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

Signor Sassi (Knightsbridge)

So I was in the area and without strolling too far away from the shops stood Signor Sassi. This place is filled to the brim with customers during the lunch hour and you might have thought the staff can get a little grumpy having to attend to so many tables - they're not.

I can truly say that the staff, especially the ones singing in Italian (and to my surprise, they sing rathe well!), are full of energy and probably are as lively as they come. Everyone was helpful and happy to serve you and that's how all the staff at restaurants ought to be. After making my orders I had my share of bread and butter and nibbled on the olives (I was never a fan though) and waited for my food which arrived rather promptly. The white bait could be a little more on the crispier side and my smoked salmon although quite nice, well, wasn't particularly generous. As for the pork slices (do forgive me for not remembering/noting the actual name...yes, yes, I'm no professional food blogger, just a passionate one), they were succulent and tender and the sauce was really well-flavoured. YET, in capital letters, I was utterly disappointed with my Carbonara. It's a dish any Italian restaurant serves and I thought this safe choice couldn't possibly go wrong at a place that oozes "Italian" but it did. It looked practically perfect when it landed on my table but when I started mixing in the extra Parmesan shavings I discovered the eggs that have clumped together - not impressed. As for the flavour, let's just say I've had (MUCH) better Carbonaras. On the plus side, the waiter had a sense of humour when he said "ah extra calories for you sir" as he was grating all that extra cheese into my pasta - I guess someone had to say it out loud!

On to the desserts, the strawberry cheesecake didn't help make my view of the restaurant any better as it simply didn't satisfy. Nonetheless, my poached pear with hazelnut ice-cream did redeem this place some plus points. The ice-cream was incredibly smooth and rich in nutty flavours. The best part? It went together with the pair beautifully.

Seriously big olives.

Butter - French would have been nice.

Fried white bait with tartare sauce.

Crab meat and prawns wrapped in smoked salmon.

I *think* it's pork...or possibly veal, or maybe even venison - but let's go with pork.

Spaghetti Carbonara.

Strawberry cheesecake.

Poached pear and hazelnut ice-cream.

Phone: +44 207 584 2277

Ping Pong Dim Dum (Soho)

So this place comes down to just a dimsum restaurant that looks more modern than typical Chinese restaurants down in China Town. The space was open and although it was quite early when I went, it was already filling up.

To be honest though, everything apart from the drinks failed to impress. I've had much better dimsum (and if anything, at a much better bargain) and unless you happen to be in the area, starving and craving for some dimsum - commute a bit and you'll be better off in China Town.

I can't quite put my finger on what's missing but everything just didn't taste particularly exciting. The seemingly interesting contemporary dimsum dishes failed epically and well, I hope they learn to come up with newer and better menus. But at the end of the day I doubt it though, they're raking in enough customers and why fix something that isn't broken right? Ah well, definitely not the first place I'll go to for good dimsum though.

The menu.

The ambiance.

Green apple and sage (left) and Strawberry, peach and orange (right).

Chicken puff, Honey roasted barbecue chicken in hand made puff pastry topped with pineapple.

Vegetable puff, Sautéed vegetables in a honey sauce in hand made puff pastry

Chicken and black pepper spring roll, Honey roasted chicken sprinkled with black pepper wrapped in wheat flour pastry, served with spicy mango sauce

Crispy prawn ball, Chopped king prawns and spring onions in shredded egg pastry served with sweet and sour sauce

Chive dumpling, King prawns and chives in green chive pastry

Traditional Sticky Rice, Rice with chicken, pork and king prawns wrapped in a Lotus leaf

Website: here
Phone: +44 207 851 6969