Pu’s Brasserie – Holborn

Reviewed on July 21st, 2011 by Dina

Down a small side street off Lincoln Inn’s Field is this wonderful Thai restaurant! Pu’s Brasserie is a small, cosy, intimate kind of a restaurant. It doesn’t have a huge dining area so it would be better to make a reservation to guarantee a table! The restaurant looked bigger due to a huge wall mirror!

For the starter, the paper rice baby corn was chosen! These were whole baby corn wrapped in a crispy pastry! It was a nice alternative to regular spring rolls!

As it had been a while since I’d had Pad Thai, it didn’t take me long to decide that that would be my main dish! When I asked the waitress if it came with extra vegetables, I was told that it really only had beansprouts. So, I requested extra vegetables in my Pad Thai.

This Pad Thai had the perfect balanced sweet and tangy flavour. The noodles were soft and the vegetables crunchy: a great combination!

As it was a cold day, a hot drink was needed! The jasmine tea was served by the pot and when it had nearly finished, the waitress asked if I wanted to have it refilled with hot water. It’s not often that the staff suggest refilling pots of tea!

The staff were really friendly and efficient. Pu’s Brasserie had a relaxed atmosphere. There was attention to detail such as the menu’s being on wooden boards! The dessert menu was presented in a small wooden case!

Pu’s Brasserie, 10 Gate Street, Holborn, London, WC2A 3HP

Rating: ★★★★★

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Belgo – Kingsway

Reviewed on July 19th, 2010 by Dina

Belgo has a really lively and sociable atmosphere! There is the comfy seating at the front of the restaurant and then this extends to the dining area.

Although Belgo’s speciality is mussels, we didn’t fancy these for this evening meal! Instead, we had chicken and burgers and frites!

The half chicken was spit roasted and basted with Belgian blonde beer and apple juice. The chicken was really tender and the meat come off the bone so easily. It was served with a mushroom and cream sauce and a big bowl of frites.

The sauce was creamy, as expected and also had a good amount of mushrooms in it. The frites were thick and perfectly crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.

My friend was impressed with her burger and frites. She asked for the burger to be cooked medium/rare and was pleasantly surprised when it was more rare than medium, just the way she likes it! Other restaurants seem to go the other way and overcook the burger so it is entirely medium cooked!

The waiter was great! He was really friendly and gave service with a smile. I asked for the sauce for the chicken to be served on the side. When the waiter brought out our meal, he told me that if I needed any more of the sauce, then just to let him know. It was a big portion of sauce but it was nice to know that Belgo didn’t skimp on these extras!

Belgo do a great Beat the Clock menu, usually between 5-7pm on the weekdays. This means that if you order any items on that particular menu then you pay the price that you placed your food order!

Belgo, 67 Kingsway, Holborn, London, WC2B 6TD

Rating: ★★★★☆

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Sway Bar and Kitchen – Holborn

Reviewed on May 15th, 2009 by Dina

Sway is quite a trendy looking place from the outside and we were welcomed by the friendly smiling staff as soon as we entered. The restaurant area is on the same floor as the bar but is separated by a small divide. Take a look at the fresh fish fridge as you walk to your table!

The deep red tones and wooden tables sets the atmosphere. The open kitchen area is situated at the back of the restaurant. As for the music, it was fairly up to date with current chart songs playing. It was a little loud for a restaurant but I guess that is what you get for having the restaurant and bar sharing the same place!

SwaySway dessertSway interior

The fish and chips was a good portion served with tartare sauce and mushy peas. It would have been nice for more mushy peas! The chips were not greasy and there were a lot of them! It was quirky that the fish and chips were served wrapped in paper with a slice of lemon on top!

The char-grilled chicken breast was tender and the dish was nicely presented. It went well with the additional sauteed potatoes, wild mushrooms and rocket leaves.

For dessert, we had the chocolate and hazelnut roulade. This was overly sweet. It was an amalgamation of ice cream with a biscuit layer. It was served with some chocolate sauce but it really didn’t need any more sweetness. Sway would have been better to replace the sauce with some plain vanilla ice cream!

The service was ok but not fantastic. The staff could have been more attentive. We had told them at the start of the meal that we needed to leave the restaurant by a certain time. Even though this had been mentioned, we were waiting a long time for our dessert. It got to the point where I had to go and approach one of the staff to ask if the dessert could be served soon.

Sway is a nice enough place to go for dinner, drinks or some snacks but I think that there are other eateries in the vicinity that could be a better option!

Sway, 61-65 Great Queen Street, London, WC2B 5BZ

Rating: ★★★☆☆

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