Rate My Bistro

Ca’puccino has two floors and the relaxed atmosphere is helped by the spacious seating areas. The upstairs floor has some comfy seating and white leather chairs. The lighting is slightly dark. It would be very easy to spend quite a lot of time here. We liked the quirky decor of tower blocks of books distributed over the two floors!

Now onto the food!!! It all looked really fresh and of a high quality. It was nice that you could go see what was in the counter fridges and then make a decision on what to order. We were impressed with the quantity of items on the menu. Fresh food was constantly being put out in the covered counter fridges. 

Ca’puccino has a range of paninis and we opted for the catania. This toasted panini was made of sesame bread and was filled with grilled vegetables, sundried tomatoes and salad. It was of a good size which made it a filling lunch and was really tasty.

It was hard to decide which pastry or tart to go for. We finally decided to have the raspberry croissant and the mela e uvetta- apple, raisin and cinnamon tart. The croissant was great; flaky buttery pastry with just the right amount of fruit filling. The apple tart had the perfect sweetness and it was served with cream.

Another good sweet treat was the pane burro e crema Gianduja which was a small bread roll filled with butter and hazelnut Gianduja cream. It’s perfect if you fancy something to satisfy a chocolate craving but not too heavy. The bread roll was soft with a crusty top!

It was nice that effort was put into make all the dishes nicely presentable, making them even more scrumptious!

The staff were really friendly and efficient. It was nice that they knew the menu well and were helpful in answering our queries. They had no problem warming the desserts up for us and they made us feel really comfortable.

There were so many varieties of coffee and hot drinks on the menu. The soy latte was tasty and creamy! The tea was served by the pot and there was enough for a couple of cups. As well as all the great cakes, Ca’puccino has a very tempting ice-cream counter!

Ca’puccino, Lower Southern Terrace, Westfield London Shopping Centre, Ariel Way, London, W12 7GF

Our Rating:

Pars is very deceiving when you see it from the outside as it looks just like a takeaway shop. Step inside though and you are transformed into a colourful Persian restaurant! The quirky environment sets the scene for sampling lots of Persian food delights!

The ceiling is draped with colourful fabrics, the tiled walls are decorated with artifacts and the cushioned seats are covered with patterned cloth.

The mint tea was served by the pot and served in cute little red glasses. Tea is always a good way to start and end a meal! There was so much choice on the menu and it was difficult to pick which items we should sample.

On this occasion, we started off with some classic houmous and fresh warm Persian bread. I was very impressed with the seeded thin Persian bread; it was very moreish! The bread was cooked in the clay oven near the entrance of the restaurant!

The cold dishes that we had were the Panir-O-Sabzi, Tabbouleh and Dolme Barge-e Mo. The Panir-O-Sabzi was a salad made of whole mint leaves, spring onions, radish, tarragon and Persian cheese. It looked like a whole bunch of vegetables were just presented on a plate, as none of them were chopped up! The Tabbouleh, made from chopped parsley, tomatoes and crushed wheat, was quite sour due to the lemon juice. I also found that the Dolme Barge-e Mo, the steamed stuffed vine leaves were quite tangy. They were stuffed with rice and herbs.

I preferred the hot dishes that we had! The Adas was a great bowl of well cooked lentils. They were really tasty and there was plenty in one bowl to share. Another dish that won me over was the Kashk-e-Bademjan. This was aubergines which were stewed with onion, garlic and spices. All of these dishes went well with the Persian bread!

Pars is a surprising restaurant with friendly staff. It has a really nice relaxed atmosphere and the decor of the place contributes to its authenticity! A great Persian restaurant that must be a hit with the locals but also with anyone else who has stumbled across it!

Pars, 370 Harrow Road, Maida Vale, London, W9 2HU

Our Rating:

As soon as I entered Reun Thai, I was taken aback by the friendliness of the staff! It is quite a small restaurant and  was decorated in earthy tones. The wooden chairs were comfortable as they had seat cushions.

