Cattle Grid restaurant 1, Balham Station Road London SW12 9SG Tel. 020 8673 9099
Reviewed on Thursday 14 May 2009
Cattle Grid restaurant in Balham
The Cattle Grid restaurant in Balham is located right in front of the Balham train station, you cannot miss it, especially with the big cow on the sidewalk 😉 They do not have table service so you have to order at the counter in front of the kitchen. You can actually see your steaks being cooked. We ordered a 10oz Sirloin with a green peppercorn sauce served with chips and watercress and a full rack of baby back pork ribs served with chips. Actually I wanted a 16oz T-Bone but it was not available so I had the pig instead. A little surprising to be out of stock since it was not that late, just past 8pm. Many beers from Australasia so we decided to go with the NZ Mac’s Gold which were not bad at all. The dinner was disappointing: the sirloin was good, decently cooked but the green peppercorn sauce was seriously bad to the point it had to be avoided. It was better to eat the steak with some mayonnaise than with the sauce (see the last photo, you can see a little bit of the sirloin with mayonnaise I tried). We really wondered what happened to that sauce since it is not that hard to make a pepper sauce (actually we suspected it was ‘off’…). The rack of ribs had also its share of surprise: it was not hot at all and even on the cold side, as if it was cooked an hour ago. That was a real shame since it tasted good (it was marinated in a good barbecue sauce) and the meat could be very easily detached from the bones. No need for fingers. I was very upset because this could have been an excellent meal if served normally hot. It should have been so easy to put it under the grill for a few minutes to have it warm! The fries were good, and hot at least.
NZ Mac's Gold beer!
10oz Sirloin with a green peppercorn sauce served with chips and watercress
Full rack of baby back ribs served with chips
Overview of the two plates
The meat was very easy to detach
Cost and conclusion: it was a little over £33 for the sirloin, the ribs and two beers. The value for money isn’t bad but being served a room-temperature rack of ribs and running out of T-bones at 8pm for a steakhouse is not acceptable (not to mention the peppercorn sauce issue).
Italian restaurant and pizzeria Donna Margherita 183 Lavender Hill London SW11 5TE 0207 228 2660
Reviewed on Wednesday 13 May 2009
Italian restaurant Donna Margherita
We noticed this restaurant on the way to Clapham Junction after going to Ukai Sushi. They had some articles saying they were the best pizzeria in London displayed on their entrance so we were curious about it. We returned to eat a couple of days later. It was too busy at that time to get seated inside so we ate in the conservatory next to the footpath. It was becoming cold (it was after 8:30pm) but they put the heaters quickly and they were quite efficient We ordered two pizzas: a Capricciosa (Tomato, mozzarella, ham, artichoke, black olives, olive oil, parmesan and fresh basil – £8.75) and a Pizza Donna Margherita (Cherry tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, olive oil and fresh basil – £9.10). As drink we had two beers (Moretti – £6) and ended the dinner with two Limoncello (£5).
The pizza base was amongst the best I’ve had in London – nicely crispy and light, with a very nice flavour. Donna margherita is not afraid to burn slightly the edges, producing that wonderful bubbled texture that all good pizza should have. The capricciosa topping was good – but not quite matching the best I’ve had at some other pizzeria. I put this mainly down to the ham, which came in thin strips, rather than in slices. Possibly a little heavy-handed with the artichokes also. The final result was a pizza base rivalling the best I’ve had in London, but topping not quite matching that promise. It still rates well, but has some way to go before it beats Rustica in Richmond. The pizza Donna Margherita was better, with the right amount of topping and a great tomato flavour coming from the cherry tomatoes.
Good Moretti beer
Pizza Capricciosa
Pizza Donna Margherita
The two pizzas
Chilli oil
Spicy oil on pizza
Cost and conclusion: it was £32.46 including a “discretionary” 12.5% service charge for the two pizzas, two beers and two Limoncello. The pizzas were good but we found the music a little too loud to be comfortable.
Kings Head Pub 84 Upper Tooting Road, Tooting SW17 7PB London
Reviewed on Tuesday 12 May 2009
Kings Head pub
It is surprising to find the Kings Head pub and its imposing old building in a street dominated by Indian/Pakistani restaurants. It is listed on CAMRA inventory of London’s pubs heritage where they say “Designed by the prolific pub architect, W. M. Brutton, and built in 1896. An architecturally eclectic confection outside but retaining important remnants of the original building – tilework, screens, etched glass, counter and bar-back and also a large and imposing billiard room.” We have to agree it is a very nice pub, extremely spacious compared to many other pubs. The downside was the atmosphere, or the lack of it. Maybe because of its dimensions it appeared somewhat empty.
Like in any pub, the meals go from sausages to curry. For example they had fish and chips (hand-battered fish with chips, minted mushy peas, tartare sauce and a seared half lemon – £6.75), the pie of the day served with mash, seasonal vegetables and gravy (£5.95), the sausage of the day served with mash and a sticky onion gravy (£6.25), a lemon and garlic chicken skewers (two marinated chicken skewers served with rice, roasted vegetables and a low fat garlic and mint yoghurt dressing – £7.35), a spicy roasted half chicken served with salad, chips and salsa (£7.60), moules frites served with fries and mayonnaise (£8.55) or a steak frites (grilled bavette steak with fries and béarnaise sauce, served with a watercress garnish – £7.15) . We ordered the fish and chips and the steak frites with two pints of Budvar. The steak was well cooked and tender and the béarnaise sauce was good. The fries could have been warmer and crispier.
