Generally at lunch times it is pretty packed and you will often find yourself sharing a table. However in the evenings when the work crowd has gone home, it’s usually deserted. I popped in with on old friend on a Tuesday night and true to form we were the only ones there. It isn’t a licensed restaurant and you can take along your own wine / beers, although we opted for some Jasmine tea instead. I had the usual (mixed seafood with noodles) and my companion ordered the barbecue duck with noodles, both classics we’ve been eating here for years. I certainly wasn’t disappointed.

The plate was piled high with prawns, squid, crab, octopus and much more, all stacked on a bed of crispy noodles. My friend’s duck looked great too and I was half tempted to lean over and grab a fork full, but it was gone way before I had the opportunity. We forgot to order the obligatory prawn crackers but, to be fair, neither of us were left hungry after just a main meal.

Top tip: If you visit at lunch time and the restaurant is full, you may be able to find a table at the restaurant a few doors down (name tbc). It’s run by the same people and you can order from the cheaper Olympic Cafe menu!

Despite this being a cheap eat I have to hold my hands up and say sorry to my dining companion - I didn’t have any cash with me and they do not accept credit cards..! Fortunately the bill for two came to just over a tenner so he was able to cover it. I will of course pick up the tab next time.

How would I rate this place overall then? Well, it’s go to be an eight out of ten. Quick and friendly service, good food, large portions, cheap prices and a real clean simplicity I like in a good cheap eat. Keep up the great work!

Overall: 8/10

However, I’m also pleased to say that there’s more to tempt you back than just the location; if you’re also after a good meal at a reasonable price than this pub will be right up your street.

There’s a range of traditional pub fare on offer and everything from sandwiches to scampi & chips to pizza?! They also have a regularly changing specials menu, just to keep things interesting. Although the food won’t blow you away, it’s generally good and freshly cooked and most main meals are around the £6 / £7 mark.

The portions are sizeable, and it’s unlikely you’ll need one of the starters or sweets available on the menu. I’ve eaten at The Moby Dick on a number of occasions and I’m yet to try one. I can however recommend the lasagne and the homemade pies, both of which come with side salad and a choice of chips or jacket potato. The latter are huge and can also be ordered as a meal in their own right, with a choice of filling.

Inside, The Moby Dick has a relaxed, cosy feel with the decor and sofas giving it a part pub, part front room sort of a feel. As for the staff, for the most part they’re friendly and attentive.

If you liked the sound of my recommendation at the start of this review, then there’s a reasonable if a little predictable choice of beers on offer, and wines start from about £10 a bottle (there’s also a selection available to take-away from £6.50 a bottle).

With a somewhat limited choice of cheap eats in and around Surrey Quays (apart from the numerous stinking kebab shops on the high street), this is one of my favourites in the area. And I should point out that they also host a pretty good quiz night on a Tuesday evenings¦

7/10

It’s a funny place, the darkened windows do nothing to invite you in and along with a sign on the window stating “we serve drinks, not drunks” the appearance tends to be a little off-putting. In any case we headed in and quickly found a table by the window. There was a group of four other diners quite noisily having a good time and seemingly enjoying their food. The charming Bangladeshi waiter quickly served us with drinks and popadoms along with the usual relishes while we studied the menu.

My other half is a vegetarian and this often leads to some difficulty in making a selection at Indian restaurants - the veggie options are generally plentiful. On this occasion we were not let down, although in the end she decided to ask for something off the menu. Thankfully the chef was more than happy to entertain our request. Whilst we sat waiting for our food to arrive, a steady stream of customers came to pick up take-away orders. This I can only assume is how the restaurant makes its money.

When our food arrived we’d already demolished a couple of popadoms each along with the relishes. We were more than ready for our mains. I’d ordered a chicken pasanda which was simply delicious. Its thick creamy gravy and sweet almond flavours were coupled with tender chicken. The other halves custom dish was a paneer and vegetable curry which was also pretty good. As always we had the pilau rice and a couple of chapattis which was more than enough for the two of us.

We hadn’t expected much from this restaurant but we were pleasantly surprised. The excellent food, decent service and a reasonable atmosphere means we are more than happy to pay another visit. I can only suggest they work a little on the appearance if they want to attract a few more customers through the door.

Overall rating 8/10

The restaurant itself is bright and welcoming and the staff always polite and friendly. But you’ll be pleased to know it’s the food that sets Dhonia apart from the competition, with a menu that is comprehensive and competitively priced, offering both old favourites and more unusual dishes.

On my last visit, following the delicious poppadoms and pickles, I had one of the chef’s recommendations – the name escapes me, but it was similar to a lamb pasanda; tender meat in a rich, creamy sauce. It was my other half’s first visit to Dhonia and after ordering the tandoori chicken, she actually commented that it was one of the best curries she’d had!

