Hotel Blogs - When Hotel Marketing gets Social

Been there...#13

 13/20

Sukho
855 Fulham Road, London, SW6 5HJ

It’s been a while I haven’t tried a new Thai restaurant in London. My other half took me the other day at Sukho restaurant on Fulham Road for my birthday. In the past, everytime we passed that restaurant in the evening, it was always been very busy. That day, this wasn’t going to change. At 9pm, the restaurant was full.

Once you enter in the restaurant, you are greeted by the traditional dressed Thai personnel with the jointed hands sign. The menu is not the common one you would find in any Thai restaurant. There are a lot of imaginative courses. I have tried for a starter the crab meat rolls which were very thin and very tasty. This was coming with some chilli sauce. A real treat. I would have liked a bigger portion though. Then the main course was 8 grilled scallops in their shells and another type of chilli sauce (I love chilli) with some coconut rice and grilled asparagus/broccoli. Usually, this meal is either too cooked or the quality of the product is really cheap. But in this restaurant, that course was perfect. Dessert was a simple mango with ice cream. We had a bottle of German Riesling coming with it. The décor of the restaurant is sober and features some Thai objects.

I can’t say I was gob smacked by the décor but I wasn’t coming for this anyway. I have always heard good reviews about the food and the chef and I am definitely one of those happy customers now. The bill came up to about £40 per head with a bottle of white Italian white wine. A very good Thai restaurant indeed run by a chef from Bangkok’s world-famous Mandarin Oriental hotel.

Technorati Tags: thai restaurant, thai restaurant in london, Sukho Thai

Been there...#12

Wetherby's
5-25 Harrington Gardens, Gloucester Road, London, SW7 4JB

I am always worried when I don’t see many reviews on a restaurant. Wetherby's has one at the moment and it is positive. I was looking for an English restaurant nearby Gloucester Road and I found Wetherby's. The restaurant is located inside the NH Harrington Hall hotel. When we arrived, the restaurant was empty and the lobby/bar a bit busy. After an hour at the bar, we decided to go the restaurant and got a great table in the middle of the room by this huge fake Christmas tree. The décor of the restaurant is very classic. We order main courses directly (Seabass with Asparagus and Ravioli, Rack of Lamb with Cabbage and…).and a bottle of some Spanish rosé. All courses were good with a large portion with different tastes on a plate. I wish that the sauce with my seabass had been less watery. We order also some good selection of cheese and a sticky toffee pudding. The staff was very nice and welcoming. We were served by a very amicable and smiley Dutch waitress who did the Netherlands Breda hotel school. Something that was missing was the atmosphere. There wasn’t any. In fact, we were the only customers the whole evening we were there. But we couldn’t complain. For a change, we didn’t have to shout at each other to follow a conversation. The service was spot on. And we were happy customers in the end. The bill was about £30 per head (with no starters and coffees). So if you are struggling with the organization of your Xmas party, go there…you would probably find some availability.

La Rueda (Wigmore Street)
102 Wigmore Street, London, W1U 3RL

Last Saturday, we spent our day on Christmas shopping on Oxford Street in London. There is nothing better than stopping by a tapas restaurant for an hour to relieve your legs and get some good food. La Rueda did definitely fulfil those needs. We ordered 6 tapas for 2 people and that was plenty of food. The tapas came up quite quickly and were delicious (Octopus, Jamon Serrano, Smoked Salmon Omelette, Sardines, Potato Salad). We had also a half bottle of white wine Marques de Caceres. The staff was very nice and efficient. After an hour we were out for another session of shopping with happy stomachs. The bill reached £40 for two, so very reasonable. La Rueda is simply worth the trip. Try it!

Tiles
36 Buckingham Palace Road, Victoria, London, SW1W 0RE

Well according to older reviews, that restaurant should have been a nice experience. Not for me. We were there mid week to celebrate a birthday. The place was full with some nice ambiance. Downstairs, the décor is quite warm. We were near a table of people drinking crazy and got very loud all evening. It was very annoying to understand the conversation at our table. About the food, the menu is dead simple. There are 5 starters, 5 main courses and one dish of the day. But courses are so uninspiring, so déjà vu. When we make the order, we were told that for starters they only have left 2 portions of this, 1 portion of that so basically every we wanted to order we would have to battle about who is getting what. In the end, I went for the smoked salmon rillette. My girlfriend went for the ridiculously small hallimi on a bed of salad. For the main course, I decided to be adventurous. I took the awful penne pasta with seafood marinara. I don’t know how you can mess this dish up. It is so simple to make (just read the recipe from Jamie Oliver). But no… the dish was terrible. There wasn’t simply enough seafood and too much of the so-called “marinara”. My other friends were satisfied with their steak though. The service was so amateurish, we must have waited 30 minutes to get our starter and another 45 minutes for our main courses. Terrible. Even though the staff is very nice, the quality of service is not very good. We even spotted them smoking behind the bar with their manager unable to manage this full restaurant. The bill came up for £25 per head (with one bottle of wine).

