Bedford & Strand bistro and wine bar 1A Bedford Street, Covent Garden – the Strand WC2E 9HH London
Inside Bedford & Strand
There were three of us for a quick lunch at the Bedford & Strand. It is a well-hidden basement restaurant, on Bedford street just a few metres from the corner of the Strand, not far from Charing Cross tube station. The interior is quite attractive, despite the lack of natural light, and it has well defined eating and bar areas.
We ordered lemon sole (£16), steak & chips (£18.75) and a shepherd’s pie (£11.50). As drinks, we just took a bottle of water (£2.95) as we had meetings planned for the afternoon and we are in London, not in France 😉
Lemon sole
Steak and chips
Shepherd's pie
Mine was the lemon sole, which was OK, but did not come with any accompaniments, so was a bit of a stingy lunch for its price. It tasted OK, but didn’t smell terribly appetising, which was rather a turn off. My companions reported the cottage pie to be distinctly average-poor, and the Steak/chips to be no better than OK. We ended the meal with 2 double espresso (£5.50) and a cappuccino (£3.25) – these were fine, but nothing special. Cost & conclusion : The bill came to £63.75 which include the (already added) “optional” service charge of £5.80. The service was OK, but extremely slow – and there were only a handful of people in the restaurant – so I think probably more than deserved. As for the food, it’s not great and rather overpriced for the quality. The surroundings are pleasant, but that’s not a good enough reason to return.
Other restaurants I reviewed in the area: Côte restaurant, pizzeria Fire and Stone, Hazuki, Loch Fyne, Marquess of Anglesey, Terroirs, Wahaca, Zizzi and a little further: Albannach, Akasiro, Prix Fixe, Tokyo Diner.
The Banana Leaf Canteen 75-79 Battersea Rise London SW11 1HN
Prawn crackers
It has been a long time since we ate Thai food so we decided to go back to the Banana Leaf Canteen near Clapham Junction. Usually it is less crowded than the Pepper Tree located in Clapham Common and it was the case again.
We ordered some crackers (£2.50), then we both had soup based noodles as main courses: the vegetarian Kau Chi Dumpling Noodles (dumplings with yellow wheat noodles with vegetable broth, served with pak shoy, shitake mushrooms, coriander and crispy shallot – £6.95) and the chicken Ying Yang Laksa Noodles (mixture of wheat and rice noodles topped with their house special mildly spiced coconut broth laced with grilled aubergine, tofu and bean sprouts. Garnished with lime wedge, coriander and crispy shallots and chicken – £7.85). As drinks we ordered a Tiger beer (£3.25) and an apple and orange juice (£2.85). The beer could have been colder. The juice was quite good.
The two main courses
Kau Chi Dumpling Noodles
The Kau Chi Dumpling Noodles were quite good. The soup arrived piping hot – that is, with risk of burning your mouth if you’re not careful! It was very tasty, with noodles still “al dente” in the soup. The dumplings were also pretty good, something that is quite variable in this sort of dish (i.e. I have had some pretty nasty dumplings in my time), and the vegetables fresh. The only thing I don’t care for here, but that seem to be added to most dishes at this restaurant, are the corn chips. Corn chips are one thing, but soggy corn chips in soup is quite another. That said, it’s perfectly easy to avoid eating them, so overall a good dish and very filling.
Ying Yang Laksa Noodles
The Ying Yang Laksa noodles was quite good, creamy and spicy. Only one problem: it was just too hot! I managed to burn my tongue with this meal which kept its heat for a long time. The portion was huge, I had trouble finishing it and I am usually a “big” eater.
Cost and conclusion: it was £25.74 including the “optional service charge of 10%” (if it is optional, why to automatically add it to the bill?). If you are near Clapham Junction train station, the Banana Leaf Canteen is a decent place for a quick and cheap lunch. The value for money is good. The service, while friendly, could have been better: for example, the prawn crackers arrived only after the main courses. Somebody needs to train her memory 😉 You can read the previous review about this restaurant at http://www.trusted-gourmet.com/2009/07/thai-restaurant-banana-leaf-canteen-75-battersea-rise-cnr-northcote-road-clapham-junction-london. Other recommended restaurants in the area are the excellent Italian restaurant Pizza Metro (reviewed here and here) just across the road and the great authentic Japanese Sushi restaurant Tokiya (reviewed here and here). If you are into burgers, the Gourmet Burger Kitchen in Northcote Road is quite good (reviewed here and here).
