Vingt Quatre - Restaurant Review

Cuisine: Eclectic

Cost:  

Rating:

Where?:  325 Fulham Road, London SW10 9QL

Closest station(s): South Kensington, Gloucester Road, Earl’s Court.    

Telephone:  020 7376 7224

Website: www.vingtquatre.co.uk   

 I managed to even shock myself with how much I disliked my outing to Vingt Quatre. As its name suggests the selling point of Vingt Quatre is that it is open 24 hours a day, allegedly offering a fair selection of well cooked food at times that one would ordinarily be condemned to a kebab house.

The first thing that put me off was the décor; the high backed bench seating is unappealing and fails to create a restaurant atmosphere – surely the whole point of the venture is to offer a restaurant experience at anti-social hours. The menu managed to alienate me further; fish & chips, pork escalope Milanese, three cheese macaroni, wok fried vegetables – yes, the menu would appear to have been selected at random; reminiscent of a motorway service station.

You will however find Vingt Quatre busy on a Friday and Saturday between midnight and 3am; with those who have escaped local watering holes in search of food and importantly more alcohol not having a huge number of other options. I have little love for Vingt Quatre, the alcohol is absurdly priced (£17 for a half bottle of house wine in the early hours – when it is in the region of £13 for a bottle during the day) and the food too is rather steep for the mediocre fare.

Why the owners decided to churn out an eclectic mix of average food, rather than trying to offer something unique - namely decent food for when you leave a pub, bar or club I do not know. To my mind if you want food and drink at 3 or 4 in the morning then you would be better off going home,  ordering a pizza and visiting www.drinks-delivery.co.uk.

Bank, Westminster - Restaurant Review

Cuisine:  Modern European

Cost:  

Rating:

Where?:  45, Buckingham Gate, London. SW1E 6BS.

Closest station(s): St. James’s Park, Victoria, Westminster.   

Telephone: 0207 630 6644

Website: www.bankrestaurants.com  

To reach bank Westminster’s dining room we were led through Zander Bar, an uber-modern metallic space which forms part of the Crowne Plaza in Westminster, seconds from St. James’s Park tube. The setting for the restaurant is a huge conservatory – it is just a shame that they have done nothing to make it look inviting. The dining room is utterly soulless.

Once we were brought our menus we had 10 minutes of silence, the menus are huge meaning that any chance of conversation is killed. Thanks to this hiatus in conversation I spent a little longer perusing the menu than I might usually. I don’t know who decided on the Bank Westminster menu however they clearly weren’t very decisive. The menu is split into numerous sections including crustacea, pasta & risotto, meat, grill and Tandor Clay Oven. Why on earth anyone would think it wise to place these food types on one menu is beyond me.

The meat section is a fine example of why bank Westminster fails – sausage & mash, Malaysian chicken, Thai green curry, crispy duck and slow cooked lamb shank – there can't be many chefs out there who have mastered all of the styles of cooking needed to produce great food across this wide specturm of food types. 

The food that came to the table was as feared; each dish was just about ok in its own way however it was very much like a reasonable home cook’s attempt at various dishes from a selection of cookbooks that they were given that morning. Those dishes with an Eastern influence were not authentic and lacked any depth of flavour; being cooked in a very much Western style.

With starters around £10 and mains around £20, with a bottle of wine and service came to around £100. There is infinitely better food in London for the same money.

The highlight of the venture to Bank Westminster was the post dinner drink we had in the courtyard behind the restaurant, forming part of the Crowne Plaza. It is a stunningly picturesque space, free from the hustle of Westminster. The G&Ts were excellent and only thanks to these was it that I was able to end the evening smiling.