Helen's reviews
Review of St James's Restaurant
22 Apr 08, 11:50
Lazy Afternoon Heaven 
I can't vouch for all the food that this restaurant offers, but I when I went on a sleepy/snowy bank holiday Monday in the late afternoon the afternoon tea that was on offer was delightful.
Sundays and weekday afternoons are reserved for people taking afternoon tea and they have quite an extensive tea menu. From fine teas to breakfast teas - and one pot is plenty big enough for two to share.
Food was also of a superior quality - I opted for the clotted cream scones and jam, they were beautiful. I love expensive scones they cut like fresh cake, don't crumble and have no chalky flour anywhere in sight. The prices on the other hand were, as you would expect seriously inflated. I don't mind this as the quality was second to none, however the scones were tiny and two came in just under £6!
My fellow diner had the smoked salmon scrambled eggs and at £10 this looked a little more substantial for the money - but I was still pleased as punch with my scones (damn my sweet tooth).
The setting itself is very nice and has a rustic kitchen crossed with fine dining feel to it. Worn wooden tables adorn the room while huge chandeliers loom over head. You get lovely views over London - so bag a window table.
Lovely experience and a great place to come if you don't fancy going for a full afternoon tea somewhere - just be careful not to trip over all the lingering tourists.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Review of Laduree
21 Apr 08, 12:07
Macaroon Swoon! 
I have a confession - I am totally in LOVE with macaroons and if you appreciate a fine macaroon then this is the only place to get them from.
The shop is swathed in gold and piled high with French delicacies including; cakes, macaroons, sweets and much more. The atmosphere is formal and traditional (as you would expect from The Burlington Arcade) - the service is impeccable. Staff with white gloves serve you your chosen treats and box them up beautifully. I don't think a shop or product could be more stunning and luxurious.
The macaroons themselves are feather light and dreamy in texture. The flavours really set Laduree apart from other macaroon makers, with delicious rarities like orange blossom and rose petal flavours they will have you drooling. They also have a whole range of seasonal flavours that they offer - of the same great quality.
They are expensive a small box of 8 will set you back around £10, but who can put a price on LOVE right?
1 out of 1 person 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 The Electric Bird Cage
11 Dec 07, 10:21
60's Retro Cool!
This place is amazingly cool. It screams Austin Powers, 1960's Psychedelic cool this may have something to do with its kitsch carousel styled bar dominating the main space.
It is located in the heart of London and is very popular, it has two rooms and is often hired out for private functions. We went on a Monday night and there was a good atmosphere, the decor is really quite refreshing, and when you walk in the atmosphere is quite tranquil (unusual for somewhere so trendy in London).
It serves both food and drinks and has the most spectacular array of cocktails I have ever seen. Not only were the choices amazing, but they tasted amazing too. In fact I would go as far as to say they were the best cocktails I have ever sampled. They tasted super fresh and they were incredibly imaginative. The whole party that I was with was uber impressed with the quality of their drinks.
They were not the cheapest drinks but I did not think that they were over priced for the quality that you got, and at £7- £7.50 each they are not out of place in London.
Next up was the food, after 'ooohhing' and 'aaarrring' over our drinks the food followed and this too was of great quality. The food menu was not hugely extensive, and was based around dim sum style eating. Lots of little Asian inspired dishes went down a treat.
I ordered the prawn and chive dumplings, golden purse and a Thai green chicken curry with coconut rice, all was lovely and just enough - a great accompaniment to our fabulous drinks .
I can't recommend this funky little place enough, if you are looking for something seriously different they give it ago. Beware ladies taking your men, there the very attractive waitresses change into very skimpy air hostess outfits after about 9pm, adding to the 60's kitsch feel and attracting much attention!
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.
Review of Beard Papa's
23 Nov 07, 10:43
Super Cute Cream Puffs!
I love this place it is the most random thing ever, yet it is so damn yummy!
Beard Papa's is a cafe/bakery type place in the thick of Oxford Street that serves up the best cream puffs ever. It is a fast food/Krispy Creme type establishment (I think) and you can by your cream puffs by the box.
They are similar to profiter rolls, but without the chocolate on top. The choux pastry is baked into cute balls on site and filled with yummy vanilla cream filling before your eyes, it is finished off by hand with a dusting of Castor sugar! You can have chocolate filling, depending on what day of the week it is, the special filling changes each day.
Beard Papa is really big in the USA and I don't think it will be long before it really takes off in the UK. This place is super cute and super yummy!
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Dim T
23 Nov 07, 10:26
Steamed Buns to Die For!
It was my first time at this eating establishment and also trying dim sum - I wasn't disappointed.
The atmosphere in the restaurant is very busy in the evenings and can be quite noisy. This didn't put me off, I quite liked the buzz.
The food tasted very fresh and the service was fairly quick. We opted for some dim sum to start and their steamed bums were to die for, they were really fluffy and light. The chicken dumplings were also pretty dreamy.
This place excels at great starters and dim sum, my main was nice, but a little too much garlic was used for my liking - though my fellow diners main looked and tasted yummy!
There are lots of options to choose from on the menu, and most tastes are catered for. They have Thai food, noodle dishes and many Chinese classic dishes.
The decor is really chic and very well presented. I enjoyed this place despite the fact that it is a chain, and is very popular. Yummy food that is reasonably healthy - always a winner!
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Uniqlo
27 Oct 07, 21:45
Simple Functional Fashion
I am a big fan of simplicity when it comes to parting with my money for clothes. I love my fashion but I can't see the logic in owning millions of fussy patterned pieces and none of them able to constitute a single an outfit.
Rant over, Uniqlo offers simple Japanese design at it's best. The clothes are simple and design focused. They stock basics and more fashion focused items alike. I love the simplicity of the store layout and the fact that good design does not cost the earth.
uniqlo is still a bit of an underdog in the young fashion market and I think this draws me to it even more. When I walk out with a fab white smock top, or a great polo tee I am pleased because I know that not every other 20 something is wearing it too.
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.