Megaro (Kings Cross)

[Posted November 15, 2009]

Yet again, happened to be in the area that day and literally just strolled pass this place. It looked interesting and the menu seemed to offer a decent range so I figured why not. The place is a relatively small restaurant on the ground floor of a hotel and although not the busiest of places, served food that didn't disappoint. You're probably thinking, it's in a hotel, duh it serves good food. Given the fact that the price of their food isn't any more expensive than any average London restaurant, the food's nicely done. The service was great too, friendly and attentive (but not overly attentive) waiter. Yet another good find.

Smoked salmon

Buffalo mozzarella rocket salad

Grilled salmon fillet and mash potatoes

Crabmeat spaghetti

Chocolate fondant

Website: here
Phone: +44 207 843 2222

Madsen (South Kensington)

[Posted on November 15, 2009]

So I was in the area that afternoon and stumbled across Madsen. Was it on my list? Yes. Tick. Scandinavian you say? Tick tick. So I headed in and got me and my companions some food for lunch.

The ambiance.

This one's the smoked salmon on rye (?) bread - which of course is something you really can't go wrong with. It was nice and simple - just right I'd say.
The fishcakes, surprisingly tasty.
Here's the grilled mackerel - which wasn't bad either. All in all everything was rather nice. The one thing I'd say though is that the menu doesn't have enough variety. There's a rather small list of cold and hot food and there isn't too much you can choose from. Nevertheless, a good and safe choice to visit!

Website: here
Phone: +44 207 225 2772

Patara (Regent Street)

Ok, first, apologies for the huge lapses between all the posts. But, in all fairness the dates of these recent posts aren't exactly correct since I've uploaded the photos all the way back in August but only just gotten around to writing the review. And to justify as to why this blog has been lacking in activity, I've just started working and well - that pretty much says it all.

Anyhow! Back to Patara. Tucked away just off Regent Street you'll find this Thai restaurant with a twist (there're 3 other branches in Knightsbridge, South Kensington and Soho). I suppose the concept's pretty much the same as Mango Tree (review coming up) but sadly neither of them did a decent job of serving authentic Thai food.

The food itself wasn't too bad but it's simply over-westernised. Maybe it's good business sense to adapt their food but they might have had overdone the adaption and lost the whole essence of real Thai food. All in all I think my pad thai was probably the best dish for the evening followed closely by the Panang curry. The crab cakes were okay but I've had much, much better ones - but sorry to say, the good ones were in Bangkok. The scallops and the duck were...forgettable. My milk tea, however, was excellent. Exactly how it's meant to be.

Service was great, ambiance was perfect for a more sophisticated evening out, and price as you'd expect is on the higher end of the scale. Without wine you're looking at around GBP35-40pp for a meal for two.

Ambiance.

Still water.

Ambiance.

Sour/spicy scallops.

Pu Jaa (crab cakes).

Thai milk tea.

One of the mocktails.

The menu.

Pad thai goong sod (Prawn pad thai).

Panang Gae (Lamb shank panang).

Somtam apple (spicy apple salad).

Ped sauce makarm (Duck leg in tamarind sauce).

Website: here
Phone: +44 207 499 6808

The Fifth Floor Restaurant (Knightsbridge)

That's the currant bread - which was incredibly soft and tasty. To be fair I'm a little biased towards this raisin breads because I like them quite a bit but never mind that, let's get down to business. Below's my attempt at a panorama shot of the restaurant (click to enlarge), which although not perfect, gives you a rough idea of how everything looks. There's definitely that extravagant tough and feel to the place and with the staff all dressed up, you'll definitely feel like a VIP.

I want to keep this post short because there isn't much to complain about but at the same time I'm not all out in praise either. Everything we ordered were nice generally, interesting and flavourful and I'm sure that I'll be making another visit in the months to come.

The ambiance.

Egg Benedict.

Smoked salmon and scrambled eggs.

Grilled yellow-fin tuna.

My sincerest apologies but as I'm backlogging all the way back to June I'm not quite sure what this dish was anymore. I'd like to make a guess but just in case I'm completely off I won't. The menu's changed anyhow and seems worth a second visit.

Belgian waffles.

Web: here
Phone: +44 207 235 5250

Chisou (Regent Street)

Not much to say about this place really. There's nothing wrong with it but at the same time it wasn't particularly memorable either. Having sat outside that evening, grabbing the waitress' attention was next to impossible. That aside, the food came rather promptly and the tuna tartare was somewhat nicer than the rest of the dishes.

It's another one of those convenient places that you'd drop by if you happen to be in the area and don't know where else to go. It's a safe bet - but that's all it is. Price-wise it won't break your bank but it's not exactly on the bargain end of Japanese restaurants either, especially for what you're getting.

Fried tofu.

Vegetable tempura.

Lightly grilled salmon sashimi.

Tuna tartare.

Black cod.

Salmon nigiri.

Web: here
Phone: +44 207 629 3931