Sarastro

Five star all the way for this quirky restaurant. I went with a friend on a Thursday evening. There was a set menu, 2 courses for £28.95 or 3 courses for £31.45. Starter is meze style which was very nice and I had the lamb for main course which was also enjoyable. My friend had panna cotta for dessert but she didn’t like it. So why the five stars I hear you say! The décor in the restaurant is quirky and interesting, with some risky art work in the toilets. The staff are good and there is entertainment. Colin Roy, started with Swing followed by Motown, he is a great singer and entertainer encouraging everyone to get up and dance. The night finishes with a few more recents tunes being played by the DJ, all in all a fabulous evening and I would recommend it for a great fun night out.

From the moment I arrived to the garden exterior of the restaurant with a giant poster telling me that Colin Roy would be performing that night I knew I was in for a good time.
The interior is like something from the lost orient. There are tables in the rafters and exotic art and trinkits everywhere. Try and book in advance to get one of the high tables.
We got the two course set menu with mezzes and a main. The downside is I think it’s a little over priced. The two courses comes to £28.95 per person without drinks (and then there’s a service charge added to your bill). However, the food itself was really good, the mezzes were delicious, the Cheese Borek in particular was great. The wine was nice… I should know I drank almost two bottles of it.
But I think the evening was made when a guy in a white suit came out and announced that he was Colin Roy «your entertainment for tonight» and launched into a set of Motown and popular hits that wouldn’t be out of place at a wedding in the 70s. He managed to prize people off tables to a makeshift dance floor. This may sound like your idea of hell but if you’re sat at the top you’re not likely to get picked on and it’s hilarious to watch. Only one of our group was taken by the hand and led by Colin to the dance floor where he danced awkwardly by himself for a while before sheepishly returning. The highlight of the night is when Colin led a congo line of the majority of the restaurant outside and seemingly round the block whilst still singing Soca’s «Hot hot hot».
We ended up staying long after we’d finished our food, drinking far too much wine, just because we were enjoying ourselves too much.
If you’re looking for a fine dining experience or a reasonably priced meal this probably isn’t the place for you. But the décor is special (right down to the erotic doodlings in the toilets), the food is tasty and I’m not sure what the entertainment is on the other nights but I’m pretty sure you’ll be entertained. The waiters were a bit grumpy but I kind of found this endearing.
I hope to be experiencing Mezzes feat. Colin Roy again very soon!

The lamb is sooooo good with the source. And the decoration is really special and like a theatre.

I am just not even sure what to say about this place! The décor is pretty impressive (like a cross between some eccentric old lady’s loft and an old opera theatre junk sale). The restaurant itself is quite dark and very warm in summer which gives it a claustrophobic feel. We were seated upstairs in the tiny little loft areas which was pretty cool but kind of made you feel like you were sitting in a boat! The menu was a bit random and the food only ok but they have Opera singers in and the atmosphere makes the place worth a visit at least once!

I have walked pass this place many times over the years. Every time I passed, I looked in and thought ‘must try this place’, but until now, never had. It always struck me as great place for groups, as there is entertainment, whilst you dine. I was really excited when a group of 22 of us decided to give it a go for a leisurely Sunday lunch.
The décor is really unusual, but that unusual, if you have visited any of the ‘Little Bay’ restaurants. In fact it looked very much like a ‘Bigger Bay’. It has loads of gold leaf, and rich velvets going on, with elevated boxes around for diners to sit. We were seated in such a box, which was a bit of a squeeze.
Being such a large group, we decided to go with the fixed price set menu. It started with a Meze. This sharing platter consisted of Hummus, Cacik (Yoghurt with chopped cucumber and garlic), Kisir (Turkish style cous cous salad, Shakshouka (Sautéed aubergine, green peppers and onions in tomato sauce), Cheese Borek (Cheese filled puff pastries), Mushroom Borek (Mushroom filled puff pastries) and (Sucuk (Turkish style spicy beef slices with mixed peppers and tomato sauce). All were very pleasant. Actually the Shakshouka was very nice.
For the main course I decided to go for the Beef Bourguignon. I was really disappointed with it. It had little flavour. If felt like I was laboring to eat it, rather than enjoying what I was eating. It was a huge let down for me.
For desert I played safe and decided on Panna Cotta, which was described as home-​made fruit compote and mixed berries. For mixed berries, read one raspberry and two blueberries. Again, it was nothing to write home about.
Whilst we dined, we had string quartet, and opera singers to entertain us. They were fine. They played to the crowd with tunes and songs that people would recognize from TV adverts. It felt ‘Now That’s What I call Opera/​Classical 60.
All in all, I felt let down by my experience, and at £60 for the set menu and three beers, found it expensive for what was offered. I kept thing how much cheaper the same sort of experience would have been at a Little Bay, and probably more fun too.

