O perfil de axisofunity

A review of Tamasha needs to start with the price. It can’t be escaped from the fact that this is priced as central London and indeed is priced at Michelin Star level of Chapter One (also in Bromley).

So with, the prices set out, can the restaurant meet these standards even if it hasn’t formally got the star? In the short of it, no.

The restaurant is located on Widmore Road, but is set back from it and has its own carparking. It is very well decorated and really feels like the owners have taken pride and time in ensuring good service (plenty of staff) who are polite and well dressed.

The menu is the right length. It isn’t too long but does cover a good selection of starters, mains and special dishes. Sadly, if you are booking on Toptable for the 20% discount they tend to run, the example prices are rather incorrect. Add £4 a main or so to the ‘sample prices. Their website doesn’t even appear to list prices.

We started with Chicken Nilgiri Tikka and a Masaledar Kekda (soft shell crab) and this really was poor. The chicken had very little taste and was presented in small lumps on an empty white plate. The Soft Shell Crab, was soft, but was a single crab (RRP 50p?) which had been abused with the deep frying and as such was salty / greasy and nothing else. (£6.75 and £8.95 respectively)

We followed with Khyber Pas Raan (£15.95) and Dakshin Fish Masala (£13.95) with Green Chilli Pakora (£3.25) and Kashmiri Rice (£3.95). OF these the Kyber Pas Raan (Lamb Leg) was excellent. It was juciy and well cooked with a good sauce. There was also plenty of it. Presentation wise, it was a leg of lamb on a white plate with a slice of lemon… poor, but taste wise, excellent.

The Fish Masala (Tilapia grilled to perfection and stuffed with spicy crab mixture, served in a tangy moily sauce with a mango relish per their menu) was bland. It wasn’t spicy at all. I don’t like bland cooking from an Indian restaurant, it should be about colour, spice and flavour. Missing here.

The Pakora were dreadful. Three small withered chilli encased in a thick deep fried batter. No taste.

We finished most of everything because by our count including one beer and two soft drinks we’d hit £70+ before discount including 12.5% service.

The people at the restaurant seemed to be there for birthdays (Champagne was free flowing) and there was live music which was nice.

Our rating is for the atmosphere, good service and location. The missing 3 stars are for the lack of decent food.

The Drift is a new bar on the Ground and 1st Floors of the Heron Tower, a recently built (and still somewhat empty) development on Bishopsgate between Liverpool Street and London Bridge.

City AM was offering a free cocktail at the place, so we thought why not. Let see what it’s about.

Sadly, this place is soul-less. Staff were already stressed out and not smiling and the free cocktail was horrible (all vodka and water, no lychee). The cider at £4.60 a pint was also a new high in price for me and in the sterile sourroundings of a hundred city suits, bose speakers and platters of mini burgers and dipping breads it was game over. They’ve made the inside like a minamalist penthouse with open spaces, glass, metal and bars with lots of optics and bottles, but nothing memorable.

Swift exit. Could do much better. But two out of three staff that were involved with us seemed miserable (whether we did free drinks or paid) it can’t start well.

I'd ignore the person who posted below. One review and no other site contribution. Anyway, I work around Liverpool street and use Shiroma for my haircuts. I don't have a complex request or style requirements... Never-the-less they spend a good 45minutes cutting, massage if you want it, good hairwash and rinse and attention to detail.

It's very relaxing, perfect for after work as they open till 8pm. A 6 or 7pm appointment is great and their stylists stay fairly consistent through the year. Japanese probably, asian for sure, very polite and helpful.

Thanks Shiroma!

There is no way you could get me back in the door of this restaurant. As well as the misleading advertising, the staff who try and push you inside with offers they can't then deliver, the food is totally awful!

They try and sell you that the Evening Standard gave them five stars, (so does their website) but whatever has happened since then, their food is awful.

If this isn't MSG colouring, then it must be something even worse, because reds are bright (almost fresh blood red) while the vegetables look like they've had better days.

Don't be tempted guys.

I took my wife to Thackery's for a pre-Valentine's meal on the weekend. The restaurant is located in Tunbridge Wells which is in many ways a perfect little slice of England and the restaurant itself fits in perfectly with the town centre surroundings. It is a quaint little building, white on the outside just infront of the Green. There is enough parking around that is free after about 6pm, (although this isn't mentioned on their website and would have been useful).

