Rooburoo, Angel

A friend chose Rooburoo as a last minute venue for his birthday meal and so five of us turned up at 8pm on a Saturday night, hoping we could get a table.  We needn't have worried - there was noone else in there.  Not a good sign.

However, the staff were very friendly and we were seated in front of the unusual (read as difficult to follow) menu within seconds.  There are roasts, cooked on the tandoor and served with salad, stir fried noodles and 'lite bites' amongst the mixture of more standard offerings.

The poppadoms were light and crispy and fresh, served with a selection of tasty pickles in modern glass jars - a refreshing change.  We skipped starters and went straight for the curries.  I was glad I had selected a medium strength option as, despite the fact I am not a hot curry fan, my lamb rogan josh had a bit of spice to it - as opposed to the fairly bland chicken korma kashmiri that Tom had. Other chicken and prawn curries along the table were well received and the meat was tender and plentiful but the sauces were fairly watery and nothing was above average. On the plus side rices, in pots to share, were generous and service throughout was exemplary.

Two courses and a beer: £19 per head

Value: 6/10

Service: 9/10

Atmosphere: 3/10

Food: 5/10

SCORE: 23/40

Rooburoo, 21 Chapel Market, London, N1 9EZ.  Tel: 020 72788100.

The Champion, Notting Hill

The Champion is a typical Notting Hill boozer.  Seating consists of worn leather sofas and stools and mismatched dining chairs.  It's an occasional venue for post-work drinks and one Friday we decided to eat there.

The classic burger with chips was the favourite choice, with one of us choosing the steak sandwich and the vegetarian selecting the hot falafel in flatbread.  Everyone was impressed.  The burger was good quality and the whole meal tasted hot and fresh, unlike a lot of pub food.  To me, the veggie option looked a bit thin but apparently it was tasty and the steak went down very well.  The bar staff can be a bit sharp but as a place for a bite and a few drinks, it would be hard to beat.

One course and a glass of wine: £10 per head

Value: 8/10

Service: 6/10

Atmosphere: 7/10

Food: 7/10

SCORE: 28/40

1 Wellington Terrace, London, W2 4LW.  Tel: 020 77924527.

Cha Cha Moon, Soho

I had heard mixed reviews of Alan Yau's latest offering but the place intrigued me and, at least while the £3 per course offer remained, I thought it was worth a try.  

The design is stunning, reminiscent in some ways of a ski lodge with big heavy wooden doors and a back to nature kind of feel (or maybe that's just me).

The three of us had to queue on a Thursday evening, for perhaps fifteen minutes, before we were seated at our communal table with benches.  Atmosphere wise it is buzzier than Wagamama, and more grown up, with the sleeker design of Busaba Eathai.  We each selected a main course and shared two sides.  They arrive as and when they are ready, meaning you have to get on with it, possibly leaving, as we did, one diner waiting.  However, my Singapore noodles were just the right amount of spiciness and full of meat and seafood.  Others' curries were similarly good.  Sides arrived in a staggered fashion towards the middle to end of the meal and the pork dumplings were a particular favourite.  The red wine was very good and we were never rushed to finish and free up the table space.

Whilst the offer continues the food is very good value, especially for the location, but one glass of wine cost more than the main dish.  Once the prices go up, I may revise my opinion!

One course, a side and a glass of wine: £12.50 per head

Value: 8/10

Service: 6/10

Atmosphere: 7/10

Food: 7/10

SCORE: 28/40

Cha Cha Moon, 15-21 Ganton Street, London, W1F 9BN.  Tel: 020 72979800.

Eagle Bar Diner, Soho

It find it frustrating that in order to meet friends conveniently after work we have to go central and I feel like I am running out of good, fair-priced dinner options.

