The Stage Door

I found the Stage Door a little confusing in terms of its menu: it was as if it hadn't chosen quite what it wanted to be and was trying unsuccessfully to be several things at once. It seemed to be part Greek restaurant, with dishes such as kleftiko, moussaka and houmous on the menu; part steakhouse, with several steak dishes on offer; and part throwback to the 1980s, with dishes such as egg mayonnaise, avocado with prawns, and prawn cocktail. Personally I would have preferred it to be either a proper Greek restaurant or a steakhouse, and left the 1980s dishes out altogether. Very odd!

The decor was a little bit cheap and plasticy, however everything was in dark, wood colours so it wasn't too bad unless you looked closely. Being there on a quiet Wednesday night, the service was good.

I had the egg mayonnaise to start. This was an enormous portion (containing unbelievably large eggs!) and I struggled to finish it all... this is in spite of me liking eggs and generally having quite a piggy appetite! I then had two other starters in place of a main course - avocado with prawns, and houmous with pitta. I have to say, the houmous tasted a little odd. I have houmous several times a week, I really like the stuff, but there was something just not right about this one. Not something I could put my finger on though. The avocado with prawns was fine but came with presliced, supermarket-type, brown bread which had its crusts cut off and was pretty stale around the edges. It should not have been served in that state.

Everything gave the impression of being a bit cheapish really - the butter came in those tiny, wrapped portions which I think should be relegated to cafés only, and shouldn't be seen in restaurants, plus I don't think restaurants should even consider serving presliced supermarket bread!

And just looking around at the bread on our table showed the confusion of styles in this restaurant - there was crusty French bread to go with my friend's soup, pitta to go with my houmous, and then the sliced supermarket stuff to go with my avocado and prawns. It was just all wrong! They need to get Gordon Ramsay in here to sort them out!

The Stage Door Restaurant, 92 The Broadway, Wimbledon SW19 1RH

Don Fernando

My favourite restaurant! Don Fernando’s has the distinction of having not only consistently good and tasty food but also friendly, efficient staff. There is something to be said for a restaurant having waiters who have worked there for years, are good at their job and know their customers. Too many restaurants seem to employ students or short-term workers who have no vocation and little idea of what makes a meal enjoyable… many waitresses seem to think it’s just about plonking plates on a table, and it’s sooo not! It makes our evening when we go into Don Fernando’s and the waiters say “hello” as they pass our table and ask us if we will be having the paella again (Charles is famous there for eating a whole two-person paella by himself – on top of a rather large selection of tapas! The poor boy was hungry that day, bless him!).

Anyway – the food! We always have tapas because, that way, we can share all the dishes and enjoy a good selection of tastes rather than just eating one plate of something. And the nice thing about tapas is that each dish is delivered to the table as soon as it is made, so you have continuous, freshly cooked food arriving. As well as the tapas, Charles ordered a plate of sea bass to try (ooh that was juicy, the nicest thing I’ve eaten in ages – we’ll definitely be having that one again!) and I ordered a tuna salad with asparagus (again, tasty, and one to have on another occasion). I have a bit of a garlic fetish so we had potatoes and deep fried artichoke hearts, both with a good dollop of garlic mayonnaise – I could eat that stuff by the spoonful, it’s sooo garlicky and yum! Other dishes we had were little green peppers with rock salt, deep fried camembert with cranberry sauce (which rather weirdly always comes with squirty cream – I never have figured that one out!), potatoes with a spicy sauce, vegetable croquets, a slice of tortilla… all incredibly tasty.

I'm really looking forward to later this year when the ban against smoking in restaurants comes into effect. At the moment I always have to sit in the non-smoking back section of Don Fernando's – which is very nice and cosy – however my favourite area of the restaurant is the front section by the window so I can see what's going on outside whilst I eat (I'm nosey!). As soon as the smokers disappear from the front part I will be permanently glued to one of the window tables, fork in hand and smile on face!

Our meal tonight was real comfort food, perfect for settling down to a good evening’s chatting cocooned away from the outside weather. If you have never been to Don Fernando’s and you like simple, tasty food I definitely recommend it.

Don Fernando, 27F The Quadrant, Richmond, Surrey TW9 1DN

http://www.donfernando.co.uk/

Al-Dar Lebanese Restaurant

This was good, middle-eastern food - haloumi, houmous, spicy potatoes, okra, rice, pitta. We ordered several dishes to share, so it was mostly starters. The starter portions were quite large and everything tasted fine apart from the spinach parcels which were a bit too much pastry and a bit too little spinach... they might has well have not bothered with the filling really! The haloumi was such a large portion that I couldn't finish it all. Charles had strawberry juice to drink, which he said was lovely... I am wishing now that I had tried it as I'm not likely to find that in many other places!

Charles liked this restaurant but I wasn't so keen - it didn't feel 'special' enough as a dining place for me. It was too brightly lit, like a supermarket, and we were surrounded by smokers... cough cough.

