Steven L.'s Profile

It's the pricier sister restaurant of Back A Yard (in East Menlo Park). The Ox Tail soup was delicious, the wings were great, and the pork loin was very small. The biggest disappointment had to be how dry the jerk chicken was. If you are looking for jerk chicken, you are a fool to come here -- you should go to Back A Yard. Otherwise, it's a decent place to eat especially if you plan to bar hop afterwards.

For as much rave this place gets, I'm giving it three (and half) stars. The stone crab was delicious, but what would you expect when you pay up for seafood?

They do not do reservations and expect to wait at least 45 minutes to 1 hour (if you get there at 5:30pm). Get there any later and expect a 1.5-2.5 hour wait at a minimum. This restaurant seats 300 people! For the pricing, the decor was quite plain. The service was tremendous, though.

The oddest thing about this restaurant were their pricing -- I don't think I've ever seen such a wide variance in pricing. For instance, they have stone crabs (large) for $45, steak for $55. They also have chopped tenderloins (two burger like patties) for $5. A half chicken for $6. Fried oysters appetizer for $8.

I had the tenderloin, oysters, and stone crabs. While it was good, I'm not sure this restaurant is a must go. I think I had a better experience elsewhere during my trip to Miami. I can definitely do without the wait.

I'm a fan. We had the 3 course menu special this past weekend. Great service. Got rewarded for "checking in." All the dishes except for one, we had were fantastic.

Appetizers: We ordered the shrimp cakes -- probably one of the best ones we've had! Moist, tender, flavorful, and it was a lot for an appetizer (three pieces). It didn't have just the fried oil taste like many many places that I've tried. The scallop appetizer was so-so for us. It was cooked well, but perhaps we were more fixated on the shrimp cakes.

Main: Porkchop and rice dish. Delicious. Moist pork chop. Big size portion. Delicate flavors. Trout with rock shrimp and risotto was everything the porkchop dish wasn't. The sauce was very rich and sharp -- you haven't have too much of it in every bite. Rock shrimp were delicious. The trout was perfectly cooked -- crispy/flakey on the top, moist, tender in the middle. The trout did look almost like salmon and at times I swore I was eating salmon. Nonetheless, it was a great combo of flavors.

Desserts: The famous chocolate souffle lived up to the hyped. Definitely order that when you come to Roy's. We also had the peach pie. Another winner.

reserve on Toptable. get points. and eat good food here!

this was the first Asian restaurant I've been to where the prices are fair (for london) and the food tastes good. Unfortunately, I didn't order the typical Vietnamese food (like beef noodle soup, vermicelli w/ meat, or rice plate with meat) so it's tough to measure how this restaurant compares to the usual Vietnamese restaurants I eat in California. I ended ordering a seafood and rice plate, imperial roll, and shaking beef. For those dishes, I thought they tasted delicious. I recommend the seafood and rice -- it's worth your money.

If you want some good Vietnamese/Chinese type of food, it's worth giving this restaurant a try. Better yet, reserve it on Toptable (UK version of OpenTable + Poor man's version of Yelp). You can't afford to not use Toptable if you plan to be in London for a week (or more).

I am pleasantly surprised at the quality of food at these "fast food sushi" restaurants! I have to admit, I've been in London for three weeks now, and I only finally gave this a try. And I'm really glad I did!

I picked up some a la carte items like salmon, tuna,nigiri and a charashi. For London prices, these are great deals. All the fish tastes great and I am a fan of their charashi (who can go wrong with £1.95?). It's not a fancy place, but it gets the job done. And for sushi, they get an extra star from me.

I'm really looking forward to my last week at London -- I'm going to be going here to pick up my lunch. It's a way better alternative than having to go to Tesco for sandwiches... nothing against sandwiches, but it seems like that's what everyone eats when they want something quick and on the go.

I really don't know how I should write these reviews. Granted I'm a Bay Area transplant rental (here for 1 month for work) so in terms taste, pricing, and experience, it's hard to ignore what I know from the States and judge just based on my food experience in London.

Anyway, it's a small place near the hospital. Not a fancy place. I ordered a two course meal for 27.95 (30.80 pounds after service charge): a salmon wrap for my appetizer and a duck curry. To be absolutely honest, I think I could get this meal for 15 pounds equivalent in the States. What I did think was neat was they served this complimentary lime juice mussel and fried frog leg dish in the beginning. That was probably the best "dish" for me. Don't get me wrong, the duck was good, I'm just not too sure at that price point.