However, there are still a few places on my list to try and three of us made our way to Eagle Bar Diner, just off Oxford Street, one weekday evening.  It was about half full and quite a smart interior compared to, say, The Diner on Ganton Street.  We had two waiters, both extremely flirty, and we ordered some house white whilst perusing the menu.  It is a pretty standard diner style menu, which was exactly what we fancied, and all we all had burgers - mine classic and my friends' Arkansas BBQ.  Fries are sold separately which bumps up the price and so we shared two portions between us - one plain, one cheesy.  The burgers were good, nice meat and generous fillings, and the fries more than enough for us.  The meal was nothing too out of the ordinary but for the price and location a good option.   My friends shared a brownie and ice cream which seemed to go down well.  If you're passing this place and fancy some fries, there are certainly worse options.

Two courses and a glass of wine: £22 per head

Value: 7/10

Service: 7/10

Atmosphere: 6/10

Food: 7/10

SCORE: 27/40

Eagle Bar Diner, 3-5 Rathbone Place, London, W1T 1HJ.  Tel: 020 76371418.

The Frog and Forget-Me-Not, Clapham

The Frog and Forget-Me-Not is an unprepossessing pub which serves Thai food, recommended to me by a friend who loves her Thai food. In fact, I went with her, and another three friends, for a chilled Sunday evening bite.

The interior is tatty - dark red walls surround a mish mash of tables and worn sofas but the room lacks atmosphere and the music and lighting weren't quite right. You have to order food from a hatch, where you also pay. It arrived a few minutes later, it was obviously all waiting to be heated and served.

Tom Yum soup was good - spicy and tangy and just the right amount. Prawn toast was less successful - greasy and a bit soggy. My nasi goreng was good, nothing to shout about, but certainly not the worst I have had. Others' noodle options, such as the pad thai, went down well and one of us chose an English option - fish and chips - which was typical pub grub.

Not one to add to my list of favourites.

Two courses and a soft drink: £14 per head

Value: 7/10

Service: 6/10

Atmosphere: 5/10

Food: 7/10

SCORE: 25/40

The Frog and Forget-Me-Not, 32 The Pavement, London, SW4 0JE. Tel: 020 76225230.

The Windmill on the Common, Clapham

 It was a sunny Sunday and a roast called.  Settling into one of the last remaining outside tables at The Windmill we congratulated ourselves on our choice.  There is a lot of outdoor seating and inside is cavernous too.  A mix of trendy twenty-somethings and groups of thirty-somethings with prams are the core clientele.

It's a Youngs pub and so the menu is pretty standard fare but what we order (two roast beef and a pollock and chips) is very good and the portions are generous (even of the lovely medium rare meat and light flaky fish).

It's probably not a destination venue, only because you could get the food in a million and one pubs across London, but it's friendly and location is pretty good too.

One course and a glass of wine: £20 per head

Value: 7/10

Service: 7/10

Atmosphere: 7/10

Food: 7/10

SCORE: 28/40

The Windmill, Clapham Common Southside, London, SW4 9DE.  Tel:  020 86734578.

Albannach, Westminster

My parents were in London and we wanted an early dinner before the theatre.  Their hotel was moments from Trafalgar Square and so I suggested Albannach.

We didn't have a reservation on a Saturday night but it was early enough that we managed to get a table for three at about 6.30pm.  We were seated upstairs in the restaurant area after having a lovely Rioja in the bar.

The decor was attractive if a little bit nineties.  The staff were very friendly and directed our attention to a set menu available before 6.30pm, which suited our purpose perfectly.  My ma and I both had roasted peach and tomato salad with grilled Inverness goat's cheese to start, which was delicious - the sweet flavours of the peach and cheese melted together, complemented by the zingier tomato.  My dad had North Sea herring with grain mustard potato salad and horseradish creme fraiche, which he enjoyed.

Main course for all of us was a Scotch Broth of braised lamb neck, baby turnips and herb dumplings which was lovely - the meat was so tender and the dumplings sat in a lovely rich, meaty broth.  The portions weren't huge but I almost expect this on an 'offer' menu, perhaps wrongly.

Two course set menu and a glass of wine: £25 per head

Value: 6/10

Service: 8/10

Atmosphere: 7/10

Food: 7/10

SCORE: 28/40

Albannach, 66 Trafalgar Square, London, WC2N 5DS.  Tel: 020 79300066.