glasshalfempty's Qype profile

Wonderful little Italian cafe near Highbury & Islington tube. Home made food cooked in front of you in the tiny kitchen, or choose from the mouthwatering array of cold choices at the counter. There is a snug indoor cafe, and outside seating on the rare occasions when the weather warrants it. The art gallery attached is a jewel of Italian futurism too. Art and eats. Go for it! 

In a railway arch, this is a class act. Friendly staff, lovely decor, and quite a buzz (especially in the adjoining bar next door). And the food! Seriously good in a hearty, traditional way. We had dinner starting with House Special salad of tuna, beans, olives etc, and good old fashioned prawn and avocado (done very well). These were large portions, too, so go there hungry.

Mains were both from the specials menu. I had a stupendous lobster with fine tagliatelle, which was at least a half lobster in chunks, with coral, and truly delicious. My other half had Guinea fowl (spelled foul of course!) with mango. For pud we shared a very good Tiramisu. 

For two with prosecco by the glass it was £73 incl. service. We can't wait to go again.

UPDATE Jan 2013 - Maybe the chef has changed, but they don't seem to do specials any more, and the food from the main menu is more pedestrian, but still good portions, done well. The ambience and service are good, but the food is now a bit 1970's. Pizzas need herbs, but none on offer here. Still good value, but not worth a special trip. 

This is the restaurant in the modern hotel right on the banks of the Stour, overlooking the chi chi yachts and motor cruisers, and the ferry to Wick. So it's worth asking for a window seat. A recent lunch showed a sure hand in the kitchen. Starters of pigeon breast with parsnip crisps were perfection, with rare, tender and tasty moist strips of sliced breast. A main of chicken breast with crispy bacon, roast potatoes, assorted diced veg and gravy sounds boring, but it couldn't have been done better. Pud of walnut tart with raspberry ice cream was equally impressive - clearly not bought in. Nor were the excellent petits fours with coffee. Service is patchy, with some staff friendly and attentive, others a bit slapdash and surly. But the location and quality of the cooking make up for it. There is an outside terrace which should be a treat for al fresco dining in the summer. The restaurant was busy on a  November Monday, which was another good sign. They also have a swanky bar that does light meals and afternoon teas. Our three course meal for four with wine and coffee was £110 - not bad for this standard. 

This is the restaurant in the modern hotel right on the banks of the Stour, overlooking the chi chi yachts and motor cruisers, and the ferry to Wick. So it's worth asking for a window seat. A recent lunch showed a sure hand in the kitchen. Starters of pigeon breast with parsnip crisps were perfection, with rare, tender and tasty moist strips of sliced breast. A main of chicken breast with crispy bacon, roast potatoes, assorted diced veg and gravy sounds boring, but it couldn't have been done better. Pud of walnut tart with raspberry ice cream was equally impressive - clearly not bought in. Nor were the excellent petits fours with coffee. Service is patchy, with some staff friendly and attentive, others a bit slapdash and surly. But the location and quality of the cooking make up for it. There is an outside terrace which should be a treat for al fresco dining in the summer. The restaurant was busy on a  November Monday, which was another good sign. They also have a swanky bar that does light meals and afternoon teas. Our three course meal for four with wine and coffee was £110 - not bad for this standard. 

This is a 'special occasion' restaurant, in the Haven Hotel. Marvellous views across Poole Bay to the Old Harry Rocks. There is an outside terrace for summer dining. Our recent birthday lunch started with chargrilled courgette, and crab cakes, both of which were done to perfection. Sadly rabbit was 'off', so I had pork and duck cassoulet. This was a nice combination, with a big hunk of pork belly, a sausage and a confit duck leg. It could have done with a green salad or vegetable to cut the richness, but none was offered, and I didn't think of it til too late. My partner had chicken breast and butternut squash puree. The cooking was really first class, so it was a real disappointment that the service was truly terrible, with the Maitre d' fussing about serving wine, instead of ensuring his waiting staff weren't hiding or chatting while patrons died waiting. Life was too short to go on to pudding, two courses having taken two hours. So I recommend avoiding weekends. The bill for two with coffee and wine was £62 - pricey, but the food was very good.

Nice bright Youngs pub that is laid back and friendly, with a selection of board games, and a good lunch menu. Unfortunately the pulled pork wasn't ready, so I had a pint with a Brompton burger. This was a cut above your average burger, with delicious chargrilled patty and all the trimmings, and crispy chunk chips. Busy but not crowded, I would love to have this as my local. 

We had a dinner here before a gig at the Roundhouse, which was very convenient. The menu is sort of invented European tapas. So we selected four dishes to share between two, which turned out to be enough. We had butternut squash and artichoke risotto (for the starch), with hake with sweet potato batons; pork belly with rhubarb and plum chutney and garlic puree; and huge slices of pumpkin 'cinnamon roasted with lime and maple dressing and crispy goats cheese'. All were expertly cooked and delicious. Unfortunately service was poor, and three of the dishes were not brought until they were cool instead of hot, but we enjoyed the meal none the less, and would both recommend it, and plan to go back ourselves. For puddings we had smashing panna cotta, with a good helping of cherry compote, and a deconstructed apple strudel with lovely fresh green apple sorbet. An interesting new dining concept. With wine and coffee, the meal for two (two courses) was £57. Excellent value for London. The restaurant itself is buzzy, bistro style, with a bar area as well. 

This is a hotel restaurant, suitable to take your granny. Rather quiet, but with a beautiful view down a classic Cornish valley garden to the sea. A recent lunch there, in lovely sunshine, yielded a spectacular and super tasty prawn and crab tower (see photo) as starter, as well as an very good burger, sea bass, and less convincing scampi as mains. Banana parfait for pud was beautifully done as well. With wine and coffee for three the bill was £96. This may be a better place for either Sunday lunch, or an evening meal, because as you can see the lunch menu was rather 'snacky'.