Wahaca, Canary Wharf, London

The other week I was in Canary Wharf at the customer's office working for the afternoon and me and a colleague decided to try out Wahaca, mainly because of the numerous adverts around Canary Wharf's shopping centre. Wahaca serves mexican-inspired dishes and from the adverts, seemed to be quite popular.

It's funky inside, with booths, tall stools and conventional tables making the restaurant look a bit different to usual. It makes it much more fun! One wall is glass which looks out over a small park and the staff, although incredibly busy, are nice. One perk was that when I asked for a jug of water, they actually brought me a jug. It's so annoying to ask for that and only get a glass of water in return. Personal pet peeve right there!

So, the food. We ordered some 'street food' and one 'platos fuertes' between us. Here's a list of what we got with descriptions:

- Chicken tinga taco (shredded, marinated chicken with chipotle chillies)
- Beef salpicon tostada (tender, shredded aromatic beef with spicy habanero and red onion salsa)
- Chorizo and potato quesadilla (Our special free-range, home-made Mexican chorizo, fresh thyme and steamed potato)
- Chicken taquito (With shredded lettuce, Lancashire cheese and fresh tomato salsa)
- Sauteed greens (tossed with steamed potatoes, fresh lime and smoky caramelised garlic)
- Mole enchilada (one of the seven moles from Oaxaca served enchilada style with shredded chicken)



So the food?

Not brilliant to say the least. Out of all of the dishes I only really liked the crunchy chicken taquito and the chorizo and potato quesadilla. The mole was vile. We were initially intrigued when we were told it had a chocolate and chilli sauce and yet the sauce tasted like perfumed mud. There was really no other way to describe it and I think when our server came, he realised that we hadn't been overly impressed with the food!

The other dishes were also quite poor. Some of them were lukewarm, some tasted soggier than I was expecting and some of the dishes had a funny taste that I couldn't identify. Either way I was eager to pay and get out and get an ice-cream from somewhere else to get rid of the taste. I honestly didn't enjoy it and wouldn't advise anybody to go there for a lunch with friends, business or even a special somebody. It was really that bad!

Damage: £30 I will never get back.

Vitals

Wahaca
Park Pavillion, 40 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5FW
Tel: 0207 516 9145
Website: http://www.wahaca.co.uk/flash/main.html

Nearest tube: Canary Wharf

Gourmet Burger Kitchen, St Pauls, London

So with some of our colleagues skiing in the Alps this week, a bunch of us decided to go out and have dinner before a game of bowling - Oh help! Wanting somewhere near work, we decided on the Gourmet Burger Kitchen at St Paul's. It's only a five minute walk and has a lovely view (from the front of the restaurant) of the cathedral.

We actually got put in the back of the restaurant as there were 12 of us and I suppose they wanted the front of the restaurant free. It's standard decor-wise, big blackboards with the toppings on, tomato-shaped tomato sauce bottles, knives and forks given out when you arrive. You also have to order your burger at the counter which is where the problems started as we were doing tastelondon and it meant that we had six people on each card and we all had to pay together. Not great when you haven't got change!

The waitress wasn't that nice about it and didn't offer to help. We also had to pay twice: once for our food with 50% off and again for our full-price drinks. She seemed very annoyed, tried to make things more unhelpful and I really don't know why they couldn't have given us a bill at the end of our meal. Fair enough it's not how they do things but for a 12-person table on special offer dining, it would have been a lot more helpful.

So what did we have?


There was a smattering of different choices: Some Thai chicken, satay chicken, classic chicken. Of the beef variety, we had a pesterella (my choice) with added sweet potato, a couple of habaneros and a classic cheese. A nice choice. We also got more than enough chips for everybody and it was ruddy lovely. The burgers tasted lovely and had more than enough flavour: one criticism is that mine was rather sloppy with the pesto mayo and the slippery mozzarella and I could barely pick it up without something falling out of it! I couldn't really taste the burger and I came to the conclusion that actually, less is more when it comes to a nice burger (see my Byron review as an example!)

