A couple of weeks back I finally caught up with Ben, Michelle, Gerrod and Kristy at the very enjoyable The Gate restaurant out at Hammersmith. When I trialled Vegetarianism back in January, this place had been on my must-do list although dropped off quickly as the month and the rest of the year flew by. Since it was a place quite close to everyone else, I thought it’d be a great spot to wine, dine and have a nice chat.

The restaurant is in the midst of a bright and airy converted loft, although the building looks like part church. Tables inside this lovely dining space are limited so make sure you book early and with proper numbers to ensure a spot especially on weekends. The menu is uniquely different and takes a step away from being your classic vegetarian foods. Their recipes mix and match lots of different vegetables to achieve fantastic tasting combinations. My starter, the Butternut and Cashew Samosa had the perfect blend of sweetness and crunchiness that was really moreish. Thankfully I held back my temptation to have more as my Aubergine Teriyaki dish arrived at the same time. According to their menu, it’s:

grilled aubergine crumbed & layered with coriander pesto, roasted red pepper, plum tomatoes & horseradish, served with stir-fried noodles

and a very enjoyable different dish at that. The aubergine was crispy on the outside, with its surprisingly sweet filling and the small kick from the horseradish.

To finish off, I could not resist the temptation of the Lavender Creme Brulee. Not one to rarely refuse dessert, I’m very glad it didn’t really cross my mind since not only was the custard perfectly set, and the top caramelised to the right amount, but the unique flavour of Lavender really shone through. As Gerrod mentioned, it was

“like a Creme Brulee and an air freshener put together, but in a good way.”

The menu is not exactly your everyday, run of the mill food and although prices reflect their uniqueness, is quite worth it for the appropriate occasion. I’d definitely go back there again someday!

Details: The Gate, not to be confused by the dozen other “The Gate” places around London
Found on: 51 Queen Caroline Street, Hammersmith, W6 9QL
Contactable on: 020 8748 6932
Highlights: Amazing combinations of really flavoursome vegetarian foods and plenty of options to choose from. The dining room is a really spacious lofty room that gives enough privacy though still feels very buzzing with the number of diners. You can also buy a cookbook to try out some of their recipes at home.
Room for improvement: A well deserved reputation means not enough tables so book ahead. Prices are quite expensive for vegetarian though I still think worth it.
The Kua Rating: 8.5 out of 10

If you want something fast and relatively affordable, then perhaps Soho Pizzeria is for you. A West End Italian restaurant that apparently is popular with lots of locals, this venue also offers live music (lots of Jazz) on most nights of the week. Pizza and pasta offerings are fairly average, though with prices starting at just over a fiver and most other dishes well below eight quid there’s not too much to complain about.

They offer an extensive wine list although be warned it’s obvious they must must quiet a bit from the non-alcoholic drinks (£1.75 for a 250mL juice!). Being an Italian restaurant, this restaurant also offers a decent range of desserts including Tiramisu and a rather disappointing frozen block of Cassata.

Details: Soho Pizzeria
Found on: 16-18 Beak Street, London W1F 9RD
Contactable on: 020 7434 2480
Highlights: Lots of dining table, cheap pizza and pasta and live music on most days of the week.
Room for improvement: Food generally was so-so and drinks are well overpriced.
The Kua Rating: 6 out of 10

The last place you would expect to find an American BBQ and Crabshack restaurant is stuck between Sloan Square and South Kensington tube stations, but even for its odd location The Big Easy restaurant has attracted enough people on a Friday night to be completely packed out. It’s not a short walk from either station but at least it’ll give you a chance to work off all the food options they offer. The restaurant has two floors, the top one with plenty of standing area around the bar for just taking in the vibe, but plenty of noise to keep the restaurant feeling busy and full. We were lucky enough to be early enough to grab a timed table, but if you have a large group I would definitely book ahead so that you aren’t at least rushed through your meal.

The menu offers quite a bit of stuff, from home style BBQ, seafood, burgers, fish, fajitas and deadly desserts (think of a Krispy Kreme with chocolate fondue – probably the equivalent calories for a full meal right there!). They offer plenty of alcoholic drinks including wine, cocktails and beers but surprisingly no milkshakes or other interesting non-alcoholic varieties you might expect to find in a place like this.

Service throughout our meal was not bad with drinks and food orders taken quite promptly and food arriving in plenty of time to escape our necessary table deadline. Our waitress was a little bit harder to get a hold of when we wanted the bill, but nothing that caused too much undue stress. Expect all meals here to have a 12.5% gratuity automatically added.

I ended up ordering the full rack of Baby back ribs which I took quite a lot home in the end. It was served with Baked Beans in a BBQ sauce, corn on the cob and coleslaw – all of which was actually really tasty. The beans sat in a very tasty sauce, and the corn on the cob was both fresh and extremely tasty on its own (I’m guessing a little bit of butter or seasoning had been added). The coleslaw was pretty standard and ended up being slightly overrun from the sauce of the beans towards the end of the meal.

