Helen E.

Review of Shapla Tandoori

09 Jun 08, 16:09

I have to Agree

As a group of 8 looking for somewhere to eat on a Saturday night we should have know that there was something a little bit off that we managed to get a table here for with 30 mins notice.

Ok, so I think Craig R has hit the nail on the head these guys are just not very good with groups - especially 8. The service was patchy and a bit rude at times, and this was not helped by the fact that they didn't want to write the order down which resulted in the drinks order being wrong and long winded.

Food was ok, but just ok - nothing special and nothing really jumped out to me. The decor is pleasant and surprisingly airy for and Indian restaurant but this doesn't make up for the lackluster food and service.

I am local to Whitstable and would advise other restaurants to eat at as this one could do so much more.

0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.

Review of Satsuma

07 Jan 08, 14:06

Good Quick Bento

This place is, as all the other reviews state very similar to Wagamamas, but with more lived in and more established feel to it. It is like they believe in the food they are serving, however in Wagamamas it's no so convincing.

The atmosphere is buzzing and busy, but service was quick and efficient. I opted for the chicken katsu bento and was suitably impressed. I love the idea of bento and having lots of different type of food, suits me well. This is my first try of bento so I may have it all wrong.

Great juices - the strawberry and orange is really worth a try!

This place is ideally situated for a quick bite before going out in the west end, or even before a trip to the Curzon cinema.

1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.

Review of Indish

11 Dec 07, 16:57

Great Sourcing of Unique Products!

I was so excited when I discovered this shop, I was walking down Broadway Parade minding my own business when it caught my eye. I may have let out a slight squeal, and may have almost got run over in my attempt to get into the shop from the other side of the road as quickly as possible- but hey, it was worth it!

I must confess I am a real unique design fan, and I could tell from the outside that this shop was going to tick the boxes - I wasn't wrong! Everything they stocked was lovely and of the rarer design variety. For example Sukie cushions and handkerchiefs, Norman Copenhagen light fittings and much much more (too much to list). So all boxes ticked there.

However the thing that really let this shop down was, for one the size, too many people attempt to cram into this little heavily stocked shop, and the two people who own the shop were a little frosty.

By this I mean the service was a little frosty and quite unfriendly. This would be Ok, but when your sending money on very highly marked up goods you would expect to be treated a little nicer.

Not to moan about an otherwise nice shop, maybe they were having a bad day. Great for gifts and real rare home ware finds. A treasure chest of lovely design finds!

1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.

Review of Ikea

03 Dec 07, 12:21

Busy, Crazy and Huge!

I like Ikea but this place is just too much. Every time you come here regardless of time, or day it is heaving with people wanting to consume cheap furniture, trinkets and food.

I have been to other Ikea's and they don't seem as crazed as this one, by a long way. Everywhere you turn there are hundreds of people all trying to do the same thing, it seem disorganized and lacks any personality. Not just because it is a huge chain but because all the staff look like they are having the same nightmare as the shoppers are.

There are community support officers walking round, which doesn't fill me with confidence about the security of my shopping experience.

Enough, negatives. This places does do the job intended and they are often well stocked and the food is strangely tempting (I heart meatballs). Just go knowing what to expect and you will be fine!

0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.

Review of Italian Food Hall

27 Nov 07, 09:58

The Hub of the Town

This place is really vibrant it offers Italian food to buy but also a dinning area in which to have lunches. I visited at the weekend and the atmosphere was just buzzing, needless to say it was really busy.

The interior is really retro Italian - and very European, however it is really charming and nicely preserved. I did not eat here, I simply purchased some food from the food hall area - hence why I can't really give it more than three stars. The food I bought was really pricey - but as a treat it was yummy. I read about this place in a book and they described the prices as some rival Harrods food hall, I can see the comparison.

However saying this I had a peek at the dinning menu and the prices were very cheap, and the food that all the locals were scoffing looked amazing. The smell of fresh pasta really flooded the air and made me want to come back for a good feed.

The staff were friendly, maybe a little harassed, but hey, it was really busy. An all round unique experience.

0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.

Review of La Porchetta

15 Nov 07, 17:15

Great Value

This was my first visit to La Porchetta, and I really didn't know what to expect when I walked in the door. However, I was pleasantly surprised.

