Evening Standard from London, Greater London, England • 26

s- VJ STANDARD WEDNESDAY MARCH 15 1979 '''Ss'T r'i i rr'-i rv BUSABONG THAI RESTAURANT Evening Standard Restaurant Critic FAY MASCHLER THERE ARE few clear gaps in the London' restaurant spectrum If a prospective -restaurateur -were to-- -approach a market research company or sane- one like me make it me) then I ntiglbt augest that we could use one or two really good English restaurants since tourists to name but a few are always clamouring for Just that Or no one seems to have 5 1 4 The Shireen Tandoori Restaurant An exciting new concept in Indian Restaurants Two minutes from Shepherds Bush Greenyou can find the newest and perhaps the most imposing Indian ResUurantinLondon" i Shireen offers sophisticated modem decor with full airconditioning whilst retaining an intimate relaxing atmosphere Our master Tandoori dief) trained in die noblest houses oflndia and Pakistan has prepared a specially selected menu delicious food saved ina delightful setting Shireen is open every day for lunch from 1200-300pm and dinner from 600-lL30pm All major credit cards accepted exallentnewplaa with notable food and good value? Fay Maschlei Evening Standard dau Tandoori foerf in venaiantraaouadingi? 7' IindscyBaicluuiTuiicOtit 131 FnlkM hil UNll 1W1I TlllMlNi IH 4742 191 4239 ENJOY THE CHARM OF HERE HIGHCLASS THAICUISINK Authentic Classical Thai dancing and sword fighting dinner Set exotic Khantok Exciting a la carte menu OPEN MON-8AT 1 fi4 RaiM 7pa-12aifil(fet OPEN SUNDAYS 14 fU M4 7 PJL-1UI pA 1 pa- After-theatre meal -WITH SO LITTLE MAGIO LEFT IN THE WORLD YOU OWE IT TO YOURSELF Parties catered for UGHT OF INDIA (ft UcmtJ) Extension bow completed Enjoy the World Famous Indian Cuisine Fresh Chillies used only Best Tandoori and Curry In West London Delightful cuisine Superb furnishings No increase -la prices 284-286 King St Loadoa W6 TI 748 2579 Mr Cm(ijy Tha is our only address MOST D1ST1NC INDIAN RESTAURANT IS BELI SQNBAY OBSERVE! PECOS 5 VESY HESS BELICATELY-SPICEB FOOD" HARPER'S 5 QOEEN BEST I ANI BEEN TP THEM ALLI BP WELL" BBUCE FORSYTH Open' Dally S2 Seyaoer Mnwt W1 (2 mint MarMa Arch) I 3 Raaenratieui 402 on chocolates The Shireen Tandoori Restaurant 270 Uxbridge Road London W12TeL 01-749 5927 revive memories of spiffing to the dorm service Is attentive and anxious to please and the whole ethic of the place seems to be to please the customer (not' as common as you might think) I cant go wild about the food but Ben -is a welcome addition to the area The house wine is French bottled and unusually good Drinking that at £3-85 a bill for two a la carte comes to about £15-00 including tax and their 121 per cent service Set meals or -snacks would Obviously come cheaper I HAD a letter fromKerre Pauchet owner of the new Le Tree S38 Earls Court SW5 (S7S 7365) testing me 11 was his ambition to supply ttie itopuuid in London for a true French brasserie and restaurant with the opening times and atmosphere found to the Paris suburbs -Le True used to be The Dubrovnik which has mow transferred Its operations to the basemens and Pauchet was previously ownerot the owner the Balzae Bistro in Bush The menu of -v the new enter-v prise filled me with great expectations It isthe sort that convincingly -as apposed i to lmitatlvely French- ana does as a bras- seato shoedd offer items like vandouillettes andlangue deboeuf of the meal we sampled the first courses were the best and I would parttculariy recommend the salad they call Frisee aux hudons et croutons a mixture of endive and frazzled aatt pork and minute croutons with an excellent dressing it is the sort of dish the French do weti In Ranee but is rarely found here to French restaurants The Salads Niooise was also more-distinguished than usuaL friend who happened tobe to the restaurant the same- night later praised the soups onion cr6me Dubany and potage Paristen The maln oourses -''were something of an anUcUmax after this propitious start The age was a tfks species' every plate was with pithy cauli-uud chip The smoked saucisses dhuvergne were not very ntoe and one of- the apeedaktiee Oanaid au Poivre vert made ne wonder if the chef -could xeaSy once have been as I was told with the Roux BrothersL The eauoe on was sweet and shiny brown and the Hem of the oecoer-corns completely amdwed! Cauliflower and chips came with that toa However some of the other main dishes I would be tempted to try again namely the Matelote dhnguille and the above me tongue Uttle has been dime to revamp the premises from their Dubrovnik" days a ploy that quite well happens to succeed to invoking the Fuislan suburibe With a bottle of house Wine a three-course meat for two comes to