Rate My Bistro

Last weekend, I had the privilege of going out for dinner with my brother and spending some quality time with him! He chose the restaurant and I was not at all disappointed. I was introduced to Sen Nin: a Japanese tepannyaki and sushi restaurant in Angel!

Even though this was my first visit to Sen Nin, it definitely won me over! This was an evening of whole entertainment! We were lucky to be seated around one of the areas where the chef and the hot plate were. The food was fresh and cooked right in front of us.

Full marks goes to the chef who made the dining experience very unique. He was so talented in his cooking skills and also in entertaining us! The chef, apart from cooking the food on the hot plate next to the table, was able to accurately throw pieces of omelette into the diner’s mouths and also throw eggs up into the air and catch them in the top of his hat!

The chef at the start of cooking, dimmed the lights down, as he started off the hot plate with a huge flame! All very impressive! The chef was a jolly chap who made conversation with us while we were having our meal, but we also had time to talk amongst ourselves!

The food was delicious, filling and very moreish! I went for the Teppanyaki vegetarian set meal. This was a great combination of Japanese miso soup, vegetarian sushi, grilled vegetables and Sen Nin grilled rice. I chose the inoki mushroom dish as my main for the set meal.

The miso soup had good amounts of tofu in it and it was a good start to the meal. The mushroom dish looked like a plate of thin noodles! The sauce that the mushrooms had been cooked in gave the dish a lovely sweet taste. A perfect combination to go with the grilled rice and vegetables. I didn’t want to have the sushi, so asked the waiter if I could have edamame beans instead. He was fine with this suggestion!

Sen Nin have a range of drinks, from teas, cocktails and wines. The non alcoholic cocktail, Sen Nin cooler, was a good choice. I also had to have some tea and went for the classic Jasmine tea! This was served in a heavy metal teapot!

To go with the drinks, we had a couple of starters! I am a big fan of dumplings, so we had the Tori Gyoza chicken dumplings. These had a great flavour; the only thing was that they were a little spicy as they had some spice sprinkled on them. My brother loves his calamari, so his starter had to be the Calamari Tempura. The tempura batter was crispy and the calamari had been cooked to perfection!

The staff at Sen Nin were very friendly and the service was great! There was nothing to fault with this Japanese restaurant. Everything at Sen Nin was perfect: a clean, sophisticated restaurant, fantastic food, great chef and wonderful staff! All in all, a very unique dining experience and a place that I would highly recommend! On a practical note, it is always worthwhile to make a reservation if you want to be seated by the cooking area!

Sen Nin, 206 Upper Street, London, N1 1RQ

Our Rating:

For some unknown reason, Med Kitchen has not been one of those places that I have wanted to try. I’m not sure why this has been the case for so long. But I’m so glad that we went to this restaurant and gave it a go! We really did have such a pleasant dining experience at this particular Med Kitchen in Islington!

The roasted Mediterranean vegetables with couscous and chickpeas was very filling and tasty. It had plenty of strips and chunks of courgettes, peppers, red onion and aubergine. It was supposed to have harissa  in the dish but I wasn’t sure if it would be too spicy for me. So the waitress kindly suggested that I could have it separately on the side. That was great as I could add it to my suit my taste buds. The whole dish and the flavours worked well together. I was glad that the couscous was not coated in olive oil, as it did not need it at all.

My friend had the slow roasted lamb, feta and onion stew and she thouroughly enjoyed her meal too. The chunks of lamb were perfectly cooked and were tender. This dish was served with sesame and onion flatbread. This fresh bread was perfect to dip into the gravy of the stew!

The waitress that was serving us was really honest and we truly appreciated this. When I asked her if the fish was fresh, she told us that it was on some days but on other days, it could be a day or so old. Also, when it came to the coffee, I was originally going to order a mocha. I asked her if this was going to be a big drink, like a latte usually is, but she told me that it was more like an espresso. So, I had a cappuccino instead.

