Against my better judgement, I came here again last week and that really will be the last time I…read morestep foot in this place. Again, the alcohol seemed really sub standard. Last time I had a glass of Shiraz that I wasn't able to drink and this time I had a passion fruit margarita that tasted like plastic. Our waitress was the one shining light in this place. She was really friendly and very helpful. However the problem came when we wanted to pay. The bill arrived for £35...we had only had two drinks...but they had charged us twice. We pointed out their mistake to our waitress. She replied that she had told the manager we had only had two drinks but he had insisted on charging us for four anyway. He then came over and caused a bit of a scene, being actually quite aggressive towards us. We left feeling a little bewildered, not really sure how their mistake had made him so cross with us! I won't be going back there, it just feels like a cheap joint out to make a profit at any cost. Could well be run by Ferrengi!!

A totally great bar experience whether there's 4 or 14 of you going out for the night. This place…read moreis stylish but not over pretentious. The mood is classy and wants to please from every angle. The music certainly set a good tone too - R&B but not in your face and not so loud you couldn't have a conversation as busy as the place became (which was busy, but still felt comfortable). I seriously liked Friends of mine and would make it a stop given any opportunity. Unfortunately I'm unable to comment on the food as we just had drinks, but it smelled good and I only saw empty plates as they were whisked away by the staff.

I'd say St Jame's is the fanciest place to dine in Crouch End. It's got wonderful modern decor and…read morea little area outside if it ever happens to be sunny. They have great lunch time deals and the food is really nice as well as the staff. Also a great selection of wine.

I'll be honest my 'Toblerone Cheesecake' was awful BUT the rest of my experience at this little…read moreCrouch End place was bloody marvellous. I had two wonderful glasses of shiraz (incredible) and a burger and chips that was just brilliantly done and awesome for the price. Well done!

Good food, service and ambiance is amazing!!! It's a little quiet space in busy Covent Garden, but…read moreonce the word gets out this will be one of the go to places!!!!

Great place for brunch right by the train. But don't get it wrong - this is much more than a quick…read morestop-off. Come here for a nice date, a drunk or sober brunch, or for a good lunch or dinner. Prices are nice - we got out for two mains at £20 total. The service was fast for weekend brunch, and the food was so tasty. Stuffed French toast with bacon on top was the perfect balance of sweet, salty, and filling. I can only dream of learning to cook French toast that perfectly in my lifetime. The eggs benedict were standard - but in a good way. Very easy to make an overly rich sauce, a bad egg, a burnt bread or a poor filling and ruin it, but they didn't. Well done. Service was kind and fast - not sure why so many have complained. All o can come up with is that there are loads of very aggressive people in Vauxhall after a 12-hour stint at the clubs. Oh, and the chocolate muffin melted in my mouth. holy wow. Last thing - the chips are solid gold. Remind me of the old Burger King chips before they had to change them for health reasons. Worth your time, and won't cost you much money. Enjoy!! See my photos to see for yourself.

