review Archives - Page 36 of 51

July 20, 2018June 19, 2021

I promise next time, I will choose differently!

After a last minute change of plan I found myself in Bristol on a Thursday, which meant that I had the opportunity to attend the Temple Quay Market. There was a wide range of stalls and a lot of choice. As is my usual practice, it was a quick look round to see what was there, what was available and where the queues were. It was a beautiful day, quite hot and sunny, and the market was proving popular and the queues for most stalls were quite long.

I was tempted by the pasta at Socarrat Catering, this always sounds delicious, but felt it wasn’t quite the weather for pasta. I did feel like trying the seafood chicken & chorizo paella from Chef De Maison, however it had proved popular and there was none left when I looked. I do like squid, so the South Street Kitchen with their crispy squid was tempting, as was the Neapolitan style pizzas straight from the wood fired oven of Wood Chop Pizza.

In the end I splurged at Lisa’s She Sells Sushi stall. I know I could have chosen something new or different, but SheSellsSushi is really delicious, very tempting and certainly a favourite of mine. There was quite a queue, so it game me time to think about what to have. Lisa has started selling ramen and it did sound rather nice, and as I got closer to getting served I did see how it came together and it looked delicious. The sushi looked wonderful as usual and looked very tempting, as did the Takoyaki available in octopus and duck varieties. As I stood in the queue the woman behind me was chatting with her friend and I couldn’t help overhearing her, how she always intended to have something different, but in the end always went with her favourites of the Beef Donburi and sushi. That I could certainly identify with.

I try not to have what I have had before, this time I went again with what I had before. Which was exactly what I did last time I visited the stall. Next time I am promising myself to go with something different.

As is typical for me I took a bento box with the Beef Donburi, which is slow cooked beef rib in a teriyaki sauce with a hirata bun.

Like last time there was a choice of two hirata buns, pork belly with kimchi and a chicken tempura. Both served in a charcoal steamed bun. Previously there was only the choice of the pork belly bun. This time I was (slightly) different and went with the chicken tempura hirata bun,

The Donburi beef was again delicious, the flavour is great, it was well balanced and so tasty. Served with rice and spring onions, great rice with some really tasty savoury tender beef. Really tasty and moreish.

I really enjoyed the tempura chicken hirata bun, the chicken was flavoursome, as well as being nice and crispy. I also did enjoy the soft charcoal steamed bun it came in.

Again it was really nice, delicious food and I know I will probably have it again, but next time I am planning to go with some variety, the ramen did look very tempting.

July 16, 2018January 6, 2020

I wasn’t sure what I was in the mood for…

Sometimes having too much choice can be a bad thing. I was up in Sheffield for an event and aiming for a quick meal I popped to the dining quarter of Meadowhall within there are a range of eating options.

The lower level is mainly fast food chains, but I was intrigued by Yangtze, a Chinese takeaway, but the queue was quite long and I really fancied taking my time being waited upon. On the upper level I did like the idea of the Spanish Tapas place, but felt it was quite expensive for what was on offer. There was also Las Iguanas which I don’t think I’ve been to, but looked tempting.

In the end I decided to go with Wagamama. I wanted to try out the Tama Squid, crispy fried squid balls, drizzled with okonomiyaki sauce and mayonnaise. finished with aonori and bonito flakes. I thought to myself I wouldn’t also mind trying Wagamama’s hirata steam buns to see if they are as good as the ones from She Sells Sushi. For the main course I thought Yakisoba would be a good choice.

As I queued for Wagamama, which seemed to be taking a long time, I thought about it, well of the three dishes I wanted, I could get the same three , well three similar, dishes at YO! Sushi as part of their blue plate Monday offer. So reflecting, I turned away and headed off to YO! Sushi.

As I arrived I could see how busy YO! Sushi was, but was given a warm welcome and they found me a seat very quickly (which was simplified because I was on my own).

The thing about YO! Sushi is you can look at the menu or just take things from the conveyor belt.

While I perused the menu I took a plate of avocado maki.

I then ordered some hot dishes, which took a little time to arrive, but I was expecting that so didn’t mind.

The maki were nice and fresh and was a great start to my meal.

Whilst the ordered dishes arrived I took another dish from the belt, the Beef Tataki Sashimi, which is pepper-seared rare beef and a tangy coriander pesto.

I’ve wanted to try this dish for a while and it matched my expectations. The beef was nice and tender and I did like the tangy coriander pesto which enhanced both the beef and the grated mooli on the dish.

The next dish was the Vegetable Yakisoba, described as yakisoba noodles in a tangy sauce served with crunchy, fresh vegetables.

