Iestyn

It seems mad to me to say that because he used to be a pop-star he can't know anything about food. Also can't fully understand the logic of- he was poor on question time therefore can't know anything about food. I find it unlikely that previously "he never ate". Good PR is not a crime, and presumably he does know something about food-writing, what with him being paid for it unlike most of us.

To accuse other people of 'ludicrous self-importance' for commenting on a list called the 50 best restaurants in the world is an impressive degree of hypocrisy. And then just to cap it you seem to be simultaneously arguing that the purpose is to provoke debate and then complaining about said debate. Get a grip.

I was suprised to see calf brain on menu at Galvin Bistro a few nights ago, I thought that pretty much the entire head was banned post BSE, but if not, then definitely the brain. Based on what several people have been told by their butchers it seems I'm not alone in thinking this. Do any of the chefs on here have a better idea of what the position is- presumably if Maze and Galvin can 'get head' (good line, deserved to be re-used) surely we can buy it too? Or do they have to ship it from France- that would be great, BSE probably eradicated in UK, still prevalent in France, would be typical for there to be a rule meaning we can only eat french beef for the riskiest part of the animal. (I was about to say makes me think twice about ordering it but then realised had tete de veau last time I was in France, so guess I didn't think twice and probably won't do so in the future.) I may have to lie down before I start writing letters about bendy bananas to the daily mail.

So what's wrong with that ? ← Flan always contains caramel. No caramel, no flan. ← What about french flan? Don't see the problem with this one, without the caramel it could be savoury or french-style.

I went a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. it was interesting to see how different chefs managed to cope with the challenges of mass outdoor catering, some certainly did better than others. It did cost about £50 each, but some food was great, it was a glorious sunny day and we had taken in several bottles of decent wine in a chiller, which makes a big difference to costs. On that basis I would definitely go again, but... A friend went last year on my recommendation ( I couldn't make it) and had real trouble getting wine in, eventually being allowed after something of a debate with security. I'm not sure what the position is now, but if you can't take your own drink (to a picnic essentially, in a park!), then it could easily be a heck of a lot more than £50. I'm not sure whether I am going this year, I hate arguing with people over whether I am or am not allowed to do any given thing so migtht not bother. Also, I imagine its a whole lot less fun in the rain!

Am glad I'm not the only one who feels like this, I sometimes feel like a culinary pariah with my views on Anchor & Hope, good food, just not worth the hassle,Anchor & Hope Blog review. I do slightly agree though that it was slightly bad form to go and drink elsewhere (even if you didn't, others in your party did), and that was pretty much bound to result in any tables that became available being given to someone who was actually there, waiting, and had been spending money at their bar in the meantime. For me its not worth going there, but if for you it is then you should wait at the bar- the problem with that (see review), is that if you spend an hour waiting in the bar it doesn't matter that the food is good as you're not really going to appreciate it.

I guess most people know what to expect from Rules, but I'll add a little to the thread just to correct the impression at the start of the thread that its universally bad, already done to an extent by Carolyn. Game cooking here is good, not the best but good, and prices for game are pretty reasonable. I usually have Oysters to start, then some more Oysters which are good, then game in season, or out of season I have the Steak and kidney pie, which again is pretty good. The service is attentive, the atmosphere is clubby but jollier, the food is clubby but better (and, its fair to say, more expensive). Tourists love it, buts its not only a tourist gaffe. Its also handy to note that it serves all day, rather than in narrow service times. The waiters and maitre'd have always given me very good, attentive service.

Quick update - went to the bay recently, was sad to see that Scallops had closed and been replaced by a cafe rouge, not that scallops was great but at least it was independently mediocre, if that makes sense. Was also a pity to see that Brazz had closed, a bit late now but Brazz was an ok brasserie, but very overpriced on opera nights, its now replaced by a branch of Gilby's, which is not great at Culverhouse Cross, can't imagine its much better in the bay. Everytime I go there it seems to be worse not better, however, two saving graces for the bay- the turkish place is decent with a great setting and Ba Orient... I didn't try Garcon but went back to Ba Orient, have upgraded my view of the Dim Sum, was actually very good indeed, especially the lighter shellfish based ones, better than Royal China or Golden Palace in Harrow. Drinks were decent too. (NB noticed today, in the OFM awards as best bar in Cardiff, I like the drinks there but thats a bit of an indictment on bars in Cardiff if its as good as they get).

