Gareth's reviews
Review of The Sea Cow
02 Jun 08, 15:03
Favourite family place to eat 
So, faced with the plethora of choices on Lordship Lane, in the final reckoning, I'll go for this chip shop. but no odinary chip shop. Fresh fish - the fish actually tastes like it should, it's not destroyed by manky batter, and they'll fry the stuff for you on request rather than leaving it baking under a hot light for a while. Chips - everyone has their own definition of the perfect chip. these ones are sized write, and tried the right line between cripsed and soggy. Takeway - lots of room to sit down and read the days papers laid out for you. Eat in - pay a little bit more, sit down, have a beer. Lots of bench seating, and kids are welcome. and the kids here are generally pretty quiet, as they're all bust stuffing chips in their mouths. Why settle for what the majority of chip shops in this country churn out - this is how it should be done.
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.
Review of Maison Bertaux
02 Jun 08, 14:21
If it's good enough for the Mighty Boosh.. 
it's good enough for me. I've only ever bought stuff to takeout from here, so I can't comment on the 'eating in' experience. But these things you should know: 1) Cost becomes an irrelvance when cakes are this good - strawberry cheesecake is the best i've ever hadm, and a chocolate mousse/cake/torte thing they do is so insanely good, it became nicknamed 'the chocolate bastard; due to your inability to resist by some delightful colleagues of mine. 2) the place looks fantastic. In a world seemingly taken hostage by units churned out to a corporate formula, places like this need to be celebrated. Go here, drink some tea and stuff your face with cake, but not if it means i have to queue behind you!
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.
Review of Monmouth Coffee House
02 Jun 08, 14:14
best coffee in the world
Absolutely the best coffee i've ever had. Originally i thought they might have been tipping some heroin in here, but it's just down to focussing on one thing - coffee. Yes, the pastries are nice, they come from patisserie Paul. These guys just do coffee, and what incredible coffee it is. They even fly off to visit their suppliers and see how the plantations are doing. An ever changing roast of the day, but the espresso based drinks are also fantastic. Buy some freshly roasted beans - ground how you want them, and you get to sample the delights of Monmouth at home, though clearly it doesn't match up to the in-store experience. Oh sweet baby jesus, I could do with a cup of this stuff right now....
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Dulwich Garden Centre
02 Jun 08, 13:52
Stock pretty much all you need
If you're lucky enough to have a garden, or even a few pots on window sill, these guys have what you need, plus with the added benefit of decent parking alongside. Staff are generally very helpful, and will suggest stuff which would grow well given the conditions you have. Also famous for a) their Xmas trees and b) range of cards from gardeners/related services displayed in the door. Nice place to browse on a sunny day!
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Dulwich Tandoori
30 May 08, 15:27
Good, dependable curry house 
Nothing special, but it deserves special mention as they coped admirably with an early evening visit from my massed family which resulted in lots of rice being flung about by the young whipper snappers, let's hope the tip softened the blow of the clean-up!
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Jacks Haircuts
30 May 08, 14:45
Relaxed, technically adept, good banter
How many of us can honestly claim we've slipped through a side door in Soho, slipped someone thirty odd quid, let them fiddle around with us for a bit and then said we felt a lot tidier afterwards? Jack's is great for a smart hairdo, you can, apparently opt for all manner of outlandish 'do's', but if you're like this reviewer, who is purely greatful for actually having any hair left when you consdier what's happened to my friends, then a 'cut' is what you need, not a 'do'. What's good about it: Staff are great, easy going, banter level is amusing, topical and relaxing. Never had a crap haircut and the missus is always impressed with what they do to my boyish curls. Nice music playing. Bad. no bad points as such, it's underground - which is good if you don't want people staring at you all the time, but not so good if you have a fear of confinsed spaces or perhaps just spent a while stuck in a building after an earthquake. Cost is £30 quid for a wash and a cut which can take up to an hour - which in this day and age is money well spent.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Bloomsbury Ballroom
30 May 08, 14:39
Booze clouded memories
Went here for the 'works xmas party' - which consequently means my review isn't worth the HTML it's written on as I was already sozzled when I turned up, and I tried in vain to keep up with the sales team who were on their traditional mission to top up their bonuses by necking as much free hooch as possible.
So, what can I remember? Erm, not much, the head of the company gave a lacklustre speech which did little to bloster the troops of a businessgoing through a rocky patch..
Oh, the venue? Well, it had an art deco vibe to it as I recall, perhaps even a touch of the neo-classical??
I was forcibly ejected from the place when I tried to spark up a fag inside, which is fantastic as I don't even smoke.
I'm looking forward to returning and casting another drunken eye over the place...
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Ganapati
28 May 08, 16:22
Always fab food
This isn't the kind of Indian restaurant that serves lots of Chicken Korma and Tandoori chicken. They specialise in Southern Indian food, which means the focus is on fish, vegetables and some meat, but not huge portions of battery chicken. The food is great, they have some really good beers available, staff are super helpful and relaxed and it's a very easy going place. They do good, filling lunch offers, and if you're travelling to get here it's just a 5 min walk to Peckham Rye train station. Top place to eat in Peckham, no contest.
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.
Review of Terry's DIY
28 May 08, 16:16
fantastic for diy
This shop is great because a) it's enormous - going back about half a mile behind the shopfront, they've stocked everything i've ever needed, and seeing as i've lived and renovated a couple of crumbling Victorian houses in the area that's not bad b) the staff know their stuff and can really help c) the staff are also polite and helpful to women - which can be rare in this kind of shop d) they sell lots of stuff to keep foxes/rats/moths/cats out of your garden/house - which is nice. give them a go
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of James Hull Dental Care
28 May 08, 16:04
Ease the pain - with cash!
Dentists. I am absolutely terrified of them. With their white coats, mouth rinses and instruments of torture. I was ok with dentists as a young child, but the combination of hitting puberty at the same time as being made to wear a brace, coupled with seeing the dental torture scene in marathon man ("Is it safe!?!") combined to scare me off dentists for about 20 years. Then came the day I had to go back, my teeth resembled the limescale coating inside a kettle and i thought it was time to face the mouthwash. Based on a friend's recommendation I went here. Let me be honest here - it's pricey - it's in Chelsea, what did you expect? What do you get for your money? Nice staff, a great dentist, and a TV set into the ceiling so when they dig around in your mouth you can zone out and watch the bit of the telly that remains visibile beyond Mr Dentist's hairdo. I would remortgage my house to avoid physical pain, and through fillings, and teeth cleaning etc, this has been about as pain and stress free as you could expect. I really can't fault them, and after avoiding the dentist for 20 years it turns out the brushing and flouride must have helped as there was nowt wrong with my gnashers that a bit of a high-pressure clean-up couldn't fix.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.