Joke about Ethiopia all you want, they actually do have a lot of dishes.

Basically you get a big round circle of some food material, I can’t quite remember the name, but it’s what they eat everything with and it actually tastes quite good… has a nice texture to it.

The dishes were ordered before I even got there, and when they came I was bitterly dissapointed.

Imagine generic chicken stew packed with spices… that’s basically what it was.  Everything was a generic stew, I can’t stand genericness at the best of times and this really pissed me off.
I could have been dining on a fine piece of battered prawns in honey sauce at a chinese in Soho, but I had to endure the spices of Ethopia.

The service was mega SLOW… took ages for the food to come, to get a glass of water – and the waiter was quite rude too… I don’t recommend it.
Prices are really high too, you’re paying for the experience of sharing a  big plate with your friends and eating with your hands.  Everybody had a cold too, so sharing food was not what I wanted to do.

2/10

I have a lot of history with this Pizza Hut.  They are only yards from my work so it’s easy to get to.

Firstly the prices are through the roof, back in my home town I can dine for a tenner including tip, here it’s more like 15 quid.

Secondary, we went in just for desert once, they kicked us out!

The last time I was there, we just wanted some cheap food after getting intimidated by the prices of a Greek restaurant. The waiter short changed us by 9 quid… but my mate was so confused we only ended up getting another 2 quid back disgraceful!!

The food was disgusting too, ONLY buy Italian bases if you must go to pizza hut, anything else is just a greasy mess.

i’m so angry

1/10

3 things that are great about hummus bros: cheap, healthy, filling

Although prices have gone up now, you can still get a lush meal for around 5 pounds.  I generally get Hummus for lunch. I introduced many people from my office to Hummus Bros and many can’t turn back.
I’m close to completing my loyalty card which will get me a free meal (I would have completed it already if i didn’t keep losing my old cards :/)

I first got introduced to Hummus Bros in September, when I was going for job interviews in London.  My friend who had been there on it’s opening day is also obssessed with it.  I no go at least once a week, I actually have a meal lined up there for Tuesday evening… a nice meal after work.

My favourite Hummus bros topping is the Asian BBQ pork, you can’t beat it.  Unfortunately this topping is only a special, so it isn’t on everyday.  When it isn’t there I just go for the chunky beef, which is suitably tastey.

THe malabi desert at Hummus bros is also a wonderful treat.  IT’s so nice that it is actually in shortage, they won’t let you have more than 2 if you eat in the restaurant lol.

You get a free mint tea if you eat in as well, very nice after a hummus.

My friend always gets the Mushroom topping and says it’s real good… as is the Javabean topping.

Big up the Hummus (Ross from friends likes it too)

Drawn in by the good atmosphere downstairs, we were escorted to our table on the third floor… it was very gloomy in this room (I dunno, is gloomy meant to be romantic or something?).  It was quite funny being up in the attic, although many more customers joined us after we had sat down.

The prices at La Mercury are very competitive, you can get a main course for less than £7, starters are up to £4.

I had the king prawns for starters, I wish I didn’t – they are so much hassle, and make your fingers a mess. You also do not get much more for your money.  My friend had the muscles, which were apparently top notch, and in plentiful supply.

For main I had the Rib Eye steak.  The issue with buying steak is that you rarely get vegatables with the meal… those have to be ordered separately.  After some confusion as to why we didn’t have vegatables, my friend bit the bullet and ordered a side dish of veg for the table.
The rib eye was cooked fairly well, and tasted how I would expect.  The potatoes were a little dissapointing, but I could not complain for the price.

Service wise, the place was pretty strange, some of the staff were very friendly and helpful, and some didn’t really understand what we were saying (random people from Poland etc…)

Anyway

La Mercury   6/10

The starter was quite good, a platter of salad/breadsticks/hummus/hams etc. I found not many people were eating the starters and trying to save themselves for the main course.

The service was fairly quick considering we had 16 people at a table.  I got the New York pizza. Which is basically chicken on a pizza – you get sour cream sprinkled with Paprika on it too which is a nice addition.

I definitely recommend going here if you’re sick of pizza hut…

Desert wise I had a chocolate brownie, which was  top notch but I couldn’t finish it, it came with some ice cream too.

7/10

Hamburger Union

I ate here with a friend of mine on Wednesday. It’s not too bad, resonable prices.  I had a cheese/bacon/burger which  was pretty standard. You have to buy chips separately which is annoying, but you have to expect this in the capital.

Hamburger Union is basically a diner, you walk in and order at the counter. Then they give you a number and you choose where you sit and wait for your food. Service time was very quick, took 10 minutes tops to get our food. Service was good too… friendly staff added to an easy experience.

Prize wise I paid 6 quid for my Burger, it was about 2.50 for the fries. I also bought a milkshake at ~3 quid. The milkshake was damn good. If you like Ed’s diner milkshake but think it’s a bit heavy, definitely check out the hamburger Union milkshakes.

Gourmet Burger Kitchen

Gourmet Burger Kitchen has an impressive array of choices for stuff to put on your burger. When I went I had the satay beef burger. It was LUSH, extremely tastey.

Prizes at Gourmet are very expensive… you’re looking at 7-9 for your Burger, 3 for your cheaps, and over 2 for a small bottle of Coke. I had water when I was there, cause I wanted chips with my burger.

I’d definitely eat at both these places again, but i’d much rather eat at Gourmet Burger Kitchen if i have the money… the food is so tastey.

Maybe i’ll go to Gourmet for mains, hamburger Union for milkshake, then covent garden for some waffles… who knows

The staff will pamper you to no end.  They open your napkins and put them on your lap, fill up your glasses of tap water from a jug you request, and even serve 2 spoons of rice onto your plate when handing out the first load of dishes.

I found the service to be way over the top, it was very uncomfortable eating with a staff of 3 looking at your table waiting to serve you.  I’m someone who just wants to get on with my eating without being watched.

The food at the palace is very good, some of the best chinese food i’ve ever had actually.

Overall   8/10

La Porchetta’s menu is what you would expect from any Italian place.  The first time I went I had the lasagne, which unfortunately was rather bland and uninspiring – however the low cost seemed to counteract the disappointment of my pallet.   The second time I was there I had the Fusilla alla campagne.  I really enjoyed this dish, spiced sausage served with the curly looking pasta for those who don’t know.

I’m hopefully going to be visiting again this week, and will attempt to get the Calzone (some random was eating it when I last visited and it looked damn good).

7/10 for this restaurant

well done Porchetta

The quality of the food is not good.  I’ve had a lot better for the same price (4.90 or so for all you can eat).  The choice of food was also limited.  Sweet and sour pork (you add the sauce yourself), beef + blackbean sauce (standard procedure), some generic chicken curry, rice, noodles and spring rolls.

You could taste the low quality in the food.  Don’t be drawn in by the low cost, spend 2 pounds more and get a vastly superior meal further into chinatown!