Nachos at The Lyceum, 354, Strand, London, WC2R 0HS

After work on Friday 3 intrepid Our Food Blog bloggers shared these horrible-looking nachos with a few cheap drinks. Looking at them again, they're really not very pretty, but as pub nachos go they were basic but good - there was a satisfying amount of melted cheese and reasonably large spoonfuls of salsa and sour cream. And a few black olives. No guacamole though - but usually that's a good thing.

The White Hart, 191 Drury Lane, London, WC2B 5QD

Just look at those chips! The White Hart is the Oldest Licensed Premises in London, according to the plaque above the door, not that you'd think that from the interior, especially the raised, tea-room like area with a piano at the back. The bar was heaving with people as I met my friend for a quick lunch.

We knew the double-fried chips were some of the best in London so naturally we were going to share a bowl of those - at nearly 3 quid they seem expensive but they don't stint on the portions. I was feeling the effects of a Thursday night out so, again, wanted something filling and meaty and at only £6.50 the home-made spaghetti bolognese seemed like the right option and good value for central London too. My friend chose a roast beef open sandwich with caramalised red onions on granary bread (I think) with salad and a few crisps (which had the crunch and look of Salty Dog).

When they eventually turned up, both looked great - mine was steaming gently and her beef was wonderfully rare and thickly cut. I'm always wary of ordering roast beef sarnies as the beef is so often overcooked and disappointing, but I regretted my decision when I saw her plate arrive. My bolognese was too salty and didn't have enough richness for my liking - I would have added a load of red wine to improve it somewhat, but it had plenty of veg (mushrooms and carrots), which I like in a spag bol, and tasted believably home-made. Both our plates, and the bowl of chips were as clean as could be in record time.

The White Hart is definitely worth a visit, even if it's just for the chips. Or the marinated olives - you'll get a substantial portion in a delicious dressing. The food is tasty and good value, even if it takes some time to arrive, but make sure you have condiments on your table (we didn't at first) as everything needed a load of seasoning. Just thinking about those chips is making me hungry.

Wagamama...

Is a great, big con. I can't understand why so many people are taken in... To be fair, I've only been there twice, but that was enough for me to dislike the chain. They pride themselves on their noodle soups so the first time I visited Wagamama (Covent Garden branch) I chose the kare lomen, which they describe as 'a spicy soup made from lemongrass, coconut milk, shrimp paste, chillies, fresh ginger and galangal, served with ramen noodles and garnished with grilled prawns, beansprouts, cucumber, lime and fresh coriander'.

Sounds lovely, don't you think? It looked ok (the similar chicken kare lomen can be seen to the left) and was garnished with a few sprigs of fresh coriander and a wedge of lime. I delved in with my chopsticks but was soon disappointed. There were three butterflied prawns, decidedly overcooked, in a muddy coloured bowl of thin soup which contained a large handful of beansprouts, shredded cucumber and noodles. The soup tasted nice, I could pick out the lemongrass and chilli flavours, but that was about it. Beansprouts and cucumber (and noodles) have to be the most boring, tasteless and cheap fillers for any meal, and at £8.50 a bowl, with 3 prawns and not much else - the sum of the ingredients must have been just a few pence - it's horribly overpriced. And then I must account for the appalling, rude service, the way they rush you to order, the very expensive drinks and how they allow for their erratic service by stating they won't bring your table's meals together (or even within the same half an hour, as we found) as they 'want to ensure the freshness of your food'.

My second visit was just as bad. As I was aware that the prawn dishes arrived with very few of their main ingredient, I chose chicken, and was disappointed again. I pointedly chose a different noodle soup - the chicken itame - noodle soups are their 'signiture dishes'. Yet again, the bowl was stuffed full of beansprouts and not much else. However, a friend did choose some deep-fried duck dumplings (duck gyoza) which were tasty and contained a good amount of duck, particularly for the price... but I can get nicer duck in my local vietnamese.

Wagamama is inexplicably popular - it is not good value, the food is shoddy and it has rude service, yet people still continue to rave about it. All I can think of is that it must have a great marketing team behind it and someone, somewhere must be rubbing their hands in glee over how much they are conning their customers.

The Corner Store, 33 Wellington Street, WC2E 7BN

13/10/06

Today, to celebrate two birthdays, four of us bloggers went to The Corner Store for a sandwich and chips. Well, one steak sandwich, one pastrami sandwich, one spinach and bean burger and a beefburger - skinny fries with the burgers. It's a shame the place stinks of frying. I can still smell chip fat on my hair - not a great scent to wear for a Friday night out. It's possibly because there's a semi-open kitchen, next to the bar. The place has a gastropub feel; it's spacious, with sofas that we were very happy to sink into and it became pretty full by about 1 o'clock. The food took some time to arrive but the service was friendly and casual, in a good way. And, as you'll see from the photo [to come], the cuisine looked fine and they certainly didn't stint on the skinny fries. My burger was billed 'served with chips and salad' so I was expecting a little more green on my plate - but apparently it's just in the bun. It had lots of raw red onion, juicy tomato and boring green leaves. The meat was tasty and seemed good quality; it was an attractive pinky colour in the middle and cooked on the outside (a little burnt in one corner though). Feel fat-filled now though. And a bit like a sack of potatoes... but I shouldn't complain. Happy birthday you two!

The Barnsbury, 209-11 Liverpool Road, N1 1LX

12/10/06

I have eaten here a few times before from the lighter bites section of the menu and it has been consistently fantastic. Twice I've had a stack of moist aubergine, mozzarella, beef tomato and portobello mushroom drizzled with pesto and garnished with a few sprigs of basil (it was so tasty the first time I couldn't wait to have it again) and I've also shared a crayfish pasta in a creamy sauce and some crunchy, perfect chips - all can be thoroughly recommended. As can the good value bar snack of 'chorizo al inferno' (two skewers of chorizo lapped with flames from booze in a dish underneath, accompanied by a couple of chunks of bread), although it would be helped if the liquor was more palatable than the paint-stripping, toxic variety which looks much nicer swirled with the chorizo juices than it tastes. Anyway, I went back again last night on a bit of a whim. Aware that I salivate regularly as I remember the aubergine stack, when I saw the 'turkish-style aubergine' starter on the menu I couldn't resist. And I'm glad I didn't. It was just lovely - a substantial slice of aubergine cooked to a squidgy texture, topped with a portobello mushroom and a mix of spices, tomato and unidentifiable veg, set on a plate prettily decorated with dabs of creamy sauce and chutney. We shared it and it didn't last long. While my boyfriend chose the scallop starter as a main course with chips (well presented and perfectly cooked), I decided on the herb-encrusted, English (local - woo-hoo!!) rump of lamb with fine green beans and sweet potato mash. I asked for it as rare as they would let me have it, and that's how it came. Wow. Beautifully tender, sliced halfway through to show the pink meat contrasting with the crispy exterior - just how I like it - on a pile of beans surrounded with a dark and rich balsamic sauce, it looked great and tasted even better. The sweet potato mash was a little too thin and smooth for my liking, but the flavour melded with the lamb, sauce and beans very nicely. All in all, it was delicious. I was seriously full and couldn't even finish my boyfriend's chips... unusually for me. And we had a fresh and fruity bottle of Sauvignon Blanc which went down well, particularly with the scallops, and wasn't too budget-busting at around £14. The only annoying thing was that our section of the restaurant was too dark to really see the food (or photograph it successfully - we only had a 2 megapixal camera phone with us). But I won't let that stop me going back. The Barnsbury is not cheap, but it serves top gastro-pub food with charming and friendly service. Mmmmm. Yum, yum.