Category: UK

Anchor & Hope – Time & Patience!

When aiming to eat in the Anchor & Hope “gastropub” (36 The Cut, Southwark) you will need time & patience. It is not an ideal venue for pre-theatre, unless you are very lucky.

The tables in the Restaurant section are for sharing.  We found the service was a bit hit and miss but the food certainly hit the mark, with its rustic style and good quality ingredients. My earlier experiences were before the recent change of Chef, however with the kind of reputation the Anchor & Hope has I would expect it to continue to deliver top class gastropub fare.

However if you don’t want the hassle of hanging around the busy bar, you always have the option of Tas on the opposite side of the street.

UPDATE: June 2010 – A recent visit does seem to indicated that the new team are keeping up the good work. I had a beautifully cooked lemon sole with tasty shrimps.

 

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Abode – not so inviting!

Before I visited Abode in Canterbury, I had read a  review by a well known food critic which I thought was a bit harsh, this is after all one of Michael Caines projects.  Boy was I wrong, if anything he was being too kind!

When we arrived we were left waiting for what seemed an age as there was no staff in the dining room. Not a good start.

The food when it arrived was totally underwhelming, some of it was just downright unpleasant.  One desert tasted like play doh© and another tasted like cigarette ash.

The kitchen also recently came under criticism from other sources, see Caterersearch.

The service was in general chaotic. What was particularly hard to swallow was that they charged London Michelin star prices. You would get better value taking the train to London than eating here. Sadly another “Faux Gourmet” experience to chalk up.

Abode apparently merits 2 AA Rosettes – the definition for this is “Innovation, greater technical skill and more consistency and judgement in combining and balancing ingredients are all needed at this level.”

On leaving our opinion was that the only talent there was the busker playing outside.

 

 

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Eating and Drinking Guide (London Bridge, Bermondsey, Bankside – Southwark)

There are lots of restaurants to choose from in the Southwark area.  I have listed a few of my favorites.

Del’Aziz – Mediterranean Delicatessen and Brasserie, good venue for Cakes and Brunch.

Delfina – well cooked, quality food. Open for breakfast and lunch, occasional evening openings.

José – José Pizarro’s tiny Tapas bar in Bermondsey Street.

Tas (Borough High Street) and Tas Pide (Bankside)

Tapas Brindisa – Close to Borough Market

The Table – Tucked away a couple of streets behind the Tate Modern, it’s ideal for late Breakfasts and Brunch.

The Hide Bar – excellent selection of wines, beers, spirits and cocktails, it also does regular wine tastings.

Village East (171-173 Bermondsey Street) – Good venue for carnivores, a popular place that does excellent steaks.

Vinopolis – There are several restaurants in the “City of Wine”. The Cantina Vinopolis is the best one in my view.

Zucca – Bermondsey’s answer to the River Cafe.

 

 

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The Ritz – putting it on!

A group of us arranged to have lunch at the Ritz.

P101009_13.06They have a very reasonably priced set lunch menu and a comprehensive wine list that includes several “less” expensive bottles of wine (i.e., under £30).

We had the best table in the restaurant, (top right corner) as it afforded a view of the stunning room and the garden area. The restaurant is a “stickler” for the Jacket and Tie rule (they will supply ties if necessary), as is the Rivoli Bar. The bar I was not so impressed with, the decor in particular is very garish.

The restaurant in the Ritz has 2 AA Rosettes, which sounds about right.

Marks out of 10

Food 6.5

Service 8

Ambience (in the restaurant) 8, (in the bar) 4

UPDATE December 2011 – The prices have gone up since this visit and the food has really improved, see post

 

 

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RSJ – loves those Loire valley wines

RSJ delivers good rustic food and an excellent selection of wines from the Loire valley. Spread over three floors, the upstairs room is by far the nicest.

RSJ

We have had a couple of stand out dishes here over the course of a few visits. The Pumpkin soup and the Poached pear with Perkin ice cream for example.

RSJ have 2 AA Rosettes, which sounds about right.

Marks out of 10

Food 5.5

Service 6

Ambience 5

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The Lavender, Vauxhall – appearances can be deceptive

I had been to the rather lively branch of The Lavender restaurant in Battersea, and enjoyed the ambience.  So I expected something similar when I went to the Vauxhall branch. This visit was not recent, but it was one of my most memorable restaurant experiences.

We walked into a near empty bar in the middle of what felt like an industrial estate. It looked like the sort of place you go to by mistake and basically turn around and leave immediately. It looked shabby, one of the windows was boarded up. There were a couple of Bikers drinking in the corner and a girl standing by the bar dressed very much like a lady of the night!.  However we had made a reservation for dinner, and were hungry, so we braved it out.

We were the only diners and our expectations were so low, we were absolutely shocked (jaw-dropingly shocked) when another biker type from the Kitchen delivered our food. Not because there was anything wrong with it, quite the opposite. The real shock was the presentation. It was totally out of keeping with the venue. I have been to top restaurants that can not deliver food that looked as good. It tasted good too.

This was a rare example where the food took precedence over the venue, which was really refreshing, and made us realise that you really should not judge by appearances.

Marks out of 10

Food 6.5

Service 5

Ambience – so odd I am not sure I can give a mark.

 

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