Hélène Darroze at the Connaught

Carlos Place, W1K 2AL

This wasn't my choice of restaurant. We were dining with long standing friends, and it was their turn to pick the venue. If being very honest, I would have to say I had reservations about eating here. The menu I looked at online did not appeal to me, and it seemed very expensive. I went in hope the information I'd looked at online was out of date (unlikely and a faint hope, I know, but still ...).

On arrival we were whisked through to a lovely table for four in the window. The dining room is very beautiful. Lots of dark wood and period features suggests a stuffy atmosphere, but it wasn't. It was beautifully lit, and created a lovely atmosphere. We started not with the champagne suggested, but with martinis. They took rather a long time to arrive, but were worth the wait. As ever in such establishments, the question was still or sparkling water. Thankfully we have long got over any intimidation into such waste, and duly requested our tapwater.

And then the menus arrived ...

The Menu:
... and it was the same as the online one. Bugger!

It didn't appeal to me, I guess because it included a lot of flavours I'm not keen on. It was also very fish oriented. If you didn't want to eat fish or seafood, you were left with two starters and three mains to choose from. A lot of the dishes were for two people, and a lot attracted a supplement on top of the fairly stiff £75 for three courses (coffee not included).

We fairly quickly moved on from considering the tasting menu, as a lot of the dishes didn't appeal. For starter I ordered Jerusalem artichoke cooked in a velouté perfumed with Iberico ham, fine ravioli of Basque black pudding, chestnut crumbs, lardons and croutons, traditional Balsamic vinegar from Modéna – 12 year old. Mr PP chose Blue lobster cooked in a large ravioli perfumed with tandoori spices, carrot and confit citrus mousseline, wild sorrel, spring onions reduction with fresh coriander and beurre noisette. Our companions both opted for XXL scallop with black truffle from Périgord, steamed around a Swiss chard leave, roasted Swiss chard, ham jus (£8 supplement).

Onto the mains, and I plumped for Irish salmon pink cooked pavé, green cabbage with bacon, Brussels sprouts, smoked herring emulsion with salmon’s roe. Mr PP and one of our friends both picked Black Basque pork, roasted with black truffle from Périgord, mashed potatoes, braised lettuce with carrot, roasting jus (£15 supplement). Our other friend chose Racan farmed pigeon, spit-roasted and “flambé au capucin”, grilled foie gras from les Landes, quinoa with Medjul dates and Sicilian pistachio, intense jus spiced up with Mexican mollé. Under most circumstances I would have had the pigeon, but I'm not a fan of quinoa.

Rather annoyingly, we had to order dessert at the start. I've never had to do that before, and didn't really like it. I didn't know whether I wanted cheese, or dessert, or how full I'd be, or any of the other things that you take into account at the end of the meal. Still, if them's the rules you've got to play by them.

I went for champagne rhubarb compote and meringue, Sarawak pepper ice cream, almond crumble. Mr PP and one of our friends picked hazelnut roasted and cooked in a praliné mousse, chocolate cream, lemon and thyme foam. And our other friend chose Manjari chocolate dark ganache, passion fruit wafer, passion fruit and orange sorbet.

Given the fish emphasis to the meal, we opted for white wine and settled back in anticipation ...

Our Meal:
As expected, the service was impeccable. Efficient, but personable, with no hint of stuffiness. Glasses were never anywhere close to empty, and any items we finished with removed promptly.

Our first amuse bouche arrived with the menus, consisting of courgette velouté with a parmesan foam, some breadstick type things and some ham on a slate. The velouté and breadsticks were the least of it, but the ham was delicious.

After ordering we were offered bread from a fairly impressive selection, and the second amuse bouche arrived. Foie gras with an apple sorbet and a peanut foam. I couldn't taste the apple at all, and the peanut rather overwhelmed the foie gras, but it was tasty.

