On my London layover enjoyed steak & chips & a pudding platter delish!…read more Orig Post 8/2/13 #dodrinkdine

First night in London and my party of 6 decided to try Villandry. We arrived around 6:30 pm and…read morewere seated immediately. We ordered a variety of starters including the salt and pepper squid, mezz platter, watermelon feta salad and shrimp. For dinner, most ordered the fish and chips, but I had the fish cake. Overall the service was excellent and the wine selection was great. Although the food was good, I wouldn't consider it out of this world. Nevertheless, the ambiance is great for a group and the dessert display is amazing. Worth a try!

Large Youngs pub and hotel attractively situated on Wallington Green, with a 24-bedroom…read moreaccommodation wing, beer garden and catering facilities for functions. There's been a pub on the site since at least 1726, when Wallington was but a hamlet: it was originally called Bowling Green House. Between 1726 and 1773, it appears to have acted as a lodging house for travellers, and became the Duke's Head some time between 1740 and 1806. The present building is mid-Victorian and was bought by Young & Bainbridge in 1857, although it had been supplied with Young's beers since before 1832. It is listed at grade II, despite suffering bomb damage during World War II. The pub itself has a rather domestic, whitewashed exterior, with the new hotel extension sitting behind the original pub. The lounge bar interior is reminiscent of the 'roadhouse' style of pub - a large central bar area serving a spacious, multi-roomed interior, with lots of wood panelling, and a mixture of banquette seating and tables. There's a small outdoor drinking area at the front, facing Wallington Green (not quite as picturesque as it sounds, given that the Green is small and bounded on two sides by busy roads), and a large enclosed beer garden at the rear. They serve a couple of Young's Beers and a guest, which on our visit was Courage Directors, alongside Young's Bitter and Special. They do an extensive range of food, from soup, salads (from £7.95), sandwiches (from £4.95), Pizzas (from £7) and more substantial main courses, with daily specials, from around £10-£17. The function rooms are a very popular for wedding receptions, with the added benefit of accommodation for visiting guests on site. The hotel rack rates are pretty hefty (£115 for single and £120 for doubles) but can drop to around £80 for two people sharing a twin room with full English Breakfast if you hunt around on-line. Although very busy, we were served reasonably quickly, although (alas) not with a smile, and a few of the locals were a bit raucous (presumably had been drinking all day). The Young's Special however was in tip-top condition.

Ridiculously expensive. I asked for a glass of house rose and got charged £10.90.TEN POUNDS AND…read moreNINETY PENCE. For 1 glass of wine. The barman was rather rude about it and claimed I hadn't said I wanted the house when I had. What pub automatically serves the most expensive option by default anyway, even if this was true? Ten pounds and ninety pence for 1 glass of wine. My friend got charged 7.50ish for a gin and tonic, so wine wasn't the only drink being upsold. This pub has notions; even pubs in Chelsea are not this expensive. How they get away with it in Wallington is anyone's guess.

The Toby Carvery, in particular this one - is my favourite restaurant. I eat here every Monday with…read moremy friends. Sometimes I think you make a place into what you want it to be. We always liked eating a good carvery. We liked this one even more because it was extremely local. I guess it's just because we visit so often, not that the staff are particularly great that we ended up making friends with a bunch of the staff. But they're all good guys - and one time they gave us free dessert. I think that may have been a mistake. Moreover, a restaurant that makes mistakes resulting in free food is one you should know about. It's hard to pinpoint why this place should be loved more than anywhere else. I guess a big part of it is that the 'Toby' brand got it right. All of their venues tend to be warm and welcoming - with their hundreds of random framed pictures lining the walls, approachable staff, and heaps of meat and the best Yorkshire puddings you ever did taste. The real treat comes after your meal when you order a 'Chocolate Brownie Ice Cream Sensation' - which tastes even better than it sounds. This place is probably worthy of 4 stars, but sometimes they run out of food and are short staffed and it feels more like a 3 star. But when everything goes to plan, it's pushing on 5. Decisions... decisions....... I'll settle for four.

The staff were rude, they lied to us and I would not go back or recommend this place to anbody!…read moreAWFUL! We realised it would be busy on a Sunday, and were prepaired to wait. When we turned up, we were still waiting for 2 people to join us, and the staff said we couldn't book our table until the whole group arrived! We questioned this as we were baffled. The rude man only said that "it is unfair to other groups turning up...". That makes no sense. We knew our friends were only 10 minutes away. The man in the reception said that this is their policy, and at the moment there is an hour waiting time. When our friends arrived and we could book our table (funny how they were more than happy to take our money in the bar for our friends and us) we were told 40 minutes waiting. That was a result! We waited patiently for 40 minutes (not easy with a bouncy three-year old) and then inquired again only to be told it would be another 30-40 minutes! The rude man told us there were only two tables large enough to take our group of seven. I asked if they can't put two tables together for us, but was told that they don't do that on Sundays!!! We left and will never, ever return. My advice: STAY AWAY!

Last night in London, checked out Ayllu. This was hard to review because it had lots of pros and…read morecons. Decided on the Lima tasting menu. Pro - the fusion food was a first for me. A blend of Latin and asian. I like the food, and the lomo santo reminded me of home. The ambiance was amazing; however did the layout worked hard. The DJ was great. Location in Paddington was convenient. Con - the service got slow. Our waiter never return after the last meal and we waited around an extra 20-30 mins before we could flag down another server. The recently crunch on avavible workers in the UK is real. The price was about $100 dollars per person. I would go back, but I wouldnt rush to go back. 3.5 stars.

The concierge at our hotel recommended Ayllu with enthusiasm and made reservations for us. It was a…read morepleasant surprise. The restaurant itself is small but chic. The Japanese-Peruvian fusion menu is eclectic and tasty. Our server Lorenzo was lovely and very attentive. He made many recommendations and each one was spot on. My husband and I shared several small plates, all were fantastic. The chicken teriyaki, beef bao, trio of sushi tacos, beef tataki, sashimi and tender stem broccoli were phenomenal. However, the triumphs of our dinner were the Black Cod and Iberico Pluma. The cod was firm, tender and flavorsome. The Iberico Pluma was a fabulous surprise. Tender medium-rare pork that was fork tender and mouthwatering. We loved everything about Ayllu including Lorenzo, our fantastic server. It was a pleasure!

I've been here at least 10 times to watch my pals fight it's a nice club they host a lot of events…read morehere, it's big and it's nicely decorated, the drinks are well ranged and reasonably priced, it can seem a bit clicky if you don't know the place but a good night out.

Circus tavern is now nown as tenshi gentalmens club its been fully refurbed witch is better now…read morebecause used to be sticky floors n bad music its not the easyest place to get to either taxi or lift but all in all a good night. abd the music is better

Handy place for a quick snack. Had a beef sausage and halloumi cheese wrap that left me with a…read morepleasing taste in my mouth for sometime afterwards. The service is friendly if a little inattentive, there are some free papers around to catch up with your current affairs, but the toilets are really best avoided if you have a choice (flies for company and jammed down taps).

Cafe Meze is a Turkish restaurant embedded in the round traffic-islanded biolding that houses Great…read morePortland St tube station. It's got an immense menu: meze of all sort, burgers, calamari, sandwiches, pasta, even Turkish breakfast. They serve beer and wine, too. It's nicely laid out inside: not at all low-end, but neither too fancy. There are several outdoor tables, though there's going to be lot of traffic whizzing past. The service was really nice, too, a friendly lady that was helpful and friendly with every table in earshot of me, and who hummed tunes as she worked. I'd have rated it higher but unfortunately the single meal I had - calamari - wasn't very good. The batter was thick and not at all crispy, and the squid itself a bit on the rubbery side. Shame. It's a big menu, though, so I'll give it another chance.

Maddens is a traditional Irish style pub…read more its not only for the preserve of Irish locals, I have been there three times and during every visit it seems to be filled with a pretty lively atmosphere and a mixed crowd. The inside decoration is interesting, with the front section being a traditional looking bar and the back being a newer lounge area, with candles and couches. When you add a great choice of ales into this mix, you get a pretty good night. They also boast some occasional live gigs in true Irish style on some Sundays although I have yet to get to one.

Maddens is a genuine, independent family-owned local. The front bar is narrow and deep with an…read moreeclectic mix of seating, and of sports memorabilia for decor. The back is wider with wooden tables and chairs, a couple of squashy sofas and small performance area for live music about once a week. They serve London Pride and a changing selection of guest real ales, well kept. The staff have a nice quiet friendly way about them, and there's a reasonable menu of Thai food if you get hungry. Yes it shows sport but the volume is silent or low, and it adds to the banter and atmosphere especially if Arsenal have a big match. The kind of place that has loyal regulars but remains welcoming to all, I'm more than happy that it is my local.

fabulous food and great staff, a firednly environment and…read moreperfect if going to events at merton abbey mills but you must book for those days. I love the pizzas here and the portions are big so be prepared

This is a very quiet kind of place and has a quite cold atmosphere. It always seems to be quiet and…read morefairly empty and the staff always seem to be too busy to pay attention to any of the customers. And the ones that do can't seem to speak or understand english. Poor quality food and small portions, no concept of value for money.