What the critics say: St Paul's, Pizza Hut…

24th August 2009, 11:51am

A round-up of the latest reviews

Sushi Hiro and Kiraku in Ealing, London
Jasper Gerard, The Telegraph, 21 August

"Sushi Hiro is for a more egalitarian crowd. The disabled loos at Costco – or the broom cupboard at Nobu's – could scarcely be less slinky, or smaller. But it is functional, reminiscent of the reception at Kwik Fit. And in the time a grease monkey might take to suck his teeth and sigh: 'Blimey guv, I'm not being funny or nuffink but you need a set of new Dunlops on that', you will have ordered, eaten and been bowed to as you make your merry way, sated on sushi."

"Kiraku ('relax and enjoy') was set up by twentysomething sisters, Ayumi and Erica Tago. Their only restaurant experience was frustration that nowhere in London could they find the authentic flavours of home."

"We devour kaki fry, deep fried and breaded oysters that are not merely plump but obese. We share sashimi carpaccio salad: salmon, sea bass and tuna slices enhanced by olive oil and lemon juice, with chopped fried garlic adding bitterness."

St Paul's, London
Zoe Williams, The Telegraph, 21 August

"I started with the pressed rabbit with carrot relish. It left little impression on me. There was a chill to the terrine that didn't destroy its flavour – it was definitely game – but diminished its charm. The relish was a bit insipid, and halfway through

"I absent-mindedly found myself eating the toast and forgetting to apply the terrine. 'This is nice,' I thought, before my mind corrected, 'No! This is not nice! This is toast. This is breakfast at lunchtime…' My companion, B, did better with the treacle-cured salmon with watercress. The treacly colour had bled all the way through it, and I must say it looked dark and rather fancy. It didn't taste as strong as it looked, but that was probably a good thing. It was just fine; nobody would be embarrassed by it, but nor would a diner be moved to dance upon the table."

Pizza Hut, Kensington
Lisa Markwell, The Independent, 23 August

"For £6.99, the Everything Buffet is a greedy eater's dream. Two pasta choices, an endlessly replenished array of thick- and thin-crust pizza and a surprisingly perky salad selection. There is 'proper' hummus, cherry tomatoes, Greek salad, balsamic dressing – all the things my salad aficionado friends expected not to find. 'Better than I remember' seems to be the consensus."

"So, the famed Tuscani. It comes on a large black board that makes slicing the 30cm or so diameter pizza easy, but I find eating off black slightly offputting. It's certainly thin and crisp, and the prosciutto and rocket are both fresh and packed with flavour. What is unforgivable is a sickly sweet passata that overpowers everything above and below it. A waitress brings a proper giant pepper grinder (haven't seen one of those since the 1980s) so that I can get some other flavour going, but it can't fight the red goo."

Del'Aziz, Bermondsey, London
John Walsh, The independent, 22 August

"I don't really want to dwell on the food, because it was mostly as formulaic as the ready-meals counter next door: more-or-less-tasty mezze without, for a second, offering anything out of the ordinary. The house hummus was fresh and garlicky, the baba ganoush aubergine dip lumpy and not noticeably smoky, the grilled sardines with chermoula spices came and went without leaving a memory, the pastry 'cigars' with apricots and cinnamon lamb were spring rolls, unpleasantly sweet but rescued by a yoghurt dip. 

"It wasn't a meal to dwell over, except for one thing: the service. Our maitresse d' apologised for the cocktails and knocked them off the bill. The first waitress keenly recommended a wine and was upset when we didn't utterly love it. Our second waitress, a Turkish beauty, recommended places to go in Istanbul. They were all charming and enthusiastic beyond the call of duty. Feeling I should order a pudding (with a sinking heart), I followed the Turkish lady inside the main restaurant, where a different level of sophistication was apparent: blood-red walls, pink glass columns, a bar with ruched curtains and a mirror ceiling. Suddenly we were in the Del'Aziz bakery, and how one's spirits lifted at the sight of the home-made breads and gateaux and strawberry-flans."

Le Bouchon Breton, Old Spitalfields, London
Fay Maschler, Evening Standard, 20 August

"Steak tartare is mixed to order beside the table and Esther negotiated 100g for £10 as a first course as opposed to the 200g/300g for £18/25 on offer and liked the result. She will make an ideal wife and helpmeet.

A dozen snails at £10.59 seems fair enough but they were tiny creatures, mini-snails.

Smoked eel came with what was described as beetroot remoulade with horseradish cream, a sort of French chrain."

Garufa: Argentine Grill, Highbury Park, London
David Sexton, Evening Standard, 20 August

"For mains, we shared the parillada mixta, the smaller mixed grill at £30, shying off the parillada Garufa (£45), which includes all four cuts of steak as well as sausage and black pudding.

The ensemble arrived on a hot plate above a candle and continued gently to cook as we ate.

There were two cuts of steak, rib-eye and rump, both good, cooked rare as requested, served plain with some mild chimichurri - a light sauce of oil, garlic, pepper, parsley and vinegar - on the side.

"An Argentine pork sausage was excellent, densely meaty, like a good Italian sausage. They all had a fine barbecued flavour."

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