Vauxhall is one of those up and coming areas with a new station being built nearby. However it…read morestill lacks decent restaurants in the area, most of them being quite quiet and empty. However with the introduction of Counter it added a bit of class to the area. It's also gluten friendly which was perfect for my gluten intolerant friend as they had at least a one dish on each each course that was gluten free. I loved the fact it was under the Vauxhall arches, rustic on the outside but had a really cool modern look inside. Seating were arranged as booths with the leather seats standing up high so you had a lot of privacy. The lady who served us all evening was amazingly friendly. My friend may have crossed a few lines with his jokes but she went along with it and kept us entertained and feeling comfortable. Excellent service. Food was a hit a hit and miss and I find it to be more for locals in the area who want a nicer place to hang out and catch up than to make travel arrangements here. We started our evening with a cocktail and we both enjoyed the Aperol breeze. It was citrusy yet sweet from the passion purée with a slight bitter note from the vodka and grapefruit . Nice for light drinkers like me who knows nothing about alcohol. Now the food we ordered included : French cheese platter It consisted of Brie, Camembert and silton served with a variety of crackers and baby gherkins. It was pretty average and the different coloured crackers were more novelty than for taste as they were all quite dry and hard. Mussels in a creamy white wine sauce. This was a starter dish. It was a shame the mussels were so small it couldn't benefit the lovely garlicky sauce. Luckily there was a nice toasted sourdough to mop it up with. Scallops I was really surprised how fresh and plump these scallops were. Also loving the combination of the sweet touch of butternut squash purée and crisps, not only enhancing the flavour but texture too. Chicken and Tarragon Terrine. Really nice herby flavours coming out from this terrine. The meat was juicy, tender and mixed well the nice contrast of textures from the other ingredients. The apricot chutney added a nice zing to it and brought it together with the given sourdough. Grilled tuna. For a main my friend ordered the tuna being gluten free. It had so much potential being cooked perfectly, still fleshy, flakey and juicy. Sadly the tuna was too salty for anyone to really enjoy which was a real shame. Cassoulet with confit duck This was also over seasoned, drowning in salt. It was the most disappointing dish of the evening yet sounded so nice on the menu. The flavour was very one noted and lacked depth. The duck itself was slightly over cooked too making it a bit dry and tough round the edges. Counter Burger I wouldn't have thought the most generic dish on the menu turned out to be the highlight dish out of the mains. Beautifully seasoned beef patty, very juicy and the bun managed to hold it all together. Cheese lovely and melted and the crispy bacon gave it extra flavour and depth. The fries were like 'Mcdonalds' fries and who's not to like it. Fried nac and cheese balls These were nice and crispy but wouldn't have been so memorable if it wasn't for the lovely Chipotle mayo sauce it came with which had a nice sweet smokiness to it. Lyonnaise Potato These were nice and cooked really well with onions, slightly crisp on the outside and fluffy in the inside. Oreo cheesecake It definitely sounds nicer than it really was with it being described to be accompanied with crispy milk. It did arrive with a small glass of 'chocolate' milk that looked more like chocolate than it tasted. The 'crispy' in the description was just some crumbs of the Oreos topped in. Hardly crispy. The cake itself was dense and the base dry and hard. A bit of a let down. Mississippi mud pie This was gigantic and very gluttonous. The cake was very dense and although quite generic, I did enjoy the vanilla cream frosting on top. The brownie pieces were a bit forgettable though and didn't need to be there. Passion fruit creme brûlée The gluten free dish in the section and probably the most enjoyable dessert out of the three. The flavours and consistency were very balanced, light, sweet, milky and creamy. I wouldn't mind having more of this. Counter did let us down a little bit but with its forever changing seasonal menu it does seem they have hope. There does seem to be creativity in the kitchen too and some potential seeing how well it succeeded in the starters. It's still a great place for drinks and a sociable environment. Until something better comes along to Vauxhall I would still give this place another shot if I'm in the area.

This restaurant was essentially as described on its web site- basic British food. The food served…read morewas solid and well presented and well above good pub grub. Service overall was convivial and discreet. The restaurant only gets marked down for price - it was a bit high. We ate: Appetiser Roast duck on mixed greens - duck was far too tough / chewy and seemed to be the bits you normally throw away. Pity because good taste. Fish gougeons which turned out to be a euphemism for fancy fish sticks. Good taste though Mains Roast chicken with parsley roast potatoes Monkfish with crushed new potatoes Both the above were very plain almost bland but saved by presentation and cooked just right Desert Cheesecake, - very good. sorbets - out of the box but well presented Wines acceptable. (House Merlot) Overall: Well presented well served copious old fashioned food that is hit and miss. And a tad expensive.

This was my favorite restaurant in Leigh until they removed the pianist on a Saturday night. This…read moreof course doesn't affect the quality of the food which 'll hasten to add is outstanding. The piansit gave the restaurant a certain something that other restaurants in the area don't have. I would still heartily recommend it all the same. UPDATE: Recently revisited this restaurant for our Christmas lunch and I'm pleased to report that food and service were of excellent quality. They handled my 4 y\o daughter and 11 week old daughter admirably.

I've got kind of a love /hate thing going on with Butty Boys (stop sniggering!)…read more On the one hand, the sandwiches are hugely over priced, serve small portions, and nothing is freshly made - it's all pre packaged. On the other hand the sandwiches are really bloody tasty, the staff are nice, there's hardly ever a queue, and you can pay by card and get cash back. The cash back thing isn't so much of a big deal anywhere else, but in the bleak cash machine free wasteland of Gray's Inn Road, Butty Boys is an oasis of lovely paper money. So, if you don't mind paying over the odds for your sarnie - and need to have some readies - hit up this place. if not, there's plenty better.