The Pad Thai Jay was made of rice noodles, beansprouts, carrots, spring onions and crushed peanuts. It was a nice filling dish but was quite oily. It would have been better if it had more vegetables. We were given prawn crackers to start off the meal.

Reun Thai seemed like a popular restaurant and all of the tables were occupied fairly fast in the evening. It was good that we had made a reservation for our evening meal!

Reun Thai, 100 Fulham Palace Road, London, W6 9PL

Our Rating:

Tex-Mex Experience was discovered when we were trying to escape from a very rainy evening in Fulham! Initially, we went into the Fulham Broadway shopping centre to take shelter from the rain and then realised that there were restaurants in the building. Another enlightenment was the fact that it was actually time for dinner and once seeing the restaurants, hunger seemed to appear!

This Tex-Mex restaurant had a quirky red and lime green decor including Mexican hats along shelves and great ornamental artwork on the walls. There is the bar at one end and the restaurant dining area at the other.

The breaded mushrooms were filled with Mexican cheese and garlic and were served with some salad. I chose the rice and beans to make it into a main meal. It was all very tasty and the flavours worked well together.  The mushrooms were not greasy and I was pleased that they were not overfilled with cheese!

I’m not sure what type the beans were! They were in a tomato based sauce. When we asked two different staff what type of beans they were, we were given two different answers! One said that they were pinto beans and the other said that they were Mexican beans! Whatever they were called, they were good!

The vegetarian chimichanga was a soft tortilla filled with lots of vegetables and topped with cheese. It was a generous portion as it came with rice and beans as well. A great choice for a satisfying meal!

The mango juice was very nice; quite a big glass of it! It wasn’t pure mango juice, more of a carton drink, but that was fine. There were also a tempting range of non-alcoholic cocktails on the menu!

The service was good and the staff were friendly. Even though the restaurant got busier towards the end of our meal, we were not rushed and could easily have spent a lot of time sitting there. At the end of the meal, one of the waitresses brought us the wrong bill. When we raised the issue with another waiter, he swiftly replaced it with the correct bill. As we were leaving Tex-Mex Experience, the waitress apologised to us about the mistake.

Tex-Mex Experience has daily offers on drinks and food! This makes it an even more appealing place to go for dinner!

Tex-Mex Experience, Unit 2, Fulham Broadway Retail Centre, London, SW6 1BW

Our Rating:

If you’re looking for reasonably priced traditionally cooked food served in a warm friendly atmosphere, then Bar 163 in Egham should fit the bill. The exterior of the building looks very Victorian to me, while inside you’ve got a good mix of antique and modern furnishing. A strange choice of combination, but it really does go well together.

You’ve got a choice between lunch and dinner menus, including specials of the day which are all freshly cooked. Talking of menus, I’ve been told the meat and vegetables are bought locally, which makes me happy because I’m all for supporting local suppliers. Fancy a glass of wine with your meal? Then you’ll not be disappointed with their huge wine list either, with more than 50 to choose from.

Opposite Bar 163 you’ve got The Red Lion pub and less than a minutes walk you can see Strodes College. Now at this point I should warn you that I’m studying for a psychology degree at Royal Holloway. So there’ll be plenty more reviews from the Egham area to come.

If you’ve got any suggestions for bistros, restaurants or cafes then please let me know and I’ll do my best to review them.

Bar 163, 163 High Street, Egham, TW20 9HP

Our Rating:

This is a romantic little cafe which has beautiful views overlooking the canal. Perfect for a sunny day! The coffee and tea were good, with the tea being served by the pot. Soy milk is available. The food looked very tasty and we were definitely tempted by it. The staff were very friendly and the service was quick.

With the relaxing music playing in the background and the general ambiance of the cafe, it doesn’t feel like this cafe is located on the busy Edgeware Road. 

Cafe Laville, Little Venice Parade, 453 Edgeware Road, London, W2 1TH

Our Rating: