I have reviewed the Covent Garden Branch of this establishment, which has very sadly now close (end of lease the owner said). This was a favourite meeting place for me to lunch with people, because for a tenner or so, you could get a decent hot lunch, and they let you chat as long as you wanted. I know it is sometimes a disappointment when you go back to somewhere a second time, but this chain (now a solo operation) has been reliable and I will go there again.
If you book on line, at the time of writing this blog, you can either get 10% discount or a free glass of wine with lunch. An even better bargain.
You can look at their web site on http://bistro1.co.uk/ . This tells us that 2 courses are £9.90 and three, £11.90. The style of food is stated as mediterranean, but in my opinion you have a Turkish influence, but you can get the usual favourites such as pasta.
For starter I had the Bistro (cold)meze
You can see this is generous plate of Tsatsiki, dips, hummus, falafel, kisir, dolma & cheese borek. This is accompanied by bread on the table at no extra charge and butter.
For main course I had the lamb kofte meatballs. I go in with the intention of having something else, but this is my favourite:
These were hot, scoring an 8.6 on the scale and tasty, and some chilli and garlic sauce were available.
As you can tell, I am an enthusiast for this place for lunch. I have had dinner at the other branch as has been reviewed elsewhere.
I would recommend this place. I don't know how busy it gets in the evening: they have a big downstairs area which might take up some slack, but I have never been there except for lunch.
