EATING OUT TO SHOUT ABOUT!!! (My 10 Favourite Restaurants)

Member Name: jacquelina

Product:	My 10 Favourite Restaurants
Date:	08/08/03 (1114 review reads)
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If I could afford it I’d eat out every night. Unfortunately, I can’t.

Here are a round-up of some of the best restaurants I’ve sampled in my 3 years in the Capital – I’ve tried to include a broad range of cuisines to suit all pockets, covering as much of London as possible, so get stuck in there!

I would also like to recommend the following websites if you’re dithering about where to go, or chronically unable to make decisions like myself:

www.london-eating.co.uk - user reviews of many London restaurants, searchable database
www.restaurantspy.com - cute site with restaurants listed by area
www.toptable.co.uk - search by cuisine, desired ambience, plus sample menus and 3D interior views, online bookings

1 THAI

Tamnang Thai, Westow Hill, Crystal Palace SE19

Even if the food in Thamnang Thai was below average the décor would probably make up for it; typical Thai artifacts (elephants, gods.. ) sit beneath a ceiling completely covered in upside down parasols – so pretty and really adds to the ambience

Happily the food in the Thamnang is also an experience – I have never had a bad meal, and from one of London’s most extensive menus (about 10 pages) you are bound to find something you like.

Particlularly recommended are the drunkard noodles, Panaeng and Jungle curries and the mussels with lemongrass. All the old Thai favourites can also be found – Pad Thai, green and red curry etc, along with an impressive range of seafood and plenty of red and white meat.

Despite the fairly large size of the restaurant, it never feels anything less than intimate. The staff are charming and attentive.

The prices are fairly mid range for Thai food – starters approx £4, noodles £5, mains £6-10

HIGHLIGHTS – Décor
DOWNSIDE – Can get busy weekends



2 AMERICAN

Prospect Grill (Americ
an), Garrick Street, Covent Garden

With its red leather seating, subdued lighting, cosy booths and unobtrusive jazz, the Prospect Grill is a classy and rather romantic venue.

I came here on one of my earlier dates with my partner, while searching for somewhere to eat in Covent Garden (though I was later highly unamused to discover he’d been there on a date with a previous partner!)

The charming staff found a table for us despite it being what I’d call peak restaurant time (9pm, Saturday night), and remained attentive and polite throughout the course of the lovely meal.

I can only recommend the starter of potted shrimp, and the main course of steak, which was one of the juiciest, tastiest steaks I’ve had. Washed down with lots of red wine.. that’s what life is all about.


HIGHLIGHT - Ambience
DOWNSIDE - Tables quite close together



3 INDONESIAN

Banana Leaf, Battersea Rise, Clapham

My partner and I visted last night on a friends recommendation, and were very pleasantly surprised. A canteen style eatery with a buzzy atmosphere – if you can get past the identikit ra-ra-ing Claphamites with their blond bobs and trendy jeans, you will thoroughly enjoy the fresh ingredients and tasty sauces on offer.

I would recommend the Banana leaf platter – for £7.95 you get any main course, served on a giant plate with jasmine rice and spicy noodle salad, plus yummy little corn cakes and rice crackers. I had a lamb curry with melt-in-the-mouth lamb and a beautiful aromatic sauce; my partner was equally impressed with his yellow chicken curry.

Low price range

HIGHLIGHT - Healthy, tasty, fresh and cheap
DOWNSIDE – Flies and RA-RA’S


4 MEXICAN

Café Pacifico, Langley Street, Covent Garden

I have to fess-up and say this is the only Mexican restaurant I’ve tried in London, but it is good
, and the Langley bar next door does happy hour cocktails to whet your appetite. I’ve actually written a separate review on this so I’ll say no more here.

Mid price range

HIGHLIGHT – Hearty food, lively
DOWNSIDE – Food seems to suffer a little when it’s very busy



5 INDIAN

Zaras Kitchen, Camberwell Church Street, Camberwell
(chain)

One of those fabulous interest where the staff can’t hide their dissapointment when they get customers, don’t you just love that. Plonk yourself and your BYO booze down at one of the basic tables and pour over the menu, marveling at the cheap prices. At £4 for a main and about £2 for a starter its easy to get carried away, but I’ve yet to be disappointed with any of the dishes, they’re fantastic. This isn’t gourmet, this is just good Indian cooking as it should be - a curry-lovers paradise.

Low price range

HIGHLIGHT – All about the food, + BYO
DOWNSIDE – Slightly shoddy decor


6 FRENCH

Joanna’s, Westow Hill, Crystal Palace

Ok so living in Crystal Palace I am a bit biased towards the restaurants there, but it really does have more than its fair share of quality eateries, and the latest gem I’ve discovered, Joanna’s, is no exception.

