Byron Burger

Byron at The Black Horse 

6 Rathbone Place

London

W1T 1HL

If you have read a few of my reviews you will know that I enjoy a burger, you will also know that I have never been the same since the refurb of Kettners the former home to the best burger in soho. 

I have searched many burger joints and restaurants and they have all had to measure up to the heroic Kettners special burger.

The King is Dead Long live the King!

I can now sleep at night Byron make the best burger in soho, there I’ve said it.

not only is the burger bloody brilliant but the place buzzes like a fridge in a good way, staff are knowledgable and fast and all in all the black horse makes a great venue. I have yet to try the one on charing cross but I would imagine they all dish up a good burger.

Thats all, if you like burgers go there.

twitter me up baby!

The Four Lanterns

96 Cleveland Street.

W1Y 6NP

This place is a bit of a walk from Tum towers and yet I think it’s slowly becoming our local Greek.

The Four Lanterns has a welcoming atmosphere (although I get the impression if you’re Turkish you might not have the best dining experience )

The owner has a very dry sense of humour and he likes to chat so you’ll need to be on your toes! That aside the food is simple but tasty, I had a very nice moussaka with salad and potatoes and the luncheoneers had sardines and greek salad. 

All our meals where good not out standing, however The Four Lanterns isn’t pretending to be anything other than a what it is….If you’re hungry you can come here and get fed, if you want to be arse licked and eat pouched easter island crab farts then go to escargot.  

I think the way you interact here will determine how you get serviced, in the big scheme of how restaurants should be run this is obviously wrong but I like it.

This is a family run business and if the owner likes you then you’ll get starters and a few Retsina’s on the house. If he doesn’t you won’t need to ask for the bill.

I’m going to rate this provisionally 

Two Tums

average food/good atmosphere but I’ll be going back because I think its great.

twit

The Old Coffee House.
49 Beak Street
W1F 9SF
Some times you just need a bit of Geezer (ok that sounds a bit wrong, unless of course you bat for the away team ) any way what I mean is after a while the plastic Identikit Pubs and restaurants become a bit boring and you need some real life.
Enter The Coffee House, a rare treat so close to the Carnaby street tourist trap.
This Pub seems independent, the menu is uncomplicated and you’re not bombarded with adverts for special offers and upcoming promotions.

The chap running the upstairs dining area is a proper geezer, luckily I always carry a geezer with me when reviewing just in case another Geezer tries to Geez me up with any beer or football questions.
I had sausage chips and beans this also comes with onion rings, It was good and portions where massive. I couldn’t finish it and pudding was a non starter but hey this can only ever be a good thing for the punter.
Talking of Pudding They have Custard any regular Tumsguide readers will be aware that custard earns a point as its like gold dust in soho.
The luncheoneers had toad in the hole and fish an chips, both gave it the thumbs up and I’m sure we might have to divide our time between here and the Cambridge* from now on.

*(our favourite Nicholsons hiding place)

 This should be a three Tum because the food is basic, but because of the custard and the nice real atmosphere I’m giving it four.

twitter me up geezer

Browns

82-84 St Martins Lane 
Covent Garden London, 
WC2N 4AG

Still disappointed by the death of The “Real” Kettners formally home to the best burgers in Soho I decided to try Browns.

I had heard good things about browns and mostly I think it’s a good replacement for Kettners. It still has that grand feeling that makes you feel like you’ve been let in somewhere good by mistake.

So it looks great and the atmosphere is always buzzing but what about the grub and service? Well my Burger was good in fact the first few bites had me thinking I had found the new best burger in Soho but soon I found the meat to be to dense, Its a good burger but hard work to get through unless you are absolutely ravenous.
Good quality chips and a bit of coleslaw and a gherkin make for a decent meal.



I would recommend you give Browns a try.

Four of my shiny tums


I’m still searching for the best burger in Soho so if you know where I might find let me know on twitter.

Bar Shu
28 Frith Street.