The bill, presented on an attractive bed of seeds and spices (Indian ‘mouth freshener’ apparently!), came to around £60 between four of us. This included four main dishes, saag aloo, rice, naan, a bottle of house red (which I can recommend), a couple of pints (both Cobra and Kingfisher are available on draught), plus tip.

Really, my only slight criticism of Dhonia would be how quiet it is; there’s never been more than a handful of diners each time I’ve been. But then, on the other hand, maybe I should make the most of being able to just turn up without booking, because surely it’s only a matter of time before word gets around…

9/10

We turned up quite late on a Friday night without booking and although there were five of us and it was busy, we had no problem getting a seat, for in addition to a warm, vibrant atmosphere, fortunately this eatery has plenty of seating.

Café Emm offers a nice, eclectic mix of dishes, which ensures there’s something for everyone on the menu (without the choice ever becoming too baffling). Main meals include steak & ale pie, bangers & mash, jerk chicken and moules mariniere, with prices ranging from £7.95 to £11.95 (for the ribeye steak).

I ordered the home-made burger which was pretty good and, with the accompanying chunky chips, a sizeable meal. In fact, everyone was full-up by the time we’d finished, although not too full up for dessert – we tried the apple crumble and the bread & butter pudding, which were ok, if not spectacular. We also shared a couple of bottles of the house red at £10.95 a piece, which I can recommend.

The staff were friendly, and although we were one of the last parties to leave, we didn’t ever feel hassled into finishing up.

With such an overwhelming choice of restaurants in Soho, not to mention the West End, for good portions at a reasonable price, Café Emm is worth remembering.

7/10

For starter, we shared the vegetarian street snacks, which comprised two spicy potato balls and two chana dal (a type of bean apparently) patties, which weren’t bad. The mains however really impressed; we went for the lamb kurma served with coconut rice and, on the recommendation of the waitress (who was a little stern to begin with but soon softened), the duck vindalho which, as she quite rightly pointed out, was hot but with the plain yoghurt which accompanied it not too hot.

Interestingly, the food was served on plates rather than in curry house standard issue metal bowls. Both dishes were freshly cooked and full of flavour – a far cry from the greasy slop I’ve eaten at some Indian restaurants recently. And the bread, kerala paratha – a flat, ‘stringy’ bread, was delicious and quite different to naan.

I was pleased to discover Ganapati also offers an excellent choice of beers from the Meantime Brewery in Greenwich; we tried the wheat beer and the union, both of which were excellent. A refreshing change to Cobra and Kingfisher.

The bill came to about £44 between us, which admittedly is a little more than your ‘average’ curry. But then, this wasn’t your ‘average’ curry…

8/10

I’d been recommended Inshoku by a lady I’d met the week before at a work-related event and she claimed it served “the best sushi in London” (everyone’s got a favourite cheap eat it seems…). So when we went on a Friday night after work, expectations were high.

The restaurant’s a fair size with lots of tables but on the night we went, somewhat surprisingly we were one of only two other couples in there (although it got busier as the night progressed).

Inshoku offers a wide range of Japanese food. Both my fellow diner and I plumped for a bento box for £7 (which I think are only available ‘til 8pm): chicken katsu (breaded chicken) and chicken teriyaki respectively.

The miso soup (included in the price) arrived promptly and the rest of the meal soon followed. Both dishes came with rice and half an orange (presumably to cleanse the palette after eating); the chicken katsu also included a salad and the teriyaki deep fried battered vegetables (similar to tempura). We also ordered a small plate of mixed sushi for about £5.

Overall the food was pretty good and reasonably priced, and the service quick and efficient, if a little unfriendly.

And how was the sushi I hear you ask; was it the best in London? Well, not having tried every sushi restaurant in the capital, I’m not sure I’m really in a position to confirm or refute such a claim. However, two businessmen behind us ordered the sushi platter and I have to admit, it looked pretty damn good…

7.5/10

On arrival, we were greeted by the friendly waitress and although it was busy – both in the pub and in the restaurant, which is split over two rooms – we were shown to a table straight away.

For starters, we ordered chicken satay and spring rolls; £3.95 each but good size portions and tasty.

For mains, there was a large selection of dishes to choose from, with more unusual options including a range of Thai salads sitting alongside old favourites such as pad thai and red and green curry. All main dishes are rated Mild, Spicy or Hot, come with rice and are priced between £7.50 and £8, depending on which meat you chose (chicken, beef, prawn or duck).

