So I picked this restaurant because it's had such consistently good ratings on Toptable.com and after looking at the menu, I was practically salivating at the thought of eating most (read: any) of the food which wasn't a good thing considering I had a day of work to get through... Argh!
I went out tonight with my darling Emily, a childhood friend. We used to have holiday homes next to each other in Puerto Banus and even though she moved down the road, we still remained fab friends. We meet up once a month, go out and generally act like toddlers in a restaurant. As you can imagine: staff love us a ridiculous amount although we were really quite good this time. There was no chilli ice-cream thrown across the table.
Again we used the 50% food offer which is becoming quite near and dear to my heart. I don't think I'm ever going to be able to eat without this offer to be honest.
The Place
So Awana is freaking cool although a bit romantic. Very nice and quiet although for the life of me I can't understand why they put us on a table next to a couple enjoying a date when there was literally an entire restaurant available to sit in. I would say that it's a later-night eatery; we were there at 7.30 and people didn't really start getting there till 8.30-9.
It's all wooden floors, comfy banquettes and candles, very chic and sophisticated. They also have a TV screen showing the chef in the kitchen although - worryingly - he didn't seem to be there very often!
The Food
Starter:
- Mixed asian vegetable spring rolls served with sweet chilli sauce
- Barbecued beef strips in oyster sauce and palm sugar, mixed with salad in sambal sauce
Main Course:
- Poussin marinaded in soy and coriander (supposed to be a curry, definitely wasn't!)
- Mixed seasonal vegetable and cashew stir fry
Dessert:
- Selection of desserts: Chocolate cake, banana cheesecake, lemongrass and chilli sorbet, star anis and blood orange sorbet, sweet coconut filled pandan pancake, chocolate sauce
I was a bit cheesed off with the food to be honest. They brought over three menus for the table and as we ordered stuff, kept taking them away! We went for the full a la carte firstly and ordered some tasty food before they then informed us that we weren't allowed that with our deal. They then told us to look at this tiny menu with four choices which was the toptable rewards menu. We once again ordered and then they said that that was the one for free meals, not us. We then got an in between menu which mainly consisted of chicken and vegetarian meals, nothing particularly inspiring.
The starters were lovely flavoured but the mains and desserts were quite average to be honest. I'm still not convinced that the poussin I received (photo 2) was what I ordered considering it was supposed to be a curry and definitely wasn't!
The Decision
I definitely won't be going back any time soon. Whilst we had a good night, I think it was mostly down to the gossip we were sharing rather than the food. The staff were pleasant, the decor was great but I think the food let this place down. If I hadn't had the 50% offer I would have been most distressed at the thought of paying full price! I suppose I would have gotten a better selection of food but I really don't see how they can just limit the menu so much and expect people not to think that they're getting what basically amounts to the kitchen scraps, price and ingredients-wise.
Awana was a bit of a let-down: I think there's probably similar restaurants at a better price with better food.
Still let's look on the bright side: I gave them feedback in return for a chance to win a return flight to Malaysia (Jesus Christ I hope the food is better!) so I might get something more out of this trip?!
The Vitals
Awana - Chelsea
85 Sloane Avenue, London, SW3 3DX
Tel: 020 7584 8880
Website: http://www.awana.co.uk/index.php
Toptable listing: http://www.toptable.com/en-gb/venue/?id=2587
Nearest tube: South Kensington
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