Al-Dar Lebanese Restaurant, 61 Edgeware Road, London W2 2HZ

Foubert's

Foubert’s is a lovely Italian ice cream shop. I like it primarily because it is a cosy place to hole up. Along one side of the shop are booths with painted panels to separate you from your neighbours if you want a quiet chat, and along the other side of the shop are small, open tables – and everywhere there are mirrors and painted wood. It gives a very friendly, cosy feel.

We had a cappuccino, a black coffee and our ice creams. The ice cream itself is really nice, although a bit on the sweet side. You have quite a few flavours to choose from – I had Hazelnut and Charles had Tutti Frutti, and they were served with old fashioned wafers stuck in the top. It’s like going back to childhood again and enjoying a treat!

Fouberts, 2 Turnham Green Terrace, Chiswick W4 1QP

Le Pain Quotidien

The best cheeseboard ever!

We stopped here on a whim – we were passing by, were freezing cold, felt in need of a coffee – so we popped in. That really was the best decision we have made in months!

Neither of us was particularly hungry so we just ordered a small cheeseboard for me and an apple tart, with coffees. The coffee tasted somehow French (no I don’t know what the difference is!), very strong tasting and nice. I was expecting the cheeseboard to be just a bit of French bread and a lump of cheese, but boy was I wrong! Three types of freshly baked bread, with butter in a little pot, some perfectly ripened brie and fresh grapes… mmm the hazelnut and raisin flute, mmm the amazingly tasty breads, the wonderfully melting brie… this is just how I like my food: presented beautifully, full of taste, food that makes me feel like I’m indulging in a special treat!

I looked up the website when I got home and Le Pain Quotidien is based around the idea of freshly baked, organic breads. You can tell, with every mouthful… I have never had bread like it! It really was a wonderful eating experience and all I can say is “Go! Go now! Taste it for yourself!”

Le Pain Quotidien, Royal Festival Hall, South Bank, London SE1 8XX
http://www.lepainquotidien.com/

Maison Blanc

Maison Blanc for a late breakfast (if early afternoon can count as breakfast!). We ordered tuna niçoise sandwiches made with crusty French bread and a tomato tart to share. The tuna niçoise sandwiches were filled with all kinds of nice things – tuna, olives, egg, anchovies – and we added a little of the mustard dressing; although my personal preference is not to use French bread for sandwiches as you always end up with too much bread compared to your filling! Nevertheless they tasted good. The tomato tart was delicious, slice upon slice of juicy tomato. The coffee was good too – and you think you’re just buying a coffee but it comes with a square of chocolate on the side, nice! Also, for all the chocoholics out there, Maison Blanc is fab because you can buy a couple or seven of their chocolates to have with your meal!

Maison Blanc feels quiet, and a nice place to sit and chat or read the paper. There weren't many other people there while we were eating, but the tables are spaced out enough that I don't think it would ever get loud or feel crowded in there.

There seem to be several French café chains springing up at the moment and it’s a trend I definitely approve of. Paul and Maison Blanc are a decent alternative to the plasticy American coffee shop chains, as they seem to give good food (not exceptional, but definitely good) at reasonable prices. And it seems not so long ago that the only cheap, non-restaurant places that you could sit down and eat were MacDonalds or Wimpy – this is sooo much an improvement!

Maison Blanc, 27B The Quadrant, Richmond, Surrey TW9 1DN
www.maisonblanc.co.uk/richmond.html

Caffe Uno

Believe it or not, I don’t think I’ve ever been into a Caffe Uno before. This morning I met up with some friends in Ealing Broadway to have breakfast there. As we walked in through the door I felt like I was in the wrong place for breakfast as the dark décor gave it more the feeling of a pub than a café. And I’m not a fan of pubs! However, the waiter couldn’t have been more perfect – very professional and polite, much smarter than you would normally expect of a café – and very handsome too, which is always a bonus! Those of you who like big, dark men with ponytails, trot along to Caffe Uno and rest your eyes a while!

My friends and I all had croissants with various kinds of coffee to drink. The croissants were large and warm and nice. However we were only given one of those teeny little wrapped butter portions each, which wasn’t nearly enough for a whole croissant. Why do cafés (and even worse, some ‘restaurants’) do this? Can they not afford to give you a decent sized portion of butter in a dish? Or, at the very least, two of the wrapped portions? However, I did like it that Handsome Waiter came and offered us all our own particular choice of jams – and the jam was a larger portion, just the right amount. My caffe latte came in a tall glass which I wasn’t expecting. Is this usual?! I’ll have to keep my eyes open and see what other places do. Personally I would have preferred a normal coffee cup, but if that’s not the proper way to do caffe lattes then I shall have to stay quiet on that one!

I’m not sure I would choose to have breakfast in Caffe Uno again, I like more daylight to see my food by! But the coffee and croissants were nice. And there’s that waiter…!

Caffe Uno, 24 New Broadway, Ealing W5 2XA
www.caffeuno.co.uk