Restaurant-Guide.com
hand picked restaurants

The Hare and Tortoise offers a contemporary take on the noodle and sushi bar concept, bringing a wide selection of tasty dishes for those looking to quell their hunger pangs or even for those people who are keen to try new things but don't know where to begin. Each of their outlets in Ealing, Kensington, Bloomsbury, Putney and Blackfriars are designed in a modern, sophisticated manner, although the atmosphere is friendly and welcoming, and is now a popular spot amongst residents as well as business people.

The snow crab leg and green leaves salad with homemade Japanese dressing makes a good beginning although the deep fried prawns or vegetables for tempura is not a bad choice either. Sushi lovers will revel in the numerous options such as salmon nigiri, tuna sashimi or the maki rolls, and their bento boxes provide excellent value. Noodles and rice based dishes also make frequent and welcome appearances on the menu.

For fresh, authentic and reasonably priced wholesome Italian food in Putney, few places could measure up to Enoteca Turi, a friendly family run restaurant just a stone's throw from the river. For nearly two decades, they have successfully turned out delicious regional Italian fare, which is appealing in its rustic simplicity, so it's no wonder they are so popular amongst a variety of people. The cosy and warm atmosphere makes it the perfect setting for all occasions with family, friends or colleagues and even when there's nothing to celebrate, no one will want to opt out from a visit to Enoteca.

From the menu, the seared tuna with cucumber salad, ginger and romano pepper salsa makes an effective beginning, and the roast and braised rabbit with sweet and sour pepper, onion, celery, pine nuts and capers follows up with flair. There's a wide range of desserts such as baked pancake with chocolate fondant and orange sorbet and Enoteca Turi's wine list offers extensive Italian choices which can be paired superbly with the food.

Carluccio's was started by Antonio and Priscilla Carluccio as a small café and shop stocking Italian food and ingredients in 1991, and grew into a restaurant serving authentic cuisine at sensible prices in 1999. Antonio is an expert on food and has been a wine merchant, restaurant manager and owner, cookery expert on television and author of twelve cookery books. It is therefore not surprising, that today Carluccio's has over fourty-nine outlets across the UK.

Antonio believes Italian cookery involves minimum fuss and maximum flavour. This is exactly what his restaurants try to do by using fresh produce, and working largely with families who make things the traditional way - with care. Their passion also translates into special events like hands-on cookery classes and recipe sharing, Antonio and his team regularly organise for interested guests. They also offer takeaways and a catering service.

The breakfast menu offers croissants and breads served with butter and preserves or honey and free range eggs, either scrambled or fried and served with pancetta or ciabatta. They also have long cured Parma ham and healthier options like muesli and fruits. These are best had with coffee, tea or freshly squeezed juice. Carluccio's offers an impressive list of white, red, rosé and sparkling wines which complement your meal.

The restaurants offer a range of soup and salads which give your meal a nutritious start before moving on to the mains. If you like pasta, enjoy the small filled parcels served in a ham and cream sauce, or sample the Neapolitana spaghetti with whole fresh clams, garlic, herbs and chilli. The branzino con salsa e patate, fillet of pan fried sea bass served with tomato salsa and sautéed potatoes and Somerset rib-eye steak with rosemary potatoes, called bistecca di bue con patate, are good options too. If you are looking for something lighter, you could opt for the numerous sides called contorni and panini.

In the Tuscany region of Italy, meals end simply with almond biscuits dipped in a sweet local wine, Vin Santo and eaten. You can enjoy that experience at Carluccio's, or settle for a more conventional dolci of tiramisu, warm chocolate and kahlua pudding, your choice of Italian cheeses or gelatos in different flavours.

The palm fringed beaches of Goa are the main inspiration that fashions the cuisine at Ma Goa, a regional Indian restaurant in Putney. Fresh, unpretentious and tasty food cooked according to tradition is the mainstay of this elegant restaurant, and the atmosphere is at once warm and inviting. While regular favourites make their presence apparent, the Portuguese influenced Goan fare is a refreshing take on Indian cuisine, something that every connoisseur must sample before passing verdict on the food from the subcontinent.

