Restaurant Review- Helva Mediterranean Restaurant, Greenwich

Restaurant name: Helva

Location: Greenwich High Street, London

Description: Mediterranean/ Turkish restaurant with a mixture of other staples like pizza and pasta.

Reason for visit: A day out in Greenwich with my parents; we wanted somewhere for lunch that offered sufficient choice and the set menu, which if I remember correctly was either £9.95 or £12.95 for two courses, looked appealing.

We ate: Starters: houmous, garlic bread, garlic mushrooms; main courses: margherita pizza, spaghetti bolognese, fillet of sole

The food was: A mixed bag. The houmous was great - a large bowl with plenty of pitta bread. The garlic bread was quite basic and the garlic mushrooms were not what my mum was expecting-they were served in a tomato sauce - but she enjoyed them. The pizza was not very fancy and had a thick, doughy crust, but it tasted really nice and was filling. The spaghetti bolognese was declared disappointing, and I could see from across the table that the sauce was very thin and watery. My sole was a tiny portion and came with a mixed salad and chips; it tasted nice but I was glad to be able to share a slice of my mum's pizza!

The atmosphere/service was: The staff were friendly though the service was quite slow and we waited a long time for drinks.

Price range/value for money: The set menu is good value but don't expect great quality for the price.

Would I recommend it? The food was reasonable and it was nice to have a big choice - a lot of the restaurants on the high street only served one thing, like pizza/pasta or gourmet burgers. If I was in Greenwich again though I would prefer to eat somewhere else.