The Prince Bonaparte, Westbourne Grove

The Prince Bonaparte was the venue for another Friday lunch with my work colleagues. We chose a table and ordered at the bar. The staff were very friendly and smily, if a little scatty (forgot a couple of drinks and had to ask us to repeat a couple of orders).

The food this time was even better than the last. I had a club sandwich and chips which was beautifully done - toasted brown bread with generous smoked bacon and grilled chicken, lettuce and really fresh and flavoursome beef tomato. Everyone else had a burger - some the larger 10oz and some the 80z but everyone was more than happy. It's the details in the Bonaparte's food that give it the edge - corn on the cob and a pot of chutney, homemade onion rings and lots of oozing cheese. The Commander could take some tips.

Once course and a soft drink: £8 per head

Value: 8/10

Service: 7/10

Atmosphere: 8/10

Food: 8/10

SCORE: 31/40

The Prince Bonaparte, 80 Chepstow Road, London, W2 5BE. Tel: 020 73139491.

Santa Lucia, Chelsea

An original plan to visit Sophie's Steakhouse had to be written off: it was just too busy and only had one vegetarian option.  Wine Gallery was similarly packed and again had limited veggie appeal (eating out as a vegetarian can be hard and boring I have noticed).  Therefore we wandered across Hollywood Road and into Santa Lucia.  What a happy chance.

The six of us were seated immediately at a great table, despite having no reservation.  It felt just like being on holiday on Italy - authentic and relaxed but with crisp starched linen and excellent service.  The friendly staff brought menus over and happily provided tap water in large jugs.  

To begin we had two portions of their delicious garlic bread - more than enough for us all.  It was made from a thin circular pizza base topped with a light garlicky oil - not greasy and incredibly moreish.  Two of my friends had pizza which was served as one long metre length - half for each diner and presented on a wooden stand.  It was thin crust with fabulous fresh toppings.  They were delighted.  The pasta dishes were divine.  My rigatoni mamma mia consisted of giant pasta tubes, cooked al dente with five big homemade meatballs in a simple tomato and garlic sauce.  It was fabulously simple.  The seafood linguine was a sight to behold - atop with huge mussels, the pasta was full of fat prawns and squid.  Diane declared it delicious.  Both vegetarians chose the same - penne with a tomato sauce with aubergine and mozzarella.  The mozzarella sat on top of the dish, the size of an egg and both diners said it was beautiful.

I have run out of adjectives for the food - it was just simple, well done Italian fare.

The service too was great - I didn't notice it, yet wanted for nothing which is, of course, perfect.  Unusual requests such as removing the parmesan from the vegetarian mains and adding two extra toppings to a pizza were carried out without fuss.  Wine was refilled, as was water, without question.  The bill came with a complimentary biscotti.  I have made myself hungry again just writing this.  Needless to say, we will all go back.

One course, garlic bread and half a bottle of wine: £22 per head

Value: 7/10

Service: 9/10

Atmosphere: 8/10

Food: 8/10

SCORE: 32/40

Santa Lucia, 2 Hollywood Road, London, SW10 9HY.  Tel: 020 73528484.

The Chutney, Wandsworth Town

The tables were turned and my cousin and aunt were now visiting London.  A relaxed evening was in order and walking to the East Hill, a lovely pub on Alma Road, we passed The Chutney.  I have eaten here twice before, once with my cousin in fact, and have had an average experience each time.  She, however, raved about it and its great choice of vegetarian options.  As neither of my fellow diners eat meat I agreed to give it another go.  We popped our heads in and reserved a table for 8.30.

The interior is fresh and modern: blood red walls and leather chairs with crisp clean white tablecloths.  We were led to a circular table set for four and they hurriedly removed a setting.  'They could have done that before we arrived' remarked my aunt.  I agree: it is so easy for places to get the details right, I am always surprised at how many don't.  To start we had a poppadom each, served with very tasty chutneys and raita. I noticed we were the only table without a vase of sparse carnations.