So did we enjoy it? Everyone seems to have enjoyed their burgers and the service of one waiter made us all smile; he was lovely and made me stop glaring at the original waitress (her with the rude attitude!). The food was quite average and I think if I go again, I'll just have a classic burger.

Damage: About £10/person with tastelondon offer.

Vitals

Gourmet Burger Kitchen - St Paul's
Unit 4, Condor House, St Pauls, Church Yard, London, EC4M8AL
Tel: 0207 248 9199
Website: http://www.gbk.co.uk/

Nearest tube: St Paul's

Pizza Express - St Pauls, London

On Wednesday (it's been one of those weeks) my good friend and colleague came down to the London office to stay for a night. We decided to go for a Pizza Express before seeing a film and opted for somewhere near the office - Pizza Express St Paul's.

We didn't book but walked straight in and sat down, with our orders placed and drinks on the table ten minutes later. It was quick and the service was all right - I did feel a bit bad that we didn't tip but there was no change and nothing was extraordinary. I don't see the point in tipping people for doing their job - Screw the 12.5% discretionary charge! I could rant all day on how I hate restaurants who point out you haven't paid the full amount. Discretionary is a word that some service staff don't seem to understand and being rude enough to point it out only makes me more determined that I won't pay it.

So... Back to the restaurant and the meal. The restaurant was Pizza-Expressed. We got a leather banquette, table & chair combo which worked quite well but we had two noisy city men next to us talking about how Jewish princesses were difficult. I almost wanted to lean over and give them a tip - Don't call them that! We had starters and main courses, all of which were yummy. We didn't have enough time between starters and mains if I'm being honest but as I was hungry, I could let it slide.


Starters:
- Formaggio bread (Baked dough topped with creamy fontal cheese, tangy caramelised onions and a sprinkle of fresh parsley)
- Baked Dough balls

Mains:
- Pollo Pancetta (Torn chicken breast, yellow peppers, smoked pancetta and fresh parsley. Instead of tomato, this is served on an aromatic sauce made of red and yellow peppers)
- My own pizza: Margherita with prosciutto ham, rocket and baby mozzarella

The food was delish - as you can see! - and filled us up nicely. The dough balls were so hot and tasted like they'd just been baked. Probably my favourite starter although the caramelised onions on the formaggio bread were sweet and tangy. My pizza was well cooked, not burned, and really hit the spot. The dough was almost undercooked and it meant the tomato sauce was sauce-y and not baked on, something which I love. The prosciutto ham was a bit mild taste-wise but the rocket was pepper-tastic and the mozzarella was fresh.

Damage: £17 with a tastelondon 50% off made this meal go from good to great. It was brilliant value and it only makes me remember why I never seem to have a bad meal at Pizza Express.

Vitals

Pizza Express - St Pauls
Condor House, London, EC4M 8AY
Tel: 020 7248 9464
Website: http://www.pizzaexpress.com/

Nearest tube: St Pauls

Mango Tree - Victoria, London

A surprise email from a friend this Monday led to a dinner at Mango Tree which is one of my favourite Thai restaurants. Although I hate the fact that the hostess says on the phone 'your table is booked from 6.45 to 8.45' as if we're on a flight or something, the food is normally absolutely delicious and served with lots to spare.

The place is as I described last time: Busy, a bit packed in, lots of waiters running around, quick service and quicker turnaround. There's dark wood tables, one very huge very high-ceilinged room and it does get quite noisy.

We learned from our last visit - the desserts are not so brilliant - and ordered starters and mains this time. Although with the extensive menu, it was very hard to choose between the frankly mouthwatering options!


Starters:

- Yum Makuer Yau - Spicy grilled aubergine salad with crispy shallots
- Satay Nuer Luam Mid - Mixed skewers of chicken, lamb and beef served with satay peanut sauce

Mains:

- Gaeng Kiew Wan Gai - Green curry with corn fed chicken
- Nuer Pad Nam Man Hoi - Stir fried sirloin beef fillet with ginger, garlic and spicy soy sauce
- Pad Thai Jay - Stir fried Thai rice noodles in house spicy sauce served with
Chinese chives, peanuts and bean sprouts
- Sticky rice (very very sticky!)

