Canteen

Royal Festival Hall, Belvedere Rd, SE1 8XX

I debated about reviewing chains. You do have to draw the line somewhere. The point of this is not to record every single place I eat out. But on balance, when I went back to the core reason for doing this, I felt it should be included.

Lunch with friends on the South Bank would normally have filled me with a little bit of dread at trying to find somewhere decent to eat. I never seem to get it right round here. Luckily they chose, and thus we ended up at Canteen.

It was a good place for a nice, relaxed lunch. Unlike the rather full, hectic looking Ping Pong next door, it felt airy, bright and calm.

We got a couple of pints ordered and turned our attention to the menu.

The Menu:
If I had to sum it up, I would say comfort food. Roasts, pies, and childhood food like fish finger sandwiches. Perfect for Saturday lunch.

I ordered the macaroni cheese (as I knew I would the minute I clocked it - a fine, fine dish which I pride myself I can cook rather well). Mr PP did likewise with the addition of a side of chips. Our friends ordered the roast duck, and the pie of the day.

Our Meal:
The food arrived in good time, and was as good as we'd hoped. The macaroni cheese was delicious, cheesy but not stodgy, and great with a few of Mr PP's chips. I was impressed with the pie, which was a proper pie and not a stew with a crust on top. The roast duck was reported to be good, and certainly looked lovely.

Washed down with some ice-cold beers, it certainly made for a pleasant, leisurely afternoon. So much so, that I can't remember what the bill was. Mr PP generously took care of it while I went to the ladies - what a gent!

What we liked:
The restaurant, the food, the service.

What we didn't like:
Nothing really. It delivered exactly what it promised - can't say fairer than that.

Will we be back?:
Yes. I wouldn't make a special trip, but for a reliable lunch with a range of small and larger meals, it's certainly a convenient option.

Bistro Bruno Loubet at The Zetter

St John’s Square, 86 - 88 Clerkenwell Road, EC1M 5RJ

This night out was courtesy of our my very generous in-laws. We went with some of their friends who remembered Bruno Loubet from before, and were full of anticipation.

Mr PP and I arrived last, through the rather dreary drizzle, and were immediately whisked off to the table. The restaurant itself is quite comfortable, but a little cramped. Once all the tables were seated around us, we were blocked in and had to disturb at least two tables to get to the loo.

Service was a little slow at first, and I was rather desperate for a drink, but they soon seemed to catch up with themselves, and was smooth for the rest of the evening.

The Menu:
We liked the look of the menu, and there were quite a few dishes that tempted us. For starters, most of us ended up opting for the Onion and Cider Soup, upside-down Emmenthal soufflé. Mr PP chose the Mauricette snails and meat balls, royale de champignon and my namesake ordered Potted shrimps and mackerel, cucumber salad, Melba toast.

Onto the mains, and there was a bit more diversity on order. I chose Hare Royale, onion raviolo, pumpkin and dried mandarin purée and Mr PP went for Pan-fried breast of wood pigeon, cauliflower, almond and quinoa, giblet sauce. Our friends variously ordered Beef daube Provencal and mousseline potatoes, Confit lamb shoulder, white beans and preserved lemon, green harissa, and the fish special.

Our Meal:
I think we were all slightly disappointed with our soup - it was woefully underseasoned and really lacked flavour. Even the soufflé was bland, although it was technically very accomplished. The potted shrimps were better, but for me the star was the snails, which were beautifully cooked and very flavoursome.

The mains were also good, but not amazing. Mr PPs pigeon tasted delicious but I was glad in a way that I hadn't ordered it, as I didn't really like the combination of the constituent parts of the dish as a whole.

The beef daube was fine, and the mouselline potatoes were a beautiful texture but were served at a fairly tepid temperature. The lamb looked rather odd, like a big reconstituted lamb burger, and although I didn't try it, my friend told us it was delicious.

The hare, on the other hand, was fairly special, and my only comment would be that it was so rich, I shouldn't really have eaten it all - but I did. Strong, complex but complimentary flavours combined well in the hare, although the onion ravioli was neither here nor there, despite the excellence of the pasta.

