Restaurants

Cantaloupe (sold by its original owners to Alphabet Bars in late 2006) is better known for its DJ bar than its restaurant and not without good reason. If you can ignore the din from the bar, the set-up is pleasant enough: neat rows of wooden tables in view of a busy open kitchen. Steaks and Latin American dishes (Brazilian moqueca stew, empaniditas and the like) are the mainstays, though the menu branches out with some unusual some would say ill-advised combinations. Our ham croquettes tasted more crispy pancakes than the advertised salt-cured serrano ham and parsley cakes, while the seafood in the Colombian la bomba was unappetisingly chewy. Mains were similarly off-key. Chargrilled swordfish was undercooked and served with lumpen onion gravy (yes, swordfish and gravy) and the roast chicken (not bad) came with hard, watery new potatoes. Slow and indifferent service added little to the overall appeal. Although many diners seemed unconcerned by the standards (the steaks are perhaps a safer option), they all appeared to be on the kind of lairy office nights out only a corporate credit card and sky-high blood-alcohol levels can cheerfully sustain.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2008