Alex's reviews
Review of Club Gascon
27 Oct 07, 22:41
Tres superb! 
Club Gascon is a gastromic delight, if you're afraid of nouvelle cuisine this may not be to your taste.
I genuinely believe that you could not put a foot wrong with your menu selections and we elected to have the sommelier 'surprise' us with the wine accompaniment. Absolutely exquisite seletions.
The meal was not cheap at £300 for 2 unlike the particularly common girl in the chav dress opposite our table who did not know how to behave in a restaurant of this calibre. Her lack of breeding was the only negative part of our meal and sadly, an element of which we had no control.
An excellent restaurant worthy of continued patronage.
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.
Review of $ Grills and Martinis
30 Sep 07, 11:39
Great Martinis 
We visited $ (despite the chintzy exterior) for a quick drink on a Saturday afternoon.
They do fantastic martinis and it was pleasant just relaxing in the comfort of the downstairs bar. It has a very boudoir feel actually and we came away very relaxed, if not a little drunk.
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.
Review of The Empress Of India
23 Sep 07, 18:30
Empress Fails to Impress 
The Empress is the personification of those gastropubs which herald the first wave of gentrification in an up and coming area.
It's beautifully decorated inside and has a lovely feel; it's owned by the same people who have The White Swan (Chancery Lane) and The Gun (Docklands).
The food is good but I've had nothing there that I know I couldn't cook as well if not better at home. My partner and I shared a rotisserie chicken stuffed with lemon and garlic - a favourite from Simon Hopkinson. It was moist, well cooked and served with roast potatoes, a lovely bread sauce and accompanied with pigs in blankets. I started with a rabbit salad which while tasty, certainly didn't justify a £7.50 asking price but to their credit, the ingredients were certainly fresh.
Service while friendly was mediocre and slow but I think that was just down to our waiter who looked like he was struggling to keep pace with the Sunday lunch rush and the demands of his section.
The food is good but at £25 per head for a starter, main and a couple of soft drinks each, it didn't feel like it was of particularly good value. I came away feeling like I'd had a decent meal but had paid for something I hadn't got.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.