If I wanted to spend that kind of money, I think I would have expected more. Or, I should really just go back to eating some steak.

It's tough over here to know what's overvalued and what's considered good. The lines are blurred far too often when you're just exploring places to eat.

Edit: Lowering my rating for this from 3 to 2. I still can't justify the £31 I spent on duck curry and salmon wrap appetizer.

Forgot to review this when I went to NYC for vacation. But, for record keeping sake, come here to eat the XLB! Great prices and it's one of the juiciest XLB I've eaten! (Disclaimer: I have not been to Shanghai; just comparing SF XLB to NYC/Joe's) Stick to the traditional XLB. I recalled the scallop one not being as tasty.

I left work on a Friday evening deciding between eating steak or sushi. It's only been a few days since | arrived here which meant I was still doing many of my random exploring of the area by myself. (I do plan to change this next week and hope that coworkers will take me up on my request to hang out and grab a bite to eat after work!).

That said, I felt sushi would be a more appropriate setting to socialize with friends/coworkers. And, I've been eyeing Gaucho Grill since finding the restaurant on Yelp from the day before.

After not getting lost (that's a win for me) navigating from work to Gaucho Grill, I was pleasantly surprised that this restaurant location was slightly tucked away from a "main street" entrance -- just off to the side of the main street, Gracechurch St. Entering the restaurant, you will need to go down a flight of stairs before entering a relatively dark setting.

I was very warmly greeted by the hostess. She made me feel welcomed (and not embarrassed!) for asking for a party of one while I waited.

The staff pays a great deal of attention to service with a smile -- a prime example would be allowing for ample time to look at the menu, but keen to possibly quzzled looks or needing to ask a question. They also brought out a cutting board worth of very cuts and explained which cut tasted best cooked a certain way. I was sold. Granted, the prices here are on the pricier side (that should be expected coming from an Argentine steak restaurant) and thus the detail in superior service.

While the cut of steak I ordered ordered with the bernaise sauce was delicious -- I ordered the 300g fillet with garlic rub -- I think what really made me enjoy the meal was the cheese bread ball they gave as part of their complimentary bread! Otherwise known as "pan de bono," the Columbian name for the product, it's a savory chewy bread. Chewy on the inside with a delicate half-crispy layer on the outside. It's no bigger than a miniature sized dinner roll, but the flavor is explosive and very welcoming! As you might can already tell, this was my first time trying this.

To finish my dinner meal, I ordered a strawberry mojito and water. While the mojito was great, I failed (again) to remember "water" in restaurant does not always come free and paid the price for it -- water was four pounds or equivalent to about $6 -- extremely steep in my world.

All in all this was a great experience even if I enjoyed it by myself. There were only a handful of customers there so the service was fantastic and I very well enjoyed my meal. Now, I can't quite give this restaurant five stars as tihis was my first steak restaurant experience, but it's a solid four star rating with a future revisit opportunity. :)

Great location (right near the entrance to Borough market). I love the outdoor area -- the smell of the paella really caught my attention as I was walking back on my first day of work. I was a bit skeptical of how good food can be in London based on scouring the internet prior to my trip here.

But, it was nothing short of delicious! They give quite a delicious and big portion for the entree. I ordered the paella with chirizo the food had me coming back again the next day! (I didn't do it a third time as I reminded myself that I needed to make the most of my one month stay here)

Eat here. Give the paella a try. The sangria looks delish as well!

It's a 3.5 stars for me. Disclaimer: I'm from California so I think my expectation for asian food is a bit biased.

I ordered the pan fried udon, chicken wings appetitizers, and a coke. Although I've had better pan fried udon before (I couldn't put a finger on the taste; it was different than what I am familiar with), the chicken wings appetitizer was pretty good. Eight wings, crispy, with a light drizzle of a dark sauce, enough but not overwhelming. I think what I enjoyed most though (and how it tipped me to give it four stars) is its architecture. All window walls with a clear view with Tower 42 (next to it). I'm sure there are a ton of restaurants that offer this scenery, but this is my third day here and this experience is still new to me. :)

Would |I come back again? I wouldn't say I'd come back right away, but I would not be ashamed to bring my friends here to let them check it out, too!