London Restaurants | London Guide

Gazette Restaurant, Balham

The wife and I dined here last night and I enjoyed it.  During the day, Gazette is a buzzy cafe cum brasserie, a place to pop in for a coffee or a croque monsieur.  By night, the candles on the tables create a more intimate atmosphere, unfortunately made less intimate by the fact that the tables are too close together.

It was packed on the Thursday night we visited with a 30 something crowd, mainly couples and the odd table of four.  The menu is French, fresh and updated daily.  There is a good selection of fish and meat dishes and a big wine list.  Starters are priced around £7 and mains around £13.  50cl carafes of wine means you don't need to pay for a full bottle between just two of you.

I had a goats cheese salad to start with - the green salad was crispy and fresh and the goats cheese on baguette had a lovely creamy, melty and spicy flavour.  The pair of quails for main course were OK but a bit fiddly - my fault really, I should have gone for the roast chicken instead. The side order of chips was excellent - big and crispy, not oily and a big portion.  My wife's main of calamari risotto was disappointing - the risotto was far too creamy and lacked bite and the fried calamari were placed on top, so the risotto did not pick up the fishy flavours.

Service was very friendly, if a little erratic - they could have done with another member of staff on hand.

Downstairs gets opened up for private parties or at the weekends to deal with spillover - it is pretty cosy down there.

Overall a positive experience. One thing to be aware of - lack of plates.  All dishes get served in pans or on boards -  a bit weird but all part of the fun!

You can book Gazette online here.

Tel: 020 8772 1232

1 Ramsden Rd
Balham, SW12

The Ivy Restaurant, West Street, London, WC2H 9NQ

I was amazed that I was able to book a table online at The Ivy for a 7.30pm Tuesday evening booking for four people.  The only caveat was that we might have to give the table back by 10pm but in the end we weren't asked to.

We had a couple of early pints in the Marquis of Granby on Shaftsbury Avenue beforehand and arrived on the dot of 7.30pm.  The place was already full and very buzzy.  Our table was situated at the far end of the restaurant in the corner, probably one of the best tables in the house, especially for people watching.

I had Kedgeree to start with (£9.75) which was a large dish of steaming fish and rice with a well cooked egg on top.  Rich and creamy, it was a good starter on a cold night.  My friends tried the Minestrone Soup (£6.75), Rabbit Salad (£10.50) and Steamed Mussels (£9.75).  All were very good.

My main course was the classic Steak and Kidney Pudding (£16.25) - thick, chewy, with melt in your mouth meat and a rich gravy.  Other mains sampled included the Rib Eye Steak (£27.50), Duck Confit (£16,75) and Shepherds Pie (£16.25).  This is what The Ivy is all about - good quality British comfort food.

We washed it all down with a couple of bottles of Bardolino 2007, well priced at £23 a bottle.

With coffees, waters, one pudding and the odd side dish of chips, the bill came to about £65 per head, including service.  Not cheap, not pricey, especially for the reputation that The Ivy has.  And if you want to eat a credit crunching meal there, just choose The Ivy burger, which comes with chips and is under £12.

Do the same as me and look for a table online - you might just get lucky!

The Ivy
1 West St
London
WC2H 9NQ

Tel: 020 7 836 4751
Book online here

Nearest tube: Leicester Square

Arch One Bar and Grill, Waterloo, London

Charles Gabriel and Associates have recently taken over Arch One Bar & Grill at Waterloo.

Situated outside exit five of Waterloo mainline station and a few minutes walk from the Thames, this Southbank landmark is head and shoulders above it’s competitors with a 24-hour licence, great music, superb location, contemporary décor and affordable delicious food cooked by ex-Gordon Ramsey chef.

This multi-functional venue transforms from a business person’s restaurant to cocktail bar to hedonistic clubbing paradise taking full advantage of 24 hour opening.

The food on offer ranges in style and price from tasty bar snacks or the daily two-course set lunch from £8.90, through to a sizzling grill menu topped off by a fine dining experience in the Balcony restaurant.

There is a fantastic breakfast club to suit all needs with Late Night Breakfast with DJ: 3am - 6am Friday, Saturday and Sunday and Commuter Breakfast which will be available from 8am until 11.30am each weekday.

Drinks: Be it a morning cappuccino or a pot of afternoon tea, a cool beer, a classic cocktail or glass of Champagne the friendly staff will serve up whatever you wish.

