Recent decent restaurant discoveries
After being curious about the emergence of two new curry houses within 20 feet of one another in Southfields, the missus and I decided to venture into the smaller of the two new ones, called Triphal a few weeks back.
Oh. My. God. Amazingness on a plate.
The food was remarkably fresh, tender and left you with that great feeling of being full up yet itching for more. Our starter was like nothing I've ever had in an Indian restaurant before. And our mains were superb; a succulent tandoori chicken dish with fresh herbs and subtle coriander after taste (Haryali Murg Tikka) and a beautiful white fish dish with a kick. The Rosemary Naan was also a great surprise. The music left a bit to be desired but the service was top notch. Our shared starter, 2 mains, rice, poppadoms, two beers and a naan set us back £24, which was well worth the price I reckon.
I hope the lack of people inside doesn't put locals off as the similarly good thai restaurant based here before it didn't last too long. I have a feeling though that when people come here the once, they'll be back more than a fair few times.
Their window and Thomson says one of their chefs worked at Sarkhels too (who won a Michelin star apparently):
http://www.thomsonlocal.com/Triphal-Indian-Cuisine/1623520690000151026/companyinfo.html#latestReviews
If you're near Wimbledon / Putney / Earlsfield / Wandsworth, well worth hopping on a bus for.
Found anywhere good recently?
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Tonic in Nottingham
what appears to be a fairly uninspiring menu is transformed into actually amazing food. really really good. i had smoked duck salad w/ parsnip pannacotta followed by trio of pork. tops it was.
really?
i've never been attracted to going in. maybe i should try it
Yalla Yalla in Soho
Holy Fucking Yes.
I'm looking at the menu now
This looks GOOD.
Oh my, that one is great
Always have to get takeaway though as it's so popular now. Best lemonade + lime + gingersoft drink, EVER.
I like the sound of this lemonade + lime + ginger drink
I went to le pain quotidien at St Pancras station the other week and had this really nice homemade limeade drink with fresh mint obviously to accompany my lemon tart (which was delicious and so tangy!) I'm gonna go back there in a few weekends time.
Been meaning to go there for aaaaaages
ooh go
go on liek, a Tuesday at 6ish. Only had to wait 15 mins and spent that time with a gin and tonic outside. SO good, man.
I liked it there, but...
too crowded and portions too small.
No! I went here and was not that impressed
It's all about Kaslik just down the road.
I haven't been out to a restaurant in SO LONG
So long that its actually starting to really bother me and I may have to go to one alone just to eat some good food.
The last one I went to was a small family run Italian place in our little town, Osteria Due Fratelli. I had fried zuccini....oh my. I need to have that again as that was a delicious side dish. I'll always order that if its on the menu.
They've recently opened a Chimichangas there too which I am so desperate to go to.
Me either
I'd love to go on a date to a proper restaurant, like a proper fancy date! I don't think I'm the type of girl boys want to take to fancy places though. Also, from having a look online they're all pretty expensive for a povo like me.
In fact what I'd rather do is cook an amazing meal instead but not have three housemates mooching about the whole time as well.
I think I've only ever been on one proper date to a restaurant
where I got dressed up all nice and picked up etc. It was really nice but it wasn't a fancy restaurant! There are quite a few in London that i'd love to do it but they are really expensive. The food is no doubt amazing but I'm not sure I could pay a lot for a meal and I most certainly wouldn't let anyone pay for me.
Ah do your housemates get in the way? I guess they could ruin the mood a bit. I did used to like cooking a nice big meal and decorating the table all nice. It would be quite romantic up until we'd both start stuffing food into our faces like we'd never ate before. I'm such a catch.
Yeah, me too
They don't get in the way but it'd be nice to not have them around sometimes and not have all their junk cluttering up the table.
Have you been to Moro? I want to go there so much. I love cooking from their cookbooks and looking at the photos of them on their travels.
I haven't been to Moro
I may have to invest in one of their cookbooks as the food sounds lovely on their website. There is a greek place I really want to go to on the Southbank which is just loads of nice picky bits and kebabs and pita bread. OOhhh I'm so hungry!
There are so many things I haven't made from them
but as soon as I'm working I'm going to go through and make them all eventually.
