circeplum

the food at the wolseley, though not at all bad, isn't the point. it's all about the buzz and the people watching. call me shallow, but i loved it too. and the celebrity count is satisfyingly high, though if you're a mere likes-of-us punter you'll probably be sat on the outer fringes and not in the holy-of-holies central corral.

second the shell bay rec - it's a brilliant place in a truly beautiful location. also liked west beach. m

bapi: incidentally - had lunch at a strange caff in world's end called the mona lisa, menu veering between seabass and bacon butties. total cost for 3 adults and 4 children, including seafood pasta, chicken kiev , buffalo mozzarella etc - £36. and portions were absolutely humungous... m

er... restaurant???

not good ....

busaba eathai is good if you're on your own because it has bar-type seating (esp the one off tottenham court road) and is really reasonably priced. thai food pretty good too. gorgeous design. (don't know if it's open, though.) wagamama works for the same reasons. if i were in town, i'd offer to join you! can't be on your own on boxing day in a strange city! (though i did it in new york once. went to the empire diner. good choice for lone eating.) m

i think i described it as a bunker of scorched pasta, like the pastry on a scotch pie, wrapped round a sauce so claggy it'd embarrass an nhs hospital kitchen. the lobster itself was blameless. m

shumi's responsible for one of my worst meals of the year and, unequivocally, my worst dish: the lobster lasagne abberration. shudder ...

don't bother. went back in the evening and it was very disappointing. and expensive ... m

just like the pizza restaurant i went to in blackpool (i know, i know...) where the waiter told us our choice came with black olives so would we like the chef to pick them off for us...

i witnessed the ironing thang at rhodes twenty four. found it vastly entertaining as not familiar with housework of any description. m

yes, it was 'down mexico way'. never was in there, had a rep for booze-up hen/stag parties. but destino just might be a different story. apart from anything else, it looks absolutely stunning; apparently was london's first ever spanish restaurant in the 20s and retains the original, glorious tiling. we just had lunch downstairs in the 'deli', open just for snacks and a 'taco' counter??? don't pretend to be anything of an expert on mexican food, but what we had tasted great. chunky guacamole with tostaditos (home made); a soft corn taco filled with fabulous bbq pork and 'latino coleslaw' (seemed to be mostly marinated red onion), a flour burrito filled with seared beef and peppers. best of all were a black bean dip and a divine habanero dip. i could have drunk the latter from its pot. def. going back to try the full menu. m

Interesting. Do you have the address and phone? Tx rosemary lanes 61 royal mint st e1 7481 2602 x

there's quite a strange little place just opened round the corner from the t.o.l., on a road with nothing else on it other than the railway, called rosemary lanes. odd collision between incredibly ambitious, organic food and old boozer surroundings. the dartboard was still in situ. they've put in plush banquettes and the silverware and glassware is all comme il faut, but looks like they may just have run out of money. the chef (a woman) is, i think, californian and it shows. we had things like soft shell 'club' - good crab, 'heirloom' tomatoes, yellow pepper foam and 'caviar' (flying fish roe, i think). and seared foie gras with banyuls on brioche. and john dory with shallots, preserved lemons, cape gooseberries and celeriac. see what i mean about ambition? you even get amuse bouches and inter-course sorbets (excellent blackcurrant and star anise) - totally anomalous in these surroundings. but definitely worth a visit, if only to admire the pioneering spirit. m

why don't you go into glasgow? plenty of choice there?

do you mean english, robyn? or do you mean modern british, which is a whole other ball game. m

i'm an impecunious journalist unused (for many reasons ) to paying for my own dinners. i'd therefore prefer to stay at the shallow end of the wine list. sorry! m

the mutton suet pudding at rhodes 24 is a serious contender for my dish of the year award. moist, fluffy, squidgey, suetey crust stuffed with meltingly tender slow-cooked mutton (3 years old, rhodes couldn't find his desired 5 year old) and onions. it comes with three little jugs of sauce - an onion soubise, a caper sauce and really intense mutton gravy - so if you chemistry-set it about with these you can have a different tasting mouthful each time. i want it again. NOW. m

mine: thursday, friday. i don't go out on saturday nights - it's tooooo bridge and tunnel

i'd avoid the seafresh in wilton road - the fish'n'chips ain't bad, but it's a gloomy old dump of a place. geales in notting hill is more fun and a real institution. also, i'd swap your categories for locanda locatelli and andrew edmunds: edmunds is an informal, smokey media soho hangout; locatelli is drop-dead glam and just about as hard to get into as the ivy - but i reckon the first-class italian cooking repays the effort. m

i too, am a fan. it's quite near where i work and everyone i've sent there has come back raving about it - not only the quality, but the cost. a gem. m

Bella Sicilia - ug. I went there once in a warm support-my-local-retailers type of mood, had a nice chat with the owner, and for my pains got sold what turned out to be possibly the oldest piece of parmesan known to man. It was positively geological. Never went back. he is a complete prick. he's given me the arse end of parma ham before; when i remonstrated he threw it on the scales and said it was worth £11. eh? then, when i asked him to take the skin off some salami, he told me i wanted too much service, replaced the salami in the cabinet and refused to serve me. i hope sainsbury's kills his business stone dead.

is chelsea too far out? if not, the painted heron is often overlooked and is a seriously good wee number. real class in pleasant surroundings.

really nice report moby, thanks! m

i thought it overpriced and underwhelming. ordinary dishes like steak au poivre served in a pointlessly pseudo-japanese way. m