The decor was a little shabby but to be honest this made the place feel all that little more authentic. The staff were really friendly and very attentive.

My fellow diner and I both ordered pizzas and they were huge! Not only were they huge but they were really tasty too. They were a little hard to eat as they were slightly too big for the plates - but at least they are going to fill you up!

They do some really unusual options and are a little more adventurous than many larger Italian chains. Nice open kitchen that enables you to see the chefs at work.

The best bit about the meal was the price, for two pizza's and two drinks the bill was £16! You can't go wrong there, yummy pizza that is so cheap... great venue for food before a gig at the Roundhouse.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Review of The Crown Tavern

07 Nov 07, 17:21

Yummy Pub Grub

This pub is situated in Clerkenwell green and is rather charming. It has a real old pub feel to it with traditional pub colours adorning the inside. It does have some slightly edgier, more modern features to it, like some retro wallpaper in places and some funky modern seating. The atmosphere is really pleasant and it was reasonably quiet for a week night. Drinks and food were both reasonably priced. The house wine was really enjoyable. The staff were eager to please and very friendly. The food I ordered was really tasty and perfectly balanced. My salmon fishcakes with asparagus was cooked to perfection and the portion was ample. I would would most certainly go back again!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Review of Wahaca

05 Nov 07, 11:56

A Feast for Thirty Pounds

Wahaca lived up to my expectations, I had heard so many good things about the food, I was not disappointed. The restaurant gets so busy and they do not take bookings. You are given a time and when you come back at the given time you are guaranteed a table. This took about 30mins and once seated we were not rushed at all.

The service was a little erratic, but I think this was just our waiter as the other serving staff around us were very efficient. We had to ask for are drinks to be delivered to our table and this was after our dinner had arrived. The food was fresh, and it really did taste different to many other Mexican foods I have tried.

They offer small 'street food' portions and 'larger plates' you can pick and mix from both menus. My only complaint would be that because the food is not ordered (they bring it out as and when it is cooked) you can end up with all your food on the table at once and having to rush to eat it before it goes cold.

The atmosphere is buzzing and the basement hall settings are really funky, with coloured wall panels and painted bricks. Yummy tortilla chips, but their motto is that they try to stay away from 'nachos and fajitas' to make them selves more authentic. The problem is when your eating your tortilla chips and salsa you can't help but miss the melted cheese.

Great experience,but beware if you leave it late to eat you run the risk of not getting a table!

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Review of All Bar One

05 Nov 07, 11:19

Friendly Place for a Drink

This bar is situated in a really central location close to Covent Garden and Leicester Square.The bar its self has a good atmosphere and the music is not unbearably loud, as it is in so many places.

The drinks were reasonably priced and well made. The staff were friendly and efficient. It is a very busy place with people having both drinks and food. There is a designated area at the back of the bar for people wishing to dine more quietly.

All round a nice bar, with a buzzing atmosphere that is not too over-crowded. Great for a pre and post dinner drinks.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Review of Wasabi

30 Oct 07, 11:36

Variety Really is the Spice of Life

Wasabi is a chain sushi offering, however the amazing amount choice that they offer the customer is really impressive. I adore sushi, but not all - especially not the raw tuna, or smoked mackerel that most pre-packed sushi offers.

Wasabi offers the same amount choice that you get from the conveyor belt in many restaurants. It's simple, you pick up a tray, pick your individually wrapped sushi, grab some pickled ginger/ soy/ wasabi and then you pay for the amount that you have selected. Brilliant! Finally a place where you can have exactly what you want with minimal fuss.

The price is my next point, the sushi is so reasonably priced it's actually unbelievable, I always walk away thinking 'wow, that was cheap!'

Now the service is not the best, it gets very busy, as it is located in Victoria station. The staff can get quite confused with the money and orders. The problem arises from the fact that they are attempting to serve hot takeaway meals and sell sushi all from a tiny cart in the middle of one of the busiest stations in London.

I am sure any of the other branches across London are a little less manic. Still a great place to get a takeaway lunch for work or to fuel a long train journey.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Review of Hamburger Union

27 Oct 07, 20:57

Hamburger Heaven

I have been to this eating establishment on numerous occasions now and I still really enjoy their offerings. The atmosphere is clean, fresh and relaxed.

