Casa Malevo, 23 Connaught Street, London, W2 2AY

"Endorsed by the Veggiesaurus, not The British Heart Foundation"

Fiance, January 2012

Casa Malevo is beautifully decorated; simple, warm, rustic and all the other words that are complicated ways of connoting a cosy, romantic feeling. 

The staff are knowledgeable, polite and just excellent. 

The food, though low on vegetarian options, is delicious. One warning, if you order the Provoleta then share it, because it is exactly what it sounds like - hot, fried cheese and damn good. 

I take that back, I have two warnings: if you do order the dish of perfectly melted Provolone cheese, don't follow it with deliciously cheesy spinach, ricotta and walnut sorrentinos in Gruyere gratin sauce. I had no choice, for that's the only mains option for veggies. Next time, I'll just pick a different starter...but then again, they were both amazing and cheese comas can be nice. 

Definitely choose the Dulce de Leche pancake for dessert, you will regret it if you don't. Plus, it's a traditional Argentine dessert. 

Actually, make that three warnings: If you don't know what a stent is, you'll sure as hell know after coming here...but boy, will it be worth it. 

Bar two very noisy American couples who decided to chat to each other across the restaurant it was a great dining experience...however, it's produced a rather boring review as I can find nothing to fault. Nothing. 

Price: Approximately £69.00 for 1 carafe of red wine, 2 x starters, 2 x main, 1 x awesome dessert. 

Veggie Friendly: 2/5

Food: 4/5 I had to take one mark off for the angina factor

Service: 5/5

Atmosphere: 5/5

Smiths of Smithfields, Ground Floor, 67 - 77A Charterhouse Street, London, EC1M 6HJ

I had heard a lot about their fine dining restaurant from a variety of different people. For a quick lunch I didn't have time for fine dining so I opted for the ground floor brunch/lunch experience. 

Regardless of how funky anyone else thinks it is, perching on a bar stool after an injection in your left butt cheek is not a pleasant experience. 

Can I be bothered to talk about the food? No...but, I should. 

See Food Eat Food ordered chicken pie and mash which came with no gravy. Er...pie, mash and no gravy! Isn't that akin to being fully dressed, then venturing out without your shoes on? To make the cold feet situation worse, she discovered a bone swimming amongst the chicken pie. With no 'may contain bones' warning it was surprising to say the least - imagine an archaeological dig, minus the joy. 

Mother and I ordered the 'Number 3'. Yes there was a 'Number 1' and 'Number 2'. Why would you name your three brunch dishes after well known (and one debatable) bowel motion? Idiotic. 

When you're eating in Clerkenwell and your brunch costs over £7.00 you expect a fairly decent standard. I don't know about you, but Mother and I rated service station food over the standard of Smiths of Smithfield, Ground Floor. 

Apart from potentially using canned, button mushrooms and serving the toast under all the other components of the dish (I'm talking baked beans, buttered spinach...other things that are guaranteed to make your bread soggy and inedible) I cannot tell you what the food tasted like. Everything was one, indistinguishable...Number 3. 

Had the company not been what it was, and Mother not paid, I'd be saying: that's money and time I'm never getting back.

Price: £32.00 for 2 x hot drinks, 3 x mains and service charge.

Veggie Friendly: 2.5/5

Food: 1.5/5

Service: 2.5/5 darling 

Atmosphere: 2.5/5

Paul Rothe & Son, 35 Marylebone Lane, London, W1U 2NN

What could be better than a room full jam? A room full of Jam that also has various others condiments and serves food. No, no, don't be negative. It does exist in the form of Paul Rothe & Son. 

Think old favourites like scotch eggs for meaties, jacket potatoes, sandwiches, hot soup and hot drinks that are well priced and taste good. 

If you like this seasons...and last seasons English Heritage trend, then look no further. The room full of Jam and other brilliant things is the place for you. 

Price: Approx. £12.00 for 2 x main, 1 x drink and a bottle of blueberry jam.

Veggie Friendly: 4/5

Food: 5/5

Service: 5/5
Atmosphere: 5/5

La Perla, 11 Charlotte Street, London, W1T 1RQ

I've enjoyed many a Modello Especial and Nachos at La Perla Charlotte Street so I thought it was about time I stopped abusing my liver, and started tending to the needs of my stomach. Based on the Nachos, I anticipated a pretty solid show of Mexican Cuisine. 

