Restaurant-Guide.com
hand picked restaurants

We say Modern American, and somehow one tends to assume that everything that comes out of America is modern. But PJ's Bar and Grill has more than a touch of tradition about it and old fashioned might be a better description, though there's nothing creaky about the service and atmosphere which is well up to date.

Their long established record for providing the ultimate location in which to enjoy a weekend brunch in the South Kensington area remains unblemished. But for most the target is more likely to be a good evening meal over which to celebrate some event, however trifling, irrelevant even.

So after absorbing some rocket fuel in the form of a selection from their list of cocktails, amongst which the infamous Sazerac is supreme, you will be in better shape to take an inspired shot at choosing from the menu which has embraced the English culinary genre with commendable skill.

Stilton cheese is many a gourmet's delight, but the insiders will tell you that the Colston Bassett variety has that special something which sets it apart. One of life's little delights is a tuna tartare, served with avocado salsa and shredded spring onions, each an ideal foil to the other, and here they have it off to perfection

On then to the main event where a whole sea bass arrives char-grilled and shares plate with plum tomato, red onion and fennel salad.

The spring lamb with minted potatoes, braised baby gem, rosemary and anchovy dressing lingers fondly on the palate, but for many a 28 day aged premium 10oz rib eye steak provides the highlight of the evening.

Side dishes, which some tend to avoid through sheer boredom, are made exciting and it's all too easy to get carried away, leaving less room than one might wish to fully appreciate the range of desserts that beckon alluringly. Apple and berry crumble with cinnamon ice cream certainly attracts attention, and for those who insist on their Valrhona chocolate fondant, there it is, served with pistachio ice cream.

'Selections of ice cream and sorbets' can occasionally produce disappointing results, but happily that is not true at PJ's. Time perhaps to take refuge in some of the fine malt whiskies that grace the bar, or another of those stimulating cocktails that help take your mind off other less weighty distractions. Find out more on their Website.

Serving modern Lebanese food with flair, LayaLina on Beauchamp Place in the heart of fashionable Knightsbridge delights the palate as well as the senses with a vibrant ambience. Just a stone's throw from Harrods, Layalina is open every day of the week from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m., evenings here come alive with music and belly dancing, reflecting the typical verve and zest of traditional Lebanese culture.

The restaurant's executive head chef Joseph Chahine comes with nearly thirty years of experience and is highly acclaimed for his culinary skills. His extensive menu delivers a flavourful variety of dishes combining creativity with traditional culinary techniques. The mezze selection includes cold, hot and tartar dishes with choices of hummus, tabouleh, stuffed vine leaves, prime fish fillet topped with herbs and pine nuts and served with a spicy tomato salsa, crispy cheese filo and kafta nayeh - a traditional dish of minced lamb tartar mixed with parsley, onion and fresh spices.

A delicious beginning to the meal is followed by sumptuous vegetarian, fish, chicken or lamb main courses. Vegetarian options include artichoke heart stew of grilled artichoke, flavoured with olive oil, spinach mushroom, white cheese, onion and garlic. While fish dishes include roast fish, a classic Lebanese fisherman?s dish with prime fish-of-the-day served on a bed of seasoned rice with a fragrant glaze. Meat dishes include the house speciality of LayaLina lamb, slow cooked fall-of-the-bone lamb leg served with mushroom and rice of the day, or chicken taouk - a traditional  shish kebab of marinated chicken pieces, char grilled and served with roasted vegetables and garlic sauce could be equally satisfying.
 
No Lebanese meal is complete without a salad and choices here include fatoush, a mixed leaf salad with tomatoes, sumac, cucumber and roasted bread croutons, or a seafood salad with prawns, pickled calamari, anchovy fillets, mixed leaves and tomatoes, flavoured with green sauce, cheese and virgin olive and garnished with roast almonds. Other options include a rustic village salad of cheese, tomatoes and black olives or chicken salad of grilled chicken marinated with garlic, lemon and red capsicum, served on tossed green leaves with cucumber, onion and tomatoes.

The grilled selection offers marinated lamb cutlets with bouquet of wild herbs and mustard served with Lebanese couscous, or succulent fillet steak, and seasoned beef fillet grilled and served with mushroom sauce on a bed of asparagus, vegetables and flavoured rice. Sides of traditional bread, steamed rice cooked with minced lamb onions, pine nuts and Arabian spices, and thick cut potato chips served with homemade salsa or Lebanese pickles complement your main course dish.

