been to Greece but I do live in a part of London that is really Little Athens, or maybe Little Nicosia, so the local Greek restaurants tend to be plentiful and of a pretty high standard. But at no time have I witnessed any plate smashing. I don't know if it's just me, but I'm sure that Greek restaurants were once famous for this. I've never seen it. Furthermore I've never met anyone who's seen it either. I once asked a waiter about it and he looked at me oddly, so I let it drop. Not my plate, the subject. So I'm none the wiser. But I would like to see it one day before I'm old. Needless to say there was no plate smashing in the Aphrodite. This restaurant is not in Little Nicosia but over near Westbourne Grove. It looks like a proper Greek taverna ought to, as far as I know, and has some seating out on the pavement. It is small to average in size and has wooden tables and nice rustic tablecloths. To fit the name there are two big pictures of Aphrodite, one of which is a reproduction of the Botticelli one.

Review:

We tried to get into this place three years ago, at the height of the holiday season and with no reservation. Fat chance. Back in Montpellier again in early October, we took the precaution of booking, though it was probably unnecessary. It looks exactly like a restaurant in the Languedoc should - I’m a sucker for a red checked tablecloth, me. The waiter brought a bottle of chilled tap water immediately, none of that paying extra for bottled water nonsense. The back of the menu has a la carte, but the front has a range of fixed price menus. The €16.90 caught our eyes, and although there were five courses, for that price we felt confident that the portions would be small, more like a tasting menu, really. Hah!

Review:

I've reviewed Le Mercury before, but restaurants can change quite quickly, and it is our duty to keep them on their toes. It's a filthy job, but somebody's got to do it. I started with a rich and delicious slice of foie gras, and E had smoked chicken. It was lunchtime, we were hungry and they brought a basket of lovely fresh bread, while we waited for our starters - well, what were we supposed to do with it ? Knit a cardigan ? By the time my lamb and E's fishcakes arrived, along with a selection of vegetables for me and a big salad for her, there wasn't much bread left. Something I regretted as soon as I saw the size of the serving - three great chunks of lean lamb, and a healthy side serving of vegetables, which included some excellent roasted carrots.

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.

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.

Review:
Went here as a second choice but was pleasantly surprised. Quite a basic box room layout to the place but the nice conservatory and outside tables break the place up a bit. The menu had a good selection of Italian dishes with enough variance from the traditional to make it refreshingly different. I had a bit of a treat for the wine and chose a very nice 2001 Barolo. For starters I had Antipasto Misto which had a very nice dolop of Buffalo Mozzarella on it, she had Gamberoni (thank god I kept the receipt) which was King prawns cooked in garlic, chili and a touch of wine I believe.

Review:

The back room of a modest pub on the Worcester road has becone for the last 3 months or so a rather fine Mediterranean restaurant. Very clean , with attentive service. I selected a Mediterranean Salad (feta cheese, cherry tomatoes etc) in a spicy dressing, my wife had very creamy garlic mushrooms. I had Monkfish for main, beatifully cooked and presented, with seasonal vegetables. My wife had esacalope of chicken topped with cheese. The menu is brief, and not overly Mediterranean, several steak dishes, no Pasta, but certainly worth return visit. Not cheap - with one bottle of Chilean white wine £42 - but faultless really. Highly recommended.

Review:

Greenwich has long needed some food reviews to put it on the map. Yes, I know it is already on the map but in terms of restaurants it might well have said ‘Here be Dragons’. Well that has changed over the past three or four years so I plan to eat my way through Greenwich and leave a trail of reviews.

The first is for the Rivington Bar & Grill. It is owned and run by the same people as Le Caprice and The Ivy, but being Greenwich lacks or distains some of the pretentiousness. The replaced old pub shares the same site as the new independent picture house. Both are a warm welcome to Greenwich. The Rivington has bundles of light, a long bar for snacks and drinks and enough napery on its intimate tables to keep a small hotel going; and the foods not bad either. It is a very British menu, Lancashire suckling pig with quince sauce, or Barnsley pork chops you know the kind of thing. If you want a nice starter try the modern version of the scotch egg – it’s a ducks egg, perfectly cooked and has soft runny yoke inside. The service is friendly and attentive. The wine list broad, and runs from the cheaper end to the more expensive, the bread on the table was warm and the butter cold - as it should be. There were problems when I went back on the Sunday for their excellent breakfast (although if they told me there was a problem with the kitchen there would have been less hurumphing from my table). All in all a very welcome addition to Greenwich – oh and Faye Maschler loved it too.

Review:

Modern Spanish, they only serve tapas and recommend 5-7 between two. We were three and found six raciones plenty, not counting the sharing bowl of olives to start and two desserts to finish. Forget La Bota in Crouch End, this is more towards the Moro end of the Tapas Spectrum. Didn’t know there was a Tapas Spectrum, did you ? The most memorable dish was Lamb with Figs and Pickled Lemon, but honourable mention for Bacalao fishcakes with Aoli and Spinach with Chickpeas.