London Restaurants | London Guide

Loving Annie's True Travel Treasures

You'll be hard-pressed to find a blog as beautifully designed as Loving Annie's True Travel Adventures. It is a delight to look at and a delight to read, packed full of foodie delights.  Her restaurant reviews are highly detailed, wonderfully descriptive and always contain plenty of lovely photos to help you live through the experience.  Nice!

Click here to visit True Travel Adventures.

Are you a foodie related website that wants a Blatant Plug?  Then contact me with your website info and I'll see what I can do..

Chocolate Online from The Chocolate Trading Company

Chocolate, oh glorious chocolate - don't you just love it?  My favourite is rich, dark slabs of chocolate, cocoa content around 70% is ideal, but to be honest, I'm not fussy. French chocolate, Belgium chocolate, Swiss chocolate or English chocolate (huh?), I don't mind.

One of my favourite places to order chocolate online is from The Chocolate Trading Company.

Chocolate Trading Company is the largest independent online chocolate shop in the UK, specialising in the finest chocolates from around the world. 

Founded in 2002, the company has grown rapidly to become the best source of fine chocolate in the UK and with highly competitive prices to match we have received many endorsements from the UK media.

Check out their site now

Their chocolates really are delicious.

Are you a foodie related website that wants a Blatant Plug?  Then contact me with your website info and I'll see what I can do..

Cafe Des Amis Du Vin, Covent Garden, London

Another visit to Cafe des Amis and it did not disappoint. Two of us pitched up around 8pm on a Thursday night without a reservation and were lucky to bag one of 2 remaining tables.

Service is consistent here and so is the food, although the bill seemed slightly higher than usual - mind you we did have a couple of aperatifs and I finished off with a Cognac, so that always bumps up the total.

My tuna starter was excellent but a little on the meagre side - I filled up on bread. The main of lamb with sweetbreads and associated 'bits' was excellent - gamey, tasty and filling. We skipped pudding and coffee.

The wine was a South Western France Syrah, priced at about £28. The wine list overall could be improved but you can generally find something worthwhile.

In summary, it still remains a favourite of mine and also remains very un-touristy, which considering it is right next to Covent Garden station (admittedly tucked away) is a pretty amazing thing!

You can book Cafe Des Amis online here and read more reviews

Cafe Des Amis Du Vin
11-14 Hanover Place
Covent Garden
WC2E 9JP 

Boisdale Restaurant, Victoria, London

Boisdale Restaurant has been a favourite of mine for more than 10 years.  It offers a consistently good selection of dishes, with steaks, game and haggis all specialities.  The Angus steak is hung until beautifully tender and the game changes based on seasonality and availability - try a noggin of whisky with it as a starter although the Scots are divided on whether you should pour the whisky over the haggis or sip it on the side.

Top tip - make sure you get a table in the main restaurant if you want to see and hear the jazz band - there is live jazz every night and it is well worth the small cover charge added to the bill.

Service can be a little erratic but is always charming.  The wine and whisky selection is phenomenal and on a cold winter night, there are few better restaurants to be in.

If you like the occasional cigar then you are also in luck because this is the only restaurant I know of in London that you can smoke 'in' after dinner. I say 'in' because technically it is on a covered terrace upstairs, but with bunsen burners, tartan rugs for your legs and a large dram - who cares!

You can book Boisdale online here and read more reviews.

15 Eccleston St
Victoria
SW1W 9LX

Restaurants and the Credit Crunch - London Evening Standard

I had this published in the London Evening Standard on Tuesday 9th December 2008, commenting about how restaurants might survive in the current credit crunch:

The dire economic situation will definitely affect London's restaurants, but in different ways:

Established local restaurants that have a proven formula and a regular clientele will not be significantly affected. They will tweak their offering, reducing dish prices and offering more set menus, but they will survive.

Established 'famous' restaurants, such as The Ivy, Le Gavroche etc, will also be fine. They will relax booking policies, making it easier for diners to book and increase their booking channels by making use of online booking platforms like LiveBookings.  Whilst they might see a drop in business from locals, I expect this to be more than made up for by an increase in bookings from overseas customers.  With near pound to euro parity and a dollar fifty buying a pound, London is getting cheaper and cheaper for tourists.  Ten years ago, 70% of visitors to The London Restaurant Review website were from outside the UK.  Nowadays it is more like 10-15% but we expect this to switch to 50/50 over the next 12 to 18 months.

Finally, the newly opened restaurants will struggle.  They will have built business plans on trade estimates that are now out of date and will therefore take longer to recoup initial outlays.  With no loyal customer base, they will have to rely on PR and advertising to get the word out and ensure that the first impression is a great one.  If it is mediocre then customers will not be prepared to give them a second chance in these tough times.

Brasserie Roux introduces the perfect gift for the food connoisseur

Next time you are stuck for a present then alleviate those worries with a set of exclusive Gift Vouchers from Brasserie Roux at Sofitel London Heathrow. This is not just a token gesture to give to your loved one, relative or significant other but is a great way to spoil the foodie traveller in your life when they fly out from Terminal 5.
 
Beautifully presented in compact wallets, Brasserie Roux Gift Vouchers come in £25 and £50 denominations that can be exchanged for drinks or meals in the restaurant. As the vouchers are flexible, diners have the opportunity to select a variety of dishes and delights from the extensive food and wine menu, including signature dishes such as Albert Roux's duck leg confit with sautéed potato and caramelised onion.   Diners short of time but who do not want to compromise on quality can choose the RouXpress menu.   All served at once, diners can enjoy a delicious meal with four dishes served within 20 minutes.
 
All this while relaxing and enjoying the outstanding contemporary interiors designed by Kuan Chew and water feature by award winning sculptor David Harber.
 
Gift vouchers are available either directly from Brasserie Roux or by calling the restaurant on 0208 757 5029. When making a booking guests should mention the voucher and present it to their waiting staff on arrival.
 
The Brasserie Roux Gift Voucher is the perfect excuse for the recipient to indulge in the highest level of French gastronomy provided by Albert Roux.
 
To order vouchers or for  more information call: 0208 759 5029 or www.brasserierouxheathrow.co.uk