Elaborate confections of baked fresh pears served with ice cream and mohalabiyah, cheese honey - a dessert dish of steamed cheese with semolina and honey, topped with ashta and syrup and sprinkled with crushed pistachio, and aish al saraya, homemade crispy dough cooked with honey, topped with cheese, banana and pistachio make for tempting desserts. Guests can savour a range of champagnes and cocktails in the trendy lounge bar and sample a variety of fine wines too. 

A two-course lunch menu comes with a complimentary glass of house wine. Sharing set menus are available too. LayaLina offers a takeaway menu and home delivery as well for the convenience of its patrons.

Guests can also chill out at LayaLina Privée, a late night cocktail lounge adjoining the restaurant. Stylish contemporary interiors with individual touches provide the perfect setting for Knightsbridge denizens and out-of-towners to relax and unwind in comfort while enjoying a range of exotic signature and classic cocktails. A main room and a VIP room can be booked for private parties with up to 150 people.

More information is available on their Website.

Chutney Mary in the Kings Road, Chelsea, started out life in 1990 and has never looked back. Perhaps this is a comment on the British attitudes to Indian cuisine, and curry in particular, for when the late Robin Cook made his 'chicken tikka masala' observation he was not far wrong, and in an age when multiculturalism is fashionable we could do a lot worse than concentrate on exchanges of culinary traditions. Their colourful Website is a mine of information and well worth a regular browse.

From the outset Chutney Mary has been picking up the gongs, and deservedly so. In 2002 a major transformation took place, bringing the restaurant even more into the London mainstream, and the awards continued to flow, including Best Modern Indian Restaurant in London for 2003 and 2004.

Fay Maschler, writing in the Evening Standard remarked "Not so much Bollywood as jolly, jolly good", and if, as one suspects, she was referring to the décor as well as the food she could hardly be more right.

The approach to food here is to combine traditional Indian recipes with the contemporary ways that food is going in India, presenting refined Indian cooking at its very best. The emphasis on seafood will be welcome to many who wonder why more conventional Indian restaurants have so little on the menu, particularly with a coastline that extends so far.

Tapas have their Indian counterpart in kebabs, and breads, always a hot number if you'll pardon the pun, have the attention of those who would extend their range. Starters at Chutney Mary could include a real artisan soup, spiced seafood of great delicacy, a well presented chaat and flavoursome kebabs. There is no hesitation here in using the ingredients and produce of the country such as game, and applying Indian cooking techniques and adapted recipes. Prices start at £6.25 up to £9.50, with more for lobster.

Main courses cover the whole range of cooking techniques and produce, including game. Prices range from £15.50 to £22.50, amongst which poultry, lamb sourced from Devon and seafood feature prominently. If there is one country in which vegetarians get a really square deal it must surely be India, and at Chutney Mary there is a choice of two platters, one of which is a traditional North Indian composition of vegetables and daal.

A more modern approach comes in the form of seven mini-dishes such as stir-fried banana flower with coconut, baby courgette masala, okra and water chestnut combined into one platter. Indian food is by nature colourful, though to look at some of the dishes served elsewhere the colour element has been lost to a universal Windsor brown occasionally alleviated by a touch of turmeric or the flash of a chilli defying the colour ban.

Chutney Mary are to be lauded for helping to put to flight the universal assumption that Indian food is worthy only of pints of indigestible lager, or CAMRA approved ales whose own flavours tend to be submerged in a flood of curry.

Wine is taken seriously, aided by an input from Matthew Jukes, the writer on wine, to whom the buying of wine is no great hardship. Their attitude to wine can be clearly seen in the glassed-in, temperature controlled wine room. Some of the fruits of his labours are to be seen there and be found in a wine list that has attracted warm support, particularly the helpful annotations.

Cha Plu has become something of a local West London landmark for Thai cuisine. On Fulham Road, right opposite the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, it's the sort of place where you could linger over a relaxed meal and drink with family and friends. The restaurant's stylish interior blends Thai statues, bronze masks and other traditional artefacts with leather chairs and dark metallic tables to create a delightful contemporary ambience.

The extensive à la carte menu includes starters such as yum pu nim, a dish of succulent deep fried soft shell crab served with Thai mango salad; pla murk gra tieum, dried crispy squid with garlic and pepper and typical Thai style charcoal grilled loin pork on a stick served with a tamarind chilli dip. If you prefer a salad then go for charcoal grilled duck breast mixed with fresh chillies and lime juice, minced chicken with spring onions, lime juice and dried chilli or som tum, a traditional papaya salad.