I do need to get some cook books that are actual food
rather than cake ones. I have about 5 cookbooks which are all about cakes, cupcakes and biscuits! Although saying that, I really want this Hope and Greenwood one which tells you how to make sweets!
http://www.hopeandgreenwood.co.uk/kitchen/Life-is-Sweet/
I actually love that sweet shop. I'm going into London on Saturday night so I will be stocking up on sweeties.
Ooo that looks nice!
I don't bake that much but I have a few favourites I do. I'd quite like to get into it more but it's much easier to cook than to bake in terms of eating it all afterwards withough waste (or becoming obese!)
I'd quite like the Ottolenghi book.
Moro is pretty good
I think I was expecting a bit more given their reputation though. They literally never change the veggie option either. I much prefer Dehesa in Soho for that general style of food. It's owned by the same people as Salt Yard and has a similar menu but the atmosphere is slightly nicer.
Didn't mean to kill enthusiasm btw
Moro is still ace
Can’t ‘^this’ this enough.
We went on Friday and were a little underwhelmed. It was good, but not stunning – especially for the price. I agree with the comment about vegetarian options too – there weren’t any options other than ‘eat this dish, or nothing else.’
We went to Dehesa last night.
Probably the best meal I’ve had in Central London actually. Lovely stuff.
Hooray!
Glad you enjoyed it.
I think you two should go out to a restaurant together.
You're both missing out hugely on something I consider to be loads of fun. Also it doean't have to be really horribly expensive, there's loads of nice places which are cheap and excellent.
I agree :)
eh?
I'm not too keen on people paying for me. I like to pay and make my man feel emasculated.
Dinner?
I'm buying!
Zucca on Bermondsey High Street
Is really excellent - amazing Italian food and I'd say plate for plate cheaper than a chain like Pizza Express.
I'vew been a few times as it is around the corner from my house - seasonal menu (though the veal chop is a mainstay and is really good). Currently hard to get a table if you just walk in though, stupid positive word of mouth.
We went there a few months ago.
The starters were incredible – wonderfully light, with great variations in taste and texture. We found the main courses a little heavy though. I’d be tempted to order a whole meal of starters, treating it like a bacaro.
The gf and I have done that
for lunch and I'd highly recommend it; make sure you get the fritti especially with a nice glass of white :-).
Thinly veiled I've got a girlfriend post.
Have you been to Polpo
That's a great bacaro.
No I haven't but I really want to
it is on the "after my waist and wallet have recovered from Christmas" list of places to eat.
Canonbury Kitchen
on Canonbury Lane, N1
Modern Italian food, expertly cooked, lovely staff and very reasonably priced (by Islington standards). Has been only open for a month, but already doing a roaring business, and deservedly so.
www.canonburykitchen.com
I've been wanting to go there
Good to get a recommendation, cheers!
Little Pomple's Dinner and Bar 2
I got 3 burgers for £34!!! vaule!!!
Some Lebanese place in Cricklewood
was pretty nice. Lebanese food seems to mainly just be lots of meat (or some kind of vegetable stew if you're vegetatarian(hi)) + rice.
Approve!
went to a lebanese restaurant in dubai once
it was fucking ace...£10 for as much various grilled meats as i could eat, loads of lovely salads and hummus...well tasty.
Most Londoners on here know it well but I went to Tayyabs for the first time last week.
WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE.
I did the same with Song-Que on Kingsland Road just before Christmas.
OH. MY. GOD.
Oh man
I've never been there but we're moving offices in a few weeks to a few doors down. Gonna get fat.
The great thing about vietnamese food is that you can eat as much as you want,
and not get fat!
Ooh I've walked past that a few times recently.
Smells great,
dude we should practice soon so we can go there afterwards...
Definitely.
Last week of Jan/first of Feb? Get VIkram in.
I'm still meaning to go there
But every time I go past on the bus there's a massive queue
You can book.
It doesn't look much on the inside, but the food is ace. And cheap too.
dont see what's so good about song-que?
overpriced and nothing THAT special
loong que (or whatever the one nearest the geffry musem is called) is great though. great to go with 6+ people or something and sharing, as the portions are massive and inexpensive. chili goat = amaze
I've not been to Loong Kee before,
but I thought that the general consensus was that it's good, but not in the same league as Song-Que.
but ive been to song que!
and its good! but more expensive than it is good!
