Profil von JemmaW

Ok, so I was unsure about telling everyone about this one. Because it is the best. Secret place. Ever.

From the outside it looks like the place they go on The Apprentice when they’re about to be fired. The first time I was brought here by a colleague I braced myself for a plateful of grease. But The Nile Cafe is sneaky. The owner, Phil, puts heart and soul into the weekly menu. I have had sauteed rump steak in red wine, Tuna steak, marinated chicken and each has been amazing and under £5. Honestly. I went for the burger once when I had a hangover and it put the gourmet chains to shame. It was huge, well seasoned and lean.

You have to try it – just don’t tell too many people…

New incredible clothes shop with the most beautiful reproduction clothes from the 1920s-1940s. The choices are breathtaking and I could live in here. I want one of everything.

The beautiful art deco furniture displaying the array of dresses and swing music playing in the background make a wonderful atmosphere. The service is also amazingly friendly and Rowena, the owner, gives honest expert advice about what works and what doesn’t.

Guerilla Burgers is a really good burger joint and would be the perfect pitstop to refuel during gruelling shopping trips (if you're insane enough to shop on Oxford street...) It has a nice laid back atmosphere, the staff are friendly and the service is quick. The burgers are huge and good (though I have to say the burger patties themselves are not remarkable, the green chilli chutney that came on mine was delicious) Then there's the sweet potato fries, which are a good enough reason to go there in the first place! why don't more places do them? After having had my arm twisted into having desert (I was so full I didn't think I could manage even a mouthful - turns out I could...) I can also recommend the chocolate brownie.

Having read the other reviews, maybe I just ordered the wrong thing. I went to FFT for lunch and a catch up with a friend this weekend and although the salads that I had along side and were delicious, a uni student who'd just raided the veggies at their local convenience store could have made a better stir fry. It was tepid, soggy and really bland.
The friendly casual vibe was really nice though, with a canteen feeling to queuing up for food then sharing tables with jugs of water dotted around. I would go back and give it another shot but would give the stir fry a wide berth.

Fun, different and interesting. Not usually things you'd say about a gym. But Move Your Frame manages to feel like the most un-gym-like gym you can imagine. Which is excellent. And devious.

I'm going to Vibe here quite a lot at the moment because a) it's a 2 minute hop from my office and b) I ate too many pies. The instructors are pretty tough bvut very good. I know this because of my lack of ability to walk down stairs the next day. Anything that hurts this much must be doing you good...

The staff are friendly and helpful and the choices of class are incredible. I can't wait to have a free Wednesday night so I can go and do their 80's aerobics class. Hold on a sec, they actually managed to get me to say I can't wait til I'm not out drinking and eating so I can go and do some exercise - they're so getting another star for that...

I was really disappointed by Lounge Bohemia. Rather than quirky hidden away decadent den it just feels really try hard.
The staff were distant and disinterested to us and I saw the barman being horribly patronising to another customer who asked a question. It was quite quiet, even on a Friday night, and the atmosphere lacking - it seemed like everyone was looking around to see if anyone else was cool and having fun. The cocktails were unspectacular and the little nibbles served with them were, although a nice touch, nothing to speak of.
The music was a really good atmospheric backdrop and the decor is fantastic but something about the whole place missed for me. Maybe on another night with a bit more life in the place I would have a different opinion but I won't bother to rush back to find out.

I should have known better. I really should.

Popped in here on Bank Holiday Monday because it's my new local. It was pretty quiet but there were a few groups of people dotted about. The best thing was the big selection of board games. A couple of pints and winning an epic scrabble battle was a great way to top off a long weekend. This place could actually be really good with a bit more atmosphere, it's got nothing on The Fullback or The Old dairy but it's definitely not a bad place to have on my doorstep.

At first I was slightly confused. I'd popped in to meet a couple of friend's for an impromptu quiet Friday night drink. But inside Annies Bar it was as if an England world up game had collided with a hen party in someone's living room and transported us all back to the 70's. The DJ was playing Chaz & Dave and Come on Eileen and men in England shirts were dancing and drinking pink cocktails. It took me a while to work it out, despite the red and white balloons everywhere and 'St George's Day Happy Hour Specials' being written on the menu on the table in front of me (it had been a long week ok). This wasn't a typical Friday night. So "Leaning on Lampost' aside (which incidentally remained imbedded in my brain for most of the following week) the bar was quite nice. The staff were lovely but really slow, despite having put cocktail specials on, only one staff member could actually make cocktails and even then they were OK but not great. The decor was really nice and the prices reasonable.
I'd definitely be keen to see what it's like without Chaz N Dave.

I went for a curry with my Dad last night and it was good, though not excellent. Now my family are a little curry obsessed - so I'm probably a little over critical, but it just didn't really do it for me.
The mango chutney that came with the poppadoms was too sweet and too runny. I had a lamb dish which was spicy and lemony (can't remember what it was called), it was nice and something a little different from the normal offerings, but the sag bhagi was just weird (tasted a bit like air freshener for some reason)
The service was really good though - the waiter was really funny and friendly. The tables were way too close together though, we had to rescue drinks from people trying to squidge into the next table.
All in all it was fine, I'd eat there again but would probably give somewhere else a go first.