Blah! Blah! Blah!

11-01-2009
Andy Hayler  0 

This unassuming little eaterie has been plying its trade for 18 years now, and so must be doing something right. I tend to avoid specialist vegetarian restaurants simply because they so often seem to be making some sort of 1960s hippie point rather than caring much about the food. However Blah Blah Blah is a cut above this. The dining room is simple, with wooden floors, white and burgundy walls decorated with a weird set of wooden animal heads and other esoteric items, and some fairly quite muzak. The area here is like walking into an episode of The Wire, but once you are safely inside then the welcome is real. I had puy lentil salad with goat cheese and mixed leaves (£5.95). Nothing exciting, but the lentils were cooked correctly and the salad was properly dressed (just about 1/10).

For my main course I had black bean and sweetcorn tostada (£10.95). So often if you have this kind of thing in a Tex Mex place then the tostada will be soggy and the ingredients a mush, but here the tostada was crisp, the ingredients nicely cooked and the spicing distinct. The corn tortillas are filled with a black bean casserole and roasted sweet potato, the dish being garnished with an avocado salad and Jalapeno sauce (1/10). A leek and mushroom pie (£10.95) was also capable, the sautéed leeks and mushrooms cooked with garlic and cream in a decent pastry case, and served with a salad of potato and fennel with a little horseradish sauce (1/10).

For dessert a rhubarb, apple and ginger crumble (£5.95) was enjoyable, the flavours coming through clearly and the crumble having decent consistency, served with good vanilla custard (2/10). A mango kulfi ice cream (£5.95) with almonds pistachios and cardamom was also surprisingly good; this would shame many Indian restaurants. There is no license here, so you can bring your own wine with no corkage (hurrah!). Service, for a solitary waiter, was a little erratic but friendly. I have certainly had much worse meals in better known gastropubs than this. As a bonus, our car was still there unharmed when we left the restaurant, despite the gang of youths hanging around opposite it.

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11-11-2007
Roifield MyVillage

Blah Blah Blah was known to me by reputation. However, being a meat eater I had always been a little dismissive of eating a meal without a piece of flesh taking centre place. Anyway with my vegetarian partner in tow we went to sample the delights of this vegetarian eatery.If you're after a cosy intimate setting this place just misses the mark, the tables are a little too close together and the slightly quirky furnishings are the just the wrong side of having seen better days. That said, our small table for two was comfortable enough and we settled down to the menu when the second USP of Blah Blah Blah caused me to dive out to the offy for a cheap as chips bottle of fizzy Rose. Yup this place is B.Y.O.With a bottle of Rose opened by our waiter, we dived into the menu with relish. I had a starter as I was famished and the Plantain Fritters at �5.45 more that did the trick, hit the mark and filled that pre main course gap. After dispatching them with seemingly indecent haste, I had the sneaking feeling that our dining experience might have peaked too soon.For our mains we had Kashmiri curry, mixed seasonal vegetables, pan fried and finished in a spicy curry sauce. Served with spiced basmati rice, raita and papadoms at �9.95 and Yam chimichanga, a Yam stew, cumin mushrooms and red onions with herbs, rolled in tortilla wrap, served with fresh tomato and cucumber salsa. Served with sweet chilli creme fraiche. For �12.95.Both were presented beautifully and didn�t take too long to be served. There was nothing overly bad to be said of our meals, the downside was there was nothing overly remarkable either. Both dishes were a solid 6 out of 10 with the Kashmiri curry maybe just shading my wraps.With the food eaten and the giddy fizz of the Rose just about drunk, the Polish-Lithuanian-Slovak waiter took our plates and the meal was just about at an end. In the time it had taken us to dine Blah Blah Blah had filled up, evidently this restaurant has cornered the �no meat meals market� in Shepherds Bush.Had the meal peaked with the plantain fritter? Yes. And did I miss the meat? No.

31-05-2007
kgogey

Not much to say about this nice place. LOVEly nosh, LOVEly people ,LOVEly place to chill out with mates and not over priced. C U here

20-04-2007
gary g

Beautiful food,lovely welcoming people,dont serve alcohol but BYO and non smoking.9 out 10 for not opening on sundays

28-03-2006
Heather

I've eaten in many vegetarian restaurants all over the world but as far as the food is concerned this is by far and away the best. I eat here every time I visit London and have never been disappointed. I think it's reasonably priced and anyway you save money by being able to bring your own wine, another huge plus.