London Appetizer

The French House Restaurant, Soho, London

The French House
49 Dean Street
W1D 5BG

Cuisine: French
Tel: 020 7437 2477
Nearest Station: Leicester Square Tube

It's tiny, above a pub, but very sweet. You are squashed into a table in a restaurant that must seat about 25 covers max. The mirror at the back of the restaurant on the wall gives the illusion of more space but prepare to be cramped.

The menu is simple and certainly not French fancy. More French rustic. And it is a bit like going back to 80's dining. My prawn cocktail starter was very good and came with a huge juicy meaty king prawn on the side. It was good value at £7. My colleague's Ham Hock was equally good and priced at £7.50p.
I chose fillet steak with chips for mains and my colleague had roast chicken and chips. Both were good sized portions and tasty. Both were priced around £17.

No puddings, one glass of red wine and one pint of cider, with one bottle of water and 12.5% service charge and the final bill came to £71.55 which was good value for central London.

My only gripe, and it is a big one...they seem the practice the tactic of trying to get the customer to enter a tip twice. I hate that. So I paid by card and was asked to enter my PIN on the machine following by the question 'would you like to enter a tip?' I asked my waiter whether service was included (I knew it was from looking at the bill but wanted to see what he would say). He replied 'a small service charge is included yes.' I didn't add extra on the machine, needless to say.

French House, if you're reading this, please change your policy or at least the PIN entry machine asap because this is a despicable practice that ruined an otherwise good experience.

Acorn House Restaurant Review, London

Acorn House
69 Swinton St
WC1X 9NT

Cuisine: British
Tel: 020 7 812 1842
Fax:
Email:
Website: www.acornhouserestaurant.com
Nearest Station: Kings Cross Tube

Acorn House Restaurant has had many good write ups over the last 12 months so I thought I'd go along and find out what all the fuss was about.
Situated about 5 mins from Kings Cross and 10 mins from Holborn, the entrance is unassuming but the greeting is warm. Our coats were taken and we were shown to a middle table in a long thin restaurant, with the bar at the entrance end and the kitchen at the other end.
It's not a big place and the neighbours are sitting close by, mainly in tables of two but the atmosphere is buzzy, almost bistro like so you don't feel like whispering.
The menu is simple and everyone should find something they like. It isn't fancy and it doesn't wow. Prices are around £9 for starters and £16 for main courses. I had a smoked mackerel starter with baby leeks which was tasty and a big portion and followed it with the lamb chop with anchovy and rosemary sauce. Both dishes were very good and very filling.
There is a good value wine selection by the glass and the bill with tip and wine should not need to be more than £50 a head.
Only gripe was the inattentive Eastern European waitress that we had, who starred blankly at us when we asked for bread and who kept forgetting things like the water. Other than that, a great experience and a restaurant that I would return to.

Dehesa Restaurant Review, London

Dehesa
25 Ganton St
W1F 9BP

Cuisine: Spanish
Tel: 0207 494 4170
Fax:
Email: info@dehesa.co.uk
Website: www.dehesa.co.uk
Nearest Station: Oxford Circus Tube

You can't book at Dehesa so be sure to pitch up early for either lunch or dinner because this is a popular place.
Focusing on tapas, without being too Spanishy, this restaurant has a range of not over priced dishes to share and share alike. You can sit at high long tables or at the bar and dig in to a classic jamon inberico dish, with a nice glass of red wine and some bread for under £15.
It has a buzzy atmosphere and friendly and efficient serving staff. The food seemed to come out without any thought as to correct order (our lamb dish came before the fish dish for example) and some of the dihes were cooler then we might have liked on a cold winter's day, but these are minor gripes in what was overall a good experience.

Matsuri Restaurant Review, Holborn, London

Matsuri
71 High Holborn
London
WC1V 6EA

Cuisine: Japanese
Tel: 020 7 430 1970
Fax: 020 7430 1971
Email: eat@matsurihighholborn.co.uk
Website: http://www.matsuri-restaurant.com
Nearest Station: Holborn Tube

A repeat visit to this restaurant up the road from my office. I took some colleagues here and we went to the Teppanyaki downstairs area. Four of us sat at one of the big tables with a young couple on the other side and got stuck into Sake, wine and beer.
The food is very good, especially the beef and lobster but be prepared to pay for it - even with the entertainment of seeing the chef cook the food in front of you, this still ends up being an expensive night out. We paid around £80 per head and still walked out feeling a little hungry. Plus the atmosphere downstairs can be a little dull.

Restaurant marketing - Knaypa signs to London Restaurant Review

The Knapya Restaurant in Hammersmith signed this week to The London Restaurant Review profile marketing programme.

You can read what The Knaypa Restaurant has to say for itself here.

The programme gives restaurants their own voice on the website, with the ability to include photos, full descriptions, menus, special offers etc.

One of the key advantages of the programme is that the restaurant profile gets indexed in Google and therefore provides another way for the restaurant to be found in the great sea that is search.

If you are a restaurant owner and wish to promote your restaurant in this way, it will cost you £50 for a 6 month tenancy, or £70 with a photo or two.  Please contact me for more details.