We wanted to try something different and looked up for this Turkish place. Deliciously Mediterranean décor with live music. Good food…. Polite staff. Service a tad slow may be due to it being a Saturday night. Overall had an amazing night.

This place looks awesome outside — we just had to try it. Without even know what was waiting inside.
Décor is amazing, I would say décor is everything here! A lot of things everywhere!
We were placed downstairs, and regret not asking for a table upstairs on the cute lofts.
Food was totally ok but service was really slow. For the overall experience it is so worth having dinner her.
Pictures on toilets are a bit… refreshing! Don’t be prude. Don’t watch the photos on Unilocal — it will spoil the surprise! I wouldn’t go here on a first date though. Haha!

The décor is outstanding, feels like being in a period drama.
The food was also very good I had the canard confit.

Absolutely the worst service I have yet to experience in London (generally bad service). Food and experience is great, but three hours for a mediocre meal?

Well where to start… at the beginning is best I guess. This is a restaurant which is like nothing I have ever experienced before and i use the word restaurant loosely!
From the outside it is covered with many plants, apparently it has won awards for its greenery. So you see the outside and think hey a bit quirky but as they always say its whats on the inside that counts and boy has it got some insides.
So on entering you are struck by the very different layout, they have balcony seating and on this evening had a row of tables down the middle for a birthday celebration. Now the restaurant clearly has a link to the theatres in the area as many of the props which decorate it have come from theatre land.
They have a good selection of cocktails and the food. well I don not think this is the place for a foodie. The food is ok and hits the spot but nothing special. The special thing is the atmosphere created by the live performers.
They have live entertainment on different days, Monday is a string quartet, Wednesday is Raphaela Trio, Thursday is Colin Roy. We were there on Thursday so I cannot tell you about the other acts that reside there.
Colin Roy is down as a singer of swing and Motown legends and he delivers on this. With a very good library of songs, all of which get you tapping your feet or swaying in your seat.
Once we had done away with the food, which we had of the set menu so choices are limited but as I said earlier the food is not the priority (well for me it was not)
There was an old dear sat near us who we had a chat with and before you knew it she was pulling out the little book which showed she was a Queen impersonator. And once the singing started she was up on the floor p. aying the part. All very good and unsuspecting.
So as the evening went on the songs kept coming the RAF popped in for a quick drink and we kept on we kept dancing (well dancing is the technical term!!)
The evening was so good we were there swaying away until it was time to leave. Had a great time here and will be back.
If you are passing by this place pop in and book a table!

I’m still trying to work out my night here and find the right words to describe it and, I really do not think I can!!!
I’ve walked past this place more times than I can remember for more years than I care to remember! The outside along used to intrigue me, with plants slowing building up outside over the years growing more with more being added bit by bit. The advert for the motown singer caught my eye a few years ago and thought that that would be interesting to go and see but there I left it. Then I had a conversation with a friend in passing who said they had been here for a work meal but they failed to explain this in full. At that point I decided I am going to come and tick this off my list as it’s been there far too long.
I booked a Thursday night having taken a look on their website of the various evening entertainment they have. I felt the singer was more my bag. Table booked and we arrive. Plants outside in full affect as usual. We arrived a little early for our booking but this was fine. You are greeted, on entry with just the start of crazy, wonderful, confusing interesting and questionable décor. As I took a look around whilst being taken to our table, there are tables above you which are set up to look like you are sat in a balcony seat in the theatre. Theatre is the theme of the restaurant and it looks like they have been able to collect wonderful props from the variety of theatres where this restaurant is situated.
As I looked closer at the props filling the restaurant, I was impressed that they were dust free. For the shear number of things crammed into this restaurant, I thought they would be dust filled but no. Good sign.
We ordered from the set menu. The starter is a mezze which you really have no choice with but there are a number of mains to select so not too restrictive as some set menus can be. Service was prompt and polite/​friendly.
I will cut to the chase. You don’t really come here for the food. This was.food. Not terrible but nothing to review on. The part that makes this restaurant is the entertainment. A little old lady sat near us and brought us into her conversation (79.5 years old she said). After a few minutes of polite conversation, she landed information on us of what her job was. She was the Queens lookalike — fantastic. As the singing began up Queenie got and was dancing with the singer. National anthem played she returned to her table giving us a wink and saying ‘you didn’t expect that did you’ Very right, we did not!
As the singing got into the flow, we found ourselves up and dancing with the other diners. I even got a jig with the queen ;) Then, if we couldn’t get more strange, in come a bus load of RAF personnel clearly on a quick night out. Up they get and join in the dancing (Queenie asks me to set her up with one of the young RAF men and I oblige — yes I got a strange look when I asked if he wouldn’t mind dancing with the queen!). They all congo out the restaurant onto the street and back in again… WHAT???
I get tourists up who were sat next to us to join in the dancing and this goes on until the restaurant closes and then and only then, do we leave.
Strange, strange night. I do believe it really happened and will be back to make sure that I didn’t dream all those odd things put together for a great and memorable night!!!

