Reviews, Guides & Maps
When it comes to squeezing flavour into food there seems to be no one better than Tom Aikens. I have been to his restaurant in Chelsea twice now and can not wait to go back again next month.
The only advice I would give is not to over order, less is more here. Which sounds odd, but we went for the larger tasting menu on our second visit and found that it was just too rich for us!.
Marks out of 10
Food 9
Service 7
Ambience 7
I have been to Roussillon a number of times. It is a first class french restaurant in a pretty town house, just off Pimlico Road. An ideal spot for a really special occasion. The Food is off a high standard, and the tasting menus are excellent. This is one of the few places I know that seriously caters for the Vegetarian Gourmet.
On my last visit, I had a lot more wine than normal due to fact they matched 4 different wines with the cheese course – very OTT, so be warned.
Marks out of 10
Food 6.9
Service 6.8
Ambience 6.2
UPDATE: June 2012 – The restaurant is now closed.
Had my last meal at my favourite London restaurant the Foliage with Chris Staines as Head Chef. Chris was in the last week of his 3 months notice before he moves onto pastures new. Heston Blumenthal will open up his first London restaurant in its place in the Mandarin Oriental in a years time.
What amazed me was that even in his last week Chris was producing simply breathtakingly stunning dishes…Respect.
Over the years I’ve had some fantastic meals at the Foliage. In fact I use it as a benchmark to judge every other restaurant I visit. The service there is exceptional and the way Chris uses flavour and texture is the mark of a true artist. I suspect that the much larger replacement restaurant in the Mandarin Oriental will not live up to the high standard set by Chris or indeed Heston at the Fat Duck.
So many celebrity chefs are going down the “franchise” route, with disastrous results. The Abode chain (Micheal Caines) being a prime example and don’t get me started on how awful Harveys is (John Burton Race).
I’d like to thank Chris and his team at the Foliage for giving us many memorable meals (It was my experience of eating at the Foliage that got me interested in food) and to wish him the very best for the future. I just wish he was staying in London as his talent will be sorely missed.
Marks out of 10
Food 8
Service 9
Ambience 7
I was lucky enough to be able to book a table at the 40|30 Restaurant in the Gherkin, Norman Fosters landmark building.
This is normally for private dining only, so not easy to get in, but if you ever get the chance, go for it. The views and the architecture are breathtaking, the photographs do not do it justice. However what really surprised me was the food, it actually managed to compete, we went for the tasting menu with matching wines, so not a cheap night out by any means.
The City Inn’s restaurant is called City Cafe, it has an attractive covered outside seating area, great for the summer, even when the evenings get cooler as there are plenty of heaters.
A large screen TV is usually wheeled out for Wimbledon and other major events. The food is above average for a Hotel Chain Restaurant and reasonably priced. It has 2 AA Rosettes, which sounds about right. It was also recently featured on Celebrity Master Chef.
There are two bars, one next to the City Cafe and the main one on the first floor, the Millbank Lounge. The Millbank Lounge has waitress service and focuses on whiskeys and pretty good cocktails, food there can be a bit hit and miss.
I love the fact you can actually use the excellent Tate to Tate boat service as a means of getting to/from this hotel.
Marks out of 10 – for City Cafe
Food – 5.8
Service 5.5
Ambience 5.5
Marks out of 10 – for Millbank Lounge
Food 5
Service 7
Ambience 6
UPDATE : November 2010 – The City Inn has been rebranded and is now the Mint Hotel.
UPDATE : January 2012 – This hotel has now been rebranded as a DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel,
UPDATE : May 2013 – Not sure if Hilton are paying much attention to the restaurant now, when I have passed by it at lunch times during the week and weekends it has been completely empty.
One of the highlights on the culinary front, in an area sadly lacking in good places to eat, is Miles Cafe Culture. It is in a prime location overlooking the harbour. It is open all day/every day. It has a very good breakfast menu, much better that the usual greasy all day breakfasts a lot of the places in Ramsgate do. The handmade sausages being a highlight.
The kitchen is pretty much geared up to provide an opportunity for all day food grazing, should you find it hard to leave! On our last visit we were especially impressed by the “fresh” Calamari* rings that were made to order.
It’s also a good venue for a relaxed Sunday Lunch too. I would suggest booking for that, as there is limited space in the Restaurant section and this is popular among the more well healed locals and London visitors.
The wines are also of a good standard, from about £40 for the Amerone to about £13 for the Riddle Riesling-Gewürztraminer.
UPDATE – December 2013 : We paid another Visit to this vibrant bar, but were very disappointed when we ordered the Calamari*, it had been so lovely on my last visit, I just assumed it would be again. No such luck – something had definitely changed. It was like eating elastic bands. I love Calamari when it is done well and hate it when it is like this. So much as I like Miles Cafe, I think I will restrict myself to just ordering drinks in future.
UPDATE – June 2019 : CLOSED and in its place is an excellent restaurant/cafe/bar called Little Ships.