Ellie P.'s Profile

Yeah, I think it has good to great food. On the most recent visit, they had a particularly interesting combination of pate. It was a feast fit for a king.

Other favorites have included standards like pork belly and grilled fish, but theirs are a few steps above the norm.

Gluten-free notes: They've always been happy to tell me what's in the food, and have even provided non-gluteny alternatives.

This is the more casual outpost of the phenomenal "El Pla." It's so casual that you don't have to dress up and you can pretend it's "just" a tapas bar. But it's so much tastier than the others.

I am thinking fondly about the fantastic iberico, wine, and salad. Deceptively simple food with so much deliciousness.

Oh my goodness. Yes. This restaurant was so incredibly good. I want to go back about 100 times.

One of the more delicious and creative places for a tasting menu in London, even compared with the more established and expensive places in the city. Definitely lives up to the hype and didn't break the bank as much as other hotspots. It's definitely in my top 3 London restaurants, vying for #1. Also, it's not overly formal (thanks, Bethnal Green location) so it makes for a hipper experience with amazing food.

When you come and get a tasting menu with 6 courses, you will not leave hungry.

You will eat mystery foods, including what I thought was a vanilla-flavored jellybean and turned out to be frozen olive oil. Amazing.

Another highlight was the Ron Burgundy cocktail. A glass of burgundy wine mixed with I believe Scotch comes in, on a tray with a lid. Underneath the lid are smoking mahogany chips. Quite the presentation and delicious as well.

Gluten-free notes: Yes, you will eat really amazingly normally well here. They also have the best gluten free bread I have ever had, a freshly-baked cumin roll. You will eat your cumin rolls with smoked butter and consider whether buttered cumin rolls constitute a balanced meal.

Yum, pulled pork and burnt ends. I ate a whole pile of meat and walked away so happy. I'll definitely be back.

Some of my friends were inspired by their selection of Texas beers.

Gluten-free notes: Their BBQ sauce is gluten free, according to an email I exchanged with the company. Cool! Most BBQ sauces are full of soy sauce which is full of wheat.

I definitely shouldn't have made dinner plans on the same day as this event. As a serious chocolate addict, it was tough to keep myself away from everything in sight.

It was cool to see the chocolate-making equipment in action, as well as meet some other yelpers.

I particularly loved the salted caramels and the "cocoa macchiato" (no coffee, just unsweetened chocolate and milk).

I walked out with a few bars of dark chocolate, even my first 100% bar. (The most I'd had before was 99%.)

This is a solid local chain and serves reliably good classics. There are Bumpkins in a number of locations. If you're looking for something not too fussy with an emphasis on local British ingredients, this is always a solid choice. There isn't quite the wow factor, but that's not always what you're looking for. The decor is very modern London.

Gluten-free notes: Many of the dishes are naturally gluten free.

This a good spot for Mexican in London. They serve small tacos by the platterful, and you'll appreciate the tacos more after a Cadillac margarita or two.

What they do really well is the lively atmosphere -- if you want a lively spot to go out with friends, this is a fun time, and the decor fits right in. So it'll probably get 4 stars if you are going there for the scene and the drinks.

If you're in the neighbourhood, definitely check it out.

Gluten-free notes: The corn tortillas were made with just corn, as they should be. Hooray!

It's a friendly neighbourhood spot, and the window display is quite a landmark.

They have a huge selection of bread, pastries, quiches, etc. and will heat them up for you in the oven. They also have bags of homemade candies (hooray for chocolate-covered marshmallows) and cups of chocolate and fruit mousse.

They have a seating area in the back and it's a cozy place to enjoy your yummies.

Gluten-free notes: They can tell you exactly what's in everything -- they have a huge book showing all of the allergy and cross contamination risks. They used to sell a loaf of gluten-free bread but have recently re-labeled it as low-gluten. I need to find out why.

This is a friendly neighbourhood place for a newbie musician to pick out a guitar and accessories. The staff is extremely helpful and recommended guitars over a range of price points. While most of their stock is guitars, they have a number of other instruments.

You feel very good supporting a great local business. It's a small shop and the times we've gone it seems like there are lots of regulars who come back again and again for advice and repairs.

This place is brilliant, great food at a reasonable price in a classy setting. Great for a romantic night for two or dinner with friends.

See if you can grab one of the cute booths along the wall across from the kitchen.

We started with the spinach soup with snails. Having made spinach soup at home many times, I wondered why I never thought to put snails in it -- but that is why you go out to eat -- to be surprised and inspired. The earthy flavours of the snails and spinach were excellent together.

I'd seen a BBC programme about "potted shrimp" earlier in the week, so when I saw potted crab on the menu, I had to try it. I don't know how to put this, but it was the most crab-y tasting crab I have had in a very long time.

The wine list was reasonably priced by London standards -- most wines under 40 quid and main dishes under 15.

Gluten-free notes: Nearly all of the menu items are naturally gluten free and they were happy to advise.