review Archives - Time for a coffee

December 27, 2025December 26, 2025

Lunch at the Casa

I was in Amsterdam for a conference and was staying at the Hotel Casa which is close to Amstelstation.

After some meetings I was in the mood for some lunch, I chose the beef steak open sandwich, with caramelised onion, cheddar and pico de Gallo.

I certainly needed a knife and fork to eat this, The steak had an interesting flavour. It does appear to be a Dutch thing to add cheese to steak in their sandwiches. I enjoyed the pico de Gallo which added a nice element of freshness to the food. There was a generous portion of steak on the bread.

I thought it was just okay, nothing special. I think the flavour of the steak let the sandwich down.

December 26, 2025December 24, 2025

A slice of Sri Lanka

Nadu brings a slice of Sri Lanka to the epicentre of Bristol’s cultural quarter, Stokes Croft.

Myself and colleagues from work headed to Nadu for a festive meal, well I say festive, as it was that time of year, the menu very much from Sri Lanka.

There was lots of lovely stuff on the menu and I found it quite challenging to choose something. I decided would have a small plate as a starter and then something else as a main.

Across the small plates one dish did stick out to me, which was the Tawa Fish, though there were some others there I would have been happy with. I was quite intrigued by the Mojo Cutlets as well as the Miris Bhaji.

The Tawa Fish was simply a seasonal fish grilled in bell pepper & ginger sauce.

This was not the best looking dish I have seen, and they had tried with the peppers and other garnishes. However, the food was delicious. The fish was perfectly cooked, and the sauce, spicy but not overpowering. I really enjoyed eating this portion of fish.

For my main course, again lots of choice. I liked the idea of the roasted beef bone marrow in the Aeta Midulu, across the different karis, I was tempted by the Era Kulumba, a mild shrimp curry, or the Thora Malu, a fish curry. The Ceylonese Lamb Kari also sounded delicious. In the end though after much thinking I went with the Black Pork Kari, which was slow cooked pork belly with smoked coconut & cinnamon. Alongside I had some coconut rice.

Though not black, this was a very dark looking curry. I was expecting that though. This was also delicious, the pork were very tender, and the sauce was delicious. Not sure I could taste the smoked coconut, but I am sure it was in there somewhere. I really liked this pot and it was really tasty. There was a good level of spice, so you could say spicy, but wasn’t hot and fiery. All rather good and I did finish off this dish.

We also shared a Tear & Share Dosa, 48 hour fermented crispy rice pancake served with chutneys and sambar. Literally tear bits off, dip them in the chutneys and enjoy.

The service was excellent, well informed and friendly waiting staff offering advice and recommendations.

I can’t wait until I can go again.

December 23, 2025December 22, 2025

Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Lobster Crumpets

At Christmas time the shops try to tempt us with luxury items that we probably wouldn’t buy at any other time of the year. I found these Lobster Crumpets at my local Sainsburys. Described as fluffy sourdough crumpets, topped with a rich thermidor sauce, lobster chunks and tangy Italian cheese. Well why not I thought, it’s Christmas.

They take about ten minutes in the oven. The sourdough crumpets were nice and fluffy, and I liked the sauce and the cheese. The real issue was the lack of lobster. Mine had a lot less lobster than there is on the official image (above). I think the issue was the 8% lobster in the dish, compare that to the 15% in the similar size Lobster Mac & Cheese. I don’t think I would buy them again, probably a better option would be to make your own.

December 12, 2025December 11, 2025

Merguez sausages with onions

I was staying at the Casa Hotel in Amsterdam and I looked over the menu. I decided I would have the merguez sausages with onions. I do like merguez sausages and have cooked them myself many times.

The plate arrived and there were two merguez sausages on a bed of cooked onions and pepper.

The merguez sausages were similar to ones I have had before, most similar to the ones I bought in France recently when I was there on holiday.

Overall a nice dish of food and so much better than the calamari that I ordered at the same time.

December 8, 2025December 9, 2025

Back to Chateau-X

Back in November 2023 I was attending a conference in Glasgow at the Scottish Event Campus. I looked on Google maps in the surrounding area, Finnieston, to see what restaurants were local to the hotel. Chateau-X which was not too far from my hotel did an early week special where they do steak and frites for just £10. I had a fantastic plate of food and wrote it up on the blog.