Main course dishes capture the essence of authentic Thai cooking with offerings such as lamb massaman, lamb braised and cooked with mussaman paste, potatoes, onions, and peanuts; beef pad kra chai, stir fried sliced tender beef with sweet basil, krachai leaves, pepper seeds and fresh chillies; stir fried light buttered crispy pork loin with pepper and garlic and tamarind duck, roast duck breast on pak choi topped with tamarind sauce.

The seafood section offers a variety of delectable dishes including sea bass neung see eiw, steamed sea bass fillet with light soy sauce, ginger and spring onions; stir fried river prawn with red curry paste and lime leaves and stir fried scallop with asparagus.

You could also try house specialities of stir fried sirloin with Thai green curry paste, coconut milk lime leaves, bamboo shoots, kra chai roots and sweet basil; spicy pan fried sea bass topped with Panang curry sauce or stir fried soft shell crab with black pepper seeds, red and green peppers and chillies. The assorted seafood sizzling platter delivers stir fried king prawns, squids, scallops and mussels, cooked and flavoured with sweet basil, fine beans, onions, red and green peppers and chillies.

The royal banquet set menu for a minimum of four persons offers a platter of mixed appetisers such as chicken satay, Thai fishcake, crab spring rolls and goong hom pah, all served with variety of dips and followed by tom yum tiger prawn or chicken tom kha soup. For mains, there's a choice of dried green curry halibut fillet, duck red curry, beef pad lemongrass or pad Thai prawn and chicken served with steamed jasmine rice. Round off with Thai pancake served with vanilla ice cream. A three-course set menu is also available.

The same care and attention to detail extends to the drinks list which offers a selection of wines and champagnes from around the world as well as cold beers, ales and spirits. The cocktail menu includes classics such as pina colada, mai tai, mojito, daiquiri and margarita as well as a range of non-alcoholic cocktails to enhance the pleasure.

More information can be found on their Website.

The Phoenix is situated in a quiet residential area on Smith Street which runs south from the Kings Road close to the Duke of York's Barracks. The pub nestles attractively with a southerly facing aspect and offers substantial terraced outdoor seating.

It benefits from relaxed, informal and comfortable surroundings and offers a mix of modern and traditional British food, with fast efficient service and a large selection of wines by the glass. Their Chef sources excellent produce, including 21 day aged West Country beef and Portland crab. At lunchtime they offer a full choice and some simple dishes like baked chicken and woodland mushroom pie, or crispy warm Provençal tart.

The dinner menu could contain truffle artichoke with crispy bacon and baby leaf salad or eggs Benedict with toasted muffin, ham, wilted spinach and hollandaise, followed by slow roasted pork belly or roast four-bone rack of 'salt marsh' lamb. An extensive wine list has been put together by Master of Wine John Clevely, which adds to the gastronomic experience.
 
To gain further information, just visit their extremely comprehensive Website.

Housed within the iconic Blakes Hotel on Roland Gardens, Blakes Restaurant expertly combines the best of Eastern and Western cuisineenhanced by elegant service in splendid surroundings. Located in the well-heeled South Kensington area of London, it's close to well-known attractions such as Hyde Park, the Victoria and Albert Museum and Royal Albert Hall while the shops and boutiques on Brompton Road are just a short drive away.

The work of the reputed designer and London socialite Anouska Hempel, the restaurant's atmospheric setting combines classic design with luxurious furnishings and exotic artefacts to create a unique ambience in which guests cannot but relax and unwind at leisure.

Dinner could begin with starters of miso soup with silken tofu, carpaccio of beef with parmesan, tortellini of foie gras des landes or salt and peppered soft shell crabs. Add a luxurious touch to your meal with Oscietra or Royal Beluga caviar served with Balkes blini or warm potato soufflé and vanilla ice cream.

Follow with delicious mains of angel hair pasta with black truffle, black cod with miso and ginger sauce; beef fillet teriyaki with hot sake or rack of English lamb and rosemary with mint cous cous. Diners looking for a lighter bite could enjoy refreshing salad of buffalo Burrata mozzarella with tomatoes or warm chicken salad with avocado, pomelo, cashews and nam jim sauce. The lunch menu offers ginko nut curry with lime risottini, baby chicken with thyme and lemon or peppercorn fillet of beef. While the bento box selection includes miso soup with silken tofu, beef teriyaki, lobster toast and ginger rice.

The desserts menu at Blakes is a joy in itself and includes tempting gems such as the light and refreshing dessert of coconut ice cream with lime and palm sugar, a simpler tropical fruit salad or a richer dark chocolate fondant with vanilla and pistachio ice cream and finally, if you wish, coffee with cardamom or ginger tea.

