Giaconda Dining Rooms

Now here's a restaurant you would walk straight past without a moments thought. In fact, unless you happened to be out guitar shopping in Soho, you probably wouldn't even see it, tucked away as it is in Denmark Street.

Paul Merrony, the chef, is not the first talented artist to have been here. This room was once the Giaconda cafe which offered tea and fry ups to Bowie and the Clash amongst others.

The menu is a Mediterranean mixture of French and Italian Bistro with a few plates of St John style nose to tail eating thrown in. The dining room is both a little noisy and cramped but the service is polite and friendly and the wine list offers some thoughtful suggestions.

The bread and olives were well above average. Crab Bisque had depth of flavour whilst the Lyonnais classic, Cervelle de Canut was well seasoned and creamy. We matched it with a 2008 Trebbiano d’Abruzzo Gianni Masciarelli which was a refreshing, medium bodied, appley citric wine that extracted far more than the average from it's workhorse grape.

We tried a Cotes du Roussillon “Segna de Cors” Roc des Anges 2007, a Grenache, Carignan and Syrah blend which offered an explosion of purple fruit with soft tannins and good structure to match the Ribeye and Sirloin Steak which came as ordered with decent chips.

A rich Creme Brulee had been dosed with orange zest making it an almost perfect match to a half bottle of Monbazillac Domaine Ancienne Cure, a Sauternes clone without the syrupy undertones but with a hint of the marmalade tang of noble rot creeping through.

The kitchen is so small, it's a wonder the chef can extract more than a Pannini from it but the quality of ingredients and robust flavour filled cooking is a pleasure at a price point that one rarely sees this close to the West End. This is not a venue for a quiet romantic evening and the Michelin starry eyed will feel robbed of the formality that they so often assume to be part of a fine dining experience. Make no mistake however, if you enjoy real food, this is far more than fine.

Tayabs

Wild rumours had been circulating. I had heard with astonishment that Tayyabs, the Punjabi cafe had finally instituted a booking system. Though it had always been possible to make a booking, groups of anything less than 10 who had made the effort were usually met with a mixture of bemused stares or simply ignored whilst being waved to the back of the gargantuan snake like queue.

This, along with a complete lack of organisation in this stalwart of Whitechapel curry houses has always left me as stressed on the way out as I was hungry on the way in and in the past we have retreated to the slightly less overcrowded Lahore Kebab House round the corner on more than one occasion. The size of the queues are though, clearly signal the quality of the food.

This time however, the table booking was acknowledged. Yes, they had given our table to someone else but we were seated in 15 minutes rather than the usual 40, the queue seemed better managed and the waiters were reasonably polite. The only thing that hadn't changed was the food. Mixed grill was a gently spiced meaty delight and included the famous tandoori lamb. The sag aloo provided the two veg for our meat and the Nan breads were little pillows of yeasty goodness, a touch charred from the Tandooor oven. Marsala Fish was excellent, the turmuric and chili powder marinade having worked their overnight magic.

All this was washed down with a round of sweet Mango Lhassi though you can of course BYOB. For those who have not had the pleasure, one visit will ensure you never return to Brick Lane for your spice fix and you can now book safe in the knowledge that your reservation will (probably) get you a table.

Hadley House

Hadley House must have been in Wanstead for over a decade and was the first of a slew of restaurants that sprung up as the area evolved into a young professionals commuter base for London, as a result of which, it has inevitably acquired the suffix "Village".

It was always a solid local with a pleasant room from which to watch the high street action but the food somehow lost its way and a strange meal liberally strewn with sun dried tomatoes several years ago left us strangers. This no doubt led to the arrival of the new chef-owners, Jon Simister and Terence Hau and what a difference they make.

The menu is now threefold. A grill and specials menu during the week and an a la carte throughout. The inclusion of mutton and mackerel on the evening we visited offer excellent value for money and demonstrate a close understanding of ingredients and margins which ensures that they will make a fair return for their effort. We attacked steak from the grill with relish, that being a description of our pleasure rather than an accompaniment to the dish.

Desserts stood out. An Ice Cream Sandwich offered an artful combination of ice cream, wafers baked on the premises, cocoa jelly and tiny chocolate truffles whilst an Apricot and Almond Tart was pleasantly fragrant. This restaurant now leads the pack in this stylish suburb and comes warmly recommended.