I like to think I tip toe in and out of Christmasy functions really making the most of catching up with people and seeing lots of places around town in their glowy glory. What actually happens is I end up going hell for leather on a couple of fixtures and not giving my best to the rest. One of these is the lunch myself and a couple of close mates like to have, take an afternoon off the week of Christmas, really get into the swing of the festive season – last year it was Spanish tapas haunt José in Bermondsey, this year newly opened seafood restaurant Rex and Mariano in Soho.
Part of the Goodman Group that brought us Burger & Lobster, it’s still looking to do things a little differently. Idea here being to cut down the service, and so, the service charge. You order by tablet and dishes get delivered by a waiter when they’re ready, you pour your own wine…. and that’s about the crux of it, the staff could even afford to be a little less nice with just 5% service charge added to your bill rather than the standard 12.5% = really tasty food in a great looking restaurant at an affordable price.
We had around 5/6 dishes, a bottle of fizz, a carafe of red, and that came to £30 each with service charge included. Food was really tasty and a good sociable looking restaurant where you can sit at the counter, high table, or the good ol’ normal table! – another nice touch is the open kitchen, we love an open kitchen, don’t we?!! A further bar makes it easy to pop in for a drink.
The location of this gaff is down a Soho alleyway in St Anne’s Court, actually took over the old Vodka Revs, so if you know that, you’ll know it’s a pretty substantial size. It wasn’t very busy when we went, but this place will catch on quick, and the easiness of it, accommodating different group sizes and the open all day brasserie type vibe makes it a suitable refreshment stop for Oxford St shoppers, business meets or just sheer pleasure!
VERDICT: will be back!! really great value for money and a field day for pescetarians!
and then onto more drinks where things got over festive which left me feeling pretty un-festive doing the Christmas food shop the next day… could have abandoned my trolley in the supermarket, but I managed to pull back from the edge 😉 x
Peeps London 