Category: review

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Sizzling(ish) Chicken

I was staying in London close to Euston Station, my hotel was the Travelodge. Went out with the intention of having something to eat, I wasn’t that hungry, so did think about getting some tacos from Tortilla, however Tortilla was really only takeaway. I did then think about Prezzo, but in the end as it was now getting late, I went back to the hotel and had chicken and chips.

The menu called it sizzling chicken. Well I think what I got wasn’t sizzling chicken, it was pretty obvious that the chicken was not cooked on the chargrill (the kitchen probably didn’t have a chargrill). The chicken was then dressed with a spicy sauce. Accompanying the chicken was some chips, salad, coleslaw and corn on the cob. 

It wasn’t awful, but it certainly wasn’t inspiring and it wouldn’t be a dish I would order again. I know now I should have been more organised and got out earlier to get something to eat, this was London, it’s not as though there isn’t a wide variety of places to go out and eat!

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The New Forest Sarnie

sandwich

This was my second visit to Mettricks Guildhall in Southampton, on my previous visit I had a tasty crispy chicken sandwich, however I never got a photograph and never finished my review. Even so, it was with some anticipation that on a return visit to Mettricks for a lunch meeting.

This time I went with the New Forest Sarnie, which was described as crispy oyster mushroom, smashed avocado, sliced beef tomato, pickled red onion, cos lettuce & herb mayo, served in lightly toasted sourdough. This was a vegan sandwich, however that didn’t influence my choice of sandwich, I like mushrooms and I like avocado, the choice for me was almost a no-brainer, and I certainly wasn’t going to go down the tuna melt route that my colleagues had gone for.

This was a lovely sandwich. Hey, I hear you saying, but you don’t eat sandwiches. Well, generally I don’t do sandwiches. However the menu was quite limited to sandwiches, toasties and burgers, and aren’t these all really kind of sandwich?

The sandwich was generously filled, and there was a small dressed salad on the side. As I said it was a lovely sandwich, I liked the combination of flavours and textures within the bread. If I was to make one minor criticism, that would be that the crispy mushrooms were overcooked, I did wonder if they were pre-cooked and then just fried to order. It would have been better if they were cooked fresh, but I suspect that would lengthen the time and increase the effort to make the sandwich. I liked the toasted sourdough, but as with most sourdough bread it was a little chewy and had a tough crust (which I like). So I didn’t really eat this as a sandwich and deconstructed it, eating some of the filling with a fork, and chewing on the bread separately. I know, but I enjoyed my sandwich that way.

Overall it was a delicious sandwich and I certainly would visit Mettricks Guildhall again.

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yasai yaki soba with mushroom

We were in London for a show, and afterwards we headed to the Covent Garden branch of Wagamama.

That area of London is quite busy on a Saturday evening, but the advantage of Wagamama is that you can’t book. We arrived and were able to go straight in. When we left there was a queue for the place.

There was a wide range of choices on the menu, I had initially considered a Korean hotpot with tteokbokki, however it was quite a hot day and I wasn’t sure if I wanted a hot pot dish, also for me that ruled out a ramen as well. I did like the idea of a salad, but in the end I went with the yasai yaki soba with mushroom.

This was soba noodles cooked with mushrooms, egg, peppers, beansprouts and white and spring onion. topped with crispy fried onions, pickled ginger and sesame seeds. It was really good. I love the combination of flavours and textures. It is probably my go to dish when visiting Wagamama. This dish had a good portion of mushrooms and I found it delicious.

Though service was okay, we did have a long delay on the gluten-free dish for our table. When it did arrive it was very tasty I was told. I really don’t mind that Wagamama bring out the dishes when they’re ready, but we weren’t really expecting the difference to be nearly thirty minutes! As a result I had finished my food (as it was the first to arrive) by the time the gluten-free dish arrived on the table. That was disappointing.

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Time for some Gas Street Social tacos

I met up with some friends in Birmingham for drinks at the Gas Street Social at The Mailbox in Birmingham. We decided to that we would stay where we were and eat at the Gas Street Social.

