review Archives - Page 13 of 57

September 24, 2023September 20, 2023

Why the slice of orange?

I was staying in York and was thinking about where to eat. I had seen La Terrazzina when out walking on previous evenings and I had been intrigued by the menu.

They describe themselves as

Welcome to La Terrazzina, the best Italian, Mediterranean & Asian restaurant in York! Our restaurant offers a unique and exciting dining experience that combines the flavors and aromas of Italian, Mediterranean, and Asian cuisine.

This was intriguing.

So I walked from my hotel down to the restaurant and I went to read the menu outside, at which point one of the waiting staff came outside and invited me in. This is something that I had seen in Portugal, Spain, and other places where I had been on holiday, not something I have seen very often in the UK. As I was pretty much made up in my mind that I was going to eat there, I went in and sat down.

One of the reasons I liked the idea of eating here was they had rack of lamb on the menu, so I was pretty much happy to order that.

I was given some bread and butter, which I had to return as the butter had mould on it. Well it looked like mould. It was replaced with some fresh bread and butter.

My lamb arrived.

This wasn’t though a rack of lamb, these were grilled lamb cutlets. The lamb came with vegetables and potatoes, gravy, and a slice of orange. Not sure what the orange was about. I’ve had orange with duck, but never with lamb! The vegetables were al dente, and it was a good sized portion.

The lamb was cooked, slightly overdone for me. I think I would have preferred a “proper” rack of lamb that had been browned in a pan and then finished off by being roasted in the oven. Then carved into cutlets. The other option would have been to describe the dish as lamb cutlets.

Overall it was a nice dish.

Service was attentive and polite. The place doesn’t have an alcohol licence, but there is a Sainsburys Local next door, so you can pop there for wine or beer.

Still not sure about the orange slice.

September 20, 2023September 19, 2023

An unplanned fish finger sandwich

I never planned to visit The Red Lion in Alvechurch in northeast Worcestershire. It was one of those unplanned journeys that arose due to a range of circumstances.

My original plan had been quite simple. I was on my way back from York and was travelling south on the motorway network. I had planned to stop at the Hopwood services on the M42, have an online call, grab something to eat, and charge my electric car, before heading home.

However due to earlier traffic issues on the A1(M) and some other reasons I was running later than planned. As a result I ended up at Tamworth Services. Alas the charger was in use. So I couldn’t charge my car while I had my online call. After finishing my meeting the charger was still in use so I headed back down on the M42.

I knew the Hopwood Services were about twenty miles further down the M42, so would stop there to charge and grab some lunch. I stopped off at Hopwood services and was frustrated to see their charger was also in use. I had planned to charge the car and grab some lunch.

Needing a charge I used the built-in sat nav to give me directions to the nearest charger. This was just over two miles away, there was a charger at The Red Lion in Alvechurch. So off I drove to the pub. The charger was available, so after connecting the car and setting it to charge I went into the pub. This was a lovely pub, with lots of wooden beams, comfy chairs.

I found a menu on a table and looked it over. They had quite an extensive choice. There was lots of things I was tempted by. The seared fillets of sea bass with a pea & crispy bacon velouté, steamed broccoli and spring onion mash sounded delicious. I also liked the sound of the Duo of Lamb, tender lamb rump served medium and a hearty shepherd’s pie, with Tenderstem® broccoli and a red wine & rosemary jus.

However I didn’t want to spend a fortune, I wasn’t that hungry, and I only really wanted something light. In the end I went with the Fish Finger Bap. Beer-battered fish goujons and tartare sauce on a rustic roll. I also ordered a ginger beer.

I had excellent service at the bar and after paying I sat down.

It wasn’t long and my plate of food arrived.

This was an excellent looking plate of food. The roll was warm and fresh. The beer-battered fish goujons were crisp on the outside, the fish was succulent and tasty. I also enjoyed the fries that came with the sandwich. I would say that the pea shoots which came as a garnish, didn’t look exactly fresh, they were a little tired and yellow. Kind of glad I didn’t for for the salad instead of fries. Despite the pea shots, I really enjoyed the food, it was tasty and delicious.