The food was of mixed quality. The spicy grilled aubergine salad was actually more like aubergine with onions and beansprouts on top. It was horribly slimy and I couldn't eat it - Both of us left it after a couple of bites. The satay however was scrummy and the meat was lovely, hot and tasty. The satay wasn't overpowering and with the skewers of meat and the dipping sauce, it meant you could have as much or as little as you'd like.

I really wanted to like the mains. Really. But the meat tasted a bit old, especially the beef. It tasted of that smell you get when it's on the turn and once I recognised what the unusual taste was, I couldn't eat any more of it. It was a shame as it looked beautiful and the onions and red peppers were lovely and the sauce was also very tasty. The chicken curry was spicy and hot, exactly as it had been last time and the pad thai jay - My friend Fliss will tell you that I was a little bit in love with it the first time and this time was no different. Light, gorgeous flavour and more importantly - Huge portions! Next time I'm having chicken pad thai and avoiding the disappointment!

So not as good a trip this time although my strawberry bellini was pretty gorgeous and the pad thai jay was still perfection. We didn't have the dodgy desserts this time but the shouty atmosphere and the old meat made it a not brilliant trip. No tip!

Damage: £45 for two of us inc. a gin & tonic and a bellini (drinks came to £20). You could eat there for under £30 easily with either toptable's 50% off or a tastelondon card.

Vitals

Mango Tree
46 Grosvenor Place, London, SW1X 7EQ
Tel: 020 7823 1888
Website: http://www.mangotree.org.uk/index.php
Toptable listing: http://www.toptable.com/en-gb/venue/?id=1313

Nearest tube: Victoria

Byron - Westfield, London

After a frankly exhausting day shopping at Westfield - note to self: never again on a Saturday - myself and a friend decided that food was necessary. And lots of it! So with this in mind, we trudged off to the food court and decided on Byron because it had the shortest queue and a hamburger sounded like a plan and a half. In fact anything with half a calorie in it would have looked wonderful after the nightmare morning in the abyss of hell that is Westfield shopping centre.

Anyway, I digress. Byron is pretty good for a hamburger joint, certainly as tasty if not tastier than GBK and unlike the popular burger chain, it's much more simplistic topping-wise. A weird feature of the restaurant is that they had model cows dotted around the restaurant which are actual size models. A bit odd when you're eating beef!

So it's a food court-like restaurant, not much atmosphere. Nothing else to say about that. Our waitress was nice even though she was rushed off her feet and our food came really quickly which was brilliant.

So what did we munch on? Well, burgers!

We both had a Monterey Jack cheese burger and then ordered some sides - French fries, onion rings and courgette fries. They also had deliciously-tempting macaroni cheese and skin-on chips but we didn't see them until after we'd ordered and we couldn't add on by then. To be fair, we had enough food for the two of us!


The burgers were yummy and the baps were soft, no awkward cutting into your mouth as you take a big bite which can really put me off. The cheese wasn't overpowering, the food was lovely and fresh and I felt really happy once I'd eaten it (and full!) which was a good sign - There's far too many times where I've eaten a burger and regretted it immediately. The sides were also no let-down. The fries were not greasy but really flavoursome, the onion rings were HUGE and crunchy and the courgette fries were absolutely fantastic. I'm a big fan of courgette wedges - I make them at home a couple of times a week - but the battered versions were crunchy but soft inside. A really nice twist and very well done.

The damage? Not bad. No discount here - booo! - but with two glasses of soft drink, two burgers and three side dishes, the amount came to £30 with a tip. A new place to visit and a really great place to eat. I'd definitely recommend going if you get forced into a trip to Westfield - It'll be the highlight of your day!