Zizzi Italian Restaurant 73-75 The Strand London WC2R 0DE
Nice cold Peroni beer
We go quite regularly to the Zizzi on the Strand, since it is close to the office but it has been over two months since the last review. I feel I had to post a new review since I saw a comment by someone complaining about the service for non-native English speakers, the food and the price (!). I too am a non-native English speaker but have not had a single problem at this restaurant. By the way, not many waiters at this Zizzi are native English speakers… They seem mostly to be from Poland or Italy according to their accent. As for the “rubbish food”, well it all depends on people’s taste but personally I find Zizzi quite decent and I have been in many restaurants. Still, everyone is entitled to their opinion. But what I find funny is when the whinger says “it could be, and should be much better taking into consideration the price” I almost choked on my can of coke laughing. First, a meal costs around £8-12 at Zizzi and this one is located in the Strand, which is not exactly the cheapest area in London. You pay the same price at any Zizzi so this one at least is offering a better value for money compared to the ones located in less desirable places. Second, even in absolute Zizzi is quite cheap: you eat well, the surrounding is not bad and air conditioning is nice when it is hot. Cheaper, is the McDonalds next door. Third, Zizzi offers discounts all the time! For example, the current offer allows you to buy any main meal and get another one for only £1! It is valid Sunday to Thursday until Sunday 11th October 2009. Just go to http://zizzi.co.uk to see the latest offers.
Pizzas cotto e funghi
Well, back to the review now. We ordered 2 pizzas cotto e funghi (£8.50 + £1 for the second pizza with their current deal), a bottle of San Pellegrino 500ml (£2.15) and a bottle of Peroni beer (£3.20). We chose that kind of pizza since we quite liked it last time we reviewed the place. It was good this time too, with a nice thin crispy base. The toppings were good, and we especially like the mushrooms and the creamy mascarpone
Cost and conclusion: It was less than £15 for two people. All tips and gratuities are discretionary at Zizzi and they really are since they are not automatically added to the bill. Great pizzas, very reasonable prices, excellent location for us but also for all the tourists visiting Covent Garden or Trafalgar Square where tourist traps are the norm.
The Long room bar & hotel 130 Mitcham Road Tooting SW17 9NH
The Long room bar & hotel
Inside
Strange wallpaper and carpet
It is quite large as you can see
The Long room bar & hotel (formerly the Mitre hotel – the sign outside still has the old name) is a very large pub located in Tooting which is better known for curry houses than pubs. They have tables outside which is a nice feature especially during this late summer period. Inside, it is large with many seats and areas. I am not too sure what to think about the carpet and the wallpaper design and colours… Let’s say it is original 😉
It is a pub but they have a big range of meals. They have sandwiches like hot special ciabattas and paninis with steak and onions, caujun chicken, Cheddar etc. There is a long room burger grill menu with the Classic burger (£6.95), the Lamb & Rosemary Burger (£7.95), the Spicy Chicken Burger (£6.95), the Mediterrarean Veggie Burger (£6.95). All their burgers are home made with 100% British beef and come served in a floured, salad filled bun with chunky chips, seasonal salad & hamburger relish) As main courses they have a braised lamb shank (tender lamb shank in a minted gravy served on a bed of creamy mash – £8.95), bangers & mash (Cumberland sausage served on a bed of creamy mash and rich onion gravy – £7.25), 10oz sirloin steak (100% British beef sirloin steak seasoned, served with chunky chips, sauteed mushrooms, grilled tomato and seasonal salad – $11.95), hickory – smoked barbeque rack of ribs (served with chunky chips, seasonal salad and barbeque sauce – £8.95), beer battered fish and chunky chips (freshly beer battered fish of the day served with chunky chips, garden peas and tartare sauce – £7.95), breaded scampi (wholetail breaded scampi served with chunky chips, garden peas and tartare sauce – £7.95), salmon fishcakes (salmon fishcakes in a breadcrumb coating served with wedges, salad and tartare sauce – £7.50), chilli con carne (100% beef mince in a rich, spicy chilli sauce served on a bed of boiled rice – £7.25), nachos and cheese (nachos topped with Cheddar cheese, jalapenos sour cream, guacamole and salsa – £5.95) and the Long Room platter (half rack of hickory smoked barbeque ribs, BBQ chicken wings, spring rolls, onion rings, wedges with salad garnish and selection of dips – £11.95).
We ordered the fish and chips and the braised mint lamb with a pint of Moretti beer (served nicely cold) and a glass of orange juice which was quite decent – not too sweet, and served with a good amount of ice.
