guestspy » London http://www.guestspy.com undercover, independent reviews of places to stay & eat Thu, 12 Aug 2010 08:41:24 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Banger Bros – Fast Food Review http://www.guestspy.com/2009/04/07/banger-bros-fast-food-review/ http://www.guestspy.com/2009/04/07/banger-bros-fast-food-review/#comments Tue, 07 Apr 2009 15:59:17 +0000 Undercover Brother http://www.guestspy.com/?p=45 If you’re ever down at the Portobello Market and feeling a bit peckish but don’t feel like spending a fortune I can only recommend Banger Bros. The name says it all. They specialise in the finest sausages the UK has to offer, between a bun.  The result is a burger like sausage sandwich which out-strips the efforts of any ‘insert nasty faceless corporation here’ . I walked away feeling  satisfied safe in the knowledge that my money was well spent and didn’t feel the usual headheades and pangs of hunger half an hour later which I normally associate with fast food. Top effort. Check out the menu.

Banger Bros Portobello ]]> http://www.guestspy.com/2009/04/07/banger-bros-fast-food-review/feed/ 0 Simpson’s In The Strand – Quality British!! http://www.guestspy.com/2009/03/10/simpsons-in-the-strand-quality-british/ http://www.guestspy.com/2009/03/10/simpsons-in-the-strand-quality-british/#comments Tue, 10 Mar 2009 15:15:45 +0000 Undercover Brother http://www.guestspy.com/?p=25 Located on The Strand a few hundred metres from Trafalgar Square Simpson’s In The Strand promised something special. Traditional British ingredients prepared in a traditional British manner (no not Donner kebabs after downing 1 or 10 too many!). The carvery at this establishment is famous and lessons are available so punters like you and me can become experts in this age old craft. According to the website Simpson’s have been practicing it professionally for over 150 years now. Seeing as this was the speciality of the restaurant and highly recommended by all who had been before our table of six all order the roast beef. The beef is the finest Scottish beef left on the bone and cured for 28 days and it tastes even better than the marketing blurb suggests if this is possible. Absolutely amazing. Our waiter/carver for the evening, Giuseppe, displayed his considerable talents of carvery table-side with the help of a antique silver-domed trolley for added effect (maybe this is why the room is so well lit!) . He also happily returned to serve seconds (at only £5 a go for seconds its a true bargain).

Master Carver

Giuseppe shows how it’s done!

With the added sides of horseradish garnish, cabbage, roast potatoes and (un)healthy amounts of wine I was stuffed. Dessert! I hope you like custard…..

All in all a top meal with no expenses spared. At roughly £55 a head all in it’s not for the faint hearted but then again lifes too short. A must for anyone visiting London and seeking a truly British experience.

]]> http://www.guestspy.com/2009/03/10/simpsons-in-the-strand-quality-british/feed/ 0 Fear & Loathing in Gaucho Grill, Piccadilly http://www.guestspy.com/2009/03/03/fear-loathing-in-gaucho-grill-piccadilly/ http://www.guestspy.com/2009/03/03/fear-loathing-in-gaucho-grill-piccadilly/#comments Tue, 03 Mar 2009 13:47:03 +0000 Undercover Brother http://www.guestspy.com/?p=23 Posh night out? Bring it on! Having found Gaucho Grill on Swallow Street a nice little alley off of Regent Street we entered already salivating at our prospective feast. A good friend had recommended the food if we weren’t scared of breaking the bank. Greeted at the door by the porter. Nice touch. Led from the door to the cloak room counter by another greeter. This is service. At the counter yet another employee steps in to ask the cloak room assistant to take our coats. Okay this is getting intense. Led downstairs by a different employee again, the fifth and counting, and shown to our seats where a waiter would cater for us from hereon in.

Lighting. Low and mellow. I like it. Interior design. Cellar with curved ceiling. Also very tasteful. So far so good. Music. Slightly strange choice of funky house beats mostly drowned out by the chatter of fellow diners. All set. Skipping the starter we happily sipped wine and sampled bread with olive oil and a selection of dips as they bought out a platter with the finest selection of Argentine steak you are likely to find this side of the equator. The platter contained one of each cut of steak available on the menu. Rump, Sirloin, Fillet and Rib Eye (see the steak menu). As the waiter kindly explained the difference between all the cuts, how they are prepared and why they are prepared in this way I couldn’t help but feel impressed by the professional service we were experiencing. This must be what it’s like to be a sheik. I could get used to this.

Having failed to come to a decision we opted to try the Gaucho sampler, a platter featuring one of each cut, between us. Each steak would of course be cooked to perfection as recommended by Adam, our friendly waiter for the evening. As is the norm with establishment of such high esteem we custom ordered each component of the meal to ensure total satisfaction. Four different sauces, chips, fries, sweet potatoe chips, roasted vegetables, humitas (an interesting Native American corn based dish) and another couple of bottles of wine while we were at it. This was as good as it gets.

