This tiny restaurant is tucked away in West Hampstead. Its candlelit windows were a welcome sight after walking past run-down flourescent-lit estates to get to it. We dined in the basement, which despite being small with every table full, wasn't cramp at all.

The food was surprisingly good for the price. My duck in pastry was enjoyable; Lil and Martin's crab salad looked invitingly fresh and was presented in a ring on a bed of spinach leaves. Ben's venison sausies and mash was large, but he found the sausies a bit chewy. Jenn and Les' cod on salsa was colourful.

Skip the desserts - even though cheap at £2.45, they were all disappointingly bland.

Thornbury Estate (Marlborough) Savingnon Blanc was a fruity and delightful accompaniament. Friendly service. Loses points for not accepting credit cards, although cheques are ok. According to the menu, Bridgette Bardot dined here.
Cost £13 pp, value for money.

6/10

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Bluebird Cafe
Kings Rd, Chelsea, London

European

Sunday late lunch, 2pm, 2nd September 2001

Natarsha & Hamish, B &A

On trendy Kings Rd, people were queuing up large to eat here. We had a small table in the courtyard which was great for a London summer's day, although very noisy traffic. People watching is fun - well-dressed Italian families, young and trendy beautiful people, trendy tourists…

Entertaining was the table of 6 young men, escapees from a Gucci Rush commercial, with identical hairstyles (collar-length blond hair combed back with a ton of hair product), identical tans, and identical Sloane outfits.

My Nicoise salad was tasteless and the tuna looked like it had just been dumped out from a can from the supermarket. Ben did much better with the Caesar salad with chicken. Saving grace was the hot chocolate and café latte was reported as good.

Later we perused the food shop at Bluebird and went away much happier with an amazing pesto and other foodstuffs.
Cost £10pp. Cafe: Style over substance. Go to the food shop instead.

3 /10

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Ruby in the Dust
228 Portobello Rd, Ladbroke Grove, London

European

Monday 7.30pm, September 2001

Evonne, Tan & Grant, Claire & Mike, Wendy & Mike, Di, Victoria, Guy

Situated in grungey Portobello Rd, the bright murals on the walls, along with the comfy armchairs in the front bar and lounge make for a bohemian-style café. Very studenty.

Sadly, the kitchen was erratic. The waiting staff had to come back to explain that the salmon had run out, and then later, the choc pot had also run out; mains were served at differing times up to 10 minutes. Not good planning by the chef.

Claire was disappointed by the salmon, which was the end bit of the end - a harsh reminder to not order fish on a Monday; my Haloumi and Chicken brochette on crispy potatoes was good - can't muck up a chargrilled kebab. Tania liked the bangers and mash which was served with a generous amount of gravy.

Service was friendly. Note: Toilets were shockingly dirty, and did not have soap or paper.

2/10

Les Trois Garcons
1 Club Row, Shoreditch, London E1
ph 020 7613 1924
French

Tuesday, 4th September 2001

Nicolas & Anne-Fleur, Ade & Ben

Wow, this restaurant is a feast for the stomach and for the eyes. Decorated in a very extravagant style by the French owners, the mahogany interior is dripping with diamantes, glass chandeliers, blue glass light fittings, antiques, and er, stuffed animals, a mounted antelope, a giraffe and a lion head wearing a tiara on the wall. Sounds weird, but somehow it works.

The food matches the stunning décor. The lobster salad was generously portioned and delicious. My main course, the fishcakes, were also a large size, toasty and very filling. The filet steak and the lamb looked very tasty.

Dessert was rich yet unmissable. The wine, Chateau Duluc, St Julien, bordeaux, was very smooth and drinkable by alcohol-allergic moi.
Cost: £70pp

9/10

Japanese

Thursday 1.00pm, 12th July 2001

ben and ade

Service: Busy lunchtime crowd from the city. Could do with more waiting staff.

Food: Much more fresh and of a better quality than Yo!Sushi. There was a large range of dishes. The sushi was good, the cooked things were really good - tempura, yakitori looked nice…

Décor:Conveyor belt sushi. Modern industrial-chic.

£10 each and full. Must visit one evening!

8/10

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Tai
10 Greek St, Soho, London WC1

Vegetarian Oriental

Friday 7.30pmish, January 2002

Peter Malcouronne and mates

£6 for an all-you-can-eat vegetarian buffet sounded too - good to be true, but to the poverty stricken kiwis (most of our group) it was a welcome sight.
The second surprise was the veggie food actually tasted good.

There was also a third surprise - the Asian food was decent, and not a rip-off like most Chinatown all-you-can-eats (you know what I mean if you have ever been disappointed by filling-less won tons). The sweet and sour non-pork was yummy - the sauce was v. natural tasting just like my family makes at home), the stir-fry veges, noodles, rice, stir-fry beans were delicious and crisp, and the Thai style curry was tasty and hot.

And for the kiwis, the tempura potatoes were just like NZ potato fritters - yay! It was a great idea to go here for a large group, all of which arrived over the course of the night at vastly different times. Overall, bright and cheerful and friendly.

6/10

Disclaimer: Please note reviews of restaurants are the personal opinion of a particular dining experience only. The writer is not a professional food critic and dining encounters are experienced in the role of a customer and the meal is paid for out of one's own pocket (or Ben's).

All content and images are the property of Adrienne Wong and may not be used or copied without permission. © 2002

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