On to the starters. There was a lot I liked about mine, but also a lot that I didn't. The Jerusalem artichoke velouté was beautiful. It had a lovely taste, and rich, smooth texture. But it was served slightly tepid - not cold, but not warm either. The ravioli were not terribly tasty and the pasta was a little bit crunchy at the seams. The lardons, chestnut and croutons were lovely, and did lift the dish. Our friends were not terribly impressed by the scallop, both feeling it didn't taste of much. The most flavoursome starter belonged to Mr PP. I tried some, but hadn't fancied curried lobster and I think I was right. Overall, an underwhelming start.

Before the mains arrived, we had a palate cleanser of avocado mousse with pepper and nuts. I don't like avocado, particularly the texture. I thought that might be improved by the mousse texture, but it wasn't and Mr PP had his palate cleansed twice.

I thought they rather missed a trick with the mains. The pork chop, ordered by two of us, was carved at the table. The table behind us. We didn't realise it was ours, so we weren't really watching. A little bit of theatre missed, which was a shame. The star of the mains was the pigeon (and I really regretted my decision not to have it). It was supposed to be served blue, but our friend had it pink. It was, for me, still very pink but perfectly cooked. The pork chop was also delicious and flavoursome. Also served pink, it was moist, tender and surprisingly flavoursome. The mash served with it was smooth and very rich. All this was nicely balanced with the braised lettuce.

In comparison, I was disappointed by my main. It was fine, but it didn't blow me away. I was a bit taken aback that the advertised brussel sprouts were actually five (I counted) leaves peeled from a brussel sprout (that'll keep your costs down - they could serve the whole restaurant using two sprouts). The salmon was cooked perfectly, the skin was gorgeously crispy, and the sauce was full of flavour. The consensus was that the mains were much better than the starters.

If I could have chosen at this point, I'd have had cheese. The rhubarb that I did have was fine but again, I wasn't blown away. The ice-cream tasted very bland, and I don't remember finding the almonds. The hazelnut went down well, but the star of the show was the chocolate, for the passion fruit wafers. They were really rather spectacular looking (apparently they require very particular skills) and tasted delicious.

Overall, for me, I think I found most of the dishes did not have the complexity of flavours that I expect from Michelin starred establishments. And as a fairly expensive menu, I had hoped for better.

We then retired with armagnacs, from the very impressive Darozze collection (I'd missed a table with at least 40 bottles on it on the way in!) and petit fours, to a comfortable lounge, with a fire and the Duchess of York at the table next to us. The armagnacs were delicious and actually rather heady. After that, instead of going on, we were ready to head home on a high.

The bill, including two bottles of wine with dinner and service at 12.5%, was £568.69 for the four of us. To me, far too much really. All those supplements really add up!

What we liked:
The company, the armagnacs, the dining room, the service.

What we didn't like:
The lack of complexity of flavours, and of course, the bill.

Will we go back?:
I can't speak for our friends but I'm afraid to say I wouldn't. Not even if somebody else was paying. I just think there are better places out there.

The Sandwich Box

4a Gillespie Road, N5 1LN

Back up Blackstock Road, to see a man about a door, again ...

Mainly because I wanted a long lie, and stayed in bed until the last possible moment, I ended up at 11.15am in Blackstock Road not having had a thing to eat or drink since I got up at 9am. So before finishing up with the door man and heading home, I decided breakfast was in order.

I popped over to the Star Express, cheerfully contemplating some nice bubble and squeak, blithely forgetting that Arsenal were at home today. It was rammed. Thankfully last week, we had walked down Gillespie Road for the tube, so I remembered The Sandwich Box.

The Menu:
As the name suggests, it's more of a sandwich/lunch type place, but they do a breakfast and a breakfast bap in amongst the baked potatoes, sandwiches and cafe specials. Full breakfast with tea and toast for £3.95 fit the bill.