I wasn’t impressed with this dish, the tangy sauce wasn’t to my taste and I didn’t like the texture of the noodles so much. I think I should have gone with a rice dish instead. I did wonder if the Wagamama version would be better?

I really like the Spicy Pepper Squid from YO! Sushi.

The spicy marinated squid, fried until crisp was garnished with red chilli and spring onions. I really like the texture and taste of this dish and it did not fail to impress.

When I was placing my order, the server recommended the Cod Nanbanzuke, which though not on the blue plate menu was part of the blue plate deal. The menu describes it as “Japan’s answer to sweet and sour! Crispy fried cod bites in a sweet and sour sauce.”

Though I did think it could have been a little more crispier than it was, I really did enjoy this dish. The cod was tasty and the sweet and sour sauce didn’t overpower the taste of the fish. This was quite a big portion as well.

A little later the final of my four hot dishes I had ordered arrived, a portion of Takoyaki.

The menu says that this is Osaka’s number one street food! Lightly battered dough balls with octopus, topped with mayo, bonito and lots more.

I thought this was a really nice concept, but wasn’t too hot on the execution of it. It was too much dough and to little octopus.

My final dish was fish. Salmon Sashimi Our freshest cuts of thick-sliced Scottish salmon, with mooli and lemon.

I hadn’t planned to take this dish, but seeing the chef preparing them and thought if there’s any left on the conveyor belt then I will have one. It was a nice clean refreshing dish to finish the meal off with.

Overall I had a really nice meal and the blue plate offer made a difference to the value for money.

July 13, 2018September 11, 2020

Go Greek (again)

It’s been a while since I was last at The Real Greek and I have been meaning to make a return visit for a while. Well looking for a place to eat and sit, even though it was a Thursday with the Temple Quay market been very tempting, I with a couple of friends decided to visit The Real Greek.

There was a warm welcome and what with the music playing inside, we asked to sit outside. Now outside was a weird thing as we were inside Cabot Circus, a shopping centre in the heart of Bristol. Even though technically it was inside the shopping centre, the way Cabot Circus has been designed and built, it’s more of a covered shopping area, in some places you can see sky above you and the whole place is open to the elements. So even though we were outside the restaurant, there was a glass roof above us. Having said all that, once you were sat down, it didn’t feel like you were in the heart of a shopping centre, it felt more like you were in a street cafe sitting outside watching the world go by, without the cars and scooters you would probably find in Greece.

It was really nice that a carafe of water (as in free tap water) was provided without us needing to ask. The last time I went I said

The Real Greek has a great lunchtime menu, and if I visit again I will probably choose from that and it looks like great value.

So I went to have a look this time at the lunch menu, though I was still somewhat tempted by the hot meze choices of grilled octopus and the lamb cutlets that I had on the previous visit.

The Lunch Menu is a fixed price at £8.50, where you can choose between a Greek Trio or a Greek Plate or a Souvlaki Wrap & Side.

The trio’s are fun coming on an afternoon tea style rack with the starter on the top, the main in the middle and the accompaniment on the bottom. Well I think it should arrive like that. Both times I have been, the dishes have been mixed around… The trio is also a great choice if you are vegan, as there are plenty of vegan choices available.

I went with the Halloumi Greek Plate which was served with saffron rice, a Greek salad, tzatziki and warm flatbread.

The halloumi was very nice, grilled, but not overcooked. The interesting texture, saltiness and flavour was balanced with the vibrant Greek salad comprising peppers, tomatoes, feta and lettuce. I enjoyed the flatbread which was soft and fresh.

Overall I really enjoyed the plate of food in a pleasant environment (and great company).

I think I will go again.

May 24, 2018November 5, 2021

Cheesy

Near to my office are various eating places, I often drink coffee at the Exchange and have heard good thing about many of the places on Old Market, but apart from buying bread from the Assembly Bakery I’ve not actually eaten at many of the establishments.

So it was with some hopeful anticipation that I went for lunch at 25A Old Market. From what I was told they usually offer a range of (posh) sausage rolls and cheese toasties. On the day we went only the toasties were on the menu.

The welcome was warm and friendly and after placing our orders we went downstairs into the basement and our food was brought down to us.

There was a choice of two toasties a five cheese one and a meat one. I went with the meat one.

It arrived hot and toasty with a really nice side salad. They use the sourdough from the Assembly Bakery and it was really tasty, good strong flavoured cheese and great bread. I think I would have been perfectly happy with the cheese variant, not sure how much extra the salami added to the toastie.

I am not usually a toasty or panini fan, but this was a really nice toasty.

May 23, 2018June 20, 2021

It was different

Though I like to try different things when I go out to eat, it would appear that when I visit Wagamama that I seem to go for the Wagamama Ramen and if I have a side, it’s the Chilli Squid.