We went for the taster menu which at £65 per person (and I went for the paired wines at £30 extra) is quite ambitious with quite a few courses... Here's what I had, (my wife had the other choices as there were only 2 starters, 2 mains, 2 desserts. This way we sampled everything)

Amuse Bouche
PAN FRIED LANDES FOIE GRAS
TIAN OF CORNISH CRAB AND AVOCADO
SORBET
ROAST LOIN OF LOCAL VENISON
'CHEESE PLATE'
DARK CHOCOLATE AND HONEYCOMB FONDANT
Coffee and Petit Fours

As you can see quite a long menu. The portions by the end of the meal were just right, I myself was quite full so that was great. In detail, the Foie Gras was good, very smooth and a lovely rich taste. The Tian of crab was excellent, sweet and beautifully presented. The sorbet, very small but a perfect "cleaning dish" and a lovely rich taste.

My Venison was great, I loved it and it was generous however my wife had the baked atlantic cod and she was disapointed with this. It was under seasoned. Her starter of Dover sole terrine was also the same, slightly bland.

The cheese plate was good, but it was at this point that the service really seemed to start to drop away. For a start, no one explained the cheeses (or named them) until I grabbed a passing waiter. Then, the fondant was overdone and not at all soft (my wife had a great dessert though, really lovely).

At this point we were asked if we wouldn't mind having our coffee and petit fours in another room. We hadn't been slow but they seemed to have got other customers wanting our tables. So we were moved upstairs to a bar next to a rather noisy group. Sadly we werethen forgotten about. Eventually the tea arrived, but without the petit fours. Eventually these were brought into the room but left on the counter (the waitress obviously not knowing who they were for).

The room was pretty cold for my wife in her dress and with the party next door it wasn't a great way to end the evening. They then got the bill wrong (after not bringing it for about 20 minutes after asking) by charging us for the tea and coffee despite it being included. We pointed this out, got a refund, but they didn't refund the 12.5% service they had put on these incorrect items. I know it was only about £2, but the thought didn't cross their mind that the gratuity amount was wrong due to their error.

At £65 + £65 + £30 (wine pairing which was very very good) and more for bottled water, this is expensive. Just under £200 all in.

Three stars for the total fall away in service, incorrect bill, incorrect gratuity, moving us upstairs and for the fact that my chair was on a floorboard that whenever a waiter walked behind it, would sink then bounce upwards. Heh.

Overall, lovely food for the most, but we wouldn't come back again. Chapter One in Bromley retains a Michelin Star, is about £32 for a three course set menu and the service is better.

Decent (better than Itsu!) Japanese place near Brick Lane, the banks around Bishopsgate and so on. Right near All Saints as well as Spitalfields market, so there's a lot to see and plenty of places to eat. Japanika manages to step up to the ball and deliver good Sushii, and good hot dishes such as Katsu curry all in nice takeaway format. There is a tiny seating area, but because the place gets so busy with customers I've never felt like sitting down!

Over time, the food has stayed consistent. It's not exceptional, but by no means is it average, so that's a pretty neat thing for Japanese food in this format.

Price wise, they keep raising them. It's slightly disapointing because before you could get a drink, some sushi and maybe a Pumpkin Koroke with a bit of change from a £10, now you don't at all. Itsu, with the "Health and Happiness" boxes has more variety and quantity for less cost, so I do find myself drawn there more now.

If Japanika had some form of loyalty card, or something to encourage repeat vists (similiar to Nandos, Chopped, or sth) then I'd come back more. Free Pumpkin Koroke after after £30 spent? I don't know, but it'd work for me!).

Anyway, worth a visit :)

From the outside this place is impressive and occupies a great location near Trafalgar Square. However, it is the inside that is now letting this place down.

The restaurant was pretty empty but getting service was difficult. It seemed the two girls on the floor preferred to clean glasses while chatting at the till rather than serve my friend and I. We got halfway through the menu and noticied there are no alcoholic drinks on the menu, after querying (as it didn't used to be like this - I'd been two years before) we were told the Manager didn't want to serve alcohol anymore.

Wasn't making money? Religious? I have no idea, but it would have been nice to be told before we went in. Their website still shows alcohol, (wine / beer / etc).

Anyway, food was pretty dire, nothing different to what people have written above, so I won't bore the review with it. What a shame, I love Malysian.

In my view this has gone downhill since those years ago, and not just because of the alcohol incident! We won't be coming back and that is a pity, for such a good location to have a poor restaurant there is shocking.