The Meal:
It's a tiny place, and the only seating is outside, but they have some heaters and the sun is shining so I don't feel the cold too much. Tea, toast and breakfast arrive fairly promptly, all elements hot and tasty. The staff are friendly and the older ladies working there fuss over the young men having breakfast beside me.

The tea was so good another mug was required before heading off, so the whole lot came to £4.85.

What I liked:
The friendly service, good value for money, sitting in the sunshine.

What I didn't like:
Nothing really - it delivered exactly what it promised.

Will I go back?:
If I'm in that neck of the woods, yes. I doubt you'd get a better brew anywhere.

St John's

91 Junction Road, N19 5QU

Mr PP claims that it is not fair to review any restaurant on Valentines night. I disagree.

We've been to St John's before. It's a fairly good gastropub, in the slightly dodgy environs of Archway. Not too overpriced and a good wine list. They have a lovely dining room at the back, but tonight we were booked for a table in the bar. Although we've never tried them, having always been for a meal, they do have the most delicious looking array of bar snacks - oysters, cockles and crisps, baked camembert, patatas bravas, scotch egg and so on.

In general I don't hold with Valentines day/night, etc ... Mr PP has never taken me out for Valentines dinner before. I felt a bit odd and wasn't sure I would like it. In the end, St John's was a good choice, because they weren't doing anything special for it, and most of the bookings were tables of four, so it wasn't some hideous "romantic" menu, with red roses and couples everywhere.

The Menu:
As is traditional in such pubs, the menu is on the chalkboard on one of the bar walls, and had the usual array of gastropub type fare. Starters included several winter warmer soups and gamey treats, while the mains were similarly seasonal, robust dishes.

Mr PP ordered pig's head soldiers with a gherkin and parsley purée (£5), followed by the roast leg of lamb, roast veg, broccolli, leek sauce and rosemary gravy (£14.50). I chose the haddock and crab fish cake with a tarragon mayonnaise (£6.50), and the 1/2 roast peri-peri chicken with sweet potato, rocket and yoghurt dressing (£12.75).

Our Meal:
We were booked for 6.30pm, because they needed the table back by 8.30pm, so the kitchen had only just opened. We settled down at our table by the stove (nice on such a cold, rainy night) with a couple of pints and perused the menu. And then we had to wait rather a long time to order.

We just reckoned that front of house were probably staggering the orders so that the kitchen didn't get slammed, but in hindsight I wonder just how slammed a kitchen gets at 6.30pm. Finally, we did get to order, and then we settled down with a rather nice bottle of red from the good range on the wine list.

An hour later, even the infinitely patient Mr PP was a little bit fed-up. And very hungry. Not a bit of bread or anything had passed our lips, and we were now nearly through the wine. Nobody had thought to come near us to explain what the delay was.

We managed to get some bread and finally our starters showed up. When we'd looked at the menu, we had been more interested by the starters, but in reality they appeared a little underwhelming, but the proof of the pudding ...

Mr PP was a little disappointed by his soldiers, finding them lacking in flavour. The gherkin and parsely purée was punchy and gutsy - just the perfect side if the main element had been a little more robust.

My fish cakes were good - well seasoned, spicy and flavoursome, although the delicate crab was slightly lost in amongst all the other flavours. They weren't hot enough, and had only been fried on one side. But the tarragon mayo and salad were a delicious accompaniment, and overall the dish worked well. At this point I was so hungry I couldn't be bothered to send them back - but I should have.

The mains arrived in reasonable time (a bit of a gap from the starter, but we prefer to have a bit of time between courses, so that suited us fine) and were quite substantial portions. Starters not really required!

Mr PPs lamb ate well, and he particularly liked the leek sauce and abundant thick gravy it was served with.

My chicken was also good - it was very moist and tasty, and did not really suffer from lack of sauce or any wet component to the dish. The sweet potato worked well, and despite my misgivings, the yoghurt dressing complemented the dish.

