Reviews by bubbles, or john smith

Orrery (Restaurant)
15 August 2008

Excellent. Service impeccable. Balance of flavours in the food possibly a little off, but certainly a fabulous meal by any standard. Wine recommended by the sommelier was excellent and, refreshingly, not particularly expensive. As described below, not particularly trendy, but a beautiful location and a generally relaxed and welcoming ambience. Reasonably priced menu as well, for the standard of food.

Yauatcha (Restaurant / Restaurant)
19 July 2008

Mixed. Unlike some, I didn't find the food expensive at all, in fact I thought the value was excellent (wine maybe a bit pricey though). Service was reasonably good but unspectacular. General ambience was OK but not perfect - the layout is crowded, the decor is dated and uninspiring (especially downstairs). Remarkably for a teahouse, our tea was overheated - it seemed to have been boiled rather than heated only to sub-boiling point as it should be, which was surprising.

The key thing here is to go for the food, which is excellent. Apart from that, there is not a huge amount to recommend the place, although I must say that this is not a negative review at all. It's just tricky to see what's so special.