Parsons — Restaurant in London

It’s a gem, bannister. Got this out of a restaurant guide book and you never know with those so I was very pleased to find this place completely charming. Small space but done up beautifully, some nice classy lobsters painted on the tile etc, doesn’t feel cramped at all. My favorite kind of menu too, lots of good little plates like anchovies (perfect) grilled sardines (flawless- very good pickled fennel). I love prawns but none of the ones I’ve had in London have been deveined which I find very unpleasant but maybe it’s just a European thing so I didn’t enjoy that but the lemon mayo they came with??? Poetry. The smoked salmon on Guinness bread went great with it, and was oh my lord the stuff smoked salmon dreams are made of.

Just that with one of their salads and you have a great meal but if you delve into entrees highly recommend the trout. It had a seaweed thing going on that we had great respect for. The crab salad sandwich could be really good but the bread was staleish and dry. There wasn’t much filling, might’ve just been a bad day for it. The salad that came with was great though. And DESSERT my god get the fig tart and maybe get ten of them. Warm, nutty, perfect bake, great fresh tasting fig, we were fighting over it and I’ve missed it since. The staff were wonderful and other diners were very classy looking people, sort of a fun mix of polish and punk. If you’ve been to NYC and enjoyed a place called Jeffrey’s Grocery this spot is up your alley- or if you’re just a human who likes a cool spot...

Besides its wonderful location, on the "outskirts" of Covent Garden, this restaurant is one of the few places which, even now in winter, have fully operational kitchen open all day on Friday and Saturday. So you are guaranteed to have a very late lunch or very early dinner, for instance, without having to wait for standard pre-theatre hour of 18:00. We had fab service from lovely Danielle, she was lovely and super helpful. They don't refill your wine or water here, sadly, but with so few staff I guess it is understandable when the house is full, though don't see why restaurants don't do that when one is 1 of only 8 people in the restaurant, but i digress. Trout tartare with Bloody Mary jelly was outstanding, as was seabass carpaccio with herbs, divine. The freshest Colchester oysters with great shallot vinegar, and strangely two tiny sausages, nobody could quite explain the logic to us. Muscles with cream and cider very good, but not outstanding. Bread and butter here deserve a special mention, fantastic, especially the Guinness bread. Bottle of Australian vermentino at £30 made for a happy meal. A lovely way to spend a...

A well executed small seafood restaurant in Seven Dials, Covent Garden. The menu changes all the time - when we went, the standouts were the grilled prawns on a bed of fragola in a reduced fish stock, the warm summer veg salad and the Jersey Rock oysters, a cracking value at £1 each. Less impressive were the fried sardines (more filler than killer), the trout ceviche (the Tigersmilk wasn’t runny and tart enough, rather a bit gelatine) the potted shrimp croquettes (served lukewarm, had been fried well before our order), and the chips (soggy). One member of staff (ginger haired girl with glasses) told us off for asking to pack up what we couldn’t finish (we were scolded and given a lesson on how Parsons forbids takeaway packaging).. but then had the kitchen pack the items in a foil boat anyway. Cast a pall on what was otherwise a nice meal. By the glass wine list is too short and they really ought to serve at least one beer on tap, doesn’t feel sustainable to only do bottles. Endell St is a bit dark so sitting outside doesn’t feel particularly al fresco but there’s a decent buzz of...