Normally, we would only have two courses, and if we have a third it will often be cheese. But tonight we both decided to have puds. A rather nice dessert menu offered us a range, all £5, from the substantial (rice pudding, apple and berry crumble) to the lighter (queen of puddings, pear belle hélêne). We ordered treacle tart and clotted cream for Mr PP and chocolate blancmange with raspberry cinder toffee for me, with two glasses of sauterne to wash it all down.

The desserts were fine, but they didn't excite terriby, and did remind me of why I don't usually bother - I find desserts often read better than they taste. My blancmange could certainly have done with a touch more sugar, although the treacle tart was very light and had a good treacley flavour.

Two lattés and two whiskeys finished us off, but by this point the interminably slow service was starting to grate. We were both getting slightly bored with the too-long gaps between courses and having to wait for everything - 10 minutes to get a whisky? In a pub? Really?

With this in mind, we contemplated not paying the service charge. When the bill arrived, we had not been charged for the whisky or the desserts. I am undecided whether this was a complementary gesture or a mistake. I suspect the latter, as they would probably have been at pains to point out a goodwill gesture.

I felt no qualms about not 'fessing up - the reason for this is probably really trivial. But when we booked we were told we had to give the table back by 8.30pm. That was bullshit. Bullshit annoys me. Too often recently I've been told that the table had been re-booked when it hasn't. Well, tonight that cost St John's £20, and the staff their 12.5% of it.

What we liked:
Sitting by the log stove, good enough food, relaxing environment and a nice bar.

What we didn't like:
The slow service, lack of communication, absolutely freezing toilets.

Will we be back?:
We've been a couple of times before and it's been better, so probably yes. If nothing else, I really want to try the bar snacks.

Star Express

154 Blackstock Road, N4 2DY

Just what the doctor ordered after a slightly drunker than planned Friday night. Rather than being able to have a nice long lie, we had to be up at 9am to meet a man about a door. Having done this, in order to face the rest of the day (including a trip into town), a cooked breakfast was required.

We've never been to the Star Express before - there are loads of greasy spoon cafes up and down Blackstock Road, so we picked the nearest one and headed in.

The Menu:
Every conceivable combination of breakfast ingredients. Mr PP swithered between the Builder's Breakfast and the Mega Breakfast, and opted for the Mega in the end- 2 sausages, 2 rashers of bacon, beans, 2 eggs, beans and a fried slice. I opted for the No.3 breakfast with fried slice instead of toast - 2 rashers of bacon, mushrooms, egg and bubble & squeak. We both chose tea.

Our Meal:
The cafe was very clean and quiet - I sometimes find the necessity to have a tinny radio playing some awful commercial station really irritating, and was pleased to recover from the last remnants of my hangover in peace.

A nice strong cup of tea (obviously served with milk already in - there is no other way to drink tea is there?) was followed soon after by the breakfast. It was well cooked, and I particularly enjoyed the fried slice, which was not too greasy. The quality of the ingredients was good for the price, and I've certainly had a lot worse. In essence, it absolutely hit the spot. No pictures because we were so hungry we were halfway through before I remembered!

Both breakfasts, and some Kit-Kats and Dr Pepper for the tube, set us back the princely sum of £10.40. Bargain!

What we liked:
Clean surroundings, value for money food, the variety of breakfast ingredients on offer - I love some bubble for breakfast.

What we didn't like:
Not much - it did exactly what it promised to do.

Will we be back?:
If in the area, in need of a breakfast then yes, definitely.

Market

43 Parkway, Camden, NW1 7PN

I was going away to stay with friends in Kent overnight, so Mr PP decided to treat me to lunch before I went. Next door to Viet-anh is Market, and as they do a rather nice looking set lunch, he persuaded me to come back to Camden before setting off to the station.

Here is yet another place that you really have to book, certainly at lunch-time. They open at 12pm. I got there at 11.57am. I paused to make a quick call, and in those two minutes another couple arrived, headed in seconds before me and got the last unbooked table for two in the place! It was such a Curb Your Enthusiasm moment ...