Having charged the car, it was then back on my drive home. I often stop at the Hopwood services for a break when travelling, I think in future I will make the relative short detour to Alvechurch and visit The Red Lion again.

September 11, 2023

Swordfish in Portugal

This year we went on holiday to Albufeira in Portugal. We were staying at the Cerro Mar Garden apartments. Though we had booked self-catering, we visited the hotel restaurant a couple of times whilst on holiday.

On our first visit I looked over the quite extensive menu. I decided to go with a fish dish and chose the swordfish.

It took a while to arrive, but we weren’t in a hurry.

This was a lovely presented plate of food. The three pieces of swordfish on the dish was served on a bed of cooked vegetables and potatoes.

The swordfish was cooked perfectly was delicious. I liked the cooked vegetables as well, which were fresh and tasty.

Overall I really liked the dish.

August 31, 2023September 2, 2023

Open Steak Sandwich

Joined some colleagues for lunch. Went to the Portwall Tavern. Though close to the office, I had never actually been there before. We ordered at the bar and took a table outside. I went with the open steak sandwich.

This was a slice of toasted ciabatta, sliced grilled steak, served with field mushroom, roasted red peppers, Stilton, Dijon mustard sauce and wedges. I asked for the wedges to be replaced with fries. Not sure if that was the best decision once the plates of food arrived, the wedges did look good.

The steak was cooked well, and the sauce was quite intense, the Stilton and mustard sauce was strong in flavour (and a little salty). However I did enjoy the food

A colleague of mine went with the California Veggie. This was (in her case) a gluten free ciabatta with avocado, goat’s cheese and vegetable pickles, served with potato wedges.

She said it was excellent.

August 29, 2023

Monkfish Tempura

I was in Bristol and went for a walk at lunchtime. Went to the Finzel Reach market intending to have something from Big Nath’s BBQ stall, but they weren’t there, so went to King Fin instead.

Was torn between the calamari and the new monkfish tempura. Whatever I chose I was going to have chips anyhow. In the end I went without the chips and went with both the monkfish and the calamari.

The calamari was excellent as usual (maybe a little too salty), but they were cooked to order, so the squid was nice and tender, and the coating was nice and crispy. The and cider vinegar slaw was a nice accompaniment.

The special, monkfish tempura was new to me.

The pieces of monkfish were deep fried in a tempura batter, and served with a lime and coriander yoghurt, tamarind, crispy sweet shallots and curry leaves.

The monkfish was cooked perfectly, and the batter (on top) was nice and crisp. Alas by the time I got back from the market to the office, the batter on the underside of the fish had got a little soggy from the yoghurt. I think if I had eaten the dish as soon as I was served it, it would have been fine. If I was to offer one piece of advice, I would probably say serve the yoghurt on the side, rather than on the bottom of the box. Or have something to separate the crispy fish from the yoghurt. Even so I liked the lime and coriander yoghurt which added a sharpness to the fish. I also enjoyed the tamarind, crispy sweet shallots and curry leaves.

Overall it was a little extravagant to have two mains, and no fries, however I really enjoyed having the calamari instead of fries.

August 9, 2023

Time for TânVân

There are lots of places from which to choose from when eating out in Ealing. Some would say too much choice. There are a number of Vietnamese restaurants in the area and they all look inviting and interesting. Looking around all the different places I did like the look of the menu at TânVân.

After walking around a couple of times I went back to TânVân.

We are a family-run Vietnamese eatery and Cocktail Bar based in the heart of Ealing Broadway. We serve the Vietnamese classics such as phỏ ̉ noodle soups, bún noodle salads and bánh mì as well as having lots of vegan options!

We are more than just a place to eat. We are a place to share, not just food, but love, memories, laughter. A place for your first date, a place to celebrate, a place to catch up with an old friend, a place for after-work drinks with your co-workers. Whoever you are, wherever you’re from, we can assure that this is the place for you.

