Meals at Heal’s

I love this place more than words will allow.
From the pink, whimsical decór, to their delicious teas and amazing food, this place is perfect to not only get some work done, but to meet people.
In fact, I would dare say this is the perfect place to meet someone for the first time after befriending them online. If you’re in to that sort of thing.
Their cupcakes are not my favorite, as Peyton and Byrne’s ratio of cake to frosting is INCORRECT. However, the rest of their cakes and pies are enough you to cause you to let out rather inappropriate noise, if you catch my drift.
My only request is that if you come here, be quiet, polite, and only tell a couple friends about it. We don’t want all of London to discover this place.
I’m already starting to regret writing this review…

This casual brasserie — located on the first floor of Heal’s, the home furnishings store that reminds me of an upscale IKEA — is the brainchild of chef/​restaurateur Oliver Peyton, who owns several restaurants in the city. We came here early on a Thursday evening before going to a play at the nearby Drill Hall, and we almost didn’t go in because it was nearly empty. We decided because it was fairly early for most diners we would give it a try.
It was a damp, dreary night, so macaroni and cheese sounded comforting. It was rich and creamy and exactly what I needed to fortify me against the chill. My husband raved about his salmon cakes, although he was less pleased with the overcooked poached egg that came with them.
The restaurant doesn’t rate more stars because the service was atrocious, inexcusable and unexplainable when only four tables are occupied. We sat several minutes before the waiter finally greeted us. We had to ask for water several times, and when it finally came it was missing the ice we had requested. There was a long delay between the time we placed our order and the time we were served, and another long wait to get the check. We had the feeling the wait and kitchen staff were playing cards to kill time and kept forgetting there were customers out front.
If the mac and cheese wasn’t still so memorable, I’d probably rate this two stars. If you stop by and it’s no longer on the menu, you may want to go elsewhere, especially if you’re on a schedule and don’t have time to dawdle.