Went here to take advantages of the 50% off from TimeOut black membership…read more The restaurant has a good vibe but I have to say if I had to pay the full price I would have been disappointed, the discount makes it sooo worth it. The best dishes we had were the smoked duck tataki and the pork belly bao the rest was good but not memorable. They do have very good cocktails!

I loved going to Bo Drake for a refreshing take on Asian fusion cuisine. Bó Drake combines…read moreeverything I love about Asian food, from the sweetness of the pickled kimchi to the succulent seafood, with the rustic smoky flavor of European barbeque. Before I even talk about the food we enjoyed, I have to mention the quality of the service. From the moment my friend and I entered the restaurant, we were greeted with smiling, friendly faces. We were promptly seated at a cozy table, and really made to feel welcome. Our server went above and beyond to ensure that we were enjoying ourselves. The portion sizes were perfect, and so incredibly tasty. We started with appetizers, the KFC - Korean Fried Chicken was tender and juicy on the inside, and crispy on the outside. The sticky glaze of soy garlic, grapes, and rosemary added the right amount of sweetness. We split the pork belly bao, a piece for each of us, and the pickled cucumber and soy glazed peanuts brought the dish up a notch. For our mains, we tried the smoked rib stack, which was smoked with a sweet chestnut wood and covered in an Asian inspired BBQ sauce. These ribs were unlike any I've had before, and were cooked to perfection. We then had the Sirloin Tataki, in which the meat has been aged for 35 days, and served with ponzu, truffled shitake, and tofu cream. Magnificent! I couldn't pass up dessert, and opted for the sesame oil soft serve ice cream, which was rich and delicious, with a hint of nuttiness from the toasted sesame seeds on top. Bó Drake came highly recommended to me, and now I highly recommend it!

I really wanted to like Mao. I'd been hoping to visit, in fact, since it was a popup restaurant. So…read moreI was happy when a friend and I decided to try it tonight. Showing up at 6pm, the place was closed. Its website said it opens at 6, but that turned out to be inaccurate this evening. When my friend and I came back at 6.30pm, the one long table with benches--which could comfortably seat 8, or less comfortably, 10--already had 6 people sitting around it. My friend and I ordered and the people sitting on the end squeezed down so we could fit. There's also a counter along the wall, but the high backless metal stools and narrow shelflike dining space didn't seem inviting. The one outdoor table had space for four, but it was drizzling so we opted to stay indoors. The two staff members working did their best to cook and serve the food, but with cook staying at his station and the server also taking orders, bringing drinks, and ringing up customers after their meals, there was a bit of a bottleneck. To be fair, I don't know where a third staff member could fit, because the place is tiny. Prices are typically steep, the Hackney location adding £1 and the word "vegan" adding another £1 so that a dish which should have cost £7 cost £9. I definitely agree when Roy Choy questions why people believe Chinese food should be cheap, and know it is a cuisine which can be elevated. It's not that I simply want Mao Chow to be Cheap Chow. But I also saw some damn tiny portion sizes and tasted some questionably prepared noodles which did not justify the price. I lived in Hong Kong for three years, so I know good Chinese when I taste it. To break it down, my friend and I shared three dishes: - "Gong Bao Asparagus" (£5) - "Ginger Scallion Jackfruit" (£9) - "Dan Dan Noodles" (£9) The food itself was a really mixed bag, and I can comment on every dish on the menu because I saw them all up close and personal since the table is communal. - The smacked cucumber looked good, and my neighbors gobbled up their order, but at £4 I didn't think it was a generous enough serving. - The gong bao asparagus was very tasty. However the chilis weren't really integrated into the dish as in proper Kung Pao cooking. They were more tossed on top. (Perhaps to facilitate picking around, for tender English palates?) There could have been a few more peanuts there too. - The bao looked nice. A double order came out just as my friend and I were leaving. But I'll never get my head around why Londoners pay so much for what is a common street food in Asia. £4.5 for a single bao is. a. ripoff. That is why I don't eat bao in London. - Worse even than the highway robbery that is bao prices in the UK are Mao Chow's £5.5 dumplings. WHAT. Three dumplings on a plate. £5.5 means it's almost £2 per dumpling (£1.83 to be exact.) Admittedly the chili sauce they're served in is delicious (the couple next to us had ordered dumplings and let me try their sauce). It's more like a roasted chili oil with bits of chili and salt in. But I'm pretty sure that you can pick up a jar of the stuff from a cool lady at the Victoria Park Farmer's Market, for about the price of the three measley dumplings. In Shenzhen you could get 100 dumplings for £5.5. Seriously. - Ginger Scallion Jackfruit: the best thing I had. Super delicious. Perhaps because I love jackfruit. The way it's marinated and served here, with a ginger scallion topping, over flavoursome rice, with a bit of pickled daikon? Yes. Well done. If I'd just ordered this, I'd be giving a 4-star review. (Of course you could guess I'd wish for a bigger serving, for the price.) - Dan Dan Noodles were a disaster. The sauce, the peanuts, the vegan ground pork, even the cucumber slices with sesame seeds were spot on. The noodles? Nope. Not cooked properly. Like a big floury mass all stuck together and gloopy. I'd been so excited for the dish that I'd dug in with my chopsticks and taken a big bite. So it was really too late to send them back. And when I asked the server (ok it was a bit passive aggressive, not my normal aggressive aggressive style), "Um, is this how the noodles are supposed to be?" I wasn't holding up the worst gloopy bit, and she nodded. I regret not asking for a new order, and that's on me. But still, to serve them that way in the first place shows some serious lack of know-how. - The youtiao and ice cream comes with a quarter youtiao (Chinese fried dough stick) and two scoops of soya vanilla ice cream topped with caramel, white sugar, and chili flakes. It looked good. I did laugh at the quartered youtiao though, remembering wolfing them down whole with warm soya milk in Taipei. Ok, those are my words. I'm out of words now. Hope this helps you somehow.

This place is small but the food is packed with flavor and the hole in the wall experience is…read morereally something else. We had the broccoli, dumplings, tofu with rice and dan dan noodles and everything was wonderful. Dishes are drenched in chili oil but most people won't come here because they want to eat healthy, aside from the vegan aspect. Everything was delicious and they also offer a selection of beers. Seating is limited and be prepared to squish in with folks but it sort of adds to the charm. Loved it!

The Peking Chinese Restaurant is located on Hatfield Road, opposite the cementary, about 50 mins…read morewalk north west of the city centre. There is on street parking avaliable around the area. The restaurant is small and intimate inside. Group bookings would be limited to about 12 I would think. Phone to arrange. The staff are very friendly and welcoming. The menu has a good range of typical Chinese food, including set menus. The food is delicious and I would recommend the Chicken in Sweet Corn Soup. Drinks avaliable include Singha beer. Food and beer are reasonably priced. I would recommend this restaurant for its excellent food, free parking and intimate atmosphere.

Updated in 2015: The absolute worst place to go on Valentines day. The food isn't worth the £90 per…read morehead and the service is poor. Since writing my initial review (5*s) I've been here at least 5 more times and the service is fine at best. The last time I went we asked our waiter how to pronounce something on the menu and he just stood there tapping his pen on his order pad for at least a minute looking at the menu and shrugged. He also left the restaurant to take a call halfway through packing our leftovers.. ---------------- Food isn't cheap but it's definitely worth the money! The menu has a wide variety of food and when I got there I wanted to eat everything on the menu! The chicken, lamb, duck, and beef are all halal. Plus seafood and the possibilities were so great that we spent a good 15 minutes trying to narrow down what to order. Loved both starters we got - lettuce wraps and paper prawns. Lettuce wraps were especially yum and quite filling. The mains are also very filling and larger than expected. Wasn't a huge fan of the steamed hotpot so when I go back (cause I definitely will) I'll probably order something else.

Great food, service has deteriorated and prices have increased…read more It wasn't a cheap place to go to when it opened, now you need a small business loan if your feeding a family I used to pay £50 for 2 10 years ago, it's close to £80 now for the same meal and drinks Only gets 3 stars, but purely because of the prices Food is always quality however

I don't really understand how this chain has become such a large presence in the UK. Even by…read moreBritish standards where locals will often tell you that the historic impression of their food being bland and uninspiring is overblown and will recommend countless places to you that unfortuantely confirm the impression to be true, I have yet to meet one person here who enjoys Wagamama. "Oh that place is terrible - you should try Bone Daddies!" If you've been to Bone Daddies you'll know what an indictment that is of Wagamama. I mean what else can I say that probably has been written about countless times in other reviews? It's pan Asian (problem #1), some things are fried in a pan, there's noodle dishes you can get and all of it sucks. It has sucked for what, 20 odd years now? Every once in a while (~five years) I will have no other choice (e.g. airport, tagging along with colleagues, drunk, etc.) but to eat here and every single time I am in awe at how truly forgettable it is. How one company can render the tastes of cusines that are normally so delicious to be so bereft of flavor is truly a marvel in mass produced sludge. It must be the marketing right? The playful name? That the locations look inviting? It has to be something other than the reputation that gets people through the door.

Food is alright, Service is fine, but could be better. Atmosphere like in every Wagamama. I usually…read morego to this one when i am in area.

My sister and I were craving some cantonese food, the type you find in those restaurants which have…read morebeen operating since before the hipster revolution. This place is great, they have all of the traditional starters such as Sesame Prawn Toast and Battered King Prawns, which go so well with chilli sauce. Since we had stuffed ourselves with starters, we opted for chicken with green peppers and black bean sauce, with Egg Fried Rice of course. If you are looking for 'no frills' cantonese food, then this place is recommended. The service was polite and friendly too. The price is very reasonable, it's a great place to go.

Chan's. Yum. While…read morestaying with my grandparents for a few weeks in East Ham, I got tired of eating at home. My Aunt is obsessed with Chan's and sings its praises whenever she gets a chance (for a short time, she used to frequent this place almost every week). I walked to Chan's as it was getting dark, slightly nervous that I wasn't going the right way. When I entered, I saw a tiny (really) restaurant with plenty of tables full of people eating happily. It's a good sign when the type of food served in a restaurant is being devoured by people of the same ethnic group, it gives you a feeling that you can trust the place. I got my food to go. A heaping vegetarian dish and rice. The prices were fair and everything was packed perfectly. I relished it at home that night and the next. Everything was excellent. What got me was the service. Although the man taking my order had never met me, he was concerned about my walk home and offered to call me a cab. He advised me (since as an American I was clearly out of my element) that the area wasn't great to be alone in at night and wanted to make sure I got home safely. Since I didn't know my address heart, I didn't have a chance to take him up on the offer and walked home. Chan's isn't the type of restaurant that stuns you with high ceilings or decor or exciting lighting. They focus on the food and their customers. It is a restaurant of people who come with their families continually. I will be back the next time I am in East Ham.

I have been to this Chinese a few times, it's my favourite in the area. The food is really good and…read moreI have no complaints there. We usually go for the buffet which starts with a small platter that is perfect for two which includes the usual ribs, spring rolls and prawn toast and then duct and pancakes followed by 5 dishes of your choice (at a time) from the menu. All good quality food and can't complain with the service. the deco of the restaurant leave something to be desired but it does have a nice little waterfall at the back but it still a pretty small venue and never that busy (numbers rise on a Saturday) The parking at the venue isn't that great but you can park a little bit down the road for free as long as its out of hours! def recommended. + a lil tip, if you order a large coke they put 2 glass bottles in which is fine, but its like £4.50 I think

I've just been here for a couple drinks. Frankly, it looks a lot cooler from the outside than it…read moredoes from the inside.... from the outside you think, "yeah, this place looks great... let's definitely go in" and then once inside "wait a second, there's nothing in here" - it's just pretty barren and austere... you kind of feel lured in. If you're just having drinks you have to sit along a long bench just under the window, which is not the most pleasant in the winter because it's rather cold and drafty. Like every en vogue Asian restaurant, there were a myriad of cocktail options and the drinks were reasonably priced and good... my date had a martini, and he was impressed with the way they'd put it together. Yet, besides the well-executed martini, the service was just there - nothing memorable. I'd come back here if I were on King's Road and I needed a drink, but I'd never make a destination of it.

I had bottomless brunch here one Saturday afternoon mid August…read more There's not too much negative to say about it. More neutral than anything. Bottomless brunch comes with Edamame (ok), miso soup (decent), sushi (great but only 3 pieces each) and bottomless dumplings which are decent. Wine was good, service a bit slow and staff less Jan inspiring. Overall not bad but I wanted better for £40!