Tsunami (West End, London)

I recently went to Tsunami Japanese restaurant with the girlfriend and we had a great time. The restaurant has a contemporary feel and a decent menu, with a wide variety of sushi, sashimi and hot dishes to choose from.

Situated along the restaurant-filled Charlotte Street in Fitzrovia, London, Tsunami isn't short of competition - but it holds its own and it's a good choice for your money.

Takoyaki - deep fried octopus, squid, prawn, cabbage, spring onion.

While it's not necessarily the cheapest Japanese restaurant in London, at the time of writing there is a 40 per cent discount deal available here at OpenTable (formerly toptable), which I certainly took advantage of.

Yellow tail sashimi.

The girlfriend and I picked a selection of hot food, sushi and sashimi, all of which was very good. The highlight was perhaps the 'Dragon Volcano Roll' - something that I had not seen before. The picture doesn't particularly do it justice (at all), but it's quite unique, fun and tasty. In fact, it was voted 'Sushi Roll of the Year 2012'.

Dragon volcano roll - jumbo prawn with avocado & cucumber roll with crispy flakes, spring onions, tobiko, dried shredded chilli topped with creamy sauce.  

We finished off with green tea and sesame ice cream. I like green tea ice cream, but I had never had sesame ice cream before. I've got to say, it was pretty damn good and I'll be having it again for sure.

Green tea and sesame ice cream.

Overall it was a good experience at Tsunami and it's a place I can recommend - particularly if the 40 per cent discount is still available.

Nearest Tube: Goodge Street

Boulevard Brasserie in Covent Garden: calamari, moules mariniere & frites, ice cream & tuile basket

I went to Boulevard Brasserie in Covent Garden, London, after finding a toptable special, where I got 50 per cent off all food from the a la carte menu.

I'm a big fan of the toptable deals. There are so many restaurants in London that you can usually find something to fit your budget. Even restaurants at five-star hotels often offer deals, particularly on week days when it's quieter.

Boulevard Brasserie is a French restaurant, with a rather French theme inside. Many of the tables and the bar are situated in the basement, hence the dark photos.

I started off with the breaded calamari with tartare sauce - one of my favourite dishes. Deep fried seafood? I'm all over that. The calamari could have been a bit crispier, but otherwise is was a solid start.

In keeping with the seafood theme, I went for the moules mariniere & frites (mussels and fries) - again, another favourite of mine. Good flavour, nicely cooked, tasty sauce, crispy fries.

I finished off with three scoops of ice cream on top of a tuile basket, which is basically a giant biscuit. The ice cream flavours were chocolate, vanilla and pistachio - all nice and creamy. However, I found the basket difficult to eat, as it was a bit greasy.

Closest Tube: Covent Garden
Address: 40 Wellington Street, London WC2E 7BD, United Kingdom

New Year meal at Cafe des Amis in Covent Garden, London

To celebrate the end of 2013 and the beginning of 2014, I had dinner at Cafe des Amis, a French restaurant in Covent Garden, London. On a previous visit, I was really impressed with the food so I decided to dine there again.

Did my second visit live up to the first? Not entirely. It wasn't bad, but certainly not as good as the first time I went there.

The gravadlax was a good start and tasted how I imagined it would taste - not much to say either way. The blinis were also fluffy and soft.

Another starter we had was a salad consisting of Roquefort cheese, beetroot, pine nuts and rocket. Simple ingredients here and it went down well - difficult to get wrong.

Unfortunately, this is where it started to go wrong. The chicken breast and mash  (or pomme puree as they call it) was a real disappointment. Three diners on my table ordered this and all three felt the chicken was way too tough. One even wanted a steak knife! Not good. Also, note the single piece of broccoli!

The seafood linguine was another disappointment. The pasta was cooked nicely and the king prawns were large and fresh (hidden beneath the pasta). However, I think the chef forgot to add any seasoning; it was like I was eating boiled pasta.

Things got better by the dessert. The chocolate fondant was firm yet gooey and the contrast with the white chocolate ice cream was really nice.

So I've gone from being a big fan of Cafe des Amis to having second thoughts over whether I will go again. Maybe the time pressures of New Year's Eve affected quality control? It was, after all, a lot busier than on my first visit, which was on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Address: 11-14 Hanover Place, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 9JP
Nearest Tube: Covent Garden