It is an ideal place for a quick meal with minimum fuss. The decor is reminiscent of early 1950's minimalism, with an American diner edge. Yes it's a chain, but it odes offer seasonal specials and the food does taste fresh.

The menu is often varied and the burgers are good quality, I rarely eat red meat - but I do enjoy a Hamburger Union burger. The chips are really chunky and can be very filling. I would recommend the milk shakes they are very yummy (especially the chocolate).

The food is served quickly, but not worryingly quick. A great place to get a quick, filling meal for a reasonable price.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Review of Sweet

21 Oct 07, 19:50

Yummy Cake!

This little bakery is situated in an ideal location - you have lovely brunch in one of the many great places then wander over to Sweet for, you guessed it - a sweet!

It can get very busy in here due to the fact that they offer hot food to take away, and it requires cooking so crowds of people can form. However if you just want a yummy sweet treat to take away then it is great, in and out in no time.

They offer an eat in section and the array of food looks really fresh and tempting. The window is filled with cakes and impressively whipped meringue's - great for a treat but beware the cakes are quite expensive!

1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.

Review of Pout

16 Oct 07, 18:06

Beautiful Cosmetics, delightful Packaging!

Pout is one of the less known cosmetic companies on the market. However this is not reflective of it's quality.

The shop it's self is lovely and really kitch. The cosmetics are laid out is colour concepts and themes helping you choose what products you are after.

The staff are all very knowledgeable and always putting makeup on willing browsers. The packaging is the secret marketing strategy of this company. It is a case of 'who cares what the products are like when they look so pretty'. Well surprisingly the products do match the packaging and I would say Pout is similar to Benefit in that the products they sell are fun, but yet very functional.

A really buzzing shop that often results in an unexpected sale.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Review of Jurys Clifton Ford Hotel

16 Oct 07, 17:37

Good Central Hotel

Finding an affordable hotel in London can be a chore, it is an even bigger chore when you are trying to find a hotel that is affordable and has a pool.

Clifton Ford ticked all the boxes and was very reasonable. A friend and I stayed here for the night and when we arrived we instantly received an upgrade due to a booking error on their behalf.

Don't get me wrong the rooms and the hotel itself is nothing special, no unique features or cutting edge design here, but is functional. It is located within spitting distance from Oxford Street and the rest of central London, which is great when time is not on your side.

The rooms were a tad dated, but perfectly clean and quite spacious considering the the cost per square meter in central London.

They best feature of this 4 star hotel was the health club attached to it, well underneath it (it is in the basement). It offers a pool, sauna, steam room and jacuzzi and gym - all of which is offered to guests for free.

Breakfast was also thrown into the price we paid. I must admit the dinning/breakfast room was terribly dated with plastic plants and a faux French theme. However the food was quite good.

You would be hard pushed to find something of the same quality in such a good location for the price - a great base for a London stop over.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Review of Whitechapel Art Gallery

12 Oct 07, 23:21

Unique Gallery, Awesome book Shop!

This gallery is very dramatic, and makes real impact. The building is lovely and adds to the striking feel of the gallery. Once you step inside you feel transported to somewhere quite abstract.

Loaded with conceptual modern art, fantastic installations and a beautifully designed cafe make the Whitechapel well worth a visit.

It is so close to the tube station - making it really accessible. However for me the best thing about this gallery is the fantastic book shop. I could peruse the shelves and stands for hours flipping through their eclectic array of books. It also sells art work and prints varying in price ranges.

It does get quite busy a weekends so beware! Well worth a look though.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Review of The Screen On The Green

12 Oct 07, 15:03

Refreshing Cinema Experience

This cinema is really lovely, it is an old original picture house and it just over flows with character. The entrance hall is very small, but first impressions are not reflected in the size of the screens as they are really large.The old red velvet seats are comfy too and make for some cozy viewing. Though I fear this is because I am short anyone over 6 foot may struggle with them.

I was pleasantly surprised by the price, not anywhere near as extortionate as some of the big chain cinemas. The same can be said for the really cute selection of snacks that they sell, chocolate bars and bottled water all reasonably priced. I even enjoyed the popcorn (it wasn't warm so I thought I might not) but it was really good organic stuff.