I like the cosy, rustic feel of the restaurant and bar; it seems thrown together and I think it works. Unfortunately, the food also seems thrown together and in this case, it does not work. In fact, the taste of the food was so poor, that See Food Eat Food and I were still brushing our teeth to no avail, and desperately emailing about it, well into the next day. How can I explain the taste and texture succinctly and accurately? I don't think I can but See Food Eat Food thought it tasted like badger. I agree. Now, I know, I've never eaten badger, but I can only assume that sun dried, unseasoned, overcooked badger would taste and feel like this. 

We both had Fajitas, she T-Rexed it so there are options for everyone. Actually, there are lots of options for meatyasaurs, not so many for us. When asked to make a few meat dishes without the meat, I discovered it wasn't possible which kind of makes me feel that everything is pre-made to a far greater degree than it should be. The other obvious sign of this would be that the beans weren't so much refried, as re-microwaved...and...it looked like badger. 

The one upside, the staff are excellent. 

I'll definitely return to La Perla for my Modello fix, but when it comes to food, I'll relive my Mexican holiday elsewhere. 

Price: Approx £38.00 for 2 x beer, 2 x mains and service charge.

Veggie Friendly: 2/5

Food: 0/5

Service: 5/5

Atmosphere: 4/5

Roti Chai, 3 Portman Mews South, London, W1 6HS

I hate the name. Hate it! It reminds me of Chennai trains from a decade ago, with their supposedly first class, roach infested carriages. Let me just clarify, the restaurant itself does not look or feel anything like that. It's just the name. If you've been on a Chennai train you'll understand why. The guy that comes on, like a drone, speaking at the speed of light 'rotirotichaichaicarpeecarpeerotirotirotivadaivadaivadaichaichaichaichaicarpeeee'. That being said, considering Roti Chai is based on the cleanest Indian street kitchens...that I've never seen, I think the impression that the name projects just might be intentional. 

Depending on what you're in the mood for, the decor and atmosphere of both the upstairs and downstairs is well done. Upstairs does feel like a spotless version of Indian canteens, while downstairs has the same quality of food but feels markedly more special - as it should, with distinctly un-Indian street kitchen prices. 

For me, the food started strong; the Aloo Tikki Chaat and the Palak Papri Chaat were delicious. The potato cakes and wheat crisps, respectively were not overpowered by either the sauce in the former or the yoghurt in the latter. The T-Rexes around me ordered a colourful array of meat dishes; chicken 65 and pork ribs amongst others and they were more impressed than me with the food overall. For me, starters or 'street' is where it's at, as the food steadily declined in flavour, not presentation, after that. The Paneer Pasanda was battered, fried, stuffed and and made sure that my tongue felt exactly the same. The Tarka Dhal was a tad too runny albeit full of ghee goodness. 

I ploughed on in order to satisfy the needs of my sweet...teeth by ordering a chocolate tart with cardamom infused cream. I forget the actual name of this dish, but it felt sub par to other chocolate tarts brought to me (and you) by those little known folk, the French. 

The cream was the consistency of budget single cream when it should have been thicker. Runny cream, pointlessly infused with cardamom does not go well with tart; chocolate cake - yes, Christmas pudding - maybe, if custard isn't around, strawberries - hell yes, tart - take it away.   

Fiance ordered the 'Payasam'. It wasn't Payasam. It was horrid and essentially generic Indian flavours, infused into custard which was served on the side of fruits...the kind of fruit selection you see served with ice cream at a kids party. If Roti Chai wants to serve fruits and custard, fine, feel free to do so...just don't pass it off as the wonderful pudding that it isn't.

Breathe. Rage over. 

Price: Approximately £130 for a lot of beer, 6 x street dishes, 3 x main, 1 x side, 1 x rice, 2 x bread, 2 x coffee, 2 x dessert and service charge

Veggie Friendly: 2.5/5 (for Indian)

Food: 2.5/5 

Service: 5/5

Atmosphere: 4/5

Strada, 109 - 111 Wharfside Street, The Mailbox, Birmingham, B1 1XL

As with Café Rouge, and other chains, my opinion is based on the food and service of this venue alone. I really should have mentioned that sooner!

Let’s start with the good: the service was excellent.

And now, after my brief dalliance with niceness, let’s move onto the so-so, the uh-oh and the oh-no.

The restaurants in and around The Mailbox are all well located, the canal-side ones being the best. Strada is situated  just inside the complex, without a view of the water but that’s not so horrible. I suppose we could say that the location, décor and ambience was so-so.

