Profil von cah197

For those that haven’t been, I’ve uploaded a picture of the view from the tables on the riverside. Location is everything when it comes to eating out, and this place probably has one of the best in town.

The menu is fairly middle-range price wise for London and the food is pretty good. They do a decent range of shellfish and i went for some Oysters to start - very nice, but couldn’t do more than 6.

For those that want the ambience without the budget, they do a set menu for around £20-£30. If you want the a la carte the whole affair with wine is probably going to be anywhere from £60-£80 a head. However they have a VERY large wine list so you can really splash out here if you’re so inclined.

There are two dining areas - the restaurant or the bar. From what I could see the restaurant had tablecloths, but the menu is pretty much the same and the bar has outside seating with the same view. If you’re after some food without the fuss, go to the bar. If you want to spend a whole evening book into the restaurant. I was told it wasn’t possible to book the outside seating, so I guess this is an incentive to arrive early and nab a good seat.

The clientele (from what I could see) was mainly bankers with their doll-like estuary girlfriends, but don’t let that put you off as they’re not total horays. Nice staff though, who were pretty slick once we were sat down.

Nice theme and approach that is different to most indian restaurants.

The trouble with 'authentic’ Indian cuisine is that there is such a wide variety of styles and tastes in the subcontinent that it’s difficult to say that any region in particular really sums up Indian cooking.

However, compared with my experience of India, it’s not a bad resemblance of the food in Northern India. Chipattis where top, made with brown flower as was the Rogan Josh - lots of flavour and you could really taste the spices. Dahl was a little runny but rice was really good. To top if off they do real Indian desserts (not just Kulfi!!!), I had ice cream and Gulab Jamon which is a great way to finish a good Indian.

Food came in a flash, it’s clear they make everything en mass and serve it up to order. The quality is still great though.

I even managed to get a photo of the dolls - nice touch. Can anyone spot which Hindu gods are represented on the ceiling for me? Oh yeah, bill came to £22 inc drink which isn’t too bad at all.

Top place this - bit like an upmarket travelodge. Rooms are neat and simple, none of that fussy, flowery wallpaper. Just modern, light decor and iMacs in all the rooms with free internet. Now we’re talking!

I use this one when I’m working in town as it’s pretty convenient and in a quiet part of the city, yet very near the centre.

I don’t think this place has a pool, but it does have a gym which I’ve yet to check out.

There’s a nice bar and the restaurant seems OK. Breakfast here starts at £12 for continental or £17 for full English. This is why I just opt for coffee and a bagel in the morning.

Nice location, near to some great restaurants - check out my previous reviews.

Stayed here last week for a conference, never having visited Brussels before. Took the Eurostar, so this place get points for being a 10 euro taxi ride from Gare-du-midi.

Nice reception area and situated in the good part of town, but a short walk from all the nightlife and downtown cafes and restaurants. Only downside is the square opposite which appears to be were all the drunks hang out to urinate and fight. Maybe the gendarme need to clean this up?

Although it’s set up as a 5 star affair, the rooms are beginning to look a little dated. The beds were very comfortable (as advertised) and I had a great night’s sleep. So much so I sacked off the morning run I had planned! Not a great loss, Brussels doesn’t seem like a great place to go running.

I didn’t try the cafe or restaurants in the hotel, but was assured by the concierge that the tow restaurants next door were very good.

This place has very large conference facilities and had all the trimmings. Great set-up for a working breakfast, lunch or afternoon tea. I expect they charge a small fortune for this, but as usual the European Union were paying for this one.

I’ve walked up Villiers street I don’t know how many times and never seen this place, tucked away under one of the arches under Charing Cross station.

This is basically an underground cavern, frequented by many city types (read toffs). I was there last week with many of them, civil servant types who were all well behaved. I can understand how this may attract the odd arrogant wanker, but then any place in the Strand is going to have that problem isn’t it?

The cool thing about this place is all the little “meeting rooms dotted around the underground bar, so you can have your own cosy area with friends - or book out a room for a meeting/client dinner etc.

Didn’t get a chance to try the food as this was a ‘wet’ works do, but this is a good meeting place with no music so good for those that like a pint and a chat with friends.

I’m not a fan of Italian restaurants, mainly because I’ve had so many bad experiences with either rip-off chains that boil it in a bag or cheap and nasty cafes that are an insult to Italian cuisine. So when I was invited one evening by an Italian work colleague, I knew I’d find this place to be at least half decent.

Like everyone else, I went to the Tuscan restaurant at the other end of Marylebone Lane. I was there with a few other people who had done the same, which must really piss off the staff having to constantly tell every other customer to go down to the ‘other’ restaurant! Although on initial impressions, the layout of the Caffe seemed better than the Tuscan restaurant.

We sat downstairs in the wine bar, which I would recommend as it’s got a nice ‘bustley’ feel to it. My Italian friend recommended the cured meat platter for starters and some prossecco. Again this is the first time I’ve experienced proper cured meats in an Italian, rather than the shrink wrapped stuff you find in Tescos.

For main course I had escallop of veal, which was beaten flat and breaded in the Italian style. It was also the biggest piece of veal I had ever seen! Very tasty though.

In all some pretty decent flavours, but then this should really be a minimum standard for Italian restaurants. The wine selection was pretty comprehensive too.

Bill came to about £50 a head, all in including wine and coffee, which isn’t too bad for this part of London. Definitely worth a visit.