Restaurant review: Brasserie Zedel (London, W1)

Restaurant review: Brasserie Zedel
20 Sherwood Street
London W1F 7ED
United Kingdom
Brasserie Zedel – map
Review by: Alexa Williamson
Rating: **** (out of 5)

This place looked great on the website and did not fail to deliver. A one-minute walk from Piccadilly Circus tube, Brasserie Zedel is a classy French style eaterie.

After going downstairs, you are in the Zedel complex of bars and eateries. The Brasserie is the main offering. It is a huge room that looks very French. Lovely tables, lights, marble and columns, and gilt gold detail. The menu is basic but fresh brasserie food. There are meat and vegetarian menus, both offering reasonably priced dishes – especially for the richest part of London! The atmosphere is vintage French, like the 1920s Jazz Age Paris – they even offer oysters on the half shell!

You will have a great time here either on your own, with one other or as part of a group. Staff are friendly and food is served promptly. A grand place to visit and a great time to be had! Don’t miss it when visiting London as it promises to be a wonderful memory.

Further information:
Brasserie Zedel (official site)

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Cafe review: Heaphy’s Cafe (Glastonbury, Somerset, England)

Cafe review: Heaphy’s Cafe
16, Market Place, Glastonbury, BA6 9EU, Somerset, England
Map to Heaphy’s Cafe (click here)
01458 837935
Review by: Alexa Williamson
Rating: *** (out of 5 – due to nice staff and outdoor seating)

This is an average cafe, but is a lovely place to sit, in Glastonbury, in the summer or winter due to its ample outdoor seating that offers a gorgeous view of both ends of the town. Sitting outside at Heaphy’s is even worth more than what you pay for the food as the views from where you sit are fantastic, peaceful and in the sunshine (particularly with a light breeze) it is really nice. Menu is fairly standard English food and it is a relatively go for lunch that will be served quickly at reasonable prices, they also serve drinks and desserts such as ice cream and other sweets. The prices are fair and the staff is nice and, when I was there, offered as quick a service as they could. Impressive as they were busy. Long live such a lovely little venue! The country needs more like them.

Further information:
Heaphy’s (official site)

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Restaurant/cafe review: Carluccio’s (Teddington, Middlesex, England)

Restaurant/cafe review: Carluccio’s
20-22 High Street , Teddington, Middlesex, TW11 8EW
Map to Carluccio’s (click here)
Tel: 020 8943 4945
Review by: Alexa Williamson
Rating: **1/2 (out of 5), (for the area *** out of 5)

For those who like Italian food, sweets and more done quickly, then look no further then yet another branch of this popular chain. At the date of posting this review (August 2012), the branch in Teddington has been open about two months and is doing well. The two main streets in Teddington are filled with quite a few lovely shops and Teddington itself has some nice pubs. However, so far I have not found anywhere where food is one of the things that Teddington does well – it is more about the parks, the locks and some of the charity shops and vintage shops are great.

Out of most of the restaurants and cafes in Teddington, Carluccio’s is probably one of the healthiest that you will find. However, it is still relatively unhealthy and I am not crazy about the low ceilings, dim lighting (it doesn’t come across as romantic) and mediocre quality of the Italian fare. Yes, it is good compared to stodgy pub food or the Wimpys or Greggs bakery that Teddington has and the salads and vegetable dishes are lovely, light, reasonably priced and served quickly. However there is also a lot of over oily or over-sauced food and the restaurant is very squashed with all of the things they are trying to offer, so what’s to say? Well, worth a visit if you are here and looking for something healthy as, again, it is better than most of the restaurants or cafes here and nice and they also have outdoor seating, but Carluccio’s, it seems, albeit nice is working too hard to get as much money as they can. (Although saying this, fortunately, they do not rush you when you are sitting down and eating or near the end of  your meal). Ok if you are in the mood for Italian food, ok to good quality of things on offer.

Further information:
Carluccio’s (official site)

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Cafe review: Gelato Mio (Belsize Park, London, NW3) – NOW CLOSED

Cafe review: Gelato Mio – NOW CLOSED
204 Haverstock Hill, London NW3 2AG
020 7998 9276
Map to Gelato Mio (click here)
Rating: **** 1/2 (out of 5)

For those who are looking for a sunny spot to relax and chat with a friend, use your mobile or laptop, take your children for ice cream (or in this case actually gelato or a sorbet), read a book or be creative, then look no further than this fun cafe as it is a delightful, sunny and friendly haven in the middle of a big city.

Gelato Mio in Belsize Park is a great place to go and unwind and also enjoy a tasty gelato, sorbet, coffee, tea or cookie, cake or pastry (or be more healthy and have water or green or herbal tea) as it is a large airy spot with a large glass window to let in the sun as well as having a good amount of indoor and outdoor seating (including tables and a nice, squishy, large suede sofa) and also interesting decoration – lights with top hats lamp shades (for example) and other lampshades.

Like its name, Gelato Mio is different than other ice cream shops as it actually doesn’t serve ice cream. It serves something called gelato, nor, in the “iced desserts” department does it serve anything with lots of, to be blunt, crap (ie additives). What they serve is of the highest quality iced desserts heaven!

So what is gelato and why is it superior to most ice creams? In a nutshell here is the answer – from the Mio Gelato website:

“Gelato is the traditional, Italian version of ice cream. Its origins are lost in the mists of time, however everybody agrees that since ancient times humans enjoyed elaborate desserts of snow mixed with honey and fruit juices. The origins of the modern Italian Gelato can be traced back to the Florentine Renaissance where many of the current recipes were developed.

Today Italian Gelato is pretty much done with the same recipes and techniques used hundreds of years ago, while modern day Ice Cream takes advantage of several modern technologies. Because of this there are 3 main differences between Italian Gelato and Ice Cream:

1 Gelato has less fat than ice cream, on average 50-60% less. However, less fat does not mean less taste. Gelato, although creamier and more flavourful than ice cream actually has fewer calories.

2 Gelato has a much higher density than ice cream. Ice Cream manufacturers add air to ice cream because it nearly doubles the quantity of their product without increasing their costs. Unlike ice cream, very little air is added to gelato, resulting in a higher quality product with a rich, creamier taste.

3 Gelato is served at a slightly warmer temperature than ice cream. While both gelato and ice cream are served well below freezing, in order to maintain its creamy consistency, gelato is typically kept at about 10 degrees warmer than ice cream. This results in a further enhanced taste as it melts in your mouth. ”

So, that’s the exciting part about Gelato and the Belsize Park cafe is great due to its large glass window, open space and nice staff. This isn’t the Continent, unfortunately, so this is probably as close as we get to a good open space in the centre of London.

Besides an excellent range of teas (that include good quality green tea, gunpowder, vanilla, English Breakfast and others), the cafe is fun because it has an Alice in Wonderland theme (including the decorations and writing on the wall (literally) – and upon further thought, maybe the Top Hat light shades are “mad hatter hats”. Plus, the cafe gets a plus because the books that are available to read can help you relax and focus in enjoying the moment in this nice cafe, if you are lacking one and, finally, Gelato Mio has long opening hours seven days per week.

The website is also quite friendly and the owner Carlo Del Mistro (according to the website) spent quite a while developing the perfect concept for Italian cafe in London (but the Alice in Wonderland references also giving it a British appeal and flavour).

Come, sample the gelato and sorbet flavours, the pastries, cakes, tea, coffee, atmosphere and more!

Further information:
Gelato Mio (official site)

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