Max J.

Review of Paul A Young

19 Oct 07, 15:28

Haute Chocolatier

Tucked away on Camden Passage, Paul A Young serves up some seriously tasty and stylish chocolates.

If you're looking for a sweet tasting gift to trump them all, then Paul's your man. Equisitely packaged, Paul A Young's chocs are definitely within the 'haute couture' category for confectionary. While certainly not cheap, the quality of the chocolates and cakes on sale definitely warrant the price.

Better still, free taster samples are available in store.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Review of Barbican Theatre

02 Oct 07, 12:28

No Leg Room

Less a review and more a note to future theatre goers. Avoid the seats in the heavens – particularly rows which enter double characters i.e. AA, BB or CC etc. Just saw the brilliant 'Disappearing Number', sadly the only tickets we could get were in row AA which are in a seriously vertiginous position, with no leg room. I can't believe these seats weren't an afterthought. I'm used to old London theatres designed for 5' 2'' midgets, but these seats took it to a new level. If you're over 5' invest in seats closer to the stage.

1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.

Review of Paul Smith

02 Oct 07, 12:26

Sharp Inventive Clothing

I rarely buy anything from here, but always make a point of dropping in when in Covent garden, I got a suit here last year, and it has served me so well that I've struggled to justify buying another one to replace it. Like lots of good high end fashion stores, the best stuff always seems to enter a new tier of expense, this time, they had a great dinner jacket with loads of subtle but clever stitching around the pockets and cuff, which looked really tempting until I realized it was £1,200.

I love Paul Smith clothing, but always feel that the floral shirts and flourishes of colour suit someone older than me, so whenever I try any PS stuff on of it on it makes me look like someone trying too hard to impress, hence why I rarely buy anything from here (plus the price tags).

1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.

Review of The Bald Face Stag

02 Oct 07, 12:20

Great Gastro Pub

Ticks all the Gastro Pub Boxes, though perhaps too calculatingly so.

Quality range of ales and world beers, hearty quality food, dark wood paneling décor, 'random' mix of stools and chairs. Came here to celebrate a friend's birthday, and had a great time, and would certainly recommend it to anyone looking for a nice place to while away an evening in East Finchley. Service was super fast too, which is always a bonus.

1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.

Review of Skylon

24 Sep 07, 16:28

Uber Modernist Restaurant

Beautiful restaurant as part of the Royal Festival Hall's recent refurbishment.

While not cheap (£37.50 for three courses), thanks in part to the beautiful decor it is worth a visit regardless. Sadly, we did not have a window seat, but the huge wall of glass which runs the length of the restaurant means you're unlikely to miss its stunning river view across the Thames.

The food itself was excellent - though the menu is very fish-heavy and vegetarians would struggle to find any real choice. Nonetheless, for a restaurant that is setting itself out on the 'finer' side of dining, the overall atmosphere relaxing and never stuffy, - indeed thanks to the uber-50's modernist design, low lighting and a lot of wine its a great place for a long relaxing meal.

1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.

Review of Royal Court Theatre

01 Aug 07, 09:16

Stunning Little Theatre

Took the chance to see the Pain and the Itch that one my friends has worked on as Assistant Director at the weekend.

The show we saw was excellent - great acting, sharp satire and lots of dark undertones which is always good.

I'd always assumed the Royal Court Theatre to be a large, stuffy/tacky West End style theatre with no leg room which last underwent a refurb in 1982, so I was very surprised to find the Royal Court to be a rather beautifully restored space.

Larger than the Donmar or Almedia, but retaining an intimate feel, the Royal Court also boasts a great cafe/bar. I'll definitely go back.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Review of Piada

01 Jul 07, 19:33

Italian Takeaway Made Simple

Choose from ten varieties of fresh fillings for your flat bread and you're done.

Prepared freshly while you wait, if you like Mediterranean food then its hard not to be impressed by Piada as an convenient lunch time option.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Review of Say Pasta

01 Jul 07, 19:16

Say Fresh Tasty Pasta

This is the the third restaurant to open at this site in probably just over a year, so the owner probably knows that to survive on Upper Street you've got stiff local competition.

The last two establishments on this site were higher-end take aways and so for some reason I thought Say Pasta was also a take-away when I rushed in to grab some pasta super fast before moving on.

Once inside I was surprised to see that they've managed to make the most of the small space by squeezing in ten or so tables, turning it into a proper restaurant.

With little time to find anywhere else I decided to stay and was pleasantly surprised. Great service, very affordable and importantly very tasty fresh pasta. Would definitely return.

1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.

Review of Tate Britain

01 Jul 07, 19:03

Great British Modern Art

Poor Tate Britain seems to be constantly overshadowed by its ever growing younger sibling Tate Modern which gets all the cool modern art.

While most of the museum's pay shows are predominantly aimed at a more traditional art loving crowd- think Turner and Hogarth rather than Warhol and Duchamp.