The restaurant's all-day menu serves a selection of dim sums; fried prawn and yuzu sauce, soups, sandwiches and hot food; toasted poilâne sourdough chicken sandwich with avocado and ginger and Blakes burger and French fries and salads; oak smoked scotch salmon.

Breakfast is also served at Blakes with choice of a full English, continental breakfast or more exotic fare such as Changa Turkish eggs, two poached eggs served with leaf spinach, chilli oil and yoghurt; classic Scottish smoked salmon with scrambled eggs spicy Parsee eggs a dish of scrambled eggs with fresh green chilli and coriander. For a healthy alternative try Bircher muesli with Greek yoghurt and fresh berries or compôte of fruit with cornflakes and prunes.

For a delightful break during the day the afternoon tea menu at the adjoining Chinese Room or Courtyard offers finger sandwiches with fillings of beef and chilli horseradish, smoked salmon and egg and cress; fresh scones with fresh strawberries and cream; a selection of tea cakes and choice of tea from Earl Grey, Lapsang Souching and Darjeeling.

An extensive wine list with a range of whites and reds from Italy, France, Germany, Australia and South Africa complements the food perfectly.

To gain further information, just visit their extremely comprehensive Website.

A family friendly restaurant on Earl's Court Road, Marmara Mangal Restaurant offers an authentic Turkish menu with Mediterranean touches in the heart of leafy West London. Located south west of Hyde Park, Marmara Mangal's vibrant, welcoming interiors and friendly attentive service make it the perfect place to unwind after a shopping expedition to the exclusive boutiques and department stores in nearby Kensington. The restaurant is also close to attractions such as the Finborough Theatre, the Cineworld Cinema on Fulham Road and Stamford Bridge Stadium, home to Chelsea Football Club.

The varied à la carte offers delicious hot starters of king prawns sautéed with tomatoes, onions, parsley and peppers; filo pastry stuffed with feta cheese and parsley and lightly fried; sucuk, a traditional charcoal grilled Turkish garlic sausage and arnavut cigeri, a dish of succulent diced lamb's liver sautéed with onions and parsley. If you prefer cold starters there are choices of vine leaves stuffed with a mixture of rice, onions and herbs or imam bayildi a classic dish of aubergine stuffed with onions, tomatoes and green peppers in a special tomato sauce.

Kebabs are central to Turkish cuisine and Marmara Mangal's selection takes in succulent examples such as lamb doner kebab; the house special chicken doner kebab; spicy minced lamb with garlic; chicken sis and patlican kebab which combines sliced aubergine with minced lamb. The charcoal grill also offers tempting lamb ribs; premium cut sirloin steak, seasoned breast of chicken, marinated chicken wings, marinated quails and salmon steak.

Other main courses options include heart warming traditional stews, knuckle of lamb seasoned with herbs and served with roasted potatoes, lamb moussaka or a perennial favourite such as falafel.

Turkish cuisine has, inevitably, been influenced by the wealth of seafood from its four sea coasts and Marmara Mangal makes the most of this culinary heritage with dishes such as tiny herring, lightly fried and served with salad; king prawns sautéed with tomatoes, onions, parsley and peppers; charcoal grilled whole sea bass, rings of squid, deep fried and served with salad and a mixed seafood selection of prawn, kalamari, mussels and tuna sautéed with bell peppers and onions in a special cream sauce.

A pizza and pasta selection gives the menu the perfect Mediterranean touch. This includes pizzas with toppings of Turkish sausages with cheese and oregano; tuna with hot green pepper, onions, olives, cheese and seasoning and Turkish ham with egg, olives, cheese and oregano. Dishes of Bolognese pasta; minced beef, onion, garlic and carrots in a Napolitana sauce, tavuk pasta; chicken, mix peppers, mushrooms and hint of garlic in a cream sauce and salmon and zucchini pasta add to the variety.

A selection of chef's specials tempts the palate with a range of specialities and the restaurant also offers a range of set menus and a children's menu.

To gain further information, just visit their extremely comprehensive Website.

In Chelsea, tucked away between the Fulham Road and the Kings Road is an attractive Georgian building known as The Builders Arms. Thanks to a successful makeover, what was once a dreary old pub has now been converted into a first class gastropub, so much so that it won The Evening Standard pub of the year in 1999.

Actually located in Britten Street between Sydney Street and Chelsea Green, it is a large three storey Georgian pub of traditional character and features a spacious interior with attractive artwork, comfy leather sofas, banquettes and brightly coloured bookshelves that lend a relaxed and informal feel to the place. Linger by the fireside on a warm winter's day and sample some of the best drinks and food, all created from local produce whenever possible.

