Mallow Borough Market — Restaurant in London

The restaurant has a charming atmosphere and setting and the host and our main waiter were lovely. Unfortunately, compared to the standard of food in London, the food was just ok and very inconsistent. At the time there wasn't anything unenjoyable that warranted a complaint, but on reflection of the meal as a whole, it wasn't great. I hope it was just an off night or maybe it just wasn't for me, because other people seem to love it.

The padron peppers were a big portion, but over-charred and had no salt. The dipping sauce that came with also had very little flavour and seasoning. The charred leek dip had no char and the yogurt was under seasoned. The carrot and turnip cake was very salty and oily but otherwise had good flavour and texture. The mushroom skewer main with lettuce cups was a great idea, but the mushrooms were overly wet and quite sweet and the pickles and garnishes didn't pack much punch. The kimchi was salty, and didn't have the fermented flavour you'd expect. The smashed potato side was either not well cooked, or the potatoes were too waxy. It wasn't very crispy as you'd expect and had very little aioli. The croquettes were the best thing we ate that night, so would recommend this. The yellow aioli with the croquette seemed to be the same as the aioli with the potatoes. Also, the green onion, ginger, garlic garnish with the turnip cake was the same as what was on the potatoes. This meant a couple of dishes had a similar flavour.

Our waiter was great, but forgot the turnip cake (which came out at the end) and didn't let us know that they didn't have the pita we ordered - later he did apologise for both so that was appreciated! Both of these things are not a big deal, but when another waitress brought out sourdough (one piece under toasted and one piece over toasted) and we asked about the pita she looked at me like I was asking a stupid question and said "well we don't have any".

When it came time to pay, as expected for London there was a 12.5% service charge and I personally have no issue with this, but on the card machine there was also a prompt for an additional tip. I have not yet seen this at another place in London yet, but maybe this is a new unwanted trend?

Meal for two with a drink each and no dessert , and service charge was...

Rating: 3/5

I dined at your restaurant yesterday around 5 PM with a friend. We were the first to arrive, and the place was completely empty. While the lack of menu explanation wasn't an issue for us, what we found disappointing was how seating was handled. Despite the ample space, the next party that arrived was seated right next to us, which we found unprofessional, especially considering both of us work in hospitality and understand how seating should ideally be arranged. Seating the second table next to the first in an empty restaurant ruins the ambiance, and it's not a great guest experience. We asked to be moved immediately.

As for the food, we started with the hummus with mango and croquettes, which were tasty. However, the main course was a letdown. I had the courgette lasagna, and while the saffron sauce was excellent, the lasagna itself had a heavily reheated texture. It was extremely dry inside, almost as if the filling had dried out during reheating, and the pasta layers were not at all what I’d expect from a lasagna. This was quite a shame because the flavors were otherwise good, but the texture really spoiled the dish.

One more thing to note, and this is more a feedback: we had different staff members ask if everything was okay, which, while attentive, became a bit overwhelming. It's nice to check in, but sometimes it can be too much especially if done in a robotic way.

Overall, it wasn’t a bad experience, but I left unimpressed. The lasagna especially left a poor impression. I didn’t raise the issue at the time because I assume the problem was with the entire tray of lasagna, so there wasn’t much to be done...

I came here with a vegetarian friend to celebrate her birthday. I had heard good things about this place previously so I was excited to see it out myself. We were very late to our original booking time (3:15 and we arrived at 3:40) but were glad to be greeted by the receptionist who told us our table had been held and that we could have it until 5 as reserved.

For starters, we went with the hummus and the naan to share and we're decently surprised by how tasty both things were. Hummus was savoury and rich which went super well with the hot and fluffy naan. For mains, I went for the chicken parmesan burger with cajun fries, while my friend went for the thali after asking the waiter to recommend between thali and the pimento sosis. I was extremely impressed with my burger - had never thought that a veggie chicken patty could taste even more like actual chicken meat, not only the taste but also the texture and consistency! The pepper tomato ketchup was so moreish as well and I couldn't stop eating the cajun fries with it. My friend liked her thali a lot too but thought it was probably a bit too much food for one person. So I suppose that's good value for money in a way.

Service was good. We ended up staying a bit past 5 and didn't get rushed at all during our entire dining experience which was much appreciated. We loved the interior design and the vibe of the restaurant, very chill and cute.

For a person who is a big fan of meat and seafood, I had very high praise for this place as I was absolutely blown away by how tasty the food was overall. Would love to come back and try their brunch...