Excellent service. The restaurant itself has a really good vibe and the décor is very amusing!
A small group/​band played for a short while which was nice.
We had the set menu of 2 courses. The food was very good I had the sea bass myself and my group of friends all thought it was a big potion (2 pieces of sea bass) but better to be too big than small.

It´s hard to describe this restaurant. You have to see it. It´s sooooo overdecorated but it works. It looks like when palace from One thousand and one nights stories joins national theatre. But as I said, it works and to be honest, it´s pretty impressive.
Meals were excellent. They specialize in Middle East cousine and it´s really good. And deserts are delicous. Star down goes for service which was kind a average. Not bad but not good.
I definitely reccomend to visit this place. You reall have to see that decoration :-)

Memorable evening, came here on a Monday night to celebrate a family 21^st and the entertainment scored well, with rousing and lively string quartet who also danced a bit and 2 blond opera singers moving from table to table, singing sad or enticing arias and others. The décor inside and out is excellent, lavish, extreme, and definitely quirky, the layout amazing with a long room transformed into 2 layers of lavish and gilded theatrical boxes. The food was plenteous (or my fellow diners did not eat much?) and Turkish so it was tasty and enjoyable. All in all a great evening for enjoying wine, good conversation and plenty of music. Prices are not cheap, but I wasn’t paying.

Oh my. I’m still laughing about this visit the morning after!
If you want the short version; décor is amazingly sumptuous and a real feast. Food is distinctly average and smacks of wedding preplate (especially the main course). What gives this the full 5 stars is the entertainment!
I don’t know if it’s every night or just because it’s the Valentine’s time of year. They didn’t mention it at time of booking.
Enter stage left; professional karaōke crooner in white suit, armed with a microphone and a steely determination to find all the birthdays in the house and terrorise them. (it wasn’t mine so I was safe!)
I’m not sure what was worse; his song choices (drunk and sentimental Dad at the juke box), his schmaltz or his cheap backing tape.
It was perfectly cringeworthy, so bad it was hilariously good. And an excellent date icebreaker, not to mention a distraction from the salmon, which was flavoursome but soggy, with overcooked potatoes and trimmings.
I’d had no idea what the interior was like; I literally gasped when I stepped inside! Bachannalian and sumptuous theatre inspired décor. I wanted to dress up and feast, cavort about and drunk wine. (maybe they do private hire?!)
They get very busy so you have to book. Check that they have someone singing when you do. Don’t take people that don’t have a sense of humour!

Amazing atmosphere and great service which I felt then let the food down. The food was not bad but not great either, but still worth a visit as I have never seen décor and a restaurant setting like this ever before.

This is where you go to be seduced by the devil.
At least that is the vibe I got.
Any restaurant with hedonistic murals picturing lots of awkward sexual positions in the restroom is going to get at least four stars from me. I mean, talk about a conversation piece. And that is exactly what this place is, something to talk about. It’s weird. You don’t go for the food, you go for the fun. Word to the wise, tip well and avoiding leaving with a curse!
Kidding … sort of.