Map Gaucho Grill Piccadilly

Our wine duly arrived shortly followed by our main courses. Words can’t even begin to express how good the food was. For a moment I thought I’d found utopia. The feeling of bliss started to fade soon after. Our meals devoured and wash down with wine we thought it would be a good idea to order another bottle or two of wine. We’ll order it when the waiter comes to take our empty plates away. 10 minutes pass. Hmmm they must be very busy…. 20 minutes pass still no sign of anyone to clean up our table or take our order for more wine…. 30 minutes…. 40 minutes…. 50 minutes….. The trip had reared is ugly head and turned on us. Tempers were fraying at an alarming rate. I have never in my life experience such a schizophrenic meal. This had snowballed into possibly the worst meal I’d had this side of the millenium. Still the waiters and waitresses rushed by, back and forth, back and forth, seemingly in a daze and not serving anyone. Using my rudimentary knowledge of the French language I could dicipher grunts of Gallic disatifaction coming from the table behind us for similar reasons. I’m not one for making wild and unfounded accusations regarding staff attempts to keep energy levels up throughout the evening but I have my suspisions that WADA would have a field day in here.

After an hour and ten minutes a physical intervention (don’t worry it was non-aggressive) was needed to attract the attention of a waiter. Our table still piled high with dirty dishes we had come down off our buzz and felt that the wine we had initially intended to order would have been a waste. However, as is to be expected with ladies in the group, the opportunity for dessert was not to be passed up. Having ordered and had our table cleared we waited diligently for our final course. This all arrived as expected expect for one dessert which for some reason took an extra 20 minutes to come out. As it was a cold dish I am still curious as to how this could be the case.The dessert was fine but again spoiled by the wait.

The four of us were, at this stage, all slightly disgruntled and keen to leave. We received our bill, all £165 plus tips of it, paid up and left. Whilest leaving I wondered who made the decision to have five people greet us at the door and only three to run a floor of 20 odd tables. It was hard to be angry at the waiter who served us as it was clear that it was an operational issue which was entirely out of his hands. For this reason we left a small gratuity but it has to be said, despite the fine quality of the food on offer, I will never set foot in a Gaucho Grill again.

]]> http://www.guestspy.com/2009/03/03/fear-loathing-in-gaucho-grill-piccadilly/feed/ 0 Franco Manca – Best Pizza in London… http://www.guestspy.com/2009/02/27/franco-manca-best-pizza-in-london/ http://www.guestspy.com/2009/02/27/franco-manca-best-pizza-in-london/#comments Fri, 27 Feb 2009 19:46:03 +0000 Undercover Brother http://www.guestspy.com/?p=22 Franco Manca

Before I start I must confess that I’m not the first to rave about this. It’s so good The Guardian did a 2 page write up. Real Italians with real Italian pizza at real Italian prices. What more could you ask for? These guys really know how to make pizza. Nestled deep in Brixton (last stop southbound Victoria Line) Market Arcade it would be easy to miss. Until the recent Guardian review it was locals only. Now, unfortunately, it’s not uncommon the find half hour queues despite the ‘approachable’ personality of the owner…. On my first visit he attempted to play match-maker between me and his male chef, patently ignoring the presence of my girlfriend…. The menu is simple (check it out here) yet effective with the basement prices making it a real treat to behold amidst the financial doom and gloom. If it wasn’t for the chilling breeze sweeping through the arcade you could be forgiven for thinking you were in Napoli. Simply the best pizza in London. Not to be missed!

]]> http://www.guestspy.com/2009/02/27/franco-manca-best-pizza-in-london/feed/ 4 Stansted Express – Some sort of sick joke! http://www.guestspy.com/2009/02/27/stanstead-express-some-sort-of-sick-joke/ http://www.guestspy.com/2009/02/27/stanstead-express-some-sort-of-sick-joke/#comments Fri, 27 Feb 2009 19:13:57 +0000 Undercover Brother http://www.guestspy.com/?p=21 Flying into London, the self professed ‘best city in the world’ (I love London, but really?), I’m always glad to escape the clutches of the direct selling personnel until I remember what comes next. Airports aren’t my type of place. Paranoid and expensive, if I’m lucky enough to land on-time and before the last train has left (this happens more often than I care to remember), I’m usually happy to step into the carriage anticipating what awaits. Not at Stansted. Shanghai has the Bullet Train, Toyko the Keisei Skyliner Airport Express so surely London would have something to shock and awe……

The Stansted Express. The train where it’s April 1st every day. Seriously, 1st class passengers pay double for the privilege of a different colour cloth on their seat and maybe a free drink if the staff remember to pass through with the drinks trolley. I only know 1st class exists because the conductor moved me on claiming that my presence in 1st class with a standard ticket was unfair to the passengers who had stumped up the cash for the real deal. The irony was entirely lost on him. I’ve travelled return 1st class London to Liverpool on Virgin for the same price as a standard single on the Stansted Express. Incidentally the only thing remotely express about the Stansted Express is the £2.50 instant coffee which they try flog. Presumably to add insult to injury.

Spot the Difference. Spot the Difference.

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE

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