La Figa, The Mosaic, 45 Narrow Street, London E14 8DN

 

I visited this Italian restaurant with a friend who lives near by on Friday for lunch.  The staff were welcoming, portions were generous and the food was of high quality.  I would have no hesitation  in recommending this restaurant if you are celebrating a special occasion.  The prices are quite high though so i would say it is not really suited for casual dining.

 

I had a dish called beef carpaccio as a starter.  It is made with roar beef sliced very thinly with Rocket and other salad.  This was a bit of a mistake on my part as I would have liked something more highly flavoured but there was plenty of it and this was really my falt for not asking about the flavour in more detail.  Looking this dish up on the internet suggests that the main bits of this dish giving flavour are Parmesan, Rocket and Basil.  Still there was plenty of it.

 

The main was a ravioli dish with Gorgonzola and lots of cream.  It was quite comforting and rich and again there was plenty of it.  My dessert was a Tiramisu which was also plentiful.  I also had a lemonade, 2 large glasses of white house wine and a quantro liqueur coffee.

 

That lot came to just short of £45 which is definitely at the upper end of what I would pay for any meal at any time and is far beyond what I would normally pay at lunch.

 

I have no criticism of the quality of the food and staff are helpful and quite patient.  My friend has a guide dog and this restaurant is definitely guide dog friendly.  At this price however, I would expect the restaurant to have a website with an up to date menu including a list of the daily specials updated each day. 

 

If the price does not put you off then I would have no hesitation in recommending this restaurant as the quality of food and the size of the portions will not dissapoint.

 

I give this restaurant 6 out of 10. the mark is let down a bit by the price and lack of a propper website.

 

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The Greedy Cow 2 Grove Road Mile End London E3 5AX

The Greedy Cow has been open for aproximately 1 month at the time of writing. Essentially it is a Gourmet Burger type of operation selling a range of predefined burgers and allowing you to make up your own burger of choice. There are beef, fresh fish, chicken, veggie and lamb burgers to choose from and you can add your own toppings in a similar way to building a pizza.

Lamb chops, steaks and chicken are also available along with a range of salads and a small selection of starters and desserts. Smoothies milkshakes soft drinks beers and wines are also available.

I had the Chorizo Salad as a starter which contained plenty of cherizo but I would have liked some onion as well as the cherry tomatoes, lettuce and rocket that was on the plate.

As a main I had a lamb burger with a topping of sausage. The topping was a quite generous portion of reasonable quality english sausage. I had pepper sauce with this which was pleasant though it could have had more pepper corns in it. I also had onion rings which were fresh and probably home made as they contained propper rings of onion in them. I also had a home made lemonade and a coffee..

Over all the quality of ingredients was quite high but that lot cost me £20 and if I had been hungry I would have probably wanted a dessert.

Prices and quality are pretty similar to those available from chains such as the Gourmet Burger Kitchen so if you like that you will not be disapointed. Personally I get a bit bored with burgers though they will swap a bun with salad which could be a good option if the salad is interesting.

Staff were quite friendly though the music that people call R & B today is not my favourite music by any means but it was fairly quiet so not intrusive.

The staff do seem to be quite professional and ingredients are of high quality. If it can survive in the East End of London at this price point then I see no reason why it should not prove to be a popular option. It is certainly a refreshing change from the budget greasy bangladeshi chicken shop which so dominates this part of London though it is pricey for a burger joint.

I give it 6.5 out of 10

For more information visit www.greedycow.com
This site is currently under construction but you can download a menu fromhere.

pride of asia revisited

I first visited the Pride of Asia last year when it opened. I was rather critical of it because of the limited food and the high prices charged. I feel I was right to be somewhat chritical of the Pride of Asia at the time for this as the food was really no better than that served in the half million or so chicken places to be found in Stepney and Whitechapel.

well I visited the Pride of Asia once just before Christmas and once yesterday. A new cheap menu has been introduced that usually has 3 starters, 3 mains and a choice of boiled rice, Pilau rice, Nan or Roti. Yesterday for example the choice was Spicy Vegetable Spring Rolls, Chicken Tika or Sheek kebab for starter and Lamb Danzak, Chicken with spinach or Dahl for main. I had a nan bread with this and was well satisfied. This meal costs £5.95 plus drinks. Staff were helpful and had a good level of english, certainly enough to read the menu.

I am not sure about prices outside the cheap menu, but all I can say of the food is that it was of good quality and not too greasy. Good for a meal on a budget if you are not a fussy eater and hapy to take what is on offer. I now give the meal deal 6.5 out of 10 which is an improvement for sure!