Strada, Exmouth Market

Strada 8 - 10 Exmouth Market London EC1R 4QR Cuisine - Italian T - 02072780800 W - www.strada.co.uk Also follow on Twitter and Facebook I can not think of many places you can have three people enjoy a three course meal for less than £75. Chain restaurant Strada says you can! The area around Exmouth Market has improved a lot over the last few years and Strada is now one of a number of restaurants in this trendy area. To start we went for the Aglio, hand stretched pizza bread with garlic and rosemary. The Arancini Funghi was bursting with mushroom flavour and binded well with risotto and mozzarella. The real favourite for me here though was the Olive Ascolana, now I have been trying to eat olives for a number of months with my pallet still not yet allowing me to enjoy the taste of the mediterranean foodstuff, here though I have found a dish that may well set me on my way. Green olives stuffed with beef and pork, breaded and fried, the taste was beautiful. On to the mains, the Pollo Milanese, a big enough portion of pan fried chicken breast covered in grana padano, lemon zest and breadcrumbs served with refreshing green beans and new potatoes topped with a good consistent tomato and basil sauce was a very good dish. Spaghetti Pomodoro was again cooked well with the pasta being cooked the right side of al dente. The most impressive dish we had was the Panz Porcini. Ravioli filled with porcini mushrooms and small amount of cream, superb flavour and a good size not leaving you bloated. As it was fathers day we decided we would go for three courses, unfortunately we all wanted the same, Fondente Cacao, chocolate fondant served with mascarpone and vanilla ice cream. With its warm melting centre there was no disappointment! You can get a set menu every evening for three course at £13.50 a head but the menu does become very much limited. Gastro Greglarr Rating 7/10 Gastro Greglarr Likes: the woodland flavour of the porcini ravioli Gastro Greglarr Dislikes: would like to see a more italian 'rustic' look to the decor

Camino, City of London

Camino Monumento 15 Mincing Lane, London EC3R 7BD Tel - 02035893954 Cuisine - Spanish Tapas Twitter - @caminomonumento Web - www.camino.uk.com/monument E - managers.mon@camino.uk.com The latest edition to the City of London restaurant scene is brought to us by Camino Monumento, their third coming following successful openings in Kings Cross and Canary Wharf. Camino offers a slightly different twist to its rivals in the City by offering larger plates along with the usual smaller tapas, with Steaks, Mix Grills and Suckling Pig available (allow 48hrs notice) it does try hard to remove itself from your standard Tapas eatery. Unfortunately the meal started disappointingly when I found there to be no Albondigas on the menu! My favourite Tapas dish was missing, my disappointment slowly disappeared after dish after dish turned up and delivered. The Boniato (sweet potato's) with ginger, fennel and yogurt was flavoursome, try also the grilled asparagus with romesco sauce a refreshing clean plate which complements the excellent chorizo sausage, cooked really well, soft and spicy the chorizo was very impressive. Croquetas De Jamon were also very tasty, the serrano ham in a potato croquette was not enough ham for us as we had two further portions of serrano ham. With arguably the best Pimientos de Padron (sea salted green peppers) I have had the meal was really making my mouth water. As the meal was impressive we decided to order two more dishes, unfortunately the Prawns (Gambas Al Ajillo) were over cooked and lacked flavour, seems the garlic and chilli were involved but they were far outweighed with the oil whilst the Pinchito de Pollo were very small and we needed two of those alone as one is not enough to share. We were fairly rushed towards the end due to a fire drill which may explain the lack of care taken with the prawn dish but the staff were pleasant and allowed us to take our time and go with our pace throughout the beginning and middle of the meal. With eight beers and service you are looking at £95 so typical City prices for Tapas. I think it is up there with its main City rivals i.e. Ortega's and Barcelona's but perhaps maybe not better value. Gastro Greglarr rating: 6/10 Gastro Greglarr likes: the food was of a good standard but independent Tapas restaurants still represent your best bet for delivering a higher class of food and value Gastro Greglarr dislikes: Gambas Al Ajillo, should be renamed Gambas served with to much Oillio

Cabana, Westfield - Stratford

Cabana 5 Chestnut Plaza Montfitchet Way Westfield Stratford City E20 1GL T - 02085362650 E - westfieldstrat@cabana-brasil.com W - www.cabana-brasil.com Also follow on Twitter and Facebook Cuisine - Brazilian Cabana is a brilliant addition to the Stratford food scene, yes its another chain but who cares when the food is this good and served by vibrant staff and great value for your wallet?! We stumbled upon this 'Braziliant' restaurant after the flooding of the central line delayed our journey home, for a change I'm pleased the trains were delayed otherwise I would have had to have waited longer to visit here. After the stress of the tube I must have to admit I struggled with getting in to the toilets, I was stupidly not able to open the door thinking it was locked but turned out I just need to flip the handle so remember that when you go! The rest of the decor is that of a typical chain, there are wall posters that you would find around the streets of Sao Paulo and Rio whilst the seating is tastefully decorated with denim. Timber stairwells and other timber furnishings around the rest of the restaurant keep to that brazilian cafe come street food look. I do enjoy eating in places like this, the menu's are so imaginative. Chicken Coxinhas were my favourite starter, croquettes of shredded chicken and spices had a nice kick and were very tasty. The Crunchy Rice Bolinhos served with a chilli mayonnaise were nice and along with that to start we had some Crispy Pastels, which are stuffed with four types of cheese and smoked peppers. For the mains we had a selection to share with the Beirut Bife really impressing, Chimichurri Black Gold Steak is served in toasted Syrian flat bread with salad, mayo and melted cheese. An excellent dish packed full of flavour. We also shared some Sticky Baby Back Ribs, again the flavour was impressive as was the tenderness of the meat. For sides try the Biro Biro Rice, light fluffy rice served with shallots, spring onions, herbs and garlic, it was a really refreshing dish. My only disappointment came with the Cassava Chips, I felt they were a little dry but it didn't take away how impressed I am with this place. I can not wait to return! Excellent location, and with Tastecard the bill with 2 drinks, table water and service we paid only £25!! Gastro Greglarr rating: Gastro Greglarr likes: The Beirut Bife, do not leave this place without trying this Gastro Greglarr dislikes: the Cassava Chips, to dry, try the Sweet Potato Fries or Hand Cut Fries which may have more flavour