I don’t know for how long this restaurant has been running but it definitely needs some help. Gordon! Rescue them please!

Technorati Tags: restaurant, restaurants, wetherby's, tiles, la rueda, london

Been there...#11

16/20

L'Etranger
36 Gloucester Road, London, SW7 4QT

I have been living in London for 6 years and God knows how many times I have been to Gloucester Road and I have never noticed L’Etranger before. On a Wednesday night we had this fantastic experience with my partner and a good friend mine to try this French/Japanese cuisine. We sit in the 2^nd room by this amazing wine cellar, which is on its own worth the trip to this restaurant. The décor of the restaurant is mostly black and white and very soft in terms of light, which makes the room quite discreet and private. The food was absolutely superb and original. I have chosen for starter fresh oysters on a bed of ice with different sauces (wasabi, citrus) and for main course a well presented plateau of sashimi with again a different choice of sauces. To drink, L’Etranger has a remarkable wine list for all prices. For the wine, we opted for a bottle St Estéphe – a real pleasure to drink even married with complex tasty food like Oyster and Sashimi. The service was spotless and friendly. When the staff was bringing the dishes, they were explaining each course which is always nice if you don’t remember what you order exactly. The price per person is about £50 which wasn’t a surprise considering the beautiful wine and the quality of the fish we had. In the end, highly recommended.

 

14/20

Le Garrick
10 Garrick Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 9BH

This is one of these hidden secrets in Central London you find by walking slowly in the busy streets around Covent Garden. We were a party of four looking for a quick dinner around 7pm and that exactly what were looking for. The restaurant is on 2 floors, ground floor and lower ground floor. The lower ground floor is a bit like a long wine cave with tables from 2 people to 8 (there is this great kind of alcove when you can accommodate 8 people in a round table). The food is traditional French with no complications. We order main courses straight away with 3 "onglets" pepper sauce and 1 mussels served with French fries of course. Then we finished our dinner with 1 cheese plateau and 1 “pot au chocolat” and some coffee. For the wine, we drunk a bottle of white Bergerac, which I didn’t fancy too much but it was ok for the price though (only 17£ which is good for London). The bill was light for a change, only 80 pounds for 4 persons. The service is fast, friendly and eager to help you out. This is a kind of place I would recommend before going to a theatre or see a movie or before a drinking session in the West End bars.

Technorati Tags: restaurant in london, le garrick, l'etranger, restaurant, london, restaurants

Last night, I have tried Blue Elephant...

It was about time to finally experience one the finest Thai restaurant in London called Blue Elephant. If you don't live in London, there are other branches in cities like Paris, Moscow or Brussels.

The Blue Elephant in London is located in the area of Fulham not so far from the football Chelsea stadium.

From the outside, it looks ordinary but when inside you seem to enter in a magical Thai heaven where waitresses in traditional Thai costumes are welcoming you. On the way to go to the table, you pass by different areas like a bridge with water full of big koi fishes with a lot of plants all around you. That restaurant is full of decorative ambiance which reminds you where you are. The place is big (a bit similar to La Porte des Indes).

The menu is suggesting a lot of courses as well as a menu served on the table. We all decided to take the menu which is a mix of starters servers in a platter (soft shell crabs, dim sums, spring rolls, spicy vegetables and various sauces) and then different dishes for main courses (grilled Thai prawns, Lamb curry, Thai noodles with prawns, Salmon curry, rice...). Finally a quick desert with Dragon fruit, papaya and some yellow vermicelli cake (the low point of the menu). The menu is very rich, we couldn't finish our main courses.

The food is really tasty with different flavours and well presented. Service table was efficient besides the fact the restaurant was absolutely full with at least 6 large tables birthdays (yes waiters are coming to the table singing Happy Birthday twice...). The bill came to £50 per person with the menu at £35 and one bottle of wine, water, coffee and service charge. Something you are expecting to pay in London for such a restaurant. No surprises there.

Anyway, that was a pleasant experience that I recommend to you if you are in town and wants to experience a traditional Thai restaurant with proper delicious food.

If you want to discover other restaurants that I have reviewed, it's here.

Technorati Tags: restaurant in london, blue elephant, restaurant, london

Ibis Hotels ad message about their restaurant...

Ibis Hotels  (part of the hotel giant group Accor) trying to keep their guests inside their hotel for a dinner or lunch.

Did you experience yourself a meal at Ibis Hotels ?

Technorati Tags: ibis, ibis hotels, accor

Have you tried Bertorelli restaurant ?

