Review of 'Utopia Winebar Restaurant'

Well, we were in the area prior to a show at the Royal Albert Hall and looking for somewhere different to have a bit of something to eat. Utopia has a rather unassuming entrance leading into the small, cozy, restaurant in the basement. This early in the evening they seemed a bit surprised to see people coming in but they showed us to a small, rather shaky, table near the bar (ok, every table is near the bar…).

We had to request the pre-theatre menu which offered two courses for about £16 but it turns out that ordering from the main menu was about the same price depending on the dishes you ordered so we did a bit of math and my companion ordered from the menu while I did the set. We started with hummous and pita which was quite tasty with a rather odd bit of spicy tomato sauce on the top. The other starter we had was “Tabouleh” (£4.00) which was refreshing and zesty though, inconveniently, without flatbread. My companion's “Chicken off the bone” (£6.50) was quite tasty, tender and moist but a bit too buttery. My “Skewers of marinated, spiced baby lamb fillets and minced lamb” (“Soltani”, on the normal menu for £14.50) was very filling with wonderfully spiced mince and juicy fillets served with a large portion of rice and a token bit of salad.

The waitress seemed to be new so the service was not great but got us served in the end.

I found the meal quite expensive and not anything to really write home about particularly with the large number of far superior (and cheaper) choices available a mile away on Edgeware Road.

Rating: “Average, but who wants to be average?”

Review Date: 2010-09-25

Cuisine: Lebanese

Address: 1 Kensington High Street, London, ENGLAND W8 5NP

Public Transport: High Street Kensington

Location: London (England) - Kensington

Map:

Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7937 0393

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