Vitals

Byron
The Loft, Westfield Shopping Centre, London, W12 7GF
Tel: 020 8743 7755
Website: http://www.byronhamburgers.com/story/

Nearest tube: White City / Shepherd's Bush

The Real Greek, Putney, London

So where do you go when you've got three hungry girls looking for some tasty Greek food with a nice tastelondon discount?

The Real Greek in Putney of course!

Myself and two friends decided to go there for a meal as it was easy to get to and with the snow, the roads were really bad to drive on so we needed something just off a main road. We all went to Malia earlier in the year - what happens in Malia stays in Malia! - and so some yumtastic Greek food was right up our alley.

All I remember about the place is that it was cold. Very cold. With all glass frontage and a kind of funky warehouse minimalism going on, the space wasn't heated sufficiently and it certainly made for some shivery moments. One of my friends kept her coat on and I was feeling chilly in cashmere! Our waitress was very nice however and the staff were very quick at bringing the food out - A plus point!

So what did we have, I hear you cry?

Mezes:
- Tiropitakia (Filo pastry parcels with creamy leek, spinach and feta filling)
- Grilled Kalamari (TRG's unique version, using the freshest squid and a sticky Greek honey and paprika marinade)
- Santorinian fishcakes (Made fresh everyday, packed with fish, herbs, fava lentils and Aegean dried tomatoes)
- Grilled Halloumi (Served with light house-pickled cucumber and red cabbage)

Mains:
- Souvlaki for 4 - Lamb, pork & chicken with chips & Greek salad (The Real Greek wrap - like a kebab, only much better... we use the best British meat or Greek halloumi, skewered and grilled over charcoal, then wrapped in our gorgeous flatbread with plenty of homemade tzatziki and tomato relish.)

The food was lovely. I fell in love with the tiropitakia and probably more than my fair share. The cheese worked so well with the leek and spinach and it was a crunchy/creamy delight! The fishcakes were also well-flavoured and the herbs all complemented the fish to perfection.

The souvlaki didn't look as kebab-like as I'd feared. They were more like fajita wraps stuffed with tomato relish, tzatziki sauce and lots of meat. Paper - luckily - was wrapped around the bottom of each one so you didn't drop it all everywhere as it was sauce-y! I really enjoyed the meal and we even had some spare so my friends took a couple for work on the Friday.

The thing I didn't like so much was the price of the food. Without the tastelondon card, I would never have gone there. The mezes ranged from £4-6.50 and the souvlaki for 4 was nearly £40. I get that it's London and the prices have gone up but it was very very expensive and without the deal, it would have been less £10/person and more £30/person. Not brilliant for those eating on a budget considering the menu advises 3-4 mezes per person if you're not eating souvlaki for main.

I would go again - when it's warmer - because I love Greek food however I will be on the look-out for more authentic restaurants in the Big Smoke!

Vitals

The Real Greek - Putney
31 - 33 Putney High Street, London, SW15 1SP
Tel: 020 8788 3270
Website: http://www.therealgreek.com/

Nearest tube: Putney Bridge

Kuti's Brasserie, Southampton (Take II!)

Another night, another restaurant...

This time we return to the scene of a previous crime: Kuti's in Southampton. My other review detailed how scrummy the food was and I'm afraid my opinion hasn't changed this time. It was brilliant!

I opted for tandoori salmon this time instead of the duck tikka but stayed firm with my butter chicken, pilau rice and garlic naan. We also had some bombay aloo but the potatoes were tinned and didn't taste all that great!

There were 7 of us this time and we had a wide variety of food; the only negative thing I would says is that the starters seem to be more heavily spiced than the main courses. A few of my dining companions had been expecting hotter curries and seemed a bit disappointed that they weren't.

The service was once again impeccable and apart from a slight mix-up with the coats in which mine nearly went walkabouts with somebody else's, we had a great night. It was lovely and warm inside the restaurant, the food was great and the atmosphere was laid back but chatty. All in all, it was definitely enough to stop you thinking about the ice outside!

