Winot

I need to book somewhere for a fairly casual business lunch in Bloomsbury. My first thought was Cigala (I've been 2-3 times but not for a year); my second was The Perseverance over the road (never eaten there). Couldn't find any recent reviews here. There was a poor (but well-written) one of the P. from last March on London-Eating. Has anyone been recently? Any other suggestions? Many thanks, W.

Craig, Yes, I think it was a 2002. W.

On the subject of other wine maladies, I was at a dinner in a London restaurant at the weekend and ordered a second bottle of a German Kabinett riesling. It tasted wrong compared to the first one (of which I still had some in my first glass) -- much more acidic and less fruit. To my (fairly uneducated) palate it didn't taste corked though. The waiter agreed it was "disgusting" (his words) and replaced the bottle straight away. Can anyone enlighten me as to what the problem was, as it doesn't seem to fit in with any of the problems highlighted on Chris's site?

1997 Gigondas St. Cosme (£6 from cellar door in 1999). Drinking well now -- tannins have softened but still quite well structured bordering on the severe.

Yep. We booked Martin Wishart in Leith for lunch on Bank Holiday Saturday. Luckily we rang to confirm beforehand, to find out they were closed. There's nothing you can do.

how busy was it? It seemed to be more or less full. We were there from 8.30 till 11.30 and a couple of tables near us were occupied twice in that time.

Six of us went on Saturday and had a thoroughly enjoyable time. Not much to add to the comments about the food -- it was cracking. Perfectly judged flavours which progressed throughout the menu. The room was comfortable and not too loud. On the service, our waiter (Australian but hadn't come over with CM) struck just the right note (for us) of professionalism matched with informality. The pacing of the courses was just right. The service did however slip for the dessert course, when inexplicably we were served by two waitresses we hadn't seen before who didn't seem to have a clue. Also one bottle of wine was off and a younger waiter that had brought it didn't have the confidence to handle the situation; however the older waiter changed it straight away. My guess is that the service will inprove as it beds down and the less experienced waitstaff learn the ropes.

Fritz, Where is your local Tesco? It sounds great if you can get Hugel. W.

Anyone been back since Scott? We're booked to go this Saturday. Any changes to the menu?

Centrale -- tiny BYOB pasta place on Cambridge Circus next to the Spice of Life pub. Huge plate of pasta for a fiver -- try the spaghetti vongole or the gnochhi.

That should have been one of the entries for the "You know you're in a bad restaurant when..." thread -- when it's on Baker St and called Sherlocks.

Thanks Horton. Is it any good? The online reviews I could find mentioned the dread words "celeb" and "hangout". Can you (or anyone else) reassure me?

I'm having the same problem - trying to book lunch xmas eve -- Hakkasan closed, Nahm closed -- any ideas for "ethnic" food (we don't want to drink and mod european always benefits from wine ime)?

I use a hard wheelable case that is the maximum size allowed for carry on. I can fit in 12 bottles of red (prob. not champagne) using the cardboard packing found in wine boxes. This usually goes as carry-on but has also survived the hold. The only difficulty is lifting it into the overhead lockers whilst maintaining a cheery grin to suggest that it's not that heavy, no not at all, and certainly not over the 7kg weight limit, persih the thought.

This really is very annoying. I had a similar experience at Le Jardin des Sens (3* in Montpellier) which turned out to possess only a single "Livre des Vins". Pathetic!

Another Savennieres that I've enjoyed: Chateau de Varennes 2000; £10 Oddbins (UK). Fantastic value. Much more buttery (less steely) than others I've tried. Anyone else tried it?

Another thing to bear in mind with CG is that it's a City lunch venue so you'll be surrounded by suits. Not sure how romantic this would be. If you do go I recommend the tasting menu -- the first time we went we tried to pick a balanced meal for ourselves and ended up with foie gras overload.

I'd recommend Tentazioni which I reviewed at the end of this thread. It's in Mill St just round the cornner from Shad thames. I've been to Tayyab's perhaps a dozen times and never had any health problems. W.

Indian - New Tayyab in Whitechapel (lots about this on the board) or one of the Tooting south Indian restaurants eg Kastoori. South Bank - Baltic is a good choice. RSJ (French) is great for pre/post National theatre but nothing unusual. Anchor & Hope is good but the service can be a bit random. English - yes, go to St John Bread & Wine (the new one near Spitalfields). A good place for Sunday lunch after poking round the market. Interior design - Sketch is meant to be amazing.

Actually Scott I thought most of the points made were good ones. If you disagree so strtongly, perhaps you'd care to provide counter-arguments?

Article in the Guardian today -- but no mention of the food.

Is Tamarind still round there (20 Queen St)? Would satisfy your ethnic request - Posh Indian (1 Michelin star). Might be a bit dressy though. I went a few years ago and thought it good but overrated. There's a cheap noodle place in an old bank near the Ritz - great location average food. Also a more expensive place in the same building I believe. W.

Anchor and Hope, The Cut. Reviewed here.

Sorry Gavin, can only help with food queries here.

The Turf is better for booze. What about Bath Place? Is that still open?