Hey guys, so I thought I would start this new series- Monthly Roundup of restaurants where I review all the restaurants I visit in a month! Partly because I am just too competitive and I want to tick off as many restaurants as possible off my 100 restaurants to visit list lol (I will be doing another list once I finish this one off). And partly because I want to let you guys know where to get the best service and food for your coins- if you haven’t noticed already I love recommending stuff lol. Plus I am trying to earn my points on Open Table lol. This is all part of my Discovering London series I mentioned last summer too
Of course, the restaurants don’t know who I am or if I will be doing a review so the service isn’t skewed in anyway. So September let’s see what you got
Overall- 1/5 Food- 2.5/5 Service-0/5 Ambience-1/5 Value-1/5
So Rum Kitchen came highly recommended by a friend I used to work with and we tried to visit there previously but it was fully booked. It’s safe to say I have been wanting to go to Rum Kitchen for a while but my rating shows a huge disappointment. Why? Well, so many things went wrong. 1st I was running late but I called ahead and told them and they said it was fine and I told my friends who got there earlier to get the table. I booked a table for 3 but they gave us a table for 2. So I got there and told her there must have been a mistake, I booked for 3 but you gave us a table for 2. She apologises gives us a new table. 10 mins later a waitress comes along asks us if we moved ourselves because all the food is going back to the old table. We say no and she says she’s going to check. Kl. We order food and drinks. Food comes fairly quickly. My friend gets her drink and I am still waiting for mine. My friend orders the second dish which it comes but still no drink for me. I made the 1st inquiry and they tell me it’s on the way. I made at least 4 more inquiries still no drink and all the while, the waiter that was standing around our table made it a point not to look in our direction because he knew I was going to ask about my drink. At this point we have finished eating, I say don’t worry about the drink I want to leave. They bring the bill and the drink is on there, I ask them to take it off. About 10 mins later, they bring the 2nd bill and there’s service charge and I ask them to take it off because I don’t like the service I got. The 1st waitress comes back and I ask her to take it off. She asks why. I say I didn’t like the service, I didn’t even get my drink. At this point she tries to explain and her explanation starts with ‘look at the bar, it’s so busy’ and I say I understand that you wanna explain but I still want the charge off she goes it’s just suggestive and I say ok I still want it off, then she rolls her eyes and gives the bill to the GM saying take this I can’t deal with rude people? I was like ok, first of all, you’ve said it’s suggestive and I don’t wanna pay it and I’m rude. I told the manager you need to teach your staff customer service skills. She then comes back goes to stand with a group of waitress in front of us telling of the event. In front of us and the manager. The manager’s response? It’s my first day and I will have a word with her? So it’s safe to say I got crap service. The music in there is way too loud, almost like a club lol. My food- Jerk wings and cassava chips were ok. The wings weren’t as spicy but it was still ok. The cassava chips were ok too.
Verdict- I’m sure there are better places to get food without an appalling service. It’s a huge letdown for me seeing that I have been wanting to go there for a while. I do not mind paying the service charge, I make it a point to actually pay it but I am not paying the service charge for a crap service.
Joe’s Southern Kitchen- Covent Garden
Overall- 4/5 Food- 5/5 Service-4/5 Ambience-5/5 Value-4/5
This was a quick late night meal after I went to see the Lion King in Lyceum Theatre. It wasn’t too busy inside, after all, they were closing in an hour-ish. We were seated promptly and drinks came quickly after we ordered (see how easy that was rum kitchen lol). I had the Nashville Hot ¼ chicken with fries and He had the burger which he super loved. The food came quickly and was served hot. The fried chicken was amazing (can’t go wrong really!) I don’t have a picture because we were super hungry lol. We didn’t have dessert but I have would liked to see some more options on the dessert menu and southern dessert classics like some pies (pecan pie would have been nice)
Verdict – I also liked the vibes inside the restaurant. Another place I have been wanting to tick off my list for a while and it didn’t disappoint! Good value for money and fast and efficient service. Did the fact that the place is opposite NARS and next to Kiehl’s skew my opinion in any way? No, no it didn’t lol
Overall- 4/5 Food- 3.5/5 Service-3.5/5 Ambience-5/5 Value-4/5
This place is very new to my list but I decided to visit Black and Blue as their Borough branch was close to Sky Gardens which I visited later this month. It wasn’t busy when we visited so we were seated straight away and we had a choice of seats too. I would say the service was good & friendly but slow-ish at times, seeing that it wasn’t busy at all when we first got in. (it was busier during the night).
For starters, we had the crispy chicken wings. Small portions of chicken but still tasty. Again no pic because I was hungry lol. He had the beef burger which he says was good but won’t make it into his top 5( I think he’s on a mission to rate all the burgers in London lol. best burger he’s had was at Model Market- Street Feast London, 2nd is pulled pork burger from Bodeans BBQ, 3rd – Joe’s Southern Table and I’m not sure of the rest lol). I had the chicken, bacon, pesto and cheese with fries which also came with a house salad. It was nice. I also had the chocolate fondant with vanilla ice cream which was justtt lush! We did have to wait around for the bill but the restaurant had got busier so it was understandable.
Oh, I also went to Nandos and had the usual- ¼ chicken medium with garlic bread and mash but you don’t need a review for that right? Lol
So that’s September done! I am hoping to keep this going till I cross off every restaurant off my list. I am currently at 34/100. I will also remember to take pics of my food but gurll if I am hungry I’m sorry lol. I have linked the restaurants listed in case you wanted to check out the menus
I hope these reviews help, especially if you’re looking to try a new place. Do let me know your recommendations as well, I am always updating my list lol and I still have a few spots to fill as well. If you have had similar/better/worst experiences at these places, also let me know
I hope you had a happy month and I look forward to which tasty meals October as to bring (I already have two bookings!)!
Love always
Sarah
sarah fynn 