I moved in with my boyfriend in September, and have been making suggestive noises about him taking me to Joanna’s pretty much since then. But he always tried to deter me, saying it was overpriced and not that great etc. Finally he caved in and took me there one Friday night, and now I now why he tried to deter me…. He has unleashed a dragon….. it is utterly fantastic!!

I honestly think this could be my favourite restaurant in London. Since that fateful first visit we’ve been back there a few times, and it just seems to get better. Walking in, you are greeted by the mos
t charming, polite (and, dare I say, handsome?!) blond youth sitting in a little booth. From their you will be guided to your table, al-fresco if you wish, with some wonderful views of the London skyline.

I think this is a French restaurant, although the menu is quite varied… bread and olives, grilled barracuda, moules frite, suckling pork, burgers, steaks…. I can recommend all of these, the lobster is also supposed to be fab and the cocktails are pretty spesh

Mid price range

See www.joannasuk.com for more details

HIGHLIGHT – everything!


7 ITALIAN

The Italian Kitchen, New Oxford Street, Holborn

When I used to live in Angel, the number 38 bus would trundle past this place everynight, and I yearned to see inside. Somehow I knew it would be a find, and I was not wrong. The interior is so pretty and cosy, the staff are courteous and efficient, and the food speaks for itself.

Try the beef carpaccio to start, then one of the tempting pasta or fish dishes, or the simple, filling pizzas. A great place to take friends for a civilized pre/post theatre dinner, when they have a set menu, or equally good for a romantic dinner-a deux, and a welcome, cooling respite from the Oxford Street mania nearbye.

Mid price range.

HIGHLIGHT - Sophisticated
DOWNSIDE - Wines quite expensive


8 ITALIAN / SARDINIAN

Olivo, Eccleston Street, Victoria

Just down the road from where I work, this is another one I would pass by every night, and peer enviously at the chefs and waiters inside tucking in round a large table before they open.

My boyfriend surprised me by taking me here this Valentines day. Inside, you can tell that you have entered the realm and the upper class and wealthy – those inside actually live in nearby Belgravia, not work there like little old me! Still there is nothing pretentious about this place – the décor i
s simple and rustic, the wooden tables are close together reflecting the small size of the restaurant, the service is excellent, and, most importantly, the food utterly divine. To start I had a small pasta dish, and my boyfriend raw swordfish. We savoured every single bite, it truly was fantastic. Unfussy. Perfect. Highly recommended.

Former head chef was Giorgio Locatelli, from cookery programme Tony & Giorgio

Price range –Mid-high

HIGHLIGHT - Authenticity
NO DOWNSIDE


9 ITALIAN

Carluccio’s, Market Place, off Oxford Circus
(chain)

I was ecstatic when my friend and I stumbled upon Carluccio’s after a hard days shopping on Oxford Street. About to tumble into the reliable Strada next door, our curiosity was piqued by the simple blue and white awnings of Carluccios and the tempting delicatessen wares on display in the window. Our curiosity was rewarded. We were shown to a table in a busy room, surrounded by a mixture of the chattering classes, some sexy Mafioso types and a few bewildered, hungry shoppers like ourselves. Opera music filled the air, whilst improbably good looking waiters glided back and forth with amazing efficiency.

My companion had a mozzarella and tomato salad and I gnocchi with tomato sauce. Now normally I can’t stand gnocchi – soggy tasteless potato anyone? But this was somehow delicious – served in a primitive little dish, covered with cheese and a spicy sauce in a ramekin on the side. Try also spaghetti vongole and breaded chicken. The hearty red wine in refreshingly large glasses also went down a treat. Great coffees and nice touches such as the tall glass of water brought with the coffee.

HIGHLIGHT – Super efficient
DOWNSIDE – Sometimes difficult to get a seat

10 TBC

…. But possibly Hakkasan!

I haven’t actually been to Hakkasan, the celeb-tastic Asian / fusion cavernous res
taurant down a dingy alley off Tottenham Court Road – but have wanted to go for ages having heard many rave reviews.

My long suffering boyfriend booked a table there for my just passed 25th birthday.. boo hoo I’m so old :’’( …. But after a heavy night on the Friday we decided to forgo the glamour for our local Italian.

The amazing thing was when my boyfriend, being the courteous chap he is, rang up to cancel the table we had booked, the charming gent on the end of the phone had the gall to say ‘Are you serious?’!!!??!?! Er, hello, someone needs to get their head out of their arse.

Anyway despite this moron, we do intend to visit in the near future, (I’m a sucker for all that I’m afraid), so will update as and when!


Thanks for reading, and happy eating!!!!

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