The Good Earth is a well located Chinese restaurant. Near the museums of South Kensington as well as good public transport and the Royal Albert Hall, it seemed a perfect location to eat at before seeing "Totem" at the Hall on Saturday evening. It was also close to Chinese New Year and our first choice "Min Jiang - Royal Garden Hotel" was fully booked.

We got there on time and the restaurant was ready for us, the service was efficient and polite (although no one took a drinks order). The menu is somewhat limited, with a choice of four or so set deals (starting at about £29pp) and then having standard starters and mains. There is also unusually a good Vegetarian section, with quite a few more than average dishes.

We ordered four dishes, which for two people was enough, (Singapore Rice Noodles, Fried French Beans, an Aubergine dish and Spicy Lamb) which in total with one beer came to just under £50, so therefore a fairly expensive evening already.

Food was delivered very quickly, unusually so (about ten minutes) so this was a good thing, but perhaps betrays the takeaway concept that some of this chain have. Anyway, the beans were good (crispy, salty and generally nice), but the other dishes were average at best. In particular Singapore Rice Noodles which should be an explosion of colour, taste and so on was a small portion and lacked that zing, taste and character. The lamb was spicy, but that was about it while the aubergine was far the biggest disapointment. We love Aubergine dishes and have had some great ones at various asian restaurants, but these were mushy with very little texture or taste having soaked in and an unusually gloopy sauce.

It was by no means "Bad", you wouldn't send food back at all, but for £50, in a nice location I would expected a bit more. As it was with food and service I would have given it three stars. What dropped it to two was the table layouts, you were so close to other people that private conversations were impossible. There was no background music and with everyone keeping their voices down to try and have some kind of romantic or private night together, it was dire. Literally there was just under 2 foot between my table and the one on either side.

Anyway, not a fan of things like that. At least some background music might have livened the place up a bit?

Sake No Hana located in London (near the Ritz) was on offer on Toptable for 50% off the standard menu (excluding Sushi). Based on their nice (but expensive) cocktail list and the good selection of interesting food on the main menu off we went.

Now, these days I'm lucky to be in the position that an expensive meal can be done once a month without much fuss and Sake No Hana would have been without the 50% easily £140 - £150 for two with only one drink each. So well worth pointing out that this is very expensive...

Anyway, we arrived a little early for our table and were pleased we could take a seat anyway. The restaurant was pretty full at this time but only got busier through the evening. It is really pretty inside and well decorated in a simple but elegant way.

Our waiter informed us that five or six dishes for the two of us was the right amount to order. We went for;

i) Sesame Aubergines
ii) Tofu done three ways
iii) Iron Pot black cod rice
iv) Sukiyaki Rib of Beef (cooked at the table)
v) Kinome Alaskan crab with ponzu butter

Total full price cost £90 which when you include cocktails at £9.5 each or wine starting from around £30 a bottle added up :)

Sorry, but the food was not great. The Kinome crab was three small sections of leg, one of which was burnt. The Rib of Beef was good, but the waiters leave the table while it was cooking and it was overdone as they didn't turn the gas off when they came back the first time. The Iron Pot was great, really good fish, good taste and high quality rice, so we loved that. But the two smaller dishes of aubergine and tofu were bland and uninspiring.

Overall, with very small portions, and not that great taste, it's a real shame. They should go back to basics before trying to run. Donzoko really beats this place handsdown and is so much more authentic.

I went to Kenza recently on the Toptable offer that's doing the rounds for a "Feast" style menu for £42 for two. We also splashed out on some of the drinks which are pretty expensive (Cocktails around £10 each).

The place is really nice inside, the decoration, the vibe and so on. On the night we were there, they had a fortune teller set aside in one area as well as the usual belly dancing that seems to happen every hour or so (you'll most likely see it if you dine there).

So, a really good atmosphere and good service, but I wasn't impressed with the Food. Small plates of various treats to start with, which were good but often in my view underseasoned. A single main dish was brought which was again small and this was a selection of different meats, well seasoned but very similiar to each other, it was served on I think a bed of rice, well done, but I wouldn't pay for it as a main on its own. The desserts were good, fruit, small puddings and some great turkish delight.

I would have liked better tastes, while it might be defined a 'feast', if they cut down on a few small dishes at the start and really concentrated on flavour that would be good for the remaining dishes.

Overall, it's not going to be a regular, not affordable on a regular basis and you can get as lovely cocktails (they were very good) elsewhere for £6 or £7, instead of £10, a sizeable saving :)