For modern/contemporary art-fans, Tate Britain houses a surprisingly impressive collection including some great works by Francis Bacon, Douglas Gordon and Sam Taylor-Wood.

Chris Offili's Upper Room has to be worth the trip alone - a dark paneled room housing a collection of 13 brilliantly coloured paintings of rhesus macaque monkeys. Google it to get a better idea, as my description won't do it justice.

Put simply, if you're visiting London and looking for a world-class modern art gallery don't forget Tate Britain as you'll be pleasantly surprised.

1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.

Review of Curzon Soho

29 May 07, 19:20

London's best cinema

Why don't more cinemas followed the Curzon's template. Eclectic range of movies, lots of double-bills, interesting talks, host to every other niche film festival around and most importantly a cinema bar and coffee shop attached that you'd consider visiting even if you weren't there for the film.

Given that cinemas allege that the bulk of their profit comes from the concessions, I've never understood why it is so rare, therefore, to come across a decent coffee shop or bar attached to a cinema, especially as you have a near captive audience before a screening, and that after a movie whether you've seen Citizen Kane or Patch Adams, you tend to have something to discuss regard the film - that cinemas are so eager to push you out into the street and off to a nearby establishment for their trade has always confused me.

Rant aside, the Curzon cinema continues to show the best of world cinema and thanks to their great bar, is a cool place to hang out afterward.

Reading Neil's review above, I agree that it can attract a semi-pretentious crowd on occasions, but compared to some other cinemas - NFT, Renoir, they are a pretty subdued crowd.

While not at the electric cinema's cinematic-luxe end of the scale, the Curzon definitely leans towards making a night of enjoying a movie housing a Konditor and Cook coffee shop and a laid back bar, where you

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Review of Chas Tapp

29 May 07, 19:00

B & Q Who?

Chas Tapp seems to be the suburban tardis of building supplies. What looks like an pecularly placed, very small builders merchant on a quiet Islington residential street, turns out to be bulging with every building supply you could ever need be it adhesive, limestone sealant, dust sheets, wood primer - you name it.

Faced with the prospect of travelling to B & Q on a bank holiday Monday to buy the above, you could imagine my joy that a local alternative was not only open, but only 10 minutes walk from my flat.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Review of Maoz

23 May 07, 12:28

More Maoz - Tasty Healthy Takeaway

I love Maoz. It never fails to satisfy a drunken hunger at the end of night in Soho.

Like lots of great things in life, the principle is simple - pitta and falfel, choose your extras - hummous or aubergine and then start stacking on the veg and salad as you see fit.

All the ingredients are super-fresh (no limp lettuce or soggy tomatos), and for under £4 you can't go wrong. My only criticism would be that they haven't opened one up next to my office, as the perfect lunch time option. For real Maoz obsessives out there, they also have outlets in Amsterdam, Paris and Barcelona (which I have also used).

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Review of The Jerusalem Tavern

21 May 07, 18:22

Beautiful Local Tavern

This is nearest pub to where we work - a beautiful old pub with stunning curved glass Victorian frontage which serves an eclectic mix of beers and ales that manages to steer clear of the ale pub cliches. A very friendly, cosy bar which is always packed, indeed the place suffers due to its size, which inevitably means that in the summer we tend to be drinking in the road. Serves grapefruit lager which is much nicer than it sounds.

1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.

Review of Sausage and Mash

21 May 07, 16:21

Middle Class Greasy Spoon

A greasy spoon for people who don't want to dine in a greasy spoon. Always packed. If you like sausage and mash then this the place to come, choose from a wide range of sausages, mash and gravy to mix and match to get the perfect sausage and mash for under £8. I had parsnip mash with Cumberland sausage. Unsure whether the decor is original, but regardless it does the job retaining 50'ss style red white formica with chrome. If you can get a table a good Sunday morning option.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Review of Eat

18 May 07, 13:10

Super Soup

My collegue Rik's interest in Eat Soup borders on the obsessive, however, his enthusiasm has spread throughout the eMomentum office quickly and he has managed to convert half of us (including me) to the ways of Eat Soup which is super tasty. From chicken pot pie to red lentil dhal, I haven't tried a poor Eat soup yet.

Eat seems to be carving a similar niche a la Pret in the 90's serving up no-nonesense, tasty lunch take-out at affordable prices. They are rapidly to be opening new stores acrossLondon at the moment, so I'm sure that MacDonalds will buy them soon.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Review of The Drapers Arms

08 May 07, 18:57

Quite Pub Escape from Upper Street

Beautiful pub hidden away north of Islington's Upper Street, a great place to escape the crowds particularly on a Friday or Saturday night, though definitely only if you're looking for a quiet low-key atmosphere. Has a great restaurant, especially if you can get a table upstairs in the double fronted dining room which is sparingly and stylishly decorated to fit the age of building. We dined with friends at Christmas on a busy night, food was excellent all round, though the service was extremely slow - it took us 40 minutes to order our mains,

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.