This was an excellent meal, and great value for money. I certainly would go again. In the end I did, a couple of days later and had lunch there.

I always planned if I was in the area again that I would go back to Chateau-X. In the end I didn’t get to the conference again in November 2024 so didn’t get the chance to have steak and frites once more.

In October 2025 I was back in Glasgow for a different conference and realised that Chateau-X wasn’t too far from the hotel where I was staying. I headed off to the restaurant to get a late lunch. As it was a Wednesday I could get their now infamous steak frites deal. Later in the week there is a more substantial menu available, with more choices of steaks and prices to match.

As it was mid afternoon, there was plenty of space, I know though from experience that this is a popular venue, so if you are going in the evening, it makes sense to book a table.

I looked over the menu, though the deal has gone up in price, it is now £15, you do get a side with the deal. Back in 2023 I ordered an additional side to my £10 deal.

I went with the Flat Iron Frites. For my side I went with the Tobacco Onions, for my sauce I went with the Bone Marrow Jus.

It wasn’t long before my skillet arrived with my sliced flat iron steak, frites, the bone marrow jus, and the tobacco onions on the side.

This was just as good as I remember from my previous visit. The only difference was back then I had gone for garlic butter, this time I had gone with the bone marrow jus.

The steak was tasty, tender and full of flavour. The fries were crispy. I also released the tobacco onions, crispy strings of onion, delicious.

However, the stare of the show for me, was the amazing bone marrow jus, which was just incredible, deep intense flavour, perfect with the steak and for dipping the fries in.

This was an excellent meal and like last time great value for money. I hope to get back there real soon.

November 30, 2025

Dinner at ARCA

I was back in Amsterdam for some meetings. We went out for dinner and we headed off to ARCA. Portuguese chef Henrique Sá Pessoa who has two Michelin stars in Lisbon, opened ARCA Amsterdam in 2021 on Martelaarsgracht, close to Amsterdam Central Station.

Inside was elegant decor and some odd looking sculptures. As we congregated we had a drink in the bar. Once we were all there we were shown to our table. The place was full and busy.

There was a really interesting menu, and to be honest I probably could have ordered anything (or everything) off the menu.

For my starter I had the carpaccio de lírio. This was yellowtail carpaccio, Portuguese ‘caponata’ and pickled pearl onion.

Now I did think this was going to be yellowfin tuna, but yellowtail is a different kind of fish. This was a fusion dish of Japanese style yellowtail slices with a Portuguese twist with the caponata. I had heard of caponata, but couldn’t remember exactly what it was. This version was aubergine, pepper, tomato, and onion. This was a delicious plate of food. The thin slices of fish were tasty and the caponata added sharpness and flavour.

For my main course I had the presa Ibérica. This was Iberian pork presa, “Bolhão Pato” purée, and seasonal clams.

I chose the pork as I have a fondness for Iberian pork.

The Presa Ibérica (Iberico dam) is one of the most prized cuts in restaurants. It is also known as the “caviar” of the pig. It is in the front of the animal, between the spine and the shoulder. It is a muscle that the animal exercises a lot yet the infiltrated fat makes it very juicy.

Alongside the pork was some lovely smooth potato purée. The dish was dressed with green beans, puffed rice, clams, and a tasty sauce.

The pork was cooked perfectly, there was a lovely char on the outside of the portion of pork, the pork was tender and full of flavour. I really enjoyed every mouthful and cleared my plate.

Two of our party went with the polvo à lagareiro, this was roasted octopus, mashed sweet potato, and piquillo peppers.

This looked amazing and was assured it was delicious.

Overall this was a fantastic meal and I really enjoyed it. The service was excellent, friendly and efficient.

November 23, 2025

It wasn’t perfection…

One of the best roast dinners I have had was from the Drayton Court Hotel in Ealing. I remember the first time I had their Sunday roast back in 2022. I said back then: This was probably one the best carvery meals I have ever had from a pub.

Though in April this year I had an even better version from the Drayton Court Hotel. It looked great and was delicious.

