Bloc+

This review appears in the The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008 – in the shops now or buy online.

Two-for-one offers on pizzas and burgers, 20% reductions with matriculation cards, and £8.50 bottles of the wine of the month – not always available – make Bloc+ a student magnet. Beanies, indie-kid hair and bright boho threads are de rigueur, and there's a soundtrack of offbeat guitar-led emoting to match. This basement den's ample servings of pub grub offer plenty to line the stomach: pastas, sandwiches, wraps and echoes of Mum's home cooking, such as steaks, beef and Guinness pie, mince and tatties, and even a £7.95 Sunday roast. A huge dish of home-made hummus, served with pita bread and black olives, is creamy, if a little thin. The thick, crispy batter of five giant prawns, when dunked in a sweet chilli and ginger dip, tastes like Walkers' Thai sweet chilli crisps – which is a good thing. Desserts, such as a cinnamon-dusted waffle with ice-cream, appear only as specials.

• High point: Huge prawn tempura
• Low point: Slippery chips