Chamomile
Laughing Gravy Bar Restaurant

Laughing Gravy Bar Restaurant

154-156 Blackfriars Road, Southwark, United Kingdom

Pizza • Kebab • Cafés • Fast Food


"As someone who tends to be a bit picky, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food. The à la carte menu features some imaginative dishes, such as a delicious oxtail sausage roll and a mead-glazed pheasant leg, along with a selection of Christmas menu offerings from 2016. What was meant to be a three-course meal turned into a delightful series of indulgences, thanks in part to my stretchy pants! One standout dish was the hot-smoked, whisky-cured Loch Duart salmon served on Guinness sourdough with horseradish mousse and truffle snow. What can I say? This was exquisite salmon, with each element—from the sourdough to the sweet horseradish—blending beautifully. I kicked off my meal with roasted and pickled heritage beetroot, goat cheese, and preserved apple topped with cashews (£8.50). This was a stunning plate, showcasing sharp apple, wonderfully sweet beetroot, and the tangy goat cheese—an absolute delight. Rolled in apple jelly, it was amusing and unexpected. Next was a festive dish from their Christmas menu—a rich wild boar and pistachio terrine with damson chutney and purple potato purée. Beautifully presented and reasonably priced at £50 for three courses, there wasn't a boring Christmas pudding or mint cake in sight. The chef’s duck pâté and chicken liver foie gras was sublime, served with a tart cherry reduction and candied hazelnuts. However, I had jumped the gun by ordering my main course too early. The wild mushroom and salted venison Wellington was accompanied by tender stem broccoli and white truffle celeriac purée topped with roasted almonds (£24). If I had to nitpick, I would have liked it a tad flakier, but the venison was perfectly cooked. Next, I enjoyed a dish of fried market fish served with braised leeks, kale, buttered new potatoes, and Brixham crab broth. This Christmas special was packed with flavor that harmonized beautifully. As for dessert, I was ready for something special. What arrived was nothing short of delightful: a plate of amaretto panna cotta with caramelized banana, candied cashews, and a decadent seven-layer dark chocolate and roasted pecan pie infused with vanilla and nutmeg. To top it all off, the salted caramel mousse with vanilla cream, shortbread, and a chocolate ganache-filled caramel cylinder was a clever nod to my sweeter side. I’m a sucker for salted caramel ice cream, and it was heavenly paired with the chocolate brew. After everything, the chef offered me an ice cream sandwich. I had to put my foot down—my stretchy pants were at their limit, and I needed to call it a night. If you live near this restaurant, I am genuinely envious. If not, make sure to visit before it becomes so popular that securing a table becomes impossible!"

The Chesterfield Mayfair

The Chesterfield Mayfair

The Chesterfield Mayfair Hotel 35 Charles Street London, W1J 5EB, United Kingdom

Tea • Hotels • British • European


"Supposedly Butlers restaurant in the Chesterfield Hotel is known as a fine dining restaurant but in actuality it is a huge, mismanaged disappointment in almost every respect. One is at first we were shocked to see one half of the nicely appointed dining room permanently closed and out of service. We now understand after experiencing the Butlers food and service, it is apparent the regularly dining public is staying away. Why? Well to just name a few of the startling inferior aspects of the Butlers..... First let me assure the reader our traveling family was expecting a well prepared and well served expensive meal which was our goal. A goal we had no problem in fulfilling elsewhere in renowned London restaurants. Caesar salads were served with zero dressing with no attempt to reconcile this lack despite bringing it to the attention of the otherwise friendly but poorly trained staff. Most of our party of eight ordered salads but half of them came 15-20 minutes after the others were delivered. Some main dishes were barely warm and the sauce for some seemed to be nothing but plain unadulterated bouillon or Vegemite. and the accompanying potato mash was totally unheated. Plus after pointing this out and waiting 15 minutes for a warm mash, they served lukewarm mash again. One of our party wanted tequila on the rocks in a salt rimmed glass. The maîtresse de was dumbfounded and said just use the sale on the table which is impossible to do in a filled glass. There is much more lacking at Butlers, but suffice it to say avoid Butlers like the plague. I take no joy in reporting this and merely wished for an upscale and happily memorable dinner."

Avenue

Avenue

7-9 St James's Street London, SW1A 1EE, United Kingdom

Steak • British • European • Vegetarian


"I have been to Avenue many times over the years. This weekend I went to the bar with 2 friends for some cocktails. My friend was given a glass with a chip in it, which cut her lip. We told the waiter who initially seemed unbothered, he then returned to offer us a 'round of drinks on the house ' (we never asked for this, it was offered to us) When the bill arrived, all of the drinks were on the bill. We asked a different waiter for the round of drinks we 'd been promised to be removed, and he knew nothing about it. Our previous waiter then came over, he was off shift by that point and was very argumentative and rude, and acted like we were scamming him. He pointed at my friend saying I 've served HER three drinks, so that 's why three of her drinks are on the bill to which I pointed out that he had offered us a free round, so only two of each of our drinks should be on the bill. He eventually removed one drink from the bill and discounted the service charge by 30%. He then separately said to one of my friends I 'm a fair guy, what more do you expect? ' we didn 't expect anything, he offered us a free round of drinks and all we did was enquire about it. It was so rude, unpleasant and unnecessary. We were made to feel like we were scamming the restaurant, when we had absolutely no intention of doing so. Ruined a nice afternoon and none of that would have happened if they hadn 't given out a broken glass."