It was only when we had finished these, and half a bottle of wine, that we noticed noone had yet taken our order for main courses.  When side plates were cleared a waiter appeared with a pad and we selected.  I went for chicken korma razala (I reasoned that if my previous more adventurous meals had not been excellent, perhaps this simpler dish would win me over), my aunt for handi subje (seasonal mixed vegetables cooked with pepper, tomato, ginger and ground spices) and my cousin for vegetable jalfrezi.  The korma was very good, the sauce was creamy and coconutty but didn't overwhelm the tender pieces of meat.  My only complaint would be that it was a bit too runny.  The pilau rice too was lovely and not too dry as it often is.  The handi subje was raved about - lots of gorgeous veg in a flavoursome sauce - and likewise the jalfrezi which was quite spicy but not too much so.  The vegetarian options on the menu were apparently the best they had ever seen in an Indian restaurant.  The naan was soft, fluffy and not at all greasy.

Our tap water was constantly refreshed and the service was very polite.  Despite a slow start we had a great evening and agreed it is always better to have a bit of chatting time than the courses arriving seconds apart (which was another previous experience of mine at The Chutney).  It has redeemed itself, and I'll be back.

Poppadoms, one course and half a bottle of wine: £17 a head

Value: 8/10

Service: 7/10

Atmosphere: 7/10

Food: 7/10

SCORE: 29/40

The Chutney, 11 Alma Road, London, SW18 1AA.  Tel: 020 88704588.

Rococo, Shrewsbury

My cousin booked for us to visit Rococo, in Shrewsbury, during a weekend visit to Shropshire.  It was once Owen's, a reliable and good quality option that I have frequented for many years, and so I was interested to see if it could be bettered.

We called on Tuesday for a Saturday reservation, which was no problem.  I was glad we did for, within half an hour of being seated at 7.30, the place was full.  It is a large room filled with dark wood furniture, large potted plants and mood lighting and is very attractive.  A long bar runs along the back.  

We chose a bottle of pinot grigio and a jug of tap water whilst we perused the menu and eventually decided upon a mezze platter to share for starter, a vegetarian option of linguine for my cousin (I'm afraid I forget the sauce but I know it came with wild mushrooms and was creamy) and for myself a special - the crab and cherry tomato risotto.

The platter was very good - lovely bread (although only one piece each), generous squares of feta, big juicy stuffed olives, homemade tzatziki and smooth garlicky houmous.  The main courses were good but not excellent.  Apparently the pasta dish was tasty but a little overfacing and Arabella couldn't finish - it looked a little bit greasy as well.  My risotto was a lovely texture and consistency but was just a bit bland - the crab was tasteless and the cherry tomatoes were cold and hard instead of soft and oozing into the rice as I imagined they would be.  It seemed that they had just been chopped on top of the dish straight from the fridge.

We were too full for puddings, although they looked appealing, and pressed on with two cocktails each from their attractive menu.  They were very fairly priced at £5-£6 each and really added to the fantastic atmosphere.  From 9pm a guy played guitar and sang a mixture of old classics and current chart hits which wasn't intrusive but made a lovely backdrop to the evening.

We stayed until gone midnight and were never made to feel like we should pay up or move on.

A great night and nice restaurant which could be made fantastic with a few tweaks.

Two courses, half a bottle of wine and two cocktails: £35 per head

Value: 7/10

Service: 8/10

Atmosphere: 8/10

Food: 6/10

SCORE: 29/40

Rococo, 18 Butcher Row, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY1 1UW.  Tel: 01743 363633.

The Commander, Westbourne Grove

If only the right management could get hold of The Commander it would be a great gastro pub.

It is situated just off Westbourne Grove in a quiet street and has been very tastefully refurbished with sofas and booths in the front bar and wooden tables and chairs in the more formal restaurant.  There is also a conservatory, closed for a party when we went, and a patio garden reserved solely for eating in (except for the gang of smokers hanging around out there when we went).  We chose to eat in the restaurant as there were eight of us and no table was large enough at the front.  

As we perused menus the only other table occupied, a group of three, were complaining over the wait for their food.  Not ideal as we only had our lunch hour.  The menu is at the higher price bracket of gastro pub food.  I had called before we came here to check prices and as an example had been told that a burger was about £8.95 and fish and chips similar.  The burger was indeed £8.95 but this was for a 6oz, listed without cheese.  The fish and chips were £10.95 and all other main courses about the same.

Four of us chose the burger, two medium well and two rare, all with cheese except one of the rare, one of us went for a croque monsieur, one fish and chips, two sausage and mash.

There was about a thirty minute wait for food but eventually the lad serving brought out two burgers, both medium well and both without cheese.  We asked about the missing dairy element and he became flustered saying perhaps the other two would be right and scuttled off.  The next two arrived both rare and both with cheese.  One person was happy, one accepted the rare with cheese anyway and the two remaining requested some cheese be brought out.