Amongst starters, look for the crab rissoles, tender and sweet crab meat with potato and cumin, pan fried and served with spiced mayonnaise and then move on to lamb cutlets in a yoghurt, garlic, coriander and lime marinade, cooked over charcoal. If you're in the mood for a quick lunch, then try the fish steaks cooked in a coconut, mustard seed, curry leaf and palm vinegar sauce served with plain rice from their shack attack menu, reminiscent of the numerous shack restaurants lining the beaches of Goa.

Housed in a pretty Victorian tavern right on Putney Common, the Spencer Arms is a cosy local, serving the best of British food with a good wine list and certain, rather individual, homemade specialities; The Spencer Arms kitchen is headed by Adrian Jones.

Adrian Jones was formerly the Head Chef at Yorkshire's award winning Shibden Mill Inn and he has teamed up with Jamie Sherriff, co-founder of Notting Hill's highly successful neighbourhood Italian, Zucca, to create this cosy local, serving the best of British food with a good wine list and homemade specialties like hot Suffolk cider with cracked allspice berries. The Spencer Arms kitchen also makes its own condiments and freshly baked soda bread to take home.

Lauded for his commitment to Slow Cooking, Adrian uses carefully selected suppliers, including award winning butchers Aubrey Allen of Coventry, and traditional cooking techniques to create deliciously rich and fully flavoured dishes, like his 7 hour braised ox cheek With jabron potatoes and baby onions.

Adrian trained under Gary Rhodes at The Castle in Taunton and has 20 years experience working in restaurants around the country. He has been influenced by Britain's culinary doyens including Elizabeth David, Simon Hopkinson, Rick Stein and Jane Grigson, inspiring his dedication to great British food. It's this enthusiasm which fuels his 20 mile bike ride along The River from Greenwich to The Spencer Arms every day.

The Spencer Arms kitchen offers local lunch goers, midweek grazers, families and destination diners two menus which changes everyday - lunch menu and dinner menu, and weekend brunch, as well as a hearty Rower's Breakfast, which includes Wiltshire dry cure streaky bacon, old English sausages, Clonakioty black pudding, organic eggs, baby plum tomatoes and granary toast, this is served Saturdays and Sundays from 10 am - 12 pm.

For bar snacks there is a wide selection of freshly prepared British tapas including potted shrimps, mini shepherd's pie, salt cod fritters and comforting classics like Welsh rarebit and eggy bread with grilled herrings.

The lunch and dinner menus feature robust and satisfying dishes like duck burger with goat's cheese and homemade beetroot pickle and celeriac soup with crayfish tails and favourites like bread and butter pudding, banana custard and lemon curd tart with plum compote and homemade apple crumble ice-cream.

"More gastro than pub...well worth the trip to the end of the 22 bus route", Square Meal.

"A fine pub", Guy Dimond - Time Out.

Toby Young of ES Magazine described the cooking as "outstanding" and "possibly the best gastro-pub food that he has tasted".

Pizza Express remains a hugely popular bedrock of casual eating. Its popularity is testimony to the fact that across the country, they have restaurants where you will always be guaranteed a good nosh, with children's tastes being well catered for.

Pizza Express has gone even more Roman, and following the success of that particular example of listening to their public have introduced Romana pizzas, including the scorching Etna and the hearty Siciliana.

These pizzas are now thinner, bigger and crispier, and if that sounds like a marketing line, it is. However, unlike many such lines, this one is true, and their quality is always consistent, though cleverly they have still managed to retain a homemade feel to their pizzas.

As an alternative to pizza, try their pollo pesto - cavatappi pasta with torn chicken breast, mushrooms, red onions and mozzarella in a creamy gruyere, parmesan and pesto sauce and finished with grana padano - or the niçoise salad with mixed leaves, yellowfin tuna, free range egg, green beans, potatoes and tomatoes with olives, anchovies, capers and house dressing.

Many of the big chains have come a long way, and Pizza Express is certainly amongst them. One of the first to be quoted on the Stock Exchange - in 1993 - Pizza Express is not a franchise operation and retains tight control through its own staff.

Their wine list - though short - contains some surprisingly good offerings, especially their intense Australian Chardonnay, and a big, full-bodied Merlot from Cusumano, Sicilia.