As I mentioned I had the cappucino to end the meal. It was a really good rich, creamy hot drink. A nice touch was that the hot drinks were served with a little biscuit! The tea was served by the pot which is something that I always prefer!

Med Kitchen was a relaxing place to come for our evening dinner. But I can see it being a good restaurant to come to for breakfast or lunch as well. The atmosphere was nice with the soft music playing in the background. There was a range of seating with the cosy cushioned seats along the back wall. I also liked the open kitchen area making up part of the restaurant area. It was great that the waitress was so truthful and didn’t just give us false information so that we would order quickly. It made a huge difference to our whole evening dinner. It made us feel that it was a more of a personal and friendly evening out.

Med Kitchen, 370 St John Street, London, EC1V 4NN

Our Rating:

Tucked away in one of the side streets behind the busy Upper Street in Angel, is this fantastic noodle and dumpling bar! It’s nothing short of great fresh tasting food. I really liked the simplicity of New Culture Revolution!

New Culture Revolution make their noodles fresh everyday and none of their dishes contain MSG! It really does feel like you are having a healthy meal and you can definitely tell the high quality of the food. I found that the food was not oily and the portions were big. It’s a good place to go for a satisfying lunch!

The vegetarian Chow Mein was great with its pieces of tofu, carrots, celery, baby corn, onions, mushrooms, mange tout and pine nuts. It was not laden with soy sauce like you would get in most restaurants. It also made a refreshing change as the noodles were the thin rice vermicelli ones instead of egg noodles. It was a filling meal without the heaviness that you normally get with noodle dishes. I would say that New Culture Revolution has got this Chow Mein perfect!

If you fancy something a bit more warming and hearty, then the Tong Mein is a good choice. This is a soup based dish with thick noodles, mange tout, spring onions, carrots, Chinese leaves and chicken. There were big pieces of chicken and plenty of vegetables too.

The staff were really friendly and it was a relaxing atmosphere. The decor is very simple with beige furniture and white walls but it works! Look out for the philosophical quotes that are hung on the walls!

New Culture Revolution, 42 Duncan Street, London, N1 8BL

Our Rating:

This restaurant felt quite dark even though we were seated near the windows and we were there at lunchtime. The staff came and asked us a few times, quite frequently, if we were ready to order. But then after that, when we were actually ready to give our order, we had to wait quite a while to get the attention of the staff.

The basket of pesto and tomato pizza bread was really good. They were six big pieces. We could definitely taste the quality of the pesto that was used. I would not recommend having the pizza bread as a starter if you were going to have a pizza for the main meal, as they are very similar.

I chose to have the starter of the gnochhi instead of the main course. The portion was the more like a main dish so I wasn’t disappointed. The gnocchi came with cherry tomatoes, cheese and a tomato sauce. It was a nice alternative to pasta although I don’t think the dish really needed the cubes of cheese.

Originally, one of the dishes that we wanted to order was the green vegetable risotto. But then the waiter came and told us that they had run out of that. So the next best alternative was the pumpkin and butternut squash risotto. This risotto was really tasty and it also had wilted spinach and pine nuts. We had it made without the panchetta so that it was a vegetarian dish.

The other risotto that we got to taste was the seafood one. It was also a good choice and had plenty of fish in  it. A nice side dish was the rosemary roasted new potatoes. A small portion but enough to go with the main meal.

On this occasion, we could not have any hot drinks as both the hot water machine and the coffee machine was not working.

All in  all, I liked the food at Strada but felt that dining here would have been nicer if the decor was a little lighter.

Strada, 105-106 Upper Street, Islington, London, N1 1QN

Our Rating:

On entering Fig & Olive, there is the ornate seating on one side and the display of its cakes on the other! There was quite a large selection of cakes, fruit pies, cheesecakes and pastries. These were displayed behind a glass front but customers could still reach them. It would have been better for the cakes to be in a closed display fridge.

The cafe/restaurant extends to the light and airy area towards the back. The staff were really friendly and quite efficient. The only issue that we had was that it took a little longer than expected for our food. The food was worth the wait though!

