Week Thirty Two
Well hello there. Thanks for tuning in once again and you'll be pleased to know that this is a small edition with only two places visited. More good news, The Financier was back in town so another subsidised quality meal was on offer for me this week. The other place was a bar called Exit on Brick Lane which I went to after our company staff party.
Special guests include: The Financier, Sonia Gravestock, Will Porritt, Rosie Lehman, Catherine Rafferty and Tom Wright.
Summary of Bentley's
Name: Bentley's
Type: Oyster Bar & Grill
Location: 11-15 Swallow Street, London, W1B 4DG
Website: http://www.bentleys.org/#/
Date Visited: 12/08/14
Price: Ask Dad
Rating: 3.3/5
Review
Summary of Exit
The Financier was back in London once more and fancied a change of scenery to the usual Burger or Steak drill. Fish was on the menu so Bentleys was chosen and Dad had wanted to take me here since Gaucho due to it being right next door to it.
The first thing you realise is that this place has been knocking about for a while and it oozes class. We were placed in the dining area upstairs and the surroundings, it must be said, were very grand and extremely pleasant. Bentleys was established in 1916 so it has got some pedigree and I kicked it off in style by ordering the Bentley's rooftop smoked salmon, blinis and creme fraiche and for the main I played it safe and went for the Royal Fish Pie.
Bentleys Oyster Bar and Grill
This was what we ordered but it took a while for these to be noted down as the service was pretty slow to say the least. The Financier tried to get the attention of a waiter who was walking past and the man responded to Dad with 'just one minute sir' before tootling off. The Financier had been rattled and was fidgeting in his seat like an impatient child before announcing numerous times how hungry he was. To be fair to him so was I.
Once the orders were finally done, the starters did arrive fairly quick. The smoked salmon was pretty good, I must say. However the one thing with smoked salmon is it's never going to blow your mind as its not really an incredible dish is it? It's fairly basic and never packed with flavour. I did order it though so I can't complain about that and it was nice.
Unfortunately after the starters, the service reverted back to the slow precedent set before making our orders. The Financier's trademark sighs, which I haven't seen in London for some time, were out in full force before the food eventually was presented in front of us. Similar verdict as the starter, it was pretty damn good. In the pie was lobster, scallop, haddock and tiger prawn. Exceptional combination and that coupled with my love of mash potato really made it a pleasant dish. Perfect for me anyway.
Overall due to the shoddy service I cannot give this too high a rating and the food wasn't out of this world. It's a decent place to come to though and I would recommend coming here if your a fish person. Probably suggest having the oysters as it's in the name but I don't like oysters. Actually I tell a lie, I have never tried them. Another time maybe.
Summary of Exit
Name: Exit
Type: Bar
Location: 174 Brick Lane, Shoreditch, London, E1 6RU
Date Visited: 15/08/14
Price: Standard
Rating: 3.7/5
Review
Friday had quickly arrived and it was time for our work's summer party. It had started off with a spot of rounders and food before heading to the Grand Union in Brixton on Acre Lane. On a separate note, the Grand Union in Brixton is up there with one of my favourites in Brixton. The beer garden is fantastic and has really cool tree-houses dotted around really adding to your surroundings.
Anyway after a few drinks there, only a few staff remained and we headed off to Brick Lane for a few more drinks. We firstly ventured to a bar and the name of the place escapes me but I can tell you it was pretty quiet inside and wasn't great as we only had one drink there and swiftly moved on. After the unknown bar we found ourselves at this small little bar with loud and funky music called Exit.
This was taken at the unknown club. Me, Cathy and Will
I like this place. The atmosphere inside was fantastic, the place was busy but not too busy so you could actually move around and breath. If you type in Exit on Brick Lane into google you will see that it gets fairly positive reviews and its a fair reflection of the place to be honest. Exit was good fun, everyone in there is up for having a laugh and because its quite small and narrow it creates a real buzzy atmosphere. It reminded me of Be at one in Clapham Junction was like a couple of years ago.
Shortly before we headed for the Exit
Again we weren't in here too long and we soon headed for the Exit........
All hilarious and witty jokes aside, I would definitely come back here for drinks when I'm around these parts again. Great cocktails and a lively bar.
Special Shoutout
Winner: Tom Wright
Winner: Tom Wright
This man, one of my oldest yet also most controversial friends, deserves a lot of praise. At the last minute he was able to sort out 4 free weekend camping tickets to V festival which was an awesome weekend. Critics may point out to the fact that for the 3rd straight festival in a row he brought a tent with no poles causing serious sleeping difficulties. Also the 4 tickets he had were for the other V festival 200 miles away which caused a small state of panic before the authorities decided to be nice and let us attend the one we had wrongly come to. Despite these small things, the boy sorted us out and it was a great weekend. Well played and thanks very much again mate. A deserved shoutout. Legend.
Poem Advice
If you're a fan of oysters
or more importantly fish
Then Bentleys the restaurant for you
Oh theres many a varied dish
You've got the London look haircut,
Out and about on brick lane
Then the Exit bar is a must
Atmospheres cool and the cocktails insane
Before I leave you I will show you what Tom Wright thought was adequate for sleeping in at the V festival.
Tom's 'Tent'
See you next week fans and your readership is very much appreciated.
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