Chicken Skewer Chicken Skewer

Juicy grilled chicken skewer marinated with herbs and spices, served with a tangy sauce.

The Crown And Shuttle

The Crown And Shuttle

226 Shoreditch High Street, London I-E1 6JN, United Kingdom, E1 6PJ

Pub • British • Burgers • Vegetarian


"I have actually now been to the Crown and Shuttle twice in recent weeks both times as precursors to the 'main event ' elsewhere. Obviously, as I 've been twice I liked it enough to go back. This pub sort of sprung up out of nowhere. I 've walked along that stretch of road and not noticed a publike venue or even anyone working on renovating a building and then one day there was a fully formed, nice looking pub sitting between the kinda sketchy Light Bar and Drunken Monkey. It stood out like a breath of air does in the winter. I must have gone past it when it was only just opened as it took me quite a while to discover its origins on the Net. Finally I found out that it had been refurbed from the remnants of a pub (which was possibly a strip club at one point), taken over by the people who own the Water Poet. They seem to have a penchant for beer gardens the one at the Water Poet is sprawling and they have done the same here. There are basically three sections to the pub the first third is what must have been the original pub building, then they have built on to this an extension making the outside wall of the old pub a feature wall within the new pub, and then the massive beer garden so big it holds a street van with pizza oven within it. The first time I went was on a Saturday (before Electro Swing) and had no idea it was so vast so it was a rather lovely surprise, especially as there were so many of us. The weather was too chilly to enjoy the garden but we did appreciate the faux woodstove that was in the corner near our group. I instantly liked the place. It felt both spacious yet cosy. It 's decor is woody but a light sort of pine wood, not heavy and dense. Everyone who came along said how much they liked the place and it was barely busy there weren 't really any seats that could accommodate my large group but there was plenty of space at the second bar to congregate around. My last visit was on a Friday and markedly different. It was heaving. Yet somehow me and my friend still managed to get a seat on a comfy love seat. Getting to the bar was a chore and a half clearly all the local workers in the area had caught wind of the place and were all there, ordering pints to take outside. Fair dos to the bar staff they were in no way slacking, but it still meant for a slow wait due to the volume of people crowding the bar. Intentions to have one medium glass of wine for each of us soon went by the wayside and I opted for a bottle in order to avoid having to pay another visit to the bar. I 've never before been so conscious of how long it takes to pour pints compared to serving my favourite tipple wine. Anyway, maybe not one for a Friday night if all you want is a quick drink but definitely a welcome addition to the area. I look forward to going back on a sunny day to enjoy the garden and maybe a pizza from their outside oven."

Mas Q Menos

Mas Q Menos

68-70 Wardour Street, London, W1F0TB, W1F 0TD, United Kingdom

Pizza • Kebab • Sushi • Spanish


"Mas Q Menos, Wardour Street – Homage to me drinking cava again, I have to start with this! I do feel I deserved this glass of cava after refraining from alcohol for 11 months. For a good cause, of course (my first born) and I never regretted it. Plus, a double celebration, it was the husband 's birthday. I definitely need to drink to that. I felt very honoured to be invited to review Mas Q Menos, a Jamon and Wine Bar in Soho, situated nearer to the end of Shaftsbury Avenue. Mas Q Menos is a family run restaurant that builds its strength in the quality and authenticity of its food. And, they are not boasting about serving quality cold cut meat because they really are of superior quality! The three integral elements of the restaurant are the jamons, cheeses and breads that build up the variety of tapas, toasted coca and the toasted sandwiches (toasties to me). It is indeed very carb laden. But, as an alternative to not having too much carbohydrate, there are fresh salads and quiches to choose from. Mas Q Menos also caters for walk in or pre ordered takeaways. Inside, the dining area is split into two floors. The same style of decoration is carried throughout both floors – hanging chunks of jamon, black walls, intimate lighting, leather type one seater sofas (like those in a hotel), smart, trendy and swanky, to capture the after office hours crowd, theatre goers and late evening munchies. The music could have been more mellow, a tone complimenting to its stylish decoration but seemed to be tuned to only simulate like a shoddy bar. However, one thing that I associate with Mas Q Menos is the Museo del Jamon in Madrid. It was probably the hanging jamon. On the wine list, personally I thought that the choices of wine were on the safe side. It is a shame, because from the taste of a single type of grape to a complex blend of grapes, Spain invokes in me memories of some very distinctive wines, something that Mas Q Menos didn 't quite deliver. This goes for their other alcoholic beverages; the usual big name brands that almost every restaurant or bar uses. The assistant manager explained that they are still trying to find the balance to attract the crowd. For non alcoholic drinks there are smoothies, fresh juices and hot drinks. I did feel that with smoothies and hot drinks make it feel less like a bar, more like a cafe. I would recommend, from a tasting and simplicity point, to go for the platter style; cheese, meat or fish. From there, depending on your appetite accompany the platter with some salad, or love for a specific meat/fish/cheese, an additional tapa or toasted coca or toasted sandwich. Service was very friendly and attentive. You might think that it was dubious as they know that they are being judged but the kind of sincerity is hardly faked. In their freshly ironed uniforms, there is always a warming smile on a face. A far cry from the Manuel or Mr Fawlty of Fawlty Towers himself. Mas Q Menos is a comfortable venue to meet up with friends for drinks and a little snack. Larger groups are a little tricky with their bulky seats around the smallish coffee tables but that is why one can slouch into the seat and still look good. Oh, I think I just said that the furniture makes the person sitting in it look good. Is that what I am imagining or is furniture starting to have power to emulate that sort of impression? There are lots of restaurants in soho that they are up against and I 'd like to see that Mas Q Menos could standout, especially with their wine/cocktail list. I am looking forward to seeing some more local Spanish drinks. This is an invited review. The food: 1. superior Iberian chorizo on coca bread £4.90 – the coca is very different from the coca I know having lived in Mallorca for a while. At Mas Q Menos, it was crunchy, a cross of Inca biscuits and a baguette bread; crunchy but cushy in the middle. Sounds odd I know, but it was suprisingly pleasant. I 'm glad I tried the cooked version here with a good quality chorizo because I 'd certainly prefer them as in the primordial form. 2. superior Iberian summer sausages (salchichon Iberico) £4.90 3. superior Iberian jamon with artisan bread, dressed in tomatoes £14.90 4. spanish omelette £4.80 – this was a little disappointing. The consistency was not bad, taste was normal but I generally like my tortilla with more height to it. The 'pa amb oli ' served was very superb. You need to use a special variety of tomato, known as ramallet, otherwise it would not taste quite the same. It is a bad habit of mine but I tend to sprinkle more salt that I usually would on this. 5. white anchovies in vinegar £4.90 – also known as 'boquerones '. The balance of acidity was adequate. 6. beef carpaccio with parmesan cheese £7.90 – a classic combination that excels on the quality of ingredients. No dressing is needed. Paired with the wine it was a hit! 7. gazpacho £4.90 – one of the best that I have ever had. Highly recommended! In the first sip, I thought I tasted a hint of chilli but it didn 't seem to have after a few sips. Chilled to the right temperature. I 'll have this summer drink in winter! 8. assorted Iberian specialities of smoked salmon, smoked cod, anchovies, white anchovies with vinegar, tuna belly, green olives and piquillo peppers £14.90 – I ordered this only because I was intrigued by their fish platter and that they named it their speciality. I did not know that Spain was known for its preserved fish except for 'boquerones ' and I have never had good smoked salmon in Spain. Unless you pay a ridiculous price and that they are normally imported. The smoked salmon and cod were fairly normal stuff and the tuna belly tasted like normal tuna chunks. It was an overall a mediocre platter. 9. cava £6.00 per glass I generally prefer a drier drink but this cava is both sweet and dry, which I thought was something special. A very good balance of flavour."

Cafe Classic

Cafe Classic

100 High Street, CR0 1ND, Croydon, United Kingdom

Cafés • Pizza • Sushi • Seafood


"Firstly, If I could give this no stars I would!! The man behind the counter was so friendly when we first approached but it was a bit too friendly, came across as quite desperate for customers (restaurant was empty) this should have been the first red flag! He kept pushing the bacon and avocado baguette and the garlic chips! We decided to stay to eat and my sister ordered the bacon and avocado baguette with garlic chips and I ordered the same baguette he was so pushy, do you want chips, “no” do you want coleslaw “no” I just want a baguette!! The tables were all sticky and clearly not wiped down for new customers. Inside was so dark and dingy so we moved tables to the outside area in the mall! The food arrived and it was an absolute disgrace! The baguette was as dry as a bone, no butter, the bacon was the pre packed already cooked nasty tasting stuff and we had 2 minuscule pieces of avocado inside not at all worth the nearly 10 quid we paid! I went inside to complain and ask for a refund and that’s when the very friendly guy turned really nasty, shouting and in our face, couldn’t believe it!! He was so rude telling me everything has gone up and that’s why he has to give so little inside the baguettes, he did refund us in the end but that is more because we were making a scene and quite frankly he was probably embarrassed of the food that came out of his restaurant (sorry cafe) if it is even worthy of calling itself that!! Honestly there are many other nice sandwich bars in Croydon you don’t need to put yourself through that!!"