I went to tayyabs for the first time last week also. SPOOKY
They gave me a mini milk witgh my gulab jaman and I was pretty furious. Food was really REALLY good (lamb chop starter FTW!), but still not as good as Herb and Spices in whites row.
what enrages you about mini-milks?
I love a mini milk
but whern I asked for icecream with my gulab jaman, I expected a scoop or two, It was very difficult to eat. In fact, I have a photo of my rage somewhere.
.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=481836436011&set=a.434559861011.211013.504201011
this link may not work actually, hmm
oh
that is strange
What next, a Calippo with your sag aloo?
probably! we also didn't realise it was byob, and so I held the table whilst the boyfriend made a mad dash to the offie, which was closed, and tehn negotiate the shady back streets of whitechapel in the quest for my rioja.
(yes, I am one of these weirdies who will drink red wine with curry- IT'S AN UNDERRATED COMBO- but will have a fit over the presentation of iced dairy products.)
I was gonna start a thread today asking for sushi recommendations in London
this looks like the best place to post my request though - any suggestions?
Been here a few times
http://www.sasasushi.co.uk/
It's pretty good and fairly cheap. Just south of Angel tube.
Itadaki is near there too, which is a good vegetarian one.
Ichiban in Leytonstone is meant to be really good as well. I've not yet been, and it looks a little shabby from the outside, but the food is apparently as good as anything in central London.
Being vegetarian, I don't make a habit of going to too many sushi places - but my girlfriend is a big fan. I'll drop her a line.
I'm sure there are better places to go, but Yo Sushi are doing 40% off until the end of the month
http://www.yosushi.com/offers
yo sushi charge you for tap water
even though they out the taps ON YOUR TABLE
They can suck my balls.
thanks everyone
marckee - my gf is on a veggie tip at the mo so that one looks like a good option. if you have any more suggestions also that would be amazing
x
Feedback from the foodie:
From least to most expensive:
Itsu
Haruki
Cafe Japan
Roka
there you go
Atari-ya
that is all / Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know
there's a little japanese restaurant behind regents street
cheap, i had the teriyaki, and the sushi looked good
crap!
link:
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/place?hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-US&gl=uk&wrapid=tlif12948336116461&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=sakura+japanese+food&fb=1&gl=uk&hq=sakura+japanese+food&hnear=City+of+London&cid=3161400734618780646
It has really bad reviews.
Are you like my brother and say somewhere's "wonderful" just because you're the only person you know who's been there?
Near Regents Street / Picadilly
is Benihana. Japanese food.
The prices are a little steep but the food is good and they cook it all in front of you.
Went there for the works xmas do. Probably a better place for a group of people than just a couple though.
an all you can eat place in newcastle
that does actually good food and has a Japanese counter :O
Where?!
After a thorougly shit few days, we are going to cheer ourselves up by going somewhere lovely for dinner tonight in london
Any suggestions welcome (we live in E1). Top of the list at the moment is st john's bread and wine, which we love, but my work is unpredicatable and we don;t know what time I'll get away, and there's a risk if we pitch up they won't be able to squeeze us in. It's not that recent a discovery for us, but it's still great, unpretentious, good (reasonably priced) food and awesome (pretty pricey) wine and is very worthy of a mention (it's not the best for veggies, although you won't starve) http://www.stjohnbreadandwine.com/
I've been recommended this place for casual dining, but am yet to go- http://www.thedispensarylondon.co.uk/
Has anybody been?
Maybe Bistrotheque?
Reasonably priced and pretty good. I'm a massive fan of The Hemingway at the moment. I seem to be eating there weekly.
that looks lovely!
thanks for the recommendation, I'll look into that for the weekend :)
Bistrotheque or The Hemingway?
I'd recommend booking for both as they tend to get pretty busy at the weekends. Definitely worth it though.
No, but I go for drinks in St John in Clerkenwell a lot as it's opposite my office
haven't been to that one yet
and am slightly scared to as it looks brilliant.
anyone got any restaurant advice for Brixton?
good for a date?