The food was uh-oh, oh no, oh dear, oh my and no, no, NO!

What on earth were they thinking? Jiggly ordered the Pizza Vegetale with a side of polenta chips. I ordered Panzerotti Porcini which had a V sign next to it on the Mailbox menu, but I've just noticed that online it does not - I hope The Mailbox menu was right. 

The Pizza Vegetale was OK relative to what I was served. The Panzerotti was just dire. The stuffing tasted of...nothing and the sauce tasted like powder mix soup. Powder mix soup! No!

Generally, I love polenta, but these polenta chips elicited this response: 'eh...they'll do'. 

The rocket and parmesan salad was suspiciously placed on top of the remnants of a side of mixed salad. I had the distinct feeling that they had run out of rocket, or at least, I hope that they had run out of rocket and not just put rocket on top of some mixed salad that they had lying around. 

The dessert of Fichi al Vino was comparably lovely. However, with such a preposterous mains experience it is somewhat difficult to differentiate between genuinely good flavours and the feeling of hungry belly salvation.

Price: Approx. £35.00 for 2 x mains, 2 x sides, 1 x dessert and service charge.

Veggie Friendly: 2.5/5

Food: 2/5

Service: 5/5

Atmosphere: 2.5/5

Café Rouge, 174 - 176 Wharfside Street, Mailbox, Birmingham, B1 1RN

I remember the days when Café Rouge had no vegetarian options; none being, maybe one.

However, these days they have at least two, if not more in each section of the menu. Pretty handy to know considering that there is at least one Café Rouge in most UK cities.

I tend to go for the Blanquette de Légumes; it's not mind blowing but it makes me feel healthy, and for people on the endo-nutrition plan (like myself), it covers most of the requirements, bar the alcohol and diary, but you can ask for it served without that if you want...I don't, because I don't follow it strictly.

Snooty ordered the same dish and she found it to be equally sufficient, albeit she was marginally snootier about it...if anything can be snootier than calling something, sufficient.

I should also mention that Jiggly ordered the Salmon fishcakes; her view on the food was similar to that mentioned above.

I know that the décor of Café Rouge is based on the cafés in France; clean, crisp, comfortable, good coffee, a bar...pretty much a place that you could live in. Café Rouge Mailbox achieved this, most others do not. I usually find them to be dingy and not dissimilar to the inside of a toilet - you know, the old white tiled toilets found in public places in the UK. Café Rouge Mailbox avoided this feeling, so well done to them. 

What they did do wrong was employ a very sweet, but very confused waitress. 

Price: Approx. £48.00 for 2 x juice, 3 x mains, 1 x side, 2 x tea and small desert, 1 x hot drink and service charge

Veggie Friendly: 3/5

Food: 3/5

Service: 2/5

Atmosphere: 3/5 (for The Mailbox branch, alone)

Côte Brasserie, The Mailbox, Birmingham, B1 1RX

A chain upon both your houses. If Shakespeare were alive, I'm pretty sure he would beat me for that; it makes no sense, it's not big, it's not clever and, it's not funny. 

Back to the blog; I had no idea this was a chain until I googled it to check the address. 

I love, love, LOVE the location of Côte - Birmingham; by the canal and near The Mailbox - a nice, relaxed shopping centre that I cannot afford. 

The restaurant gets plenty of light and unless you happen to be unlucky enough to have a particularly mangy goose outside the window, the view is pleasant. 

The staff on shift on Sunday were incredibly polite, attentive and looked the part. They were also very accommodating in terms of making a few alterations to turn a few meat based dishes into delicious vegetarian options. If you don't ask, then you may be a little stuck on the option front. 

One vegetarian version of the full English, two veggie versions of the Croque Madame, and a T-Rex Bacon Baguette later we were full and happy. So happy in fact, or hungry, that Fiancé, Snooty (sister 2's choice of name), Jiggly (sister 1's) and I decided that we needed more food...more brunch to be precise. 

To follow up on the breakfast we had already eaten we ordered yoghurt and granola, and two portions of French toast with fruit and maple syrup. Coffees and juice all round and we were set and full; even we're not bold enough for thirds. Actually, we are, but only on holiday. 

Price: £53.55 for 3 x hot drinks, 1 x fresh juice, 7 x breakfast/brunch items and service charge.

Veggie Friendly: 2/5

Food: 4/5

Service: 5/5

Atmosphere: 5/5 

Sagar, 31 Catherine Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2B 5JS

Another year older, and light years wiser. That is how the old saying goes! Maybe not. 

To start the year, and my birthday, on a high; my fiancé...or Fiancé (typing the 'my' is cumbersome and really, I should not have more than one at any given time) found an all veg, South Indian restaurant with three locations in Zone 1. Well done Fiancé!   

A mix of eight people, Veggiesaurs and T-Rexes, tried it out and the general consensus was 'great night, great company, and good food.' 

The menu was predominantly South Indian (duh!), with a good few North Indian options as well. Most of us ordered dosa and shared a few curries. 

I know it's as wrong to compare restaurants as it is to compare people, but in some cases, it's difficult not to. This is one of those cases. 

Like Saravanaa Bhavan, the food is authentic South Indian food and the mark up in price is, on average, about £1.50 per dish. Not bad considering it's in Covent Garden. 

Personally, I prefer the taste of the food at Saravanaa Bhavan, but that does not mean that I disliked Sagar at all. Their Payasam (vermicelli, sago and sweet milk pudding) was amazing and the taste was reminiscent of my mother's cooking. On the other hand, their Paneer Dosa was more potato and less spice than I would like. 

Sagar's Muttar Paneer was oil free, creamy and full of coriander, the Sweet Lassi made it onto my wedding drinks reception list, and somehow, despite the commotion of out inability to order anything coherently, the staff not only got everything right, but also managed to bring all the various dishes at the correct times, to the correct people without us having to say anything else to them. That's what I call good customer service. 

Now comes the negative: we were dining downstairs and the venue felt cramped. I think the claustrophobic effect is, in part, due to the spiral staircase in the room. Maybe when you go up it, the cramped feeling dissipates. I confess I didn't check. 

The area that Sagar really outdoes Saravanaa Bhavan: Location. I'm not sure why I put that in bold seeing as Saravanaa Bhavan has restaurants dotted across the globe, including Vancouver, New York and Singapore. 

Comparing the Rayners Lane location and Sagar, Covent Garden alone, Sagar wins. 

Rayners Lane is not exactly inconvenient to get to, but unless you live in Harrow, know someone who lives in Harrow, or you plan on getting your eyebrows threaded cheaply and perfectly, you probably will not go to Harrow. Whereas, tourists and locals alike will all venture into the heart of the West End. 

Hey, Saravanaa Bhavan! If you're out there, silently reading my blog, you could beat Sagar on London location if you opened a restaurant in Central London...just outside my flat...or in my flat...or just send your chefs around to cook for me...everyday...

Price: Approximately £145.00 for 8 people eating and drinking with total abandon. Starters - check, Mains - check, Drinks - too much sweer lassi and a little beer...check, dessert - a half check and, service charge. 

Veggie Friendly: 5/5

Food: 4/5

Service: 5/5

Atmosphere: 2/5

Blue Zenzer at Playgolf Northwick Park, Watford Road, Harrow, Middlesex, HA1 3TZ

Do you like Italian food? Yes...I thought so. 

How about Indian food? Yeah? Suspected as much. 

Now, do you like an Indo-Italian fusion? Er...let me help you out on that one with a; bizarrely, yes.

After a golf lesson, a short time on the driving range and a harsh reminder that I am not the female equivalent of Tiger Woods I needed food, and I was in no mood to travel far for it. 

Blue Zenzer is a fan of large glass windows and due to this, from most tables you have a rather pleasant view. The vibe is non existent but then again it is full of people who have chosen to eat there as a pre or post golf/bollywood dance/karati (yeah, I know, strange combo) venue. 

The staff are pleasant but a teaspoon forgetful, and a tablespoon slow. 

The food is pretty darn hot. I mean that literally, it's spicy. 

The menu is predominantly Italian with Indian twists on virtually everything. For example: the ricotta and spinach ravioli is served in a spicy tomato sauce sprinkled with green chillies and some other indistinguishable yet certifiably sub-continental spice.

The mini calzones are filled with mild curry and the margherita picante is not arrabiata spicy, it's red chilli/green chilli/curry powder/chilli powder spicy...and, strangely, it works! 

Vegetarian options make up at least half of the menu, if not not more! Huzzah! 

If you find yourselves in Northwick Park, trying as hard to play golf as Tiger did to stay monogamous, then you're probably not trying all that hard. I suggest taking a break and having a munch on some food at Blue Zenzer; it's a hole in one...not quite...I know nothing about Golf. 