Though I visit Birmingham on a regular basis, pretty much going at least once a year I was a little surprised that I didn’t realise I hadn’t heard of or visited The Mailbox before. There are quite a few places to eat there. Somewhere I would probably now visit in the future. Of course Birmingham is a big place and in the main I have usually been to places around the ICC and Brindley Place.

Looking over the menu I went down the small plates route. I was quite hungry, as I had missed out on having a big lunch and it had been a long day.

I went with four small plates, these are only really big enough for one, and not entirely suitable for sharing.

The first of my dishes to appear was the achiote chicken taco.

A single soft taco filled with achiote chicken, and dressed with sauces, pickled red onions and coriander. The chicken was nice and tasty, as were the accompaniments. The taco was either stale or overcooked, but wasn’t as soft as I would have preferred.

The second small plate was the cajun fried shrimp, a soft shell taco, crispy cajun shrimp, sautéed shallots, peppers, and spicy Baja sauce.

Some good flavours in there, but the prawns were a little greasy for me.

My final taco was a cauliflower tinga taco. 

This was a crispy corn tostola, blackened cauli, and black bean hummus. It was nice. This was very similar to the achiote chicken taco in both appearance and flavour. I did like the black bean hummus.

Alongside I had some loaded tater tots, which were loaded with salsa, guacamole, and cheese sauce.

Though not a huge dish, it was quite filling. I enjoyed it very much. The salsa was nice, zingy and tasty.

There was a little too much food, so much so, that I probably could have had one less taco.

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Roasted Sirloin of Beef

I was staying over at the Drayton Court Hotel in West Ealing. Having arrived Sunday evening, I went to the bar to get something to eat. Sunday at the Drayton Court Hotel in West Ealing means that it is Sunday roast day.

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.

Roasted Sirloin of Beef

There was a bed of squash mash, cabbage, roasted carrots, roast potatoes, slices of tender sirloin of beef, all topped with a Yorkshire pudding. On the side was a portion of cauliflower cheese, and a jug of gravy.

The beef was nice and pink, tender and soft, and very tasty. The accompanying vegetables were delicious. This was one lovely roast dinner, one that I would like to have again.

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Quy Burger and a Caesar Salad

I was staying at the Quy Mill Hotel & Spa just outside Cambridge. I had chosen Quy Mill Hotel as not only was it within budget, but also had a really interesting restaurant with an intriguing menu. I was a little disappointed to find out, when I arrived, that it had closed the day before.

We would like to inform you that The Waterwheel Restaurant will be temporarily closing as we embark on some exciting plans for the future.  

If I had known that I probably would have chosen a different hotel. As a result I was limited by the bar menu, which was not as exciting as the restaurant menu. The day before I had the chicken and the soup. This time I decided I would have the burger and a salad. 

If you wanted cheese and bacon they were extras, and I thought somewhat overpriced at £2.50 each. I also ordered a small caesar salad on the side.

The burger wasn’t that impressive, I did think they had overdone the lettuce inside the burger. The burger itself was nice, and had a good flavour.

The caesar salad was a little overdressed for me, I also would have preferred shavings of parmesan over the grated parmesan.

The croutons were crunchy and there was a good proportion of anchovies. It was also quite substantial, much larger than I thought it was going to be.

I am never a fan of hotel bar food, it’s often uninspiring and for what you get usually quite expensive. That was certainly the case here, where the burger was just okay and the caesar salad could have been better.

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Grilled Chicken

I was staying at the Quy Mill Hotel & Spa just outside Cambridge. I had chosen Quy Mill Hotel as not only was it within budget, but also had a really interesting restaurant with an intriguing menu. I was a little disappointed to find out, when I arrived, that it had closed the day before.

We would like to inform you that The Waterwheel Restaurant will be temporarily closing as we embark on some exciting plans for the future.  

If I had known that I probably would have chosen a different hotel. As a result I was limited by the bar menu, which was not as exciting as the restaurant menu. I decided  I would have the soup followed by the grilled chicken.

The soup was okay, but nothing special, so I wasn’t expecting much from the grilled chicken. 

Grilled Chicken

The chicken came with some salad leaves, roasted tomatoes and a portion of fries. The flattened chargrilled chicken breast was cooked well, probably a little over as it was dry in places. 

I think I would have preferred some vegetables with this and, say, a mushroom sauce. This would have made for a better meal.