I expressed my disappointment (not in Larry David terms) and the waitress found a table they wouldn't need back till 1.30pm. Given that Mr PP had to be back at work by 1pm this was no problem.

It did make me think though about booking policies. It seems to be more and more difficult to eat anywhere without a reservation. During the time we were in Market, they turned away several more customers, and when we left at 1pm, there were only two other tables occupied - the couple who arrived at 12pm and a four booked at 1pm. I know many people find it utterly infuriating, but I have always liked Anchor & Hope's no-booking policy, and wish more would adopt it.

The Menu:
The £10 lunch set menu has two starters and two mains. Mr PP opted for the salt beef salad whilst I went for the spicy butternut squash soup. For mains we had fish, chips and tartarte sauce and shepherds pie.

The rest of the menu looked interesting, with the kinds of dishes you would expect on a modern, seasonal British menu but with mains generally starting around £13-£14 we were not tempted.

Our Meal:
Some very nice sour bread was quickly followed by the starters. The soup was fine, although nothing exceptional. Mr PP reported that his salad was very tasty, and the soft-boiled egg was absolutely perfectly cooked.

Service was a little slow, given that our table accounted for half the covers they had on. But the mains were overall worth waiting for. My fish was beautifully cooked and the batter was light and crunchy, with no hint of greasiness. Tartare sauce was equally delicious. The chips were disappointing though. I am quite fussy about my chips - I put it down to being brought up in Glasgow which does have the best fish and chip shops anywhere. These were too dry, not soft enough, just wrong. But not enough to ruin the dish.

Mr PP's shepherds pie was very tasty. Not made with mince, it was slow cooked chunks of meat which just fell apart, but had loads of flavour. Plenty of creamy, smooth mash topped it off. It really was a bit of a triumph.

By the time we had got through the main courses it was nearly time for Mr PP to head back to work, so we didn't have a chance to try any coffees.

The bill came to £31 including drinks and service at 12.5%.

What we liked:
The food was good - the mains in particular being well-cooked and very tasty.

What we didn't like:
Eating in a practically empty restaurant - it really did lack ambience.

Slightly slow service for a lunch-time set menu - my assumption would be that most people would need to be back at work within an hour and lunch at Market wasn't quite quick enough for that.

Will we be back?:
Probably but very infrequently - more likely to be working our way through the menu next door.

Dotori

3 Stroud Green Road, N4 2DF

I think Dotori has been here for a little while, but I very rarely walk down this part of Stroud Green Road so I hadn't spotted it at all. It was only in the snowy weather, when I decided to walk to work instead of cycling that I spotted it. Mr PP decided we must go.

I looked online and saw that it was good, but busy. And indeed it was. Every time we popped round on the offchance, it was rammed. Even at lunchtime. So we gave in and booked a table for after work.

The Menu:
To be honest, we found the menu a little overwhelming, there was just so much on it. Luckily (or unluckily depending on your perspective) the sushi chef was having 10 days off, so that narrowed us down to the Korean menu, but still ...

I have eaten Korean before, but am not that familiar with the cuisine, so can't really comment on the range/authenticity of the menu. With that in mind, and feeling a little pressured by the environment we ordered the Korean set meal for two for £20, which seemed like a bargain. It included all the side dishes, spicy fried chicken wings, and a beef/rice main.

Our Meal:
The food was spot-on, with very few missing the mark. Our first side was some very limp looking lettuce and a couple of slivers of red pepper/carrot, which did not bode well. But everything that came after was tasty and delicious, particularly the chicken wings - we could easily have eaten another plate of them.

The enjoyment was considerably marred by the restaurant itself. We both just found it too uncomfortable and the service was a bit brusque. As it is so tiny we were packed in. Mr PP was boiling jammed up against the radiator, whilst I was a) freezing sat next to the door and b) in the road sat in front of the door to the toilets (which opened towards rather than away from me). The people next to us were so close it was intrusive.