This is a nice little sandwich bar, but does suffer a little from small portions (for the prices)…read moreand there's not really anything special/unique about their selection.. The staff are friendly and I like the vibe they have going on, but that's all that distinguishes it from somewhere like Pret..

Nothing much has changed, Browns is a true institution and long may it continue …read more.. BUT ... they've got a bit mean. I was tempted by the smoked haddock fishcakes which are listed to be served with a heirloom tomato salad and caper berries. The fishcakes were tiny, the salad more of a garnish and included a grand total of two caper berries - not quite enough for a special mention on the menu me thinks. I quickly ordered some fries to have with this snack portion which were served promptly, so all is forgiven... ... including the additional £1.95 charge for a tiny pot of bearnaise sauce to go with the £20+ steak my friend ordered. Listed on menu as 'Served with lightly dressed baby watercress & fries' the lack of dressing on the cress was a bit of an issue, our server brought along some olive oil with my extra chips. The extra charge for sauce is not listed - I checked, the menu is available online. I will probably keep coming back for more and hope this was a one-off disappointment - saved by the friendliness and professionalism of our lovely server.

Wandering London can be hungry work and as the heat increased this particular summer's day my…read morefriend and I were drawn to Browns Mayfair. It just seemed welcoming with its large window and wood accented entrance. Once inside we were promptly seated in a large semi-circle booth of sorts. It was a cross between a booth and a high table - it was almost comfortable but my short legs couldn't quite find anywhere comfortable to rest leaving my legs to dangle. Regardless the architecture was enchanting. It has large skylights flooding the interior with natural light. The wood railings up to the upper level had intricate detail as did the walls and ceilings. The tiled floor was a fantastic touch and the wrap around bar was a delightful look. I found myself looking around wondering what the building once was used for. At first our server was very hesitant with us. I think part of it was that I ordered a lunch item when they were still serving breakfast. I was a bit confused because the menu didn't indicate that particular section was unavailable as the breakfast and lunch shared the same menu. Breakfast is a tough meal for me due to my egg intolerance limiting my selection. My friend cheerily ordered the English breakfast while I opted for avocado toast with salmon. I find avocado toast to be a stranger menu item but it was very delicious. The feta cheese blocks were a bit overly pungent while the salmon was divinely delicious. I ended up eating one of my friend's sausages and was terribly impressed how utterly delicious it was! The casing wasn't too thick or thin, the texture was meaty and thick, and it was an explosion of flavor. I felt spoiled! The whole experience was memorable and delicious. By the time we left our server warmed to us and cheerily chatted with us. It was a great experience!

Horrible staff, treated our table disrespectfully, and other tables were astonished how badly we…read morewere treated. Food well below average, save your money and time. Will never come back

I am from the US and came here with a UK friend who lives in the neighborhood, as well as a friend…read morefrom AU in London. The atmosphere was great, especially in the backyard garden. In that area, you go up and order and they bring out your food. Easy. Supposedly. First, they were out of almost everything we tried to order. My husband and I ordered a starter for the table and it came out first. Then our companions got their food - and the two of us waited for our mains. And waited. And waited. Watching as so many people after us got their food. We checked in at the 45 minute mark. Still no food. Finally at the hour mark, we asked to speak to a manager as our friends were already done with their meal. A manager came over and told us that the wait was our fault because we had ordered a starter for the table, our mains would automatically come out 50 minutes later. It was "the system". No attempts to apologize that our food was so late or that our friends were done with their entire meal. No attempts to make things right or to comp us a drink (we had bought two bottles of wine at this point). The food finally came out and it was good (i had the roast chicken and my husband had fish and chips). We were so hangry that anything would have been good. No attempt to check back or apologize or any of it. I guess they got what they wanted as our friends ended up buying more drinks to sit with us. So in short: attractive place, decent food but lousy service. If you're in a group, don't be the nice ones to order the starter for the table. You'll be penalized.