Great Moretti beer
The two meals
Fish and chips
The fish and chips were quite good. The only real complaint I would make was with the batter, which was on the hard side of crispy and made it a bit excessively hard to eat. The tartare sauce was fine, as were the fries (ideally, I would have wished them a bit thinner and crispier – but they were still OK as they were) and accompanying peas.
Braised lamb shank
The lamb shank was quite good and large. It was sitting on excellent real mash potato. The mint gravy sauce was very nice too. For less than £9, it offers a great value for money.
Cost and conclusion: it was £23.60. No 12.5% optional service charge here! We were happy to discover this place with cheap but decent food. Recommended if you are in the area! If you are into pizza, you can go to Limoncello just accross the road or Sette Bello 5 minutes walk away.
Café du Village 11 Bellevue Road, Wandsworth Common London SW17 7EG
Café du Village (was The Brasserie)
Inside, it is quite spacious.
Interesting décor
Café du Village (formerly The Brasserie) is a restaurant wonderfully located right in front of Wandsworth Common. It pretends to “offer great value cuisine with just a hint of French influence”. With the restaurants Chez Bruce next door and Bellevue Rendez-vous a minute walk away we certainly see more “French influence” in this area (not to mention the Café & patisserie l’Amandine there too). Actually the only true French restaurant is Bellevue Rendez-vous where the owners and staff are French. I think the staff at Café du Village were from Poland.
It is possible to eat outside but we prefered to go inside. It is spacious and smartly decorated although a little impersonal.
As starters we had the Moules Marinieres (Mussels with shallots in white wine with a dash of cream, served with a half baguette – £5.75) and a Garlic & mixed herb bread (£2.95).
As main courses we had a Poulet à l’Estragon (Pot-roasted chicken supreme with mushrooms, onion & bacon in a red wine & tarragon sauce – £10.95) and a Char-grilled Sirloin (21 day aged sirloin with French fries, new potatoes or mash – £16.95) with a Béarnaise sauce (£0.75). As drinks we had a small bottle of sparkling water (£2) and a large glass of an Argentinian 2007 Tarquino Malbec red wine (£7.75).
Other interesting main courses were the Salmon Fishcake (Oven baked fishcake with buttered spinach and a lemon & chive cream sauce – £9.50), the Calves Liver and Bacon (Pan-fried Dutch calves liver and bacon served with creamed potatoes and a red wine & port sauce – £12.95) or the Seafood Linguini (Pan-fried king prawns, squid, clams, mussels, garlic and chilli with an extra virgin olive oil & white wine sauce – £11.95).
Original presentation
The two starters
The garlic bread to start was a little miserable. It was three slices of grilled baguette smothered in butter. There was very little garlic taste though, and overall it was just a little too greasy and overcooked.
Moules marinières
The mussels were good but a little on the small side. Also, one or two were closed. It was a very rich meal with plenty calories because it was so creamy that the sauce was thick. I am into butter and cream so it was perfect for me but some people might find it overpowering.
Poulet à l’estragon
Close-up
The chicken with the taragon sauce was excellent! It was perfectly cooked with a crispy skin. The sauce with red wine and taragon was great. The bacon was good too, not too strong as can happen sometimes. I was quite pleased with this meal and the wine was very nice too.
Char-grilled Sirloin
The chargrilled sirloin was actually quite good – and better than its appearance in the photos might suggest. I had ordered this done ‘medium’ – which in the UK tends to mean overcooked. So it was on this occasion, which is just another reminder to me to ask for my meat rare when I want medium, or else I’ll get well done. Nonetheless, the meat was tender and with a nice flavour. The bearnaise sauce was also very good, and not greasy as can sometimes be the case. The mashed potato was excellent. Very nice and creamy, the right amount of butter, and beautifully textured. They were just the accompaniment, but they really made the dish.
Cost and conclusion: it was £53 including the “discretionary gratuity of 12.5%”. I am against this automatic gratuity added to the bill in many places in London, it should be left to the discretion of the client. That said, the service was friendly but very slow. It took a long time to get our starters. After, things went a bit better. The value for money is not bad, the food is decent and the location is fantastic. It is a good place for a pause after walking at the park, especially since they do snacks like croque monsieur, salads, breakfast, fish & chips etc. If you prefer to eat more authentic French dishes (boeuf bourguignon, confit de canard etc), Bellevue Rendez-vous is the place to go!
