Il Bordello

I l Bordello is an Italian in wapping high street. It's name obviously refers to a whorehouse but it's interior does not really reflect this, unless it is a reference to the generosity of the portions! The food here is large, heaving with garlic and delicious. It is not high end or delicate but home cooked, old fashioned I talian, the extensive Pizza list does not contain goats cheese for example. It is medium priced, about £20 a head, but I would recommend skipping starters and pudding, leaving room fo rthe vast mains. Olives are good, again a generous amount and will do as a starter, they are served prawn cocktail in an ice cream sundae glass with cocktail stick with frilly bits of paper adroning them. They are also laced with garlic. I love this restaurant, but so do amny others so it is advisable to book, it also means that it is generally a fairly noisy, buzzy place, not necessarily the place for an intimate conversation. I generally find the waiters spectacularly grumpy but somehow it adds to the charm, which is not my usual angle on grumpy waiters, the warm adn lively atmosphere must somehow make up for it. Another tip, generally when I go here I have garlic leaking from every pore for several days afterwards so don't go with on a first date or when you may have to impress someone the next day.

Bermondsey Kitchen

Bermondsey Kitchen is a restaurant, not surprisingly, in Bermondsey street. It is our local which is a blessing and a curse, mainly because it is so good but not cheap. Starters are around £6 and mains from £10 to £15 with excellent puddings at £6. The food is fantastic, often tasting so much better than it sounds on the page, a tabbouleh with toasted flat bread tasted sublime, with lots of fresh lemon and slivers of crispy, toasted flatbread buried in the tabbouleh. They generally have two vegetarian options all of which have been of high quality. We went there once and had home made raspberry ripple for pudding, somehting that my husband still talks and dreams about but which we have sadly not come across again. The waiters are friendly, the atmosphere warm and relaxing and the winelist good and in line with the food prices. A fantastic local restaurant and if I had to choose I would say that it just pips the Garrison in terms of food quality if not in decor.