Address: 1 Mepham Street, London, SE1 8RL

Area: Waterloo

Phone number: 0207 401 2338

Website: www.arch-1.com

Email contact: info@arch-1.com

Tube: Waterloo

Type of cusine: International

Average price: from £8.90 for Snacks and lunch to £40 for an exclusive dinner

Capacity: 240

Hire: can be hired on an exclusive basis for private parties, product launches, corporate events, screenings, after parties…

Harrison's Balham - cheap eats for January and February

This on email from Sam the owner:

It's mid-January and I'm sure like me, you're a little fed-up with the freezing Arctic conditions and the daily reminders of how the country is going into an economic melt-down. Fortunately, a good meal, a glass of wine and a catch up with friends can make all seem right with the world again...

For the rest of January and early February we will be running a fantastic evening set menu - two courses for £14.00 and three courses for £17.00 - available for the whole evening, Sunday to Thursday. With a choice of three starters, three mains and three desserts there will definitely be something to tempt you.
Our Head Chef, Dan Edwards, has a real passion for hearty winter dishes and is using some of the best ingredients available to cook-up a host of warming favourites on both our set and a la carte menus. Some examples include Braised Shoulder of Lamb Shepherds Pie, Ratatouille Gratin with Wild Mushrooms and Garlic Crumbs or Warm Chocolate Pudding with Vanilla Ice Cream and Chocolate Sauce.

To make a reservation please call 020 8675 6900, just drop in or click here to book online

Offer is available at dinner times Sunday to Thursday. Offer is valid inclusively until Friday 13th February, 2009 and cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotion or discount.

Lola Rojo, Clapham, London

The wife wrote this one:

If you've spent any time in Spain you'll be aware that tapas aren't limited to  patatas bravas, a slice of tortilla and a plate of albondigas. Yes yes yes! These  oldies are goodies but Lola Rojo offers tapas 21st Century style...!

Enter LR (assuming that unlike me, you go in through the door rather than stumble  upon unsuspecting diners via the french windows) and you are instantly transported  into the kind of effortlessly stylish eatery that wouldn't be out of place in one of  those higgledy piggledy streets you find in the historic quarters of Barcelona or Madrid.

But the best thing about LR is that the food is great DESPITE its alluring decor (something sadly used often by restaurateurs to mask a poor culinary offering). The staff are friendly and efficient. I arrived 10 minutes early to our cosy table for three (far too excited at the prospect of a meal not involving handfuls of puree in my hair) but a promptly delivered glass of pink bubbles (bottle of rose cava £18.50) made me a happy bunny as I perused the varied menu.

Now, the menu is divided into around 8 sections. The first two are smaller plates ranging from £2.20 to £5.50, these are followed by cured meats, classic, fish and meat tapas (£4.75 to £9.75). You can also choose from paella and rice dishes (£9.20 to £11.80) should you want something more robust. We went for a variety of tapas from the classic (yes we had them!) patatas bravas and chistorra to the more exotic aubergine and foi gras cannelloni. All equally delicious and delicately presented.

The octopus croquettes "with onion sauce Antonio's mum style" was a worthwhile punt before moving on to an excellent black rice with aioli (of which I guiltily admit having had the lion's share...).

In true new years spirit we all pretended to be too full and skipped desserts but we did have coffees/teas. All in all a successful, enjoyable and good value evening (after tipping our friendly waitress the bill came to just under £24 a head) which

I'm looking forward to repeating next month when I'll be visiting with another friend.

Hurray for Mummy's nights off!

Arbutus Restaurant, Soho, London

I've been meaning to get to Arbutus for ages because so many people had told me it was good.  They were right - this is a slick, smart, well run restaurant that serves up very good food at very good prices.

The menu is very seasonal and the evening I went there were some very tempting dishes (have I said 'very' enough yet?):

Scottish Beef Tartare, Smoked Eel, Squid and Mackerel Burger, warm winter veg salad - these were some of the starters on offer and all priced around £8.  I had the country terrine and fruit chutney which was a tasty, rustic, chunky offering and nice and gamey, which is how I like my terrine.

Mains included Traditional Bouillabaisee, which you don't see on many restaurant lists, line caught sea bass, Gratin of Ox Tripe and others. I had the Saddle of Rabbit with a separate dish of Shoulder Cottage Pie - all of it was top notch.  Mains are all priced around £16.

There are some interesting cheeses and puddings in including a delightful creme brulee, treacle tart and vanilla cheesecake.  Puddings are all just under £7.

The wine list ranges from £15 to £200 a bottle and there is something for everyone.  We had the Margaret River Juniper Crossing (£23) and a Pic Saint Loup from Languedoc (£24.50) - both were good food wines, nothing amazing but priced reasonably for the quality.

The only niggle was a forgotten peppermint tea but overall service was good.  I'll be back.

Arbutus Restaurant is at:

63 Frith St
Soho
W1D 3JW

tel: 020 7 734 4545

Website