So on my most recent visit to Wagamama I made the bold choice of going for something different and it was. I went with their Shiitake Donburi.

This is shiitake mushrooms and broccoli omelette served on brown rice in a teriyaki sauce garnished with shredded carrots, spring onions, chilli and pea shoots.

This was (for me) an interesting combination of flavours and textures. I really like the taste and texture of the shiitake mushrooms, which combined with the smoothness of the egg, the roughness of the rice and the saltiness of the teriyaki sauce resulted in a delicious dish of food.

The addition of the carrots, spring onions and pea shoots added a freshness and crispness to the dish.

Overall I was pleased with the dish, though I don’t think I will go for it again, I will either (more than likely) go with the ramen again, or try something new.

May 21, 2018April 23, 2022

It’s so tempting and it’s my favourite

I am not in Bristol on many Friday’s so I often miss the Finzel’s Reach Market. At their first birthday though I was lucky enough to be in Bristol and went to the market. There is usually a wide choice of stalls to choose from.

I took a bento box with the Beef Donburi, which is slow cooked beef rib in a teriyaki sauce with a hirata bun.

This time there was a choice of two hirata buns, pork belly with kimchi and a chicken tempura. Both served in a charcoal steamed bun.

It was hard making a choice, so in the end I went greedy and had both.

The Donburi beef was as usual delicious, the flavour is great, it was well balanced and so tasty. Served with rice and spring onions, great rice with some really tasty savoury tender beef.

I really enjoyed the tempura chicken hirata bun, the chicken was flavoursome, as well as being nice and crispy. I did enjoy the charcoal steamed bun it came in.

The pork belly one was nice too, but it wasn’t as good as the ones I have had previously.

Overall it was really nice, delicious food and I will probably have it again.

May 17, 2018December 29, 2021

It was a little disappointing…

With an overnight stay in Glasgow I needed somewhere to eat, and there was a lot of choice, both close by and not too far away. There are lots of choices and I did spend a little time looking over what was around on Google Maps, when noticed Smoke Barbecue. Well that was my choice made up for me.

One of my regular favourite places in Bristol is the Smoke Catering stall at the Temple Quay Market. They do a lovely piece of barbecued brisket and so was looking forward to having something similar up in Glasgow. As you can imagine having had some delicious barbecued food I had quite high expectations for Smoke Barbecue in Glasgow.

The venue is airy and somewhat industrial, lots of wood and metal. There are benches and tables and big windows.

They had a wide ranging menu with a lot of choices, but in the end I went with the Brisket plate. This is brisket, spiced & rubbed, then smoked for up to 18 hours. It comes with burnt ends, brisket hash and twice-cooked chips. I took my side order of choice of crispy onion strings. I added a portion of pit smoked chicken thighs as well.

When it arrived it was a big plate of food, well it wasn’t a plate it was a metal cooking tray of food. Yes I know it’s fashionable not to have plates, but okay serve it on a cooking tray, but provide a nice plate to eat it off.

It looked great and I really liked the look of it. The chips were nice, different, and then I tried some of the brisket…

Well…

It was okay, it certainly had a good bold flavour, but it wasn’t anything like the barbecued brisket I have had before, it was a bit dry and not as tender as I would have expected.

The Smoke Catering brisket, which I had eaten in Bristol, was tender, moist and melt in the mouth.

I had anticipated that the crispy onion strings would be nice and crispy, well some were, others weren’t. Good flavour though.

The pit smoked chicken thighs had been smoked previously and then finished off on the charcoal grill. I really liked the flavour of these, but like the brisket was a little dry.

There was a lot of food and I think upon reflection I wouldn’t have ordered the chicken as well as the brisket.

Overall it was okay, I think the challenge was I had really high expectations and I was expecting something amazing.

May 10, 2018November 9, 2020

Babs: A little Mediterranean treasure in the heart of Glasgow

Occasionally I find myself in Glasgow with a 9pm flight home, most times I end up at the Airport wondering why I am eating there, as it is too often over-priced and not very good.

The last time this happened to me in Glasgow I decided that rather than do my usual, I would try and find something to eat in the centre of Glasgow. There are lots of choices and I did spend a little time wandering up and down West Nile Street. I did consider a few options, French, Mexican, but in the end the look of Babs intrigued me. A upmarket looking kebab place.

Founded and led by the hugely ambitious team behind award winning ‘Bread Meats Bread’, ‘Babs will strive to create great street food dishes that make the most of seasonal and ethical produce, while respecting kebab’s culinary Greek, Turkish and Levantine heritage. So please relax, enjoy and welcome to ‘Babs Family!

