Helen "A...B...." C.'s Profile

I visited this hotel for an event (my best friend is getting married and they had a wedding show on). So, this review doesn't reflect what it's like to stay here, but I feel I had to post a review because.. well, it just wasn't good.

The layout is atrocious for an exhibition of any kind. There was no one way system in place, and it looked like on one floor, bedrooms had been converted into individual stands for companies to show off their wares. 2000 cake-hungry brides trying to get through a bedroom door and out again? Ridiculous. The bottom basement level was sweltering, but the catwalk at the end was in a freezing cold room.

And then the staff. they were, variously, incredibly rude (one shouted 'oi! no sitting on the floor!' at a group of girls who had been waiting for an hour in an unlit corridor, and couldn't really be blamed for wanting to sit somewhere - there were no seats anywhere else!), confused (appearing not to know where they themselves were, let alone where anyone else should find anything), and finally downright complacent.

Park Riverbank Plaza - greed seems to have got the better of you. The wedding show must be a money-spinner but you should turn things like this down if you know you are not suited to them. It can only dent your reputation as a hotel, which by all accounts is good.

NB. Parking in the area is very scarce and on site very very expensive.

An expense lunch, and but for the location I would probably come back again to eat here with non-work aquaintances! It is bang in the middle of the city, just behind Leadenhall Market, and as such, everyone there at lunch was suited and tied, and discussing business. It's not a location I'd travel to, I'm still a stranger to the Square Mile, but the meal we had was lovely.

I had crab spaghetti which was fantastic - loaded with good olive oil, just the right amount of chilli, and a satisfying portion. The other dishes that showed up looked good too - porcini papardelle and pigeon ravioli. I actually wanted to lean over and dig my fork into the papardelle but apparently tnicking food off your boss' plate is unprofessional...

There's a massive bread selection, and we had a good bottle of chianti. The service was fun - the team are shouty and Italian. They dropped a bowl but it was more entertaining than anything else since they dealt with it well. You get amarties on the table with the bill - I love it.

Like I said, I'd come back if it were somewhere else but it's an odd location for me. I wonder how busy it gets in the evening - at lunch it was heaving and we were lucky to show up and get a table - we had to be out in an hour since we hadn't booked.

I work literally seconds from here, so have been known to head out here when feeling flush for cocktails in the basement. The cocktails are good, downstairs - and if you can get a booth or a space, it's a good fun place to spend an evening with friends.

I have also had lunch here, just two of us, and it was fine. The prices add up - burgers and steaks don't come with sides, so adding on fries and a vegetable makes it a little pricey when you stray from the set lunch (which is good value).

But, sadly, dollar has tumbled from my estimation. We went for a friend's birthday, on a Thursday night. Yes, there were 16-odd of us - but don't take a sizeable booking if you can't deal with it! First of all, the table for all of us was arranged not in a straight line, but in a corner arrangement. Essentially this meant some people's backs were to one another and, crucially and terribly, it meant as one of the first to arrive, I later had to CRAWL under the table to get out to visit the bathroom.

Speaking of which, the bathrooms are awful. They smell. They're unisex, and boys tend not to shut the door - nice. The dryers don't dry. The taps are placed so you can't get your hands wet. And so on.

And now the food - which in and of itself is actually delicious, being limited to burgers and steaks which they clearly know how to cook, and some very delicious side dishes - but which sadly, for all bar two of our party, turned up stone cold. After an hour and a half of waiting for it.

The reason for this was probably a misguided desire to send out all 16 at the same time, but it backfired terribly. I ate mine anyway, 7 people sent theirs back and got speedy (but still lukewarm, apparently) replacements along with a complimentary drink. It was admirable to get all the orders correct, and the manager did come to sort out the problem, but it was just too little too late.

Also, a Bramble should not be orange?!

I should be more assertive and send items back more, possibly, as I grinned and bore it and paid for both the cold burger and the probably-not-what-i-ordered cocktail, so more fool me. But although I may go here for lunch when craving a burger (and their roquefort mushrooms), I wouldn't risk it for dinner again. Not for the prices they're charging.

Sofra - the food is actually ok (a couple of niggles, for example, I'd expect tagine to turn up in a tagine, not as two massive hunks of lamb on a plate) but the service was just plain bad.

It wasn't only slow, but riddled with errors. Our food finally showed up, only to be incorrect. Cue some rather unprofessional bickering between staff. Then further unprofessional requests to not only repeat what we ordered but also to verify that 'it wasn't me who took your order, though, was it?' said in desperation in front of the manager. Frankly I don't know who it was but being hounded by three seperate people to confirm what was said and to whom means none of you will get a tip.

We did get a complimentary glass of wine as recompense, and the right dishes did turn up, and they filled a hole, as they say. The starter platter was very tasty but not very filling between two, so it's good the mains portions are reasonable. I've had better versions of both things we tried so I wouldn't go out of my way to eat here, even if we had been served well. The house red is just about passable.

To end the evening, the long wait for the bill culminated in a dish we hadn't eaten appearing on it (cue more bickering). By this point I was fed up. Perhaps they just have too many staff - there seemed to be loads of them. Whatever, this is a restaurant in the West End and I'd expect better. The decor and some presentations suggests they are aiming to be a high end eatery but they're falling woefully short right now.