11/13 Frith Street, Soho, London, W1D 4RB / Tel: 020 7494 3491



In the heart of Soho close to Wardour Street, there is this italian restaurant Bertorelli (part of Chez Gerrard group). You can eat pizzas, pasta, Italian courses like veal escalopes...
1st floor is the bar, ground floor is the restaurant which was very busy last Wednesday.
Food was good...I have opted to the traditional Linguini alla Vongole (basically pasta with chili, clams, garlic) and my friends at the table also like the food. Now the negative, we couldn't hear eachother...the restaurant is way too noisy with some pianist trying to make his mark by playing over people's voice. I could stay there more than an hour...it was too much. I also found that in such a restaurant where the bill comes up to 25£ per head, you shouldn't get paper napkins. Staff was nice but a bit slow because that evening was really really busy. When I ask a spoon to eat my pasta, I got a desert spoon. The reason from a member of the staff was "I am sorry but the restaurant is so busy tonight..."...so so improvement needs to be made I think...

Technorati Tags: soho restaurant, bertorelli, London

Have you tried Paradiso E Inferno ?

Paradiso E Inferno, 389 Strand, London, WC2R 0LT Tel: 020 7836 7491

Last week, after seeing a young opera of Mozart "Il Re Pastore" at Roya Opera House in Covent Garden (London), we headed to an Italian restaurant on the Strand called "Paradiso E Inferno". This restaurant is on a split level: ground (Paradiso) and lower floor (Inferno). We were seated in Inferno and got a fantastic meal. I had a rare T-bone steak with vegetables and my partner Veal Escalopes. For starters, we had a selection of cold meats. The service was efficient and quick and the quality of the food was superb. Definitely a place to go after the theatre/opera if you are nearby Covent Garden. The bill came up to £55 for 2 persons (no wine though only a beer and a bottle of sparkling water).

Technorati Tags: restaurants, London

I have tried Opus One in Manchester...

I have tried last week in Manchester the restaurant Opus One at the Radisson Edwardian which is new so does the hotel (only 1 year old I think). First, you enter the restaurant with a rounded bar with a small seating area to enjoy your drinks. The restaurant room is in the red theme and provides different types of tables for any kind of occasions. That day, the restaurant was not busy and we had immediate attention. We went for a light dinner with no fuss. The menu is typically English Classics with leg of lamb, lemon sole or beef Wellington. Our main courses were good with no surprise but well served. With a pint of Guinness, a bottle of sparkling water and 2 main courses, the bill came up to 50£. I believe the restaurant must be quite different on a Saturday (we were there on a Tuesday night). At the end of our meal, the waitress suggested us to fulfil they feedback questionnaire, which we are always happy to fill in. The only problem was the questionnaire was designed for hotel guests and not for restaurant guests. So, we left it there.

Technorati Tags: restaurants, Manchester, radisson, hotels

 

Have you been to "La Porte des Indes"?

I have tried last week another Indian restaurant in London that was highly recommended on restaurant guides by its wonderful decor. The restaurant is called La Porte des Indes and is located by Marble Arch. The restaurant is on different floors and can seat up to 300 rooms (it does have private rooms as well). The decor is indeed fabulous. Feels like eating in the jungle a bit.

The menu is quite attractive and original (by that I mean you get something different from the usual Korma and Vindaloo...)The food is delicious. We have tried different courses with prawns, duck and rack of lamb. For 4 people, the bill came up to 38 pounds each with lot of water (staff tends to over serve the water without you realising it!).

All in all, great food, good service and nice decor what else can you ask for...

Tags Technorati:restaurants, la porte des indes

I have tried the restaurant "Le Relais de Venise" in London...

I wanted to try the restaurant "Le Relais de Venise, l'Entrecote" in London for quite a while and last night it happened. With my partner and a couple of friends, we discovered this place close to the beginning of Marylebone High Street (the address is 120 Marylebone Lane, London W1U 2QG, 020 7486 0878). The inside is typically like a French brasserie with  rows of tables almost adjacent to each other. The menu is simple...there is no menu. The dinner was salad with vinaigrette for a starter and entrecote trims of entrecote steak with a delicious sauce and plenty of French fries. We had a bottle of red wine "Pays d'Oc" (only 18£ the bottle). We also got a second round of the main course.The only menu you get is for desserts and wines. The desserts are very tempting from Lemon Tart, Vacherin, Profiterolles, Mont Blanc...The dinner was quickly served and the staff efficient and welcoming. At the beginning, the restaurant was half empty but then around 8.30pm, it was totally full with people waiting inside to get a table available. The bill is gentle 30£ per head with wine and desserts. The entrecote and salad is only 17£. My conclusion is if you are looking for an easy lunch/dinner and quality (steak only) food in London with no frills....just go there!

Technorati Tags: restaurant, /london, /entrecote, /le relais de venise