Review:

Greenwich is suddenly awash with noodle bars - right opposite Noodle Time is the Saigon Noodle Bar, and there must be half a dozen within walking distance of Greenwich University (until recently the Royal Naval College) For £3.90 you get a big noodle meal, with fresh veg and either meat or seafood. Reminded me of the noodle bars in San Francisco: filling, functional and fantastically cheap. The placemats are menus, they leave an order pad and pen on the table for you to fill in. You can have freshly squeezed juice or Kirin beer. It was quick and completely frill free - unpretentiousness seems to be a trait of Vietnamese restaurants, and they were far too modest to have anything so flash as a printed card, so I can't give a street or phone number. Brilliant value. 23rd November 2000 Recommended DM

Review:

Greenwich is suddenly awash with noodle bars - right opposite Noodle Time is the Saigon Noodle Bar, and there must be half a dozen within walking distance of Greenwich University (until recently the Royal Naval College) For £3.90 you get a big noodle meal, with fresh veg and either meat or seafood. Reminded me of the noodle bars in San Francisco: filling, functional and fantastically cheap. The placemats are menus, they leave an order pad and pen on the table for you to fill in. You can have freshly squeezed juice or Kirin beer. It was quick and completely frill free - unpretentiousness seems to be a trait of Vietnamese restaurants, and they were far too modest to have anything so flash as a printed card, so I can't give a street or phone number. Brilliant value. 23rd November 2000 Recommended DM

Review:
I was no where near drunk enough to choose this. It looked and sounded pretty bad but my friend insisted she had heard it was "supposed to be nice". The decor was absurd, the prices even more so (over £40 for the 2 of us and we didn't have very much). Sadly, the food also fights for a foreign power. And at the end of the meal, we were enticed to stay by the comedy horror extravaganza of the menu; The Floater Coffee (I didn't dare ask).

Review:

Slipped out of John Lewis by the Cavendish St exit and into Wigmore St today and found this gem. It's been there for 25 years, one of those long established, cheerful and reasonably priced restaurants run by generations of Italian families in London. These places are having to either adapt or die. Alfredo's in Essex Rd (est 1920) refused to adapt and we loved them for it. Until the end of 1999 you could still get excellent egg and chips for £1.85, cooked by the proprietor in exactly the same way as his father Alfredo did it. A mug of tea was 25p and neither the premises nor the menu had changed since the early fifties. If you never made it to Alfredo's, you're too late, they have sold up and retired. Nani's have adapted instead. Recently completely refurbished in an unpretentious modern style, they offer the usual list of modern coffee choices -cappuccino, espresso et al plus a good selection of breakfasts and lunches for around a fiver.

Review:

Came across this place when changing buses at Archway. "Hold on, this is new" we cried in unison, and having just sat through The Insider (excellent film but very long) we were ravenous, so in we went. It looks really modern and pretty: coloured neon, bright and fresh fittings, can't have been open more than five minutes. The menu looked pretty standard pizza/pasta/salad but there was a good selection. Only two salads but they both looked interesting. The pizzas turned out to be the real thing: properly made on the premises, and really good. Couldn't finish mine (having overdone the popcorn at Camden Odeon) and the waitress asked whether I liked it. She looked relieved when I explained. It's been a long time since someone has enquired if my unfinished meal was OK as they cleared it - I quite like that. Another thing which shows their attitude towards customers - I noticed a high chair in the corner, waiting for a toddler to come in and treat its parents to a slap up meal. Our bill for 2 pizzas and two beers came to about £15 - not the cheapest in Junction Road, but it's good value and a really pleasant place. You get a voucher for 20% off your next meal - but we would have gone back anyway. DM 2/4/2000

Review:

Popped into this fairly new place on the off chance on a Friday early evening - and they just had one table for two un-booked! Initial impressions were quite favorable - reasonable airy decor, and the tables not too close together. Quite small - only ten tables, but I discovered that they also have seating on the first floor - from the number of people who went up there, I assume this must have been bigger. Staff were friendly and efficient - even if one of them did trip and send our starter of bread skidding across the floor! (she wasn't hurt, and our food was replaced speedily - so no hard done!). The kitchen, also on the ground floor, hoot on a hooter when dishes are ready - quite disconcerting at first, but after a while it somehow it added to the charm! The menu includes pasta and pizzas, but my partner and I went for their more expensive main meals - I had Tuscan Chicken (chicken fillet with Tuscan beans (?) on a bed of potato), and she a Saumon Aux Crevett (salmon steak with prawns), both priced at £10.95. Luckily, these were brought to our table without mishap. My Chicken was, I thought, somewhat bland, although the whole dish came over well, she said the salmon was perfect, but wouldn't let me taste it, so we have to take her word! Not too many sweets on the menu, So I decided on a liqueur with my coffee, but my partner went for the "lazy sundae" - which is peach ice cream, cream and strawberries. She did let me have a taste of this - and the ice cream was amazingly tasty - unfortunately, she only let me have one taste - insisting that I had decided against pudding! Service was not included, and they presented me with a closed Credit card bill, so we tipped in cash - not a problem, but somewhat unusual. Overall a very good addition the Chingford repertoire of restaurants - but remember to book to ensure you get a table on a Friday night! Dark Knight