The ladies passed on desserts, while Mr PP and his brother tucked into Rice pudding pannacotta and marmalade and Valrhona chocolate tartlet, caramel and salted butter ice cream respectively. The rice pudding pannacotta seemed like plain old rice pudding to me - but absolutely delicious for all that. Personally, I'm not a fan of marmalade (an adult taste that unlike anchovy and olives I've never developed a liking for) but Mr PP reported that it worked well. By this point, the richness of the hare was too much, and I couldn't even have a taste of the chocolate tart. At the speed it disappeared, I assume it was good. And my sister-in-law was very impressed by the ice-cream.

We finished off with coffees - I can't comment on the bill as didn't see it. As I say, very generous in-laws ...

What we liked:
Great service, nice surroundings, and great company. It's a very busy place, and good for big groups. I can imagine it's not so nice for a quiet meal for two. It was also nice to see Bruno Loubet actually working in the kitchen, rather than it just being his name over the door.

What we didnt like:
The food wasn't top-notch, and some of the dishes did disappoint. And it was a little cramped. Whilst I found that a bit of an issue, I am also cognisant of the fact that, due to the amount we drank, that the tables around us probably found us more irritating than we did them.

Will we be back:
I would safely say no. I thought it was fine, can imagine there will always be other places that are higher up the "To Visit" list.

The Old Dairy

1 - 3 Crouch Hill, N4 4AP

I've had a very on and off relationship with The Old Dairy. Mainly off.

When we first moved into the area, we ate here for Sunday lunch. And it was fab. So we came back a few times. And despite a complete inability to serve a decent roast potato, the Sunday lunches were great.

So obviously we invited friends to join us for a great Sunday lunch. Except it wasn't. And ever since they have been so inconsistent, I really can never trust them.

But my main beef with them is that they very often serve you food that isn't exactly what you ordered from the menu. Bits are missing, or have been subsituted. And they never, ever tell you in advance. Which I completely find insulting. If they just said "We've run out of houmous, can we give you some olives instead" fine. Instead you get a plate of half what you ordered plonked in front of you without so much as an apology.

And generally, it's hideously overpriced.

So why am I there? Well, yet again it wasn't my choice. We were meeting friends for dinner, and despite also living locally, they had never eaten there. So, off we went.

The Menu:
It was only on my way home from work, that I noticed the pubs were very busy. My initial thoughts that Arsenal must be playing were quickly replaced by the more accurate realisation that it was St Patrick's day. Luckily The Dairy wasn't too rammed, but they did have live Irish music (bugger) and as we were informed on arrival, an "Irish" menu.

What's that then? both Mr PP and I asked in unison. It basically amounted to stews, soda bread and colcannon.

It honestly didn't look much different from usual. Steak, burger and fish 'n' chips staples were there, alongside various typical British/"Irish" fare. They do have a good range of fish and vegetarian dishes, which was good as one of our friends doesn't eat meat.

We skipped starters and went straight to the mains. I had the burger, Mr PP had the (Irish sirloin) steak with (Irish) whiskey sauce, and our friends had the Irish stew and the vegetable tian. A rather nice bottle of pinot noir washed it all down, with Mr PP sticking steadfastly to the Heinekin.

Our Meal:
The service was prompt and efficient, if somewhat over-friendly. They always insist on calling us "guys". I'm 42. I'm so not "guys". But otherwise, it was very good - attentive to our needs without being all over us.

A big jug of iced tapwater and glasses arrived unbidden, which in my anti-bottled-water world is a big, big plus. Food arrived in good time, and there were no complaints. Everybody enjoyed it well enough, and there were four empty plates at the end.

But for what they charge, I would just expect so much more. It really isn't cheap, and just isn't good enough. They either need to improve the quality, or lower the prices.

In the end, mains for four, a bottle of Pinot Noir and a pint of Heinekin came in at just under £80.

What we liked:
The tapwater, the wine, efficient service, and the nice big booths in the dining area of the bar - very comfortable.

What we didn't like:
The music (Achy Breaky Heart? Irish? Really???), and the fact they couldn't serve us any hot drinks. The coffee machine was broken, so fair enough that they couldn't do coffees. But our friends asked for tea. To which they also said no, as they couldn't make tea with hot water from the tap. Could a fully equipped, functioning retaurant kitchen really not rustle up two cups of boiling water? Unbelievable.

Will we be back?:
The more the prices go up, the less inclined I am to go back. There are pubs I prefer which are closer to home, and I don't think the food is good enough. But I'm sure we'll be back sometime.