Lorraine L.

Review of Roullier White

05 Aug 08, 19:06

Gorgeous stuff for you and your home

Small independent shop on Lordship Lane selling products for the home including lots of beautiful white bone china, unusual glasses, wonderfully scented bath foams and luxurious bed linen.

Staff are wonderfully attentive and very friendly.

1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.

Review of Stella B

05 Aug 08, 17:51

Lovely boutique shoe shop

I popped in here recently to get some Fit Flops (which truly are an amazing piece of footwear!). It's a very small shop, but they always have size 8s available in whatever style I like, which is more than I can say for any other shoe store I have ever been in, I'm usually limited to one or two shoes in the whole shop. Great that they stock a unique range of shoes as well as big brands like Havianas and Uggs. The range is definitely not cheap, but all the shoes are beautiful, nothing like the hideous Davina Boutique around the corner - argh!

0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.

Review of Viet Hoa Cafe

13 Jul 08, 17:42

The best of the bunch

It can be a bit tricky to know which Vietnamese restaurant to pick as the block is lined with them on either side, but this is definitely my favourite. I've been going here for about 8 years now. I am a bit of a bore when it comes to ordering food and tend to stick to what I know - deliciously fresh Vietnamese summer rolls, soft shell crab (really spicy and garlicky) and deep fried tilapia. The staff are fantastic here, plus they are really quick with doing you a takeaway (no home delivery, alas).

1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.

Review of Liberty and Co

13 Jul 08, 17:39

My favourite department store in London

I love Liberty because it feels like wandering around someone's slightly ramshackle old mansion, full of gorgeous nick nacks. I try not to go in here as I always end up with a huge hole in my pocket when I leave, but the staff really are quite lovely and knowledgeable. I like the fact that the staff are all ages, races, shapes and sizes, unlike some other department stores. The sales are always good, in fact that's probably the only time I'd venture into the store so that I don't feel too bad about frittering away loads of cash on lovely, but usually unnecessary, purchases!

1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.

Review of Macondo

13 Jul 08, 17:36

Hoxton nonsense

It's fine to cosy up on the sofa with a coffee, but the menu is so overpriced and very little to choose from. I could never bring myself to eat here, not with Yelo Thai next door which does absolutely amazing food for about half the price!

1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.

Review of Barcelona Tapas

13 Jul 08, 17:34

Absolutely delicious tapas

I wasn't too sure about this as it's a chain of tapas bars, and I've got the East Dulwich mentality of hating anything to do with chains. However, I left here a very happy punter after feasting on gorgeous paella which was packed full of seafood, a chorizo starter and some deep fried stuffed peppers (can't remember the name of the dish). Service was great, will definitely be back here very soon. Meal with wine cost about £30 a head.

1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.

Review of Liquorish

13 Jul 08, 17:26

Run of the mill eatery on Lordship Lane

Popped in here on a Sunday for brunch. Nothing spectacular, had a veggie breakfast. It had a really awful veggie sausage, looked like some sort of giant turd made out of bubble and squeak. Everything else was perfunctory. Service was good however!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Review of The Plough

08 Jul 08, 08:29

Scuzzy pub no more, but it's gone a bit pretentious

This place used to be a right dive, but it's now had an East Dulwich makeover and has repositioned itself as a wannabe gastropub and a mum and baby hangout. The decor is really quite pleasant, but the sign outside is quite shirty and says something like: "The Mafia has 'omerta', football has FIFA....we all have rules, and there are rules to be obeyed." Yikes, I feel like I'm stepping back into the classroom when I go to this place. They are obviously trying to keep the former punters out because despite having hiked up the prices for food and scattered some cushions around the joint, the alcohol prices remain largely the same, therefore anyone who used to drink there will still keep on drinking there.

I've only eaten here once, but the food was mediocre and took AGES to arrive. Considering it was at lunchtime and I had to get back to work, this wasn't ideal.

Having said that, it's NOT all bad. There is a fantastically busy Baby Club on Fridays from 12 - 5pm (hurrah, they've cashed on the East Dulwich baby boom - clever people) and they've made a big effort to put on all sorts of entertainment. There is a pianist there a couple of nights a week, an open mic session, pub quiz, even a knitting club. I've not checked these out, so if anyone has been, do post up a review if they're any cop!

The outside area is pretty big, so in summer it's a great spot to loiter.

1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.

Review of Dragon Castle

21 Jun 08, 13:09

Absolutely delicious Chinese food - the menu is massive!

The most difficult thing about this place is possibly negotiating Elephant and Castle to get there. Then the next most difficult thing is figuring out what to eat, as the menu is really quite immense, and I'm fairly useless at choosing what to eat when there's more than about 5 choices!

I settled for some garlic and honey ribs - lovely sauce and not too fatty. Followed by scallops with stuffed prawns, fried rice and some soup. All absolutely delicious, about £20 a head, although we didn't drink. Not massively cheap, and if I had a bit more cash, I'd be tempted to try out some of the more exotic food items like the sea cucumber.

I'll be back at lunchtime to check out the dim sum here!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.