WTF.  this place is always packed to the rafters when I’m strolling soho at night (don’t ask) but when we went to investigate we couldn’t bring our selves to stay.
If you like the sound of fried ducks tongue or Ox tendons then you should have no problem getting a table at lunch time.

we all sat and really tried hard to find something edible on the menu but it was tough. There is a very phallic fish dish and I’m sure I remember a mention of pig intestines?

It would be unfair to rate this place as we didn’t stay long enough to eat.

If you have been and thought it was great then please try and talk me around.

twitter people, if I may quote Terry Tibbs for a moment “talk to me”

The Piccadilly
31 Great Windmill Street
W1D 7LP
We are in search of a cheap quality Italian in Soho. we have been strong supporters of the Lorelei in Bateman street for many many years but recently due to a few issues and over exposure have felt the need to find some where else.
For a while Piccolo Diavlo on Compton street was the chosen one but its just been refurbished and tarted up. new staff and decor. Refurbs are not necessarily a bad thing but we are looking for something you might find in the back streets Rome.
So we walked around and found the Piccadilly in Great Windmill Street. We went a peak lunch time and it was empty. They advertise a roof terrace which is actually a plastic garden set from homebase on a square of concrete about 2m sq over looking the building site next door.
The Food
I had “meat” filled ravioli and I thought it was ok the meat seemed very smooth and processed so I imagine its not made fresh the sauce was nice and with a touch of chilli which is a sign the chef knows the score with italian cookery. A fellow Lunchoneer had Chicken with melted cheese and potatoes.  the atoms was great the staff where very accommodating and very pleasant.
I was going to give The Piccadilly 3 of my precious Tums however the Luncheoneer that enjoyed his Chicken at lunch was reminded of it thought the night.

So in the interest of safety and my phobic adversity to anything related to vomit I say
One Tum and that’s for the waitress.

If you know of a great traditional Italian (but not fat Aldo’s) then let me know

as always hit me up on twitter

The Warrington

93 Warrington Crescent, Maida Vale

The Warrington is one of the many Gordon Ramsey restaurants in London and quite a good venue.
Downstairs is a buzzing bar with a real mix of folk, but upstairs is where the action is!
There is a main dinning area and a separate bookable private room, we had the private room which was probably for the best as we’re not cut out for the heirs and graces of fine dining.
The main dinning area had a great atmosphere lots of monied dinners and people having romantic special meals.
The food here is upper-class gastro pub,

I had the Braised feather blade of beef, spiced carrot purée with winter root vegetable crisps.

 I was expecting thin slices of pink in the middle beef just because that’s the picture the description painted in my mind, but it was more like a stew in a thick sauce.

It was a bit rich for me and not what I fancied but I could tell it was good so don’t take that as a critique.

I was in a group of 12 and no one had any complaints with any of there meals.
The staff dealt with the drunken banter and loudness very well and looked after us well.

The bill boiled down to about £45 a head.
if you’re in that neck of the woods and you’ve got a spare £100 pop in.

I guess it should be a 4 tum restaurant but as regular readers will know the scoring system is far from fair and based mainly on my mood and a gut feeling (pun intended)


talk to me on twitter I’m lonely

The Coal Hole.
91-92 Strand
City of London WC2R 0DW

Another Nicholson’s pub from the Ale trail.
The food here was good I went with the deep fried mushrooms to start and the smoked chicken salad for my main.   The food at this “branch” was good, the lunchoneers went with the ale pie and fish and chips both of which lived up to our expectations of Nicholson’s fare.

The best thing about this place is the atmosphere and decor, its very high ceiling and mezzanine upper eating area make for a good vibe. The place is quite dark and the over the top carvings on the walls add to the feeling that you’ve slipped through a time portal into a dickensian opium den.

The Coal hole was apparently the coal cellar for the old Savoy hotel back in the day and later it was used for some kind of old boys club but don’t quote me on that.