The croque monsieur was served open - two slices of white bread laden with two slices of ham and absolutely smothered in melted cheese (must have been where ours went).  It was so overfacing Mel had to scrape the majority off but said it was quite tasty.  The fish and chips looked good and were well received.  One sausage and mash arrived along with the disconcerting question to my remaining colleague: 'What did you order again?'.  Needless to say the remaining sausages arrived once the rest of us had finished.  Both diners proclaimed these delicious, though.

The burger was good.  It was small and the cheese that eventually arrived was cold sliced Edam I suspect.  The meat was delicous and cooked as requested.  It came with a small bowl of wedges that I enjoyed but the others thought were soggy.

It was, overall, a very disappointing lunch when it really shouldn't have been.  The Commander's food is good but it is too expensive and the sizes are not uniform.  The staff are friendly but incompetent.  The bar and restaurant are attractive but too quiet.

So nearly there, but yet so far.

One course and a glass of wine: £14.50 per head

Value: 5/10

Service: 4/10

Atmosphere: 6/10

Food: 6/10

SCORE: 21/40

The Commander, 47 Hereford Road, London, W2 5AH.  Tel: 020 72291503.

Fresco, Westbourne Grove

Bored of our usual sandwich or salad options we walked up Westbourne Grove yesterday to have lunch at Fresco.  

They have a large takeaway counter with wraps, kebabs and salads galore but we squeezed through and chose one of the little tables tucked away at the back.  I knew what I wanted: chicken, hummus and feta in pitta bread.  The chicken is always delicious here and yesterday was no exception - it is so tender and there is lots of it.  The same goes for the accompaniments.  My colleague had similar - chicken, hummus and tabbouleh.  They also serve us complimentary pickles which I love. We didn't fancy a juice (something they are famous for, but they will cost you £2.50), just a tap water, brought over in a large glass with ice without fuss.

The service is relaxed and you usually have to call someone over to order or pay but it's fine - it's a good lunchtime spot and you can take your time without issue.

Sandwich: £4 per head

Value: 7/10

Service: 6/10

Atmosphere: 6/10

Food: 7/10

SCORE: 26/40

Fresco, 25 Westbourne Grove, London, W2 4UA.  Tel: 020 72212355.

Racine, South Kensington

I had booked Racine two weeks early, as I knew my mother would be staying and would enjoy the food (from what I had read anyway - I hadn't actually been before).

There were meant to be three of us dining but at the last minute there were only two.  When the restaurant called to confirm the reservation the day before, I had just heard that we would be dining as a pair and the person calling was fine with that, and very friendly.  On the evening in question, a Wednesday night, we found ourselves in the area, and ready to eat, a good forty five minutes before we expected and so we went in to see if we could eat earlier.  There were two other tables taken at 6.45pm - a largeish group and a couple who obviously there a lot.  The waiting staff were delighted for us to eat earlier and the whisked us to our table, which was against the banquette.

The restaurant itself is very authentically French and classic.  The heavy purple curtain surrounding the door keeps the bustle of Brompton Road firmly outside and the cool calm atmosphere inside.  That is not to say it's stuffy, though, it's really not.  The staff are perfect - friendly, professional and discreet.  We ordered a glass of white wine each and tap water whilst perusing the menu.  The water came in glasses, which were refilled throughout the meal, without request.

We were early enough for the set menu - which you can order from before 7pm, a bonus of arriving early!  To begin, we both chose goat's cheese, which came with French toast and garlic.  It was a beautifully simple dish, very tasty and just enough.  There was a lamb dish as a main option which we both wanted but unfortunately it was the last portion.  My mum was not disappointed, however, with her beef onglet - tender and cooked perfectly rare.  My lamb, too was medium as requested and full of flavour.  Served with a selection of vegetables and new potatoes we had a really lovely meal and, at £17 for two courses or £19 for three, it was excellent value.

We were both too full for puddings and noone pushed us to have one, or more wine, although we were offered.  The service was truly exemplary - unintrusive yet attentive.

The only downside was the missing third diner, who I missed very much.

Two courses and a glass of wine: £25 per head

Value: 8/10

Service: 9/10

Atmosphere: 7/10

Food: 7/10

SCORE: 31/40

Racine, 239 Brompton Road, London, SW3 2EP.  Tel: 020 75844477.