As with the soup, it was nothing special, though it could have been so much better.

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So, that’s not on the menu, nor that!

We were having a meal at The Landing Light and I was looking over the menu.

I decided I really liked the sound of 

Our Roasted Lamb Rump & Mini Pie Duo – Roasted rump of lamb, recommended served pink, mini minted lamb pie, rosemary & garlic-roasted potatoes, honey-roasted carrots, kale, peas, green beans & mangetout, gravy

Alas, when it came to order, I was told it wasn’t available. So, ah well in that case I will go with the similar sounding

Our 4oz Fillet Steak & Mini Pie Duo – Two fillet steak medallions, recommended served pink, mini British steak & malbec pie, served with rosemary & garlic-roasted potatoes, honey-roasted carrots, kale, peas, green beans & mangetout, gravy

No that wasn’t available either! So, I had to choose quickly, what should I have, I thought, I went with the sirloin steak.

Though I asked for medium-rare, my steak was cooked to medium, if not on its way to well done. It was a little dry and I thought lacked flavour. I didn’t enjoy my tomatoes either.

It wasn’t awful, it was just okay. I guess I was a little disappointed that what I had my heart set on wasn’t available. I would go again, but I don’t think I would have the steak again.

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Celeriac Soup

I was staying at the Quy Mill Hotel & Spa just outside Cambridge. I had chosen Quy Mill Hotel as not only was it within budget, but also had a really interesting restaurant with an intriguing menu. I was a little disappointed to find out, when I arrived, that it had closed the day before.

We would like to inform you that The Waterwheel Restaurant will be temporarily closing as we embark on some exciting plans for the future.  

If I had known that I probably would have chosen a different hotel. As a result I was limited by the bar menu, which was not as exciting as the restaurant menu. I decided  I would have the soup followed by the grilled chicken.

The choice on the menu was quite limited and there were only a few starter options. I decided I would have the soup as I usually wouldn’t have soup. Also I am not  fan of celery, which implies to me I am not really a fan of celeriac. The soup was described as celeriac soup with truffle croutons. I guess the truffle sold me on the soup.

The soup felt like typical hotel soup, it was okay, I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t really anything to write home about (even though I am writing home about it on the blog).

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Rigatoni Pasta

Close to my office in Bristol is La Panza, now an Italian restaurant, which use to be Chatterton’s Cafe.

They have a £10 lunch deal which consists of pasta, focaccia, and a drink. I liked the idea of this, so decided I would try them out. I have been meaning to try out for a while, but I quite like a walk at lunchtime, so as it’s practically next door to the office, I often give it a miss. However this time, I went there after my walk.

Upon arrival, I wasn’t really given any kind of welcome, I had to wait a while before being seated. There is no seating downstairs, all the tables are upstairs. There is outside seating, but it was quite chilly for that, even with table heaters. The place was busy, which is probably why I had to wait a while to get my table sorted.

With the lunch deal, you have no choice about the pasta, they serve the pasta of the day. This time they had a rigatoni pasta dish with tomato, ham, and chilli. I am not sure what they would do if you were vegetarian, but there are some nice sounding pasta dishes on the main menu (but they’re not as cheap as the lunch deal).

Though I had to wait for the table, it wasn’t too long before my meal arrived.

Alongside the pasta was a slice of focaccia. I have to admit I was expecting a chunk of focaccia, but that’s on me, not the restaurant. The pasta was excellent, cooked to perfection and a delicious sauce. The bread was fresh, light and fluffy. As part of the deal you get a drink, and you have the choice of a coffee, a soft drink, or a glass of house wine.

I will take a little annoyance with the 10% service charge, I don’t mind paying for service, but for a lunch deal, couldn’t you just include the service charge in the price? To be honest the service wasn’t that good, however I paid the service charge. I much prefer it when the prices you see on the menu actually reflect the price you pay. It’s much worse in London where everywhere feels they can charge 12.5% or higher service charge. I am not sure what they’re thinking, yes pay for service, but make it part of the price of the food on the menu. It feels a little fraudulent to have “lower” prices on the menu, but these aren’t the prices you are going to pay. 

The key question, despite that 10% surcharge, will I go again for pasta? Yes I will.