Akva

I’d been to Akva for drinks, for Scran Salon, and for a Mornings Reinvented workshop, but I’d not eaten there, so when my friend Colin suggested lunch in that neighbourhood it seemed like the time had come.

It traded rather ignominiously as Cargo for a number of years and is a big barn of the place. The Akva team, who are part of the Swedish Boda-Sofi’s-Victoria-Hemma-Pearce’s chain, have done really well to make it feel so homely, warm and welcoming.

At lunchtime they have a great table of light buffet dishes, to which you can gain unfettered access for £7.50. There’s a really broad selection of other options, too, from which Colin chose an open pastrami sandwich while I opted for the Thai fish burger.

Items promptly arrived with the sandwich looking pretty good, but the burger wasn’t the bonniest thing in history.

Fortunately it tasted a good deal better than it looked with the bun providing good stability and the burger itself packing good fragrance. The fish, both salmon and haddock, was beautifully moist. It was really pleasing stuff. The accompanying chips were very successful, also.

So overall, Akva is doing very good work. I like the way they’ve kitted the place out, I like their beer selection with great stuff from Pilot, and I like their food a lot. I look forward to many future visits.

Scores
Blythe scores Akva
4/5 for food
3.5/5 for presentation
4/5 for setting
4/5 for service
giving an overall 15.5/20

Today’s questers were: Colin, Blythe

We ate: pastrami open sandwich; Thai fish burger

We drank: water

We wore: workaday suits

Total bill: £17