Tigerlily, Rose Street, 25/02/11 £££

After a short break (holidays and work commitments thwarted the Friday lunches for a few weeks) Miss Twin and Mrs Fish selected Tigerlily on George Street for their reunion lunch.

Tigerlily is a boutique hotel with restaurant and bar attached, and while an overnight stay or a bottle of a fizz might be beyond us, the two main courses for £10 offer was not. The décor is modern, stylish, and rather girly – unless you know many men who are into pink and shiny beaded curtains. We were seated at a wooden booth which was comfortable but the suede seating was littered with crumbs – we figured someone had swept them off the table onto there. The waitress was friendly and the selection on the 2 for £10 was reasonable, around 10 dishes to choose from. However – the £10 did not include VAT at 20% so it was really 2 meals for £12. A little sneaky.

Miss Twin had: Lemon & pepper marinated chicken focaccia with balsamic mayonnaise, Long Vodka (around £4.50) and tap water

Miss Twin: Going to Tigerlily feels like a nice treat, it's very pretty and I would have been slightly tempted to skip out of work and spend the afternoon and my rent money on tasty cocktails in the relaxing surroundings.

My chicken focaccia was served open with chicken and tomato slices on one side, and salad leaves on the other. The sandwich came with a small side of fries, which we supplemented with a bigger bowl for the table. The bread was slightly singed but on the crispy rather than burnt side and the tomato and chicken were tasty. The lemon, pepper and balsamic flavours were slightly muted, and I would particularly liked to have the balsamic taste show through more – but that's just because I love that flavour. The chips were slightly salted and tasty. The long vodka went down a treat too.

Mrs Fish had: Caesar salad with grilled chicken, gin and tonic and tap water

Mrs Fish: Friendly service and nice interior (apart from literally crumby seats), with a fair 2 for £10 (£12) menu. The caesar salad was a bit on the small side with juicy chicken, crisp lettuce, parmesan shavings, croutons and marinaded anchovies. The dressing was good but there was too much of it making it a bit overpowering. The chips on the side made the meal complete, filling me up and offering some light relief from the dressing. The place is attractive and the staff are friendly, but there's not a lot to say about the food - fairly standard.

Entered at – 13.00

Seated at – 13.05

Ordered at – 1310

drinks arrived – 1315

food arrived – 1330

Finished – 1350

Paid and left - 1355

Oishii, Rose St, 04/02/2011, ££

A first for both Miss and Mrs, Oishii is a small 20-30 seater Japanese restaurant clad in red and black, just like their lacquer bowls. We hadn't reserved a table so sat at the glittery bar and ordered after having a good read through their extensive menu, both opting for a set meal. Service at the beginning was super quick and speedy but there was a long and frustrating wait for the bill at the end.

Throughout our meal there was a real mix of customers in and out - a large group of students, pairs of tourists, locals breaking for lunch and people popping in and out for takeaway. There was one more demanding customer who had reserved a table (a specific table) by phone. She was immediately rather angry and aggressive to find out she had to sit at a different table, but she managed to get one away from the door which I think was her main concern. I suppose the restaurant was slightly on the cold side.
Miss Twin had Set Lunch B (£7.50) - miso, 2 gyoza, teriyaki salmon and steamed rice + tap water.

Miss Twin: Oishii made for a nice little lunch. I went for the warmer of the two set meals, miso soup followed by a plate with two gyoza dumplings and a piece of salmon teriyaki. The fish, although very small in portion size was the taste highlight and the dumplings were pleasant enough. This was accompanied by a generous sized bowl of rice, which helped set me up for the afternoon. The glittery bar was fine to eat at, and although it’s a small restaurant it didn’t seem too cramped. Mrs Fish had Set Lunch A (£7.50) - miso, 3 cucumber maki, 3 salmon maki and 5 nigiri + Asahi (£2.50?)

Mrs Fish: Oishii seems small but has the look. Sitting at the bar in front of the happy-go-lucky chef was good - close enough to check out what was going on (in the mirror) but tucked in at lower height so weren't all up in his space. The service to begin with was super slick: quick to order, quick to receive. The food itself was good, clean and fresh, but somehow wasn't quite as good as the sushi I've had in Tang's or Sushiya. I'm not really sure why this was, perhaps I didn't put enough wasabi in my soy, but that's just how I felt. Bonus points for the selection of nigiri - tuna, salmon, prawn, sea bass and omelette.

Watching the food being prepared squeezy mayo featured highly, but I suspect it probably makes a good glue. The chef seemed very skilled and made rolling sushi look like a piece of piss. The only real problems we had to speak of, was our lack of foresight in sitting a lefty and a righty the wrong way round when using chopsticks (our own fault) and the trouble with the bill at the end. We finished before said large group of students but we arrived at the till simultaneously and although there was only two of us and ten of them we were asked to wait (a minute) whilst each of them paid separately and by card (10 minutes). Stood at the till squashed awkwardly into the tiny space was not really a highlight. To be fair the waitress probably didn't know they would all pay separately, but after ten minutes of waiting it took us ten seconds to pay together and pay cash and it was a bit of a crap end to an otherwise speedy and tasty service.

Entered restaurant at 13:05 and ordered food and drinks.

Drinks arrived straight away and food at 13:10.

Finished eating 13:25/13.30.

Paid and left at 13:40.