Personally I'd stick to the bohemian muff, preferably young, but old if need be. Fnah Fnah But seriously, has anyone on forum tried Maze Prague, how do quality and price compare to Maze UK?

I second the above, I went to the Eagle for the first time recently (odd I Know, given how long its been going), I didn't have to wait that long for a table. As pointed out, the food is not English, but the atmosphere is still that of a proper pub and the beer is well kept. So in many ways its a more authentic pub experience than a lot of the modern british places. Also the prices are very reasonable (not sure where your from, Canada I think? but for London its very well priced). Food is simple and hearty, but good of its type, and there's a good atmosphere. Blog review

The Old Post Office is in new hands, a guy called Simon Kealey who was at the Walnut Tree when Franco was there. Definitely worth a try. Izakaya has been replaced by a bistro operation called Garcon which has a connection to the aforementioned Gallois. ← Le Gallois definitely the best place in Cardiff on my view, bistro with a twist and I don't agree its pricier than London equivalents, especially as it has a reasonable wine list. Are you sure Garcon is cnnected, no mention on either website and a cursory glance at wine list didn't look too similar (but it was a cursory glance). Anyone tried it? I'm in the bay in a few weeks and might fancy giving it a go. NB Am a fan of Ba Orient in the bay, feels like a chain waiting to be rolled out (the bay is pretty souless), but the dim sum is pretty good, ambience is like Ping Pong food is slightly better and cocktails have alcohol in them. Any other recommendations would be helpful for me and to keep this up to date, would also be nice to think that a slightly better than a chain dim sum place wasn't probably the second best restaurant in Cardiff.

Thats exactly how I feel. Re Ms O'Loughlin, came across this ancient link completely by random, it seems on point though Guardian Re the quality of Metro reviewers in general, I am very rarely in Cardiff, but have been distinctly unimpressed with the quality of writing of the Metro reviewer. But again, am sure if you get to know likes and dislikes of the reviewer it becomes useful. [Example- I am not at all in tune with Malcolm Gluck's palate, but think I know his likes and dislikes sufficiently well to make his writing useful to me] This only works if a reviewer/critic is consistent of course, but we need to remember its a subjective field.

There is a quote by Hugh Johnson that I'm fond of, to the effect that you should find a critic whose palate is largely consistent with your own and stick with them. I don't think my palate is consistent with Ms O'Loughlin but assume some people's are. Of course, I think the idea holds true in reverse and a critic could be useful if you disagree with them consistently... NB Agree about the byeline photographs, but with Gill in particular his celebrity goes beyond that and effectively disqualifies him from being an informative critic. Always good fun though!

I do find Gill very funny, the problem is that neither he nor Coren are any longer any use as reviewers. Not a comment on their palates, but their profiles are just too high. You know, I suppose that if they go and get bad food or service then it must be truly bad. But if they go and get a good experience, all you know is that the restaurant can deliver when it knows it has a major critic in the dining room. I don't know what the solution is, wouldn't want stupid NY style disguises, but do think critics should keep a lower profile than those two do.

I know this place has been to an extent panned, or at least damned by faint praise. This is not a personal recommendation but comes from a friend whose views on food I have faith in. Essentially he has been there several times and just ignored the fish and chips and had other stuff, making it a very reasonably priced fish restaurant. Apparently Bouillabaisse is top notch. Anyone else tried this approach?

I went to the poland street branch a month or so ago, and had been a month before that. Good food on both occasions, not great but it makes a nice change and reasonable prices. I see from this threade that in 2003 they had American beer other than Coors, pity thats no longer the case.Bodean's Blog Review

Well based on this thread and others on the site I went to Golden Hinde for my Friday fish and chips. The chips were very good, as was the fish but the batter was a bit on the thin side for my taste. Still, thats better than being too greasy! Overall I still prefer Brady's and Masters but its certainly a good chippy and the west end location is convenient. Also admirably reasonably priced for the location.

