Tell me where to go...

Baguette Du Monde

What i put myself for the sake of this blog...

I recently ventured into the newly opened Baguette du Monde near Embankment. Due to the sunny weather everyone else had had the same idea of grabbing some food and sitting in the park. Baguette Du Monde was the only place not heaving... surely because it's brand new? No.

They have a range of baguettes (obviously) for under £3 and some other stodgy looking heated snacks plus the usual "fruit", crisps and soft drinks. I went for the coronation chicken baguette, the only one i really fancied. This was a mistake as they add mayo to everything, yes even sandwiches already containing mayo, so gooey wasn't even the word. There was not alot of filling, and as previously mentioned it was mostly mayo.

They only had white baguettes, unusual you might think seeing as they sell themselves on these, but the bread is nothing to write home about, or in fact blog about. That station favourite Upper Crust do much nicer ones, except if what you have is a really hankering for a mayonnaise white bread sandwich that drips everywhere.

I didn't even finish it, which happens almost never.

Crussh

Every time i turn around another of these soup/smoothie bars has sprung up.... which i am most happy about. They have a wonderful arrangement of yummy looking sandwiches, giant sized sushi hand rolls (the salmon is especially good), excellent salads, including smaller sized 'health pots' which are also very tasty.

But let's talk about the soup! They have a rotating menu of different fresh, wholesome, and soups that are quite often all you need to cheer you up on a cold winters day, or a cold summers day taking the English weather into account. They serve 4 or 5 different options every day, but get there early because they have been known to run out of the popular choices! Whether it is simple, organic or gourmet you are after you can always find a soup to fit your mood - but the chicken chilli with a chunk of their gorgeous wholemeal bread fits any mood... especially the one after the night before!

One tip though, if you decide to sit down and eat in their Rathbone Place branch, you might want to check out the seats downstairs, as one of the machines they use in there is very noisy!

Lunch that makes you feel good, for under a fiver!

Bite Me

10 Charlotte Place
W1T 1SH

I went here entirely by accident, but what a happy accident. Small but very cute cafe on the restaurant crowded Charlotte Place. Their menu looked like it catered for most of the things you might fancy at lunch time, lots of salads, sandwiches, a couple of quiches and home made tarts, and jacket potatos. The staff were sweet and service was quick. My friend an i both went for salads, I had my old favourite tuna salad - and i was pleasantly surprised when a dinner plate piled with food arrived! It had everything you would expect from a tuna salad, tuna, eggs, potatoes (although they were cold roast potatos rather than new - but equally yummy) tomatoes, capers - they heeded my request for no cucumber, and twenty minutes later i was still attemting to make a dent in the mountain of food on my plate. Nothing really different or special, just a serious amount of food for not very much money - a lovely atmosphere, free wifi, and no complaints about requests for tap water. Most things on the nemu are around £4, and i can't wait to go back and taste test the rest of it.

Make Mine

There is always alot of fuss about this place, it never actually looked that appealing to me but i thought i should check it out. They have a pretty good menu, nice and long and you can get any of the combinations offered in a salad bowl, wrap or sandwich. Everything seemed to come with chunky guacamole which on this occasion i didnt particularly feel like so i went for one of the only options that didn't include it - the smoked chicken salad (3.80). The salad had what i think was 'chicken ham', rather than chunks of chicken but it was actually pretty nice - lovely sunblushed tomatoes, crunchy peppers and a decent sized portion. However the whole thing was dripping with really oily dressing which was quite off putting - note to self - ask them to go easy on the dressing next time!
I think the jewel in the crown here is probably their sandwiches, there seemed to be lots of different meat and cheese combos so i bet they do a mean toastie, their breakfast's also looked intriguing... but for salads i much prefer Pure California.

Apostrophe

Now this is a strange one... After the two visits i have made to this place the conclusion i can draw is that the sandwiches arent half as good as they look, but the salads rock. The first time i went i had a roast beef salad, it was huge and delicious (around the £4 mark) while my companion opted for a mediterranean tuna sandwich and then proceeded to spend the whole lunch, and subsequent walk back to the office, complaining about it. So i went again and this time i went for a sandwich, they looked lovely and i thought he must have been worng, or just in a bad mood. I picked chicken mayonnaise and sweet chilli jam. I soon realised that it wasn't chicken, mayonnaise and sweet chilli jam, but chicken-mayonnaise - something with the conisstency of papier mache - and probably a similar taste. On this occasion my friend enjoyed her selection which was some kind of sweet bread with smoked salmon (looked like a croissant but apparently wasn't) but agreed that she thought it was 'a bit weird'. So - all things considered, nothing actually wrong with the place (except the misleading sandwich names and the fact that they load all the filling at the front so it looks full to bursting, but when you get it you realise that actualy the side you can see is all there is) we won't be going back... unless it's to have a salad.