The films that they show are really great independent quality films. So you pay your money and know your going to get something a bit better than ordinary blockbusters!

All round this place makes for a great evening, really enjoyable.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Review of Thai Square

12 Oct 07, 11:29

Great Pad Thai!

This is one of those places that I had been meaning to go to for ages.

Having only ever experienced Thai from non- chain restaurants this establishment was surprisingly good. The food tasted really fresh and very rich in flavor. My fellow diner ordered the fillet of sea bass in ginger (often a risky choice in an unknown establishment) and the fish tasted really good. I stuck to more classic dishes like the Thai green chicken curry and pad Thai - the pad Thai was great.

Overall the staff were nice, though not that helpful. The atmosphere was a little manic, many people wanted serving all at the same time.

The thing that really lets this place down was the lack of little touches that you get in independent places trying to keep your regular custom. Things like crackers before your meal and larger portions. The food was served in huge bowels that were not even half full.

Great food, but just not enough attention to detail.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Review of The Pop Boutique

08 Oct 07, 22:24

Vintage Treasure

This place is dear to me, I began frequenting it at the tender age of 17 for vintage t-shirts, and now at the ripe old age of 22 I feel I am a veteran.

Pop is one of the founding vintage stores in London and sells a real eclectic mix if men's, women's and unisex clothes. It also stocks an array or miss matched home-ware and accessories.

It is in a prime Covent Garden location and really easy to get to, you simply can't miss the brightly coloured shop front.

This is the place Jamie Oliver used to get his t-shirts from, back in the day when he was still on a scooter.

Pop still stocks some cool and unusual things, however they started making their own pop new/vintage range, which was just not the same, it was not genuine vintage.

Cool friendly staff that are always happy to help, and the tunes they play are always super cool.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Review of Yo! Sushi

05 Oct 07, 14:50

You Can't Order???

Ok, I love sushi and before I moved to London coming here to go to Yo Sushi was always an exciting prospect. I have been to a few branches around London now and this one is most unorganized by far.

The food is good and the atmosphere is also really buzzing, but the service is really patchy. I have been here at the weekend and the service was better but still not great.

There always seems to be a real atmosphere with the staff, when sat at the bar facing the food preparation area the staff (obviously overworked and under paid) were swearing and complaining about customers and management. It was really off-putting and it was hard to concentrate on the meal.

That was not the worst thing by far, it was more frustrating never being able to grab someone to take your order - this place is well set up for off the conveyor belt diners but not if you want to order off the menu.

Good food as always just too busy and bad employee relations!

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Review of Paul Frank

02 Oct 07, 15:08

Paul Frank is Your Friend

I have been a huge Paul Frank fan for well over 7 years now and I still find his creations really unique and inspiring.

The shop in Covent Garden is great, however sometimes it can be hit or miss with how much stock they have in. Well, affordable stock that is. The best bits always sell out first - like the pin badges and other random accessories.

I love the Paul Frank collaborations and every time I go in I see the end products of a new collaboration that Frank has pulled off. Notably the best lately being the Andy Warhol collaboration.

This is not the sort of shop where I always buy something, but I always enjoy going in. It is fun and I love the fact that the whole label does not take it's self seriously at all.

Having sampled the New York store I think London wins, it has just got a really fun feel and they always have some awesome tunes playing when you go in.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Review of The New Culture Revolution

01 Oct 07, 12:51

Good Food Slow Service

I ventured to New Culture Revolution on a Saturday afternoon and it was fairly quiet with a few tables of diners.

The concept of this pleace is refreshing - it is a clean and non fussy eating space without the communal dining bench favoured in so many places now. The outside looks a bit strange like it should house a corner cafe not a Chinese resaurant.

However the food was good and bthe prices were reasonable, with meals in the region of £5 - £6.50 on average. The food tastes fresh and much lighter than normal Chinese food.

However the real downside to this experience was the fact that there was only one waiter and the service was slower than slow. A quick lunch turned into an hour and a half. This really puts me off when you don't want to spend a large chunck of your already short day eating.

I am sure this is not always the case, however beware of the weekend service.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.