Leandra Box, MyVillage's Profile Page

Small local restaurant with what looked like some really interesting and well prepared dishes on display as you enter.  However I have to say that whilst the staff were really friendly and helpful, the brunch menu was a little disapointing.  Its a shame, greasy omlettes, a fry up without sausages and a bland pasta later and we left £30 lighter in pocket.  A nice place to have a coffee and watch the great and good of hampstead wander by though, just give brekkie a miss!

How disapointing!  I have always loved the William IV and was excited by the prospect of a tarting up that its recent closure promised.  I am not sure I like what the WIV has now become.  I went for a drink a month or two ago and whilst not entirely won over, I did think that the cool and slightly sleeker interior might grow on me.  I quite liked the comfort of the chunky bar stools, the paired down style made it feel larger and more airy and they have kept the cute bar man............ however on my return for a meal this week I was gutted. After obsessing over the tapas all day, imagine my disapointment to find that gone is the interesting and well cooked tapas menu to be replaced by yet another boring gastopub menu.  The same old same old, I am well and truely over gastro pub fare.  I never want to see another pan fried anything, gourmet bangers and mash or seared something with rocket on the side.  Please do the locals a favour and bring back the tapas Mr William IV owner.

The Salusbury Deli has had a revamp.  Gone are the organic fruit and veg, fridge with expensive meat and cheese, and with it the only place I can guarantee to buy a big bunch of basil on my way home from work for that essential Italian dinner.  In its place is essentially a cafe. The only thing that remains are the fab but pricey Pizza slices.  Instead, is an entirely light an airy place, all marble tables and written menu!

They have yet to decide if this is a sit down and be waited on type of an establishment or a queue up and place your order eatery.  Either way, the staff are very poor.  If I am to be kind this may be because they are new and so too is the whole set up...... but no one seems to have a clue what is going on - and that accusation I will widen out to the cooking staff!, I waited forever for a cup of tea on my first visit and today had two sets of badly cooked eggs.  Am I wrong or should boiled eggs and soldiers consist of a runny centred egg (and by that I do actually mean runny without giving me salmonella).

No doubt these are all teething problems, the Salusbury 'deli' or 'cafe' or whatever it ends up being called has to compete with an extended Jacks Diner, Hugo’s and CC’s not so far away and Penks (with its perfect poached eggs) across the road, not to mention the soon to be opened branch of Gails (with the very best cheese sticks in the world!) so if they don’t they will be eaten up by the competition.

I am sure they can pull it back, the pizzas and sausage rolls would still pull me in and its slightly oldie world feel make it a nice place for a coffee and natter.  The Queens Park celebs and yummy mummies who don’t have proper jobs are always happy to have another place to hang out whilst the rest of us go to work, so the Salusbury will probably do ok.  If they can get organised, implement customer services, learn to cook boiled eggs and introduce some cakes on the menu, everyone will be a winner!