Perfil de andrewrhodes

I just read through some of the last reviews and I think summed up it just confirms what my problem with Balans is...in that I don't know what my problem is...I just know that I have one. I was thinking it was the menu - it's such a hotch potch of dishes and cuisines you can't really see a theme, but then that's not a big problem is it? So,maybe it was the food itself...my starter of scallops with a caulliflower puree was really nice but then our calamari seemed like that frozen stuff. Or mains were a bit more of a miss. Seafood jambalaya needed a bit more flavour. My swordfish was ok, but again I think a frozen steak and the blackbean rice wasn't seasoned or cooked long enough. BUT, again, if you look at the prices, what were we really expecting? Ok, maybe the service? No, our waiter was really friendly and smiley and even knew that my friend always had extra toast when she goes in! Decor? hmm..more shadow lounge than restaurant but so what. In conclusion...if you want somewhere cheap and very cheerful right in the heart of Soho that's open until sunrise'o'clock than this is the place....but keep your expectations at the door!

Excellent Indian restaurant in Covent Garden. We dined about 5pm so there were only another 4 tables in. The service from our main server was amazing. Very friendly and knowledgeable lady (think she was called Sharmila). She talked us all through the menu and different options and nothing seemed too much trouble. The food itself was very tasty and you got a lot of food for the money. We both had a grand thali and had trouble finishing them - and it was only £9!! Think our waitress went on break just as we'd finished our mains and service was definitely slower. However, would definitely eat there again!

We'd been to watch a recording at the ITV studios and found Chez Gerard on Toptable - offering the Prix fixe menu. We got to the restaurant and were very impressed. It is nicely laid out, very clean and we had a nice welcome on the door. We were shown to a decent table, although it was laid while we were sat there. We weren't offered the fixed price menu even though we'd booked for it and had to ask for it. Waited quite a time for our first contact with our waiter. He seemed a nice guy and I guess having a French waiter in a French restaurant is in-keeping but I struggled to understand him. They brought some bread and a few small olives and nuts without us asking (and charged us £4 for the pleasure!). We looked at both menus but decided as it was an unplanned night we'd go a bit budget so opted for the fixed price. I know when you pick these special offers you shouldn't be expecting cordon bleu but as I've said you a restaurant should understand that they are showcasing their food for possible return customers. The pate for starter tasted a bit like luncheon meat. One of us had steak frites for main, the steak was really well cooked, but cold and the presentation was dire. The other one had quiche which was just bland. There was quite a wait between courses and then having waited 20 minutes had to ask for the bill. It was just a bit disappointing given the good location and restaurant design. The food and service really let it down.

Nós encontramos este restaurante por acaso enquanto procurava algum lugar para jantar. Tivemos uma bela tabela na esplanada exterior. Boa localização. Decoração elegante. Cozinha francesa. Tivemos Pate, caracóis, Coq au vin, tarte tatin, entre outros. Bom serviço. Comida não é o melhor alimento francês Eu provei, mas não foi ruim. Um ponto negativo é que ele começou a chover assim como nós temos a nossa conta, mas outra mesa estava molhada, mas não havia mesas livres dentro do lugar deles. Você precisa de reservar a menos que você chegar lá cedo!

Decent enough hotel in the rough and ready bit of town. We had to book our trip to Sao Paolo in a bit of a rush and didn't really have time to do research on the areas. Ended up booking into this place in Republica. Hotel itself is a bit dated but very clean. Our room was huge! It was probably designed in the late 80's. Reception staff as helpful as possible but limited English. The area it is in is not the nicest part of the city! This is downtown so expect a bit of gypsies, tramps and thieves! We however experienced no trouble and actually met some very interesting characters and had a good laugh!

Ein genug anständiges Hotel im ungehobelten Teil der Stadt. Wir sollten unsere Reise nach Sao Paolo in Eile buchen und hatten wirklich keine Zeit um die Gegend zu forschen. So endete die Buchung an diesem Ort in Republica. Das Hotel selbst ist ein bißchen veraltet, aber sehr sauber. Unser Zimmer war riesig! Es ist vermutlich in den späten 80er Jahren entwickelt. Die Mitarbeiter an der Rezeption so hilfsbereit wie möglich, jedoch beschränkt Englisch. Die umliegende Gegend ist nicht der schönste Teil der Stadt! Es liegt in der Innenstadt und man erwartet ein bisschen Zigeuner und Diebe! Wir hatten aber keine Probleme und trafen eigentlich einige sehr interessante Charaktere und haben gut gelacht!

Hôtel plutôt pas mal dans le quartier chaud de la ville. On a réservé notre voyage à Sao Paulo en urgence et on n'a pas vraiment eu le temps de se renseigner sur les différents quartiers. On a fini par réserver dans cet établissement à Republica. L'hôtel en lui-même est un peu vieux mais très propre. Notre chambre était énorme. Ça a dû être construit dans les années 80. Le personnel de la réception est aussi serviable que possible mais a un niveau d'anglais limité. Le quartier n'est pas dans la partie la plus sympa de la ville! C'est dans le centre donc attendez vous à des hippies, des clochards et des voleurs. Cela dit, nous n'avons eu aucun problème et avons même fait des rencontres très intéressantes et bien rigolé.

Hotel suficientemente decente en la parte chunga de la ciudad. Tuvimos que reservar nuestro viaje a Sao Paolo con un poco de prisa y no tuvimos tiempo para investigar sobre las zonas. Acabamos reservando en este sitio en Republica. El hotel en sí está anticuado pero muy limpio. ¡Nuestro cuarto era enorme! Probablemente fue diseñado a finales de los 80. El personal de recepción fue tan amable como pudo, pero con inglés limitado. La zona no es de las más bonitas de la ciudad. Es un barrio del centro, así que espera algo de gitanos, carteristas y vagabundos. Nosotros no tuvimos problema de todos modos ¡y de hecho conocimos a algunos personajes interesantes y nos reímos bastante!

Hotel abbastanza discretonella parte grezza della città. Abbiamo prenotato il nostro viaggio a Sao Paolo di fretta e non abbiamo avuto il tempo di fare uan ricerca sulle aree. Alal fine abbiamo prenotato in questo posto in Republica. L'hotel è un pò datato ma pulito. La nostra stanza era enorme!. Probabilmente progettata fien anni '80. Staff alla reception molto disponibile ma un pò limitato in inglese. Non si trova nella parte migliore della città! E' nel centro perciò aspettati un pò di zingari, vagabondi e ladri! Noi comunque non abbiamo avuto problemi e abbiamo incontrato qualche personaggio interessante e ci siamo fatti una risata!