I was very impressed by the ribs, although not as tender as others I’ve had before, had the perfect amount of charred flesh, and smothered in a great well rounded sauce that was neither too tangy, nor sweet. It was a shame they didn’t have a bottle of that sauce at the table. The ribs went down like a treat and was fairly easy to eat without the tacky dining bib our waitress offered.

I’d definitely come back here sometime if I had a craving for BBQ.

Details: The Big Easy
Found on: 69 332-334 Kings Road, Chelsea, London SW3 5UR
Contactable on: 020 7354 4071
Highlights: Busy atmosphere, good BBQ, decent decorations
Room for improvement: It’s not that close to any tube stations. Need to book head.
The Kua Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Surprisingly I haven’t eaten that much at Vietnamese restaurants in London. It was only recently that I found out that a plethora of them exist out east near the Old Street tube station. I ate at Cay Tre (also known as The Vietnamese Kitchen) most recently and was surprisingly impressed by it.

The restaurant was busy throughout our entire meal with many patrons cascading into the ground floor. Another good indicator of the quality of the food was the large number of Asian people that were dining. The menu offers a wide selection of starters and mains ranging from soups, noodles, stews, fried dishes and other speciality grilled things prepared on little portable grills at each table. The dishes are extremely affordable with most of the mains averaging £5 or £6.

Service throughout the night was non-intrusive and I didn’t feel at all rushed through our meal like you would in many Chinese restaurants. Better yet, if you find Cay Tre busy, it also has a sister restaurant just around the corner.

Details: Cay Tre
Found on: 301 Old Street, London, EC1V 9LA
Contactable on: 020 7729 8662
Highlights: Cheap, fresh Vietnamese food with a huge offering on their menu.
Room for improvement: Nothing too much to note here (for once).
The Kua Rating: 8 out of 10

Ask people who live in London and I’m sure a few of them would have eaten at the Japanese Canteen. It’s one of those chain stores that specialises in, well I suppose obvious from the name, Japanese Cuisine. I’ve eaten there twice and been disappointed both times trying some of the different dishes. The katsu dish I ate was well over-fried, resulting in a very dry meat that should really be nice and moist, and wasn’t really helped by the excessive drenching of katsu sauce. I love katsu sauce on its own though its far too easy to get since it comes bottled in lots of Asian grocery stores. The katsu dish wasn’t even served with anything extra (no pickled ginger or side) other than lots and lots (and lots!) of rice – which helps to explain the cheap price tag. The other dish I’ve had there was sushi and it was definitely rather ordinary as well – they didn’t really have much variety and I definitely had concerns around what looked like, not-so-fresh seafood.

Details: Japanese Canteen
Found on: Lots of places in London
Highlights: Cheap, westernised version of Japanese
Room for improvement:Don’t expect this to come close to authentic Japanese cuisine.
The Kua Rating: 3.5 out of 10

Earlier this week I dined at the decadent Shanghai Blues found in a part of the Old Town Hall on High Holborn. It’s very close to my office and I’ve walked past it many many times and since the prices are significantly more expensive than many other Chinese restaurants I’ve never really had a good reason to eat there. Since my month of vegetarianess (is that even a word), I noticed that they offered an impressive range of vegetarian dishes, at least in comparison to your typical Chinese restaurant. Admittedly their normal menu looks superb as well. One unfortunate thing for me though was a special for the month of January where all of their four varieties of Lobster Noodle, typically £40 only cost £25. I was extremely tempted to turn pescatarian just to have them.

The inside of the restaurant is intentionally dark, adding to the atmosphere created by the black lacquered tables and chairs. Everything is very well presented and the menu is presented with both a bowl of nuts and a bowl of kim chee to nibble on as you decide. The offerings are wide and tempting although my task was made much easier with only a page to choose from instead of the overwhelming different ways in which all the meats are served.

Ordering tea is quite the experience as well, with each pot served in “one person” sized pots. A tea trolley is wheeled to your table, with the tea pot and the tea cup cleansed in front of your eyes with boiling water before being filled with the fresh tea leaves (presented to you first, strangely like a newly opened bottle of wine). The tea was nice and fresh and at least for such a small pot of tea, the waiters work constantly to ensure it is filled up during the meal.

Details: Shanghai Blues
Found on: 193-197 High Holborn, WC1V 7BD
Contactable on: +1 20 7404 1668
Highlights: Distinctly different dishes, a wide variety of offerings in a much more upmarket and stylish restaurant. Service is extremely attentive without being the excessively in your face. They also host jazz on certain nights of the week.
Room for improvement:Expect to pay a little bit more than your average Chinese restaurant.
The Kua Rating: 7.5 out of 10