The veggie quesadilla was filled with plenty of vegetables, cheese and feta cheese. It was supposed to be served with salad but I asked the waitress if the salad could be replaced with another side. It was great that I was able to have the quesadilla with new potatoes instead of the salad. I was happy that the veggie quesadilla was not leaking with cheese as I had asked for it to be made with very little cheese.

The bistro burger was made with tender beef and it was served in a multi-seeded bun.  The chips were crisp and not at all greasy. The burger and chips was a perfect combination and was very filling. 

Fig & Olive do a range of coffees, teas and cold drinks. The hot chocolate was perfectly sweet and rich.

I would say that Fig & Olive seems to be a good place to come to at any time of the day whether its in the morning, for lunch, dinner or for a drink and cake!

Fig & Olive, 151 Upper Street, London, N1 1RA

Our Rating:

This espresso bar has recently relocated from the busy Upper Street to the N1 Centre. Looking at it from the outside, Tinderbox looks like a small takeaway coffee shop. But if you walk in and up the flights of wooden stairs at the back end, that is where the real coffee shop is!

The Tinderbox Espresso Bar is quite a trendy cafe! The main counter is situated in the middle section, with seating areas on both sides. It even has a little balcony area where you can sit and enjoy your drinks outdoors. Good for a hot sunny day but not on the cold spring day that we visited!

There are little alcoves where you can be tucked away in your own little world! These reminded me of American diners. There are small spotlights and a lack of daylight in these areas! If you feel like watching the world go by, then go and sit in the upstairs area. It’s a little like being in a library with the seats being close together and quite a few people were using it as a study/work area!

The drinks that we had were not great. The latte did not have a smooth flavour to it. The steamer – hot soya milk with almond syrup, was not that nice. It may have been due to the type of soya milk that Tinderbox uses. I found it a struggle to finish this drink as it wasn’t that moreish.

As for food, there were cakes displayed openly on the counter but they also had them in the display fridge. The service was good and I was impressed that the staff kept clearing up the tables and taking away empty cups even when you were still just sitting there relaxing.

Tinderbox has a quirky feel to it! On the ground floor level, there are two random airline seats and neon signs! Quite retro in one sort of an aspect!

Tinderbox, N1 Centre, Parkfield Street, London, N1 0PS

Our Rating:

A great oriental restaurant to go for if you want good food and you want it quick! It has a similar feel to the Wagamama restaurants. I liked the open kitchen which formed part of the dining area and this restaurant had friendly staff.

The Pad Thai noodles were nice although they would have been better if more vegetables had been in the dish. We really enjoyed the sweet corn cakes- very moreish! The vegetable dumplings were good too. They were not like the usual dim sum style dumplings; they reminded me more of Italian ravioli. The raw juice was a refreshing drink to accompany the meal.

The Banana Tree Canteen, 412-416 St John Street, Islington, London, EC1V 4NJ

Our Rating:

This is a surprising little cafe tucked away from the busy Upper Street and City Road. The cafe has an outdoor courtyard area but to actually get to the indoor cafe, keep climbing the narrow stairs till you reach the top! You may feel like “when are these stairs going to end and is there actually a cafe here!”

The cafe has a unique rustic feel to it with its dark red and wooden decor. It is quite spacious with a big communal table in the centre of the room.

It has a good number of comfy sofas and normal wooden chairs and table. The window seats look over the courtyard area. The cafe was very relaxing and you could imagine staying here for a few hours with a good book!

The food and drinks were reasonably priced. We had the tomato and lentil soup which was served with brown seeded bread and butter. The portion was of a good size.  The soup was ok; it wasn’t salty or sweet.

The hot food and the baguettes also looked tasty. The tea can be served by the pot or by the cup and they do soy milk. 

This cafe is situated next to the Candid Arts Trust galleries!

Candid Cafe, 3 Torrens Street, London, EC1V 1N

Our Rating: