Clos Maggiore - Restaurant Review

Cuisine:  Modern European

Cost:  

Rating:

Where?:  33, King’s Street, Covent Garden. London. WC2E 8JD

Closest station(s): Covent Garden, Leicester Square, Charring Cross.  

Telephone: 0207 379 9696

Website: www.closmaggiore.com   

Covent Garden is pretty dire for eating out, pandering to tourists it is full of chain restaurants  - it is a shame that such a popular area has such a penury of decent eating establishments. Finding Clos Maggiore is the exception to this rule however. It is without doubt one of the most beautiful restaurants in London and deserves the accolade it repeatedly wins of most romantic restaurant in London.

The food is modern European that takes influence from around the Mediterranean – I have never had a bad dish at Clos Maggiore and can’t imagine doing so. Being someone who rarely eats soup in restaurants I was shocked to find that the onion soup (the first dish I ever tried there) was one of the most delicious dishes I have ever had the pleasure of putting in my mouth; it was simply mesmerising.

The waiting staff compliment the stunning looking restaurant, providing excellent, discreet service throughout your dining experience. The main room at the back of the restaurant is by far the best place to be seated and when reserving a table I would always ask to be seated there – in summer the roof of that room is able to slide back allowing you to sit in a Mediterranean courtyard when the weather is suitably kind.

The wine list is truly encyclopaedic; previously picking up awards for wine list of the year. Previously I have griped about the expensive house wine; this however has now been remedied and you can get a bottle for around £23 which I don’t feel is unreasonable for such stunning surroundings. I have had the tasting menu on a couple of occasions and whilst extremely enjoyable I would in future certainly stick to the a la carte. The tasting menu rarely has a selection of dishes that come up to the brilliance of the rest of the menu.

The a la carte is around £35 for 2 courses which is extremely reasonable for the quality of the food; it is the prixe fixe menus however that shine. These are to my mind the best pre-theatre menus in London - for under £22 you get a surprisingly large choice of stunning food, now available at Sunday lunchtime too.  

Mon Plaisir - Restaurant Review

Cuisine:  French

Cost: 

Rating: 

Where?:  19 – 21, Monmouth Street, Covent Garden, London. WC2H 9DD.

Closest station(s):  Covent Garden, Leicester Square, Tottenham Court Road.   

Telephone: 0207 836 7243

Website: www.monplaisir.co.uk

Mon Plaisir in Covent Garden is French, it is very very French. The staff are very French and the décor is very French – it purports to be London’s oldest French restaurant.

Unsurprisingly, the food is very French and clearly in the time that they have been open they have learnt how to turn out very reliable and well-cooked Gallic grub. The menu certainly ticks all of the boxes for a French restaurant – snails, steak frites, duck confit, steak tartare .. the list goes on.

The restaurant itself is nicely presented and as long as you aren’t the only people there an atmosphere is soon created. Luckily it is a popular restaurant and has a good pre-theatre following so there is a buzz at most times.

The starters are around £10 and the mains £19; for this you get extremely competent classic French cooking; the dishes are unlikely however to wow  – there is something a little dated about the whole experience. To my mind there is however certainly a time when it is exactly what you may be looking for. The house wine at £18 means that costs do not spiral excessively.

For me the greatest draw for Mon Plaisir is the pre or post-theatre menu. At £13.95 for 2 courses with its central location it is perfect for Shaftsbury Avenue and only a moment from London’s finest theatre (in my opinion) the Donmar Warehouse. For this you get a selection of two courses that are expertly cooked and often accompanied by side dishes that allow those who want a bit more to eat to fill up to their hearts’ desire.

Accomplished and reliable French cooking, for me the a la carte is a little on the expensive side however the pre-theatre is certainly worth a punt.  

Navajo Joe - Restaurant Review

Cuisine:  North & South American

Cost: 

Rating: 

Where?:  34, King Street, Covent Garden, London. WC2E 8JD.

Closest station(s):  Covent Garden, Leicester Square, Charring Cross.  

Telephone: 0207 240 4008

Website: www.navajojoe.co.uk    

As far as I have always been concerned Navajo Joe in Covent Garden is a bar, it appears however that they have now tried to position themselves as a restaurant too and push their culinary credentials. Being someone who is often too quick to draw a conclusion I decided that I should give Navajo Joe a go before I dismissed it entirely.

Having been seated I perused the menu; from that point onwards it was a poor culinary experience. The menu is a bizarre hodge-podge of North American, South American and Oriental – why sweet and sour pork balls, fajitas, red Thai curry and jambalaya would ever be on the same menu is beyond me. As I had thought Navajo Joe is not quite sure what it is, the staff don’t seem to know whether they are in a bar or restaurant either. The tables are mixed up so some are full of people trying to have a meal whilst other are crammed with cocktails and people trying to become inebriated. This mixture does not work.

The food that arrived at the table was edible, however was mediocre in every way. At £15 for main courses more could certainly be expected, this is not a fast food restaurant.

I would not eat again at Navajo Joe, it was never a great bar – however even its suitability for drinks has been negatively impacted upon by the decision to promote the food. I have little interest in sitting down for a drink and a chat with a friend when a neighbouring table full of tourists is sitting down to a three course meal of poor food. The saving grace for Navajo Joe is the bar downstairs, when it is busy and with a good crowd it can have a decent atmosphere.