The food is made up of a daily changing all day menu, but you can expect to find dishes such as beer battered fishcakes, a pint of prawns with mayonnaise and watercress; steak sandwiches with wilted spinach, onion rings and tomato jam; fish pies; sausage and mash, roast salmon, succulent steaks and Builders Benedict that takes in English muffins, ham, spinach, poached eggs and hollandaise. Don't forget to request one of the Builders staff to give you information about the day's specials.

To gain further information, just visit their extremely comprehensive Website .

Should you feel an American moment coming on, get straight into the mood at a TGI Friday's. First thought of in New York in 1965, introduced to Birmingham, UK in 1986, they now, like so many other American concepts, are to be found on a global basis and have 48 outlets in the UK alone. According to Newsweek and The Saturday Evening Post, the opening of the first Friday's restaurant heralded the dawn of the singles age.

In many ways, TGIs are more representative of the American approach to eating out than some of their imitators. Their food is fresh, the portions generous and the cocktail list exhaustive. They also tend to represent the all-American classlessness that can produce a meal at any time, for any social group, for any reason, under the same roof, without a problem.

So what's on offer? The quick answer is, it depends rather on where you are, as menus do vary from one restaurant to another, but the essential message stays the same - American grub, fella! Appetizers - no starters please - could include Jack Daniel's wings, chicken wings coated in Jack Daniel's sweet 'n' smoky glaze, or spinach and artichoke hearts coated in a rich and creamy cheese sauce, served with crisp corn tortillas.

For a group assault try the Times Square big share, more of Jack Daniel's wings, cheese and bacon skins to the very brim, with crispy breaded mozzarella dippers and served with a battery of accoutrements.

The steaks are awesome, topping out with a 12oz rib eye. A range of burgers, ribs, chicken, fish, sandwiches, fajitas, salads and pasta embraces virtually every known twist in the repertoire of American cuisine. Chocolate fudge fixation perhaps sums up best, but by no means exclusively, the TGI approach to desserts.

From a list of over 500 cocktails, all mixed with exuberant charm, let's take just one. You thought Long Island Iced Tea was something polite Americans sipped after some gentle sailing? Think again. Vodka, gin, rum and orange liqueur, topped up with Coke, spin and pour. The popular drink was in fact, invented by TGIF. As with all cocktails you can choose between regular or ultimate, no questions asked. Beer, wine and soft drinks cover enormous range and they also offer good coffee.

It is not important which outlet of TGIF you visit, for if you enjoy the American style of eating, just look out for red and white stripes and you are likely to be happy.

To locate a Friday's nearest to you and get the world famous Friday feeling on any day of the week click on their Website.

Café Rouge has over one hundred branches throughout Britain all offering a wide range of dishes drawn from the French cuisine. Slightly less than half their branches are in or close to London. Almost inevitably the décor and design of each restaurant differs from the others, but there is a general curtsy towards La France.

Many restaurants do an excellent breakfast, or shall we say petit dejeuner, at which such delights as scrambled eggs and smoked salmon on toasted brioche, croque Madame, croissants and pain au chocolat make welcome appearances, and to their credit the English traditional gets top billing.

An array of small dishes takes in pulled pork pâté with French bread, and spicy beef and lamb sausage with harissa mayonnaise. Salads and pasta feature largely, as do baguettes and croques. Quick dishes, ideal for lunch, include slices of saucisson and cured pork loin with French bread.

Moving on to more serious stuff we find steaks, an 8oz bavette and thin cut rib eye, with a choice of béarnaise or peppercorn sauce. No French menu would be complete without the poulet jaune grille, pan-roasted breast of corn-fed chicken served on a warm taboulé of bulgar wheat and a medley of roasted vegetables with minted crème fraîche, or a steak frites before moving on to the crème brûlée, or the tart tatin. Almost invariably the coffee tastes like coffee should, something that sadly can all too often still not be said of our English restaurants, who depend too much upon technology and too little on the acquisition of a certain flair for this important conclusion to a meal.

By now we all know that the French, despite their distinctive habits when it comes to matters of satisfying the inner man, maintain a miraculous longevity of life. This is generally attributed to a number of causes, of which a measured consumption of decent wine is foremost. Café Rouge, you may be pleased to hear, encourages this with a well-chosen selection of French wines. Their prix fixe lunch and meals for children, both at a very reasonable figure, also offer excellent value.

Their Website will keep you updated on menu changes, news and other competitions and offers from the Café Society.