They have an intriguing menu, but the choice of starters or side dishes felt quite limited. However there were five dishes to choose from, maybe I am just being a little picky with that. Tempted by the chicken wings, in the end I wanted to try something new, so, I went with the beef wrapped in betel leaf topped with roasted peanuts.

This was not the most delicately presented dish of food, it did look a little thrown together. There was a plate of (cold) noodles, the beef wrapped in betel leaf, and it was topped with chopped peanuts. It was served with a chilli dipping sauce. This to me was quite a substantial starter, it probably didn’t need the noodles. The beef was tasty and I enjoyed eating all the food on the plate.

There are lots of choices on the menu for mains. As well as rice bowls, there is wide choice of Phở noodle soup, Bún bowls of noodle salad, and if you prefer you can have a bánh mi sandwich. For my main course I went with the Saigon pork belly stew.

This is on the specials on the menu, and is described as melt-in-your-mouth tender pork belly braised in a light and delicately sweet and sticky sauce. It came with a hard boiled egg, a side of rice and pickled vegetables.

The pork was melt-in-your-mouth tender and the sauce was not too sweet. It worked well with the rice and pickled vegetables.

I enjoyed this dish, it was delicious and tasty, and I was a little disappointed I had finished it, as I wanted more.

Alongside my meal I had a bottle of Bia Saigon beer, which was crisp and refreshing.

The service was excellent, I was given a warm and friendly welcome.

This is certainly a place I would visit again.

August 6, 2023

Bleeding Heart

I was in London for a meeting and the plan was that we would go out for dinner. The place had been chosen, the Bleeding Heart Bistro. The Bleeding Heart Bistro, is situated in the Bleeding Heart Yard just off Greville St in the heart of the City of London. It is a French style bistro with pavement cafe seating. There is no traffic in the yard and the enclosed space is free from traffic. We sat outside and it really felt like we were somewhere in France. The tables, the canopy over the tables; along with the red and white theme, really set the scene for a French dining experience.

The service was excellent, efficient, friendly, and we never felt rushed or hurried.

Originally, when the dinner was planned, we had been provided with a fixed set menu, which was rather limited and to be honest disappointing. So I was quite pleased when the decision was made to go with the full a la carte menu. Lots more choice of lovely sounding food.

For my starter I went with the stuffed courgette flower filled with lemon ricotta.

I have never had a stuffed courgette flower before, though I have seen them on cooking programmes many times. In many ways this was a no-brainer for me to try this dish. However there were lots of other dishes in the menu that sounded delicious. It was hard to make a choice.

It was a really nice plate of food. The stuffing was light and fresh, the flower in the light batter was nice and crisp. I was pleased I had tried it. Would I have it again, I would probably choose something else from the menu. It was nice, but I wasn’t blown away by the dish.

For my main course, I went with the lobster and fries. I have cooked lobster myself and I did wonder how it would be if it was cooked in a top restaurant like the Bleeding Heart. I got half a lobster, a portion of fries, and some herb butter.

The lobster was delicious, full of flavour. Though I enjoyed the dish, I think though if I was to repeat the experience I would have chosen something else. It wasn’t as special as I thought it was going to be.

We didn’t have dessert, though I wasn’t tempted by the cheese board on offer.

Would I go again, yes I would, it was a lovely place to eat and we had a fantastic meal.

August 1, 2023July 31, 2023

Doing the Polka again

Having enjoyed my previous meal at Polka Kitchen, as I was looking for somewhere to eat I decided to go there again.

On previous visits to Ealing I had noted the Sowa restaurant, but had never gone there. The proprietors of that place have now moved to some swanky new premises in Dickens Yard and renamed themselves to Polka. Now I have no idea how authentic the food is, having never been to Poland, I was intrigued and on my previous visit was impressed.