I ordered the red curry with chicken, which was fresh and tasty with quite a kick (even after asking for it a bit milder! It was down on the menu as ‘Spicy’). My fellow diner ordered another curry dish (the name of which escapes me) which was also quite spicy but again well received.

To cool down, there’s a good selection of ales and lagers to choose from, including Singha Thai beer in bottles. There’s also a comprehensive wine list, offering wines which have been specifically chosen to complement the food and start at £14 a bottle.

With a couple of beers, our bill came to under £30 and we were both too full for dessert (although there were a number on offer, displayed on the chalk board).

My only criticism of the Blacksmith’s Arms was the service, which was a little slow, but the restaurant boasts a pleasant atmosphere, friendly staff and good food. And with the pub at the front, you’ll never be stuck on where to go for an after-dinner drink…

8/10

1. there must be over 50 restaurants to choose from, and

2. you will get harassed by salesman outside each restaurant, just like when you’re on holiday in Greece or Turkey.

The choice is always dazzling and when I tried to do a little research before hand I couldn’t find a good recommendation. In fact strangely the Time Out cheap eats guide recommends a pizza / pasta place! In the end we followed the advice of a friend, who being a chef we figured would know his stuff. To save his reputation I won’t mention his name here.

The restaurant was called the Eastern Eye and I was surprised to see my friends heading in the door considering it was the only one on the Lane that was empty - the rest were buzzing. This set alarm bells ringing in my mind, but tempted by the “we’ll give you 20% off the total bill” offer, we went in. The next reason for alarm was when we were seated in a corner table next to the bar, rather than in the main restaurant. Still, that’s nothing to be too worried about I thought, they’ll surely make the table up… afraid not, we had to ask for cutlery even after our starters had arrived.

Probably the biggest problem I had with this place was the service. The waiter was surly and disinterested, not taking the time to help our vegetarian friend with her choice, or to repeat our order. To be honest, we weren’t entirely sure what was going to arrive. In the end I ordered what turned out to be quite a good chicken Biryiani, and the prawn and vegetable Korai’s were also pretty good. On the other hand the lamb Balti was far too sweet and to quote Ed “it was intense in flavour, but in a bad way” and “it’s almost as if the chef’s hand slipped and he ended up pouring in too much of one particular ingredient”.

The icing on the cake came, not with our dessert unfortunately, but when the bill arrived. Basically we were sitting at the table waiting to order dessert and coffees when two fairly p*ssed up blokes stood behind our table apparently queuing up for a table. This was quickly followed by the bill i.e. please leave. Thanks waiter. Needless to say we didn’t leave a tip.

The food on the whole was OK, but the service was terrible and at times the noise was so loud we could hardly hear our own conversation. Maybe that’s what we’ve come to expect from a curry house, but I’ve been to other far more impressive restaurants on Brick Lane. You can see my fellow diners hot footing away below, in search of somewhere else for a coffee and cake.

Eastern Eye, sorry but overall it’s a generous 4/10. Your only saving grace was the price, with 20% discount taking dinner for 4, minus desert, coffee and alcoholic drinks, down to under £50.

Overall rating 4/10

The experience started the second we opened the door and were hit with a waft of incense. We were the first diners of the day, but it was early on Thursday lunch time and in no time at all a handful of other customers had joined us. The decor is a little strange, sort of half Sri Lankan and half French (it was previously a French place) but I couldn’t say that was a bad thing. The waiter was friendly, if a little slow, and in no time at all we’d ordered. The menu was vast and I was thankful we were only ordering the express lunch - essentially a plate of rice with two vegetarian curries, or for an extra 50p a chicken dish instead. We might otherwise have been some time putting on order together.

The food we received was really very good when you consider the price. The portions were not huge, but looking at the other dinners who ordered from the main menu, I suspect this is not always the case. Both my vegtarion companion and me were impressed. The chicken was well cooked, flavoursome and nicely spiced. The flavours were perfect, not too strongly spiced or hot, but well balanced. The aubergine dish was delicious and there was a tasty dahl with the vegetarian lunch. The waiter also whipped up a pretty good massala tea, even though this was not on the menu and we tried the tastey Sri Lankan cola which was abit like a sweet Sasprilla. The drinks were the only downside, costing £1.90 for a coke which is expensive considering it’s really just a can.

Overall I was really pleased to try this place out. It’s literally on my doorstep so I’m expecting to go back many times. It’s on Lavender Hill, about 10 mins walk from Clapham Junction, and I have to say that they’ve chosen an extremely competitive patch to open up in. There’s been at least half a dozen restaurants open and close on Lavender HIll this year alone. Hopefully the Ceylon Tavern’s slightly different approach will help them to stand out from the crowd. Good luck!

Overall rating 7.5/10.