The roast dinners at the Drayton Court Hotel are excellent and are a real treat. I have had a few over the years and enjoyed them all. So, it wouldn’t be a surprise that I ordered the Roast Sirloin of Beef. It was a fantastic looking plate of food.

So, a recent stay at the hotel on a Sunday I was looking forward to my roast dinner. As you can imagine I had quite high expectations about the food. Probably too high expectations.

This is what I got.

This is what I was expecting.

This was not perfection. I had eaten perfection back in April, this was nice, but nowhere near as good as the dish I had before. The beef was tasty, but wasn’t pink as advertised. The vegetables were delicious, the squash mash and cabbage were particularly good. The roast potatoes however had been standing around too long and had gone soft. I enjoyed the cauliflower cheese (served separately) and there was some really good gravy. The Yorkshire pudding, usually the crowning glory was, well a little flat.

For a roast dinner it was nice, but the problem I had I was comparing good to perfection, and in that case perfection will always win.

November 4, 2025November 3, 2025

What, no…

One of the best meals I have had in recent years has been the Sunday Roast from Drayton Court Hotel in London.

So, staying at the hotel on a Sunday I was really looking forward to a roast beef dinner. So, you can imagine my disappointment when I went to the bar to order my food that they had sold out… I would have to choose something else from the menu. As it was a Sunday they had a limited choice, as they usually serve roasts.

In the end I went with the braised beef & ale short crust pie with creamed potato & gravy. It was supposed to come with peas, but I got cabbage.

braised beef & ale short crust pie with creamed potato & gravy

It was a nice looking pie, the mash was smooth, and I enjoyed the cabbage. However, the gravy was awful, it had a weird taste, which I realised later was ash like. I couldn’t be bothered to complain, so had my pie and mash without gravy.

I think I was disappointed with the pie, as earlier in the week I had been to Cadbury Garden Centre and had a fantastic steak pie from Walter Smith Fine Foods who have a deli counter in the centre. The pie from Walter Smith was in a completely different league to the pie from the Drayton.

Overall I wasn’t that happy, no roast, and not a very good pie, and horrible gravy. I think that if this happens again, and there isn’t a decent choice on the menu, I will venture elsewhere for my dinner.

October 10, 2025

Ravioli al Tartufo

Delft

You would think that if I was in the Netherlands that really I should be eating Dutch food. The challenge I sometimes have when I am travelling abroad for work, is finding places to eat, but also finding places to eat that are within budget. Not that I sometimes mind paying more for excellent food, sometimes I do mind.

The last time I was in the Netherlands was in October 2022 when I visited Amsterdam for a conference. This time I was attending a conference in Delft and attending meetings in Utrecht as well.

Upon my arrival in Delft, I did have a chance to explore the city and looking around there were some nice looking places for dinner, but they all seemed out of budget. In the end I went to an Italian restaurant, Pavarotti, which is situated in what was the old railway station. It certainly doesn’t look like a station from the inside any more.

They had an extensive menu, but I decided I would have the ravioli al tartufo. This was filled pasta with wild mushrooms, cream sauce, truffle tapenade, mushrooms and arugula (rocket).

The pasta was well cooked and still had a bite. The sauce was nice and you could taste the truffle. The sauce did contain mushrooms, think I would I like to have had some wild mushrooms in there. Not sure how much the arugula added to the dish, but it was nice to have some greenery in the dish. I enjoyed the pasta.

October 9, 2025

Halloumi Bowl

I was in Bristol working and popped out at for lunch to the Temple Quay street food market. Lots of choice as usual, in the end though I decided I would try something new and different, something that I wouldn’t necessarily be my first choice.

I went to the Hummusapiens van and ordered a halloumi bowl. This was honey glazed halloumi in a bowl with quinoa and hummus. It came with salad and all the trimmings. I did like the look of their flat bread they were using for their wraps, but you couldn’t order a plain one, though they do do artisan pitta bread. However, that is not the same thing.

The halloumi was delicious, and all the stuff in the bowl really made the dish. I absolutely loved it. The pickled vegetables added bite and sharpness. I enjoyed the quinoa and the hummus was excellent.