There was a warm friendly welcome as I entered and I was given a choice of where to sit, which was nice. The place reminded me of the restaurants I visited when on holiday on Greek islands in the early 2000s.

The menu looked great, but what had tempted me in over other places on the street, was the Lamb Shish Babs. Described as severed chunks of sumac-rubbed lamb grilled over coals. Served on a flatbread on a bed of a sweet pepper and carrot puree and tzatziki; topped with grilled peppers and house pickles.

I went with a side order of skinny fries. I was introduced to these at the Gourmet Burger Kitchen and really like them as a side dish.

The lamb was perfectly cooked, beautifully tender, great smokey flavour. I really enjoyed the accompaniments that came with it. A real nice mix of things that didn’t overpower the lamb.

Whilst writing this article I noticed that the menu had changed since I visited, but even then the new one looks just as interesting.

April 23, 2018November 4, 2019

Time for a pizza and some antipasto

I don’t always get my first choice when looking for somewhere to eat as a family, even when it’s my birthday. It’s not that I like different places, a member of the family has a gluten-free diet and despite the wider choice you have these days, it’s not always about the choices. So after a game of bowling we ventured off to Pizza Express.

I do quite like how the different branches of Pizza Express reflect their locality. The Pizza Express at Southampton has a ocean liner styling, whilst the one up at Cribbs Causeway has a lot of Banksy style artwork up on the walls.

Though it was a Friday night, and we had booked, the place wasn’t too busy. I wonder if it’s busier during lunchtimes, because of the shopping.

As it was my birthday I decided to start with the sharing antipasto platter.

On the menu this is described as containing a selection of Italian meats: Finocchiona, Coppa, Milano salami and Calabrese sausage, with olives, artichoke, roasted tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, sweet Peppadew peppers and dough baked with Gran Milano cheese, accompanied by garlic butter and pestorissa, a harissa spiced tomato dip.

We went with the bigger sharing platter and that was just about right for five (combined with some gluten free dough balls). Okay if you are really greedy then you might want to order two of them. The salami was nice and fresh. Sometimes with these kinds of things, they are prepared so far in advance that the salami has dried out. The bread was interesting, but tasty. It could have done with some more artichoke, there were just two pieces.

For my main course I went with the Campana on a thin crusty Romana base. On top was crumbled pork & fennel sausage, friarielli, tomato, garlic oil and mozzarella, finished with Gran Milano cheese and parsley on a Romana base.

This was an enjoyable tasty pizza. I think it could have done with a little more friarielli. Friarielli or rapini is sometimes referred to as broccoli, but is actually a kind of turnip greens. Quite tasty.

Overall it was a really nice meal and I did enjoy it.

April 21, 2018August 10, 2021

Time for an Arnolfini coffee

It’s been a while since I’ve had something to eat or drink at the Arnolfini in Bristol. With the wealth of new places popping up, it’s been tempting to go to new places rather than old ones. It’s also a little bit of a trek from the office for a quick lunch, so usually it’s off the cards then too.

Having a walk around the Bristol Harbourside on an unusually sunny day we decided to stop for a coffee and as it happens we were close to the Arnolfini, so without too much indecision decided to go there. Well that’s not exactly how it happened. We actually wanted to go to Mokoko Coffee & Bakery on Wapping Wharf, however one of our “little” ones didn’t fancy any of their cakes so we went to buy ice cream instead. After getting ice cream from the van outside the bottom of the MShed we decided we could go have a coffee. Having crossed Princestreet Bridge and having now finished the ice creams, were close to the Arnolfini, so without too much indecision decided to go there!

As can be expected on a sunny day at the weekend on the Harbourside the tables and chairs outside the Arnolfini were very busy, we were happy to sit inside, but as it was busy there was a bit of a queue. It moved faster than I thought it would and I ordered my coffee, a flat white, a tea and a Diet Coke.

As we were sitting inside, we were told they would bring the drinks over and we could go and sit down. I really like it when places do that, it feels so much more civilised than moving down to the other end of the counter and waiting around for your drink, or for your name to be called. Too many times for my liking when that happens I seem to lose my drink to someone and I need to complain and wait again. I have stopped calling myself “James” now when ordering coffee, as there appears to be too many Jameses out there.

The inside of the Arnolfini hasn’t changed much over the years, it felt like a hipster place before hipsters became hip. The shared long tables and benches are still there and the atmosphere is warm and inviting.

While we were waiting we looked at the menu on the blackboard and we agreed that we liked all of the items and it would have been difficult to choose one. Made me think that I might come back another day for lunch.

The flat white came and I was impressed. It was smooth and velvety with a lovely strong coffee taste. In other words done right.