Rate my Bistro

We initially came to this Latin American restaurant for coffee but then ended up returning to it later in the day for an evening meal! Its nice that the restaurant is divided into sections: one part for the restaurant and the other part with comfy seats for drinks!

The latte and mocha drinks were really good. The mocha actually tasted more like a hot chocolate. We had the chunky cassava wedges as a snack. Although it looked like a small portion, it was enough. They had the right crunchiness on the outside with a soft centre.

The roast butternut squash and coconut milk soup was a rich soup and was just right for a cold winter’s day! I could taste the spiciness of the chilli in it. A good alternative was the chicken fajita wrap that was served with curly fries. The chicken was tender and tasted good with the additional filling of peppers, onion and cheese.

To complete the meal, a dessert had to be had. We shared the chocolate banoffee pie. This was an excellent choice and had the perfect proportions of chocolate, biscuit, banana and toffee.

I do have to comment on the fantastic customer service and the efficiency of all the staff at the restaurant. The restaurant was very busy in the evening and we were thinking that the service was going to be quite slow. This was not the case. The food was brought out not long after we had ordered and we weren’t waiting around for the bill either.

A fantastic restaurant with lively Latin American music and atmosphere. A highly recommended restaurant if you are at the O2 Arena!

Las Iguanas, The O2, Peninsula Square, Millenium Way, London, SE10 0DS

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A very reasonably priced Turkish restaurant in the centre of East Dulwich. I always like to start with the Hisar Mantar: fried breadcrumbed mushrooms with garlic mayonnaise. This goes well with the yogurt, cucumber and mint starter. The Patlican Salata had a nice taste with the flavours of the aubergine, peppers, tomatoes complemented by the garlic, lemon, mint and dill dressing.

The mixed grill main dish never disappoints. The chicken, lamb, kofte and lamb cutlets are always cooked perfectly and have the right tenderness. The portion size is good and this dish is very satisfying.

Its hard to resist the baklava dessert with its layers of puff pastry, nuts and sweet syrup. The mint tea is a good drink to finish off the meal, although the coffees are also good too.

The service is always really great here and it is nice that the kitchen is an open one so you can see the food being cooked on the charcoal grill as well. You never feel rushed at Hisar and can take your time savouring the food.  

Hisar, 51 Lordship Lane, East Dulwich, London, SE22 8EP

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If you want to have good pizza while enjoying the views of the Seine and Notre Dame, then Pizza Marzano is the place to go. The waitress was really friendly and the service was great.

We had the Le Rosse Caprina pizza (pizza with a tomato sauce). It was a vegetarian pizza and was delicious. They also do Le Bianche pizzas which are pizzas with a white cream sauce base.

Even though we were sharing a pizza, the waitress brought it out already cut in half and on two plates. That was a nice touch! The baked mushrooms with mini dough balls were a good starter.

I would return to this restaurant because of its location, scenic views, the tasty pizzas and the great service.

Pizza Marzano, 2 place St Michel, 75006, Paris

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What I like about Cafe Rouge is that you can come here just for drinks or for a proper meal. The atmosphere is very relaxed and the staff don’t rush you in any manner. The red and white furniture complements the dark wooden surroundings. It does feel like a bistro that you would get in France!

The tea is always served by the pot and the coffee is also of a good quality. The butter biscuits are a nice accompaniment if you just want something small to go with the hot drinks.

Cafe Rouge do a soup of the day and the one that was on offer when we went was red pepper and aubergine soup. It was a  flavoursome soup with big chunks of aubergine. The soup came with half a baguette which was very fresh. A filling starter that could easily satisfy as a main meal.

Another good starter is the warm ciabatta style breadsticks which comes with three dips: hummus, tomato and aioli. You also get a  small amount of salad. The amount of dips is fairly small, but it suffices.

To finish the meal, a good choice is the assortment of desserts. These are smaller portions of the creme brulee, red fruit crumble and chocolate ganache. None of them disappointed and it was nice to get a taster of them all!

Cafe Rouge, 6-7 South Grove, Highgate, London, N6 6BP

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A great pizzeria tucked away from the busy streets of Covent Garden. This restaurant is quite small although it does have some tables downstairs. We were lucky to be seated upstairs!

The decor is pretty cool; nice artwork on the wall and strings of lights near the back of the restaurant. The staff were really friendly and the service was good.

Freshly baked pizzas with generous toppings is what we experienced. The food was tasty and it was nice that the atmosphere was fairly relaxed.

Sapori, 43 Drury Lane, London, WC2B 5RT

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