I have to say I was tempted to have the steak tartare again, as I had enjoyed it so much. However, I decided I would try something else. They have a somewhat limited choice of starters, but there are a range of soups on the menu as well. I didn’t really fancy soup, so in the end I was choosing between the beetroot carpaccio and the Polish black pudding. I went with the Polish black pudding served with cod fillet, mustard sauce and sweet onion.

This was an interesting combination and not something I would have put together, nor did I realise it was a thing, blood sausage and fish.

The Polish black pudding was tasty, it was quite similar to English black pudding, but different. The fish was a nice addition to the dish, I also liked the mustard sauce. Overall it was a really nice dish and a delicious start to my meal.

For my main course there was quite a few choices. I did initially think about the traditional pork cutlet. However I realised that this wasn’t a cutlet in the way I thought it would be, but more of a schnitzel. From another table it looked like a pork steak, breadcrumbed, and fried. Though I thought that might be quite nice, it wasn’t quite what I wanted.

So I went with the Polish-style beef roulade stuffed with bacon and pickled cucumber, served with Silesian dumplings and pickled cucumber salad.

This was a beautifully presented plate of food.

I liked the Silesian dumplings and the pickled cucumber salad. The beef though was not as good as I thought it would be. It was a little dry and chewy. It was still a tasty plate of food.

I had enjoyed my meal, and the service was excellent.

July 30, 2023

Doing the Polka Kitchen

Now I have no idea how authentic the food is, having never been to Poland, I was still intrigued. They do appear to be popular on the Facebook with lots of comments in Polish.

They have a really intriguing and interesting menu, so much so, I was having difficult in making a choice. They have a somewhat limited choice of starters, but there are a range of soups on the menu as well. I do like a starter and prefer having a starter over pudding usually.

In the end for my starter I went with the steak tartare. It was served with egg yolk, pickled cucumbers, onion, and mustard seeds. This was such a pretty plate of food.

Alongside I was given some sliced Polish bread and butter.

The steak was tender, I liked the addition of the pickles, and egg yolk. The pickled mushroom was a nice surprising addition. I relished every mouthful.

Having had a steak tartare from Cote recently, it was interesting to compare the two dishes. The plate from Polka was so much better, both in terms of presentation, flavours and texture. Almost no competition in that comparison.

For my main course I was torn between a range of choices, but in the end went with the pork tenderloin stuffed with chicken and saffron, wrapped in Serrano ham, and served with lentils, spinach, and mushrooms.

Another lovely presented dish. I did at one point wonder what the red sauce on the side was, and then realised it was the pattern on the plate. The plates were very pretty, but wonder if they distracted you from the food. Ah well not a huge issue for me.

The pork was nice, but I wasn’t that impressed with the chicken and saffron stuffing. I never noticed or tasted the saffron, and the chicken was rather bland. The rest of the dish though was really tasty. The lentils were delicious, and I liked the mushrooms with the spinach.

I did think about pudding, but was quite full after two wonderful plates of food. They do have an excellent range of cakes and pastries though, so it was quite tempting.

The service was excellent, welcoming and friendly. The food was served efficiently, but I never felt rushed.

July 17, 2023February 5, 2024

Time for the Chicken Shawarma

Having spent the day in London and having made our way back to the Westfield Shopping Centre (to collect the car) we decided to have a bite to eat before heading home.

At Westfield there are plenty of choices available to suit a range of pricing envelopes. In the end we headed to Bills, in the main for the range of choices available.

Most times I eat at Bills I go for quite traditional dishes, usually French or English in style. So going for the Chicken Shawarma was a change of direction for me and an interesting choice.

The chicken was served with garlic flatbread, chopped salad, house pickles, chillies, mint yoghurt & hummus.

This was a nicely presented plate of food. I think I should have had the halloumi rather than the chicken, though at the time I did not fancy the red chilli that it was marinated in. The chicken was just okay, nothing special. The pickles and salads were nice. The flatbread was warm and fresh.

Overall I did enjoy the dish. The rest of the table enjoyed their food. The chicken burger was demolished, and the Caesar Salad was also said to be delicious. As for service, well it could have been better. It took about three attempts to get some tap water.