Reviews by StuH

Galvin at Windows (Restaurant)
17 June 2010

OK, let's get the very bad news out of the way first - I spent £400 on Sunday lunch for 2 here.

Now the good stuff. The views are fantastic, the room is fairly attractive (if a little beige) and the food is OK on the whole, good in parts.

Cep risotto was tasty, if a little light on ceps. Scallops were pefectly cooked.

Main course of lamb was a little underseasoned and the balance between protein and carbs out of kilter - a lot of meat, hardly any vegetables.

A dish of spiced pigeon was a little chaotic. Carrot puree, pigeon, spices, potato cake, macaroni cheese - too much going on.

Cheeses were really well kept and very flavoursome.

Desserts were great. Excellent banana souffle. Brilliant chocolate mousse.

Service was occasionally chaotic, but special mention must go to the sommelier, who knew his stuff and was very friendly.

Overall, it was a nice afternoon but nose bleedingly expensive. Probably won't rush back.

Racine (Restaurant)
19 December 2009

I went for the first time just before closing on a Friday evening and had the best meal I've eaten this year. Wonderful, bold, accurate cooking. If you are a fan of French food, you will love Racine. Nice wine list, great staff, nice room. Give it a try.

1 Lombard Street (Restaurant)
06 December 2009

I've been to the brasserie a couple of times recently and enjoyed it. It's a nice, buzzy room with lots of light and atmosphere. I had some really, really good traditional game - grouse and partridge. Friends who ordered more standard fare found the portions a little small. Super service though, and a good wine list.

The House (Gastro Pub)
24 April 2009

I think some of the reviews of The House are a little unfair. I've eaten and drunk here many times and never had a problem with the service. It has always been quite good. Granted, the food can sometimes be hit and miss. But by that, I mean it is often good and sometimes average. I've never had a bad meal.

To the person who complained at being sat next to 'Islingtonites' - it is in the middle of Islington, so to be expected. To the person who said it is the middle of a council estate - no it isn't.

All in all, it is a good place for a weekend lunch. Yes, it is on the expensive side. Show me somewhere in Islington that isn't.

Jerusalem Tavern (Pub)
19 April 2009

A really lovely, old-fashioned pub. If you want comfy sofas, music and cocktails, then it isn't for you. If you like proper pubs with proper beer, then you won't find much better.

Hakkasan (Restaurant / Restaurant)
09 March 2009

I've eaten here quite a lot and the look and feel of the place is still impressive with each visit.

The food, on the whole, is very, very good. Great dim sum and excellent grilled wagyu. Scallops in black bean sauce and silver cod in champagne and Chinese honey are particularly good, as is jasmine tea-smoked chicken. The only 'miss' I've ever had here is the soft shell crab, which comes covered in what tastes like bitter sawdust.

I'd give Hakkasan top marks were it not for the sadistic vigour with which they enforce the table turnaround policy and the fact that one or two of the waiters need to remember who is paying £200 for the meal and who is there to serve it without attitude.

The Wolseley (Restaurant)
07 March 2009

I eat here a lot, and it's pretty hard to beat. It just does everything really well and with consistency. The food is accurately cooked and always good. This place does not have off days. It is suprisingly inexpensive and great value for money (except breakfast, which I think is on the pricey side). Service is always spot on. The room looks great and the atmosphere is buzzy. Just a classy place.

Franco's (Restaurant)
07 March 2009

I've never had a disappointing meal here but likewise never been wowed. It is usually busy and buzzy and makes for a good Saturday lunch. Somewhat pricey, however.

Langan's Brasserie (Restaurant)
07 March 2009

Great, buzzy atmosphere. Good menu, properly cooked food. Usually fun, reliable and good quality. Makes for a good night out.

S&M (Diner)
07 March 2009

The sausage and mash is OK, but you can buy much better quality sausages from a good butcher (Frank Godrey & Ginger Pig). It is a lovely looking place though and is great value.

Plateau (Restaurant)
07 March 2009

I'm afraid it just isn't very good. Boring, cliched decor, fairly dull food and too expensive.