Price: Approx. £37.00 for 3 x hot drinks, 2 x starters, 1 x main, 2 x sides and service charge.

Veggie Friendly: 5/5

Food: 2.5/5

Service: 2/5

Atmosphere: 2.5/5

Gourmet Burger Kitchen, 102 Baker Street, London, W1U 6TL

Thursday night's dinner was brought to you by the letters GBK and the number 0, or should I say O...h how unexpected. 

Four veggie burgers to choose from, none of which are the oestrogen rich, soy patty variety, which I love despite staying away from at the moment, lest I prove all studies right and pump too much oestrogen into my body. However, so as to not totally desert the norm and deviate too far from bean types, I rather aptly chose the bean burger. One word: Nice. Two words: Surprisingly nice. Three words: Enough, just nice. 

For all T-Rexes; with burger in the name, it should be blatantly obvious that meat is involved. That being said, the word gourmet also features...perhaps it was not so condescending to clarify that after all. 

The chips were overdone and the waiter took an awfully long time hunting out mayo in a burger joint, but the milkshakes made up for it; one oreo cookie and one chocolate. 

I have to admit, the shakes at GBK far surpass those of Fine Burger Co. Due to a nice mix of smooth with chunks of cookie or chocolate, the dessert/drink balance was a divine pre-cinema treat. If anything, I would come back for those milkshakes alone.  

Also, as a quick afterthought that really should have come first...and two posts ago...Happy New Year!!! 

Price: Approx. £28.00 for 2 x milkshakes, 1 x chunky chips, 2 x burgers (one mint lamb) and service charge.

Veggie Friendly: 3/5

Food: 3.5/5

Service: 2/5

Atmosphere: 2/5

Giraffe, 6 - 8 Blandford Street, London, W1U 4AU

Brilliant brunches that don't break the bank! There was way too much alliteration in that sentence, even for me. 

Brunches are served till 4pm and there is enough choice for vegetarians (not so much for the vegans), and all other sections have at least one option. I usually go for lunch or brunch; the veggie option and the falafel burger are my favourites. 

The smoothies are fresh and excellent, the coffees are not bitter and you will not leave hungry...unless, this food just isn't your taste. 

One word of caution...well, more than a word: Giraffe is family friendly. By family friendly, I mean it's child friendly. By child friendly, I mean children are everywhere. To put it delicately, if you're going to Giraffe (any of their locations) for a hangover brunch, then you're not going to find the quiet that you might need. 

Price: Approx. £25.00 for 2 x drinks, 2 x mains and service charge. 

Veggie Friendly: 3/5

Food: 3.5/5

Service: 5/5

Atmosphere: 3.5/5

Cinnamon Spice, 12 - 14 Glentworth Street, London, NW1 5PG

The Vegetarians' Guide to Eating Out...or in this case, eating in. 

You can choose to sit in, but personally, I prefer to get take away from this restaurant for a number of reasons. 

Though the staff are incredibly polite and accommodating the space inside the restaurant is not used well. If you're unlucky enough to not get a seat by the window, you'll find yourself eating in the corridor, which occurs enough at family functions. I'm not paying to do that. 

However, the food is fantastic. So to avoid the conundrum of corridor dining I simply choose to order and take away. 

As far as Indian takeaways go, the flavours are intense without overwhelming, the grease factor is only present when a dish is fried, and that unappetizing layer of batch cooked oil has not been found in any of the dishes that I have ordered. In fact, so impressive is the reduction in oil that the one time I dined in with See Food Eat Food, she pointed out that the poppadums were not fried; taste minus oil - good for my mouth and my arteries. 

My fiancé is a strong supporter of the chicken achar and chicken dansak. The tarka dhal is delicious and my definition of the right consistency. The mutter paneer is cooked with coconut; a different but scrumptious change to others that I have tasted. If you are not a fan of sweet mains, then avoid this. 

The aloo zeera features regularly in my orders, as does the chapati. In fact, the only thing that I would not order again is the squash bhajee. It sounded great in theory, yet the execution of it fell somewhere between a thanksgiving pumpkin pie and curry. 

I look forward to the next time that I am too lazy to cook.  

Price: Approx. £27.00 for lemonade, chapati, pilau rice, 4 curries (one meat) and a tip.

Veggie Friendly: 4/5

Food: 3.5/5

Service: 4/5

Atmosphere: 2/5