Category: Inexpensive

El Jardí – see if you can find it!

El Jardí is not the easiest place to find, it is in the grounds of the Hospital de la Santa Creu/next to the Massana Art school in El Raval.

It’s an open air bar that does pretty basic meals/snacks. It is popular with students, but be warned the area around it can be a bit edgy .

See video of Buskers at El Jardi from a few years ago:-

We started chilling out here when it was little more than a few tables and a portable loo. Its grown up a bit since then. You may need to wait for a table when its busy, but it’s worth a short wait, table turn around is not too bad.

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Marks out of 10

Food  4

Service 4

Ambience 7

 

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La fourmi ailée – cheap and cheerful in Paris!

On the left bank near Notre-Dame in the heart of tourist territory, just round the corner from a whole batch of these awful restaurants with waiters outside trying to entice you in, you will find La fourmi ailée– the flying ant (8 rue du fouarre 75005), which is an entirely different proposition.

It has been refurbished recently, and I am not so keen on the new decor (changed from looking like a cosy old library to a more modern  diner style),  but everything else is as good as it has always been. The clientele are still mainly students and canny tourists.

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The food is fresh and plentiful, and shock horror for Paris, the staff are friendly. Very suitable for taking your Vegetarian friends.

It is also a Salon de thé, providing you with a good venue for relaxing over tea and pâtisseries.

 

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Wapping Food – Wapping Project at the Hydraulic Power Station

Great place to go on a bright sunny day, when the sun is streaming in the windows, and lighting up this very unusual venue which incorporates an art gallery. When it’s really hot, they also occasionally serve food in the garden. The food is simple and fresh, they also have a small selection of good wines.

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outside

The restaurant has 1 AA Rosette, which it certainly merits.

Marks out of 10

Food 6

Service 6

Ambience 6

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Blue Water Grill – buzzing for brunch

The Blue Water Grill is in a prime location right in the heart of Union Square.

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It’s an excellent venue for Sunday brunch, with a really good buzz.  You can not reserve the outside seating, that is allocated on a first come basis, but if you do book, I would recommend trying to get a table near the windows.

Marks out of 10

Food 6

Service 6

Ambience 6

 

 

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Anchor & Hope – Time & Patience!

When aiming to eat in the Anchor & Hope “gastropub” (36 The Cut, Southwark) you will need time & patience. It is not an ideal venue for pre-theatre, unless you are very lucky.

The tables in the Restaurant section are for sharing.  We found the service was a bit hit and miss but the food certainly hit the mark, with its rustic style and good quality ingredients. My earlier experiences were before the recent change of Chef, however with the kind of reputation the Anchor & Hope has I would expect it to continue to deliver top class gastropub fare.

However if you don’t want the hassle of hanging around the busy bar, you always have the option of Tas on the opposite side of the street.

UPDATE: June 2010 – A recent visit does seem to indicated that the new team are keeping up the good work. I had a beautifully cooked lemon sole with tasty shrimps.

 

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RSJ – loves those Loire valley wines

RSJ delivers good rustic food and an excellent selection of wines from the Loire valley. Spread over three floors, the upstairs room is by far the nicest.

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We have had a couple of stand out dishes here over the course of a few visits. The Pumpkin soup and the Poached pear with Perkin ice cream for example.

RSJ have 2 AA Rosettes, which sounds about right.

Marks out of 10

Food 5.5

Service 6

Ambience 5

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