London Street Brasserie
Restaurant - English in Reading
2-4 London Street
Reading
Berkshire
RG1 4PN
Contact Numbers
Reviews
Shockingly bad!
The first time i visited this restuarant the food was at best average and the noise levels were ridiculous, to the point i gave up trying to talk to my girlfriend. I could have lived with both if it had been cheap, but it was far from it. The lady on the table next to me sent her meal back as she said it had made her feel sick.This Sunday we decided to give it another chance and give the roast a try (don't ask me why). There was a nice big board outside the restuarant advertising "Roast Beef - 2 courses - £14.95". After being seated we were given the menu which explained that there was a surcharge on the beef of £3.95. So the roast was actually £18.90! The waitress agreed that it didn't make much sense to advertise outside the restuarant one price and another inside, but that it was a "nice cut of beef". What an idiotic attempt to rip people off, very misleading. Needless to say, i didn't stay for lunch. I for one will never return to this shambolic restaurant and will advise friends not to bother either.
A User - 05/05/2009 | report this review
Tottaly crap
We found the restaurant very disappointing because:- noisy - we gave up on conversation altogether- expensive - we were still huingry after finishing our meals- smelly - the door was open and you could smell cigarettes very strongly- the website claimed that main prices ranged from £10-£20, but in reality, most items were £17.50+The upside? I am struggling to think of one, but here we go:- service was acceptable- decor was ok, apart from the clunky wooden floor which contributed to the astronomic noise levelsI am still at a loss as to why the rumour is going that this place is worth vistiting, think twice before you go!
A User - 05/05/2009 | report this review
Excellent
Having read some not so good reviews, I entered on the spur of the moment for lunch today.There is an element of personal preference when reviewing things and clearly some of the previous reviewers have different taste to me.The food is very good and I live in a house where the food standard is exceptional.As a vegetarian there was not a huge amount of choice but to be frank that is the norm.I will tell you the minor imperfections in my meal, I will tell you how I would have done it differently, but this is a public restaurant, they are catering to everyone not my personal taste.The food was prepared with care and presented very nicely.The service was exemplary, and the environment perfectly pleasant. I will go back.To the food:-My starter; a baba ganoush fritter, had mint on it and I really don't like mint in savoury food. But they had not over done it, it was mild, indeed, I loved it, they got it spot on, the fritters were fantastic, and very enjoyable, a faultless start, despite my taste!.Main course; a filo parcel with roasted butternut squash and filled with spinach and ricotta. I am not very keen on filo pastry it is a little passe now. The butternut squash was superb, the filo a little oily to my taste and slightly soggy on the underside, the spinach was gorgeous, really fresh and green not overcooked (overcooked spinach gets a taste like partly composted grass, this was not like that at all). But what was the point of the Ricotta? White tasteless cheese, they could have mixed them to make a creamy filling, but personally I would not. They could have used feta and made this spanakopita which would have been great but perhaps not edgy enough for the styler of cuisine. It needed something with more edge, it could be goats cheese but the restaurant has a "local" feel to the sourcing of it's food so why not use something really English in an atypical way, Caerphilly would be my choice.Desert; pure heaven, faultless coffee ice cream and a huge shard of pecan brittle. Excellent ice cream, great coffee flavour, if ever they run out they could do afagato instead of coffee ice cream, indeed it they wanted a vegan dessert then afagato made with Swedish glace would be the biz, indeed it might give a great dessert even more "presence" afagato look great. My partner had a chocolate mouse, I was tempted by hazelnut meringue and passion fruit fool (I have a memory of Japonaise biscuits/cakes I have been wanting to relive for many years.) The coffee; was brilliant, excellent espresso, if the coffee wasn't this good I wouldn't suggest afagato.Drinks; Lunchtime is not a time to drink a huge amount and wine is not my drink of choice, my love is ale and it is a shame that so few restaurants offer anything other than a lager. I was offered not one, not two but three bottle ales. The local brew Ferrymans gold, from the Loddon brewery was excellent. My partner is a Cider drinker, but drank an excellent Sauvingon Blanc. The barman hearing she was a cider drinker was keen for her to try the two French ciders they had, now I have no taste for cider, but my partner assures me that they were both pleasant enough, although neither to her taste.Environment; It is a little cramped, I can imagine it could be a bit noisy in the evening. Maybe some more fabric and softer furnishings around might help bring the noise down. Veggie; As a strict vegetarian, I am a little unsure of labelling on dessert menus, restaurants don't put a V next to things so we have no idea if they contain gelatine, indeed, the suggestion is that none of the desserts are vegetarian. V's on the dessert menu would be nice. I would like to think that the few pence it costs to use free range eggs was being spent and would love to have seen it on the menu. Improvements; Building on the local theme it would be nice to have seen more of or more mention of the seasonal/local/organic produce being used, perhaps an English craft cider like Priors tipple. Free range eggs, Veggie labelling, organic produce all would add to what is already a great package.Cost; £56 for 2 glasses of wine a bottle of beer, a bottle of water, 2 starters, 2 mains, 2 desserts and 2 coffees. I paid the bill and my partner left a tip of £10 so must have liked it too.It wasn't perfect, nowhere is, but I can't think of a better restaurant in the Reading area without spending a lot more money. (Maybe with the exception of the Aangan, but you can only eat so much curry to compare the two is unfair) A restaurant can't be all things to all people, for me this was pretty close to as good as it gets, a few more veggie choices and I think I would make the significant trek into Reading from Binfield a more regular thing.I will go back and am looking forward to it already.
A User - 09/04/2009 | report this review
Tracy
This was our first visit to LSB as recommended by friends. I felt the restaurant had no ambience to talk about, it was very noisy and tables were crammed in. The food was very disappointing. I had the wild mushroom and mozarella risotto cakes to start, absolutely no taste to them at all and no seasoning. To follow I had the angus fillet steak which again had no seasoning, the wilted spninach underneath was sloppy, the potato rosti underneath that was greasy and had become a mash from the water of the spinach, the wild mushrooms were just a pile of grease and then to finish off it was as if they had just thrown a glass of red wine over the top - all this for £25.00 - it was just aplate of grease and slop and had no flavour or seasoning whatsoever.The only good part of the meal was the sticky toffee pudding. All in all grossly over priced and would not go back. Much better local restaurants and better pub meals to be had at a third of the price.
A User - 10/02/2009 | report this review
Good food, shame about the rest
Went there with my husband having read a few good reviews and wanting an oasis in Reading's dessert of identikit chains.Sadly, I was dissapointed by LBS. On the positive side, the food tasted quite nice. Our mains were presentable and generous. Unfortunately the venisson was a bit too rare, and not very fresh. The desserts were better though as some fo the others have pointed out, clearly not made at the premises.But what really was a let down was the sloppy service and the non-existent ambiance. We sat in the downstairs area where the lack of any kind of cushioning to absorb some of the noise, meant that i could hardly hear anything except the general cacophony. The service did not help - there were 2 waitstaff trying to serve us, so they asked us twice what we wanted for starters and then didn't know which of them should bring it. When our mains arrived, the waitress stood over us expecting us to move our starter plates so she could put down the food because no one came to clear those plates away first. Not very impressed at all.
A User - 02/09/2008 | report this review
Good but not great!
My girlfriend and I visited LSB for the first time this week for my birthday. Having read a number of good reviews I was looking forward to the experience. We visited during the evening and chose from the full A La Carte menu. Setting was great, we managed to get a seat outside on the terrace which was a result as our original table upstairs would have been unbearably hot. Definitely go for the downstairs tables (or outside if weather nice). The menu has a good choice. I went for the salt & pepper squid as a starter. The squid was beautifully cooked and tender in a light spiced tempura type batter. No discernible salt & pepper element to the dish though, a little bland in terms of flavour if I'm honest. My girlfriend went for the scallops. Scallops were once again cooked well but for £11 I'd have expected a lot more than four small scallops. The cauliflower puree was a good texture but lacked seasoning and was also a bit bland. Definitely not value for money. Main course for me was the pork cutlet. An outstanding piece of meat. Huge chop, beautifully cooked. Let down by the accompanying items. A celeriac fondant was nothing of the kind, more a mush. The parsley carrots were large and undercooked and I got no sense of calvados from the apple. The cornichon sauce added nothing to the pork and I felt it was wasted. Crackling was superb though. The seared tuna steak was what my girlfriend went for. Could have done with another 30 seconds each side but the tuna was fresh and tasty. Severely let down by the pak choi and fennel it was served with, a very unattractive looking dish in a watery soup. Too much green veg on the plate - it looked unappetising and devoid of imagination. Desserts were ok, my chocolate fondant was home made and was good but not spectacular. Like other reviews I have read you got the sense that the sticky toffee pudding we also had was not made in the kitchen. It was once again nice but not amazing. Strange choice to serve chantilly cream with it.Nice wine list, pretty much what you would expect although a little on the pricy side, we paid £42 for a Gigondas that you can get for around £13 in Majestic. But thats restaurants for you, so no real complaints on that score. Staff were friendly, service was good and although busy that night we didn't have to wait too long between courses. All in all it was a pleasant night. Was it value for money? At £130 for all of the above I would have expected more quality in the food. No doubting the quality of the ingerdients but how they arrived on the plate was disappointing. Would I go back? No, I don't think I would. There are much better places in Reading.
