Ceviche Old St

Great selection of interesting dishes, although the 'small plates' approach means that the price soon stacks up. Always a buzz and the cocktails are worth a visit in their own right.

One of three Civiche restaurants, yes another inevitable chain, Ceviche at Old Street is overhyped by a mile. We were really looking forward to Ceviche, the place looks great, the staff very friendly and we live locally, unfortunately then the food arrived. Yes the small plates are meant to be shared but such mean portions and not good ones at that. Initially ushered to the sit at the table next to the only doting couple in an empty restaurant was an amusing start. But that aside we just thought the food was underwhelming. One of us asked for the steak bavette, it came raw to the table still mooing, yes still bleeding heavily, even though I like my steaks rare I had to send it back. The cassava chips were served still with their fibrous centre strip in place that should have been removed, it goes to show that those in the kitchen don't understand their ingredients. Enough said we won't be going back.

I have wanted to go the Ceviche in Soho for a while now but not quite made it there, so I was really happy to find out they had opened one in Old Street not too far from the city. I went here for lunch with my boyfriend, on arrival we were seated at the bar as we hadn't made a reservation. It turned out to be a good spot though as we had the full attention of one of the bar staff/waiters working behind the bar and he was exceptionally attentive and informative on the dishes and we were very impressed with the level of service and care. To eat we had the Don Ceviche, Pollo a la Brasa, Lamb Brains fritters and Huevo Criollo (a healthy version of a scotch egg) - I had let my boyfriend choose the dishes for a change but was. The Ceviche was lovely and refreshing and tasty - which is good considering the name of the restaurant! However, I wasn't very impressed by the other dishes - I think they may be trying a bit too hard to be different with the lambs brains fritters and the quinoa scotch egg and the chicken was just chicken. I felt disappointed as I had high hopes for this restaurant and they didn't seem to be met, I think I will have to give it another chance (ordering very different items next time) before I completely make my mind up! p.s I had the Plum & Ginger cider to drink - this was lovely and I would highly recommend it!

Went there in the first week of service, and enjoyed a really lovely lunch - absolutely delicious and the staff were pleasant, attentive and informative. Hope this continues.