The counter
Nice decoration
A pint of Budvar beer
Steak frites
Fish and chips
The two meals
Cost and conclusion: £20.82 for two pub meals and two pints, it is fair. It is not a gastro pub, but the food was decent and the beer good. What else to ask from a pub as even the design was impressive? Well, probably some buzz as it is lacking some soul. Still, a good place to stop if you feel hungry in the area and are looking for a pub meal. In the same street a minute walk away toward Tooting Broadway tube station there is Al Mirage if you are into curry.
Nambu-tei Japanese restaurant 12 Thames Street Windsor, Berks SL4 1PL
Reviewed on Monday 11 May 2009
Nambu-tei Japanese restaurant
Nambu-tei Japanese restaurant is wonderfully located next to Windsor Castle. It is on Thames Street when you come from the train station. Near the top of the hill, the castle is on the left side and the restaurant on the right side. It belongs to the restaurant of the same name in London’s Baker Street. We did not have much time for lunch so we both decided on the tempura set which was served with rice, some Japanese pickles and some slices of orange. The tempura was well cooked, not greasy as it can be sometimes. The pickles were good addition to the tempura. The Asahi beers were cold and fine
Funny sushi clock
Sushi à la carte
Details of the sushi à la carte menu
Tempura set
Cost and conclusion: for two tempura sets, including rice, pickels and slices of orange as dessert, plus two Asahi beers it was just over £28 and it says “gratuities at your discretion” at the bottom of the bill. Excellent! I am totally against these 12.5% service charge left at your “discretion” but added to the bill. Why do we have to opt out if the service was bad? I find it pretty rude from some restaurants to assume they automatically deserve a 12.5% service charge. I always pay the service charge even when it is discretionary but I dislike the way it is often done by including it in the total bill. Also why 12.5%? I prefer the non tipping system like in France where the service charge is already included in every meal’s price as it is less misleading than here where you see lower prices in the menu (and in small print at the bottom you see about the service charge). So thanks to Nambu-tei for being polite and respecting their clients! We like that and we will be back!
Chez Lindsay 11 Hill Rise, Richmond Surrey TW10 6UQ 020 8948 7473
Reviewed on Sunday 10 May 2009
Chez Lindsay
Chez Lindsay is a French restaurant with specialities from Brittany like galettes, pancakes and seafood. It is very well located on Hill Rise in Richmond between the river side and Richmond Park. The design inside is nice, with a kind of yellow pastel colour on the bricks and a well used wooden floor. All the staff are French but not all of them are from Brittany. We chatted a little about the 2009 Coupe de France final between two clubs from Brittany (En Avant Guingamp won) We took Le Sunday Lunch (2 courses £18.50 or 3 courses £21.50). For the first course we had the choice between the Soupe du Jour (soup of the day) or Coquille de Fruits de Mer (coquille of fish and seafood, mushrooms and cream sauce) or Parfait de Foie de Volaille (chicken liver parfait with toast and salad). For the main course we had the choice between a Filet de Bar aux Ecrevisse (filet of seabass with crayfish sauce, rice and green vegetables) or Rôti de Poulet (roast chicken with tarragon gravy and “Sunday vegetables”) or Galette à la Ratatouille ((buckwheat pancake filled with cheese, topped with ratatouille). As dessert the choice was Assiette de Fromages (selection of cheeses) or Crêpe au Citron ou Chocolat (sweet pancake with lemon juice and sugar or chocolate sauce) or Dessert du Jour (dessert of the day) which was Lemon tart with vanilla ice cream. We both had the chicken liver parfait, then chose the galette à la ratatouille and the fillet of seabass, ended the lunch with the lemon tart and a crêpe au citron followed by two coffees. As wine we had a very nice bottle of red wine 2007 Brouilly Domaine Crêt des Garanches (£27). It was smooth, round and rich with a nice after taste.
The paté to start was a very nice and smooth mousse. One of the best I’ve had in London, though I couldn’t help but feel while eating it that it would benefit from just a touch of garlic or armagnac (or some other alcohol). It is a small complaint though – overall, the mousse was very good and I’d just about return for that alone. It came with some exceptionally light, thin slices of toasted baguette that were the perfect accompaniment.
The galette was very nicely done. I need to be in the right mood for that sort of cuisine (which I was, otherwise would have chosen from the extensive menu of alternative options). It was made with wholemeal flour, giving it a touch of substance that would not otherwise have been present. The cheese interior matched nicely with the ratatouille, though the latter could have been more spicy to suit my taste. The fillet of seabass was excellent, perfectly cooked (crispy outside) with a great crayfish sauce. My only complaint would be about the portion: I wanted more!
The desserts were both excellent. Not loaded with so much sugar as to overpower the real taste (and drive you toward diabetes) as is so often the case in London restaurants, but just lightly and nicely sweet. The crèpe was nicely cooked and arrived piping hot, lightly dusted with sugar and with lemon to apply to your taste. The lemon tart was also excellent – made with real lemon and cream – no sign of the bright yellow gooey and sickly sweet abomination I’ve encountered elsewhere. It was certainly on the tart side, but for the true lemon-lover, that’s exactly how it should be.
If there is something to complain about here, it is the coffee. Rather than the espresso expected, we received two cups of brown water – the sort that would be called ‘Americano’ in France, and appeared on our bill as ‘filter coffee’. A sad end to an otherwise excellent meal. My advice to potential patrons is to ask specifically for espresso, or to take an after dinner coffee elsewhere. We’ll be back of course, as the food and service were great – but will probably avoid the coffee in the future.
Parfait de Foie de Volaille
Filet de Bar aux Ecrevisses
Details of the filet of seabass
Galette à la Ratatouille
Great bottle of Brouilly!
Crêpe au citron
Tarte au citron
Coffee
Cost and conclusion: the total cost was £84.09 (including a “discretionary” service charge of 12.5%) for two three course menus, a bottle of Brouilly and two coffees. The staff were friendly and efficient, the food great so we will be naturally back!