KFC.
I really like Hive
Though it might be a bit to obviously "datey" depending on what stage you're at. Good food though and in a good location.
Franco Manca's is ace, if you're there before it shuts at 5pm.
It's not really a 'date' kind of place though.
It's open a bit later now
til 9 i think
Not according to their website.
I thought that it had to keep to the hours of the market.
I went there late a couple of weeks ago
they probably hadn't got around to changing the website. Not sure how they managed it with the market
I can confirm that it’s open until 9.30pm on Saturdays.
And that their pizzas provided a most excellent foundation on which to commence drinking.
It was practically deserted though (there were three tables occupied), so I don’t know how long they’re going to keep opening that late.
there's a really amazing
ethioean (or eritrean?) place on coldharbour lane. you can have coffee and popcorn after all the spongy bread and meat and lentils and sauces which also all contain spongy bread.
Fujiyama is lovely
for Japanese. Also Hive, or there's plenty of gastro pub places, like the Prince.
cheers ppls
fukiyama looking gd!
Went to the Carluccios in Canary Wharf.
Food was good, if not special, and the service was appallingly slow. We had 2-4-1 vouchers, and would have felt pretty robbed without them.
This has been my experience also
Baozi Inn just off Leicester Square for Sichuan
Dan Dan Noodles
Flower Tofu
Mapodofu
Some sort of dumplings
Amaze
did DiS just eat my post?
>=[
i think it ate mine too
bigging up http://www.iguanas.co.uk
Nothing fancy
but brunch at Giraffe is my new favourite. The huevos rancheros is great, and they give you four different hot sauces. Shame its full of kids though.
I'm glad someone bumped this
Went back to that curry house and as I was a bit peckish still after the mains, and so had a dessert there.
Mango rice pudding with coconut milk and chili flakes. Got it half out of curiosity. Seriously, one of the best things I've ever eaten. Sweet, sour, creamy, hot... just... amazing.
Fuck man, I was looking for this thread all Saturday afternoon
I went to Byron in the end. It was yum
Is Dinner open yet?
I'm waiting for Shucks to ask me to go.
We are going to bodeans. Sam Adams, creamed corn, burnt ends, ribs, and diablo wings. CANNAE. FUCKIN. WAIT. :D
My order for a case of cholula hot pepper saucs fell through today, so I'm to appropriate a bottle from them. It is going to fall into my bag between courses. They owe me man, we spend half our wages in the place.
* Sean Adams
opened today
going for lunch in a couple of weeks. menu looks pretty weird and that.
The Spot, in Kilburn, after reading ibzo's blog post on it
really really really tasty and cheap:
http://willeatformoney.blogspot.com/2010/06/spot-kilburn.html
best things i had were as follows:
waffles
seafood gumbo
collard greens
Pompoko
In Brighton, in the North Laine. Japanese food, and the whole meal cost less about 8 quid, with a starter, main and two drinks. Lovely stuff, and very friendly service. Tiny place though, was a bit like eating in someones living room.
after finding a few nice-looking places on here, and inspired by alcxxk's mention of The Spot
i'm interested in finding a good american-style diner place. one that does proper good american pies (pumpkin, apple, cherry, etc). anyone know of any? especially any in soho/west end area?
TA
We went to Riding House Cafe last night.
Wonderful. There wasn't a massive choice for vegetarians, but their Sweet Potato and Chickpea cake was probably the best individual dish I've had in ages - I never thought it was possible to be excited by broccoli, but this managed it. Apparaently the meat dishes and tapas were on a par with Dehesa, and the desserts were really fresh and light too. The steampunk-esque toilets deserve a mention too - having valves instead of taps made me feel like a Victorian engineer.
It's also worth noting that as part of its 'soft launch,' all food is half price until the 2nd May, so if you're in London this week, I'd highly recommend booking a table and popping in.
Going here tonight, and i'm really looking forward to it
I went to an Argentinean restaurant yesterday
in Belfast called La Boca. It was pretty good, especially the beer (Quilmes).
did u get black pudding
I wish.