The tables are tiny, which is bad when you've just ordered a multi-dish set meal, a lot of which comes all at once. I ended up with my plate in my lap, as there was nowhere else to put it, and the waitress was clearly irritated by our inability to shovel food in our gobs as quickly as possible.

What we liked:
The food is great, and although we didn't have them, the prawn tempura looked amazing - we had considerable food envy when they arrived at the table next to us! Would definitely like to try more of both the Korean and Japanese menus.

The prices are good too. Bottled beers come in at a reasonable £2.50, so the set meal for two and two beers each totals came to just £30.

What we didn't like:
This is not the place for a leisurely, relaxed dinner. Although we were just having something on the way home from work, this still felt too rushed and hurried. I do appreciate they are busy and want to get the punters through, but it did mar the experience somewhat.

Will we be back?:
Probably, given it's proximity to home, price and tasty food. But the fact you have to book, and the rushed service means not as often as we might have.

Patara

7 Maddox St,W1S 2QB

Lunch in town on my own.

I don't have a problem eating on my own in restaurants, I really don't. But some of them cater for single diners better than others.

Unfortunately, I was in the Mayfair area, and my Urbanspoon app was really struggling with the ££ limit it was being set. A couple of the places I found were just too uncomfortable looking, so I was very grateful to at last land on the doorstep of Patara, where a table for one was no problem at all.

The Menu:
I went for the £12.50 set lunch, which was fairly standard fare. I picked the fish cakes and the pad thai.

My Meal:
Ironic that when I'm on my own I've actually got the nerve to photograph some of my food. Some very tasty prawn crackers arrived first - the kind that actually taste spicy and perhaps somewhere lurking there, a little bit prawny.


The fish cakes arrived shortly after, and they were actually very good. Not at all rubbery (I'm sure Mr PP's heart sinks every time I order Thai fish cakes - 99 times out of 100 they are rubbery and horrible), they were hot and fresh, served with a delicious cucumber dip.



The pad thai was tasty as well, three fat prawns in the shell nestling on top of well-cooked noodles.

All washed down with a couple of glasses of Sauvignon Blanc ... what better way to fortify yourself for an afternoon's shopping?

What I liked:
Quick, tasty, reasonable value for money.

What I didn't like:
Not that much choice on the set menu - could do better?

Will I be back?:
If I was in the area, sure. But I wouldn't make a special trip.

Viet-anh

41 Parkway, NW1 7PN

The brief here was simple - quick dinner in Camden, must be done in 30-45 minutes max. Not Wagamama.

It's that last line that threw Mr PP, but he really did deliver.

The Menu:
Probably the longest thing about our whole experience was choosing from the umpteen page menus - they have a lot of dishes! My online research had suggested choosing something actually billed as Vietnamese, and there was definitely plenty to choose from.

Our Meal:
We ordered prawn & crabstick rolls and chicken wings to start, and galangal lamb and curried eel, both with egg fried rice, for mains. Except it all arrives together ... within about 5 minutes. But I'm not complaining, that was exactly what I wanted.

The rolls were very fresh and tasty - for me, probably the best bit of the meal. The rest was fine, good enough for the price. Quick and cheerful.

One waitress served the whole restaurant efficiently, and turned tables like her life depended on it. They certainly do a brisk trade - a lot of people were clearly regulars, placing their order as they sat down without even glancing at the menu.

It felt like eating at a cheap-ish greasy spoon cafe - not the best quality, but exactly what I was looking for at the time.

What we liked:
The food was fine, quick service and lots of choice on the menu.

What we didn't like:
The beer was pricey, so two courses and two beers each suddenly became £40, even though the food was fairly cheap.

Will we be back?:
I need to be in Camden fortnightly, so probably, but I'll stick to softer, cheaper drinks.