One of the better Nicholson’s pubs well worth a visit, if you’re planning a visit to London and you end up staying in the Savoy then you must go and have drink or some grub at the Coal Hole If you don’t then you’re doing yourself a massive disservice.

three of my finest Tums 

If I may quote Terry Tibbs “talk to me” get on twitter and tell me whats what

The Wellington in Strand London
I’m not sure if I mentioned it but we’re doing the London Ale trail at the moment!
I was in two minds about reviewing them all because its the same menu in every pub, but I think having done a few now a review of each is worth while because not all Nicholson’s pubs where created equal.
The staff and location will greatly effect your enjoyment, so on with the show.
The Wellington In the Strand London is a nice venue the staff are very attentive and the decor is sumptuous, this is where location comes into play the punters in this neck of the woods are less touristy and more suited business types. The knock on effect of this is this place gets repeat custom from wealthy locals and therefore the standards have to be kept up or they wouldn’t make any money. A pub in a touristy location gets random foot fall and doesn’t need to give a monkeys if you had a good time because you wont be back or missed.
The Clachan in Kingly Street London is prime example of this right next to carnaby street and the food was and service was shit.
back the Wellington, there is a new menu and there are some good bits and bobs on there like the pork belly yum! on this trip I had gammon chips and egg, it’s was all hot not over seasoned and good.
Lunchoeneers had lamb shank pie (I’ve not tried it yet but I’m told its v good)  its basically a shank stuck in a pie with the bone sticking out the top, sounds odd but works.
the other Lunchoeneer had the fish and chips crispy batter flakey white fish and good chips
cant be bad!
do your self a favour if you’re on the strand and feel the need for some grub you could do a lot worse than pop in the Wellington.

3 of my precious tums

get twitting if you want to agree or disagree with me

Le Bavoir
6 Greek Street, Soho, London, W1D 4DE
http://www.lebavoir.co.uk/
On a recent expedition we tried out Le Bavoir, this place is listed on a lot of web sites as French but its really Greek/Morrocan although they call themselves Mediterranean.
I liked this place its nice and light with nice furnishings and the food is wholesome.
I had a Lamb Tagine with cous cous and veg and it was really nice, it perhaps could of had a bit more flavour but this could just be me as I found it a bit delicate.
The lunchoeneers also had good meals here and we all agreed that it would become part of our lunch rota.
so regardless of score which by the way will be three tums you can be safe in the knowledge that Le Bavoir is on our regulars list!

If you think I’m wrong or right then let me know on twit

The Warwick
1-3 Warwick Street,
London,
W1B 5LR

One day in the too distant past I fancied a breakfast for lunch, but having had 3 cold ones in a row at the Grace bar I decided to try somewhere different.

Of course the grace bars breakfast is amazing (when hot) so the Warwick which is the little sister of Grace seemed like the obvious choice. Unfortunately although these venues are business twins and have almost identical menus one of the differences turned out to be the omission of breakfast at the Warwick!

Never mind, gammon eggs and chips stepped up as a sub.
My fellow lunchoneer and wing man on this gastronomic adventure had pie and mash which by all accounts was some mighty fine scram.
The gammon and eggs where of a reasonable quality and slide down well.
The atmosphere here was OK its quite close to regent street and quite suity compared with the venues closer in to the heart of soho’s more bohemian clientele.
to get a better feel for what its about you can check out there web site www.thewarwick.co.uk

Overall it’s not that special but I would probably go back, worth a visit if your shopping on regents street and need some lunch.

I’m going to be tight and give it two Tums

you know the drill come speak to me on twitter

Bodean’s Soho
10 Poland Street
London,
W1F 8PZ

Bodeans is a BBQ Rib place, I’ve been here 100’s of times but until now haven’t thought to review it. You have to be in the mood for meat if you’re going to check it out .
They do the Ribs whole or half racks chicken or pulled pork if your hungry you can have all of the above on one plate (yummy)
you can also get meat loaf and chilli and stuff but you would be doing yourself massive misfortune if you didn’t get something from the charcoal pit!

The chips are covered in cocaine (ok not really but its something amazing like a cross between sugar and salt) and taste super nice dipped in the special peri peri mayo.

