Le Mercury - Restaurant Review

Cuisine:  French

Cost:  

Rating:

Where?:  140A, Upper Street, Islington. London. N1 1QY.

Closest station(s): Angel , Highbury & Islington.   

Telephone: 0207 354 4088

Website: www.lemercury.co.uk

If you were to see the prices as you walked past Le Mercury on the corner of Upper Street and Almeida Street you would be forgiven for assuming that it is was a fast food restaurant - a fixed £3.95 for starters and £7.95 for mains. Rather than fast food however they offer dishes such as roast saddle of lamb with courgettes & rosemary jus and sea bass with crushed new potatoes and minted pesto.

The portion sizes are substantial, I recall having half a cow placed in front of me having ordered carpaccio of beef to start; however the rest of the dishes weren’t so absurdly sized. The cooking throughout is reliable however certainly not exceptional. The building is deceptively large, going up 3 or 4 stories. Le Mercury is a great option when looking for a restaurant meal without restaurant prices, the house wine being around £12 means that the bill doesn’t surge too far with the addition of a glass of wine or 2. The service is ok, though not first rate – however at these prices it is difficult to moan.

Le Mercury is seconds from the Almeida Theatre, making it perfect for pre or post-theatre dining when looking for a good meal that won’t break the bank or take an age to get through. 

Almeida - Restaurant Review

Cuisine:  French

Cost:  

Rating:

Where?:  30, Almeida Street, London. N1 1AD

Closest station(s): Angel, Highbury & Islington.    

Telephone: 0207 354 4777

Website: www.almeida-restaurant.co.uk 

The Almeida is yet another of the D&D Group (formally Conran restaurants) ventures. The large dining room is light and airy; however a recent revamp has failed to add much character. I can’t quite put my finger on what it is that fails décor-wise, however the room simply has a slightly clinical feel – a little like a Debenham’s showroom; perhaps the Conran connection permits them a discount.

The food is French, brought together from carefully selected British produce. Having eaten at the Almeida a number of times the food is certainly reliable. The menu stalwarts are the charcuterie trolley and the slow braised suckling pig; the charcuterie trolley can be excellent however at times it seems that they have put in more effort than at others. The suckling pig is a delicious spit roast piece of meat that delivers what it should.

There is certainly nothing wrong with the cooking at the Almeida, it simply fails to inspire. The menu is remarkably static, it rarely (if ever) wows the customers and service is rather hit and miss. I have regularly had to re-order side dishes and drinks and on one occasion the reception staff were incredibly rude.

That said the prices have remained static for a number of years – at £25 for 2 courses a la carte. The best reason for a visit to the Almeida is for the pre or post-theatre menu, with the excellent Almeida Theatre sitting opposite. At £16 for 2 courses it is good value; however once you have added a side dish or two and with house wine starting at around £23, the bill soon starts to rise.

I certainly wouldn’t travel across London to go to the Almeida, it is however reliable French food – just don’t go expecting any wow factor. 

Namaaste Kitchen - Restaurant Review

Cuisine:  Indian

Cost: 

Rating: 

Where?:  64, parkway, Camden, London. NW1 7AH.  

Closest station(s): Camden Road, Mornington Crescent, King’s Cross.

Telephone: 0207 485 5977

Website: www.namaastekitchen.co.uk

Walking up to the entrance to this new venture on Parkway I thought for a minute that I might have the wrong place, looking through the glass front I could have sworn I was looking at a new Soho bar rather than an Indian restaurant. Despite my confusion I ventured inside and was taken to a table at the back of the restaurant opposite the two grills where much of the restaurant’s food is cooked.

Namaaste Kitchen is certainly comes within the smart, trendy and upmarket categories; rather than trying to be your local curry house. This is a place where bottles of champagne are strewn around the bar.

My Kadhai spiced pan seared scallops were beautifully presented on a slate; as were my (vegetarian) dining partner’s Tandoori Portobello mushroom. The taste lived up to the presentation; to my mind making a Portobello mushroom the centre piece of a starter and packing it with flavour is a great achievement in itself. My scallops were not over-powered by the seasoning and delicately cooked.

The question then was whether the mains could live up to the starters. The red wine with which we had decided to wash it all down was good and certainly not too expensive. I have never had a rack of lamb in an Indian restaurant and all I can say is that I wish everywhere served it – it was mind-blowingly good. Cutting into the charred outer flesh I was greeted by moist and perfectly pink meat. The spices only added to rather than masking the flavour of the meat and the fat on the outside was the thing of dreams. The side dishes were also excellent, the stars of the show being sesame baby aubergine with mustard and curry leaf sauce and the black lentil dhall.

The service was also extremely good, if anything it was a little over attentive. Namaaste Kitchen is an excellent restaurant, it is not however cheap – you are looking at easily reaching £100 with wine for 2 people. The food is not your run of the mill high street Indian takeaway though, it is much more. I will certainly be returning for that horrendously good lamb.