A User - 11/07/2008 | report this review
Reliable riverside haunt
Over the years I find myself returning to LSB again and again. It has a relaxed, informal atmosphere with friendly staff and accessible menus and the food is almost always excellent.The two menus offered both have their highlights. The set menu (available until 7pm) is only £13.50 for two courses and offers a bit of everything. Of particular note on the current menu is the duck with noodles (which is enough confit style duck to feed two people) and the fish and chips is perfect for those who like something simple and familiar.The a la carte menu can be quite expensive but the selection makes it worth it for a special treat. The fillet steak with foie gras butter and the venison with haggis are particular treats for meat lovers.Deserts are also something special with a good selection of cheeses plus cold desserts (the meringues and cheesecakes are very good) plus puddings for those of us with a leaning towards school dinners (the sticky toffee pudding is my single favourite dish in the whole of Reading, I think).And if you don't have room for dessert try the petit fours.The wine list is simple and doesn't really offer any surprises, though the local dessert wine (Chiltern Valley Luxters Noble Bacchus) is rich and treacly and well worth trying.Service can be a little erratic, particularly if you're upstairs and the room is a little empty. However, it is always friendly and the staff are, rightly, able to handle questions about the food without needing to refer to the kitchen.
A User - 11/11/2007 | report this review
Tiny little treat
Was in Reading on Monday and decided to stop and have lunch at the London St Brasserie. Its a tiny little resturant but very clean and a sort of place that would have a really good vibe on a saturday night. We sat outsite as it was a beautiful sunny day, under one of the heaters and it was so lovely looking out over the water. We ordered from the lunch time menu - the food is very well presented, looked too good to eat but once we tucked in it was fab. I had the cod fritters which were perfectly cooked and the cod was very tasty and moist. my sis had the goats cheese parcels - her plate did look better then mine but it didnt taste as nice as my fritters.For the main meal i ordered the salmon which was so lovely and again beautifully presented and my sis had the stuffed augerine which she really enjoyed eating.We then ordered desert (had to be done) i had the cheesecake with a rasberry sorbet - unfortunatly i have had the pleasure of having cheescake at the savoy and now nothing measures up - but this cheesecake was lovely and was a very nice portion too. My sis ordered the creme brulee which was amazing. the texture and the flavours - making my mouth water now.Its a lovely little place but im sure you would have to book well in advance for a fri/sat night. they do have a bar area and a larger room for larger groups of people. The only downside was the staff. they were pleasent to the fact that they were not rude but i didnt find them to be very friendly. Also, while we were there only 3 other tables were occupied yet it took them forever to bring out the main meal once we had finished our starters (and we had ordered the starters and main meal at the same time) and when i asked for a refil for my drink - she disappeared and only came back when she bought us the main meal and i had to remind her of my drink.So we had the lunch time meal at £13.50 each, side of chips, soft drinks and desert all came to about £50 which was reasonable. Overall, it was a wonderful little place, would definatly go there again.
A User - 02/09/2007 | report this review
Thank you Hazzabout!
This is the apotheosis of the power of word of mouth and, of course, the power of TrustedPlaces! I went to Reading last weekend and I searched TrustedPlaces for any good places there. So I found Hazzabout's review of the London Street Brasserie which I found really cool. It is indeed a hidden gem, just think that my friends who live in Reading didn't know it! Anyway I proposed to go there for lunch, we were there at 14.00 but it was packed so we made a reservation for 15.30. London Street Brasserie is located in the centre of Reading, by the River and just opposite the big shopping centre. The food was great, I had a spicy Thai chicken with noodles, and the set menu is really good at 13 pounds or so. If you go there you should definitely try the desserts, I tasted the cheesecake and it was fantastic! I am planning to go back there in the summer, they have a sitting area outdoors, just next to the river which should be lovely. Thank you Hazzabout! Thank you Trusted Places!
A User - 12/01/2007 | report this review
Who'd have thought Reading could be harbouring such a gem?
Yes, if you can navigate past all the identikit chain restaurants and retail outlets in Reading town centre you will be rewarded indeed! In a really quite beautiful spot on the river, with lovely big windows, lots of exposed brick and wood and all in all a very nice place to spend a couple of hours. It could be quite expensive, but they do a set lunch (available 12pm-7pm) which is frankly amazing value at 13.50 for two courses. The food is quite 'restauranty' (by which I mean - the menu offers things like 'crispy skinned salmon escalope with saffron potatoes, baby spinach, steamed mussels, parsley and white wine') but very well done indeed. Make sure at least one of you orders desert as they are awesome.
A User - 09/10/2006 | report this review
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