about £12-50 Including tax and the 10 per cent service They are happy to serve lighter meals and also serve food at the bar 1 3 As- particu-ilittiesanda done justice to Spanish food when you consider the cull culinary reached by chefs in Madrid There is yet to be a Hunan Chinese restaurant Eke they have In 'New York or come to that a good New York -style delicatessen' (It would probably prove untrana- 0 a table I could think of geographi-oal areas that are atm 111 -served the South Bank' the City Hampstead oddly enough Penge I notice Is depicted as a desert In the food guide maps' There has been talk of how London needs a Parisian brasserie but I have come to the conclusion that our daft licensing hows will always put paid to Ut notion There Is you might be saying a notice-able paucity In restaurants providing creditable food without charging a small fortune But really when it (Domes to reviewing new places tit is Increasingly difficult to bring forth joyful shouts of welcome or gasps of amazement Leaving aside as this week we must the peaks of cooking artistry aa a raison we could examine some new restaurants in terms of what particular need they fulfil 'Ben's of Westminster: 29 Victoria Street SW1 (222 9424) -can claim canny location There are few restaurants near Westminster where lives and works an obvious captive audience a fact that Ben'S has recognised and celebrates in its decorations and graphics They have rather good caricature sculptures of recent Prime Ministers dotted about and the menu and wn resemble official documents and come complete with a list of the statutes referred to to the Food and Drugs Act of 1955 has several commendable (schemes They offer a set little sand available there is no substitute A8eriesof25 That's because Swiss Like alt Swiss chocolate products the best Something that can also said for our Easter bunnies And though our bunnies come as naked as Nature intended our eggs ana most exquisitely dressed and filled with our own hand-made London's tastiest eggs and most beautiful bunnies are in our Gourmet Shop And frankly now is the best time to buy them Before some other gourmet snaps them all up Swiss Centre Restaurants Leicester Square For the ultimate in Easter treats Teh 01 734 1291 lunch of three oouraes mid coffee for £335 Mmiuding the 121 per cent service charge They also have a set price (£385) pee- or aftertheatre dinner and the premises includes a wine bar area offering some good looking meats and salads should you want just a snack The bar with tts surrounding tables is cm the ground floor there at the front further back is the smart a la carte dining room and downstairs is the set meal arena or Upper Chamber as they pesrersely call it-- rv Callous The menu is the food equivalent of a Eurocheque and with about as much personality as Indeed the dish a committee I liked beet from our a la carte lunch was English lamb cutlets three well-trimmed not over-cooked and with mint sauce and redounant- jelly My companion's more adventurous choice of Scotch sirloin with Stilton cheese was I thought just callous towards a steak Not cricket The own fish had a curiously sweet flavour and was more a paste based on smoked mackerel or kipper Grilled fresh sar-(Knes served with mustard sauce was a preferred-first course JVom the (desserts) -I chose was was so It tasted as though It been waiting its had moment of dory for quite some time Eni or glory tor qum glish puddings a kind of provide a kind of- internal armour plating However I dare ray it could for some1 i 1 it -V 1 ty f-r i -1 TOIe engaged on the search foe the source of the Nile (that well-known African delicacy) fheeariy explorer was entertained by the social acrobatics or the osbidi Having no access to Listerine antiseptic mouthwash those buds suffering from bad breath (or was it those birds who weren't?) felt morally obliged to bury their heads in the sand Either way early ornithologists attempting to emulate this avian behaviour foundit cumbersome in social gatherings larly if there was As today for a bottle of Dine Garden of Lebanon at Biistan on the bathroom shelf A sloosh every day kills the bad-breath germs that toothpaste and brush alone can never discover Altogether a nxre civilised habit not restricted to leggy birds Listerine on London Rawest nnd- fashionable LebaziSM restaurank Enjoy the Lebuese cuisine at Its best Open 7 days a week from noon to midnight "Take-away and parties catered tor dr ChauffeuzHlriven Umoualne available tor your convenient Aw il BBSTAN IESTMIM! 'I ATmlKTANFdsl 2s lrMtM laightditige IsSm SYS 2EJ Tekphoie: 01-514 938ISI1 3227 American Ssgrem Card HtMers vdcooi It's enough to toke your breath away vSVl A'l iW rV 1.