Damage: £210 for 7 (inc. drinks)

Vitals

Kuti's Brasserie
39 Oxford Street, Southampton, Hampshire, SO14 3DP
Tel: 023 8022 1585
Website: http://www.kutis.co.uk/

Water Margin, Southampton

So for mummy Pedders' birthday, we decided to go for a Chinese in Southampton to celebrate with a few friends. I, unfortunately had decided to brave the somewhat questionable elements in a tiny dress and heels, and therefore was very pleased when we went to a gorgeously warm Chinese restaurant just outside of Chilworth.

It's a typical Chinese inside; round tables, spinny things on top, somewhat strange decoration. There's a bar - of course - and lots of waiters and waitresses waiting on you very attentively. It's a favourite of my parents so we had a lovely table (there were a lot of birthdays on so it was a noisy night!) and very good service.

The menu was huge - never a good thing when I need to decide what to eat! As there were 7 of us, we went for lots of picky things and most were very scrummy.


Starters:
- Half aromatic duck
- Spare ribs 'peking style'
- The Chef’s Special Lettuce Wrap
- Mixed Seafood Lettuce Wrap
- Steamed Fresh Scallops in Special Garlic Sauce

Mains:
- Sizzling Fillet of Beef in Satay Sauce
- Sizzling Fillet of Beef with Green Pepper and Black Bean Sauce
- Kung Po King Prawn (served with garlic and chilli sauce)
- Baked Fresh Crab with Black Bean and Garlic Sauce
- Sweet and Sour Pork “Hong Kong Style”
- Honey Roast Duck “Cantonese Style”
- Stir-Fried Beansprouts (with oyster sauce)
- Egg-Fried Rice

As you can understand, we were a little too stuffed after that lot to even consider dessert! We fairly waddled home but the food was delicious. My biggest problem with Chinese restaurants is that MSG gives me a headache and way too many in London and the South in general use it in their dishes. At the Chinese I'm used to back home, the food doesn't contain any and therefore I'm instantly put off if I taste it. Water Margin, however, doesn't use MSG and whilst they do tend to put Oyster Sauce on a lot of food, it's tasty and fresh!

I'd definitely go back there although possibly try different things on the menu. The pork & beef dishes were particularly good; I can't comment on the shellfish dishes as I'm allergic to them and couldn't take so much as a bite.

Damage: £300 for 7 people (inc. drinks)

The Vitals

Water Margin
72 Botley Road, North Baddesley, Southampton, Hampshire SO52 9DU
Tel: (023) 8073 2377
Website: http://water-margin.co.uk/

The Lord Raglan, St Pauls, London

Oh dear, I have been busy with Christmas! Lots of food and drink and festive cheer has led to me putting on a couple of pounds but I'm determined to get them off through some exercise. Yes, yes that does strike fear into my heart but if I don't lose weight then I can't eat more scrummy food, can I?

So the latest on the list is The Lord Raglan pub which is behind St Pauls. It's a haunt for graduates and work colleagues alike after work but it also does food so on the Friday before some of us left for Xmas, we decided to go along and have a bite to eat.

The pub is quite big - it doesn't look it from the outside - and it's not bad for a sit down and natter at the end of the day. It's not a gastropub or arty farty inside; it's a basic down-to-earth pub with London prices.

It was pub food so there was the usual fare - Burgers, salads, sandwiches and soup. Nothing too tricky and all quite basic but it sounded nice on the menu. However, not so much in reality. I ordered a cheeseburger & chips with a side of onion rings. My burger tasted very processed and I instead munched on the yummy onion rings and ignored the very greasy tasting chips. Considering I paid £15 for the privilege of this meal, a glass of wine and a cranberry juice, I wasn't best pleased!

I'd go back for a drink but for a burger? Count me out!

The Vitals

The Lord Raglan
61, St. Martins-le-Grand, London, EC1A 4ER,
Tel: 020 7726 4756

Nearest tube: St Pauls