Julia's Meadow

44 Newman Street,
London
W1T 1QD

+44 (0) 20 7580 4464

Is this place named after the former porn star Julia Meadows? Is this what she's doing now? Does it matter...?

This café on Newman Street seems to get most of it’s business from people getting a takeaway sandwich or salad box, but it does have several tables inside, and a few out the front on the pavement. Their large salad box is £.80, and enables you to select six different items from their salad bar consisting of spinach, courgettes, rice, tuna pasta, beetroot, mixed beans, a kind of asian salad, greek salad, mixed peppers and a few other bits. You can have a tuna salad for £4.50; they do hot pastas, and have the usual mix of sandwich fillings. 

The salad boxes are good if you are watching the waistline and want to increase the spinach ration or if you are hung-over and need more than a spoonful of pasta. The food is ok, a big plateful for £3.80 is never something to complain about – but the staff could be a bit more helpful, and they were too impatient for the amount of people that were there, yes they were busy but nothing that they shouldn’t deal with every day.

But given the benefit of the doubt, maybe they were new starters - give it a try.

The Stockpot

18 Old Compton Street,
London
W1D 4TN

If you are hungry and skint this is a fabulous option.

You can get 2 courses off a very limited set menu for £5.50. Or if you want to order just one course that is fine – and there are many more options! There is soup for £1.45, pasta dishes for around £4 and main courses (beef stroganoff, gammon steak, chicken and mushroom casserole and many more) for around a fiver. They have a wide range of omelets and salads, both about £4, desserts ice creams and cheeses and the most expensive things on the menu are grilled lamb cutlets and mixed grill, both coming in at £6.95. 

But is any of it any good?

Well the food is served with no fuss, the omelets are rather large but they come on their own (side salads are £1.80, or you can have chips, new potatoes or vegetables for £1) The tuna niscoise salad is a small-ish plate that is loaded almost too high with lettuce coleslaw and carrot (in equal portions, so slightly odd) tuna, black olives, a hardboiled egg, anchovies, tomatoes cucumber and red onion, so all the expected ingredients. Staff are friendly and helpful and importantly, quick. If you ask for water they will bring you a jug of tap water, not just a teeny glass, and they don’t insist upon mineral water either., gets pretty busy at lunch time but there are quite a few tables – even a couple on the pavement if you are quick enough… and of course it isn’t raining.

You can easily be full up for under a fiver!

Nanobyte Bar

183-185 Wardour Street
London
W1V 3FB
www.nanobytebar.co.uk

This pub on Wardour Street has a chilled out atmosphere and varied menu, ranging from tapas style small dishes, to sharing plates, sandwiches and full on main courses. So is a good choice for lunch, mid-drinking snacks, or full on hung-over stodge. Their jacket potatoes come in at around £4.50. £4.70 for a decent sized spud with chili and sour cream and a side salad (which actually consisted of more than a single lettuce leaf). They have a pretty varied range of sandwiches: fish finger, sausage, steak and onion, BLT, roast veggies, etc etc.. are all £4.10 or £4.25 (except the steak which comes in at £4.95)

 If you want to splash out a bit more, their burgers are GOOOOD (£6.85 with chips and coleslaw). It’s a great place to go if you don’t really know what you fancy, or if you are with a group of indecisive people. They also have a very reasonable wine list – and usually do that ‘buy two large glasses and get the rest of the bottle free’ deal (although this might not be the wisest lunch time decision!). The service isn’t quick, but it’s usually quick enough so that it turns up before your lunch hour runs out!

It is open 11am-11pm Monday to Saturday, 12:30om-10:30pm on Sundays

Maoz Veg

43 Old Compton Street (there is also a branch at 4 Brewer Street)

+44 (0) 207 8511 586

Opening hours: Mon-Thu 11:00-01:00, Fri-Sat 1:00-02:00, Sun 11:00-24:00

Brilliant falafels on Old Compton Street, and what makes them so brilliant is the element of personal choice, with your basic falafel and pita bread you can select your own salad from the salad bar and pile it as high as you dare! You can also opt for extras such as feta cheese or grilled aubergine. Prices start from under £3 and for under £4 you can get a falafel with salad bar and chips: for £4.20 you get a falafel with salad and chips and a soft drink! This is also the perfect mid-drinking snack stop as it fills you up, is quick and easy and not to mention healthy… well maybe not the chips…

I took my brother there who was a little unsure because it was all vegetarian, and he is not a huge fan of spices - his reaction was ‘totally full, very nice, and you don’t even miss the meat!’ Another convert!

Not exactly an atmospheric environment, more of a café/take away, somewhere to grab a quick, great value bite of the middle east (with chips).