I've had pizza here - it's very good, and good value, and there's a nice atmosphere.

But I'd like to draw your attention to the brunch. It really is quite excellent. They do the whole range of poached-eggs-with-stuff, and then a whole range of variations involving bruschetta, and then a full english thrown in for good measure. I think you can get pastries too, but don't let your eyes be bigger than your stomach here...

Their hollandaise is very nice and the portions are generous - instead of one muffin cut in half, you get two whole muffins. And, key to the taste, they appear to have been griddled in the same woodfire thingy the pizzas come out of. They taste fantastic.

I can't remember the coffee which means it must have been at least OK, but I do remember lingering for over 2 hours after brunch, until the time they fired up the pizza menu and the first one came out... honestly, I could have segued straight from brunch into linner right there and then but I managed to resist.

I'll go back for a nice pizza dinner one day, but for now it's a brunch staple between myself and friends. Service is friendly - they say hello when you arrive - and I've never had to book or wait for a table on a Sunday.

I always find Banana Republic promises so much and delivers so little. Two reasons:
- The sizes are excitingly wrong, so I am always smaller here than in UK-based brands. Hurrah for being a size smaller, boo to sizes which mean they fit on the waist but not the thighs or the bust. I can generally find things to fit elsewhere, but here they are often just not quite right.
- The prices are too high. Having been to BR in the States, they seem higher than there - and the sales aren't as good.

The store itself is nice and spacious, the staff friendly and helpful. I do like that they've adopted the classy US-style changing rooms - vast halls with plenty of hanger space, locks that work, people to fetch sizes. Not tiny grubby cubbies a la Topshop.

I went recently to see the Mad Men range and it was a huge disappointment. Not very Mad Men-y? And I still had sizing issues.

In short, some nice styles if they fit, but it's debatable whether they are worth their pricetag. I do have a couple of items from BR in the States that I adore - tellingly, I bought them all in sales!

Still four stars but everyone should be aware it won't be BYOB from November onwards - a sad, sad day.

I've now been here too many times to count and still love it. My friend introduced me to the sea bream with mango and fish sauce dish. Sounds unpleasant, is actually amazing, I could eat the whole fish myself but it's nice to share that and some noodles - perfect after the squid.

I've been coming here since I was a student and lived not far away. No, not an obvious student hangout, but at the time it was styled as a Bierodrome (exactly the same, just more students) and we came for the Belgian beers.

Nowadays I tend to come for the mussels, which are consistently good (at all Belgo locations, I find). In particular between 6 and 7pm when they charge you the time (i.e. 6 quid at 6pm) for moules frites. A couple of other dishes are on the special offer menu but gone are the good old days where everything was included. The frites aren't really frites but they're gooood.

The beer selection is huge, and expensive, though some of it is so strong you probably save money... It's one of those places where you can sit and eat and drink and then get a bit of a shock when your tab need settling. However, Belgo is Belgo and there isn't anywhere else quite like it (or if there is, please tell me).

Why 3 stars? This Belgo doesn't have as nice an atmosphere or setting as Centrale or Upper Street branches. It tends to get inundated with after work drinkers who stand annoyingly in the way by the bar. The soap in the bathroom smells utterly vile.

I had a facial here - a treat after a terrible week - and honestly didn't know what to expect. The salon is right on the high street, next door to a stinky kebab shop, and you can hear (and feel!) the tubes running underneath. However, none of that mattered once I got inside - you are taken downstairs, given a robe, and from that moment you don't want to leave.

The facial was excellent, you're given lots of choice as to the oils they use, and Courtney seemed to pay real attention to what I said about my skin. I was very relaxed. Afterwards you can stay in the lounge area reading or whatever (cup of tea anyone?) for as long as you like. Sadly I couldn't linger but wouldn't have felt uncomfortable doing so.

It is pricey, but perfect for a treat. The products are obviously good, being Aveda, but they don't push sales, just write a recommendation in case you want to find it yourself.

I may try going there for my hair since they are so professional and it's handily local.

I have nothing against Wagamama. I remember when it first opened and it was a revelation - noodles, in SOUP? Dumplings? Let's GO! Now of course there are Japanese places popping up everywhere that serve the same fare, plus some more authentic dishes, plus sushi. So I guess my problem with Wagamama is it just feels a bit watered down.

But this hasn't apparently stopped the prices creeping ever upward. In the same way that Pizza Express pizzas seemed to shrink month on month for a while a few years back, my bill increases here on each visit.

The food is fine - ramen is quite difficult to get wrong, and their ingredients do taste fresh. I tried one of their new dishes the other day and it tasted remkably like the Thai curry i'd made from shop-bought paste the week before. But no matter, it filled me up, I suppose. The gyoza are good, they're happy to serve tap water, and also to let you sit and chat (at this venue anyway).

A plus point - I have a wheat-intolerant friends and they have an allergies menu. Horrifyingly until recently, the edamame weren't what free - erm, they're just steamed beans?? - but now they can make them so. Obviously, being a noodle joint, the wheat free choice isn't vast but it's nice that it's there.

It started a trend but I think it's been overtaken by local places, to be honest.

ps. the katsu curries are deeeelicious but they're unmentionable on account that I found out they have more calories and fat than a big mac meal...