rjs1

Thinking of going there for lunch today. Anyone tried it since February? Good or bad? I think he's a good chef, but postings have been decidedly mixed. Thanks.

Do you knolw quite how far Inverness is from St Andrews?

Nahm is expensive, but they do sometimes do an offer though Toptable that deadens the pain slightly: if you have the £47 a head "tastimg menu", they include half a bottle of Roederer NV a head.

Sorry, I was so overcome by Proustian memories of those fudge donuts that I forgot to complete my post. A couple of years ago the Cellar at Anstruther was fantastic for lunch (and a lot cheaper than the evening meal, I think), but a friend who goes to St Andrews a lot tells me that the best restaurant in the area is the Seafood Restaurant at St Monans. According to the Good Food Guide 2004, last summer they were about to open a branch in St Andrews itself (01334 479475).

Fisher and Donaldson bakers on Church Street who supply one of the most important parts of student life in St Andrews, fudge doughnuts, as well as a range of more refined items. The fudge doughnuts are fantastic though - doughnuts without a hole, filled with creme pattiserie and topped with fudge icing.

Ah, that might explain why my Indian friends had never heard of it. Many thanks.

I've got some cubes of lamb, some potatoes and some home made crunchy peanut butter from Ghana, plus the usual spice suspects. I want to try to make a dish I had a few years ago called something like Mussaman curry, but haven't been able to find a receipe. Can anyone help, please?

I think it a lovely place as long as you're upstairs (downstairs has no atmosphere and they pack you in). Best bet for is a table near the door in the evening. The wines are interesting and can throw up some bargains.

Sorry, but it was the American sommelier (Michael Davis) who landed my wife with an £18.50 glass of wine for her guest without telling her what it cost when suggesting it. I've got a lot of time for the man in general, but that is completely out of order by any standards of restuarant service and I'll tell him so next time I see him.

My wife took a colleague to lunch at Pearl the other day and after a glass of champagne he wanted one glass of wine with his meal. The head sommelier made a recommendation (which her guest accepted) but didn't mention price. When Grace got the bill, she found that the glass of wine was £18.50... We like the food, but that sort of thing leaves an unpleasant taste in the mouth.

Four of us ate there on the third night it was open (on a "you pay for the drinks, the food is on the house" preview deal). They've thrown a lot of money at United Designers and the place is now warmer and more intimate, although I think it will work better at night than during the day. The lights are so low you need the staff to tell you what's written on the menu. Overall I'd say that Jun Tanaka is now chasing the Tom Aikens and Shane Osbournes of this world, and has refined his cuisine to two-Michelin stat level; imho this isn't necessarily a good thing, as it was the gutsiness of what he was doing at QC that appealed to me. Two dishes stood out: caramalised scallops with cavolo nero puree and crispy squid, and wild strawberry cheesecake. The wine list offers excitement but at eye-watering prices; £44 for Ayala NV champagne, anyone? I'm looking forward to trying it again, probably early evening when the lunchtime formula is available from 6 to 7.

Jun Tanaka's restaurant QC in Chancery Lane re-opened as Pearl on 23 June. I've been waiting to post a report but haven't seen a thread starting. Have I missed it, or is he such a low profile chef that no-one has noticed his re-emergence? It was reviewed in the Evening Standard.

not absolutely sure, but I think they stock this at the Salusbury Food Store (on Salusbury Road, about 200m from Queens Park tube).

One o One must be easily the best seafood restaurant in the UK, and one of the top handful in London overall. fantastic place, great food, wonderful service, shitty room. Do One-0-One have a lunchtime deal? If not, roughly what would you expect to pay for lunch for two with a moderate-to-reasonable bottle of wine?

Not convinced it's on form. 14 of us had lunch there on Sunday (admittedly the busiest time), and a lot of the dim sum slightly missed the mark - the fried ones a bit greasy, the curried squid oversauced - while the one seafood dish we had to fill the gaps after the dim sum had a high proportion of vegetables to seafood (although what seafood there was was very fresh. Considering we only had two beers and most of us were drinking tea or water, I thought the bill (over £300) for a rather ordinary meal was excessive. And there were bloody smokers everywhere.

As a descendant of the composer, I am delighted and surprised to hear that he is still being performed at all...

Abeno on Museum Street is a bit different, cheap (at least at lunch), friendly and I'm sure would be very welcoming to a baby. They do Japanese omelettes (sp?) cooked on a hot-plate at the table.

Liberty have got the best list I've come across, and Enotria (which I think Liberty splintered away from?) are also good. Both Italian specialists, of course.

Where is Meson Bilbao?

The Time Out review of Raoul's was actually of their newly extended deli, not of the cafe, which is over the road. I just went to have a look at Jason's, which is now called Sandefeldt at Jason's. They are offering 2 courses for £19.50, three for £24.50. Menu (dated 6 January) was less fish-orientated than I'd expect, but maybe that'll change. Haven't eaten there for nearly ten years, but it's a nice location and deserves a good chef. Opposite 60 Blomfield Road; 020 7286 6752. The Waterway has an a la carte menu, main courses up to £15.75. We've only been there to drink, but the menu looks interesting. It was very quiet at lunchtime today, but could be very loud on a Saturday night. 54 Formosa Street; 020 7266 3557. Formosa Dining Room is a lovely space, attached to a pub with the most incredible Victorian interior. Service can be sweet. A la carte menu, main courses up to £16.50 or so. We've eaten there a few times, but don't really think the food is anything special (the £10 set lunch on weekdays is the best value). 5a Formosa Street; 020 7286 3287. Cafe Laville is the cafe overhanging the canal where Blomfield Road meets the Edgware Road; the view westward down the canal (wonderful at sunset) is the best thing about the place, but it's fine for a coffee and cake. Hsing, the Chinese restaurant next to it, is worth bearing in mind; clean, fresh flavours, decent seafood. 451 Edgware Road, 020 7402 0904. We like Green Olive, part of the Red Pepper Group. Two courses £21.50, three £23.50, four £30. It's a pretty room at ground floor level, with fantastic photos of Florence (don't sit downstairs, which is a bit grim). Friendly service, decent-if-not-cutting-edge Italian food, interesting wines. 5 Warwick Place (runs between Warwick Avenue and Blomfield Road); 020 7289 2469. Red Pepper itself is still doing good pizzas, but it would be impossibly crowded on a Saturday night; we prefer to take away. 8 Formosa Street; 020 7266 2708. Has anyone tried Cliftons (junction of Edgware Road and Clifton Road)? There's an Irish flavour to some of the menus, but we haven't eaten there yet.

Has anyone tried Latium, Maurizio Morelli's new home at 21 Berners St? Liked what he did at Ibla, Green Olive & Paulo, but haven't seen any reviews of this place.

Top end places where we've taken a baby and had her very well looked after (admittedly in the middle of the day rather than in the evening) include Pied a Terre and Foliage. Perhaps the answer is to go for lunch rather than dinner? A five month old might enjoy it more anyway. Much cheaper for almost as good an experience, I think.

Crowded, noisy & smokey.

Abeno on Museum Street, just south of the British Museum - they cook a sort of "everything but the kitchen sink" Japanese omelette called okonomi-yaki on a hot plate in front of you. Cheap at lunchtime, and I would guess also reasonable in the evening.

Sorry?