Hi, I am off to Morroco this summer and I am thinking of visiting this restaurant which sounds great in The Rough Guide and the chef is a member of Maite Cuisiniers de France. That said, I am a little wary of Rough Guide restaurant reccomendations, and am struggling to find online reviews (The restaurant itself has a pretty hopeless website). I would just give it a go as it seems to be only about £20/$40 a head, but was not really planning to go to Casablanca. But that said I would pop Casablanca into my itinerary if this place had a lot of positive reviews. Anyone have any experiences to share?

I completely agree, it doesn't stand out at all, and its very bizarre to be in a country full of genuine cheap and good tandoori restaurants, paying through the nose to be in an artificial environment surrounded by expense account ex-pats. The prices are shocking, it says it all that I would not consider it exceptionjally good value if it were re-located to London with the same price structure! No way the 35th best restaurant in the World, or even in India.

I'm with everyone else, Tayyabs in the East End, Kastoori, in Tooting. (I was pleased to see Kastoori got a bib) I am also a fan of Diwana Bel Poori on Drummond St for a more central, quality and BYO curry fix. There's lots of places out in Southall, I will get to them but can't give a personal recommendation at the moment, but Madhu's and Brilliant seem very respected. On the high end stuff, I haven't tried too many, budget constraints and all. That said, I went to Tamarind aout a year ago, and had an overall good meal, it was before my blog and have no notes but I still remember the most tender piece of chicken tikka and being overall impressed.

I wasn't as impressed, but its good very healthy food, it just all seems a little souless, the below is my review written for my blog in January: Like every other review I will start by boring you with the spelling debate, apparently it is meant to be Oaxaca, a place in Mexico famous for market food, but its been spelled phonetically. So what really. Its well known that people won't go to a restaurant they can't say the name of so who can blame them. (Actually I have no stats to back that assertion up, but it makes sense to me, and is a common observation in the wine trade). The second obligatory thing to mention is that Thomasina Miers is a winner of Masterchef and then did a TV programme about wild food. So now we all know. As it serves all day I went here for a solo late lunch as its near where I work and I wanted to give it a go. Unfortunately, despite being open all day, the staff are decidedly inattentive outside normal hours and getting served was a bit of a mission. The restaurant is in a basement but despite that there is plenty of light. The décor is very bright and music very upbeat, others have told me this works well in the evening and I'm sure that's right but it was a bit full on at lunch. Everyone gets two bowls of salsa to pep their meals up and these prove to be necessary. The salsa verde lacked the promised punch, it was fine, but when its described on the menu as fiery you expect it to deliver a little more than it did. The red salsa had a bit more of a kick two it, and both were clearly made with good ingredients. I had Frijoles Tostadas and Skirt Steak Taco with a chippotle sauce with a green salad. The food arrives when it is ready and I had quite a delay between each dish, but when they did arrive everything was very fresh. The tacos were clearly home made and had a good doughy taste but were a little on the small side. Nonetheless it was clear that some effort had gone into them. The food is simple but the skirt steak had a good flavour, and was not chewy as I had expected. The sauce was a little indistinctive and was another item that lacked a kick despite the expectations. There is however chilli sauce on the table, but I don't see why all the food had to be quite so bland to start with. It seems to be obligatory to mention that the chilli sauce comes from Devon, all very eco-friendly and the taste doesn't suffer. The fried tortillas for the tostadas were very crisp and not at all greasy. In fact they must have been about the cleanest tasting deep fried thing I've ever had, making them a little dull and characterless. The 'frijoles' mix of beans was good however, there was a real depth of flavour that reminded me of a good dark dahl. This was about the best thing I had at Wahaca. However, it was topped with a very small amount of cheddar cheese, in keeping with the local sourcing. All very well but cheddar doesn't really melt right and using the wrong cheese, albeit for arguably sound reasons, spoiled the dish a little. It reminded me of being a student and putting cheddar on any dish (pasta, gratin...) because it was cheap and readily available. The green salad was all present and correct with a nice dressing, but was the only dish that seemed a little steeply priced, especially compared to the others. Portions here are small but prices are low, and the £20 platter for two looks like a particularly noteworthy bargain. The problem here is the food is not very fatty. Its an odd complaint but it all just tastes a bit too healthy and lacks heart. Its not really authentic market food which is greasy and filling. I have been to Mexico and like Mexican food and even the much maligned Tex-Mex. But, a few truly great dishes aside, it is simple filling stuff. I wish there were more good examples in London, but here it hasn't really benefited from the attempt to make it healthy or make out its something its not. There are lots of ethical policies on the menu here, bits of cod-philosphy which I have obliterated from my mind, explanations of the policy on local sourcing, Belu water etc. Its all very right on, and probably a good thing but here it all feels a bit too rammed down your throat and a little forced. Echoing the initial difficulties in ordering, at the end of my meal it was almost impossible to get the bill in a virtually empty restaurant. There was no shortage of staff to back up their claims of all day dining, but mid-afternoon they simply seemed more interested in chatting to each other than dealing with customers. This place has been damned by faint praise by many, and in a way I am doing the same. I guess people were expecting more of Ms Miers. But the food is fresh and cheap, and there seems to be a consensus that there is a much better atmosphere in the evenings. With that in mind, I'd probably go back with a group and share lots of the bargain platters and explore the interesting looking tequila menu. All in all then it is a useful addition to Covent Garden but in no way a 'must visit' restaurant.

