There are two websites, along with Urbanspoon of course, that have really changed the way I eat out in London, especially in recession hit times where I really want to bang for my buck. These two site ensure the best overall value every time I dine out...
Table Guru: Where you sit in a restaurant has a fairly large effect on your overall dining experience. In fact there's nothing more depressing than being led past the main restaurant to that table opposite the toilet. Of course this normally happens in restaurants you don't frequent often, or have never been before and don't know better about where to request a table. Table Guru eliminates this issue by making sure you know the "hot seats" before you go to the restaurant and can request said table when making a reservation. Genius right?
Table 7: For a £7 fee, book a table at any of the restaurants listed on table7 and enjoy anywhere between 20- 30% off the bill at a whole number of restaurants. It's not even like the restaurants are bad, at the moment they have a whole host of places I want to eat - Hix, Cigalon, Maze, Club Gascon etc. And the best part? No one ever mentions the fact you are getting a discount.
When people ask me what my favourite Japanese restaurant is - my reaction is always Dinings. This answer is always met with the same response - "Where? What about Zuma? Or Nobu? Or Umu?" Nope, as much as I love all three, there is something nice about the utilitarian approach of Dinings, where one gets the impression, that this place is serious about their food. There is little in the way of atmosphere, and the decor is bland, although service is perfectly acceptable.
"Excellent cuisine, worth a detour"- that's what two of those red stars in the Michelin guide actually mean. And yet I would imagine most people, headed to the Hand and Flowers in Marlow, were actually going under the three star guise of "deserves a special journey". I certainly was when I visited last Saturday. My reluctance to travel for food was over thrown by the undisputed appeal of the infamous eatery - the first pub to receive the two star accolade and a lunch menu that's as competitive as the average pub down the street.The set lunch menu, is a bargain at £15 for two courses but involves no choices, so a fussy eater would be thrown on to the a la carte - not such bad thing, as its also incredibly reasonably priced. Its nice to see that the doubling of stars, hasn't meant similar price increases.
Wine bar. Constantly changing wines and seasonal food. Reasonable prices. Interesting menu. Two minute walk from The Boyfriend's apartment. Why it took me at least four months to walk those two minutes, and take a seat at on of The 10 cases six or so stools I don't know. Maybe because despite the interesting concept, they never buy more than 10 cases to ensure a consist turnover of offerings, 10 cases just didn't seem that interesting.
1) How much would you have to be paid to sit outside in the middle of winter to watch a film?
2) Or would you actually pay for the privilege?
3) If so, how much would you pay to watch a movie outside in the middle of winter that you've already seen before?
4) How much would you pay if it is Bridget Jones' Diary Two?
5) Are we back to question 1?
Well, the good people of The Berkeley Hotel are banking on the fact that you will answer yes to questions 2, 3, 4 and that your price will be £55 a head. Last Sunday The Boyfriend and I said yes, and visited their "Winter Wonderland".
The Boyfriend and I have a bit of a tradition, its a relatively new tradition tradition but still , of getting a long drawn out boozy lunch on New Year's Eve. Over Bob Bob Ricard, last year's location, we were in search of some other relaxed, moderately priced, cool restaurant. This year it was Automat an upmarket diner in the heart of Mayfair - a restaurant that has been on my eat list ever since I heard about their Truffle Mac and Cheese and the invite only club downstairs.
Where we stayed.... Riad Aguarzame
I have something to confess. I am an addict - a trip advisor addict. I cannot stay anywhere unless it has been thoroughly researched on Tripadvisor. Only if the good people of trip advisor like it. Most of the time so will I. That is how I found Riad Aguarzame - not the most beautiful of all the Riads in Marrakech, but not exactly bad looking - it was service that set it apart. Weirdly, I had failed to do any proper research for our short trip to Marrakech - normally I like to have a schedule, restaurants booked and maps printed but with Marrakech everything was so overwhelming all my good intentions fell by the wayside.