I recommend anything on the menu but if your skint get the bulled pork sandwich and chips about £6 and if you have a few quid get the 1/4 chicken Ribs and pulled pork and fries £15ish.

in the Soho branch you can sit upstairs in the sports bar which is a light canteen style setting or down stairs which is dark and the room equivalent of Clint Eastwood.
They have large screens in either and show american sports all day.

If you don’t eat meat let me just take a minute to discuss the Bodeans vegetarian options.
Option one, don’t come.
end.

three well deserved Tums

don’t forget if you want to tell me a story related or otherwise get on twitter


 

Rowleys
113 Jermyn Street
London SW1Y 6HJ

Rowleys has a very interesting building it used to be the original Walls butchers and the decor from that period has been kept. There is a real buzzy vibe to the place and I really liked the atmosphere.
The staff where also very efficient, laying tables swapping out cutlery to match orders etc with haste.

I walked in sat down looked at my surroundings, looked at the menu, looked at the prices …gulped and said bloody hell this could be the first Five Tum Restaurant!

If you cheated and glanced down at the final score you might well be thinking where did it all go wrong.

Rowleys is famous for steak so I went with the cheapest option for steak and that was a £17 6oz rump with the famous Rowleys Secret sauce. The steak came with unlimited fries but you would need to be super hungry to need more than they give you to start with.

I was expecting something amazing but what I got was tough and dry, maybe this was my fault because I ordered medium well (I had a burger yesterday that was still mooing so needed to give the Tum a rest)
Steaks are brought to you on a burner to keep it hot, of course the down side is its still cooking so if you start with medium rare the last bit you eat if you leave it on there will be well done!  if you start with a steak that medium well then you end up with charcoal  briquet.

We where a man down today and the other lunchoneer had fish and chips which he enjoyed and said was top notch.

I think today I was unlucky as this places looks and reputation tell me its worthy of a good score. However until I’ve had the opportunity to eat here a few times I can only score based on this visit. I had one of the most expensive steaks and not even close to the best steaks I’ve had.



It’s a two tummer for now. (next time I’ll try the £23 tuna salad) :-0

If you work or own this restaurant and want to give me a free meal…..only joking! if you want to tell me that I’m wrong and a complete fool for even suggesting there is anything bad to say about Rowleys then get on twitter and let me have it.

Kettners
29 Romilly Street
London W1D 5HP


The other day we went back to Kettners for the first time since it was refurbished several years ago.
We used to go here almost every Friday and would often be surrounded by a smattering of Famous peeps. We would listen to an old blind chap playing jazz on the piano as we tucked into the best burger in Soho. The decor was shabby, springs would poke you inappropriately from beneath if you sat in the bench seating against the walls. It had an air of richness of times gone by and yet was reasonably priced.
It was a great place to take someone you wanted to impress, it was like being in a film.

It was owned strangely by pizza express so had pizzas but also extra menu items like full english breakfast(posh version) or steak/fish etc.

Perhaps my romantic view of what this place was has unavoidably made this review slightly bias, the refurb also included new management and a new menu.

So whats the Deal.

Well my main dish was disappointment with a side order of why!

I had to have the Burger on this occasion as this used to be the place that had the best in all of Soho, and yes it was good but it wasn’t mind blowing it was just good. It came with chips that where home made and freshly cooked but tasted home made as if I had done them at home in a saucepan full of fat.
the Lunchoneers had the braised beef and the pork chop.  The Pork was good but not enough to fill you up and the beef was dry.

The bill for three came in at £80ish helped by the bottle of Timothy Taylors beer at an unbelievable £6.

The Decor is ok but what they’ve done is taken a place that was the essence of Shabby Chic and
decorated it with bits from shabby chic r us.

My guess is If you go here for the first time You might well love it. If however you knew the old kettners don’t ruin the glorious memories of the good times you spent together.
 

Good atmos, good food, good location you might love it, I’m not going back

It’s with a tear in my eye but two Tums.     (it’s like closure on a long term relationship)

If you know where the New best burger in Soho is, let me know on Twitter