Black pudding is great.
argentineans do p good black pudding
i googled to try find sth in english and just a whole bunch of pics of meat came up
pretty hungry now i guess
A Little Of What You Fancy, on Kingsland Road.
This was excellent. A deliberately small menu, but all the dishes were simple, unfussy and really well made, and the whole place was relaxed and friendly. It reminded me a lot of my old favourite restaurant in Newcastle, Heartbreak Soup, in its lack of pretentions and welcoming atmosphere.
Interesting. I've been put off going here because it seems so pretentious! As with most things in the area.
Menu looks like 'standard' food but overpriced. I'd rather just go to a caff or something...
That said, I've not eaten there, but from the look of it I can't imagine I ever will either...
It was a bit pricey, given the simplicity of the food and surroundings,
but it’s far more reasonable than a lot of places across in Upper Street or down the road in Shoreditch.
Not quite sure how anyone could think it was pretentious though, and I don't really get your comment about the area.
Well...
......you can semanticise about what 'pretentiousness' means but I think that serving pretty standard food, dressing it up as 'authentic British cuisine', and then overpricing it is a touch pretentious, for want of a better word. I find it bizarre that you have to pay extra for this fashionable illusion of 'authenticity'...
Still, I've never eaten there so I don't know whether or not the price represents good value - your testimony implies that it does so fair play.
The food isn’t standard. It might be basic, or simple, but it’s not standard.
Might as well bung some reviews in here
Bukowski's (at the "Boxpark", Shoreditch High St station): meat-eating colleagues say the burgers were only "okay", not as good as Meat Wagon or something. The veggie burger was really quite good though, much better than the usual bullshit.
Nopi: this was so great. Everything we ordered was amazing. The downside is that the dishes are tapas style (but not Spanish) and around the £10 mark, so it gets expensive. The fondant swede was very, very good.
Oh man
Went to Nopi myself a few weeks back. It was utterly divine.
If you went easy on the wine and had say 5 dishes between you, whilst not a cheap night out (£50ish) it'd be a totally memorable one. When I think I have to pay about £14 at the local pub now for a main meal, it's WAY worth it...
Yeah, it's not bad when you look at it like that.
I gave it the large one and paid for my parents and girlfriend, like some kind of market version of Rockefeller. My wallet wept.
We ordered the cheapest wine on the menu
I think it was £45.It was however slightly offset by the awesome free starter they gave us
Stringray
Excellent pizza indeed
That's the one
and dirt cheap too
10 Greek Street.
It's a very earthy, gamey restaurant (I've never seen anywhere else serving Hare), but even if you're a veggie there's enough good stuff here to justify the hype.
It's also very reasonably priced. We had three course each and it came to about £30 a head (excluding drinks).
It's styled a lot like Spuntino or Opera Tavern (tattoo'd staff, small white tiles on the walls, cyberpunky look), and again it doesn't take bookings, but we turned up at 6.30 on a Saturday and walked straight in. Any later and you'll have to queue.
i'm game
haha!
never seen anywhere serving hare though? seen it thrice minimum perhaps its a northen thing?
Le Mercury, Upper Street
http://www.lemercury.co.uk/
French place. Really nice, VERY busy. Cheap.
I have calamari followed by Duck breast with garlic mash, cabbage and red wine sauce. The duck was perfectly pink. LOVE IT.
Came to about £35 for 2 starter, mains and drinks.
i went to K10 sushi place with the lovely PickledOuef a couple weeks ago
quite cheap to say it was 'in the city', and really good quality. managed about 5 plates and it came to £20, which is fine with me.
Does anyone know of anywhere good in Portsmouth?
I'm taking my boyfriend for a meal on his birthday next week. Not fussy on the type, I'm just after good food at a reasonable price.
Egypteca (Reading centric)
An Egyptian themed pizza place run by Polish guys, cheap food and drinks and its right by my flat
Went to Pasha on Upper St for the first time recently.
Superb meal - the Iskender was amazing.
HKK
We had their veggie taster menu (£40 for 8 courses). Wonderful stuff. The portions aren't large (don't take your grandparents if that's all they consider to be a sign of good value), but it was so, so tasty.
Yum!
Probably already well known, but The Blues Kitchen
in Camden is pretty good.
Cajun type food.