The Ivy (Restaurant)
07 March 2009

What is the fuss about? The food is OK, but nothing special. The room is OK, but nothing special. The atmopshere is OK, but nothing special.

The Barnsbury (Gastro Pub)
07 March 2009

When The Barnsbury first opened I really, really liked it. I even went so far as to write a glowing review, which was printed in a national newspaper.

However, I ate Sunday lunch there recently, my first visit for over a year, and I was less than impressed. First of all, despite there being quite a few 'nice' empty tables, we were shoved into a corner next to the loo. Foie gras and ham hock terrine was really tasty, but icy, fridge cold: schoolboy error. The scallops with ceps were OK. Scallops were nicely cooked, but there was a burnt undertone in the sauce. Lamb was nice but duck confit was grim: fatty, not crispy, skin dry and not much flavour. There is a good wine selection and a couple of suprisingly good bottles of Californian Zinfandel helped wash down a disappointing meal.

Given that Sunday lunch for two cost something well north of £100, it really needs to be better. Come on guys, get it back to how it used to be!

Carluccio's (Cafe / Delicatessen)
07 March 2009

Overall, not great. The food is OK. The service is OK. The real bad point is some of the other customers, but I don't suppose I should hold that against the restaurant. The tables are practically on top of each other and it seems to attract those loud, braying, 'look at me' type of people, who compete to talk over each other about little Tarquin's school fees or their last trip to Val d'Isere. One to avoid, although Islington is devoid of good Italian food, so there aren't many other options.

Claridge's Bar (Bar)
07 March 2009

Lovely looking, art deco, traditional hotel bar. Perfect place to take your Mum for a glass of wine in the afternoon or settle down for a few quiet after dinner drinks. Great nibbles that just keep coming (spend a couple of hours in here and you can skip dinner). Expensive, as you would expect. Good selection of quality drinks, but they can't make a martini to save their lives.

Ice Bar (Bar)
07 March 2009

For those of you who complain that it's freezing cold and just decorated with ice, well 'doh', it is an ice bar! However, I will agree that it is a very grim ice bar, in a very grim basement. It isn't a patch on its sister bar in Stockholm.

Luc's Brasserie (Restaurant)
28 February 2009

A really light, bright and airy room in the lovely Leadenhall Market. The food was OK without being mind-blowing. Bayonne ham with remoulade was good but pork belly hadn't been cooked for long enough and was consequently a little tough. A touch on the pricey side.

UPDATE JUNE 2010
I don't know what has happened here, but the food was appalling on a recent visit.

Potato rosti was actually a mass of deep fried potato cooked until it was completely crispy all the way through. Hollandaise sauce had a distinct and overpowering tang of vinegar. Salmon fishcake was also deep fried in the same oil and contained virtually no salmon. Toulouse sausages were frazzled to within an inch of their life and sat on a pile of sloppy cabbage trying to pass itself off as choucroute.

Something has gone very wrong here!

Quo Vadis (Restaurant)
28 February 2009

I had been really looking forward to eating here after the Hart brothers took over. Sorry to say I was a little disappointed.

The menu reads beautifully - oxtail pudding, duck leg pie, good grill section, shellfish and so on. The room is pretty nice too.
When it arrived, the oxtail pudding looked great and was densely packed with really deep, flavoursome oxtail. Problem was that is was only lukewarm, bordering on cold in the middle. Duck leg pie tasted great though, and rum baba for dessert was light and elegant.

Service was OK until a group of media types brought their clients and expense account to the next table, after which the staff fussed around them like teenage girls around a pop star. From the moment they arrived we were virtually ignored. Very annoying.

Maybe I just caught Quo Vadis on a bad day. I'd like to think so, as it could be so, so good.

Barrafina (Spanish Restaurant)
28 February 2009

Quite simply, very, very good tapas. Great seafood cooked on the plancha behind the bar. Razor clams were really excellent. Top notch, well kept jabugo ham. Ham croquetas are lovely.

Really great atmosphere, great wines and sherry. Hard to get a stool at the bar without a long wait.

Borough Market (Food Market)
11 November 2008

Probably the beating heart of foodie London. You can buy almost anything here and on the whole it is top quality. It can get expensive quite quickly if you aren't careful though.