Review of 'dim t'

The other day we were near Tower Bridge looking for somewhere to eat so we wandered on the south bank to see what we could find. Passing city hall and The Scoop there are a few restaurants in the bottom of a building. The first was “Strada” which I flatly refused (too chainy) so we had a peak at the place next door: “dim t” (also a chain but perhaps not quite so large). I have never heard of it but looking at their refreshingly small menu it looked like a reasonable option.

The restaurant is quite modern with dim but adequate lighting throughout and minimalist, but adequate, furnishings. Although quite crowded on both the ground and first floors the noise inside was surprisingly not so bad - My companion said she was pleasantly surprised she did not have to raise her voice to talk to me across the table. We were seated, by our choice, near the window but also, unfortunately, a glass door and as it was quite cool outside there was a bit of a draft - As I said, it was our choice.

The menu is fairly interesting with a mixture of Asian starters - Chicken Satay (Malaysian), Wonton Soup (Chinese), Edamame (Japanese) - A selection of dim sum dishes, “Noodle Bar” - Yaki Soba (Japanese), Phad Thai (Thai) - “Specialities” - Katsu Curry (Japanese), Crispy Shredded Beef (Chinese) - “Salads” and “Sides”. My point about naming the particular cultures is that this is a mix of “favourites” from many different Asian cultures. As a rule, I am not so keen on such restaurants that can't seem to decide what they are as they end up not be terribly good at any of the cuisines they have on offer. Additionally, I don't think that dishes from different Asian cultures work terribly well when mixed together…they do not really complement each other. If you are going to have Chinese, have Chinese. If you are going to have Japanese, have Japanese. Enough of my rant…

On the suggestion of the chef we did start with the prawn crackers (£3.10) which were some of the nicest I have had in a long time - Light and NOT greasy though let down slightly by the rather standard sweet chilli sauce dip. With the name they consider themselves a dim sum specialist but we choose instead to pick dishes out of the “Specialities” section of the menu given that dim sum is really a lunch dish and the fact that I had been feeling a bit let down having been in Malaysia and tried everything BUT Beef Rendang (£9.25) so I ordered it here with a side of coconut rice (£2.85). The dish was served in quite a flat bowl which tended to fool one into thinking there was more there than there was - It was quite a small portion. It was OK tasting but not anything really to remember and certainly the coconut milk flavour was no where to be tasted (I suspect it might have been sitting stewing for a long time losing this wonderful flavour). The rice was, again, OK but not as creamy as I would have liked, served in a small covered container. My companion ordered the “Claypot Chicken” (£8.95) with standard steamed rice (£2.35) which she said tasted good particularly the small pieces of red dates which added a bit of nice sweetness to the dish.

On the matter of facilities (you can tell a lot from the quality of the toilets in any restaurant). The toilets are upstairs - They are unisex with separate small rooms with toilet and wash basin. They were quiet clean considering how busy the restaurant was.

The service was not very good. For example, I finished my main course and a few minutes later a waiter came and removed my plate despite my companion still eating. When she finished it was 30 minutes before her plate was removed and we waited five or ten minutes more for the bill. Yes, it was quite busy when we visited at about 7 pm in the evening but often we would look around the restaurant and not spot a single member of staff. Where were they?

Anyway, adequate but not exceptional food. Prices are OK and the place is quite modern. If we come back we will come during the day and try the dim sum.

Rating: “A bit better than average”

Review Date: 2016-01-21

Cuisine: Chinese

Address: 2 More London Place, Tooley Street, London Bridge SE1 2DB

Public Transport: London Bridge

Location: London (England) - Southwark

Map:

Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7403 7000

URL: http://www.dimt.co.uk/