I just wanted to echo the general view that Sushi Hiro (blog review) is where its at in London. I haven't got the budget for the high end stuff, and haven't been to New York or Japan so bear that in mind, but I do like sushi and have eaten at most of the mid-range places in London and elsewhere in the UK. Ican say that Sushi-Hiro is by some distance the best Sushi I have had.

I was sorry to hear this restaurant had lost its star, I had a great meal here over a year ago. It makes sense if its closed, but it seems really unclear now as to whether it has or not. I'm not going to ring them to ask as it would be a bit odd- I'm not in the area anytime soon. But I will definitely be going this summer and as well as trying Margot's I would have gone back. For future reference, does anyone know if it has closed or if the standards have dropped under a new chef? Thanks,

I know this is a debate thats going nowhere but... I never see anyone saying they don't like the food here, just a debate as to whether its 1* standard. That criticism often focuses on the lack of fripperies or the decor. I have eaten here only twice, once in the evening (written up here Arbutus) and once for lunch. On both occasions I had a great meal, the meat cooking is excellent, with great combinations and everything cooked just right. There are enough ideas to keep things interesting, but its classic combinations mainly and nothing to frighten the horses. Good! It seems to me the cooking is definitely 1* standard. As for the lack of "freebies", they're not really free and thats why the bill here is very low. As for decor, as many have said, a star should be about whats on the plate.

My first post, trying to make this thread useful for visitors: Masters has probably the best fish and chips somewhere semi-convenient, being close to Waterloo, the fish to eat in always seems a lot better than takeaway though, which is a little sneaky. I think the other much touted central option, Rock & Sole Place in Covent Garden is pretty poor- small portions and greasy. Fryer's Delight on Theobald Rd is central and does great chips in beef fat, dark and tasty, but their batter is poor and greasy. In the less convenient places: Faulkner's is as good as Masters, but is less convenient for tourists being in Dalston Bradey's in Wandsworth is my favourite in London and I thoroughly recommend it, but probably not convenient for visitors. Sea Cow (East Dulwich) is overrated but fine if your nearby. Olley's is pretty good, but not up there with Bradey's or Masters, and pretty expensive for the middle of nowhere, not worth the trip out. As you can probably tell, I'm south of the river, I haven't tried Two Brothers as so far away- do you think its worth the trip? I also haven't tried Fish Club (Clapham) or Golden Hinde, both of which are firmly on my to do list. Anywhere I've missed?