The Forge is a rather small but elegant restaurant just off Garrick Street. It advertises itself as Modern European, but the British influence is apparent.

Our waiter was friendly and willing, albeit slightly nervous. The menu is impressively long, there are about 20 starters and at least 15 mains, with another few dishes available as either a starter or a main for good measure. The crab with lemon and mayonnaise starter was very fresh, light and tasty, while the spinach salad with mustard dressing was good apart from an extra unidentifiable kind of leaf with a funny taste. The mains were satisfying, with a swordfish on a bed of butter beans delivering an innovative taste combination and a mutton shank with couscous that was strong, very Moroccan in character and exciting. The deserts won the night though, with a treacle tart a bit nontraditional, but every bit of moreish treacle mouthfuls as one would expect and the 3 little chocolate pieces turning out to be 3 reasonably-sized portions of chocolate sin/heaven.

The restaurant is quiet (it only seats 20 people on the ground floor), the tables are reasonably spaced and it is a very good option for a romantic or quiet evening out. Thumbs up!