Our friends took us for dinner here as it wouldn’t have been my choice, I was hoping to be pleasantly surprised but sadly I wasn’t.
The décor and furnishings were dated and tired, not tacky but just in need of attention.
The food was very bland and tasteless not a vast menu and really below average.
The service was slow and abrupt we took 3 hours for 3 courses and were interrupted 3 times by a band/​buskers that play at tables and then collect money from diners.
There sadly wasn’t anything good to say here.

Came here after a 3.5 week trip away to the US and the Carribeans. Reserved through Top Table; we came here largely for the décor and atmosphere… i didn’t have high expectations of the food basd on past reviews, etc.
The décor is fantastic; combination steam punk, jules verne, and bioshock with a twist of turkish. There’s opera in the background… Cheesy? Sure. Fun? Absolutely.
Service was very friendly, and apologetic; and they needed to be. Everything went well on the whole, but there were so many different details that went wrong: delivering the wrong bottle of wine, overselling an entrée to my spouse, etc.
I had the veal cutlet, and recommend it. The borek is so-​so, but when you’ve had those in Turkey it’s hard to go back.
We had a glass of the Argentinian chenin blanc, and shared a botttle of the Stellenbosch chenin blanc as well. Both are pretty good, but I think I preferred the South American white to the South African white.
I’d recommend coming here, if only for the décor. The food is ok, the wine is ok value, but the attention to detail is sometime lacking, despite the friendly service.

Sarastro is a real character restaurant. The interior is completely crammed with gay operatically styled décor. Some of the tables are in little turrets and galleries, creating a highly unusual in and interesting environment. If you poke, the construction stage set quality, so don’t poke too hard.
When we were there, a decent sized group of musicians was performing instrumental covers which I quite enjoyed.
We went in for a pre-​dinner drink, so I can’t comment on the food, but I’m going to anyway. Having read a few poor reviews, I find them entirely believable. To their credit, though they threw in some bread and olive oil which was great.
So despite the patchy food and mouse reviews you can’t fail to be moved by Sarastro so at least pop your head in, or grab a quick drink as we did, because it’s charmingly unique.

Das Ambiente ist wirklich aussergewöhnlich und verdient fünf Sterne.
Die Speisen sind nicht schlecht, aber für mich merkwürdig zusammengestellt. Türkisch-​mediteran, wie der Vorredner sagte, trifft es wohl. Aber auf mich wirkt es unausgewogen.
Die Preise sind lagegemäß ok bis hoch.
Wenn man Glück hat, dann singt der Chef ein paar Opernarien. Das ist sehr unterhaltsam. Wenn man großes Glück hat, hört er bals auch wieder auf.

Eines der schönsten Restaurants, wenn nicht gar das schönste, dass ich je besucht habe. Hier sieht es aus wie in einem großen Theater, es gibt Logen und Balkone in verschiedenen Größen und in den unterschiedlichsten Ausführungen. Man kommt sich vor wie in Tausend und einer Nacht, einfach ein super Ambiente. Die Preise scheinen auf den ersten Blick vielleicht nicht ganz so günstig, sind aber für Londoner Verhältnisse und vor allem bei dem was man geboten bekommt einfach unschlagbar. Die Menus bestehen aus mehreren Gängen und sind sehr reichlich. Ich weiß nicht genau ob ihr es beim lesen meines Beitrages vielleicht schon bemerkt, aber ich bin von diesem Lokal restlos begeistert, denn man kann dort einfach eine super Zeit verbringen, Hier lohnt es sich dann sogar noch einen Blick aufs stille Örtchen zu werfen auch wenn man nicht hin muß (Kinder sollte man allerdings von diesem Ort fern halten ;-) Die künstlerischen Ergüsse an den Wänden sind dann doch nicht ganz Jugendfrei ;-) Wenn ihr in London seit geht dort hin, ihr werdet es nicht bereuen und als kleinen Tipp, falls euch das Essen doch zu teuer ist, auch wenn man nur etwas zu Trinken bestellt bekommt man schon Side-​Dishes und die waren bei uns teilweise schon so reichlich, dass es zumindest für den kleinen Hunger reicht.
Hatte ich schon erwähnt, dass ihr auf jeden Fall dort hingehen solltet? Wenn ich könnte würde ich 6 Sterne geben ;-)